LONDON, March 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Royal marines en route to Afghanistan will disembark at a base in the Gulf later this week after diplomatic efforts failed to persuade Pakistan to let them land at Karachi, a British daily newspaper reported.

The British Ministry of Defense was forced to make alternative plans after Pakistani authorities expressed continuing concern over British requests to move weapons and a 1,700-man commando battle group through Karachi, The Times said.

The 250 marines from 45 Commando on HMS Ocean, a helicopter carrier, will instead fly from a Gulf state to Kabul or Bagram in Afghanistan by C130 Hercules transport aircraft.

The 105mm light guns, which are expected to be the key weapon system for the Royal Marines once they start offensive operations next month, will also be flown to Afghanistan by Hercules.

The change of plan is not expected to significantly delay the deployment of troops.

Small numbers of logistics elements of the commando battle group have already arrived in Afghanistan, flying direct to Kabul. The first “bayonet-carrying” commandos are not expected to deploy to Afghanistan until later this week. More SAS and Royal Marines Special Boat Service troops are also believed to be arriving in Afghanistan to back the Americans in the next phase of the anti-terror campaign.

Brigadier Roger Lane, the commander of 3 Commando Brigade who will lead the battle group, arrived at Bagram near Kabul Sunday to begin discussions with U.S. military commanders over the deployment of the 1,700-strong British force. The Royal Marines will operate under U.S. command and work closely with American soldiers already stationed in Afghanistan to root out remaining pockets of Al-Qaeda and Taliban resistance.

The imminent arrival of the Royal Marines comes after a warning that foreign peacekeepers from the British-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul are under threat of kidnapping or car bombing by Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters seeking the release of detained comrades.

As the marines arrive in Kabul, Pakistan’s tribal leaders from the mountainous areas along the border with Afghanistan warned American commanders who have suggested that they might enter the region in pursuit of Al-Qaeda fighters to keep out, a leading U.S. daily newspaper, the New York Times, reported.

In separate interviews, tribal leaders said they saw America as the enemy and that no foreigner may go into the tribal areas without permission. According to a New York Times report, that warning must be taken seriously, especially that “for the last 53 years, until December, no soldiers, not even Pakistanis, were allowed in”.

Meanwhile, Washington officials close to the Pentagon revealed that U.S. defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, has expressed “growing dissatisfaction” with General Tommy Franks, the commander-in-chief of Central Command, who is responsible for fighting the war in Afghanistan and would also be in charge of any attack on Iraq, the British daily newspaper, Telegraph reported.

Rumsfeld criticized what he called the “too cautious” approach being taken by the general leading the war in Afghanistan. Senior U.S. officials are said to be impatient that General Franks has still been unwilling to call on larger numbers of U.S. troops to finish the job.

Last week, General Franks traveled to Bagram air base in Afghanistan to present medals to five soldiers involved in the battle. The operation was the first large-scale deployment of American ground troops in combat since the campaign began.