Editing Abdul Rashid Dostum

{{Short description|Afghan Field Marshal, politician (born 1954)}}
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{{Lead too long|date=April 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Abdul Rashid Dostum
| office              = [[Vice President of Afghanistan|First Vice President of Afghanistan]]
| honorific_suffix    = {{small|[[Hero of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|HDR(A)]]}} {{small|[[Order of the Red Banner (Afghanistan)|O.R.(B)]]}}{{small|
[[Medal for Service in State Security|MSSS]]}}
| native_name         = {{nobold|{{nq|عبدالرشید دوستم}}}}{{pb}}
| native_name_lang    = prs
| image               = Abdul Rashid Dostum in September 2014.jpg
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Dostum in September 2014
| predecessor         = [[Yunus Qanuni]]
| president           = [[Ashraf Ghani]]
| successor           = [[Amrullah Saleh]]
| signature           = 
| birth_name          = 
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1954|03|25|df=y}}<ref name="WT2008">{{cite news |title=Big fish among the Afghan warlords |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/12/big-fish-among-the-Afghan-warlords/?page=all |work=[[The Washington Times]] |date=12 October 2008 |quote=Gen. Dostum, 54 |access-date=6 March 2012 |archive-date=25 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225213549/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/12/big-fish-among-the-Afghan-warlords/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| birth_place         = [[Khwaja Du Koh District|Khwaja Du Koh]], [[Jowzjan province|Jowzjan]], [[Kingdom of Afghanistan]]
| death_date          = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DtD}} -->
| death_place         = 
| blank1              = Nationality
| data1               = [[Afghans|Afghan]]
| party               = [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan|PDPA]] (until 1992)<br/>[[Junbish-e Milli]] (from 1992)
| relations           = 
| website             = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| nickname            = Pasha (پاشا)
| allegiance          = {{flagicon|Afghanistan|1974}} [[Republic of Afghanistan (1973-1978)|Republic of Afghanistan]]<br>(1976–1978)<br />{{flagicon|Afghanistan|1987}} [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]<br>(1978–1992)<br />{{flagicon|Afghanistan|1978a}} [[Junbish-e Milli]]<br>(1992–1996)<br />{{flagicon|Afghanistan|1992}} [[Northern Alliance]]<br>(1996–2001)<br />{{flagicon|Afghanistan|2013}} [[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]]<br>(2001–2021)
| branch              = [[Afghan Army]]
| serviceyears        = 1976–2021
| rank                = [[File:Afgn-Army-Marshal(Field Marshal).svg|15px]] [[Field Marshal]]
| unit                = *2nd Infantry Division
**444th Commando Battalion
*[[6th Corps (Afghanistan)|6th Corps]]
| commands            = {{tree list}}
*  [[Afghan Army]]
** [[File:Roundel of Afghanistan (1980–1987) – Army.svg|23px]] [[Afghan Commando Forces]] (formerly)
{{tree list/end}}
| battles             = {{tree list}}
* [[Saur Revolution]]
* [[Soviet–Afghan War]]
** [[Siege of Khost]]
** [[Battles of Zhawar|Second Battle of Zhawar]]
** [[Battle of Arghandab (1987)|Battle of Arghandab]]
* [[Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)|First Afghan Civil War]]
** [[Battle of Jalalabad (1989)|Battle of Jalalabad]]
* [[Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)|Second Afghan Civil War]]
** [[Battle of Kabul (1992–1996)|Battle of Kabul]]
** [[Afshar Operation]]
* [[Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)|Third Afghan Civil War]]
** [[Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–1998)|Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif]]
* [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
** [[United States invasion of Afghanistan|US invasion of Afghanistan]]
**[[Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif]]
**[[Siege of Kunduz]]
**[[Battle of Qala-i-Jangi]]
**[[Dasht-i-Leili massacre]]
** [[Operation Enduring Freedom]]
** [[Taliban insurgency]] 
** [[Battle of Darzab (2017)|Battle of Darzab]]
** [[2021 Taliban offensive]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards              = [[File:Hero DRA.png|24x24px]] [[Hero of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]<br/>[[File:Order_of_red_banner_afg_rib.PNG|24x24px]] [[Order of the Red Banner (Afghanistan)|Order of the Red Banner]]<br/>[[File:Ribbon of Medal for Service in State Security (Afghanistan)Untitled105 20250125020016.png|24x24px]] [[Medal for Service in State Security (Afghanistan)|Afghan KGB Medal]]<br/>[[File:Second_ribbon_bar_of_the_Order_of_Saur_Revolution.png|29px]] {{small|[[Order of the Saur Revolution]]}}
| image_size          = 
| term_start          = 29 September 2014
| term_end            = 19 February 2020
| placeofburial       = 
| placeofburial_label = 
| placeofburial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| servicenumber       = 
| battles_label       = 
| laterwork           = 
| honorific_prefix    = [[Marshal]]
}}

'''Abdul Rashid Dostum''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Abdul Rashid Dostum from Afghanistan pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|ˈ|ɑː|b|d|əl|_|r|ə|ˈ|ʃ|iː|d|_|d|oʊ|ˈ|s|t|uː|m}} {{respell|AHB|dəl|_|rə|SHEED|_|doh|STOOM}}; {{langx|prs|عبدالرشید دوستم}}; [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] [[Uzbek alphabet|Latin]]: {{lang|uz-Latn|Abdurrashid Do'stum}}, Uzbek [[Uzbek alphabet|Cyrillic]]: {{lang|uz-Cyrl|Абдуррашид Дўстум}}, {{IPA|uz|ˈæbdurræˈʃid dosˈtum|IPA}}; born 25 March 1954) is an Afghan former [[Officer (armed forces)|military officer]], [[warlord]] and [[exile]]d politician. He is the founder and leader of the [[Junbish-e Milli]] political party, and was a senior army officer in the military of the former [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghan communist]] government during the [[Soviet–Afghan War]], initially part of the [[Afghan Commando Forces]]. In 2001, Dostum became a key indigenous ally{{Sfn|Harnden|2021|p=54}} to the [[U.S. Special Forces]] and the [[CIA]] during the campaign to topple the [[Taliban]] government. He is one of the most powerful [[warlord]]s since the beginning of the [[Afghan conflict]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Esfandiari |first=Golnaz |date=2 March 2005 |title=Afghanistan: Powerful Commander Gets High-Ranking Military Post |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1057773.html |website=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721220334/https://www.rferl.org/a/1057773.html |url-status=live }}</ref> infamous for being an opportunist and siding with winners during Afghanistan's several civil wars.<ref>{{cite news |last=Partlow |first=Joshua |date=23 April 2014 |title=He was America's man in Afghanistan. Then things went sour. Now Abdurrashid Dostum may be back. |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/dostum-a-former-warlord-who-was-once-americas-man-in-afghanistan-may-be-back/2014/04/23/9d1a7670-c63d-11e3-8b9a-8e0977a24aeb_story.html |access-date=4 January 2018 |archive-date=4 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104192525/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/dostum-a-former-warlord-who-was-once-americas-man-in-afghanistan-may-be-back/2014/04/23/9d1a7670-c63d-11e3-8b9a-8e0977a24aeb_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Dostum was also referred to as a [[kingmaker]] due to his significant role in [[politics of Afghanistan|Afghan politics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jamestown.org/program/the-return-of-the-kingmaker-afghanistans-general-dostum-ends-his-exile/|title = The Return of the Kingmaker: Afghanistan's General Dostum Ends his Exile}}</ref>

An ethnic [[Uzbek people|Uzbek]] from a peasant family in [[Jawzjan province]], Dostum joined the [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan]] (PDPA) as a teenager before enlisting in the [[Afghan Army]] and training as a [[paratrooper]], serving in his native region around [[Sheberghan]]. Following the outbreak of the [[Soviet–Afghan War]], Dostum commanded a [[KHAD]] paramilitary unit and eventually gained a reputation for defeating [[Afghan mujahideen|mujahideen]] commanders in northern Afghanistan and even persuading some to defect to the communist cause. As a result, the communist government gained effective control over the country's north. He achieved several promotions in the army and was honored as a "Hero of Afghanistan" by President [[Mohammed Najibullah]] in 1988.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |last=Riedel |first=Bruce |date=30 November 2001 |title=The Warlord Who Defines Afghanistan: An Excerpt from Bruce Riedel's 'What We Won' |url=https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/the-warlord-who-defines-afghanistan-an-excerpt-from-bruce-riedels-what-we-won/ |website=[[Brookings Institution]] |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110124047/https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/the-warlord-who-defines-afghanistan-an-excerpt-from-bruce-riedels-what-we-won/ |url-status=live }}</ref> By this time he was commanding up to 45,000 troops in the region under his responsibility.<ref name="auto">{{Cite thesis |last=Hwang |first=Benjamin E. |date=2007 |title=Understanding Warlordism |url=http://hdl.handle.net/10945/3592 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028044207/https://www.soc.mil/SWCS/DOTDP/AY_2007/Hwang,%20B%202007.pdf |archive-date=28 October 2020 |access-date=23 February 2023 |publisher=[[Naval Postgraduate School]]|hdl=10945/3592 }}</ref>

Following the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], Dostum played a central role in the collapse of Najibullah's government by "defecting" to the mujahideen; the [[division (military)|division]]-sized<ref name="auto" /> loyal forces he commanded in the north became an independent paramilitary of his newly founded party called [[Junbish-e Milli]].<ref name="auto2"/> He allied with [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]] and together they captured [[Kabul]], before another civil war loomed.<ref name="auto5">{{Cite web |last=Cockburn |first=Patrick |date=1 December 2001 |title=Rashid Dostum: The treacherous general |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/rashid-dostum-treacherous-general-9224857.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308011259/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/rashid-dostum-treacherous-general-9224857.html |archive-date=2021-03-08 |website=[[The Independent]]|location=London}}</ref> Initially supporting the new government of [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]], he switched sides in 1994 by allying with [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]], but he backed Rabbani again by 1996. During this time he remained in control of the country's north which functioned as a relatively stable [[proto-state]], but remained a loose partner of Massoud in the [[Northern Alliance]]. A year later, [[Mazar-i-Sharif]] was overrun by his former aide [[Abdul Malik Pahlawan]], resulting in a battle in which he regained control. In 1998, the city was overrun by the [[Taliban]] and Dostum fled the country until returning to Afghanistan in 2001, joining the Northern Alliance forces after the [[US invasion of Afghanistan|US invasion]] and leading his loyal faction in the [[Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif]].<ref name="auto5" />

After the fall of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Taliban-led government]], he joined interim president [[Hamid Karzai]]'s administration as Deputy Defense Minister and later served as chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Afghan Army, a role often viewed as ceremonial.<ref name="canada.com">{{Cite web |last=Pugliese |first=David |date=10 May 2007 |title=Former Afghan warlord says he can defeat Taliban |url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=1acb5330-dfe8-4f0e-8a1b-4f581478244f&k=44800&p=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521102841/http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=1acb5330-dfe8-4f0e-8a1b-4f581478244f&k=44800&p=1 |archive-date=21 May 2008 |access-date=22 April 2008 |publisher=CanWest News Service}}</ref> His militia feuded with forces loyal to general [[Atta Muhammad Nur]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2003-10-09 |title=Factional Fighting Escalates in Afghanistan |url=https://www.voanews.com/archive/factional-fighting-escalates-afghanistan-2003-10-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721130432/https://www.voanews.com/archive/factional-fighting-escalates-afghanistan-2003-10-09 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |website=[[Voice of America]] }}</ref> Dostum was a candidate in the [[2004 Afghan presidential election|2004 elections]], and was an ally of victorious Karzai in the [[2009 Afghan presidential election|2009 elections]]. From 2011, he was part of the leadership council of the [[National Front of Afghanistan]] along with [[Ahmad Zia Massoud]] and [[Mohammad Mohaqiq]]. He served as [[Vice President of Afghanistan]] in [[Ashraf Ghani]]'s administration from 2014 to 2020. In 2020, he was promoted to the rank of [[marshal]] after a political agreement between Ghani and former Chief Executive [[Abdullah Abdullah]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ansar |first=Massoud |date=8 June 2020 |title=Sources Report Rift over Marshal Rank for Dostum |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/sources-report-rift-over-marshal-rank-dostum-0 |access-date=23 February 2023 |website=[[TOLOnews]] |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817212837/https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/sources-report-rift-over-marshal-rank-dostum-0 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 11 August 2021 during the [[2021 Taliban offensive|Taliban's nationwide offensive]], Dostum fled across [[Hairatan]] to Uzbekistan.<ref name=":2" /> In 2021 he pledged allegiance to the [[National Resistance Front of Afghanistan]], and formed the ''Supreme Council of National Resistance of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan'' in opposition to the new Taliban government.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /> Dostum now resides in exile in Turkey, and on 15 September 2024 urged groups opposed to Taliban rule to form a government-in-exile.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Azadi |first=RFE/RL's Radio |title=Veteran Warlord Dostum Seeks Parallel Afghan Government To Undermine Taliban |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-dostum-taliban-government-opposition/33121836.html |access-date=2024-12-06 |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=TV |first=Amu |date=2024-09-16 |title=Dostum calls for formation of 'government-in-exile' |url=https://amu.tv/124043/ |access-date=2024-12-06 |website=Amu TV |language=en-US}}</ref>

Dostum is a controversial figure in Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Putz |first=Catherine |date=13 July 2017 |title=Kabul's Dostum Problem |url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/kabuls-dostum-problem/ |website=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721130432/https://thediplomat.com/2017/07/kabuls-dostum-problem/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=25 September 2001 |title=Profile: General Rashid Dostum |publisher=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1563344.stm |access-date=18 March 2009 |archive-date=8 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408185925/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1563344.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> He is seen as a capable and fierce military leader<ref>{{Cite journal|title=With the State against the State? The Formation of Armed Groups|first=Klaus|last=Schlichte|date=10 August 2009|journal=Contemporary Security Policy|volume=30|issue=2|pages=246–264|doi=10.1080/13523260903059799|doi-access=free}}</ref> and remains wildly popular among the [[Uzbeks in Afghanistan|Uzbek community]] in the country.<ref name="auto4">{{Cite web |last=MacKenzie |first=Jean |date=17 July 2009 |title=Hero on horseback, or mass murderer? |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2009-07-17/hero-horseback-or-mass-murderer |website=[[The World (radio program)|The World]] |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721215945/https://www.pri.org/stories/2009-07-17/hero-horseback-or-mass-murderer |url-status=live }}</ref> Many of his supporters call him "[[Pasha]]" (پاشا), an honorable Uzbek/Turkic term.<ref name="auto5"/> However, he has also been widely accused of committing atrocities and [[war crimes]], most notoriously the suffocation of up to 1,000 Taliban fighters in the [[Dasht-i-Leili massacre]], and he was widely feared among the populace.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Mashal|first1=Mujib|date=16 May 2020|title=Afghan Power-Sharing Deal Would Promote General Accused of Rape|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/world/asia/afghanistan-general-rape-dostum.html|access-date=20 July 2020|archive-date=2 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702203700/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/16/world/asia/afghanistan-general-rape-dostum.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Afghanistan's most feared warlord says sorry to victims of conflict|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10369344/Afghanistans-most-feared-warlord-says-sorry-to-victims-of-conflict.html|website=The Telegraph|date=10 October 2013 |access-date=21 July 2021|archive-date=21 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721215944/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/10369344/Afghanistans-most-feared-warlord-says-sorry-to-victims-of-conflict.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |last=Shariff |first=Omar |date=3 April 2014 |title=Afghanistan's most feared warlord |url=https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/afghanistans-most-feared-warlord-1.1313234 |website=[[Gulf News]] |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721215945/https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/afghanistans-most-feared-warlord-1.1313234 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) was reported to be considering launching an inquiry into whether Dostum had engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42908396|title=International Criminal Court judges consider Afghanistan war crimes inquiry|publisher=BBC News|date=2 February 2018|access-date=20 July 2020|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806183758/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42908396|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Early life ==
{{expand section|small=no|date=October 2014}}
Dostum was born in 1954 in [[Khwaja Du Koh]] near [[Sheberghan]] in Jowzjan province, Afghanistan. Coming from an impoverished ethnic [[Uzbeks|Uzbek]] family, he received a very basic traditional education as he was forced to drop out of school at a young age. From there, he took up work in the village's major [[Natural gas field|gas fields]].

== Career ==
Dostum began working in 1970 in a state-owned gas refinery in [[Sheberghan]]. He began participating in [[Trade union|union]] politics when the [[Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)|republican government]] led by [[Mohammad Daoud Khan|Daoud Khan]] started to arm the staff of the workers in the oil and gas [[refineries]]. The reason for this was to create "groups for the [[Defense of the Revolution]]". As a result of the new [[communist]] ideas entering Afghanistan in the 1970s, Dostum enlisted in the Afghan Army in 1976. He received his basic military training in [[Jalalabad]] and his [[Squadron (army)|squadron]] was deployed in the rural areas around Sheberghan, under the auspices of the Ministry of National Security.<ref name="globalsecurity">{{Cite web |title=Abdul Rashid Dostum |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/dostum.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301152731/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/afghanistan/dostum.htm |archive-date=1 March 2009 |access-date=18 March 2009 |publisher=[[GlobalSecurity.org]]}}</ref> According to photographic evidence, Dostum additionally received airborne training and still chooses to wear two first-class "Master Paratrooper" Afghan jump wings.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dostum Calls for Political Settlement to Conflict |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-170205 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=TOLOnews}}</ref>

As a [[Parcham]] faction member of the [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan]] (PDPA), he was exiled after the purge of Parcham by the party's [[Khalq]]ist faction leaders, living in [[Peshawar]], Pakistan for a while. After the Soviet invasion ([[Operation Storm-333]]) and installation of [[Babrak Karmal]] as head of state, Dostum returned to Afghanistan, where he started commanding a local pro-government militia in his native Jawzjan Province.<ref name="auto2"/>

=== Soviet–Afghan War ===
{{Main|Soviet–Afghan War}}
By the mid-1980s, he commanded a force of around 20,000 paramilitaries and controlled the northern provinces of Afghanistan.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1563344.stm |title=Profile: General Rashid Dostum |publisher=BBC News |access-date=18 March 2009 |date=25 September 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408185925/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1563344.stm|archive-date=8 April 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> While the unit recruited throughout Jowzjan and had a relatively broad base, many of its early troops and commanders came from Dostum's home village. He left the army after the purge of [[Parcham]]ites, but returned after the [[Soviet Army|Soviet]] occupation began.<ref name="globalsecurity" />

During the [[Soviet–Afghan War]], Dostum was commanding a paramilitary battalion to fight and route [[mujahideen]] forces; he had been appointed an [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] due to prior military experience. This eventually became a regiment and later became incorporated into the defense forces as the [[53rd Division (Afghanistan)|53rd Infantry Division]]. Dostum and his new [[Division (military)|division]] reported directly to President [[Mohammad Najibullah]].<ref>Marshall, p. 3</ref> Later on, he became the commander of the [[military unit]] 374 in [[Jowzjan]]. He defended the Soviet-backed Afghan government against the mujahideen forces throughout the 1980s. While he was only a regional commander, he had largely raised his forces by himself. The Jowzjani militia Dostum controlled was one of the few in the country that was able to be deployed outside its own region. They were deployed in [[Kandahar]] in 1988 when [[Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan|Soviet forces were withdrawing]] from Afghanistan.<ref name="afghanistan">{{Cite web |title=Abdul Rashid Dostum |url=http://www.islamicrepublicofafghanistan.com/abdul-rashid-dostum/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310122509/http://www.islamicrepublicofafghanistan.com/abdul-rashid-dostum/ |archive-date=10 March 2009 |access-date=18 March 2009 |publisher=[[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]]}}</ref>

Due to his efforts in the army, Dostum was awarded the title "Hero of the Republic of Afghanistan" by President Najibullah.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Adamec |first=Ludwig W. |title=Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780810878150 |pages=112 |author-link=Ludwig W. Adamec}}</ref>

=== Civil war and northern Afghanistan autonomous state ===
{{Main|Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)}}
Dostum's men would become an important force in the [[Battle of Kabul (1992–1996)|fall of Kabul]] in 1992, with Dostum deciding to defect from Najibullah and allying himself with opposition commanders [[Ahmad Shah Massoud]] and [[Sayed Jafar Naderi]],{{Sfn|Vogelsang|2001|p=324}} the head of the [[Isma'ili]] community, and together they captured the capital city. With the help of fellow defectors [[Mohammad Nabi Azimi]] and [[Abdul Wakil]], his forces entered Kabul by air in the afternoon of 14 April.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kakar |first=M. Hassan |url=http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft7b69p12h/ |title=Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-1982 |publisher=University of California Press |year=1995 |location=Berkeley |access-date=23 February 2023 |archive-date=11 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511192249/http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft7b69p12h/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He and Massoud fought in a coalition against [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]].<ref name="afghanistan" /> Massoud and Dostum's forces joined to defend Kabul against Hekmatyar. Some 4,000–5,000 of his troops, units of his [[Sheberghan]]-based 53rd Division and [[Balkh]]-based Guards Division, garrisoning [[Bala Hissar, Kabul|Bala Hissar]] fort, Maranjan Hill and [[Khwaja Rawash Airport]], where they stopped Najibullah from entering to flee.<ref>Anthony Davis, 'The Battlegrounds of Northern Afghanistan,' [[Jane's Intelligence Review]], July 1994, p.323-4</ref>

Dostum then left Kabul for his northern stronghold [[Mazar-i-Sharif]], where he ruled, in effect, an independent region (or '[[proto-state]]'), often referred as the Northern Autonomous Zone. He printed his own Afghan currency, ran a small airline named [[Balkh Air]],{{Sfn|Vogelsang|2001|p=232}} and formed relations with countries like [[Uzbekistan]] effectively creating his own [[proto-state]] with an army of up to 40,000 men, and with tanks supplied by Uzbekistan and Russia. While the rest of the country was in chaos, his region remained prosperous and functional, and it won him the support from people of all ethnic groups. Many people fled to his territory to escape the violence and fundamentalism imposed by the [[Taliban]] later on.<ref>''The Last Warlord: The Life and Legend of Dostum, the Afghan Warrior Who Led US Special Forces to Topple the Taliban Regime'' by Brian Glyn Williams, 2013</ref> In 1994, Dostum allied himself with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar against the government of [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]] and Ahmad Shah Massoud, but in 1995 sided with the government again.<ref name="afghanistan" />

=== Taliban era ===
{{Main|Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)}}
Following the rise of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan|Taliban]] and their capture of Kabul, Dostum aligned himself with the [[Northern Alliance]] (United Front) against the Taliban.<ref name="afghanistan" /> The Northern Alliance was assembled in late 1996 by Dostum, Massoud and [[Karim Khalili]] against the Taliban. At this point, he is said to have had a force of some 50,000 men supported by both aircraft and tanks.

Much like other Northern Alliance leaders, Dostum also faced infighting within his group and was later forced to surrender his power to General [[Abdul Malik Pahlawan]]. Malik entered into secret negotiations with the Taliban, who promised to respect his authority over much of northern Afghanistan, in exchange for the apprehension of [[Ismail Khan]], one of their enemies.<ref name="Johnson">{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Thomas H. |date=July 2004 |title=Ismail Khan, Herat, and Iranian Influence |url=http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/jul/johnsonJul04.asp |url-status=dead |journal=[[Strategic Insights]] |publisher=Center for Contemporary Conflict |volume=III |issue=7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040811091257/http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/jul/johnsonJul04.asp |archive-date=11 August 2004 |access-date=20 March 2007}}</ref><ref>De Ponfilly, Christophe(2001); ''Massoud l'Afghan''; Gallimard; {{ISBN|2-07-042468-5}}; p. 75</ref> Accordingly, on 25 May 1997, Malik arrested Khan, handed him over and let the Taliban enter Mazar-e-Sharif, giving them control over most of northern Afghanistan. Because of this, Dostum was forced to flee to Turkey.<ref name="Hardcastle_Book">page 6-8 – {{Cite book| last = Nate Hardcastle| author-link = Nate Hardcastle| title = American Soldier: Stories of Special Forces from Grenada to Afghanistan| date = 28 October 2002|edition= 2002|pages= 364 | publisher = Thunder's Mouth Press| isbn= 1-56025-438-6}}</ref> However, Malik soon realized that the Taliban were not sincere with their promises as he saw his men being disarmed. He then rejoined the Northern Alliance and turned against his erstwhile allies, driving them from Mazar-e-Sharif. In October 1997, Dostum returned from exile and retook charge. After Dostum briefly regained control of Mazar-e-Sharif, the Taliban returned in 1998, and he again fled to [[Turkey]].<ref name="afghanistan" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hri.ca/forthereCord1998/bilan1998/documentation/security/s-1998-222.htm|title=''La situation en Afghanistan et ses conséquences pour la paix et la sécurité internationales''|last=UN Security Council report|publisher=Human Rights Internet|access-date=20 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165006/http://www.hri.ca/forthereCord1998/bilan1998/documentation/security/s-1998-222.htm|archive-date=30 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Operation Enduring Freedom ===
{{Main|Operation Enduring Freedom|Battle of Qala-i-Jangi}}
[[File:Abdul Rashid Dostum VOA Jan 22 2002 retouched.jpg|thumb|200px|Dostum in early 2002]]
Dostum returned to Afghanistan in May 2001 to open up a new front before the U.S.-led campaign against the Taliban joined him, along with Commander Massoud, [[Ismail Khan]] and [[Mohammad Mohaqiq]].<ref name="bbc" /> On 17 October 2001, the CIA's eight-man Team Alpha, including [[Johnny Micheal Spann]] landed in the Dar-e-Suf to link up with Dostum.{{Sfn|Harnden|2021|p=78}} Three days later, the 12 members of [[Special Forces (United States Army)|Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 595]] landed to join forces with Dostum and Team Alpha.<ref name="nationalgeographic">{{Cite web|year=2007 |url = http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0203/story.html#story_3|title = The Legend of Heavy D & the Boys:In the Field With an Afghan Warlord|publisher = [[National Geographic Society]]| access-date = 22 April 2008 | author=Robert Young Pelton | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080406030343/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0203/story.html| archive-date= 6 April 2008 | url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name="ODA595">{{Cite web|year=2007 |url = https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/campaign/interviews/595.html|title = ODA 595|publisher = [[PBS]]| access-date = 22 April 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080429063752/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/campaign/interviews/595.html| archive-date= 29 April 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> Dostum, the Tajik commander Atta Muhammad Nur and their American allies defeated Taliban forces and recaptured Mazar-i-Sharif on 10 November 2001.{{Sfn|Harnden|2021|p=132}}

On 24 November 2001, 15,000 Taliban soldiers were due to surrender after the [[Siege of Kunduz]] to [[United States Army|American]] and Northern Alliance forces. Instead, 400 Al-Qaeda prisoners arrived just outside Mazar-i-Sharif. After they surrendered to Dostum, they were transferred to the 19th century [[prison|garrison]] fortress, [[Qala-i-Jangi]]. The next day, while being questioned by CIA officers Spann and David Tyson, they used concealed weapons to revolt, triggering what became the [[Battle of Qala-i-Jangi]] against the guards. The uprising was finally brought under control after six days.{{Sfn|Harnden|2021|p=275}}

=== Dasht-i-Leili massacre ===
{{Main|Dasht-i-Leili massacre|Afghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death}}
Dostum has been accused by Western journalists of responsibility for the suffocating or otherwise killing of [[Taliban]] prisoners in December 2001,<ref name="NYT2001" /> with the number of victims estimated as 2,000. In 2009, Dostum denied the accusations and US President [[Barack Obama|Obama]] ordered an investigation into the massacre.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-07-12 |title=Obama orders probe of alleged mass grave |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31879223 |access-date=2024-05-10 |publisher=NBC News}}</ref>

=== Karzai administration ===
{{Further|Presidency of Hamid Karzai}}
[[File:Abdul Rashid Dostum (50940845098).jpg|thumb|Dostum (left) in 2005]]
In the aftermath of Taliban's removal from northern Afghanistan, forces loyal to Dostum frequently clashed with [[Tajik people|Tajik]] forces loyal to [[Atta Muhammad Nur]]. Atta's men kidnapped and killed a number of Dostum's men, and constantly agitated to gain control of Mazar-e-Sharif. Through the political mediations of the Karzai administration, the [[International Security Assistance Force]] (ISA) and the United Nations, the Dostum-Atta feud gradually declined, leading to their alignment in a new political party.

Dostum served as deputy defense minister the early period of the [[Presidency of Hamid Karzai|Karzai administration]]. On 20 May 2003, Dostum narrowly escaped an assassination attempt.<ref>{{cite web|title=Dostum, Abdul Rashid|url=http://afghan-bios.info/index.php?option=com_afghanbios&id=439&task=view&total=2001&start=439&Itemid=2|website=Afghan Biographies|access-date=16 January 2017|archive-date=23 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223232705/http://afghan-bios.info/index.php?option=com_afghanbios&id=439&task=view&total=2001&start=439&Itemid=2|url-status=live}}</ref> He was often residing outside Afghanistan, mainly in Turkey. In February 2008, he was suspended after the apparent kidnapping and torture of a political rival.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/world/africa/03iht-03afghan.9704363.html|title=Afghan police lay siege to home of former warlord|first=Abdul Waheed|last=Wafa|newspaper=The New York Times|date=3 February 2008|access-date=21 October 2018|archive-date=30 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730050749/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/world/africa/03iht-03afghan.9704363.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Time in Turkey===
Some media reports in 2008 stated earlier that Dostum was "seeking political asylum" in Turkey<ref>"[http://quqnoos.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2188&Itemid=48 Dostum seeking asylum in Turkey – media reports]{{Dead link|date=June 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}," Quqnoos.com, 6 December 2008, retrieved 6 December 2008</ref> while others said he was exiled.<ref>"[http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/244638,afghan-general-rashid-dostum-flies-to-exile-in-turkey.html Afghan general Rashid Dostum flies to exile in Turkey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012131401/http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/244638,afghan-general-rashid-dostum-flies-to-exile-in-turkey.html |date=12 October 2014 }}," Deutsche Presse-Agentur via earthtimes.org, 4 December 2008, retrieved 6 December 2008</ref> One Turkish media outlet said Dostum was visiting after flying there with then Turkey's Foreign Minister [[Ali Babacan]] during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).<ref>"[http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=160690&bolum=102 Afghan warlord in Turkey but not in exile, official says]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}," Today's Zaman, 5 December 2008, retrieved 6 December 2008</ref>

On 16 August 2009, Dostum was asked to return from exile to Afghanistan to support President Hamid Karzai in his bid for [[2009 Afghan presidential election|re-election]]. He later flew by helicopter to his northern stronghold of Sheberghan, where he was greeted by thousands of his supporters in the local stadium. He subsequently made overtures to the United States, promising he could "destroy the Taliban and al Qaeda" if supported by the U.S., saying that "the U.S. needs strong friends like Dostum."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/22/afghan-warlords-will-fight-if-us-gives-aid/?feat=home_headlines&|title=Afghan warlords will fight if U.S. gives weapons|last=Motlagh|first=Jason|author2=Carter, Sara A.|date=22 September 2009|work=[[The Washington Times]]|access-date=23 September 2009|archive-date=7 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607122649/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/22/afghan-warlords-will-fight-if-us-gives-aid/?feat=home_headlines&|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Ghani administration ===
{{Further|Ghani cabinet}}
[[File:Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) signing ceremony-6.jpg|thumb|Dostum (second from right) at the signing of the [[U.S.–Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Agreement#Signing of SADCA|Bilateral Security Agreement]] on 30 September 2014]]
On 7 October 2013, the day after filing his nomination for the [[2014 Afghan presidential election|2014 general elections]] as running mate of [[Ashraf Ghani]], Dostum issued a press statement that some news media were willing to welcome as "apologies": "Many mistakes were made during the civil war (…) It is time we apologize to the Afghan people who were sacrificed due to our negative policies (…) I apologize to the people who suffered from the violence and civil war (…)".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bezhan|first1=Frud|title=Former Afghan Warlord Apologizes For Past 'Mistakes'|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-dostum-warcrimes-apology/25130594.html|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=8 October 2013|access-date=28 April 2016|archive-date=28 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428060948/http://www.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-dostum-warcrimes-apology/25130594.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Dostum was directly chosen as First [[Vice President of Afghanistan]] in the [[2014 Afghan presidential election|April–June 2014 Afghan presidential election]], next to [[Ashraf Ghani]] as president and [[Sarwar Danish]] as second vice president.

In July 2016, [[Human Rights Watch]] accused Abdul Rashid Dostum's [[National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan]] of killing, abusing and looting civilians in the northern [[Faryab Province]] during June.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-07-31 |title=Afghanistan: Forces Linked to Vice President Terrorize Villagers |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/31/afghanistan-forces-linked-vice-president-terrorize-villagers |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=Human Rights Watch|archive-date=9 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209205219/https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/31/afghanistan-forces-linked-vice-president-terrorize-villagers |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="australian0801">{{cite news|title=Taliban kills 24 police in two days|newspaper=The Australian|date=1 August 2016}}</ref> Militia forces loyal to Dostum stated that the civilians they targeted – at least 13 killed and 32 wounded – were supporters of the Taliban.<ref name=australian0801 />

In November 2016, at a [[buzkashi]] match, he punched his political rival Ahmad Ischi, and then his bodyguards beat Ischi. In 2017, he was accused of having Ischi kidnapped in that incident and raped with a gun on camera during a five-day detention, claims that Dostum denies but that nevertheless forced him into exile in Turkey.<ref>{{cite news |date=28 November 2016 |title=Afghan VP 'punches, kidnaps' rival at traditional sporting event |work=[[The New Arab]] |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/blog/2016/11/28/afghan-vp-punches-kidnaps-rival-at-traditional-sporting-event |access-date=18 May 2018 |archive-date=18 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518200733/https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/blog/2016/11/28/afghan-vp-punches-kidnaps-rival-at-traditional-sporting-event |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/world/asia/afghanistan-dostum-ghani-plane.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/18/world/asia/afghanistan-dostum-ghani-plane.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited|title=Afghan Vice President's Return Thwarted as Plane Is Turned Back|first1=Mujib|last1=Mashal|first2=Najim|last2=Rahim|date=18 July 2017|access-date=4 January 2018|work=The New York Times}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On 26 July 2018, he narrowly escaped a suicide bombing by [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province|ISIL-KP]] as he returned to Afghanistan at [[Kabul airport]]. Just after Dostum's convoy departed the airport, an attacker armed with a [[suicide vest]] bombed a crowd of several hundred people celebrating his return at the entrance to the airport. The attack killed 14 and injured 50, including civilians and armed security.<ref name="rferl.org">{{cite web |date=22 July 2018 |title=Afghan Vice President Dostum Escapes Suicide Attack; 14 Others Killed |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-vice-president-dostum-to-return-to-kabul-amid-torture-claims/29381984.html |access-date=21 October 2018 |website=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |archive-date=14 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114160050/https://www.rferl.org/a/afghan-vice-president-dostum-to-return-to-kabul-amid-torture-claims/29381984.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 30 March 2019, Dostum again escaped an expected assassination attempt while traveling from [[Mazar-e-Sharif]] to [[Jawzjan Province]], though two of his bodyguards were killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the second in eight months.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sahak |first=Abdul Matin |date=30 March 2019 |title=Afghan vice president narrowly escapes death for a second time|work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-dostum/afghan-vice-president-narrowly-escapes-death-for-a-second-time-idUSKCN1RB0HO |access-date=30 March 2019 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330163917/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-dostum/afghan-vice-president-narrowly-escapes-death-for-a-second-time-idUSKCN1RB0HO |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 11 August 2021 during the [[2021 Taliban offensive|Taliban's nationwide offensive]], Dostum, along with [[Atta Muhammad Nur]], led the government's defence of the city of Mazar-i-Sharif.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Varshalomidze |first1=Tamila |last2=Siddiqui |first2=Usaid |date=11 August 2021 |title=Afghan leader rallies forces in Taliban-besieged northern city |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/11/afghanistan-provinces-city-taliban-ghani-mazar-i-sharif-live-news |website=[[Al Jazeera English]] |access-date=11 September 2021 |archive-date=10 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110143458/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/11/afghanistan-provinces-city-taliban-ghani-mazar-i-sharif-live-news |url-status=live }}</ref> Three days later, they fled across [[Hairatan]] to Uzbekistan. Atta Nur claimed that they were forced to flee due to a "conspiracy".<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=2021-08-14 |title=Afghan militia leaders Atta Noor, Dostum escape 'conspiracy'|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghan-militia-leaders-atta-noor-dostum-escape-conspiracy-2021-08-14/ |access-date=2021-08-15 |archive-date=14 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814235651/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghan-militia-leaders-atta-noor-dostum-escape-conspiracy-2021-08-14/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Both men later pled allegiance to the [[National Resistance Front of Afghanistan]], the remaining remnants of the collapsed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Lucas |first=Scott |date=6 September 2021 |title=Afghanistan: The warlords who will decide whether civil war is likely |url=https://theconversation.com/afghanistan-the-warlords-who-will-decide-whether-civil-war-is-likely-167380 |website=[[The Conversation (website)|The Conversation]] |access-date=11 September 2021 |archive-date=20 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120122748/http://theconversation.com/afghanistan-the-warlords-who-will-decide-whether-civil-war-is-likely-167380 |url-status=live }}</ref> Dostum, Atta, [[Yunus Qanuni]], [[Abdul Rasul Sayyaf]] and some other political figures formed the ''Supreme Council of National Resistance of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan'' in opposition to the new Taliban government in October 2021.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=23 October 2021 |title=Islamic Emirate Reacts to Newly-Formed 'Resistance Council' |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-175143 |website=[[TOLOnews]] |access-date=22 November 2021 |archive-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122142747/https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-175143 |url-status=live }}</ref> Dostum now resides in exile in Turkey, and on 15 September 2024 urged groups opposed to Taliban rule to form a government-in-exile.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" />

== Political and social views ==
Dostum is considered to be [[liberalism|liberal]] and somewhat [[leftist]]. Being ethnic Uzbek, he has worked on the battlefield with leaders from all other major ethnic groups, Hazaras, Tajiks and Pashtuns.<ref>{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Brian Glyn |date=6 July 2016 |title=The State Department Insults the Afghan Vice President (And All Afghan Uzbeks) |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-glyn-williams/post_12508_b_10802718.html |access-date=4 January 2018 |website=[[HuffPost]] |archive-date=12 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170512151820/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-glyn-williams/post_12508_b_10802718.html |url-status=live }}</ref> When Dostum was ruling his northern Afghanistan proto-state before the Taliban took over in 1998, women were able to go about [[Veil|unveiled]], girls were allowed to go to school and study at the [[University of Balkh]], cinemas showed [[Cinema of India|Indian films]], music played on television, and [[Vodka|Russian vodka]] and [[Beer in Germany|German beer]] were openly available: activities which were all banned by the Taliban.{{Sfn|Vogelsang|2001|p=232}}

{{Blockquote
|text=We will not submit to a government where there is no whisky and no music.
|author=Dostum to his aides during the rise of the [[Taliban]] in {{Circa|1995}}<ref name="auto5"/><ref name="auto3">{{Cite news|date=1 December 2001|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12131965.the-peace-seeking-missile-profile-general-abdul-rashid-dostum/|title=The peace-seeking missile profile general abdul rashid dostum|website=The Herald|location=Glasgow|access-date=21 July 2021|archive-date=21 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721134457/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12131965.the-peace-seeking-missile-profile-general-abdul-rashid-dostum/|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

He viewed the [[ISAF]] forces attempt to crush the Taliban as ineffective and has gone on record saying in 2007 that he could mop up the Taliban "in six months"<ref name="canada.com" /> if allowed to raise a 10,000 strong army of Afghan veterans.<ref name="canada.com" /> As of 2007, senior Afghan government officials did not trust Dostum as they were concerned that he might be secretly rearming his forces.<ref name="canada.com" />

==Personal life==
Dostum is more than {{convert|183|cm|ft}} tall and has been described as "beefy". He generally prefers to wear a Soviet-style camouflage military uniform, previously having worn [[Kamuflirovannyi Letnyi Maskirovochnyi Kombinezon|KLMK]], having a trademark bushy moustache.<ref name="auto3"/><ref name="auto1"/>

Dostum was married to a woman named Khadija. According to [[Brian Glyn Williams]], Khadija had an accidental death in the 1990s which broke Dostum as he "really loved his wife". Dostum eventually remarried after Khadija's death.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 July 2014 |title=Author Says Dostum Is Not A Blood-thirsty Warlord |url=https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/25459519.html |website=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721215945/https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/25459519.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

He named one of his sons Mustafa Kamal, after the founder of the modern Turkish Republic, [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]].<ref name=":1" /> Dostum has spent a considerable amount of time in [[Turkey]], and some of his family reside there.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kardas |first=Saban |date=8 December 2008 |title=Dostum Says He Is Not in Exile in Turkey and Remains a Potent Force in Afghanistan |url=https://jamestown.org/program/dostum-says-he-is-not-in-exile-in-turkey-and-remains-a-potent-force-in-afghanistan/ |website=[[Jamestown Foundation]] |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721215945/https://jamestown.org/program/dostum-says-he-is-not-in-exile-in-turkey-and-remains-a-potent-force-in-afghanistan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dostum is known to drink [[Alcoholic drink|alcohol]], a rarity in Afghanistan, and apparently a fan of [[Russian vodka]]. He reportedly suffered from [[diabetes]].<ref name="auto4"/> In 2014 when he became vice president, Dostum reportedly gave up drinking for healthy meals and morning jogs.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 December 2014 |title=Afghanistan's Warlord-Turned-VP Abdul Rashid Dostum Fights for Fitness |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/afghanistans-warlord-turned-vp-abdul-rashid-dostum-fights-fitness-n265451 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |access-date=21 July 2021 |archive-date=21 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721215944/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/afghanistans-warlord-turned-vp-abdul-rashid-dostum-fights-fitness-n265451 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
* [[Navid Negahban]] portrays Dostum in the 2018 film ''[[12 Strong]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kroll|first=Justin|title=Chris Hemsworth's Afghanistan War Drama 'Horse Soldiers' Adds 'Homeland's' Navid Negahban|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/chris-hemsworth-afghanistan-war-movie-horse-soldiers-navid-negahban-1201921032/|access-date=16 January 2018|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=17 November 2016|archive-date=5 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205181603/http://variety.com/2016/film/news/chris-hemsworth-afghanistan-war-movie-horse-soldiers-navid-negahban-1201921032/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Dostum appears as a playing card in the [[board game]] ''A Distant Plain,'' part of [[COIN (board game)|a series]] of wargames simulating historic insurgency and counterinsurgency conflicts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gmtgames.com/adistantplain/ADP-PLAYBOOK-2015.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.gmtgames.com/adistantplain/ADP-PLAYBOOK-2015.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title="A Distant Plain: Insurgency in Afghanistan" Playbook|last1=Train|first1=Brian|last2=Ruhnke|first2=Volko|date=2013|publisher=[[GMT Games]]|page=38|access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Abdul Jabar Qahraman]]
* [[Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)]]
* [[Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="NYT2001">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/11/international/asia/11JAIL.html |work=The New York Times |title=Witnesses Recount Taliban Dying While Held Captive |first=Carlotta |last=Gall |date=11 December 2001 |access-date=1 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090718205011/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/11/international/asia/11JAIL.html |archive-date=18 July 2009}}</ref>

}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book |last=Harnden |first=Toby |title=First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=2021 |isbn=9780316540964}}
* {{Cite book |last=Vogelsang |first=Willem |title=The Afghans |publisher=Blackwell |year=2001 |isbn=0-631-19841-5 |location=Oxford |author-link=Willem Vogelsang}}

==External links==
{{External links|date=January 2018}}
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110128113515/http://generaldostum.com/ General Abdul Rashid Dostum's official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090310122509/http://www.islamicrepublicofafghanistan.com/abdul-rashid-dostum/ Article on Abdul Rashid Dostum on Islamic Republic Of Afghanistan (.com)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1563344.stm Profile: General Rashid Dostum] – BBC News
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051115130402/http://www.zmag.org/cockburndostum.htm Biography about Dostum]
* [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/presents/index.house.of.war.html CNN Presents: ''House of War'']
* [https://swap.stanford.edu/20100312073854/http%3A//afghanistan.phrblog.org/ Afghanistan Mass Grave: The Dasht-e Leili War Crimes Investigation]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090422060348/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/57649.html As possible Afghan war-crimes evidence removed, U.S. silent]
* [http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/13/obama_calls_for_probe_into_2001 Obama Calls for Probe into 2001 Massacre of Suspected Taliban POWs by US-Backed Afghan Warlord] – video by ''Democracy Now!''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130601225547/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0203/life.html Eyewitness account from National Geographic war reporter Robert Young Pelton]

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{{succession box|before=[[Yunus Qanuni]]|title= [[Vice President of Afghanistan|First Vice President of Afghanistan]]|years= 29 September 2014–19 February 2020|after=[[Amrullah Saleh]]}}
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{{Vice Presidents of Afghanistan}}
{{Soviet-Afghan War}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dostum, Abdul Rashid}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Afghan military personnel]]
[[Category:Vice presidents of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Afghan warlords]]
[[Category:Afghanistan conflict (1978–present)]]
[[Category:People of the Soviet–Afghan War]]
[[Category:Afghan communists]]
[[Category:National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan politicians]]
[[Category:People from Jowzjan Province]]
[[Category:Afghan expatriates in Turkey]]
[[Category:Afghan exiles]]
[[Category:Afghan expatriates in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Military of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Islamic State of Afghanistan]]<!--Northern Alliance-->
[[Category:21st-century Afghan politicians]]
[[Category:Afghan Uzbek politicians]]
[[Category:Afghan military officers]]
[[Category:Marshals]]