Afghan Defense Ministry has dismissed a report by British Ministry of Defense that claimed some 5,000 Afghan troops escape their duty every month.
Afghan Defense Ministry said the British ministry’s statistics about Afghan soldiers leaving their uniforms are inaccurate, stressing the local Afghan army maintains the adequate number of troops to tackle the security.
“The report is accurate in principle; however its figures and terminologies are not accurate. Escapees are the ones who escape from the battlefield or surrender to the enemy,” said an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman.
“But, if a soldier returns to duty from his (approved) leave after some days of delay due to security or family reasons, it can be called over leave, not quitting,” the spokesman added.
The scenario followed a comment by the top British commander in Afghanistan Lieutenant-General Nick Carter that claimed a withdrawal of British forces from Afghanistan this summer will be “unforgivable” and will “damage Afghan confidence”.
Britain currently deploys some 8,000 troops in Afghanistan and plans to pull out 5,200 of them from the Asian country until the end of the year.