Afghanistan's Northern Alliance leaders on Wednesday rejected the deployment of foreign forces in the war-battered country, causing at least a temporary setback to United Nations-brokered peace talks in Bonn.

The Alliance's position is in contrast with the view of the UN and members of the three groups attending the talks, who are believed to favour the deployment of foreign troops to secure control of Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Western diplomats warned it was possible that an agreement in the former German capital may only be a face-saving one after the Alliance also insisted that it wants future talks to take place in Afghanistan.

The UN and the three other Afghan groups favour the demilitarisation of Kabul, occupied by the alliance troops after the Taliban withdrew in the wake of continued US military strikes.

Yunus Qanuni, the Alliance interior minister who is heading its team in Bonn, said: "We prefer that security is looked after by Afghan forces themselves, a force consisting of different ethnic groups and different forces. We don't feel the need for an outside peace force."

Mr Qanuni said the alliance was prepared to reach an agreement on non-contentious issues in Bonn, but added "on points of disagreement, we will hold talks with concerned parties inside Afghanistan".

In the past, other Afghan groups have said they would not go to Kabul as long as the city remains under Alliance control.

"The Northern Alliance is dragging its feet. Unless there's an unexpected change in circumstances, they may not settle for an agreement in Bonn," said one western official. "The Alliance controls the ground and probably feels that it's got enough to prevail at the talks."

Francesc Vendrell, the UN secretary-general's deputy envoy for Afghanistan, said earlier he did not think the talks would fail though "there may not be as much progress as some of you are hoping".

Mr Vendrell's remarks, in contrast to the UN's optimism when talks opened on Tuesday, suggested that the world body was preparing for an eventual face-saving agreement, western officials said.

Meanwhile, Burhanuddin Rabbani, president of the Northern Alliance, left Dubai in the United Arab Emirates last night amid speculation that he was flying to Pakistan for a meeting with government officials.

If confirmed, it would be the highest-level contact between Pakistan and the Alliance in almost five years, since the Taliban overthrew a government headed by Mr Rabbani. Relations between Islamabad and the Alliance have remained bitter in the wake of accusations from Alliance officials over Pakistan's military support for the Taliban.

In the past, Mr Rabbani has accused Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency of funding the Taliban and training its fighters. Pakistan's decision to join the US led alliance in the wake of the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington was followed by high-level changes in the ISI in preparation for an overhaul of the country's Afghan policy.

Western diplomats say Mr Rabbani is keen to re-establish relations with Pakistan.