Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Claims Split From Taliban, "Suggests" Peace Talks

By Andrew Cochran

The Associated Press has released an exclusive story in which Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, longtime Afghan tribal warlord who has allied with the Taliban for years, announced that he has ended his cooperation with them and "suggested" that he could reach a peace deal with the Afghan government.

Hekmatyar has been thorn in the side of coalition efforts since he returned to Afghanistan from Iran in 2002, where he fled to in 1996 from Taliban rule. Here is a BBC profile of him as of early 2003, and here is an excerpt from a Douglas Farah post in August 2005 about him and his leading role in the renewal of the Taliban:

One of the most worrisome factors, according to sources working on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan, is the role played by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his Hizb-e-Islami party in the protection and arming of the Taliban and al Qaeda. Hekmatyar fled to Iran when the Taliban took over, but returned after their defeat by coalition forces and, in fine Afghani style, allied himself with his erstwhile enemies. Hekmatyar poses a serious problem in addition to his wealth, power and sympathies to the most radical elements of al Qaeda. He remains very close to the regime in Tehran that gave him asylum and now supplies him with weapons, intelligence and money.

This could be just another of many Hekmatyar publicity stunts; just two weeks ago, he referred to the U.S. as "the mother of problems" and gave no indication of this "split." This might also be a reaction to some key captures and kills in the latest NATO offensive, "Operation Achilles," which this week captured six individuals linked to the "Tora Bora Military Front" (TBMF), comprised of Hekmatyar loyalists in his Hizb-e-Islami party and Taliban militants. Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, former Taliban defense minister, and two other high-ranking Taliban were also recently captured.

Maybe Hekmatyar is seeing the light because he's feeling the heat. And maybe he's trying to bluff and bluster his way into another alliance in which he maintains some power. Here is a picture from the BBC profile in 2003:

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