(Adds quotes, background) OTTAWA, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday rejected calls from an opposition party to change the focus of the country's mission in Afghanistan, a move that could increase the chances of an early election. An opposition party, the Bloc Quebecois, has threatened to introduce a motion of nonconfidence in the minority Conservative government early next year unless the government ensures Canada's 2,500 troops in the war-torn country focus more on rebuilding and less on combat. "I don't plan to call an election on Afghanistan. I certainly don't plan, once we've sent troops into a dangerous area ... (to) call into question what they're doing," Harper told a news conference. More than 40 Canadian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002, most of them dying this year in suicide blasts or clashes with Taliban militants. "We've made a commitment to our allies, our troops are working hard, they're in a dangerous situation -- our government's not going to stand back here and play political games ... we have a moral obligation to stand behind these people," Harper said. The left-leaning New Democrats want the troops to be pulled out while the main opposition Liberal Party -- which, when in government, originally sent troops to Afghanistan -- says the force should be helping the process of reconstruction.
