OSLO, April 27 (Reuters) - NATO on Friday welcomed Afghanistan's readiness to investigate allegations that Taliban suspects captured by Canadian soldiers had been tortured after being handed over to Afghan police.

NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer said he always stressed the importance NATO attached to respect for "universal values" in meetings with the Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai.

"Part of those universal values is adequate treatment of prisoners and detainees," he told a news conference after the issue was discussed at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

"I am happy with what I saw on the basis of these universal values that the Afghan government is ready to launch an inquiry into these allegations."

The Canadian government said on Wednesday it had demanded answers from Kabul after a newspaper published a secret internal report showing Canada's government was aware last year that detainees were regularly abused in Afghanistan.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Monday that it had talked to 30 suspected Taliban militants who say they were beaten, whipped and mistreated by Afghan authorities after being handed over by Canadian troops.

The case is rapidly becoming the biggest crisis to hit Canada's minority Conservative government since it took power after the January 2006 election.

It has increased the uneasiness felt by many opposition legislators about the 2,500-strong Canadian mission in the southern city of Kandahar. Canada has lost 54 soldiers so far, nine in the last two weeks.

International conventions prevent a country from handing over prisoners if there is reason to suspect possible abuse. One leading expert on international law says if the allegations are proven, then Canada would be guilty of war crimes.

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