By IRNA,
Berlin : The German Defense Ministry on Wednesday reiterated there were no plans to change the present military mandate in war-stricken Afghanistan.
Pointing to an ongoing debate on boosting the German troop size in Afghanistan, defense ministry spokesperson Thomas Raabe told journalists in Berlin that there was “no reason at all to speculate” on the issue.
The government is awaiting the outcome of the international Afghanistan conference in Paris, slated for June, and is adhering to the German parliamentary mandate which will expire on October 30, Raabe added.
Berlin has based around 3,500 soldiers in northern Afghanistan and Kabul as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in addition to police instructors and civilian reconstruction workers.
Some 26 German soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since January 2002, according to official statistics.
Meanwhile, the German military plans to step up its training program of Afghan security forces.
The number of German instructors for the Afghan army would be doubled to 220, while the number of German police trainers in Afghanistan would be increased from 30 to 45.