BRUSSELS, Dec 19: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) on Friday gave the green light to extending a peacekeeping force in Afghanistan beyond Kabul for the first time.

From Dec 31 a German-led provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in Kunduz will fall under the command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a Nato statement said.

The move agreed by NATO ambassadors is a “first step of a progressive process” to move ISAF beyond Kabul into the Afghan provinces, in line with a UN decision in October to extend the force’s mandate, the statement said.

“The PRT in Kunduz is a pilot project for the further ISAF expansion,” it said.—AFP