AIBAK - Protestors, demanding the release of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum’s aide Nizamuddin Qaisari, on Saturday blocked the Kabul-Balkh highway in northern Samangan province.
Qaisari, a top commander of Vice-President Dostum in Faryab, was arrested by Afghan National Army commandos in Maimana and transferred to Kabul last week.
Similar protests have also been staged in Jawzjan, Sar-i-Pul, Baklh and Takhar provinces. Wednesday’s demonstration in Faryab turned violent as the protestors torched the governor’s house and several other government buildings.
The same day, a high-level government delegation from Kabul arrived in Faryab and met local tribal elders. After the meeting, the protests were called off until the elimination of security risks.
The meeting also decided that those who violated the decision would be dealt with sternly in accordance with the law.
However, hundreds of people in Samangan closed the Kabul-Balkh highway at 7:30am and demanded the release of Qaisari.
The protestors, carrying photos of the first VP, former Balkh governor Atta Mohammad Noor and Mohammad Mohaqiq, chanted long live Dostum and death to Ghani.
Abdul Aziz Noor, a protestor, told Pajhwok Afghan News the Uzbek tribe had voted for President Ghani. Instead of work for the tribe’s welfare, the president arrested and insulted Uzbek elders, he alleged.
He said they wanted the immediate release of Qaisari and return of Gen. Dostum to the country. (Pajhwok)