BRUSSELS, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen embarked on a short visit to war-torn Afghanistan on Thursday, Dutch news service ANP reported Thursday.

    He will be holding talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Sima Samar of the independent Afghan human rights organization AIHRC about the treatment of prisoners and human rights, ANP said.

    The minister will also raise the question of capital punishment, media law and the low number of police officers in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan with the president.

    The Netherlands has some 1,700 soldiers stationed in Uruzgan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

    During Verhagen's trip, he is accompanied by his Slovak counterpart Jan Kubis and Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Baska. Slovakia recently pledged to send 250 soldiers to Uruzgan.