THE aftermath of the British withdrawal from the town of Musa Qala in northern Helmand province marked a clear political as well as military victory for the Taleban, according to well-placed Afghan officials.

The return of the Taleban, reported in The Times on Monday, prompted a clash in the House of Commons in which Conservative MPs accused Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, of failing to appreciate the gravity of the problem.

In Afghanistan officials said that the return of the Taleban to a town secured and then left by British troops was beyond dispute. “This is the first time in history that the Taleban were recognised as a political movement,” said Haji Dad Mohammed Khan, the former intelligence chief of Helmand, and now an MP in Kabul.

Mr Khan, who lost most of his family to a Taleban ambush this summer, said that since British troops pulled out a few weeks ago the town had become “a shelter for the Taleban”. He named the four main Taleban commanders controlling Musa Qala, and said that the new administration’s police chief and its principal leader, Mullah Malang and Haji Sher Agha, were a front for the Tale ban. Mr Khan added that only four days ago the Taleban kidnapped Ahmad Shahan, a prominent local government official, from the centre of Musa Qala. He has not been seen since.

The Defence Secretary was questioned in the Commons after The Times revealed that the Taleban had returned to Musa Qala. Mr Browne played down the idea that Taleban influence had returned.

He said that neither he nor his officials had heard of Nafaz Khan, a militia commander and former police chief, who was injured fighting alongside the British, and voiced frustration at the reappearance of the Taleban.

Mr Browne’s response was attacked by Crispin Blunt, the Conservative MP for Reigate, who said that rather than searching for Mr Khan’s identity he ought to listen to his troops, who had found that some village elders were supporters of the Taleban.

British troops have withdrawn from Musa Qala after a deal with tribal chiefs under which the town is supposed to be demilitarised and under government control.

It was one of four towns in northern Helmand where British forces came under weeks of fierce and sustained fire after deploying at the request of Mohammed Daud, the governor of Helmand province.

Lieutenant-General David Richards, the Nato commander in Afghanistan, told The Times that he was keeping his eye on the town. He said that Nato forces would return if needed. “I have the right to send troops back into Musa Qala if necessary. If the Taleban start to base themselves there again, then we’ll have to deal with it.”

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