Interview with Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar: Can peace talks succeed?

Veteran Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hektmatyar spoke to a reporter in Tehran in this February 5, 2002 file photo.


Interview with Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar: Can peace talks succeed?
By Anand Gopal, Correspondent / June 9, 2010

Kabul, Afghanistan - Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a veteran Afghan warlord, heads the only one of three main insurgent groups that is holding direct negotiations with the government. His group, Hizb-e-Islami, controls large swaths of the north and east, and in March it delivered to Kabul a 15-point peace proposal. But any deal with Hizb-e-Islami remains far off, due to disagreements over when foreign troops should leave and when to hold new elections. And it is not clear that stronger groups such as the Taliban would follow suit.

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Is the withdrawal of the foreign troops the only way to stop the fighting?

The presence of foreign troops is the fundamental reason for the continued fighting. Foreign troops should leave Afghanistan. Moreover, the interference of neighboring countries and other powerful forces should stop, because their competition is the cause of this chaos.

What role do you see for yourself in a post-US government?

Right now I just want the freedom of my country. I am not thinking about other issues. I don’t want anything for myself, nor have we asked for anything for me or Hizb-e-Islami.