BBC Online :
Veteran warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has returned to the Afghan capital, eight months after signing a peace deal with the government.
Mr Hekmatyar, an Islamist warlord accused of numerous atrocities, leads Hezb-e-Islami, the country’s second largest militant group. Under the deal, he has agreed to accept the constitution and abandon violence.
Some see the deal as a step forward for Afghanistan but others say it could exacerbate divisions in the government. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar travelled to the capital from Jalalabad amid tight security, his convoy guarded by an Afghan army helicopter. President Ashraf Ghani led an event to welcome him at the presidential palace and thanked him for “heeding the peace call”.
At the start Mr Hekmatyar stood for the national anthem, and the BBC Afghan service head says this is an achievement in itself
because many religious leaders of similar views to the warlord think no-one should stand for music. On Friday, he will lead prayers at a prestigious mosque.
A former prime minister, he is one of the most controversial figures in Afghanistan’s modern history.
Mr Hekmatyar’s return comes more than 20 years after the Taliban forced him from Kabul in 1996.
He was one of seven anti-Soviet faction chiefs who led a large number of mujahideen fighters in the war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s. But he is remembered mostly for his role in the bloody civil war of the 1990s, when the Hezb-e-Islami clashed violently with other mujahideen factions in the struggle for control of Kabul.
The Hezb-e-Islami was blamed for much of the terrible death and destruction of that period, which led many ordinary Afghans to welcome the emergence of the Taliban. The civil war also led to Mr Hekmatyar’s fall from grace – he and his men were forced to flee Kabul when the Taliban swept into power.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was once known as the “Butcher of Kabul” – and was nicknamed “Rocketyar”, in reference to the hundreds of rockets he rained down on Kabul in the country’s civil war in the 1990s. Many in the city still haven’t forgiven him. His critics say he has long ceased to be a significant military force, and that the Taliban are unlikely to listen to his calls to take part in peace negotiations – especially whilst they feel they have the Afghan government on the back foot. His opponents also worry he will become yet another political player vying for power in the country. But the peace deal is a success for the government, and has been welcomed by the US. The hope is Mr Hekmatyar could influence Taliban commanders who once operated under his banner and show the group that a peaceful solution to the conflict is possible.
Veteran warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has returned to the Afghan capital, eight months after signing a peace deal with the government.
Mr Hekmatyar, an Islamist warlord accused of numerous atrocities, leads Hezb-e-Islami, the country’s second largest militant group. Under the deal, he has agreed to accept the constitution and abandon violence.
Some see the deal as a step forward for Afghanistan but others say it could exacerbate divisions in the government. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar travelled to the capital from Jalalabad amid tight security, his convoy guarded by an Afghan army helicopter. President Ashraf Ghani led an event to welcome him at the presidential palace and thanked him for “heeding the peace call”.
At the start Mr Hekmatyar stood for the national anthem, and the BBC Afghan service head says this is an achievement in itself
because many religious leaders of similar views to the warlord think no-one should stand for music. On Friday, he will lead prayers at a prestigious mosque.
A former prime minister, he is one of the most controversial figures in Afghanistan’s modern history.
Mr Hekmatyar’s return comes more than 20 years after the Taliban forced him from Kabul in 1996.
He was one of seven anti-Soviet faction chiefs who led a large number of mujahideen fighters in the war against Soviet occupation in the 1980s. But he is remembered mostly for his role in the bloody civil war of the 1990s, when the Hezb-e-Islami clashed violently with other mujahideen factions in the struggle for control of Kabul.
The Hezb-e-Islami was blamed for much of the terrible death and destruction of that period, which led many ordinary Afghans to welcome the emergence of the Taliban. The civil war also led to Mr Hekmatyar’s fall from grace – he and his men were forced to flee Kabul when the Taliban swept into power.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was once known as the “Butcher of Kabul” – and was nicknamed “Rocketyar”, in reference to the hundreds of rockets he rained down on Kabul in the country’s civil war in the 1990s. Many in the city still haven’t forgiven him. His critics say he has long ceased to be a significant military force, and that the Taliban are unlikely to listen to his calls to take part in peace negotiations – especially whilst they feel they have the Afghan government on the back foot. His opponents also worry he will become yet another political player vying for power in the country. But the peace deal is a success for the government, and has been welcomed by the US. The hope is Mr Hekmatyar could influence Taliban commanders who once operated under his banner and show the group that a peaceful solution to the conflict is possible.
