Indoor pool, greenhouses: Taliban fighters unwind at ex-Afghan VP Dostum’s villa | See pics

Taliban fighters have taken over the glitzy Kabul mansion of certainly one of their fiercest enemies — the warlord and fugitive ex-vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum.

Now within the fingers of rank and file Taliban fighters, the opulent villa has given the austere Islamists a peek into the lives of Afghanistan’s former rulers, they usually say the posh is the proceeds of years of endemic corruption.Along an countless hall with a thick apple-green carpet, a younger fighter sleeps slumped on a settee, his Kalashnikov rifle resting in opposition to him, as unique fish glide above him in certainly one of seven big tanks.The fighter is a part of the non-public safety element of Qari Salahuddin Ayoubi — one of many new regime’s strongest commanders — who put in his firm of 150 males within the mansion on August 15, the day Kabul fell.The luxurious AFP noticed on a tour of the mansion could be unimaginable for many extraordinary Afghans. In the mansion, big glass chandeliers grasp in cavernous halls, giant delicate sofas populate a maze of lounges and there’s even an indoor swimming pool. (AFP Photo)ALSO READ: Qatar’s high-level delegation meets Taliban chief Akhund, former Aghan president Karzai in KabulLarge glass chandeliers grasp in cavernous halls, giant delicate sofas furnish a maze of lounges and an indoor swimming pool is completed with intricate turquoise tiles.It even boasts a sauna, a Turkish steam tub and a completely geared up health club.It is an unbelievable expertise for the brand new occupants, who for years sacrificed creature comforts for rebel — dwelling on their wits within the plains, valleys and mountains of rural Afghanistan.But the brand new head of the family — now the army commander of 4 provinces — makes it clear his males is not going to get used to the posh.”Islam never wants us to have a luxurious life,” Ayoubi advised AFP, including luxurious is available in paradise, “the life after death” AFP Photo.’The thieves’ quarter’The mansion’s proprietor, Dostum, is a infamous determine woven into the material of Afghanistan’s current historical past.A former paratrooper, communist commander, warlord and vice chairman, he was the very definition of a crafty political survivor who weathered over 4 many years of battle in war-torn Afghanistan. Taliban fighters on the glitzy Kabul mansion of certainly one of their fiercest enemies — the warlord and fugitive ex-vice president Dostum. (AFP Photo)ALSO READ: Pak ISI chief hosts intelligence heads of China, Russia and different Central Asian nations to debate Afghan situationDespite a collection of battle crimes linked to Dostum’s forces, the previous Afghan authorities hoped his army acumen and seething hatred of the Taliban would assist them survive.But his stronghold was overrun and the greying 67-year-old fled throughout the border to Uzbekistan.Dostum is extensively suspected to have massively profited from the corruption and embezzlement that discredited the previous authorities.Several officers illegally took land to construct luxurious mansions in a single neighbourhood, incomes it the nickname “Thieves’ Quarter” amongst locals. Taliban fighters have a look at fish aquarium inside the house of the Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum within the Sherpur neighborhood of Kabul. Taliban fighters have taken over the glitzy Kabul mansion of certainly one of their fiercest enemies — the warlord and fugitive ex-vice president Dostum. (AFP Photo)In one wing of the large home, Taliban fighters relaxed in an enormous tropical greenhouse of a number of hundred sq. metres below an enormous glass roof.That is missed by a mezzanine dominated by a darkish wooden bar — a testomony to the reported decadent tastes of a normal famend for a penchant for late nights and powerful liquor. Taliban fighters eat their lunch inside the house of the Afghan warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum within the Sherpur neighborhood of Kabul. Taliban fighters have taken over the glitzy Kabul mansion of certainly one of their fiercest enemies — the warlord and fugitive ex-vice president Dostum. (AFP Photo)ALSO READ: Pak ISI chief hosts intelligence heads of China, Russia and different Central Asian nations to debate Afghan scenarioTaliban have good cause to hate DostumIn 2001, he was accused of killing greater than 2,000 fighters — locking many in containers in the midst of the desert the place they suffocated below a scorching solar.But Commander Ayoubi rejected any need for revenge.”If other people who had been oppressed like us came here, you would not have seen the chairs and tables. They might have destroyed them,” he mentioned.But the brand new regime is not going to enable such luxurious to be constructed with ill-gotten positive aspects sooner or later, he mentioned.”We are on the side of the poor,” he says, as dozens of tourists wait patiently within the hall, idly watching the detached fish.ALSO READ: Taliban vowed to let Afghans ‘freely depart’ from nation, says Blinken after Qatar talks