KABUL: Afghan and U.S. officials say they are considering pushing through a long-delayed partnership agreement by relegating the contentious issues of night raids and control over detainees to separate negotiations.

The two countries have been working for a year to nail down terms of a strategic partnership document that would govern U.S. operations in Afghanistan after 2014.

But Afghan President Hamid Karzai has demanded an end to night raids by U.S. troops and control over detainees as a condition of a deal.

An Afghan official and American official familiar with the discussions said the two countries are looking at removing these issues from the long-term agreement and negotiating them separately.

Both officials spoke anonymously to discuss ongoing negotiations.