BROWN TO SEND 900 TROOPS DESPITE ‘ANTI-WOMEN’ LAWS

Speaking at the end of the Nato summit in Strasbourg yesterday Gordon Brown indicated Britain would increase its 8,300-strong troop contingent in Afghanistan.

Up to 2,000 extra British troops are eventually set to deploy there to support a US-led military surge aimed at defeating the Taliban. A total of 152 British troops have died in Afghanistan since 2001.

Other Nato countries, including Spain, Poland and Turkey, also indicated they would increase the level of military support following a personal request from US President Barack Obama.

Mr Obama said Nato partners would deploy an extra 5,000 troops and military trainers. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said 900 new troops would come from Britain, 600 from Germany and 600 from Spain. Italy and France were committing fresh forces too, he added.

The commitments came despite mounting international concern about proposals to reintroduce strict religious laws for Shia Muslim women in Afghanistan.

Critics claim the proposals would legalise marital rape and force women to get permission from a male relative before stepping outside the family home.

Mr Brown said he had expressed his “grave concerns” to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a telephone call.

The Prime Minister said he had received an assurance from President Karzai that the legislation would be returned to the Afghan parliament “if necessary”. President Karzai insisted the new laws, which could shore up Shia Muslim support for his re-election later this year, had been misinterpreted.