PM reaffirms Afghan pull-out date (From Dudley News)

PM reaffirms Afghan pull-out date

6:57pm Monday 21st May 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

David Cameron has reaffirmed plans to withdraw British troops from Afghanistan amid fresh warnings the country could re-emerge as a terrorist haven once international forces have gone.

Attending the Nato summit in Chicago, the Prime Minister confirmed British troops - like other international forces - will end their combat role by the end of 2014.

"That is our deadline," he said.

Despite the international pull-out, he insisted the Taliban could not regain power by force of arms and he urged them to re-open negotiations with the government of President Hamid Karzai.

"The message to the insurgency is equally clear: you can't win on the battlefield; stop fighting and start talking," he said.

However senior officials acknowledged there was no guarantee that terrorists would not be able to re-establish a foothold in the country from which Osama bin Laden launched the 9/11 attacks.

"It is unrealistic to assume that Afghanistan is going to be completely secure and there is no possibility of a terrorist threat reemerging," said one official.

"But our achievements of the last decade mean that we will withdraw from a country where the threat is much reduced and where Afghan forces are now much more able to respond to that threat."

Officials have already raised the prospect that a small number of British troops - almost certainly special forces - could stay on in a counter-terrorism role after 2014.

Previously ministers have said any remaining British troops would be involved solely in the training and mentoring of the Afghan National Security Forces.