KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan soldiers and policemen surrounded the house of Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum on Tuesday in an apparent effort to arrest nine of his aides accused of kidnapping and raping a political opponent on his orders.

The attempt to bring about the arrests came after the attorney general complained to police authorities that they had ignored previous orders to carry out the arrests. The police had said they feared an armed confrontation and would have to evacuate the residential neighborhood “to avoid civilian casualties,” according to copies of official documents obtained by The New York Times.

Stung by the attorney general’s criticism, police officials promised on Monday to take action. On Tuesday, more than 100 police and soldiers surrounded the downtown Kabul compound of Mr. Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek who is the more senior of the country’s two vice presidents. Observers said it appeared to be a siege, although there was no gunfire and the mood was calm.

Mr. Dostum is believed to have hundreds of armed irregulars under his command, and on Tuesday, his home in the Sherpur quarter was guarded with trucks mounted with artillery and heavy machine guns, but it was unclear how many militiamen were inside the cordon.