Hekmatyar claims govt has yet to implement key decisions around peace process

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hiz-e-Islami, said Sunday that the Afghan government has failed to form a single and decisive authority for peace.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Hekmatyar stated that important issues over a unified plan for the Istanbul peace conference were agreed upon during a trilateral meeting with President Ashraf Ghani and former President Hamid Karzai.

According to him, all sides had agreed on the creation of a transitional government, and High Government Council, the release of all Hizb-e-Islami and Taliban prisoners from Afghan jails, a ceasefire, and elections but Ghani, however, has not “implemented any of these agreements.”

“I returned full-handed from this meeting. Although the President did not have a positive view on the Istanbul summit, he wanted the summit to be held in Kabul,” Hekmatyar said.

Emphasizing the importance of the creation of the High Government Council, Hekmatyar stated that the organization will consist of eight factions including the Taliban, which should be engaged in war and peace issues in Afghanistan.

He stated: “The High Council consists of the leaders of the seven effective parties in the war and peace of Afghanistan, and it must be the highest authority on the peace process of Afghanistan. The president should represent the government.”

The Presidential Palace, however, has not commented on the agreement.

Fatima Murchal, a Deputy Spokesperson for the Presidential Palace, stated that Ghani’s meetings with Karzai and Hekmatyar were aimed at strengthening internal consensus over the Afghan peace process.