Kandahar province's governor rejects allegations that Canadian-captured prisoners endured abuse at the hands of Afghan police and intelligence officers.
"I know this (did) not happen but still, it is not a joke. We have to investigate, we have to see," Asadullah Khalid told Â鶹´«Ã½ on Monday.
The investigation has been ordered by Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai. "He was the one who wanted the investigation to see is it true or not," the governor said.
However, Khalid's statement comes on the same day that Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said Corrections Canada officers in Afghanistan have heard first-hand allegations of torture.
"Yes, they have actually talked to detainees about the possibility if they were tortured or not," Day said Monday in response to a reporter's question. "They actually had a couple of incidents where detainees said they were."
However, he told The Canadian Press the officers didn't seen any evidence, such as physical marks, to back up the allegations.
The minister doesn't know if the detainees were turned over by Canadian troops or other NATO soldiers.
Day's remarks are believed to be the first time that a senior Conservative minister has clearly admitted that Canadians in Afghanistan had been informed of specific abuse allegations.
Last week, Day claimed any allegations of abuse were lies made up by captured Taliban fighters.
Retired Maj.-Gen. Lewis Mackenzie says torture is widespread throughout the region.
"Torture happens in the region -- not just in Kandahar, not just in Afghanistan, all the stands around the neighbourhood. Torture happens, so acknowledge that and then deal with it," he said, appearing on CTV's Canada AM.
The problem of torture is not a Canadian issue, but a NATO one, he said.
"They're the ones running the show over there at the diplomatic and the military level," he said.
Mackenzie suggested NATO may eventually set up their own facility that could show the Afghans how to properly run a prison.
In Brussels, NATO spokesman James Appathurai told Â鶹´«Ã½net's Mike Duffy Live that while NATO welcomes the investigation, only allegations exist at this point.
"The Geneva Convention says that it's our responsibility to make sure that prisoners of war -- and we are at war there -- are not put in a situation where they could be tortured. And that's why we should stop the transfers now," NDP Leader Jack Layton told MDL.
Khalid confirmed that Canadian monitors now have access to prisons. "Canadian delegation was there. Uunder new agreement they can come anytime and meet anyone," he said.
However, he still doesn't have a copy of the new agreement with Canada permitting this to happen.
An agreement signed in December 2005 didn't give Canada the right to check up on the well-being of prisoners it handed over, even though other NATO countries had such clauses.
Question period
Earlier, in Monday's question period, the Conservatives said the claims of suspected Taliban insurgents should not be believed over Canada's officials on the ground -- a retreat from their position at one point that the allegations are actual fabrications.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper maintained there is no specific evidence of detainee abuse and if the rumours materialize into fact, they will be investigated.
"We have no specific cases and the Afghan human rights commission has said they have no specific cases," the prime minister said in French.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion called for a "straight story" from the Conservatives over the allegations in the second week of debate around the handling of Afghanistan detainees.
"When will the prime minister end this mismanagement and the dishonesty and get some control over this mission?"
Harper responded by saying the Liberals needed to trust the Canadians on the ground.
"Unlike the members opposite, we don't automatically assume any allegations made by the Taliban against the Canadian Forces are the unbiased truth," Harper fired at the opposition.
The Tories repeated that the opposition should be taking the word of Canadians in Afghanistan over the Taliban.
The Afghan men alleging abuse told The Globe and Mail newspaper last week that they were well-treated by Canadian soldiers, with the trouble starting after they were transferred into the custody of the Afghan police and intelligence services.
Despite an attempt by Harper to switch the subject to the environment issue, the opposition continued to pound the Conservatives.
Layton called for an inquiry into the detainee abuse allegations.
"It seems as though the prime minister remains in full denial on the situation of detainees in Kandahar," Layton fired back.
Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh said a leading human rights group warned of possible abuse five months ago and Foreign Affairs refused to address it.
"Human Rights Watch told the foreign affairs minister to work with NATO to develop policy for better monitoring," Dosanjh said of a memo sent to Foreign Affairs and recently unearthed by the opposition.
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, who has taken heavy fire from the opposition over this controversy, wasn't in question period on Monday. One of his aides sent out an email message to reporters addressing rumours the minister might not be in his portfolio for long.
"If any of you give credit to the rumour that (the minister of national defence) will resign, (you) will look (stupid). It is not true, he will NOT resign.''
With a report from CTV's Lisa LaFlamme and files from The Canadian Press
