Foreign powers should not be involved in intra-Afghan peace talks as either participants or observers, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Hezb-e-Islami leader and a 2019 presidential candidate, said on Monday
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2020) Foreign powers should not be involved in intra-Afghan peace talks as either participants or observers, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Hezb-e-Islami leader and a 2019 presidential candidate, said on Monday.
Hekmatyar, a former warlord and ex-prime minister, came third with 3.5 percent of the vote in the 2019 election. His party is in opposition to the incumbent government and agrees to take part in the peace talks only under certain conditions.
"We will only participate in peace talks if there are real talks. Hezb-e-Islami ... we will not accept the participation of any foreign country in the peace talks," Hekmatyar said at a press conference.
He went on to express concern over the ongoing intense fighting in the country and recent assassinations of several clerics and other dignitaries, and called for unity.
"After the US-Taliban agreement, the war has intensified," the Hezb-e-Islami leader argued.
The ex-warlord accused the government of failing to fulfill its obligations under a peace deal with Hezb-e-Islami, release prisoners, and pave the way for the return of refugees.
The politician believes that the United States will not allow the government to implement the terms of the peace agreement.
In late February, the United States and the Taliban movement signed a peace deal in the Qatari capital of Doha. Under the accord, the US conditionally pledges to gradually pull its forces out of Afghanistan within 14 months. The Taliban, in return, vows that the country will not become a safe haven for terrorist groups.
The deal calls for a further decrease in violence and stipulates the beginning of intra-Afghan negotiations, as well as prisoner exchanges. The talks failed to begin as scheduled amid differences over prisoner release.
In mid-June, Khalilzad said that intra-Afghan talks are closer than ever, praising both sides for tangible progress in freeing prisoners. The negotiations have yet to begin as violence continues.
