Hekmatyar Seeks Inclusivity in Peace Process

Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Friday said the peace talks will not end violence in the country if all Afghan factions are not included in the process.

Speaking at a gathering on the invasion of former soviet forces on Afghanistan, Hekmatyar said “NATO has been defeated in Afghanistan” and that the war continues in the country over the last four decades.

“The agreement in Doha will face the same fate as the Geneva agreement’s in absence of the representatives of the government in Kabul and actors,” Hekmatyar said, insisting on including all factions in the peace process.

He blamed the government for failing to ensure the security of the people, especially in Kabul, suggesting that people should be armed to ensure their own security.

“We provide security voluntarily. The government should ensure the security of public compounds, palaces and the banks and handover the security of (Kabul) localities to the public,” Hekmatyar said.

Some participants of the event meanwhile said that hurdles in the way of peace should be removed and violence should reduce.

“We want a review of the entire intra-Afghan negotiation process. We want the talks to conclude and peace is restored as soon as possible,” said Fazel Hadi Wazin, a university lecturer.

Abdul Sattar Khawasi, the member of Hizb-e-Islami, criticized some Afghan Republic’s peace negotiators for seeking the definition of the Islamic system from the Taliban.

Responding to these remarks, a presidential spokesman Dawa Khan Menapal said the Afghan people and all religious scholars have voted for the Afghan government, therefore, “no one is allowed to challenge this system from an Islamic perspective.”

Meanwhile, former president Hamid Karzai in an interview with Arab News has warned that a hasty withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan before a peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government will have serious implications.

“A hasty withdrawal without the achievement of peace, without talks resulting in peace, will definitely lead to more chaos and uncertainty,” Karzai said as quoted by the Arab News. “We don’t want that. We want the US to complete the peace process that it has begun, to make it come to fruition. We want stability in Afghanistan.”