Abdul Rashid Dostum meets Ashraf Ghani; who is the former warlord, why is he talking to Afghan president?

One-time warlord and former vice-president of Afghanistan Abdul Rashid Dostum has returned to the country as the Taliban inch closer to taking control of his long-time stronghold in the north and fight for control of a string of cities elsewhere.

Ehsan Nero, a spokesman for the former army paratrooper, told AFP that Dostum arrived in Kabul last week and was meeting senior officials to talk about security in Sheberghan, capital of Jawzjan province. The former vice president has been in Turkey for months, where he was believed to be receiving medical treatment.

On Wednesday, President Ashraf Ghani flew to the country's northern holy city of Mazar-e-Sharif, besieged by Taliban, to rally his beleaguered forces, news agency AFP reported.

According to the report, Ghani held talks with Mazar's long-time strongman Atta Mohammad Noor and Dostum about the defence of the city.

So, who is Abdul Rashid Dostum?

Why is the Afghan president meeting with him?

Ghani is holding talks with Noor and Dostum about the defence of Mazar-e-Sharif as Taliban fighters inched closer to its outskirts.

Officials gave no indication of the outcome, but later Wednesday said two of the country's top soldiers had been replaced by General Hibatullah Alizia as armed forces chief and General Sami Sadat leading the elite commandos.

The loss of Mazar would be a catastrophic blow to the Kabul government and represent the complete collapse of its control over the north — long a bastion of anti-Taliban militias.

After conquering most of the north, the Taliban have now set their sights on Mazar — long a linchpin for the government's control of the area — after capturing Sheberghan to its west, and Kunduz and Taloqan to its east.

Mazar saw some of the bloodiest fighting during the Taliban's scorched-earth rampage through the country in the 1990s, with rights groups accusing the jihadists of massacring up to 2,000 civilians — mostly Shiite Hazaras — after capturing the city in 1998.

The Taliban have appeared largely indifferent to peace overtures, and seem intent on a military victory to crown a return to power after their ouster 20 years ago in the wake of the 11 September attacks.

With inputs from AFP