KABUL, Afghanistan: Former Afghan prime minister and Hezb-e Islami Afghanistan leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has criticised the Taliban regime and called for power to be transferred to the people, saying Afghanistan’s future political system should be determined by its citizens.
Hekmatyar made the remarks in a recent online address attended by a number of his supporters. He called the Taliban regime a “government of oppressors, corrupt figures, plunderers and foreign mercenaries”.
He said he wanted power transferred from the Taliban to the Afghan people so that citizens could elect a council and determine the country’s future political system and government.
He stressed that Afghanistan’s political future should be decided by the people rather than political parties or groups, and that the will of citizens should form the basis of any future political structure.
Referring to Afghanistan’s political future, Hekmatyar said “change is inevitable and near”, arguing that just as governments backed by the Soviet Union and the United States had failed to endure, Taliban rule would also not last.
He also said the Taliban regime remained politically isolated and, contrary to its claims, had no genuine and lasting allies in the region or internationally.
According to Hekmatyar, countries that once supported the Taliban were no longer aligned with the group, while no state offered it complete support.
Hekmatyar also criticised the Taliban regime’s foreign policy, saying the group did not have any stable and reliable allies.
He said the Taliban regime had sought in recent years to expand relations with Russia, Iran and India and turn them into its main regional partners, but argued that these relationships did not amount to lasting or unconditional support.
Hekmatyar said that Russian officials had repeatedly raised concerns about security threats emanating from Afghanistan, the activities of terrorist groups and the Taliban’s system of governance.
He added that Tehran and New Delhi had also shaped their relations with the Taliban according to their own interests and considerations rather than on the basis of a strategic alliance.
The Hezb-e Islami leader said the Taliban regime faced a serious lack of international legitimacy and had failed to establish a stable position for itself in the regional and international order.
Hekmatyar added that Russia had repeatedly expressed concern over Afghanistan’s security situation and the Taliban’s governance, which he said showed that even the group’s closest foreign partners had reservations about its conduct.
He also accused the Taliban of intolerance towards opponents, saying that under its rule even unarmed critics and political opponents were unable to operate freely.
Addressing the Taliban, Hekmatyar said: “When you say opponents have no place in Afghanistan, then you have no place either, because you do not tolerate others.”
Hekmatyar said Afghans faced widespread problems including unemployment, insecurity and poverty under the Taliban regime.
