Canada withdraws call to fire Kandahar governor

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada suggested on Monday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai fire the governor of Kandahar province but quickly withdrew the remark, saying it did not want to interfere in Afghanistan's internal politics.

Canada has a 2,500-strong combat mission based in the Afghan province, where its troops are regularly killed by Taliban roadside bombs. So far, 84 soldiers have died since Ottawa sent troops to Afghanistan in late 2002.

Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier told Canadian reporters in Kandahar city that Karzai would have to decide quickly what to do with Governor Asadullah Khalid.

"Is it the right person in the right place at the right time? President Karzai will have to answer these questions as soon as possible," he said.

Hours later Bernier issued a statement stressing that Afghanistan was a sovereign state that made its own decisions about appointments.

"I can assure you that Canada fully respects this and is not calling for any changes to the Afghan government," he said.

In his comments -- which were shown by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp -- Bernier did not directly criticize Khalid, who has been in his post since 2005. In May 2007, Khalid survived a suicide bomb attack in Kandahar.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)