Local consent 'will delay Afghan peacekeeping force'

The planned international peacekeeping force for Afghanistan is unlikely to be operational until mid-January, defence sources said today.

Britain today formally offered to lead the United Nations-backed International Security Assistance force (ISAF) for Afghanistan.

Britain Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has written to UN secretary general Kofi Annan with an offer for Britain to take charge of the force for an initial period of three months.

However officials admitted that the deployment of troops on the ground would depend on agreement with the new interim administration which assumes power on Saturday.

Major General John McColl, who will lead the force, will be in Kabul on Saturday with his headquarters staff and a small number of Royal Marine commandos already in the region.

However, defence sources said that their presence would be ‘‘largely symbolic’’.

The exact size and composition of the ISAF will not be decided until the ‘‘military technical agreement’’ (MTA) with the interim administration led by Hamid Karzai is signed.

General McColl, who led a reconnaissance team to Kabul, has expressed confidence that the MTA can be in place within a matter of days once the administration has assumed power.

However, officials made clear that failure to get agreement on the MTA would be a ‘‘red card’’ for the whole operation.

They acknowledged that the ‘‘fragility of local consent’’ for the ISAF was a key consideration in the military planning.

Once the agreement is in place it is expected that there will be a gradual build up of the force which should be operational sometime ‘‘well into January’’.

Britain has said that it will contribute up to 1,500 troops toward a total force expected to number between 3,000 and 5,000.

The British contribution is expected to include the headquarters element from 16 Air Assault Brigades as well as troops from the Second Battalion the Parachute Regiment.