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KABUL: After more than 40 years at war, one of Afghanistan’s warlords, designated a “global terrorist” by the US and blacklisted by the UN along with Osama Bin Laden, wants to come out of the shadows.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, now in his late 60s, says he wants a “real and fair peace” but with conditions the Kabul government is unlikely to even contemplate, such as the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan and new elections in 2016.
The remarks reflect Hekmatyar’s attempt to assert influence and gain new leverage in Afghan politics, but what role — if any — the once feared warlord could play is unclear.
“Peace can be established and the fighting can end once the occupation is over, foreign forces leave and the people of the Afghan nation are given the right to choose their own destiny and establish their own choice of government and governance,” Hekmatyar said.
The comments were provided to The Associated Press this week after being videotaped in Hekmatyar’s hiding place, presumed to be somewhere in Pakistan, where he moved to after being ejected from Iran following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan that removed the Taliban from power. His associates insist, however, that the warlord is in Afghanistan.
Earlier this year, Hekmatyar sent an envoy to Kabul to meet with senior Afghan officials and offer his services as an interlocutor, an associate of his told the AP.