Afghanistan, US sign deal on prison handover

— The U.S. military signed a last-minute agreement Friday to transfer its main detention center in the country to Afghan control in six months — a key step toward a long-term pact on U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

The deal removes a sticking point that had threatened to derail talks between the two countries for a long-term partnership that is critical to defining the U.S. role as it draws down troops here.

The two sides have been in negotiations for months over a partnership deal, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai had set a Friday deadline for the U.S. to hand over the 3,000 Afghans it holds at its Parwan detention facility. On Thursday, President Barack Obama and Karzai discussed the stalled security pact talks in a video conference.

The deal signed Friday extends the deadline for handing over the detainees but for the first time spells out an American commitment to a hard transfer date. Under the agreement, the U.S. will still have access to Parwan and will be able to block the release of detainees it thinks should continue to be held.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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