KABUL - The National Unity Government (NUG) and Hizb-e-Islami have started efforts to create a joint committee that will be responsible for implementing the recent peace accord.
The committee will have six members, three from the High Peace Council (HPC) and three from the Hizb-e-Islami party.
Meanwhile, members of Hizb-e-Islami have said their first step will be to discuss, with the HPC, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and the National Security Council (NSC), the issue of removing Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's name from international blacklists and to free their prisoners.
"We are trying to establish a joint committee with three members from the Hizb-e-Islami and three from the HPC or NUG and they will discuss issues such as removing Hekmatyar's name from the U.S blacklist and others and the committee will be created to negotiate with the Ministry of Justice, the NSC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," said Mohammad Nadir Afghan, a spokesman for Hizb-e-Islami.
Meanwhile, Hekmatyar has announced a ceasefire.
Officials at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) also confirmed that following the peace deal they have not conducted operations against Hizb-e-Islami supporters.
"Hizb-e-Islami armed men have been present on the battlefield, and based on the peace deal, they decided to cooperate with us," said Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the MoD.
In the peace deal it is stated that Hizb-e-Islami supporters must lay down their arms and end their anti-government activities, however, analysts said that knowing the exact number of Hizb-e-Islami militants is vital for the NUG.
"Now Hizb-e-Islami should tell to the NUG how many armed men they have and it should be clear. Also Hizb-e-Islami should register its armed men with the Afghan security forces," said Mohibullah Samim, former governor of Paktika.
The NUG has said that HPC has been ordered to pursue further negotiations with the Hizb-e-Islami, however, the HPC have not commented in this regard.
But on Saturday, Mullah Trakhil Muhammadi, an MP, along with a number of clerics declared their support for the peace deal.
"Afghans are tired of fighting and we can't bear seeing Afghans being killed anymore," Trakhil said.
Hizb-e-Islami is the first anti-government group that joined the peace process. However, analysts insist that the implementation of the peace agreement is important for the future of the country. (Tolonews)