U.S ambassador to Afghanistan Hugo Llorens has said that the charges of sexual abuse and assault against the First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum “are very serious” and called on Afghanistan’s legal and judicial institutions to investigate these charges “in fair and transparent manner”.  
 
The U.S envoy said his country fully supports the Afghan legal and judicial institutions in their efforts for a transparent investigation into the case. 
 
“The allegations against the first vice president including charges of rape and assault are extremely serious and warrant close legal review by the attorney general and other judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” said Llorens.  
 
The U.S official also raised deep concerns over the issue of corruption in Afghanistan and termed the threats emerging out of drugs similar to terrorism. 
 
“We are doing a broader review of our policy towards the region, so it is not just Afghanistan alone, it involves Pakistan, some central Asian states, the relationship between Pakistan, India and Iran. So it is a broader policy review and I am very confident that when it is completed that the United States will have  a very strong policy,” the U.S ambassador added.
 
“... the Taliban is so completely committed and embedded in the drug trafficking industry that this is now their priority,” said William Rivington Brownfield, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).
 
The Afghan officials are however optimistic that America’s new war strategy in Afghanistan would be helpful in tackling the ongoing security turmoil in the country, saying that Washington will likely increase pressure on the state sponsor of terrorists once the new strategy is announced.