KABUL (SW) – Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e-Islami, on Sunday claimed large consignments of arms and ammunition is entering the country to prolong the war.
Hekmatyar, who was speaking to mark 32nd anniversary of the Soviet Red Army’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, did not name anyone, but said that the weapons have been brought to the country disguised as food aid, and distributed among warlords having a history of fighting the Taliban.
According to him, while the US is trying to end the war in Afghanistan, the presidential palace in Kabul is preparing to prolong war by creating militia groups and distributing weapons. The leader of Hezb-e-Islami said the US and the Afghan government are responsible for the stalemate in intra-Afghan talks.
Salam Watandar wished to have the views of the Presidential Palace on this issue, but to no avail.
Hekmatyar said at the meeting that US President Joe Biden’s recent remarks about delaying the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan suggest that the Washington intends to back down and violate the Doha Agreement. He said there is no moral justification for President Biden to discard the Doha deal. According to him, the Taliban will not accept the presence of the Americans or the continuation of their ‘puppet government’ in Afghanistan after May this year.
The US and the Taliban signed the deal in Doha last year. Under the agreement, the US promised to withdraw all its forces from Afghanistan by May 2021, and the Taliban promised that it would not allow extremist groups to operate from Afghanistan.
ENDS
