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Greenhouse yard, swimming pool: Inside Afghan warlord Dostum's palace, now captured by Taliban
The present owner of Dostum's Kabul mansion has no interest in either luxury or revenge, Salahuddin Ayoubi told AFP.
Afghanistan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who also served as the vice president before Amrullah Saleh had a mansion in Kabul. After he fled to an unknown location days after promising Ashraf Ghani army mobilisation, the mansion has now been taken over by the Taliban and news agency AFP was given a tour inside the plush mansion presently under the occupation of Qari Salahuddin Ayoubi, one of the most powerful commanders of the present regime of the Taliban. He captured the mansion on August 15, the day when Kabul fell. Dostum is believed to have fled the country when his province fell to the Taliban in early August.
Ayoubi and his men are on guard against being accustomed to such luxury. "Islam never wants us to have a luxurious life," Ayoubi said adding that luxury comes in paradise, only after death.
The villa has signs of opulence scattered everywhere -- on the huge chandeliers, the halls, lounges, indoor swimming fool with turquoise tiles, a tropical greenhouse that spans several hundred square metres, a sauna, a Turkish steam bath and a fully equipped gym.
According to the present residents of the mansion, the extravagance shows the corruption of former Afghanistan politicians. Ayoubi told AFP that he has the desire for neither luxury nor any revenge.
Afghanistan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who also served as the vice president before Amrullah Saleh had a mansion in Kabul. After he fled to an unknown location days after promising Ashraf Ghani army mobilisation, the mansion has now been taken over by the Taliban and news agency AFP was given a tour inside the plush mansion presently under the occupation of Qari Salahuddin Ayoubi, one of the most powerful commanders of the present regime of the Taliban. He captured the mansion on August 15, the day when Kabul fell. Dostum is believed to have fled the country when his province fell to the Taliban in early August.
Ayoubi and his men are on guard against being accustomed to such luxury. "Islam never wants us to have a luxurious life," Ayoubi said adding that luxury comes in paradise, only after death.
The villa has signs of opulence scattered everywhere -- on the huge chandeliers, the halls, lounges, indoor swimming fool with turquoise tiles, a tropical greenhouse that spans several hundred square metres, a sauna, a Turkish steam bath and a fully equipped gym.
According to the present residents of the mansion, the extravagance shows the corruption of former Afghanistan politicians. Ayoubi told AFP that he has the desire for neither luxury nor any revenge.
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Where is Dostum?
The 67-year-old controversial figure was in the Afghanistan government till 2020 in the capacity of the vice president. Reports said he fled to Uzbekistan after the fall of his province, though the Northern Resistance Front have claimed to have his support.
In 2001, Dostum was accused of killing more than 2,000 fighters -- locking many in containers in the middle of the desert where they suffocated under a scorching sun, reports said.
Dostum was in Turkey for months when the Taliban offensive began in the country. He was believed to be undergoing some medical treatment. By ethnicity, Dostum is an Uzbek and he hailed from the northern Jawzjan province of Afghanistan. He came back to the country in August from Turkey when his province was teetering in front of the Taliban. But he could not save his province.
