Career
He is the head of the Afghanistan Liberation Party and was heavily involved in the factional fighting that consumed Afghanistan throughout the 1990s. He then entered into secret negotiations with the Taliban, who promised to respect his authority over much of Northern Afghanistan, in exchange for the capture of Ismail Khan, one of their most powerful enemies. Accordingly, on May 25, 1997 he arrested Khan and handed him over and let the Taliban enter Mazari Sharif, giving them control over most of Northern Afghanistan.
Because of this, Dostum was forced to flee to Turkey.
However Malik quickly decided that the Taliban weren"t going to keep their promises as they started to disarm his mentor He then rejoined forces with the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (the Northern Alliance), and turned against his erstwhile allies, helping to drive them from Mazar i Sharif.
In October 1997, Dostum returned from exile and defeated Malik, briefly regaining control of Mazari Sharif, and forcing him to escape to Iran.
