On the cards: Hekmatyar poised to give up resistance

It's expected that Hekmatyar will return to Kabul at the end of the year as US-led allies withdraw from Afghanistan

PESHAWAR:

In the wake of successful mediation on the part of his close aides and some other leading figures, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the chief of his faction of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is ready for reconciliation with the Afghan government and will disassociate himself from armed resistance.

Mediation started soon after President Ashraf Ghani was inaugurated, replacing Hamid Karzai who governed Afghanistan from December 2001 till September 2014.

In light of his national reconciliation policy, Karzai had established contacts with Hekmatyar a decade back, however, despite such initiatives, Hekmatyar and his aides continued their opposition. HIA fighters also put up resistance to Nato personnel in this time.

During his election campaign, Ashraf Ghani had not only mustered the support of scattered HIA stalwarts, he also succeeded, in the run-offs, in getting Qutubuddin Hilal on his side. Hilal is the deputy leader of the HIA and a close aide of Hekmatyar. Hilal was also among the aspirants for the top slot and had bagged around 200,000 votes in the first round of presidential elections.  Although Hilal serves as the deputy leader of the HIA, he was on good terms with Karzai and now with President Ghani.

It is expected Hekmatyar will return to Kabul at the end of the year as the US-led allies complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan. His return could be a boon for Ghani-led allies, who have emerged victorious in the presidential polls on ethnic grounds. Despite supporting each other against the Taliban, a gap still exists between Hekmatyar and the Northern Alliance now headed by Abdullah Abdullah.

Hekmatyar has continued his political activities and has kept his party intact among the refugee population through publications like Tanveer and Shahdat.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2014.