US is defeated in Afghanistan: Heykmatyar

Hizb-e-Islami leader says no other alternative but to seek a peaceful solution for the Afghan crisis

ISLAMABAD:

Gulbuddin Heykmatyar, leader of Hezb-e-Islami of Afghanistan, on Wednesday claimed that the United States had been defeated in Afghanistan and was left with no other alternative but to seek a peaceful solution.

“The reality is that America has been defeated in Afghanistan. They have not achieved any strategic goals,” Heykmatyar said while speaking at the Institute of Policy Institute (IPS) on his last day of his three-day Pakistan trip.

The Hizb-e-Islami leader also launched a scathing criticism against former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for siding with the US after the 9/11 attacks. Since the invasion of Afghanistan, he said 1 million Afghans were killed and 6 millions became refugees.

Heykmatyar, who during the Soviat invasion of Afghanistan worked alongside the US and other weatern countries as well as Pakistan, later fought against the US-led international forces. He, however, struck a peace deal with President Ashraf Ghani's administration in 2016, ending his 20 years of exile.

But the peace accord with Kabul did not stop him from criticising the Ghani administration. He said the US itself admitted that the Afghan government was the most corrupt and held it responsible for their defeat in Afghanistan. Heykmatyar, who twice served as Afghanistan’s Prime Minister in the 1990s, demanded the resignation of the Kabul administration to pave the way for a consensus government.

He said when the Soviet Union left Afghanistan its ‘puppet’ government remained in power in Kabul, leading to a civil war. Heykmatyar stated the same mistake should not be repeated. Not only the US troops should withdraw but the government it established in Kabul must also go, he demanded.

The Hizb-e-Islami leader was of the view that the United States invaded Afghanistan to take control of Afghan national resources and at the same time control the region from there.

However, he said none of those objectives were achieved as the US is facing the same fate as faced by the former Soviet Union. Heykmatyar said the people of Afghanistan would not accept the presence of US on its soil.

He supported the non-aligned government, the one which maintains its sovereignty and independence. He also made it clear that Afghan soil must not be used as a proxy by regional and international powers. He agreed that external players such as India should not be allowed to use Afghan soil against Pakistan.

“It should be a pure Afghan solution,” Heykmatyar commented while objecting to any solution imposed from outside.

Talks between the Afghan government and Taliban are currently underway in Doha. The two sides are trying to evolve a consensus on the agenda and rules of engagement.

Heykmatyar said the talks should focus on two things: withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and installation of government without any US interference.