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Afghan governor warns Dutch troops over pullout

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LONDON: The governor of an Afghan province pleaded Tuesday with the Netherlands not to withdraw troops from the region next year, warning its job is "only half finished," a report said.

Asadullah Hamdam, the governor of Uruzgan, said he has been asking the Dutch government to reverse its decision, amid fears a pullout will create instability in the region undergoing critical economic development.

"The people of Uruzgan are very familiar with the Dutch - they have spent a lot of time here - and they are asking them to stay," he told UK newspaper.

"We are very happy with what the Dutch security forces have done here. "If they do leave, it will mean they are going at an important time and with their job only half finished," he said in the provincial capital.

Nearly 2,000 Dutch soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan, mostly in Uruzgan, as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

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