The UK Government is to pay money to Afghan witnesses who are willing to give evidence against suspected Taliban fighters.

The new strategy was revealed yesterday at a shura council meeting of tribal elders, where it also emerged that two suspected insurgents are to face trial after sufficient evidence had mounted against them.

One of the suspects is accused of hanging an Afghan soldier in Musa Qala town square and the other is said to have plotted to kill Hajid Alal, chief of police in the district.

The police chief attended the meeting yesterday, along with a UK Government "stabilisation" official from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who is working to enhance justice policy in Afghanistan.

Tribal laws, established for thousands of years, will remain central to the new approach but the capabilities of the customary approach will now be balanced with the need to administer tough justice on proven Taliban fighters.

Payments will now be given to those who share information on the insurgents, with protection offered to those who speak. Yesterday, elders suggested a fee of $200 to $300 (£100-£150) should be paid to a witness who has agreed to identify Taliban.

The sum was agreed by Justin Holt, stabilisation adviser in Musa Qala, who also advises controversial district governor Mullah Salaam.

The financial rewards on offer outstrip the earning potential of Afghans, most of whom live in extreme poverty. An infectious diseases specialist would earn the equivalent of $70 a month and a teacher $60 a month.

Mr Holt said: "We have a scheme where we offer financial rewards for people who provide evidence, principally for anything which would lead to the safe disposal of mines, which kill five times more Afghans than we do.

"The reward scheme has been in for a week or two. There are many means they can get the information to us. "The customary law would deal with anything that goes on in Afghan society, whether it concerns justice, land disputes or animal disputes.

"We are now trying to introduce a system which overlays that."

The setting up of the Formal Justice Service in Lashkar Gar is making progress, with training of prosecutors and magistrates under way.

But the customary law will be key to its success, Mr Holt said, as the elders' knowledge of suspects will be crucial.

"We still need evidence to go to the prosecution. Customary law has worked for thousands of years, they understand it. If there is a problem you go to the elders to get a resolution."

Mr Holt said that securing the commitments of elders had initially been difficult. Many went on the run when the Taliban laid siege to Musa Qala in 2006.

The British Army retook the town in 2007.

"The shura was slightly rudderless at that time. The Taliban had come back in and many elders went on the run. The shura has started to build up but at the beginning it wasn't too functional."

There were 11 elders at the time of the British invasion, and three came back to serve on the council, Mr Holt said. There are now 40 executive members, but regular attendance is a problem.

"The reasons for them being here are mostly altruistic. They are certainly not here for the money. We don't pay them for being here, we just give them lunch.

"They are really between a rock and a hard place, but to be on the district shura means they are empowered and respected to some extent."

Shura councils are held twice a week. One of the main aims is to review the status of prisoners at the Musa Qala prison and to ensure they are being justly held.

Mr Holt said: "Here people are locked in cells for years for no reason. It is quite medieval. It's like 13th century England here, but with mobile phones."