Netherlands pulls several embassy staff from Pakistan

The Netherlands said on Monday it has pulled several embassy staff members from Pakistan over persistent threats, reportedly from Islamists angry over anti-Islam tweets by the far-right politician Geert Wilders.

Although the Dutch embassy in Islamabad remains open and visa requests are still being handled, “a whole number of people” have returned to the Netherlands, Foreign Minister Stef Blok said.

“Unfortunately Dutch citizens are being threatened, Dutch diplomats,” Blok told a news programme on Radio 1 channel.

“That is serious enough already” for the step to be taken, said Blok, adding that he had spoken with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi about the issue. He not specify how many embassy staff were affected by the move.

Last week, the Netherlands said its ambassador Ardi Stoios-Braken has faced “threats” in Pakistan, apparently over “blasphemous depictions” by Wilders on Twitter.

Wilders in August called off a planned Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) cartoon competition that stirred anger in Pakistan, but the MP has since posted several such images on the social network.