AFGHAN WARLORD ABDULRASHID DOSTUM

Abdul Rashid Dostum (born 1954) is a general and Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Afghan National Army. His role as the Chief of Staff, however, is often viewed as ceremonial. He is the principal leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community
Dostum was born in Khvajeh Do Kuh, Afghanistan. In 1970 he began to work in a state-owned gas refinery in Sheberghan, Jowzjan Province, participating in union politics. He joined the Afghan military in 1978, fighting against the mujahideen throughout the 1980s. He fought in coalition with Ahmad Shah Masoud of the Northern Alliance against Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, in 1992. The Taliban captured Kabul in 1996, forcing Dostum to retreat to Mazar-i-Sharif. When his second-in-command joined the Taliban in 1997, Dostum left Afghanistan and went to Turkey.
He is the leader of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. For many years Dostum was a supporter of the Soviet backed communist government.
Written By:Farhan