Islam Times - Ex-commander of Canadian forces jailed in Afghanistan

Islam Times - A disgraced former head of Canadian forces in Afghanistan has been reportedly jailed in the capital Kabul over his firm’s license to operate as a private security company in the war-torn country.

The ex-commander of the 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (5 CMBG) Daniel Menard was previously fined and demoted for having sexual relationship with a female subordinate while on duty in Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar in 2010.

But now reports suggest that Menard has been held in a jail in Kabul for nearly three weeks over an administrative issue concerning his firm’s license to operate in Afghanistan as a private security firm.

The former Canadian brigadier-general, who was detained by Afghan police on January 12, appeared in a court in the Afghan capital on Wednesday.

Menard has been employed by the global security firm GardaWorld as managing director for Afghanistan since November 2011.

GardaWorld spokesman Joe Gavaghan said in an interview that Menard’s arrest was related to an “administrative misunderstanding.”

“This involves some kind of administrative issue with our operating license. It was kind of a technicality. It’s been cleared up and we believe that the individual is going to be released very shortly,” Gavaghan said.