All obstacles to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s return to Kabul have been cleared with the removal of his name from a UN blacklist.
It is rumoured that he could return in the next three weeks – an important step in the government’s plan to push forward the peace process with armed militant groups.
Political observers see the pact with Hekmatyar and his Hezb-e-Islami as a diplomatic success for the government. Hafizullah says, “The government proved that if there is a will there is a way …” The UN took Hekmatyar off the list of people sanctioned for their ties to al-Qaeda, Islamic State, and other militant groups, unfroze his assets, and dropped a travel ban and arms embargo against him.
Ghairat Baheer, head of the political branch of Hezb-e-Islami, says the efforts to seal a peace agreement were not one sided but mutual. The group will disband its armed fighters as part of its commitment, Baheer reiterates.
Public support has been behind the government-Hezb agreement. Alwasha Shukran, a civil society activist says, “I think if the government can bring even a few individuals from the battlefield to the field of politics, it would be beneficial to the nation and democracy.” He is hopeful that others would come forward to discuss peace, and “better conditions should be provided to them”.
Najibullah Kabuli, leader of the Afghan Nationalist Participation Party is optimistic Hekmatyar’s return to Kabul will spur other groups to join. The optimism is a result of people’s tiredness with the war, says Hadi, a Kabul resident. “People are seriously tired of the continuation of war, which is the reason why the return of Hekmatyar is being welcomed publicly,” he says. He hopes people’s hopes will not be let down.
Questions persist about when the Hezb-e-Islami fighters will lay down their arms? What of Hekmatyar’s subordinates who are accused of war crimes?
The disarming of Hezb-e-Islami has been “hinted” at in the pact, says Karim Mateen, a senior negotiator for the group. Ghairat Baheer also repeated the pledge. But on the issue of war crimes and the release of prisoners in Afghan jails there is no resolution. Hekmatyar is known as one of Afghanistan’s most notorious war criminals.
