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Afghanistan

Hekmatyar: 'We Urge The Supporters Of Hizb-i-Islami To Prepare For Another War'

2023-01-03

MEMRI] In his first sermon following the failed coordinated attack on his party's headquarters in Kabul, which also hosts a mosque where the former warlord delivers sermons every Friday, Hekmatyar said: "We urge the supporters of Hizb-e-Islami to prepare for another war. The heavy trust [responsibility] of this jihad is on your shoulders." "You are capable of getting the nation rid of this criminal, country-seller, traitor and faith-seller group and accepting [this responsibility]," said the former prime minister, who is known as "the Butcher of Kabul" for HIA's attacks on rival factions during the civil war in the 1990s that followed the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan. In the sermon, a recording of which is available on YouTube, Hekmatyar tells his party's supporters and members that Allah is with them, and they will succeed in the new war as they had succeeded in the previous two wars.[1] "We believe that the Hizb-e-Islami mujahideen can defeat this disgraced enemy by having trust in Allah. The same enemy that the others have failed to fight and defeat," he said. Hekmatyar criticized the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the ruling Taliban ...Arabic for students... jihadi organization) for closing a Hizb-e-Islami-affiliated university in Kabul and forcing its students to shift to other universities, along with cutting off the supply of electricity to the HIA headquarters, mosque, television, and other facilities provided by the previous government. On December 2, 2022, two button men, each wearing 11-kilogram explosive vests, attacked the central office of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan in Kabul, seeking to reach the mosque inside the compound where Hekmatyar and other leaders of his party pray on Friday. The Hizb-e-Islami emir said security guards at his headquarters killed both the jacket wallahs, adding that preliminary investigations revealed that both the attackers were from Tajikistan and a black flag of Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) was recovered from the bombers' controller.

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Afghanistan

Former Afghan PM slams Iran’s ‘negative’ role

2017-12-12

[ARABNEWS] Former Afghan prime minister and chief of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... , said Iran’s role in his country "has always been negative." Tehran "has always preferred continuation of war in Afghanistan... Iran has invested for at least 30 years (on war)," he told Pakistain’s Geo TV. "Iran is a party to the war in Afghanistan and supports different groups... Most of the weapons came from Iran after the withdrawal of the former Soviet Union (from Afghanistan)," he said, adding that Tehran is providing weapons to the Taliban ...Arabic for students... "Many countries think their national interests are served by the continuation of the war," he said, adding that other countries should not bring their rivalries to Afghanistan. "Unfortunately some neighbors don’t want an end to the war... so there’s instability, differences among Afghan leaders and a weak government. They’ve been spending on this war for 30 to 40 years," Hekmatyar said. "Pakistain is the only country badly affected by the Afghan war. Pakistain... suffered the most. This war paved the way for the creation of groups that took up arms against Pakistain," he added. "Pakistain wanted to import energy, gas, electricity and oil from Central Asia, but the war has blocked this and Pakistain faces a lot of problems due to an energy crisis."

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Afghanistan

Hekmatyar to visit Kabul likely in next couple of weeks

2016-09-26

[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... will visit Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... likely in next couple of weeks following the signing of a draft peace agreement with the Afghan government. According to reports, several Hezb-e-Islami party leaders have started visiting Kabul in a bid to welcome the party’s leader. "The former prime minister of Afghanistan of seven mujahideen coalition outfits is likely to engage in intensive dialogue with his friends in Taliban ranks and also inviting Pak authorities to join a joint effort to pave the way for foreign troops exit from Afghanistan when complete peace returns to the war-torn country," a source quoted in a report by The News said. The source further added "A team of journalists who reported the long armed struggle of Afghan nation against Soviet army’s invasion of the country for more than ten years may also visit Kabul as soon Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan chief sets foot in the capital." According to the paper, diplomatic sources in Islamabad are optimistic about returning of Taliban to negotiation table after Gulbaddin Hekmatyar’s joining mainstream politics by shunning arms struggle. The draf peace agreement between Hezb-e-Islami and the Afghan government was signed during a ceremony attended by high level government officials on Thursday. The agreement is expected to be signed by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. and Hekmatyar in the near future. The signing of the agreement came as Afghanistan High Peace Council and Hezb-e-Islami delegation participated in a series of negotations that lasted almost six months.

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Afghanistan

Hekmatyar's group blames NA for Indian embassy attack

2008-07-16

The Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) of Afghanistan's former premier Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has blamed the Northern Alliance (NA) for the suicide attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul last week. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the HIA said the alliance backed such terrorist attacks due to its animosity towards Pakistan. The statement dismissed Afghan President Hamid Karzai's allegations that Pakistan was behind the attack on the Indian embassy. Certain leaders holding positions in Karzai's cabinet belonged to the NA, the statement said, adding that those leaders were persecuting their own countrymen. "Those [NA] people want to create differences between India and Pakistan with such tactics," said the HIA statement issued in Pushto. Leaders of the alliance had killed Afghans along with the Red Army in past, it said, and now they are cohorts of the Americans. The HIA condemned the killing of innocent people in attacks by warring groups, and directed its "mujahideen" to avoid targeting civilians. Hekmatyar is the founder of the , and held the office of from 1993 to 1994 and again in 1996-97.

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Afghanistan

Afghans demand withdrawal of NATO and US troops

2008-06-10

The American and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops should leave Afghanistan because they are responsible for creating unrest in the country, Afghan leaders said on Monday. “The real factor behind the unending war and instability in Afghanistan is the presence of foreign troops. They must leave the country and let Afghans establish a government of their choice,” said Afghan representatives at a one-day seminar entitled, ‘The Afghan imbroglio: problems and the way to peace’. Former jihadi commanders, political leaders, religious scholars, intellectuals, tribal elders and those who have served in previous Afghan governments attended the seminar. Muhammad Zaman Muzammil, the organiser of the seminar and former member of the executive council of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), said the “Western style of democracy” was not going to serve the purpose in Afghanistan. A joint declaration released at the conclusion of the seminar demanded the foreign troops leave Afghanistan, and urged them to stop unwarranted search operations, which often resulted in the killing of civilians. The declaration also favoured a dialogue among all Afghan groups and factions to put an end to fighting in the strife-torn country. It also called upon the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to play its due role in bringing peace to Afghanistan. Commenting on the ongoing reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, the participants of the seminar said billion of dollars were being wasted in the name of rebuilding “but there is nothing visible on the ground as more than 80 percent of population is still living below the poverty line”. Muhammad Zaman Muzammil, the organiser of the seminar and former member of the executive council of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), said the “Western style of democracy” was not going to serve the purpose in Afghanistan. Lamenting the failure of foreign troops and the Afghan government in restoring peace, Muzammil said the number of military operations had mounted to 4,500 in 2007 compared to 150 in 2001. He said the Karzai-led government was seeking help from foreigners instead of its own people, and that the Afghan imbroglio was not only posing threat to the country but also to Pakistan, Iran and other countries in the region. Former Afghan premier Abdul Samad Hamid and Rostar Taraki spoke via telephone from London and France respectively, and also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. Zaman Muzammil told Daily Times after the seminar that such events would also be organised in Kabul and other countries.

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India-Pakistan

Unconfirmed: Dr. Amin al-Haq. head of Bin Laden's "Black Guard" Reported Captured

2008-01-07

Until it's confirmed we get the accordion lady. A senior al Qaeda commander has been reported to have been captured in the Pakistani city of Lahore, according to a Pakistani newspaper. Dr. Amin al Haq, the security coordinator of Osama bin Laden’s Black Guard, “was apprehended from Lahore couple of days back,” The Nation reported, citing “credible Afghan sources.” Al Haq is said to be “under interrogation” at an undisclosed location. The report of al Haq’s capture has not been confirmed, a senior intelligence official told The Long War Journal. US intelligence agencies are aware of the report. Al Haq has a long pedigree with both the Taliban and al Qaeda. He was born in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, was educated as a physician, and practiced medicine in Pakistan. “He was associated with Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan headed by late Maulvi Younas Khalis, which joined the Taliban Movement in 1996,” The Nation reported. He “was also part of the Afghan delegation flown to Sudan in 1996 to bring Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan.” On Dec. 19, 2000, al Haq was identified as a senior member of al Qaeda per United Nations resolution 1267. He accompanied Osama bin Laden during the 2001 battle at Tora Bora in Nangarhar province, and helped senior al Qaeda leaders escape the US and Afghan militia assault on the cave complex. During renewed fighting at Tora Bora in the summer of 2007, al Haq was reported to have been wounded and fled across the border into Pakistan's Kurram tribal agency. As security coordinator for the Black Guard, it is believed al Haq would be in close proximity to Osama bin Laden. US intelligence believes Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan’s tribal agencies, a claim the Pakistani government has denied. Many of the senior al Qaeda leader captured in Pakistan since Sept. 11, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Musab al Suri, have been detained in Pakistan’s major cities. The last I heard, which was awhile ago, Binny was holed up in Chitral. However, I also believe he travels with relative freedom throughout Pakistain and at any given time he's as likely to be in Lahore or Peshawar or Multan as he is to be in Chitral. Several senior al Qaeda leaders -- such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Saif al Adel, and Walid bin Attash -- rose through the ranks in al Qaeda by serving in the Black Guard. A Special Forces raid against the Black Guard camp in Danda Saidgai in North Waziristan, Pakistan in March 2006 resulted in the death of Imam Asad and several dozen members of the Black Guard. Asad was the camp commander, a senior Chechen al Qaeda commander, and associate of Shamil Basayev, the Chechen al Qaeda leader killed by Russian security forces in July 2006.

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Afghanistan

Hekmatyar sez 'Let's get some jihad goin'!'

2002-05-30

Former Afghan prime minister and chief of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has called upon the Afghans to wage jihad against American and British forces to liberate their country. In a message sent from Kabul, Hekmatyar denied the US government claims that any member of his group had been killed in the rockets attack near Kabul. He said: "No rockets have hit the areas of our brothers, nor has any important or common person been killed in this attack. The American claims in this regard are as baseless and boastful as their fabricated propaganda about their aborted operation in Shahi Kot." Hekmatyar said this was part of their psychological warfare to overawe the Afghans and browbeat them into submission. The operation in Shahi Kot, Hekmatyar said, was a failure despite, what he termed, the gruesome fact that they (Americans) dropped more than 2,500 bombs on such a small place. "I call upon all the sincere Afghans devoted to the cause of their religion and country to rise to the occasion in a unified manner, trust in Almighty Allah and prepare for Jihad once again to liberate their homeland from foreign occupation," Hekmatyar said. "And I promise I won't rocket Kabul to rubble again. Really. You know I always keep my promises..."

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