The fugitive chief of the Hizb-e-Islami Gulbaddin Hekmatyar has reappeared on the political scene through a rare television interview.
LAHORE: The fugitive chief of the Hizb-e-Islami Gulbaddin Hekmatyar has reappeared on the political scene through a rare television interview a few weeks after Pakistan proposed a formula for political reconciliation in Afghanistan by arranging a dialogue between President Karzai and Hekmatyar.
In his first television interview in five years, conducted by the Geo Television, Hekmatyar said that his fighters had helped the Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden escape from the mountains of Toro Bora in October 2001 after the US-led Allied troops had invaded Afghanistan.
Osama, believed to be operating from the Waziristan area on Pak-Afghan border, had designated Hekmatyar [in July 2003] as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under an Executive Order 13224 dated July 2, 2003 on charge of urging the Afghans [in a vide taped message] to cut off the hands of the foreign meddlers and drive all foreign forces out of Afghanistan, especially the Americans.
Well places sources in the Pakistani intelligence circles say that by reappearing on the political horizons, Hekmatyar has made him available for a possible deal with the Karzai administration, which might be struck with the help of Pakistani establishment. The sources recalled that in mid-December 2006, the chairman of Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Committee Mushahid Hussain had floated a formula to ensure that Karzai broaden his base instead of confining his government to Kabul.
As per the Mushahid formula, conveyed to Karzai through the Norwegian ambassador to Pakistan, a dialogue between Karzai and Hekmatyar, if not with Mulla Omar, was proposed besides involving eight countries — Pakistan, Iran, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the US and Russia - in the dialogue to reach a peaceful solution to the Afghanistan crisis.
Mushahid Hussain, who is also the secretary general of ruling Pakistan Muslim League, was of the view that law and order situation in Afghanistan was going out of Karzai's control and he should better involve non-Taliban Puhstuns like Hekmatyar in the decision making process in Kabul to overcome the situation.
The sources said that the Mushahid formula has already been conveyed to Karzai who is giving it a serious thought now a days.
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