WASHINGTON, Sept 20: US President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai have agreed to press forward with a security pact which would entitle the United States to stay engaged with Afghanistan after 2014, the White House said.

Mr Obama held a video conference with Mr Karzai on Wednesday evening, following on their phone call last week.

“The two presidents discussed a range of issues, including efforts to stem insider attacks on US, coalition and Afghan forces,” the White House said.

The US-led coalition in Afghanistan has curtailed its operations in the country in response to an upsurge of insider attacks on their troops.

The two leaders also discussed “the importance of continuing to encourage restraint and non-violence in reaction to inflammatory materials”, said the statement while referring to protests against a film which ridicules Islam and its founder.

There have been no violent protests in Afghanistan over the issue but the presence of thousands of US and Western troops in the country makes it particularly vulnerable.