Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-e Islami Afghanistan, has criticised the Taliban administration and called for power to be transferred to the people, saying Afghanistan’s future should be determined by its citizens.
Hekmatyar made the remarks in a recent online address attended by a number of his supporters. 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 administration 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 firmly aligned with the group, while no state offered it complete support.
Criticism of Taliban Foreign Policy
Hekmatyar also criticised the Taliban’s foreign policy, saying the group did not have any stable and reliable allies. He claimed that countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United States had supported the Taliban in different ways in the past, but no longer backed the group and, in some cases, were now in political confrontation with it.
He said the Taliban 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 although Moscow had recognised the Taliban government, Russian officials had repeatedly raised concerns about security threats emanating from Afghanistan, the activities of militant 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 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 although Russia had recognised the Taliban government, Moscow 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.”
He said political disputes and disagreements should be addressed through “principled and Islamic” solutions and that Afghanistan’s problems should be resolved through dialogue and national understanding.
Hekmatyar also said proxy wars were continuing in the country while Afghans faced widespread problems including unemployment, insecurity and poverty.
He added that the mass expulsion of Afghan migrants from neighbouring countries had further compounded the country’s existing crises.
