AFGHANISTAN:UN officials were last night working to prevent the expulsion from Afghanistan of two senior western diplomats who have been accused of holding illegal talks with Taliban leaders in the British theatre of operations in the southern province of Helmand.
The intervention on behalf of a Briton working for the UN and an Irishman working as the EU's acting mission - both due to be deported today - comes amid renewed questioning of military tactics in the region.
The men were named as Mervyn Patterson from Northern Ireland, who works for the UN, and the EU's acting mission head Michael Semple, an Irishman. He was formerly the human rights adviser to the British High Commission in Pakistan.
Both organisations insisted yesterday that the row was the result of a "misunderstanding", but there was pressure on the British government from opposition parties to answer separate claims that talks had been held with Taliban leaders on a number of occasions in the summer.
President Hamid Karzai and the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, have publicly insisted that there can be no negotiations with the Taliban, while at the same time offering reconciliation to fighters who turn away from the Islamist militants.
The diplomats were ordered to leave by the Afghan president's office, which said they had engaged in activities "that were not their jobs".
The men's trip to the Musa Qala district, retaken from the Taliban two weeks ago by Nato and Afghan forces after fierce fighting, was "detrimental to the national security of the country", an Afghan official said. "Not only did they hold talks with the Taliban, but also had given them money. They are persona non grata." Both men have years of experience in Afghanistan. Mr Semple was an expert on the country's complex tribal politics. Five years ago, after the Taliban regime was overthrown, Mr Patterson was instrumental in negotiating with powerful tribal leaders - often allied to hardline Taliban elements - in the north.
Mr Semple's position as the European Union's deputy special representative in Afghanistan has been funded by the Irish Government since before 2005.
The Irish Embassy in Tehran in Iran last night tried to get more information from the Afghan authorities on his arrest.
However, the European Union will for now take the lead role in protecting Mr Semple's interests, Irish sources indicated last night.
During his spare time, Mr Semple, a kayak enthusiast, helps to train the fledgling Afghan national rowing team, according to the World Rowing Federation.
Mr Patterson is a British passport holder and efforts to protect his welfare are being handled by the British Foreign Office. - (Additional reporting: Mark Hennessy)