The governor of the Afghan province of Uruzgan is pleading with the Dutch government not to withdraw its deployment of 1,500 troops from the region next summer, the Financial Times reports on Tuesday.

The Netherlands is planning to leave the province in August, a year later than the original deadline, and a majority of MPs are opposed to any further delay.
But in an interview with the FD, regional governer Asadullah Hamdam says a Dutch withdrawal will leave the job half done.
‘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. 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,’ the paper quoted him as saying.
The FT says the Dutch decision to go is also causing consternation at Nato headquarters. ‘The Dutch have achieved a lot in the last three years and we hope they reverse their decision,’ a spokesman said. ‘If they stick with the decision to withdraw, it will have important consequences, not least because it will encourage Canada to press ahead with withdrawal from the Nato mission in 2011.’
For the full FT article, click here