UPDATES WITH QUOTES FROM POLITICAL ANALYST
By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) – Arrest warrants have been issued for nine guards of Vice President Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum in a case involving the alleged abduction and sexual assault of a political rival, according to the Attorney General’s Office Tuesday.
The move is being seen in Afghanistan as a step by the judiciary to tighten its grip around the fierce warlord.
Ahmad Ischi, a former governor of the Jawzjan province in the Uzbek-heartland of the country, had blamed Dostum in December last year for ordering his abduction and rape by his guards. He also accused the warlord of molesting him.
The Attorney General's Office in the capital Kabul said the warrants were issued when the vice president failed to respond to a number of legal notices issued in the case.
However, no warrant was issued for Dostum himself, who is alleged to be the main accused.
Jamshed Rasuli, Attorney General's Office spokesman, told Anadolu Agency a committee formed by the government to probe the case had given the directives to issue the warrants.
The incident has caught the attention of the international community’s representatives in Kabul who issued instant and stern calls for action from the Afghan government.
In a statement, the EU had called for a transparent official investigation into reports of gross human rights’ violations and abuses against Ishchi who blamed Dostum for “keeping him naked in a private cell, and directing sexual assaults against him for five consecutive days.”
The Afghan government had also condemned the incident, and formed a committee to probe it.
Earlier, Dostum's office had termed the allegations as “baseless efforts to defame” the vice president, adding that he would cooperate with a government investigation.
This is not the first time Dostum has been accused of serious crimes. However, the general has enjoyed impunity in the post-Taliban administration despite many allegations of gross human rights violations and killings of opponents.
So far, Dostum has not responded to the latest move by the judiciary. It also remains unclear who will carry out the orders to arrest his guards given the fact that the warlord is known to respond with violence against anyone he sees as an opponent.
Senior political analyst Ashiqullah Yaqub told Anadolu Agency the chances for Dostum’s arrest or his guards were quite thin.
"This does not seem feasible at least for now, the Attorney General’s Office has just issued warrants for his guards, but the man [Dostum] is very unpredictable, he can even revert to forced retaliation against the police," Yaqub said.
However, he mentioned the fact that Dostum was not as strong in the north as he used to be when he ditched the fragile Communist regime in Kabul in the 1990s that eventually led to the fall of Dr. Najibullah’s government.