UN lifts sanctions on notorious Afghan warlord Hekmatyar

The Afghan government requested the move as part of a peace deal with Hekmatyar and his militant group, Hezb-i-Islami, in September.

Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The United Nations removed his name from its ISIL group and Al Qaeda sanctions list. (AP photo)

KABUL // The UN Security Council has dropped sanctions against Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, paving the way for him to return openly to Afghanistan.

The Afghan government requested the move as part of a peace deal with Mr Hekmatyar and his militant group, Hezb-i-Islami, in September.

The deal was criticised by some Afghans and human rights groups for the pardon it granted to Mr Hekmatyar and many of his fighters.

While playing only a small role in the current insurgency in Afghanistan, Mr Hekmatyar was a major figure during the bloody civil war of the 1990s, when he was accused of indiscriminately firing rockets into Kabul, as well as other human-rights abuses.

The Afghan government welcomed the UN’s decision on Friday as a “a major step toward peace and stability in Afghanistan”.

“This was a demand of the people and government of Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Akram Khpalwak, a political adviser to president Ashraf Ghani.

“It is a major step for the peace process between Hezb-i-Islami and the government of Afghanistan.”

In removing Mr Hekmatyar from the list of people sanctioned for their ties to Al Qaeda, ISIL, and other militant groups, the UN unfroze his assets, and dropped a travel ban and arms embargo against him.

Mr Hekmatyar’s whereabouts have been unknown since he signed the peace deal with Mr Ghani in September via a video conference from an undisclosed location.

With the UN sanctions now removed, government officials expect Mr Hekmatyar to eventually return to the Afghan capital, despite the continued controversy.

Many foreign governments, including the United States, praised the accord at the time as a step toward wider peace in Afghanistan.

Diplomatic sources said Russia was the only Security Council member to oppose the lifting of sanctions. France was initially reluctant because of Hezb-i-Islami’s involvement in an ambush that cost the lives of 10 French soldiers in August 2008, but later changed its mind.

“It is an important point of the peace agreement between Hezb-i-Islami and the Afghan government,” said Mr Hekmatyar’s chief negotiator, Amin Karim.

“And it shows the commitment from the government and from the Hezb-i-Islami to pursue on this peace track,” Karim said.

It would also “open the door” and stimulate the peace process and would send a “strong signal to other fighters” in the country, he said in reference to the Taliban.

Mr Hekmatyar is seen as a potential rival to Mr Ghani and chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, who have governed the country through a shaky, US-brokered power-sharing agreement since disputed presidential elections in 2014. His return could stir up new political uncertainty as the government struggles to confront a reinvigorated Taliban that has been advancing on several fronts.

The warlord battled the Soviets in the 1980s and then took part in the civil war that erupted after their withdrawal, clashing with the so-called Northern Alliance. He was driven out when the Taliban seized power in 1996, but returned after the American invasion, vowing to resist what he termed the foreign “occupation”.

His forces were largely confined to just two provinces, however, and have carried out few attacks in recent years. He is believed to be in hiding somewhere in the eastern Kunar province, where he enjoys popular support, and makes occasional trips into Pakistan through the nearby border.

* Agencies