Liberal Leader Stephane Dion and Deputy Leader Michael Ignatieff have met with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai in Kabul.

But a CTV reporter in Kandahar said Saturday the meat of the meeting -- a continued presence by Canadian combat troops -- hasn't come out yet.

"That is the real heart of the matter here," he told Newsnet. "There are too few troops in Afghanistan, not too many."

A Liberal news release issued Saturday said they told Karzai that while the party believes Canada's combat mission should end in 2009, the party supports the continuation of diplomatic and development efforts.

"We are convinced after the day we've had that we will have plenty of things to do that will involve, yes, to take risks, but anywhere we will go whether Darfur or Haiti, there are always risks," Dion told reporters in Kabul.

"We are not afraid of the risks. But we want to sure that we have a balanced mission after 2009 that will be optimally helpful for the people of Afghanistan."

Karzai's reaction to the statement isn't known yet, but Oliver said reports indicate he thanked Canada for its service in his country to date.

Canada has about 2,500 troops operating in Kandahar province, one of the most violent regions in the country. Seventy-six of them have died since 2002, along with a Canadian diplomat.

The current mandate from Parliament has the combat mission ending in February 2009, but Prime Minister Stephen Harper would like to see it extended.

He is awaiting the report of a special blue-ribbon panel, chaired by hawkish former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley, to recommend a path forward for the mission.

Other issues

Dion and Ignatieff said they agreed with Karzai on the use of air and artillery strikes as weapons in the counter-insurgency fight.

The use of such firepower is being blamed for civilian deaths.

Dion and Ignatieff said they wanted a NATO-wide solution that protects detainees from being transferred into situations where they could face torture.

"This was a wonderful opportunity to meet face-to-face with President Karzai to hear first-hand the impact that troops and civilians are having here," Dion said.

"The Liberal Party of Canada is very proud of the contributions our men and women in uniform have made to try to bring peace and stability to this region."

"We had a very fruitful discussion about the NATO mission in Afghanistan and Canada's role in it. I hope it was the first of many more to come," Ignatieff said.

While Ignatieff is the party's deputy leader, Bob Rae, the former Ontario NDP premier, is the Liberals' foreign affairs critic.

With files from The Associated Press