OREANDA-NEWS. Acting Minister of Defense of the Netherlands Ank Beileveld followed by acting Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag is leaving his post due to a poorly organized evacuation operation from Afghanistan, reports the Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation (NOS).

It is noted that such a decision was made at an emergency congress of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party, of which Beyleveld is a member.

The day before the House of Representatives of the Netherlands (lower house of parliament) took a vote of no confidence in the acting Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag because of the badly organized evacuation operation from Afghanistan. After the vote had taken place, Kaag told about her resignation. A vote of no confidence was also taken with regard to the acting Minister of Defense of the Netherlands Ank Beileveld. In spite of this decision, she said that regardless of the results of the vote, she will remain in the post of defense minister.

Earlier, the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reported that the Dutch government for months ignored urgent requests from the embassy in Kabul to evacuate local employees and their families.

Since the spring of 2020, the Dutch Embassy in Kabul has asked the government in The Hague to prepare for a quick evacuation of the diplomatic missions in case the Taliban * seize power in Afghanistan. This is evidenced by the correspondence between the embassy and the government of Netherlands, which came to the disposal of the publication. Despite urgent requests, the Dutch government postponed until the last minute the decision to evacuate Afghan diplomatic missions.

In addition to staff working in the embassy in Afghanistan, other Afghans who worked for the Netherlands, including translators, still are staying in the country.