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Hezb-e-Islami’s chief Hekmat Yar returns to Kabul after 20 years

KABUL (May 04, 2017): Hezb-e-Islami has agreed to form national government in Afghanistan after consensus, while Hizb-e-Islami’s Chief Gulbandeen Hekmat Yar leader of Hizb-e-Islami, the country’s second largest militant group has returned to Afghanistan after 20 years.

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 traveled 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”.

On Friday, he will lead prayers at a prestigious mosque. 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 civil war led to Hekmatyar’s fall from grace – he and his men were forced to flee Kabul when the Taliban swept into power.

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 Hekmatyar could influence Taliban commanders who once operated under his banner and show the group that a peaceful solution to the conflict is possible.

In 2003, the US state department listed him as a terrorist, accusing him of taking part in and supporting attacks by al-Qaeda and the Taliban. But Hezb-e-Islami has not played much of a role in the conflict in recent years, and in September 2016 the Afghan government signed a deal granting Mr Hekmatyar immunity and the release of prisoners in return for peace.

Hezb-e-Islami has supporters across the country and there are hopes that the peace agreement may encourage some Taliban leaders to consider joining the process.

Hekmatyar will meet Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and will begin his political activities after his meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

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