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Taliban ‘greet’ Dutch on Afghan pullout

THE HAGUE: The Taliban has congratulated the Netherlands government for the imminent pullout of their troops from Afghanistan, according to a newspaper interview with a spokesman from the group.

“We hope that other countries with troops stationed in Afghanistan will follow the Netherlands example and withdraw their troops,” said Qari Yusuf Ahmadij, who was described as the Taliban’s spokesman for west and south Afghanistan. This was said in an interview given to the Dutch daily Volkskrant.

The deployment of about 1,950 Dutch troops in Afghanistan ends after four years on Sunday amid concerns about the void it will leave.

This sparked a political row that led to the government collapsing in February and the end of the Dutch deployment.

The Labour party, which was part of the governing coalition at the time and was against extending the mission, “took one of the most important decisions ever taken by the Dutch government and its citizens,” Ahmadij said.

“Once again we call on European countries that have soldiers in Afghanistan to leave the country. Because it is not your war, but a war of the United States, which aims to reach their imperialistic objectives in the world and especially in this region,” he said. afp

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