Government operation launched on the house of notorious militia commander Nizamuddin Qaisari in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, following his resistance to surrender ended inconclusively. According to local officials, the operation, which lasted over 20 hours, resulted in the death of eight of Qaisari’s bodyguards and arrest of 30 others, while the powerful commander himself, who used to be a close ally of the first vice president Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, made good his escape.
Afghan special forces detained Qaisari in June 2018 on charges of extortion, human rights abuses, driving local residents into the arms of the insurgency and sabotaging government military operations when he was the police chief of Faryab’s Qaisar district as well as the de facto commander of Gen. Dostum’s militia in Faryab province. But he was mysteriously released from jail a few months later when the presidential tickets were in the making. Though he initially threw his weight behind President Ghani-led State Builder team, he later joined former intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil’s team.
One of the major problems of the National Unity Government is the politicization of criminal cases. The government, especially ARG or the Presidential Palace, used Qaisari’s case for political ends than treated it as a criminal case. Instead of putting him on trial for extortion and persecution of local population, the Presidential Palace used his release as a bargaining chip in political dealings, primarily to pit him against Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum in his stronghold in the country’s north, who has long been at odds with President Ghani. ARG has not yet provided satisfactory response to the public on why Qaisari was arrested. If he was involved in crimes, which he was indeed, why was he freed without facing trial? And after he was set free, why was the decision made to arrest him again?
The government leadership, President Ghani in particular, has no regard for the independence of the country’s institutions. Over the last five years, he has repeatedly used government resources and institutions to protect his personal political gains. Several Afghan security forces were killed during the arrest of Qaisari and subsequence demonstrations in 2018. For his political gains, President Ghani did not respect at least the blood of those slain security forces, and let the infamous human rights violator and extortionist walk free. Only by carrying the coffins of slain Afghan security forces, the president cannot prove he is a real supporter of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. As a president, he has to respect the sacrifices of Afghan forces not use them for his personal political ends.
Qaisari’s case further ridiculed rule of law in Afghanistan. It showed that President Ghani is ready to make any deal that will let him stay in power. It is a textbook example to prove the dichotomy between the president’s words and actions. President Ghani believes in the strength and independence of institutions to a level that will protect his interests.