Dostum wants ISAF extension

Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum wants an international peacekeeping force extended from the capital to his troubled Mazar-i-Sharif base in the north, the new Turkish chief of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said yesterday.

Dostum, once considered something of a loose cannon, said he fully supported the new government line-up announced by President Hamid Karzai even though it had not offered him a cabinet role.

"He expects also that ISAF forces may go to other cities in Afghanistan, including Mazar-i- Sharif, in order to maintain security and help the people to reconstruct," Major-General Hilmi Akin Zorlu told a news conference at ISAF headquarters.

"He said he supports Mr Karzai and the transitional authority... and he's ready to support ISAF forces all the time."

Dostum also said some people were not happy with the results of last week's Loya Jirga grand assembly, but he was hopeful.