Afghan delegates meeting at a national assembly on Saturday backed President Hamid Karzai's plan to negotiate a long-term security pact with the United States - with certain conditions attached, dpa reported.
More than 2,000 tribal and local leaders attending the four-day meeting, known as a Loya Jirga, demanded that NATO forces stop raids against insurgents as well as asking the president to pursue peace talks with the Taliban. The Islamist militants have so far shown no interest in talks.
The traditional assembly was convened to discuss a pact that governs the presence of US troops in the country after 2014, when most foreign forces are expected to withdraw or take on a support role.
"All military operations should be Afghan-led and they should not be unilateral. Americans should not conduct operations by themselves," read a 76-point declaration approved at the meeting.
Military raids against suspected insurgents, house searches and capture-or-kill rules are highly offensive in conservative Afghanistan.
The declaration also asked the Afghan government to make sure that the US would not use its military bases in the country to launch attacks against other countries.
The Afghan and US governments agree that several thousand troops should remain after 2014 to train Afghan forces and assist them in operations against insurgents. But the sides still have to agree on the legal rules that will govern the presence of the US force.
The US sees any future pact as a non-binding agreement, while the Afghan government wants a firm set of rules to govern the presence of US forces in the country beyond 2014.
The assembly's decision is not binding and Karzai does not need approval from the assembly to finalize a deal with the US but it places him in a better position during negotiations.
"We, in every aspect, agree with all the articles of the declaration and regard this declaration as a directive to the Afghan government from the Afghan people," Karzai said during his address that marked the end of the assembly.
He said the declaration was good for the betterment of Afghanistan.
The declaration is to be studied by experts and will go to the lower house of parliament for approval. It will then be submitted to the Afghan government for implementation, Jirga officials said.
"We need the peace process and we insist upon the continuation. The government must work on all aspects of the peace process," the joint declaration said.
The elders also proposed an international conference to push forward the peace talks. But the efforts must be Afghan-led, the declaration said.
In September, the former president and head of the High Peace Council in charge of peace negotiations with the Taliban was killed in his house by a suicide bomber.
"The untimely death of Burhanuddin Rabbani was big blow to the peace process," the declaration said.
The parliamentary opposition boycotted the conference, questioning its goal, timing and legality.
The Jirga passed without any major incident despite threats from Taliban insurgents that they would target it. On Thursday, two rockets were fired into Kabul but nowhere close to the actual venue.
The Taliban has called the proposed US partnership an "unfortunate plan" drawn up by "foreign enemies and their internal (Afghan) mercenaries."