Abdul
Rashid Dostum (also Abdurrashid
Dostum, born 1954) is the Deputy Defense Minister of Afghanistan and an
Uzbek warlord.
He began as a union boss in the 1970s until he formed an Uzbek militia. He
supported the Gorbachev-era Communist reforms in Afghanistan. He defended
the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the United
States-backed mujahedin in the 1980s. Although he was only a regional
commander, he had largely raised the militia he fought with on his own.
In 1992, he mutinied against the government of Mohammed Najibullah, allying
with Ahmed Shah Massoud. Together, they captured Kabul, the Afghan capital.
In
1994, Dostum again switched sides, allying with forces of Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar, in once more laying siege on Kabul, this time against the
government of Burhanuddin Rabbani and Massoud.
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.
In 2001, he returned from exile on the heels of a U.S.-led bombing campaign
that drove the Taliban from power. Since then, he has run parts of the
country's north as his own fiefdom, nominally serving as a deputy defense
minister in the national government in Kabul but operating almost totally
independent of the government.
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.
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.
Rashid Dostum is considered to be the biggest murderer in Afghan history
by many. His forces have allegedly been accused of rape, looting and
massacring thousands. Human rights organisations have ranked him as one
of the most notorious figures in Afghanistan. He will be remembered as
"The butcher" by the coming generations in Afghanistan.