§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the security situation in northern Afghanistan. [133761]
§ Mr. MullinThe Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire (Mr. O'Brien), returned from a visit to Mazar-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan where he saw evidence that steady progress is being made towards stabilising the security situation there. In general there have been fewer security problems in the north of Afghanistan than in the south. But there have been long-standing tensions between various factions, most notably between the leaders of the two biggest factions. The Afghan Government moved quickly to defuse the most recent flare-up between them earlier this month, supported by the UN and the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) based in Mazar-e Sharif. The Afghan Interior Minister then brokered a comprehensive peace agreement covering five northern provinces. Implementation of this is being monitored by the UN and the UK PRT. The Afghan Government have now reached agreement with the two commanders on merging their factional forces under neutral and central government command. A number of senior personnel in local civilian and police posts have been replaced by new appointees, which will contribute further to weakening local power bases.
368W