KABUL - Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) leader Gulbadin Hekmatyar arrived in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, on Monday.
Having spent decades in hiding, the former prime minister would be soon among his supporters, a reliable government official said.
HIA security guards and senior leaders of the party met Hekmatyar in a government-owned building, the source confided to Pajhwok Afghan News.
Hekmatyar would stay in Jalalabad for a few days before arriving Kabul, said the official, who did not give further details.
Approached for comments, the governor’s spokesman said he was unaware of Hekmatyar’s arrival in the city. But Attaullah Khogyani said strict security measures had been put in place for the HIA leader’s arrival.
He said Nangarhar was the land of peace and Hekmatyar would be welcomed anytime he wished to come there.

But another well-placed source within HIA, which signed a landmark peace deal with the government last year, said Hekmatyar might appear in Jalalabad tomorrow. (Pajhwok)