Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A senior Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) leader on Friday said that party chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was set to come out of years of hiding within the next few days for a political role.

Hekmatyar put a stop on armed resistance after he struck a peace deal with the Afghan government in September last year. He is most likely to emerge in eastern Afghanistan, either in Laghman or Nangarhar, and would later move to capital Kabul, where HIA supporters are busy in preparations to accord him a warm welcome, the leader told Daily Times on Friday.

The whereabouts of Hekmatyar have been unknown since 2001; however, HIA’s former spokesman Haroon Zarghoon claims that Hekmatyar had been living in Kunar province since he had gone into hiding.

Hekmatyar agreed to emerge after the Afghan officials approved the release of the first group of the HIA prisoners under a 25-point peace agreement.

The HIA chief faces many challenges ahead. The most difficult would be bringing his former close aides back, as several have formed splinter groups and joined either the camp of President Ashraf Ghani or that of Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah.

It would not be an easy job for Hekmatyar to woo all the dissident leaders, because some of them have assumed senior positions like Engineer Muhammad Khan, who is currently working as deputy to Dr Abdullah. Khan had served as the head of the HIA’s intelligence affairs and deputy of the financial affairs, both key positions during his long association with the party under Hekmatyar.

Some dissident leaders have set conditions that Hekmatyar could not afford to accept. Hizb sources have confided to this scribe that Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, one of Hekmatyar’s former close aides, has put conditions to return. Arghandiwal, who has served as head of the military and financial affairs, advised Hekmatyar to give up his tough stance against Iran as well as about Jamiat-e Islami, which he may not accept. Arghandiwal, now member of a breakaway faction of the HIA, had served as minister of economy under Hamid Karzai.

A change in Hekmatyar’s stance about Iran is unlikely, as he has already established good contacts with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, as well as Turkey. Arab countries increased contacts with Hekmatyar’s men after the HIA and Kabul signed the peace deal. Ghairat Baheer, who heads the HIA’s political affairs, has paid visits to some Arab countries and Turkey in recent months.

Hizb leaders insist that Hekmatyar would still have bitter memories when the Iranian officials ordered him to leave Tehran in 2002 due to, as HIA believes, the “American pressure”. Hekmatyar had returned to Pakistan and later moved to Afghanistan and remained most of the time in eastern Kunar province, a party leader who would visit him there told this scribe. On the political front, Hekmatyar will have to face Jamiat-e-Islami, as both had been traditional rivals and would be rivals in politics. Although political parties are not very strong in Afghanistan and personalities matter, HIA under Hekmatyar could be more effective in ending the one-party domination.

Some political watchers believe that Hizb-e-Islami’s active involvement could help party politics in Afghanistan. The upcoming parliamentary elections could be a test case for the HIA, as party leaders have hinted at showing their strength in the polls.

Hekmatyar faces another difficult task of dispelling the impression among party leaders about the trend of giving role to family members. The Hizb leaders were unhappy at the involvement of Hekmatyar’s son, Habibur Rehman, in the HIA affairs, particularly during the negotiations with the government.

Many in Hizb believe Hekmatyar unnecessarily had involved his son in some important issues. He was sent several times to meet government leaders and delivered Hekmatyar’s letters to President Ghani and other officials. They think that Hekmatyar is preparing his son for his possible replacement.

Another issue that is causing internal rift is the long-delayed election of the party chief. Hekmatyar has been serving as the HIA chief since the early 80s. Under the Hizb constitution, a chief is elected for four years. But no election for the new leader took place for a long time. The period could be extended for another two years and only twice under special circumstances.