Hekmatyar trying to re-enter fighting - Frontier Post

Aimal Khan in PESHAWAR - At a time when Taliban and opposition have locked horns for a final showdown in Afghanistan, a prominent Afghan Jihadi leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar has also jumped into the foray, vowing to eliminate both from the scene. Hekmatyar is the chief of the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) once a powerful Afghan jehadi outfit which used to receive a large chunk of external assistance during the Afghan war. After the Taliban’s victorious march in southern and eastern Afghanistan, the Pushtoon-dominated HIA’s role and might was reduced insignificantly and in the recent past due to various reasons it experienced a several split. Soon after deprived of premiership at the time of Taliban’s attack on Kabul in 1996, Hekmatyar, once a blue-eyed of the Pakistan’s policy-makers, left Afghanistan for Iran and has been living there since then. Until recently, Hekmatyar kept a low-profile, but of late, he is regularly responding to political and military developments in Afghanistan. According to credible sources, Hekmatyar recently sent a three-page message to his followers in the region, particularly those residing inside Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, urging them to come forward for playing their historical role to oust the Taliban and Northern Alliance from the Afghan scene. He came down heavily on Taliban and Ahmad Shah Masoud -led opposition and alleged that instead of Afghanistan’s national interest, they were killing innocent Afghans for furthering external powers agenda. Hekmatyar said that he had failed in convincing both the Taliban and Northern Alliance of striking a negotiated settlement of the Afghan issue. “Both are patronised and controlled by the external forces and both are not sincere in finding a peaceful resolution of the Afghan issue”, the message said. Taliban are arrogant and rigid and by force they want to crush opposition while the Northern Alliance is dancing to others tune. Therefore, it was time for the patriotic forces to rise against them, the leader of the defunct militia added. The Hizb chief asked the party cadres to take the workers and sympathisers into confidence about his new stance and mobilise them against both the warring factions. He also sought the names for forming the regional councils ( five people each for district-level committees). Upon receiving the message, the HIA executive council held an emergency meeting at Shamshatoo refugees camp on the outskirt of the City. Confirming the receipt of the letter, one of the members of the HIA Executive Council, confided to The Frontier Post on Tuesday evening that the message was duly signed by Hekmatyar and issued from Iran. The member, who preferred not to be named, said that a majority of the HIA men were strongly opposed to the ongoing bloodshed in Afghanistan. The HIA lost the opportunity to take the initiative for putting an end to the lingering Afghan crisis, added the member. Challenging the Hekmatyar authority, the member claimed that Hekmatyar was no more the chief of HIA as his 4-years tenure had expired two year ago. “ Some 12 out of 15 Executive Committee members are no more interested in HIA affairs and some of them siding either with Taliban or the Northern Alliance and even some of them are not at good terms with Hekmatyar”, the member further added.