Hekmatyar’s Re-entry into Afghan Politics, A ray of hope or a sign of dismay?

After being out of practical politics and absent from the national scene for more than twenty years, the leader of Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan and a former Prime Minister of the war-torn country, Engineer Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, has once again entered the Afghan political arena. This move is going to have certain implications for Afghan politics. Although he is militarily weak, yet he is the leader of the second largest resistance group and is also an influential figure among those who are currently enjoying the luxuries of power in Afghanistan.

Hekmatyar was one of those Mujahidin leaders who inflicted, in the 1980s, a humiliating defeat on USSR in Afghanistan. He was a student of engineering in Kabul University and was influenced by late Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani and Prof. Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf during 1960s to start resistance against the communist policies of Sardar Daud. Since then, he has been known as Islamist leader in Afghanistan especially among Pashtun tribes. In late 1980s, he made his own political party namely Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan. He is considered a pro-Pakistan leader and is against Indian influence in his country.

After the defeat of USSR, the tug of war for power started among different factions of Afghanistan. The situation kept on deteriorating and eventually culminated into a long civil war in the country. Ahmad Shah Masoud of Northern Alliance and Hekmatyar of Hezb-e-Islami were the chief rivals and main contenders for the Kabul thrown. At the peak of the civil war, Kabul had virtually become a graveyard for its citizens. Thousands of people were killed during the war that ended with the entry of Taliban as a new political force in Afghanistan. Taliban captured the capital and the rivals either got refuge in their respective areas or ran away to save their lives. Later, Ahmad Shah Masoud was killed in a bomb explosion just two days before the incident of 9/11. Hekmatyar went into exile and remained under cover due to United Nations sanctions.

United States and Afghanistan government tried to bring the resistance forces into mainstream and disarm the warring factions. More than ten years of persuading efforts were brought to some fruition when Hekmatyar was successfully assuaged to sign a peace deal with the Afghanistan government. The delay in materialization of the deal by Hekmatyar was only to determine whether the deal or agreement was being concluded with the incumbent government or with the Afghan State. Hekmatyar wanted the deal to be struck with the Afghan state as he was unsure of the fate of the current National Unity Government (NUG). The deal was signed in the last week of September 2016. Afghan government later requested the United Nations and the United States to remove Hekmatyar’s name from UN sanctions list, which was done in last February.

After months-long negotiations with the government regarding his security and release of HIA prisoners, Hekmatyar finally came on the surface in Nangarhar province in April. He was warmly welcomed by his supporters as well as the general public and slogans were raised for peace and stability in Afghanistan. He also visited Laghman province where he met a huge number of supporters and addressed some gatherings as well. Second Vice President of Afghanistan, Asad Danish, on the directions of President Ashraf Ghani, went to Laghman and invited him to visit the Arg (The Presidential Palace) and reside in his new residence in Kabul.

Hekmatyar, along with thousands of armed supporters, was received in Kabul amidst a mixed public reaction; some blamed him for killings in Kabul while others saw his entry as a new ray of hope for peace in Afghanistan. At the Arg, he was given a red carpet welcome from President Ashraf Ghani, who was accompanied by former President Hamid Karzai, CEO Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Prof. Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf, Kareem Khaili, Younus Qanooni and many other notables. The speeches of these dignitaries were suggestive of a clear change in Afghan politics and there seemed a unity, commitment and enthusiasm among these leaders as they all aspired to be on the same track for the stability of Afghanistan. Hekmatyar, although a political rival of Taliban, called them brothers and invited them to negotiations. “If you lay down your guns and come forward, I will be the first one to call you my brothers. To the Taliban, [I say] come forward, let’s talk about peace and prosperity, and join us in this peace process in Afghanistan,” he said.

Nevertheless, owing to his ideological orientation, Hekmatyar does not believe in parliamentary form of government; the stance he reiterated during his welcome speech. He affirmed his commitment to Afghan constitution and called for a constitutional Loya Jirga to change the system for bringing long-term political stability to Afghanistan. Unlike his past, he is now supporting female education and a bigger role for them in the society; and, it can be termed as a positive sign for Afghans and the international community.

The main global and regional players in Afghanistan i.e. USA, Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan, European Union and Turkey, see the return of Hekmatyar as a positive development for Afghanistan. If he keeps his new resolve to support the current constitution and remains committed to bringing change by adopting democratic ways to attain political power, it will undoubtedly pave the way for constructive politics in Afghanistan. But, if he changes his strategy and goes back to the politics of the twentieth century — bullet rather than ballot — then another civil war, even bloodier than that of 1990s, might ensue. Since the tactics of war and guerrilla warfare have become ever more destructive and modernized, the foreign troops, which are in non-combating mood and are also less in number, will not be able to stop the destruction and mayhem.

Here comes the area where regional players and Afghanistan’s neighbours need to play their due, positive role. The country is to be ruled by Afghans themselves and the foreign influence must be kept at its minimal. The Afghan politicians, diplomats, lawmakers, academicians and students are visiting Hekmatyar at his residence in Kabul in large numbers, which shows Afghans are trying to unite their country from within. Yet, due to the nature of Afghan politics and its turbulent political history, neighbours cannot remain aloof of the Afghan politics. This time, a positive role instead of playing proxies can really help Afghanistan to start its journey toward peace, stability and prosperity. The newly-found unity among Afghan politicians, especially, after the re-entry of Hekmatyar, affirms the notion that the bullet must be replaced with the ballot, and enemies need to be friends through the prevalence of democracy in Afghanistan.

Although Hekmatyar is a ‘doubting Thomas’ as he criticizes everyone: he criticizes NUG for instability, US for destruction in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan for duplicity, ISIS for un-Islamic fatwas (edicts) and killing of innocent people, Taliban for their brutal way of killing innocent Afghans and their extremist views, and Afghan politicians for not deciding on their own but accepting dictations from others, yet he presents himself to be the one who can talk to the Taliban, can re-unite Afghan political factions and can possibly reduce the influence of foreign players. In short, he is a strong ray of hope and an iconic national leader who can bring peace and stability to Afghanistan as well as the entire South Asian region.
The writer is associated with Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad.