Abdul Rashid Dostum

Abdul Rashid Dostum (1954 (1955?)-) is an Afghan warlord of Uzbek ethnicity, whose strength is centered on Mazar-e-Sharif. and, like many Afghan leaders, has frequently shifted alliances. He appears to be in exile in Turkey.

Early life
Born to a poor family, he worked on farms, and as a plumber, until he joined the Afghan army in 1978, where he rose rapidly under the Soviet-friendly government. He commanded an armored force that protected the Soviet northern supply route,

He supported the Gorbachev-era Communist reforms in Afghanistan and was allied with the government of President Mohammed Najibullah to defend the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the U.S. and Pakistani-backed mujahedin.

He joined the mudhahedin as Najibullah fell, joining with Ahmed Shah Massoud  to capture Kabul. He briefly joined the mujahideen government of Burhanuddin Rabbani, then moved into an alliance with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. They attacked Kabul in 1994, against the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani and Massoud. The forces he commanded in Kabul in the mid-1990s were accused of atrocities against civilians and extensively looted the capital.

Taliban period
In 1996, following the rise of the Taliban and their capture of Herat and Kabul, Dostum realigned himself with Rabbani against the Taliban. Along with General Mohammed Fahim and Ismail Khan, Dostum was one of three factional leaders that comprised the Northern Alliance. While much of the rest of Afghanistan was in ruins, his stronghold of Mazar-e-Sharif.

General Dostum grew rich, but his rule was harsh. He is reported to have frequently ordered public executions of criminals, who were usually crushed to death under tanks. While he was brutal with those who offended him, he allowed fairly liberal social conditions in his area of influence. .. Within his areas of control, he encourages women to live and work freely, as well as music, sports, alcohol, and allows for people of other religions.

It is claimed that he financed his army with profits from the opium trade

The Taliban captured Mazar-e-Sharif in 1997, which sent him to  Uzbekistan and Iran, and, in 1998, to Turkey. Abdul Malik, Dostum’s rival and current leader of Afghanistan Liberation Party, worked with the Taliban to drive him out.

The Dasht-i-Leili massacre took place in 1998, and involved Dostum's followers, although its timing with respect to his flight is unclear. Physicians for Human Rights have charged him with interfering with the graves in November 2001 and the war crimes investigation.

He returned in 2000 to join the Northern Alliance, seeking to avenge himself on the Taliban. The leader of the second largest party, Junbish-e Melli, in the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, General Dostum directed the campaign to recapture Mazar-e-Sharif - the town he once ruled. Dostum then consolidated his power base in the north, strengthening his hold on an area which covered six provinces with a population of around five million.

In November of 2002, the United Nations began an investigation of alleged human rights abuses by Dostum. Witnesses claimed that Dostum jailed and tortured witnesses to prevent them from testifying in a war crimes case. Dostum is also under suspicion for the events of the Dasht-i-Leili massacre

Northern Zone
At the height of his power in 1997 - at the age of 43 - he controlled a kind of mini-state in northern Afghanistan. Karzai appointed him as a special adviser on security and military affairs, with effective control over security affairs in the northern Afghan provinces of Balkh, Jowzan, Sar-e Pol, Samangan, and Faryab.

In March of 2003, he established a North Zone of Afghanistan, against the wishes of interim president Hamid Karzai. On May 20, 2003, Dostum signed an agreement to no longer serve as Karzai's special envoy for the northern regions. Karzai continued to cut down the size of militias.

Forces loyal to Dostum continue to clash with forces loyal to Tajik General Atta Mohammed.

Current role
President Hamid Karzai appointed Dostum as the Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Afghan National Army in March 2005. This largely ceremonial post was intended to reduce Dostum’s power in the north. In February 2008, Dostum was suspended on charges that he abducted a rival, Akbar Bai, an ethnic Turkmen and former member of General Dostum’s party; police surrounded his home.

It was reported that he was flown to Turkey, as part of a special operation arranged by the Turkish government, to avoid scandal over the impending investigations into his involvement in the kidnapping and beating of political rivals.

He did not register as a presidential candidate in the upcoming 2009 election.