ISLAMABAD: Former Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar faces a split in his militia turned political party Hezb-e-Islami, as scores of members decide to launch another group, a senior Hezb leader said on Friday.
Former Hezb-e-Islami spokesman Hajji Sharafat alias Haroon Zarghoon, confirmed the split and said the senior members were disappointed by Hekmatyar’s decision to promote relatives as party officials, and by obscuring the party’s financial matters and foreign visits.
Sharafat, who used to be Hekmatyar’s close aide, has joined the dissidents.
He told Arab News that Hezb-e-Islami leaders had advised Hekmatyar not to contest September’s presidential election as his weak position would be a serious blow for the party. Despite their recommendation, Hekmatyar participated in the vote.
According to Sharafat, they also requested that the former warlord stop his harsh criticism of President Ashraf Ghani’s government.
Hekmatyar was one of the most powerful mujahideen commanders of the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s. Forced out by the Taliban, after nearly 20 years in hiding he returned to Kabul in 2017, following a peace agreement with Ghani in 2016.
Sharafat said that by allowing Hekmatyar to return, Ghani ignored pressure from Hezb’s political rival Jamiat-e-Islami and other leaders who opposed the peace deal.
The Hezb-e-Islami splinter group, Da Hezb-e-Islami Da Shouraganu Ettehad, chose Juma Khan Hamdard as its leader. His appointment will be announced in a day or two, Sharafat said.
Hamdard, who has been based in northern Balkh province, was also a senior Hezb commander during the Afghan-Soviet war.
Meanwhile, Hezb-e-Islami senator Ghairat Baheer told Arab News the situation within the party “is not serious.”
“No comments as our position is to remain quiet,” he said in a WhatsApp message.
Muhammad Amin Karim, who was one of the key negotiators to broker Hekmatyar’s deal with the Ghani government, in an audio message to party supporters admitted that there were some “differences,” but did not confirm that a new faction has been created.
