Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: The leader of Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) political party, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Wednesday alleged that those who were happy with the US decision of cancelling peace talks were actually mulling over continuation of war and extending their authority.
In an exclusive interview with Kabul News, a local TV channel, Hekmatyar strongly criticized the US President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel the peace talks, saying the American leader had insulted Afghans. “The US has no other option and it should revert to the negotiation table.”
Hekmatyar called the upcoming election as inauspicious, adding that he wouldn’t let the incumbent party to regain power through fraudulent election and pave way to another crisis.
He also added that if the government created barriers for the peace process and tried to regain power through rigged election, he would join forces with other political parties and stand against it.
As the cancelled US-Taliban negotiations have raised mix reactions from Afghans, Hekmatyar claims that those who are content – after the US President Donald Trump scrapped the peace deal agreed upon in principle – are in fact seeking their interests in the continuation of war.
The HIA supremo said pinning hopes on foreigners regarding peace was a mistake, adding that putting an end to the current crisis warranted that the Afghans themselves took charge.
He called upon the Taliban to negotiate all the matters, including the foreign troop withdrawal, with the Afghan side during intra-Afghan negotiations.
Hekmatyar stressed the relaunch of US-Taliban negotiations, which the President Trump called as ‘dead’ and then declared increased operations against the insurgent group.
