KABUL - Leader of Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Wednesday called on all Afghans and political parties to work together in favor of healthy competition among political parties in the country.
He also called on the Taliban to do the same and pointed out that one of the greatest benefits of Hizb-e-Islami having signed the peace agreement last year with government was that it was able to hold public gatherings.
Addressing a crowd of about 3,000 Hizb-e-Islami supporters at the start of their three-day national assembly in Kabul on Wednesday, Hekmatyar also repeatedly raised the issue of elections.
He said that under no circumstances should elections be delayed. However, he raised concerns over the number of people who would be able to vote.
He said that 60 percent of the country was insecure and that this meant 60 percent of the population might not be able to vote.
He went on to say that conflict-hit areas should be run by parties or individuals not involved in the war.
“This way peace will come to the country,” he said.
Her stated that Afghanistan cannot win the war through military strategies but through peace and harmony.
He also told his followers that the issue of Hizb-e-Islami prisoners not being freed was due to foreign interference. In line with this he criticized the Bonn conference in 2001 and said that power had not been handed to Afghans but had instead been handed to a few foreign nations.
He said that Afghanistan’s history has shown that it was in the past invaded by the British and the Soviet Union but that today it’s been invaded by the United States and NATO.
He also lashed out at government and said it did not have the support of the majority of Afghans and said parliament itself was a weak institution.
Regarding the structure of Hizb-e-Islami, he said the group needed an executive council as well as a central council that would consist of 500 members who represented all provinces in the country.
As for Hizb-e-Islami, he said the group had faced many challenges in the past but that "the party is still alive in people's hearts". (Tolonews)