Ahmad Eshchi, the former deputy head of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, on Tuesday welcomed the Attorney General’s order for the arrest of nine of First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum’s guards on charges related to the alleged abduction and sexual assault of a political rival, who accused the vice president of sodomizing him with a rifle.

Eshchi said Dostum’s guards should be arrested and the first vice president should be suspended.

He criticized what he called a delay in the assessment of the case by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and said dozens of other victims will testify in court if the case against Dostum is addressed.

“The order has been issued and now it is the authority of the Interior Ministry and other [relevant] organizations to arrest them [Dostum’s guards]. My demand from the Attorney General’s office and judicial centers is that they should suspend Dostum and ban him from leaving the country,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the AGO’s spokesman, Jamshid Rasuli, said they issued arrest warrants after the guards ignored previous summons.

“The AGO has already sent three summons to them but they did not present themselves so now the AGO has sent out the arrest orders for nine of Dostum’s bodyguards,” he said.

The Interior Ministry would not however comment on what moves it will take to implement the AGO’s order.

Commenting on the issue, Ainuddin Bahaduri, a lawyer, said: “The reason behind the issue is convoluted because they would have thought that it will take a long time and a high investment in order to reach the bottom of the case; therefore, they changed the direction of the issue.”

Eshchi accused the first vice president of illegally imprisoning him and ordering his guards to sexually assault him.