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Afghanistan tense as warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returns to the fold

Kabul: Fugitive warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar made his first public appearance in Afghanistan on Saturday after nearly two decades underground, calling on Taliban insurgents to "join the peace caravan and stop this pointless, unholy war". He also urged all political parties to reconcile and seek change "without bloodshed".

The return of Hekmatyar, 69, who spoke at an outdoor ceremony at a government compound in Laghman province, represented a sorely-needed success for the beleaguered government of President Ashraf Ghani, who invited him to return home last year in the hope that it would encourage the Taliban to lay down their arms and seek reconciliation.

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But his expected arrival in Kabul was delayed by disputes over the release of prisoners from his former anti-government militia. Also, his remarks had a strong anti-Western theme and were critical of the US-led military campaign against the Taliban, which he compared to the Vietnam war and the Soviet quagmire in Afghanistan.

"If you are working to help Afghanistan we are grateful, but if you are fighting here for your own political and economic interests, we ask you to stop using Afghanistan as your rivals' battlefield and instead face each other directly," Hekmatyar said to the gathering in the town of Mehtarlam. "Don't test your ammunition on our oppressed people."

Hekmatyar, long believed to be hiding in the rugged border region of Pakistan, was allowed to enter Afghanistan after the United Nations and the Obama administration, at Ghani's request, lifted anti-terrorism bans on him.

His return followed months of negotiations over his rights, privileges and role in civilian life. He is travelling with numerous armed loyalists as he makes his way to the Afghan capital, being greeted by supporters from his party, Hezb-i-Islami.

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Despite his call for reconciliation and harmony on Saturday, which he also championed in a video speech in September that was shown at  Ghani's palace, the peace plan involving Hekmatyar has been denounced by the Taliban, who have condemned him as a criminal and a traitor to Islam.

The Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami both fought the Kabul government, but they were never allies and sometimes fought over power in rural areas.

Now, there are concerns that Hekmatyar's presence in Kabul and other parts of the country could add a new disruptive factor to an already volatile political situation. In Kabul, he is remembered as a brutal warlord who destroyed entire neighbourhoods during the civil war of the 1990s, and later took up arms against civilian rulers.

His arrival coincided with "Mujahideen Victory Day", events marking the installation of anti-Soviet militias in power in April 1992. As usual they were attended by hundreds of men in guerrilla-style garb, but this year the muscle-flexing was more than a ritual.

The president, who held a separate ceremony in the palace, faces a crisis of infighting, pressure and defections by former militia leaders. Ahmad Zia Massoud, Ghani's special adviser on governance and brother of slain anti-Taliban hero Ahmad Shah Massoud, was recently fired by Ghani after he threatened to quit and lead anti-government protests.

Abdulrashid Dostum, the Uzbek warlord and Ghani's first vice-president, is under virtual house arrest in Kabul as a result of scandalous charges that he beat and raped an elderly political rival in November, but Dostum's supporters held rallies against the Ghani government in two provinces this weekend.

Now, Hekmatyar is joining the mix of rogue ex-mujahideen and militia leaders that all once fought each other, and reviving the political prospects for a once-banned Islamist party with many enemies and hundreds of war prisoners who may soon be released - all ostensibly to set an example for the Taliban. His aides said he plans a massive rally upon reaching Kabul in the next few days.

In his comments on Saturday, Hekmatyar, who was white-bearded and wore a black turban, said he believed in peaceful changes of government but that Afghanistan needed a "strong central government" and would never accept an "imposed" one.

He criticised Ghani's government for its internal divisions, which have basically left him estranged from his partner, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and vulnerable to outside pressure.

One leader who expressed concern about Hekmatyar's impact was Mohammed Atta Noor, a powerful northern governor and former militia boss. In a speech read by his top aide at a Mujahideen Victory Day ceremony in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, he said he had welcomed the peace process but was worried that Hekmatyar's men were being allowed to keep their weapons, which he said could "further complicate the situation, with unpleasant and risky consequences".

Under the agreement signed late last year, Hekmatyar's representatives agreed to accept the constitution, lay down their arms and work for peace. The government agreed to release Hezb-i-Islami prisoners who had not committed crimes, provide Hekmatyar with three residences, provide land for thousands of his supporters in exile and allow him to fully participate in politics.

Washington Post