NATO confirmed Afghan Vice-President Dostum denied landing rights in Mazar-i-Sharif


nsnbc : A NATO spokesman confirmed Tuesday that Afghanistan’s Vice-President, Abdul Rashid Dostum, tried to return to Afghanistan overnight, but that his plane was denied permission to land in the northwestern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Abdul Rashid Dostun_Afghanistan_2017_(archives)The 63-year-old ethnic Uzbek warlord and some of his militia guards have been under investigation for months, over allegations of torturing and sexually assaulting an elderly political rival by the name of Ahmad Ishi. Dostum, Afghanistan’s First Vice-President, left for Turkey about two months ago. Dostum said he needed health care. The move led to allegations that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani allowed Dostum to travel abroad under a secret agreement to escape prosecution.

Bill Salvin, spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, told reporters “What happened with General Dostum was that he was denied permission to land in Mazar-i-Sharif. … While we were asked to make a phone call to try and get permission for the first vice president to land, we declined to make that phone call because our commander up in the north said that this is not the role of Resolute Support,” Salvin added, without naming the caller.

Salvin noted that the international mission’s role is to provide training, advice and assistance to Afghan security forces and it would not have been appropriate to intervene in internal Afghan matters. Local media reported that Dostum’s plane was directed to land in the capital Kabul, but instead landed in the neighboring central Asian state of Turkmenistan. Adding mystery, is the fact that Dostum’s spokespeople and political allies in Afghanistan have denied that he was on the plane, saying the first vice president is still in Turkey.

In December 2016 the U.S. State Department expressed its support of President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to investigate allegations of torture and sexual abuse involving First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum. U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby responded to a question about the controversial case involving Fist Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum, saying: “President Ghani has called for an investigation into this, and we support him in that effort. We certainly welcome the release of Mr. Ishchi. … We’re obviously deeply disturbed by his unlawful detention and reported mistreatment by Vice President Dostum.”

ghani_dostum_afghanistan_2016Kirby added: ” President Ghani said they’re going to investigate, as I said. We support that. We look forward to seeing that investigation proceed. We look forward to seeing the results of that investigation. … I mean, broadly speaking, and we’ve said this before, a strong independent justice system is the cornerstone of every stable society. .. And so we stand with the Afghan people as they work towards a stable, peaceful, prosperous future in which human rights are respected, and that rule of law is upheld. So let’s see where the investigation takes us. But obviously, the reports coming out about his unlawful detention and treatment are deeply, deeply disturbing, and I think President Ghani found them also deeply disturbing.”

Aghanistan’s National Security Council (NSC) chaired by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, met and reviewed the case regarding the Attorney General’s report on allegations of torture and sexual abuse against Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum. The office of President Ashraf Ghani noted that the report presented by the Attorney General focused on the circumstances under which to launch an investigation regarding the claims made by Ahmad Khan Ischi.

Also in December 2016, the presidency said the report was reviewed and necessary decisions were taken, However, no further details about the decisions taken during the NSC meeting were providet. Ahmad Ishchi is considered a political rival of Gen. Dostum. Ishchi has claimed that the vice president detained him and forced him to strip naked and that he was beaten by the bodyguards of Gen. Dostum.

Ishchi has also claimed that the vice president even filmed him and the bodyguards during the alleged sexual abuse. The office of the first vice president, in a statement, rejected the allegations as baseless and accused Ischchi of pro-militants activities.

CH/L – nsnbc 19.07.2017



Source Article from https://nsnbc.me/2017/07/19/nato-confirmed-afghan-vice-president-dostum-denied-landing-rights-in-mazar-i-sharif/

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