New Zealand moves for complete withdrawal of military forces from Afghanistan in May

New Zealand will be withdrawing the last of its
forces in Afghanistan in May, 2020, effectively ending a deployment panning
over two decades in the Asian nation, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
announced on Wednesday, further saying that the internal peace process in the
country would indicate a long-standing political solution in the face of the
conflict-affected state of it, AFP reported.

“After 20 years of a NZDF presence in
Afghanistan, it is now time to conclude our deployment,” Ardern was quoted
by AFP as saying.

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A total of about 3,500 citizens of the Oceanic
country have served in Afghanistan since 2001, which includes special forces
and officer training specialists among others.

“The deployments to Afghanistan have been one of
the longest running in our history. I wish to acknowledge the 10 New Zealanders
who lost their lives in the line of duty, and the more than 3,500 NZDF and
other agency personnel, whose commitment to replace conflict with peace will
always be remembered”, Ardern noted.

Heaving witnessed a steady cutdown in recent years,
the current deployment has a total of six personnel – three at the Afghan officer
training academy, and three more at the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation (NATO).

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Jens Soltenberg, Secretary General to NATO, said
earlier this week that the group was not considering a withdrawal of troops
from Afghanistan “before the time is right”.