Dostum
By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
August 18, 2023
Abdul Rashid Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek warlord and former politician in Afghanistan who is a member of the Supreme Council of National Resistance coalition, has said that his fighters are prepared to act against the Taliban whenever the world comes to the conclusion that it cannot deal with the hard-line extremist group in control in Kabul.
Dostum made the comments during an online meeting of the council on August 17 that was held in connection with the second anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power on August 15, 2021.
Dostum said that the Taliban was unwilling to accept any proposals from the international community, which has expressed concerns over its treatment of women and religious minorities as Afghanistan suffers from a humanitarian crises brought about by drought, economic instability, and difficulties in distributing aid.
Dostum said that the Afghan people are fed up with the rule of the Taliban, which is considered illegitimate by the international community, and called for political support from the United States and other countries in his effort to oust it from power.
The Taliban has not commented on Dostum’s remarks, which were made from Ankara, where he resides in exile.
In 2019, while serving as a first vice president in the former Afghan government, Dostum narrowly survived an assassination attempt claimed by the Taliban and was identified as a key target by the extremist group.
In 2018, Dostum survived a suicide-bomb attack at Kabul airport after a year of self-imposed exile in Turkey after being accused of torturing and abusing a political rival in northern Afghanistan.
Members of the Supreme Council of National Resistance operate from outside Afghanistan.
Dostum led troops against the Taliban two decades ago before spending various stints in senior government defense positions and other posts, including vice president, after the former Taliban government was toppled in 2001.