Taliban welcomes NZDF withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years

The Taliban has welcomed New Zealand’s decision to withdraw the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) troops in May 2021, NZ Herald reports. In his Twitter post, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed also calls on all countries to follow New Zealand’s move to pull out their troops in Afghanistan’s long and unwinnable war. Over the past 20 years, 3500 New Zealand troops and officials were deployed, in a conflict which began after the September 11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York.