Afghanistan committee  Yes. You have to understand that the NDS has several sections. One of them, that might be called a correctional service, enforces the law, has the power of arrest and includes an intelligence service. We deal solely with the intelligence service. But, yes, we do have discussions with the NDS on the matter.

Afghanistan committee  Mr. Chair, I went to Afghanistan in September 2009.

Afghanistan committee  That is correct.

Afghanistan committee  As I mentioned in my opening remarks, Mr. Chair, all of CSIS's activities, both in Canada and elsewhere, must respect applicable laws, ministerial directives and internal policies.

Afghanistan committee  As I said, the interviews we conducted were not the main reason for our presence in Afghanistan. We conducted the interviews at the request of the Canadian Forces, but the service's main role in Afghanistan is to support the mission, in other words, to gather intelligence to protect civilians and military personnel, and to alert us to potential threats from those operating in the region against Canada.

Afghanistan committee  Mr. Chair, I think I need to clarify something. We stopped conducting interviews with detainees in the custody of the Canadian Forces in 2007, but we were still in Afghanistan, and we continue to carry out our main mandate. We did not leave Afghanistan in 2007.

Afghanistan committee  That is correct.

Afghanistan committee  We do not give specific training on how to treat prisoners because that is not part of the service's role or mandate.

Afghanistan committee  At the request of the Canadian Forces, our agents conducted interviews for the specific purpose of verifying the identity of detainees.

Afghanistan committee  Once again, Mr. Chair, I feel that answering that question, which has to do with operations, could compromise national security, as well as the physical safety of our personnel in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan committee  First, Mr. Chair, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, the service does not transfer detainees.

Afghanistan committee  Mr. Chairman, in terms of the number of detainees we have interviewed, that is a question I am not going to answer because, in my opinion, it could compromise national security and the security of our employees on the ground in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan committee  I believe revealing the number of interviews gives a window in terms of our capacity on the ground and it could give an idea of the number of people we would have deployed in theatre.

Afghanistan committee  As you know, Mr. Chair, normally, the service neither confirms nor denies the existence of agreements with foreign agencies. However, we have publicly acknowledged that we are in Afghanistan. The service has decided to say that it has come to an agreement with the NDS. This is the Afghan government partner with which we work.

Afghanistan committee  No, Mr. Chair. Once the individual is transferred to the NDS, that individual is subject to a legal process. The service received no specific information about the people that had been transferred.