Afghan protesters shout slogans during a protest in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, Afghanistan July 4, 2018. Reuters
Afghan protesters shout slogans during a protest in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, Afghanistan July 4, 2018. Reuters
Afghan protesters shout slogans during a protest in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, Afghanistan July 4, 2018. Reuters
Afghan protesters shout slogans during a protest in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, Afghanistan July 4, 2018. Reuters

Afghan attempt to rein in warlords faces backlash as violent protests spread


  • English
  • Arabic

An Afghan government plan to rein in warlords may backfire after the arrests of militia commanders provoked riots by their supporters.

Protesters clashed with local security forces in Faryab province in northwest Afghanistan for days last week, storming the national intelligence agency’s offices and looting the governor’s office. Anger grew after graphic images were shared on social media showing Nizamuddin Qaisari cuffed on the ground next to bloodied members of his entourage.

A local commander leading a militia against the Taliban, the government accused Mr Qaisari of acting above the law. But Mr Qaisari is also a close ally of Afghan Vice President, Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum, a powerful Uzbek warlord who is in exile following accusations that he ordered his guards to kidnap, torture and rape a political opponent in 2016.

Apart from Mr Qaseri, the government has arrested other powerful militia commanders from Uruzgan, Farah and Badakhshan provinces. The defence ministry has also detained Mohammad Daud Mubarez, who is accused of selling weapons to the Taliban, and Nadir Shah, who is accused of gem smuggling. “These commanders have misused their position of power and aided in creating insecurity in those provinces,” ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said.

The arrests are part of a strategy by President Ashraf Ghani – who is also struggling to contain a growing Taliban insurgency – to rein in local strongmen accused of extrajudicial killings and abuse of power. “These armed men have challenged the writ of the state, exacerbated the lawlessness and put the lives of ordinary people in jeopardy,” said Aziz Amin Ahmadzai, an Afghan politico who has worked closely with the Afghan government. The arrests aimed “to minimise insecurity across the country” since lines between militiamen and militants often blur as allegiances shift.

______________

More from  Ruchi Kumar:

10 of my colleagues were killed today

Afghan troops split on Taliban peace talks amid spring offensive carnage

______________

But the arrests outraged the men’s supporters who come from a culture where leaders are usually treated with deference and who often behave with impunity. To the protesters in Faryab, a stronghold of Gen Dostum’s Junbish-e Mili Party, Mr Qaseri is an Uzbek champion and staunch opponent of the Taliban.

“The government arrested a person who is enemy of terrorists, and by doing this the government is paving the way to bring terrorists like ISIS into Faryab,” Qudratullah, one of the protestors in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, told The National by telephone. “They [Afghan forces] are shooting at us for protesting. We will die if we must, but we won’t let them allow the Taliban to rise in our districts.”

Afghanistan has a long history of strong regional leaders. Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, various Mujahideen fighters emerged as leaders of powerful regional factions who continued fighting each other and the Taliban in the country’s civil war. They often received support along ethnic lines from minority groups which felt discriminated against by the dominant Pasthun population.

Ever opportunistic, many of these strongmen survived the fall of the Taliban by trading off their cachet as Mujahideen to seek positions as officials and ministers in the new government. They continue to exert influence, often in excess of their official positions, even while standing accused of corruption and human rights violations which have seldom been prosecuted.

Gen Dostum, for instance, was a former communist general who was known for siding with winners and creating his own de facto Uzbek state in northern Afghanistan. He earned a reputation as a ruthless leader and was dogged by allegations of war crimes. Under his rule, criminals were said to be crushed under tanks in public executions. He joined the Northern Alliance after the US invasion and then sought various roles in the Afghan military and government.

Even he may have overstepped his power when he reportedly ordered members of his personal militia to rape a former ally over a personal issue. Gen Dostum was reportedly seen beating former government Ahmad Ishchi in front hundreds at a public sporting event in Jowzjan province. Mr Ischi said Gen Dostum’s men then subjected him to days of severe beatings and sexual abuse – one of the severest degradation possible for a man according to Afghanistan’s honour code.

The government promised an investigation but a six-month standoff followed in which Gen Dostum refused to appear for questioning, taking refuge in his heavily guarded mansion in central Kabul. No charges were laid but Gen Dostum fled to Turkey last May, where his spokesman said he was seeking medical treatment. “General Dostum never leaves the country but remains alongside his people during difficult times,” Bashir Ahmad Tayanj said at the time.

Gen Dostum has remained in Turkey but posted a message on Facebook last week threatening that unless Mr Qasiari was released the government would face “serious challenges”.

The unrest meanwhile has spread to several other northern provinces including Samangan, Jawzjan, and Baghlan causing a temporary closure of the Kabul-Mazar highway, an important trade route that connects Kabul to the north of Afghanistan. The spectrum of the protests has also expanded politically with demands now including the return of Gen Dostum from exile.

Yunus Tugra, an adviser to Gen Dostum, said the arrests were an attempt to quell the party’s hold on the northern provinces. “This is an agenda by a few individuals in the government who are in favour of the Taliban and work with the ISI,” he claimed, referring to the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

Mr Qaisari was arrested under a false pretext, he said. “Getting rid of Qaseri, who was fighting the Taliban, was the final straw for the people who can see through this agenda.”

Gen Dostum may now be plotting a return to Afghanistan, against the wishes of many in government. “He is trying to return,” Mr Tugra said. “But is being prevented… We are still negotiating his return.”

The government will need to exercise caution to prevent protests spreading if it extends its crackdown to more provinces. “I don’t think people have been made aware about the reality and intentions of these purges,” said Mr Ahmadzai. “If the people understand what is being done, it will help a lot in terms of reducing tensions.”

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Directed by: Shaka King

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons

Four stars

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat