Out of 20 men belonged to Nizammudin Qaisari, the police chief of Qaisar district in Faryab, who were arrested earlier this month, seven were freed on Friday. 

The seven were close aides to the police chief.

Qaisari is a close aide to the First Vice President Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum.  

Qaisari's spokesman, Karim Rasa, who was also arrested said it is not clear why they were detained by security forces and that government should respond in this regard.

“I do not know what really happened. I do not know who has been beaten and who is killed. I am not aware of the whole issue,” said Rasa.  

Faryab governor Naqibullah Fayiq meanwhile said other men arrestes will also be freed.  

He said discussions are ongoing in this regard between Dostum and government.  

“We urged the central government that these men are not guilty. They were just doing their jobs there. There is no case against them,” Fayiq said.  

Footages posted on social media show Qaisari’s men being mistreated and beaten by government forces at the time of their arrest in Faryab on July 2.   

“They (security forces) tighten him (Qaisari) up in the room. Then they tightened us (outside) and laid us on the ground and beaten us,” a released aide of Qaisari said.  

Supporters of the Islamic National Movement of Afghanistan on Friday also launched demonstrations in a number of provinces in reaction to Qaisari's arrest. In northern Balkh province they closed the provincial office of election commission.  

They said they do not want election without Gen. Dostum, the First Vice President of Afghanistan who is in exile in Turkey.  

The Islamic National Movement of Afghanistan accuses security forces in violating human rights when arresting Qaisari and his bodyguards.  

In the meantime, on Friday the Youth Council of the Islamic National Movement of Afghanistan at a press conference in Kabul said return of Dostum to the country is a precondition for holding the upcoming elections.  

They said if government does not provide the situation for return of Dostum, they will boycott elections and will close all the provincial offices of election commission in northern parts of the country.   

“Our people decided that if the first vice president is not among his people, they will boycott elections. For 10 days almost in five provinces the election commission offices have been closed and the process will continue,” said Kanishka Turkistani, head of youth council of the movement.