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Ghani setting up 8-member council that will include Taliban: Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Hizb-e-Islami party, says that President Ashraf Ghani along with a number of politicians has agreed to form an eight-member “decision-making” council.
In an exclusive interview with Ariana News, Hekmatyar stated that the council would make the final decisions on national issues in Afghanistan.
Ghani, former President Hamid Karzai, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Jamiat-e-Islami leader Salahuddin Rabbani, Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, Hizb-e-Wahdat Islami leader and the president’s advisor Mohammad Mohaqiq, former Vice President Karim Khalili, and an as yet unnamed member of the Taliban will be on the council.
“The High Council of Government should be formed alongside the government. And limited figures and influential party leaders or let me say influential laterals must be part of it,” Hekmatyar said.
This comes as Ghani reportedly had meetings with prominent Afghan figures over the past few days – meetings aimed at building consensus over establishing the council.
Hekmatyar, meanwhile, stated that the current government would be replaced with another government “which would be accepted by all parties.”
He also claimed that the controversial issue around the 7,000 Taliban prisoners would be resolved. He said they would be released and the US would also remove the names of the group’s leaders from blacklists.
“Foreign forces will withdraw from Afghanistan. The current government will be replaced by a government that is acceptable to all. The High Council of Government would be formed with Taliban participation. Their prisoners would be released and names of their leaders would also be removed from US blacklists,” he said.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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