24 July 2004	Saturday	06 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

KABUL, July 23: General Abdul Rashid Dostum tendered his resignation as military adviser to President Hamid Karzai to challenge him in October elections, an aide said on Friday.

Mr Dostum, from Afghanistan's ethnic Uzbek minority group, will stand against Mr Karzai, from the largest Pukhtun tribe. Akbar Bai said the decision was based on Dostum's belief that Karzai had targeted non-Pukhtun groups, suggesting that the explosive issue of ethnicity could be a major theme in the first free and direct vote.

Mr Dostum announced his candidacy for the race in Mazar-i-Sharif at a gathering on Thursday, the same day he submitted his resignation to Karzai, Bai said. A presidential official confirmed the offer.

Afghanistan's election law stipulates that military officials intending to stand for the post of president need to resign before registering their candidacy. Monday is the last day for registrations and candidates are required to announce the names of their two vice-presidents simultaneously.

"Dostum has decided to stand because he is unhappy with Karzai's policies," Bai said. He said they included Karzai calling non-Pukhtun commanders "warlords" and carrying out an 'imbalanced' disarmament drive of factional forces that had mainly affected minority groups in the north and west. -Reuters