Dostum and his daughter threaten Taliban following the demolition of Navoi monument (video)

Following the demolition of the monument to Alisher Navoi, a statesman and poet who holds a prominent place in the history of Turkic and Persian nations, in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, an ethnic Uzbek Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum and his daughter Rohila Dostum condemned the act. They expressed their views on the matter through their social media pages.

"I received with deep sorrow and regret the news of the destruction of the monument to Amir al-Kalam, Amir Alisher Navoi, a statesman, scholar, and poet in the history of Afghanistan and the region. Such an attitude toward a man who was not only one of the founders of Mazar-i-Sharif but also one of the great figures of Afghanistan and the world is an unbearable humiliation", Marshall said.

Furthermore, he described Alisher Navoi as a great figure both in politics and in literature, calling the actions aimed at destroying his monuments a "senseless and absurd deed”, and expressed deep regret over them.

"I consider this act an insult and a sign of an attempt to demean not only the people of Afghanistan but also Uzbeks and Turkic peoples around the world. This unforgivable action by the Taliban has deeply wounded my heart and the hearts of all admirers of Hazrat Navoi", Dostum stated.

Dostum, who served as Vice President of Afghanistan from 2014 to 2020, stressed that the monument must be reconstructed without delay. Otherwise, the people of Afghanistan and the followers of Navoi will not remain silent, and the Taliban will sooner or later regret their actions.

"Our people will never forget this vile act and will not forgive those responsible. We call on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is responsible for protecting the cultural heritage of the world’s peoples, to take urgent action so that the insults inflicted on the national and international dignity of the Turkic people in Afghanistan do not go unanswered", he said.

Later, Dostum’s daughter, a former senator Rohila Dostum, also commented on the situation, describing the demolition of the Navoi monument as a symbol of the Taliban’s hostility toward the country’s cultural heritage and a sign of disrespect for the shared identity of Afghanistan’s peoples. She called on the international community to respond to the actions of the Taliban movement.

"The demolition of Amir Alisher Navoi’s monument by the Taliban is a vile and anti-cultural act that demonstrates the group’s hostility toward the historical and civilizational heritage of the region. Such actions will only deepen public hatred toward the Taliban. Cultural figures must condemn this act and take practical measures to safeguard humanity’s heritage", she said.

It is permissible to mention that earlier, Dostum had called on the Taliban group, which currently rules Afghanistan, to leave the country. Otherwise, he warned, the fate of up to 2,000 Taliban fighters killed in December 2001 by forces loyal to him could be repeated.

It is worth noting that this monument to Alisher Navoi in Mazar-i-Sharif was partially damaged in February 2023. At that time, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Ahror Burhonov, commented on the incident, calling it “an act of vandalism". Most recently, the monument was completely demolished. The Taliban justified the move by claiming that the location of the monument was not sufficiently worthy of the great scholar’s memory and promised that it would be rebuilt soon.