Afghanistan’s president has said he will not immediately sign a security deal with the United States, ignoring a recommendation by an assembly of Afghan elders and leaders that he do so by the end of the year.

America and Afghanistan have agreed on a security pact that could clear the way for thousands of US troops to train and assist Afghan forces after the Nato combat mission ends in 2014.

A suicide bomber tore through the Afghan capital, killing at least six people near the site where thousands of elders are to gather next week to discuss a controversial security agreement with the United States, officials said.

AFGHANISTAN’S constitutional convention began voting yesterday, but up to a quarter of the 502 delegates refused to cast ballots for a draft charter backed by the United States after a long, acrimonious meeting.

The loya jirga, the grand council called to organise a new government and give war-weary Afghans hope for a peaceful future, has been postponed over differences about the future role of the former king, Mohammad Zaher Shah.