KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - The Afghan government is drawing up new rules for private security firms in a move to prevent police from leaving the force.
Canada's highest-ranking soldier in Afghanistan says the Karzai government plans to cap the salaries private firms can pay their security staff.
Maj.-Gen. Michael Ward says this is meant to keep Afghan police from deserting the force for higher-paying - and relatively safer - jobs at private security firms.
He says the attrition rate for Afghan police is 19 per cent.
Ward says desertion among the police force is a problem that has caught the attention of the upper echelon of Afghanistan's government, including Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar.
Afghanistan's police force now stands at 97,000 strong.
