Afghanistan’s Taliban rebels have congratulated the Netherlands on the withdrawal of its forces from the country. All Dutch troops are due to have withdrawn from the Afghan province of Uruzgan by the end of year.

The Taliban’s spokesman for southern and western Afghanistan, Yusuf Ahmadii, has been interviewed by the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant. He told the paper that the rebels wanted to “offer the people and government of the Netherlands heartfelt congratulations on their courage in making this independent decision”. He hopes other countries will follow suit.

He went on to voice hopes that the Labour Party (PvdA) will be included in the next Dutch government. “The PvdA has made one of the most important decisions for the Dutch government and citizens,” he argued.

It was cabinet disunity over the mission in Afghanistan that precipitated the fall of the Dutch government in February. About 2,000 Dutch servicemen and women were deployed in Uruzgan province. The PvdA was against a further extension of the military mission, while the other coalition members, the Christian Democrats and the Christian Union, were in favour.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide