KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th September, 2019) Warlord-turned-presidential candidate Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has leveled a wave of criticism against the upcoming election, saying during his interview with Sputnik that this vote will be "more fraudulent and embarrassing" than all previous ones.
Hekmatyar is considered one of the most controversial presidential contenders in the tight and packed race. He twice served as prime minister during the the 1990s and even got nicknamed the "Butcher of Kabul" for his alleged role in attacks on the capital.
In the 1970s and 1980s, at the dawn of his rise to power, he was largely funded by the CIA. However, later, when he started waging a campaign against the US troops in Afghanistan, Washington radically changed its stance toward Hekmatyar, putting him on a terrorist list. He was removed from it in 2017. The politician was also out of favor with Kabul, which was why he lived in self-imposed exile in Pakistan for nearly two decades until 2016.
"These elections will be more fraudulent and embarrassing than any other election, trying to fill the boxes with fraud," Hekmatyar, a founder and the current head of the Hezb-e Islami political party which was formed as an elitist avant-garde movement with strict Islamic ideology, said.
The politician insisted that the elections would not include the entire country due to a number of refugees who had fled the war not having an opportunity to cast a ballot.
"Six million refugees and 3 million internally displaced persons are excluded from voting; 75 percent of Afghan soil is not controlled by the state, the state [has its authority] over cities and highways only," he said.
According to UN data, Afghans make up one of the largest refugee populations in the world as a result of its deteriorating security situation. Due to the fact that many have traveled to other countries illegally, they are unable to register to vote. It is not clear if any polling place will open for Afghan nationals outside the country.
CURRENT GOV'T CANNOT CONTINUE ANYWAY
Hekmatyar, who seems to have little chance of winning, lashed out at the current leadership, accusing it of abusing its power.
"If the elections are done or not, this government cannot continue. The American troops will leave, there is no other way, and this corrupt government [should also leave]," he stated.
Incumbent President Ashraf Ghani, a campaign front-runner, won his post after a highly contested vote back in 2014. He and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, both claimed victory, and after months of stalled negotiations, an extraconstitutional post within a power sharing agreement was created specifically for Abdullah, who now serves as the chief executive officer of Afghanistan. Abdullah is also a lead contender in this year's election.
TALIBAN TO GREENLIGHT PEACE IF FOREIGN TROOPS WITHDRAWAN
Hekmatyar believed that the Taliban movement will agree to a peace deal only if there are guarantees on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
"The Taliban want peace and are tired of continuing the war. If the withdrawal of foreign troops is guaranteed, I believe the Taliban will come to peace," he said.
The politician went on to suggest that a powerful address should be given to the Taliban movement and, in particular, its leadership.
"A powerful address [to the Taliban] must be created for negotiations... If the Taliban do not speak to the government, they must talk to a delegation that is talented and free from hostages," he said.
Hekmatyar stressed that the bloodshed that was taking place in the country was forbidden by Islamic beliefs.
"This war is forbidden from the Islamic point of view and there is no doubt about it. Explosions that kill civilians have neither Sharia justification nor rationality," he said.
The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan has been a major stumbling block in peace talks. The Taliban movement, which has stepped up its attacks ahead of the presidential election, has repeatedly stressed that the main condition for starting the country's peace process is the total withdrawal of all foreign forces.
Three US presidents have overseen the war, with tens of thousands of US military personnel being stationed in the crisis-hit country since 2001. The NATO-led mission Resolute Support has said that about 8,000 US troops are currently stationed in the country. In total, NATO has 17,000 troops in Afghanistan.
