Britain’s special envoy to Afghanistan has taken extended leave, the government announced, amid reports that he clashed with NATO and US officials over strategy to tackle the Taliban insurgency.
Sherard Cowper-Coles has temporarily stepped down just a month before a crucial international conference in Kabul, which will be attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
“He’s on extended leave and he is returning in the autumn,” a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokeswoman in London said on Monday, without making clear what role he would be coming back to later in the year.
New British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs William Hague is to review the post of special envoy to Afghanistan, the BBC reported, citing an FCO source, but added the minister had not sacked the envoy and had wanted him to remain in the job.
Cowper-Coles was appointed to the role, which also covers Pakistan, in February last year by the previous Labour government after serving as ambassador to Kabul.
The Guardian newspaper reported on Monday that there were serious disagreements in recent months between Cowper-Coles and officials from NATO, which is leading international troops in the country, and the US.
He was convinced the military focused counter-insurgency effort was headed for failure and wanted talks with Taliban insurgents to be a priority, the paper said.
The special representative role will be filled on a temporary basis by Karen Pierce, FCO director for Afghanistan and South Asia, reports said.
News that the British diplomat was taking leave came ahead of a major conference on July 20 in Kabul, where a host of senior foreign officials will join Clinton and Ban.
The event follows a London meeting on Afghanistan in January that pledged international support for Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s plans to reintegrate moderate Taliban fighters who renounce violence.
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