AN Afghan student told a Government minister British troops were forcing people to side with the Taleban.

Hameed Shuja challenged Armed Forces minister Bill Rammell during a discussion at Essex University in Colchester about the conflict in Afghanistan.

He said: “If an Afghan fires at a helicopter with a rifle, you bomb the whole village and that makes people turn against you.

“The people you describe as the bad guys are the man whose wife has been killed and his house bombed by your troops. He wants to seek revenge and goes to the Taleban to fight against you.

“I am not against your presence in Afghanistan, but you have lost your way.”

Mr Rammell said he respected, but disagreed with Mr Shuja’s opinion, and cited an independent poll which reported 66 per cent of Afghans supported the international presence in Afghanistan, while 70 per cent felt progress was being made.

He said: “The Afghan people support us because they are being terrorised by the Taleban.

“For instance, the Taleban do not want girls to go to school and have beheaded teachers who have taught girls to read and write.

“Some sections of the left have forgotten their responsibility to stand up to oppression and I do not understand how anyone progressive can sympathise with the Taleban.”

Mr Rammell said roadside bombs planted by the Taleban had killed more Afghan civilians than foreign troops.

He said: “British troops are not planting bombs outside people’s houses and on roads, which is what the Taleban are doing.

“There have been instances where innocent people have been tragically killed by unintended consequences of our actions.”

The discussion covered why British troops are in Afghanistan, the quality of equipment they have, how success would be measured, and the wider situation in the Middle East.

Mr Rammell said: “We are in Afghanistan for our own safety and security, because the Taleban were harbouring the terrorists who planned 9/11 and attacks against our country.

“I do not use the word winning, I talk of success and building up Afghan forces to take responsibility for their own country and deny terrorists free space to develop their capabilities.”

Mr Rammell said the Taleban membership was “20 per cent Jihadist and 80 per cent people making a living”, and emphasised the importance of fostering economic and political development in Afghanistan.

He praised the “unbelievable bravery, dedication and commitment” of British troops.

* A small, but vocal gaggle of students, bearing placards saying: “This will be your Vietnam” and “Stop the killing, Stop the hate”, welcomed the MP to the Wivenhoe Park campus.

They picketed the Ivor Crewe Lecture Hall before taking their seats and expressing their views in the lively discussion.

Dan Swain, of the Student Stop the War Coalition, said the protestors want UK troops to come home.