An Afghan man who worked as an interpreter for the Dutch army is being allowed to stay in the Netherlands after all, the NRC says on Thursday.

Abdul Ghafoor Ahmadzai worked for the Dutch army in Uruzgan and first fled to Norway in 2010 after his brother was murdered. He came to the Netherlands when his asylum claim there was rejected.

The former junior justice minister Fred Teeven planned to deport Ahmazai to Norway, where he faced being returned to Afghanistan, but later relented and told the immigration services to investigate his case.

IND officials have now decided Ahmadzai can stay. His lawyer Wil Eikelboom told the NRC Ahmadzai is ‘delighted, relieved and most of all looking forward to being reunited with his family’.

Ministers said last October there is to be no new ruling to protect foreigners who act as interpreters for the Dutch army on foreign missions, despite opposition calls for action.

Around 120 locals worked for the Dutch as interpreters in Uruzgan between 2006 and 2010.