No difference between Taliban, Daesh: Hekmatyar

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hizb-e-Islami, on Monday said during a meeting with Nangarhar residents that Taliban and Daesh are the same – and only their flags differ.
“Taliban and Daesh are the same, only their flags and names have changed. They were friends of one stronghold and they have shared aims with similar slogans. Only the white (Taliban) flag changed to (Daesh’s) black,” said Hekmatyar.
“Unfortunately, today Taliban fight against friends (Daesh) under the wings of airplanes of government and foreign forces,” Hekmatyar added.
Speaking at the gathering, Hekmatyar also criticized Afghan security forces for the way they handle night raids that are backed by foreign forces. He said these operations were being conducted “blindly” and civilians were being targeted.
“These operations force people to rise up (against government) and the nation has the power and can do this and then no one can stop them,” said Hekmatyar.
Hekmatyar also urged people to secure their areas, stating that government and foreign forces have not been able to bring peace.
Last month, meanwhile, he spoke out about insurgent activities and said that any insurgent group that continues this war and refuses to accept peace is an enemy of Islam and the Afghan people.
He said such groups are fighting in Afghanistan on the orders and in the interests of foreigners but blaming it on the presence of foreign troops in the country.
“Anyone who continues the war and creates problems against peace, they are the enemy of people, religion and the country and are serving the foreigners,” said Hekmatyar.
Earlier this month, Hekmatyar lashed out at government over the election process and implied government was already rigging the polls.
Addressing a press conference in Kabul, he said government has destabilized areas in the country for its own benefit in order to ensure people aren’t able to vote in the scheduled October 20 elections.
On the issue of district council elections, Hekmatyar says he wants to know who made the decision to postpone these elections.
He said money spent by government leaders would be better spent on salaries for district council members.
He had been referring the issue of district council members not being paid salaries. As a result, dozens of districts around the country ended up with no candidates.
This led to the IEC putting these elections on hold.
Hekmatyar also accused government of not intending to hold transparent elections and questioned why six million refugees are being prevented from voting. He said government told the IEC that refugees cannot vote.