Kabul inks a peace deal with warlord

AFGHANISTAN yes t e rd ay signed a peace pact with notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, paving the way for him to make a political comeback despite a history of war crimes and after years in hiding.

Hekmatyar, who heads the largely dormant Hezb-i-Islami militant group, is the latest in a series of controversial figures Kabul has sought to reintegrate in the post-Taliban era by granting immunity for past crimes.

The deal with Afghanistan’s second-biggest militant group marks a symbolic victory for President Ashraf Ghani, who has struggled to revive talks with the more powerful Taliban.

A Hezb-i-Islami delegation shook hands with members of the High Peace Council (HPC), responsible for reconciliation efforts with militants, and the national security adviser at an official ceremony in Kabul.

Hekmatyar, derided as the “butcher of Kabul”, was an antiSoviet commander in the 1980s accused of killing thousands of people in the Afghan capital during the 1992-1996 civil war.

The deal paves the way for him to make a comeback in politics in a pattern well established by other warlords, such as General Abdul Rashid Dostum, the country’s first vice president. But it has sparked revulsion from rights groups.

According to the agreement, the government will offer Hekmatyar legal immunity “in all past political and military proceedings” as well as release Hezb-i-Islami prisoners.