The Afghan special forces with air support on Sunday night in Panjshir province attempted to arrest Keramuddin Karim, ex-president of the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF), said deputy provincial governor, Mohammad Amin Sediqi.

The operation was launched around 10:00pm local time in Sangana village in Bazarak district of the province, Sediqi said, adding that the operation was launched with no coordination with local forces.

There are reports that the special forces clashed with Keramuddin’s men but Sediqi has not confirmed the clashes. 

Security officials have not yet commented on the operation. 

On June 8, 2019, months after internal investigations and pressure from human rights activists, the International Football Federation (FIFA) banned Karim from the organization for allegations he sexually abusing female football players. 

FIFA found Karim guilty and said he “abused his position and sexually abused various female players, in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics.” 

Karim is accused of repeated sexual abuse of female players, the majority of whom were minors, from 2013 to 2018, according to the FIFA investigation. 

A month ago, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland denied an appeal by Karim and upheld his ban for life from the sport for accusations of sexually abusing players from the women’s national team. 

Nearly a month ago, rights groups criticized the Afghan government for not managing to arrest Karim. 

The arrest warrant for Karim was issued in June 2019, however, he has not been arrested.