Karzai Considering Government Post for Warlord Dostum

VOA News 01 March 2005

Afghan officials say President Hamid Karzai is considering offering a government post to a powerful regional warlord, despite concerns over his role in alleged human rights abuses.

A presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin told a news briefing in Kabul Tuesday that General Abdul Rashid Dostum held several meetings with the president to discuss a possible government position.

Asked about charges that General Dostum was guilty of human rights abuses and war crimes, the spokesman said it was a completely different issue. He stressed that everyone in Afghanistan has the right to fulfill their responsibilities and be given opportunity to do so.

General Dostum's faction helped U.S. -led coalition forces oust the former Taleban regime in 2001. He finished fourth in last year's presidential elections and narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in January.

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