The National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan spokesman Bashir Ahmad Tayyanj on Saturday said first Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum is preparing to return to Afghanistan after spending about six months in Turkey.
Dostum on Friday met with Turkish president Rajab Tayeb Erdogan, which according to Tayyanj, was his last meeting in Turkey before returning home.
“An increase of Afghan students in Turkey, regulating Afghan refugees in Turkey and securing Turkey’s attention, a powerful actor, in Afghanistan’s issues were discussed. This was the end of the vice president’s agenda in Turkey and now he is preparing to return to Afghanistan,” said Tayyanj.
For the past few months speculation has been rife as to why Dostum has remained in Turkey. Some have said he is there for medical treatment while others have said he is in exile.
News of his return, come however amid an ongoing investigation by the Attorney General Office’s (AGO) into the Dostum-Eshchi issue. Recently a primary court sentenced seven of Dostum’s bodyguards to eight years in prison after finding them guilty of illegally imprisoning former Jawzjan governor Ahmad Eshchi and of sexually abusing him.
“The AGO can investigate the allegations against the first vice president. But the court cannot rule in the case as a special court must be established,” Abdul Wahid Farzaie, deputy head of Afghanistan's Lawyers Union said.
In Dostum’s absence, the office of the first vice president has also been in limbo – especially as most duties related to the office have been suspended.