They're preparing to stay in Afghanistan to train police officers after Canadian troops pull out next year, Royal Canadian Mounted Police has said.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has reported that RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said he expects his officers will stay to provide the Afghan police officers training.

It was also reported that about 50 RCMP and other civilian Canadian police are in Afghanistan to train the Afghan National Police.

But Canadian combat troops, who provide protection for the country's police officers, are slated to leave Afghanistan next summer.

He has had "indications" from the Afghan government that it wants the Canadian training of its police officers to continue after the troops withdraw, Elliott, who is visiting Kandahar this weekend, said.

But "there are a lot more questions than answers at the moment," he added.

Elliott also said that if Ottawa decides to boost the number of RCMP officers in Afghanistan, "We'll be able to carry out whatever task the government of Canada gives us here."

Training ANP officers, many of them illiterate, is not easy in a force mistrusted by locals and widely known for corruption, roadside shakedowns and hitting suspects, he noted.

Elliott further said, "We are working not with a modern police force, and not with recruits that would meet the standards of Canadian recruits." (With Inputs from Agencies)