KABUL: An explosion near Kabul’s international airport injured severalpeople on Sunday, officials said, shortly after Afghan Vice President AbdulRashid Dostum returned to the country after more than a year in exile.
Scores of senior government officials, political leaders and supporters hadgathered at the airport to greet the powerful ethnic Uzbek leader andformer warlord, clad in a Western suit and sunglasses.
An explosion was heard as the convoy of vehicles was departing. But Dostum,who was travelling in an armoured vehicle, was unharmed, said his spokesmanBashir Ahmad Tayanj.
“The blast was probably caused by a suicide bomber,” said interior ministryspokesman Najib Danish, adding there were an unknown number of casualties.
Dostum, who is linked to a catalogue of human rights abuses in Afghanistan,was mobbed like a celebrity as he left the chartered plane from Turkeywhere he has lived since May 2017.
His return, which has been the subject of much speculation, comes amidviolent protests in several provinces across northern Afghanistan, histraditional power base.
Thousands of Dostum´s supporters have taken to the streets in recent weeks,shuttering election and government offices and blocking sections ofhighways to demand the release of a pro-government militia leader and callfor Dostum´s return.
Expectations of the return did little to quell the unrest, with protestersvowing Sunday to continue demonstrating until the burly leader of the Uzbekethnic minority tells them otherwise.
“We don´t trust the government. We will continue our protests unlessGeneral Dostum tells us to stop,” Ehsanullah Qowanch, a protest leader inFaryab province, told AFP.
Qowanch also repeated calls for the release of Nezamuddin Qaisari — adistrict police chief and Dostum´s provincial representative in Faryab –whose arrest earlier this month ignited the protests.
Another protester, Massoud Khan, said: “We have been on the streets for 20days now. We are not going to stop our protests unless our demands are met.”‘Known killer’
Observers say President Ashraf Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, gave the greenlight for Dostum to come home to stabilise the north and secure Uzbeksupport before next year´s presidential election, which he is widelyexpected to contest.
Dostum left Afghanistan in May 2017 after he was accused of organising therape and torture of a political rival.
He had denied the allegations and said his departure was for medicalcheck-ups and family reasons.
Ghani in 2009 described Dostum as a “known killer”. Yet he chose him as hisrunning mate in the 2014 presidential election, underlining the sometimesuncomfortable ethnic realities of Afghan politics.
Presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri said Saturday that Dostum hadbeen “treated” and would resume his duties upon his return.
Seven of Dostum´s bodyguards have been convicted of the sexual assault andillegal imprisonment of Ahmad Ishchi, a former governor of the northernprovince of Jowzjan, in 2016.
Dostum allegedly had Ishchi abducted in Jowzjan and then kept him hostagein his private compound for several days, where the captive was said tohave been tortured and sodomised.
Chakhansuri deflected questions about whether Dostum would face chargesover the incident, saying “the judiciary is an independent body, thegovernment does not interfere in their decisions”.
Dostum is one of several controversial figures whom Kabul has sought toreintegrate into mainstream politics since the US-led invasion in 2001.
His heroic status in the north belies the barbarities for which he is known.
Dostum, who helped the United States oust the Taliban regime in 2001,allegedly allowed hundreds of Taliban prisoners to be suffocated inshipping containers. – APP/AFP