Fears over standoff at politician’s home
AFGHANISTAN: Government troops have surrounded the fortified luxury home of Afghanistan’s First Vice President Abdurrashid Dostum in the capital, Kabul, raising fears of a violent confrontation with his armed guards.
The former warlord is accused of brutalising a political rival but has refused to co-operate with a government investigation for several months.
The action came after Dostum repeatedly ignored requests for cooperation from the attorney general’s office in investigating the case, including summonses for nine of Dostum’s guards and other employees wanted for questioning.
Yesterday, Dostum spoke publicly with supporters inside his house, saying he had ordered his guards to avoid any armed clashes. At the same time, he warned that any move to unseat him would weaken the government of President Ashraf Ghani.
In his first public comments on the case since December, when a fellow ethnic Uzbek leader, Ahmad Ishchi, accused Dostum of holding him prisoner, subjecting him to brutal assaults and ordering guards to sodomise him, Dostum dismissed the accusations as ‘‘a conspiracy of the enemies’’.
The allegations against Dostum triggered outrage among Western governments and rights groups, which termed the case a major test of Ghani’s ability to establish the rule of law.
Under Ghani’s direction, the Afghan attorney general began an investigation of the charges.
The latest standoff began yesterday, one day after Dostum suddenly reappeared in his vice presidential office for the first time since November. Armed government forces blocked several roads leading to a cluster of buildings he owns in Sherpur. For hours, the troops remained in place, but there was no shooting or other direct confrontation. – Washington Post