Karzai calls for Afghan control of US-run prison

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the United States is violating its agreement with Afghanistan to hand over control of the prison at Bagram Air Base, as he ordered Afghan officials to take control of the prison.

Karzai said in a statement late Sunday that the United States is violating the Memorandum of Understanding the two countries signed earlier this year to hand over control of the Parwan Detention Facility to the Afghans.

Karzai ordered Afghan officials to take “all required and urgent measures to ensure a full Afghanization of the prison affairs and a complete transfer of its authority.”

At issue are the more than 50 Afghan detainees that are being held by U.S. forces at the prison whom the Afghans believe should be released.

The spring agreement to hand off control of the Parwan detention facility was one of the final roadblocks that allowed President Obama and Karzai to sign a long-term security agreement in May, which could keep a U.S. presence in Afghanistan through 2024.

Karzai’s declaration comes as the two countries started negotiations last week over a security agreement for U.S. forces to remain in Afghanistan after the 2014 deadline for NATO forces to hand off security control to the Afghans.

The fight over the prison could cast a shadow over the negotiations, where there are many prickly issues that need to be resolved between the two countries.

Karzai’s spokesman Aimal Faizi told reporters in Afghanistan Monday that more than 70 detainees are being held by U.S. forces, despite orders for their release by Afghan courts, according to The Associated Press.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul told the AP that the U.S. government is committed to the original prison agreement as well as resolving the disagreements for its implementation.