Ahmad Eshchi, former deputy head of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, on Saturday rejected reports that the First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum has left Afghanistan for Turkey for medical reasons and said he "had been exiled to Turkey”.

“Dostum has been exiled unofficially, due to a number of considerations by government aimed at preventing from challenges (in assessing Dostum case) as well as investigating his (Dostum’s) case properly and ensuring justice in this respect,” he said.

Sources meanwhile have said Dostum made the move after the Afghan government asked Turkey to provide Dostum with asylum in return for control over all Afghan Turk schools in the country. 

However, Bashir Ahmad Tahyanj, a spokesman for Dostum, rejected these allegations and said the first vice president will return to the country within the next three weeks.

“We assure the people of Afghanistan that they should not be concerned in this respect. Mr. vice president as an elected first vice president will be in Afghanistan and will be at the service of the people in the upcoming weeks,” he said.

Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman Shahussain Murtazawi confirmed Dostum had left the country and said it was for health reasons but that he would return soon. 

“You know that the first vice president he has a case at the judicial organizations and we hope that the fate of the case will be clear. For now, we all pray for his health as he has left the country for medical treatment and we pray that he will return soon,” he said.