Diplomats expected to leave Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Diplomats are scrambling to prevent the Afghan government from expelling two international officials for holding talks with members of the Taliban.

The Afghan government accuses Mervyn Patterson, a British U.N. employee, and Michael Semple, the Irish head of the EU mission in Afghanistan, of threatening national security following talks the men held with Taliban members in the drug-laden Helmand province.

The BBC reported Wednesday the United Nations booked a flight for the two officials and with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Pakistan, the expulsion seemed likely.

Aleem Siddiqu, the spokesman for the United Nations in Afghanistan, said the incident is a misunderstanding and denied allegations the pair spoke with Taliban militants, saying they were speaking with various groups regarding the country's stability.

The incident comes on the heels of a report in Britain's Telegraph that reported members of Britain's intelligence service, MI6, held talks with senior Taliban members this summer, allegations British Prime Minister Gordon Brown denied.