The Afghan government decided to expel two high-ranking diplomats accused of holding talks with Taliban militants.

Briton Mervyn Patterson, a senior UN employee, and the acting head of the EU mission in Afghanistan, Irishman Michael Semple have been accused of posing a threat to national security. The Kabul government on Tuesday ordered them to leave the country within 48 hours.    

Both men visited the volatile Helmand province on Monday, the United Nations saying they talked with several people in the Musa Qala district. The two experienced diplomats did not discuss with Taliban militants, the organization stressed.

“We see no basis for such a decision but we respect the sovereignty of the government of Afghanistan and have every intention to abide by that decision,” UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said.

Siddique said the Afghan government misinterpreted the Musa Qala meeting and the whole situation is just a “misunderstanding.”

The UN said both men have agreed to leave Afghanistan but hope the issue will be sorted out and they’ll return as soon as possible.

Even so, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's spokesman, Humayun Hamidzada said Semple and Patterson were involved in activities “that were not their jobs.”

The two diplomats have worked in Afghanistan for more than ten years and speak local languages fluently, Patterson being an expert in tribal affairs.

Both men have worked in Afghanistan for many years, speak local languages fluently and understand the country's complex tribal structures. Two of the men working with them have been reportedly arrested.

The dispute comes amid claims that agents from Britain's Secret Intelligence Service had held peace talks with insurgents. The report was published Wednesday by the British Daily Telegraph, nearly two weeks after British Premier Gordon Brown outlined that his government will not negotiate with the Taliban.