Hekmatyar Announces His Position On Afghan Peace Process

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a presidential candidate and leader of Hezb-e-Islami, said on Sunday that the Afghan government and the participants of the intra-Afghan meeting in Qatar are not aware of what is happening at the meetings in Doha.

According to Hekmatyar, the foreign countries have monopolized the Afghan peace process and there is no decision-maker from the people and the government of Afghanistan at the negotiating table.

“Two foreigner countries and their representatives in Afghanistan have decided whom to be invited to the summit,” Hekmatyar said.

He further cautioned that he is not optimistic about a peace deal between the Taliban and the United States in the near future because there are a lot of barriers.

“If America is willing to hand over the government in Kabul to someone it is not possible. If anyone expects that America can take them to the Arg or can guarantee their staying there, they are making a mistake,” Hekmatyar said.

However, Hekmatyar suggested that there are two ways to end the war in Afghanistan.

He said the first one is an intra-Afghan dialogue where the Afghans make the final decision and the second is electing a new president by holding a transparent and all-accepted election.

The recent intra-Afghan summit hosted by Qatar and Germany in Doha has been criticized by many people because the participants have been invited as individuals and are representing neither the government nor the political parties.