Officials out over 'Taliban talks'

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Two foreign nationals working for the European Union and the United Nations have left Afghanistan after the government ordered them out for allegedly trying to talk to the Taliban, officials from the international organizations said Thursday.

Nilab Mubarez, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said Mervyn Patterson, a tribal affairs expert, left the country before the 48-hour deadline set by the Afghan government.

An EU official said Michael Semple, who had been the acting head of the EU mission in Afghanistan, had also left the country.

Mubarez said the United Nations was continuing its discussions with Afghan authorities to allow Patterson to return. She repeated her assertion that the case was a "misunderstanding" and said she hoped it would be cleared up soon.

A senior Afghan official who did not want to be named said the pair was accused of "trying to establish contact with /topics/The_Taliban" class="cnnInlineTopic">Taliban" in Helmand province. A provincial Afghan official in Helmand said the men were "talking with the enemies of /topics/Afghanistan" class="cnnInlineTopic">Afghanistan."

UNAMA spokesman Aleem Siddique said Patterson and Semple were in Helmand to talk to the people there and find out their needs and concerns -- a process which he said includes talking to people who may not support the government.

"If we are to cement peace in Helmand province, that means that we need to talk to all the people in Helmand province," Siddique said.

But Siddique denied the men were trying to contact the Taliban.

"We do not talk to the Taliban -- full stop," he said. "If there are any talks with the Taliban, these talks must be led by the government of Afghanistan. We've already made clear that we stand ready to assist the government in these efforts." E-mail to a friend

Journalist Farhad Peikar contributed to this report.

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