Wellington, Aug 20 NZPA - The Government is being challenged over its decision to send combat troops to Afghanistan as the troubled country faces criticism over its treatment of women and allegations of corruption.

The Government recently decided to send 70 SAS troops to Afghanistan for 18 months in three rotations, the fourth time they will have been deployed there.

New Zealand will eventually pull out its 140 defence force personnel running a provincial reconstruction team operating in Bamiyan province, who have been there since 2003.

There has been international condemnation over new legislation to govern family law for minority Shi'ite Muslims, who make up about 15 percent of Afghanistan's roughly 30 million people.

It says women should satisfy their husband's sexual appetites, an article which critics have said could be used to justify marital rape and which provoked an outcry from Afghanistan's Western allies and rights groups around the world.

In Parliament today, Green MP Keith Locked asked Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Christopher Finlayson if the Government received any advice about the law change.

"What action will New Zealand take should (President) Hamid Karzai's assurance, to the minister, on women's rights turn out to be false -- for example, that men are still to be legally permitted to starve their wives if denied sex?"

Mr Finlayson said officials were seeking a translation of the law.

"The Government is not prepared to jump to conclusions about whether the President has done something he indicated he would not do," he said.

"We are not alone in this matter. New Zealand has expressed the same concerns as the rest of the international community, and if we find those concerns remain, we will consult our international partners over what appropriate steps ought to be taken."

Mr Locke also repeated his concerns about whether prisoners that New Zealand troops handed over to Afghan forces would be treated humanely.

"Why does the minister think that our SAS soldiers should risk their lives to defend a hopelessly corrupt administration, which is currently renewing its mandate through an obviously fraudulent election?"

Mr Finlayson pointed out he was acting minister and did not have all the answers.

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