Leader of Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) Gulbadin Hekmatyar has said the ongoing conflict has been imposed on his country by outside powers for their interests.
He made the remarks at a conference organized by the Lahore Centre for Peace Research (LCPR) and the South Asian Strategic Stabilities Institute (SASSI) in Pakistan.
Around 20 senior Afghan politicians attended the conference on promoting peace and reconciliation in their war-torn country.
Hekmatyar acknowledged Pakistan had suffered the most due to the Afghan conflict that some powers were seeking to perpetuate in a bid to promote their interest.
Afghanistan and Pakistan, the worst-sufferers of the hostilities, could end the conflict through joint efforts, the warlord who struck a peace deal with Afghan government in 2016 believed.
“Taliban alone could not resolve the Afghan conflict. All Afghans should work together in this regard,” he suggested. The HIA leader called for the pullout of US troops for an end to the war.
Presidential candidate Mohammad Hanif Atmar also addressed the conference and said Afghanistan and Pakistan should work jointly to eliminate terrorism from the region.
Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of Hizb-i-Wahdat Milli, said Pakistan had been assisting Afghans since the Soviet invasion. He said terrorist groups had created misunderstandings between the two countries.
High Peace Council (HPC) Chairman Karim Khalili said the Afghan nation was tired of war and wanted peace, a goal that could be achieved with the cooperation of regional countries and the international community.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said his country was not supporting any terrorist group and the enemy of both of the countries had created mistrust between the neighbors.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are looking to improve bilateral relations that are often hampered by mistrust and reciprocal accusations.
Kabul and Washington have long accused Pakistan of harboring Taliban militants who launch attacks inside Afghanistan, but Ghani said he was hopeful that years of mistrust can be replaced by cooperation toward peace.
Pakistan has offered support to US efforts to broker an end to Afghanistan’s long war the Taliban.
Khalilzad, the US envoy seeking a peace deal with the Taliban, has held several rounds of talks in Qatar with senior members of the militant group.
The sides have made progress. But the Taliban has so far rejected direct negotiations with the Afghan government.
