Abdullah gives up opposition to peace deal, says Hizb-e-Islami

Afghan Senate throws weight behind agreement

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah has withdrawn his opposition to a proposed peace agreement between Hizb-e-Islami chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and President Ashraf Ghani’s government, a senior Hizb-e-Islami leader claimed on Sunday.

The agreement was earlier scheduled to be signed in Kabul on September 10, according to Hekmatyar, but “internal problems” led to the postponement of the accord. The group’s official mouthpiece ‘Shahadat’ later blamed Dr Abdullah for opposing the agreement.



Apparently, some of the group’s former leaders, who are now in Abdullah’s camp, are unhappy about the prospect of Hekmatyar returning to Kabul.

“We have received strong indications from the office of Dr Abdullah that they will not oppose the peace deal,” a top Hizb leader told The Express Tribune on Sunday. He requested not to be identified as the deal is most likely to be signed in a “few days”.

On Sunday, the Afghan Senate threw its weight behind the deal and urged the government to reveal the names of those who are opposed to the agreement. Senate Chairman Fazal Hadi Muslimyar has been cited by media as saying that the government and Hizb ought to share details of the dialogue process.



Sources say the High Peace Council was not completely informed about the negotiation process.

The government is under pressure to sign the draft of the peace deal because it is seen as important in the wake of the Taliban refusal to join the peace process.

“If the process fails, how will the government tell the Taliban and other groups to join the reconciliation?” Radio Azadi quoted Senator Muhammad Hasan Hotak as saying.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2016.