By DPA
Kabul : Two expelled diplomats working with the United Nations and European Union (EU) missions in Afghanistan left Thursday morning after the Afghan government accused them of having held a meeting with the Taliban, officials said.
“I can confirm that one of our staff members left the country,” Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan, said.
An official from the EU mission, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also confirmed that an official working with the mission left the country before the expiration of the 48-hour deadline set by the Afghan government.
The Afghan government ordered two European diplomats, Michael Semple and Mervyn Patterson to leave the country within 48 hours after accusing them of holding talks with some Taliban militants in the southern province of Helmand.
Semple, an Irishman, is the second top senior official working for the EU mission and currently the acting head of the mission. Patterson, a British national, works for the UN as an expert in tribal affairs.
Presidential spokesman Humayun Hamidzada accused the pair Tuesday of “posing threats to (Afghanistan’s) national security.”
The two alleged diplomats have more than 10 years of experience working in Afghanistan.