A former Afghan warlord who battled US forces after the 2001 invasion and nursed bitter rivalries with other militant factions before signing a peace deal with the Afghan Government appeared in public for the first time in more than 20 years on Saturday and called for peace.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who leads the Islamist organisation Hezb-i-Islami, appeared in a gathering organised by provincial officials in eastern laghman province in which locals and government officials were also present. He told the crowd in a televised appearance: “let’s join hands to end war and bring peace in Afghanistan.”
The United Nations removed Hekmatyar’s name from its Islamic State group and al-Qaeda sanctions list in February and his assets were unfrozen and he is no longer subject to a travel ban or arms embargo. During his remarks, Hekmatyar called on all insurgent groups to end the war and join the peace process in Afghanistan. He pointed to a recent attack by Taliban fighters on an army base in northern Balkh province, saying: “We cannot tolerate such a war and killing of Muslims inside a mosque while they are praying to Allah.”
