© AFPAfghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
The Afghan government has signed a draft peace accord with notorious exiled warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, paving the way for his return after years of fighting the central authorities. A government delegation and a team representing Hekmatyar's
Hezb-e Islami militant group signed the document at a press conference in Kabul on September 22.
The final agreement is expected to be signed by Hekmatyar and President Ashraf Ghani in the coming days. That is expected to be a mere formality.
"Fortunately, after two years of negotiations between Afghanistan's High Peace Council and the Hezb-e Islami, the peace negotiations have been successfully completed, and an agreement between both sides has been finalized," the
Afghan High Peace Council, the presidentially appointed body tasked with pursuing a peace settlement with militant groups, said in a statement. Sayed Ahmad Gilani, head of the High Peace Council, said at a news conference in Kabul that "in the light of our national interests, this could benefit both sides." He added, "I hope that this is the beginning of a permanent peace in our country."
Hekmatyar's forces were accused by rights groups of
gross human rights violations during Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s, and they have carried out
deadly attacks against U.S. and Afghan forces since 2001. Hundreds of protesters rallied in Kabul on September 22, holding placards reading "Butcher of Kabul" and "We will neither forget nor forgive." A senior researcher on Afghanistan for the international group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called the deal with Hekmatyar "an
affront to victims of grave abuses."
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