KABUL - Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar is in good health and is living in the country, the party said on Thursday.
Rumours about the deteriorating condition of the ex-jihadi leader and his treatment in Turkey are baseless and far from true, a statement from HIA said.
Earlier, a newspaper reported that Hekmatyar was in Turkey for medical treatment, but HIA insisted its leader was in fine fettle and had not travelled abroad in the past 16 years.
“HIA wants to inform the people of Afghanistan that Hekmatyar is in perfect health and reports regarding his deteriorating health are baseless,” the statement added.
A source in HIA’s political office in Kabul told Pajhwok Afghan News on condition of anonymity that Hekmatyar was in sound condition and that he was inside Afghanistan.
Reports about Hekmatyar’s treatment emerged after a delegation of the party Turkey recently visited that country for talks on political issues and participation of the Turkish president in a reception for the ex-PM in Kabul.
Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on Wednesday informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange the government had moved to unfreeze Hekmatyar’s accounts.
Referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ letter, the SECP said the asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo set out in paragraph 2 of the Security Council Resolution 2253(2015) no longer apply to him.
On February 3, the UN Security Council lifted sanctions on the HIA chief in response to a request from the government of President Ashraf Ghani. (Pajhwok)