The first Uzbek marshal of Afghanistan

Abdul Rashid Dostum has been awarded an honorary marshal title in an official ceremony held today, Wednesday, July 15, in the northern Jawzjan province. The ceremony was attended by Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation, Shakir Kargar, President Ghani’s Chief of Staff, Babur Farahmand and Asadullah Sadaati, the two vices of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation.         

Rashid Dostum, who served as first vice president of Ashraf Ghani from 2014 to 2019, is an influential Uzbek leader. In the 2019 presidential elections, Dostum joined Abdullah Abdullah’s ticket, a team that ran the elections against President Ghani. The disputed election results of the 2019 locked the two candidates in a political deadlock which was settled after months of negotiation on a power sharing deal—signed on May 17, 2020. Under the deal, Abdullah was assigned as head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, with authority to pick some cabinet members, and General Abdul Rashid Dostum was promised to be awarded an honorary marshal rank.