Dostum’s aide seeks implementation of political pact

KABUL (Tolo News): Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum’s aide said that based on the political agreement, the new government was expected to add thousands of Dostum’s soldiers to the ranks of Afghan security forces, but this has not happened so far.

“In the political agreement between the two teams, it is mentioned that the presence of the security forces and the building of the office of first vice president will be belonged to Marshal Dostum,” said Ihsan Niro, a spokesman for Dostum. Niro said the number of Dostum’s guards has also been reduced in the structure of the National Security Council and the Directorate of Protection and Security of Government’s Officials.

But office of the National Security Council said the decision was made due to lack of budget. The NSC however has not commented on the number of guards and weapons with the political leaders of the country. Currently, there are 180 guards from PPS and 20 from the Afghan National Army who have the responsibility of providing security to Dostum.

“If they want to have more personal guards, they can consult the public protection force for more guards on their own expenses,” said Rahmatullah Andar, a spokesman for the NSC. “Ustad Mohaqiq does not have the ability to pay the salaries of 100 or 80 guards from the Ministry of Interior,” said Ghulam Qader Sikandari, the head of office of Mohammad Mohaqiq, head of the People’s Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan.

According to NSC, the government pays Afs4 billion ($51 million) annually for the security of VIPs. “The government needs to categorize it because there are some people who face high level security threats,” said Arif Rahmani, a member of parliament. “The amount of money considered for the VIPs in Afghanistan is not logic,” said Khalilullah Shankar, a civi society activist in Kabul.

Recently, dozens of military personnel who were serving in the Directorate of Protection and Security of Govermment’s Officails claimed that they were fired from their posts in a discriminatory move. But the NSC rejected the claims. Recently, some other political leaders such as Ahmad Zia Massoud, Mohammad Younus Qanooni, Salahuddin Rabbani, Sayed Hamed Gailan and Zabihullah Mojadadi complained about the reduction in the number of their guards.