KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Mirroring politicians in Canada, the governor of Kandahar province insisted Saturday that the treatment of detainees in Afghanistan is the responsibility of the military.
Gov. Asadullah Khalid also bristled at allegations he was personally involved in the torture of at least one prisoner in Kandahar, as reported by Canadian diplomats in Afghanistan.
"I'm the governor of Kandahar, I am not an investigator,'' he said in an exclusive interview with The Canadian Press.
"To ask someone a question, or abuse them or tell them something, my job is completely different.''
Khalid said he has only visited prisons in Kandahar once and in the company of parliamentarians to observe rebuilding efforts.
He wouldn't have been in a room with a prisoner to discuss anything with them, he said.
"Never, never, never,'' he said.
According to a report prepared by Canadian diplomats in Kandahar and passed to the Canadian government, a prisoner complained that Khalid beat him.
A furor emerged in Ottawa earlier this week over allegations the government tried to quash the report and ignored the information.
But Khalid said people in prison will say anything to be freed.
"I think this is clear for everyone that if you have some prisoner in the jail they will accuse everyone,'' he said.
"But if you ask him: `Do you know the governor, do you recognize the face?' I don't think he's met me.''
Khalid also said he didn't recall meeting with Defence Minister Peter MacKay in Kandahar in November when MacKay says he raised the issue of the treatment of prisoners with Afghan authorities.
It was in November when Canada stopped transferring detainees captured in military operations to Afghan authorities. Khalid said he wasn't aware that had happened.
"This is something for the military, it doesn't involve me,'' he said of the issue.
The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission said it was told last week by the Canadian military that 18 to 20 detainees had been taken into Canadian custody since the end of transfers in November.
It's assumed they are being held at the Kandahar air field, though the agency said it wasn't sure.
Under an agreement on detainee transfers signed by Canadian and Afghan authorities, the Afghan rights agency as well as the Red Cross both have the ability to monitor the conditions faced by detainees.
Only the Red Cross, however, has access to the detention facilities of foreign military forces in the country.
In 2007, the Red Cross said it followed the cases of more than 3,000 people detained in connection with the conflict throughout Afghanistan.
At the U.S. detention facility in Bagram, they even initiated a program to allow detainees to connect with their families via teleconference.
A meeting set for this week between the Afghan rights agency, international representatives and the UN in Kabul will examine the treatment for prisoners seized in the course of combat operations.
The Afghan rights agency said it wants Canada to resume transfers to Afghan's National Security Directorate, saying the conditions have much improved since allegations of torture surfaced in the spring.
In Ottawa, federal politicians have said the issue of what happens to detainees and where they are held belongs in military hands.
Many countries in the NATO-led international coalition in Afghanistan disclose the number of prisoners taken and their whereabouts.
But Canada's chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier, has refused to disclose the whereabouts of the detainees, citing operational security.
