By Chris Ormond of NZPA

Wellington, June 24 NZPA - Administrations with forces in Afghanistan are confident the situation there will improve to a stage where it will be set to self-govern by the end of 2011, Defence Minister Wayne Mapp says.

At a defence select committee in Parliament today, Dr Mapp said there was no change in Cabinet's position to keep Special Air Service (SAS) troops in Kabul only until March next year and the provincial reconstruction team in Bamiyan province until September next year.

It would be up to Cabinet to decide whether that position should be changed, he said.

However, Dr Mapp said it was likely the aid team could stay longer in some form, and that as long as New Zealand had such a presence in Bamiyan there would have to be some sort of reduced defence presence there as well.

Green MP Keith Locke suggested Afghanistan was a "mess" and that was compounded by the sacking of United States General Stanley McChrystal following his negative comments in a magazine about the US administration.

He asked whether it was an "unwinnable war".

Dr Mapp said that question was often raised at high levels, and briefings he had received suggested the situation was on the improve.

"There is a level of confidence that by the end of this year things will have improved, and that by the end of 2011 that the Afghan government will be sufficiently sustainable."

General David Petraeus, who had a good grasp of the Afghanistan situation, was a good choice to replace Gen McChrystal and the switch made no difference to the New Zealand mission, Dr Mapp said.

He said while there was confidence in an improving situation in Afghanistan, part of that would involve more stability on the political front there.

He disputed Mr Locke's claims about a high level of corruption in that government, and said while there was some corruption, it was not bad enough to lose the trust of the people there.

Dr Mapp said seven New Zealanders had been killed in terror attacks in recent years and that the fundamental goal of having a presence in Afghanistan was to ensure it did not become a secure haven from which the Taliban could continue launching international terror attacks.

Mr Locke also sought assurances that measures were being taken to ensure citizens arrested amidst the fighting were being treated humanely.

Dr Mapp said there was an agreement in place with the Afghanistan government relating to that issue, but local police were the ones responsible for detainees.

"I've never had any evidence that people have been treated inappropriately," he said.

He declined a request from Mr Locke for a copy of the agreement on detainees, saying the Afghanistan government had not given that permission.

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