Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar first rose to prominence in Afghanistan during the 1970s when he founded Hezb-e-Islami, which means “The Islamic Party.”

Despite its origins in university student groups, Hekmatyar’s organization soon became known as one of the major Afghan guerrilla factions, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

During the next decade, the United States spent billions of dollars in covert assistance to fight the Soviet forces.  U.S. officials funneled the money through Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence, and the lion’s share went to Hekmatyar.

The ISI director general in the 1980s, Hamid Gul, says he knows Hekmatyar well.  He told me the ethnic-Pashtun mujahideen leader, who originally studied in the university to become an engineer, was an important asset for both the United States and Pakistan at the time. 

But Gul says Hekmatyar was always an outspoken critic of the United States.  He says it is Hekmatyar’s nature that is probably urging him now to negotiate with the current Afghan government for a share in the post-U.S.-invasion Afghanistan.

“He is very ambitious, and that is probably his undoing,” said Hamid Gul. “I mean, he is politically very, very ambitious; there is no doubt about it.  He has a charismatic personality, and his Hezb-e-Islami is a very well-organized force, and I think he could still draw a lot of loyalists.”

But the director of the Kabul-based Afghan Rights Monitor, Ajmal Samadi, has a less flattering recollection of the militant leader.  After the Soviets withdrew and the U.S. support for Afghan guerillas dried up, Hekmatyar’s fighters battled with other rebel factions in Kabul for control of the country.

Samadi describes how Hekmatyar solidified a reputation as a ruthless warlord.

“Forces under his command were accused of very, very appalling crimes, for instance: the rape of women, the use of child soldiers, sexual exploitation of children, shelling civilian-populated areas, blockading the city and denying people access to essential services,” said Ajmal Samadi.

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar briefly served as Afghanistan’s prime minister in the 1990s.  But when his rival Mullah Mohammad Omar seized control of the government in 1996 with his Taliban fighters, Hekmatyar fled to Iran.

He apparently left that country sometime after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.  Soon after, Hekmatyar announced his support for his former rivals, the Taliban, and his opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The United States targeted Hekmatyar with a drone missile strike in 2002, but missed.  U.S. officials labeled the Hezb-e-Islami leader a terrorist the following year, saying he participated in and supported terrorist acts committed by al-Qaida and the Taliban.

In recent years, analysts believe Hekmatyar has been living in Pakistan while directing his fighters in operations against coalition and Afghan troops in eastern and northern Afghanistan.

Speaking from Kabul, the director of Afghanistan’s Center for Research and Policy Studies, Haroun Mir, says Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s desire to reconcile with the Taliban is most likely making Hekmatyar consider shifting his alliances, as he has done many times in the past.

“Hekmatyar is keen to reach out to Kabul and find a negotiation because he knows that he could not enjoy the kind of support the Taliban receive from Pakistan and al-Qaida,” said Haroun Mir.

He points to the fact that earlier this month, a firefight erupted between some of Hekmatyar’s fighters and the Afghan Taliban, killing about 50 people.  It is unclear what caused the fight, but Mir says if the Taliban and Afghan government reach an agreement, Hekmatyar might be sidelined.

Daoud Sultanzoy is a member of the Afghan Parliament.  He told me that Hekmatyar appears to have more of a willingness to negotiate than the Taliban.

“The Taliban are saying one of the conditions is the removal of foreign troops and they will not accept the constitution of Afghanistan, but Mr. Hekmatyar or at least his aides are saying that they are prepared to sit down and talk about these things,” said Daoud Sultanzoy.

U.S. officials cautiously welcomed talks this week between President Karzai and the Hezb-e-Islami delegation.  But they stressed that any groups involved in peace talks must renounce violence and support for the insurgency, live in accordance with the Afghan constitution and sever any ties with al-Qaida and other terrorist networks.

It is unclear whether Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is prepared to do all those things, but at the very least, analysts say he is willing to talk.  At the same time, there is a fear that his violent reputation against Afghan civilians could undermine the Karzai administration.

What do you think?  Are peace talks with Hekmatyar in the best interest for Afghanistan?

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Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani says the military operation targeting Taliban militants in the South Wazirstan tribal region is over.

Pahari Sahib, Wikimedia Commons

Mr. Gilani told reporters that Pakistan’s military is now focusing on the Orakzai tribal region in an effort to chase the Pakistani Taliban leadership that is believed to have fled there from South Waziristan.  Once fully launched, the operation in Orakzai will be the third major offensive against the Pakistani Taliban this year.

Here is a breakdown of the situation:

Part 1 –  How has Pakistan’s offensive against the Taliban evolved in 2009?

Part 2 — How successful has the military been?

Part 3 — How have the militants responded?

Part 4 — How is the public responding to the offensive?

U.S. officials have commended the Pakistani government for launching the South Waziristan operation.  But as the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan strengthens, Washington continues to urge Islamabad to expand its operations to take on the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida agents believed to be based in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region.

The former security chief of the tribal regions, retired Brigadier-General Mahmood Shah, tells me that the United States’ priorities are very different than Pakistan’s.  The United States wants Pakistan to focus on militants that are part of a global network of terrorists.  But Shah says Pakistan wants to focus on its immediate threat: militants it believes have launched a series of high-profile attacks across the country.  Since the beginning of October, these attacks have killed more than 500 people.

If you click the map above, you can see that North Waziristan is between South Waziristan and the Orakzai tribal regions.  I told Shah it appears the militants escaped from South Waziristan through its northern neighbor — where the United States wants Pakistan to focus its forces.

Shah says the militants Pakistan is targeting have always had a presence in Orakzai.  He says the military chose to attack the Pakistani Taliban’s base in South Waziristan before broadening its campaign.  He says that he believes his country will be in a better position to help the United States and its allies once it takes care of its domestic insurgency.

Click here for the story.

During his speech, President Obama explained the purpose of more troops is to break the Taliban’s momentum in the country and help lay the foundation for transitioning command from the coalition to Afghan security forces.

Mr. Obama also sought to reassure Afghans that the United States has no interest in taking over their country.  He said America seeks to isolate those who destroy and strengthen those who build in Afghanistan.  Watch my story below to see how Afghans reacted to the U.S. president:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sg08MrqXoU

Mr. Obama also had a message for the Afghan government: The time for writing “blank checks” is over.  U.S. officials have long warned Afghan President Hamid Karzai that he must address government corruption during his new five-year term.  The day before President Obama’s announcement, Afghan lawmaker Daud Sultanzoi told me that he thought the new U.S. strategy is premature.

Click here for the story.

Mr. Obama also promised that the United States will not abandon the region.  He said that ultimately, America wants to be a partner with Afghanistan and not a patron.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O23lwnuSmas

It appears Mr. Karzai is working fast to make good on at least some his promises.  Late Sunday, his office issued a decree asking Afghanistan’s High Office of Oversight and Anti-corruption to prepare for a national conference within one month.  The conference will bring together Afghan government officials, analysts and members of Afghan civil societies to discuss how to combat government corruption.

However, the make-up of this conference does beg the question: How can you find effective ways to combat government corruption when you are inviting government officials to participate?  The conference’s findings should be interesting.

Mr. Karzai has made numerous pledges to tackle the issue, but the problem
has deteriorated since he first took office in early 2002.  Transparency International released a poll last week that showed Afghanistan is now perceived to be the second-most corrupt country in the world behind Somalia.

Also in his inaugural address, President Karzai reached out to militants without links to international terrorism to help in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. But following the tightly-guarded inauguration ceremony, it seemed the militants gave their response. Afghan officials said a suicide bomber in the south of the country killed 10 civilians and wounded 13 others.  A separate bombing also the same day killed two U.S. soldiers in eastern Zabul province.

There were several other attacks in the days that followed, including an assassination attempt on an influential member of parliament, a suicide bombing, roadside bombings and a rocket attack near the Serena Hotel in Kabul.

President Karzai said it is his goal to have Afghan forces take the lead for all security operations by the end of his new five-year term.  Judging by the continued violence, it may be a long five years.

AndrewRT, Wikimedia Commons

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a television interview that the United Nations wants to replace more than half of the country’s 380 district election heads as one way to make the second round more credible.

But the U.N. spokesman in Afghanistan told me today that staffing is just one of the many things Afghan election officials have to consider in the coming weeks.

Click here for the story.

Meanwhile in Pakistan, authorities closed many schools a day after two suicide bombers attacked the International Islamic University in Islamabad, killing four people at a faculty building and a women’s cafeteria.

Separately, surveillance video footage from one of last week’s attacks in Lahore made its rounds on local media channels.  The attack was on the country’s Federal Investigation Agency, which is similar to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY5xe_aRk2c

Also, Pakistani helicopter gunships attacked Taliban strongholds near the Afghan border on the fifth day of an offensive in the tribal region of South Waziristan.

Officials say troops are facing fierce resistance as they fight to gain control of Kotkai, the hometown of the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud.