ISLAMABAD — The United Nations has removed notorious Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar from its list of designated terrorists following his recent peace agreement with the Kabul government.

“Therefore, the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo … no longer apply to him,” the U.N. Security Council’s Sanctions Committee said in a statement issued in New York Friday.

The move comes months after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government sealed a peace deal with Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami, or HIG, an insurgent faction.

The truce required Hekmatyar to cease fighting against the Afghan government in return for his removal from the U.N. blacklist, along with other leaders of his faction, and allowing his group to resume political activities in Afghanistan.

Friday’s announcement has set the stage for the notorious fugitive warlord, a designated “global terrorist,” to return to Afghan politics after years in hiding, allegedly in neighboring Pakistan, though his aides insist he is present somewhere in the country.

A member of Hekmatyar’s peace negotiating team, Atiqullah Safi, confirmed to VOA Saturday that the group has formally been informed about the removal of their leader’s name from the U.N. terrorist list.

“The world body has taken this step at the request of the Afghan government and we welcome it,” senior government official Akram Khpalwak told VOA. He heads a joint committee of government and officials from Hekmatyar’s group, which is tasked to oversee implementation of the peace deal.

“It will boost efforts the government has been making to promote peace in the country,” Khpalwak said.

Local and international human rights groups have been critical of the peace deal from the outset and called for Hekmatyar be held accountable for his alleged crimes.

“His return will compound the culture of impunity that the Afghan government and its foreign donors have fostered by not pursuing accountability for the many victims of forces commanded by Hekmatyar and other warlords that laid waste to much of the country in the 1990s,” Human Rights Watch said in a recent statement.

Hekmatyar’s group has been fighting the U.S.-backed Afghan government alongside the Taliban for the past 15 years. He was designated a terrorist in 2003 for his association with al-Qaida.

A longtime guerilla commander with a history of war crimes and rights abuses, Hekmatyar’s forces fought against the former Soviet Union in the 1980s. Later, his militias battled the Taliban for control of Afghanistan during the brutal civil war of the 1990s.

The United States has also designated him a terrorist and offered millions of dollars for information leading to his arrest. But Washington has welcomed Kabul’s peace deal and promised to take steps to support efforts aimed at ending years of conflict in Afghanistan.

However, the Taliban has refused to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government and instead intensified insurgent activities across the country.
• Afghanistan hails removal of Hekmatyar’s name from UN sanctions list
• Official: U.S. ‘aggressively’ targeting ISIS, al-Qaida in Afghanistan</s>UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations has removed Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Hizb-i-Islami leader and a veteran of the decades of Afghan war, from its list of designated terrorists following his recent peace agreement with the Kabul government.

“Therefore, the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo ... no longer apply to him,” the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee said in a statement issued at UN Headquarters in New York Friday.

The move comes months after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government sealed a peace deal with Hekmatyar’s Hizb-i-Islami, or HIG, an insurgent faction. The 25-point peace agreement gives Hekmatyar and his followers immunity for past actions and grants them full political rights.

The truce required Hekmatyar to cease fighting against the Afghan government in return for his removal from the UN blacklist, along with other leaders of his faction, and allowing his group to resume political activities in Afghanistan.

The UN announcement also said Hekmatyar, 67, was listed on February 20, 2003 and was "believed to be in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border area as at January 2011."

A former prime minister, Hekmatyar was a prominent among the Afghan Mujahideen in the fighting against Soviet troops in the 1980s. Following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan and fall of the Taliban, the US State Department designated him a terrorist, accusing him of taking part in and supporting attacks by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

A longtime guerilla commander with a history of war crimes and rights abuses, Hekmatyar’s militias battled the Taliban for control of Afghanistan during the brutal civil war of the 1990s following the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

The United States has also designated him a terrorist and offered millions of dollars for information leading to his arrest. But Washington has welcomed Kabul’s peace deal and promised to take steps to support efforts aimed at ending years of conflict in Afghanistan.

However, the Taliban has refused to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government and instead intensified insurgent activities across the country.

AFP adds: Although Hekmatyar is accused of killing thousands in Kabul during the 1992-1996 civil war, many foreign governments, including the United States, praised the landmark accord as a step towards peace in Afghanistan.

Diplomatic sources said only Russia had opposed the move, which theoretically opens the way for Hekmatyar's return to Kabul after two decades of exile in Iran and then in Pakistan.

France was initially reluctant because of Hezb-i-Islami's involvement in an ambush northeast of Kabul that cost the lives of 10 French soldiers in August 2008, but later changed its mind.

"It is an important point of the peace agreement between Hezb-i-Islami and the Afghan government," chief negotiator for Hekmatyar, Mohammad Karim Amin, told AFP.

"And it shows the commitment from the government and from the Hezb-i-Islami to pursue on this peace track," Karim said.

It would also "open the door" and stimulate the peace process and would send a "strong signal to other fighters" in the country, he said in reference to the Taliban.

He further said that it showed "the only key to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict is through an inter-Afghan negotiation without any foreign interference".

"We always said his return (Hekmatyar) won't be linked to the lift of the sanction but obviously it will widely ease it," Karim said.

The whereabouts of Hekmatyar, who was not present in Kabul for the signing of the agreement that was completed via video conference, remain unknown.

Hekmatyar was a prominent anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s and a major figure during the bloody civil war of the 1990s when he was accused of indiscriminately firing rockets into Kabul, as well as other human rights abuses.

Hekmatyar is believed to be in hiding in Pakistan, but his group claims he remains in Afghanistan.

With the UN sanctions now scrapped, government officials expect Hekmatyar to return to the Afghan capital.

Hezb-i-Islami has been trying to repair Hekmatyar's public image as a murderous warlord as it attempts to rebrand from a radical, misogynistic movement to a mainstream political force.

According to BBC, the Afghan government asked for the UN move as part of the deal with Hekmatyar and his militant group in September. The deal grants him immunity in return for support for the Afghan constitution and a promise to abandon violence.

Hekmatyar’s Hezb-i-Islami militant group is the second biggest in the country.

Once one of the main recipients of western aid, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was deeply hostile to the west and was later accused by the US State Department of supporting attacks by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

BBC says Hekmatyar appeared to have calculated that he would be more significant as a political leader in Kabul than as the leader of a group of fighters up in the mountains who are also competing with the Taliban for influence.

Hezb-i-Islami hassupporters across the country and it is thought the peace agreement could encourage some Taliban leaders to consider joining the process.</s>UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 (APP): The United Nations has removed

 Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Hizb i Islami leader and a veteran of the

 decades of Afghan war, from its list of designated terrorists following his recent peace agreement with the Kabul government.

 “Therefore, the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo …

 no longer apply to him,” the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee said in a statement issued in New York Friday.

 The move comes months after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s

 government sealed a peace deal with Hekmatyar’s Hizb e Islami, or HIG, an insurgent faction.

 The 25 point peace agreement gives Hekmatyar and his followers

 immunity for past actions and grants them full political rights.

 The truce required Hekmatyar to cease fighting against the

 Afghan government in return for his removal from the UN blacklist,

 along with other leaders of his faction, and allowing his group to resume political activities in Afghanistan.

 Friday’s announcement also said Hekmatyar, 67, was listed on

 February 20, 2003 and was “believed to be in the Afghanistan/Pakistan

 border area as at January 2011.”

 A former Prime Minister, Hekmatyar was a prominent among the

 Afghan Mujahideen in the fighting against Soviet troops in the 1980s.

 Following the 2001 US led invasion of Afghanistan and fall of

 the Taliban, the US State Department designated him a terrorist, accusing him of taking part in and supporting attacks by al Qaeda and the Taliban.</s>Kabul, Feb 4 (IANS) The Afghanistan government has welcomed the decision of the United Nations on Saturday to remove the name of former Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar from its sanctions list.

“We welcome the recent announcement of United Nations of removing name of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hizb-e-Islami of Afghanistan, and we are optimistic the move would further boost peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Akram Khpalwak, presidential adviser on political affairs, Xinhua reported.

On Friday, a United Nations committee removed the name of Hekmatyar from the sanctions list.

In September last year, Hekmatyar signed a peace agreement with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, which was brokered by the Afghan High Peace Council after two years of negotiations, via a video conference broadcast by the state-run TV.

Hizb-e-Islami, a radical Islamic party and the third strongest insurgent group in terms of military power after Taliban and the Islamic State, has been fighting the Afghan government and the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.

In 2003, Hekmatyar was designated by the US as a “global terrorist” and his name had been blacklisted by the UN. However, after the peace deal, the Afghanistan government demanded that the UN Security Council remove the name of Hekmatyar from its sanctions list.

Hekmatyar, who was reportedly living in eastern Afghanistan, is expected to visit Kabul soon. The government will have to provide security for Hekmatyar and his followers and release imprisoned members of the group under the peace deal.

The Hizb-e-Islami also fought against the troops of the former Soviet Union in the 1980s.</s>UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 (APP): The United Nations has removed

 Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Hizb i Islami leader and a veteran of the

 decades of Afghan war, from its list of designated terrorists following his recent peace agreement with the Kabul government.

 “Therefore, the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo …

 no longer apply to him,” the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee said in a statement issued in New York Friday.

 The move comes months after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s

 government sealed a peace deal with Hekmatyar’s Hizb e Islami, or HIG, an insurgent faction.

 The 25 point peace agreement gives Hekmatyar and his followers

 immunity for past actions and grants them full political rights.

 The truce required Hekmatyar to cease fighting against the

 Afghan government in return for his removal from the UN blacklist,

 along with other leaders of his faction, and allowing his group to resume political activities in Afghanistan.

 Friday’s announcement also said Hekmatyar, 67, was listed on

 February 20, 2003 and was “believed to be in the Afghanistan/Pakistan

 border area as at January 2011.”

 A former Prime Minister, Hekmatyar was a prominent among the

 Afghan Mujahideen in the fighting against Soviet troops in the 1980s.

 Following the 2001 US led invasion of Afghanistan and fall of

 the Taliban, the US State Department designated him a terrorist, accusing him of taking part in and supporting attacks by al Qaeda and the Taliban.</s>KABUL: The United Nations Security Council has dropped sanctions against Afghan strongman Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, potentially paving the way for the notorious warlord to return openly to Afghanistan.

The Afghan government requested the move as part of a peace deal with Hekmatyar and his militant group, Hezb-i-Islami, in September. The deal was criticised by some Afghans and human rights groups for the pardon it granted to Hekmatyar and many of his fighters.

While playing only a small role in the current insurgent conflict in Afghanistan, Hekmatyar was a major figure during the bloody civil war of the 1990s, when he was accused of indiscriminately firing rockets into Kabul, as well as other human rights abuses. The Afghan government welcomed the UN’s decision made on Friday as "a major step toward peace and stability in Afghanistan," said Mohammad Akram Khpalwak, a political adviser for President Ashraf Ghani. "This was a demand of the people and government of Afghanistan," he told Reuters on Saturday. "It is a major step for the peace process between Hezb-i-Islami and the government of Afghanistan." In removing Hekmatyar from the list of people sanctioned for their ties to al-Qaeda, Islamic State, and other militant groups, the UN unfroze his assets, and dropped a travel ban and arms embargo against him.

Hekmatyar’s whereabouts have been unknown since he signed the peace deal with Ghani in September via a prerecorded video from an undisclosed location. With the UN sanctions now removed, government officials expect Hekmatyar to eventually return to the Afghan capital, despite the continued controversy. Many foreign governments, including the United States, praised the accord at the time as a step toward wider peace in Afghanistan.

UN lifts sanctions on Hekmatyar was posted in Top Story of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on February 05, 2017 and was last updated on February 05, 2017. This news story is related to Print/184195-UN-lifts-sanctions-on-Hekmatyar/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "UN lifts sanctions on Hekmatyar" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/184195-UN-lifts-sanctions-on-Hekmatyar.</s>The United Nations has removed notorious Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar from its list of designated terrorists following his recent peace agreement with the Kabul government.

“Therefore, the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo ... no longer apply to him,” the U.N. Security Council’s Sanctions Committee said in a statement issued in New York Friday.

The move comes months after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s government sealed a peace deal with Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami, or HIG, an insurgent faction.

The truce required Hekmatyar to cease fighting against the Afghan government in return for his removal from the U.N. blacklist, along with other leaders of his faction, and allowing his group to resume political activities in Afghanistan.

Friday’s announcement has set the stage for the notorious fugitive warlord, a designated “global terrorist,” to return to Afghan politics after years in hiding, allegedly in neighboring Pakistan, though his aides insist he is present somewhere in the country.

A member of Hekmatyar’s peace negotiating team, Atiqullah Safi, confirmed to VOA Saturday that the group has formally been informed about the removal of their leader’s name from the U.N. terrorist list.

“The world body has taken this step at the request of the Afghan government and we welcome it,” senior government official Akram Khpalwak told VOA. He heads a joint committee of government and officials from Hekmatyar’s group, which is tasked to oversee implementation of the peace deal.

“It will boost efforts the government has been making to promote peace in the country,” Khpalwak said.

Afghan government officials have not yet commented on the development.

Hekmatyar’s group has been fighting the U.S.-backed Afghan government alongside the Taliban for the past 15 years. He was designated a terrorist in 2003 for his association with al-Qaida.

A longtime guerrilla commander with a history of war crimes and rights abuses, Hekmatyar’s forces fought against the former Soviet Union in the 1980s. Later, his militias battled the Taliban for control of Afghanistan during the brutal civil war of the 1990s.

The United States has also designated him a terrorist and offered millions of dollars for information leading to his arrest. But Washington has welcomed Kabul’s peace deal and promised to take steps to support efforts aimed at ending years of conflict in Afghanistan.

However, the Taliban has refused to engage in peace talks with the Afghan government and instead intensified insurgent activities across the country.</s>KABUL: The United Nations Security Council on Friday dropped sanctions against Afghan strongman Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, potentially paving the way for his return openly to Afghanistan.

The Afghan government requested the move as part of a peace deal with Hekmatyar and his group, Hezb-i-Islami, in September.

The deal was criticised by some Afghans and human rights groups for the pardon it granted to Hekmatyar and many of his fighters.

While playing only a small role in the current insurgent conflict in Afghanistan, Hekmatyar was a major figure during the bloody civil war of the 1990s, when he was accused of indiscriminately firing rockets into Kabul, as well as other human rights abuses.

Spokespeople for Hekmatyar and the Afghan government were not immediately available to comment.

In removing Hekmatyar from the list of people sanctioned for their ties to al-Qaeda, Islamic State, and other militant groups, the U.N. unfroze his assets, and dropped a travel ban and arms embargo against him.

Hekmatyar´s whereabouts have been unknown since he signed the peace deal with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in September via a prerecorded video from an undisclosed location. With the U.N. sanctions now removed, government officials expect Hekmatyar to eventually return to the Afghan capital, despite the continued controversy.

Many foreign governments, including the United States, praised the accord at the time as a step toward wider peace in Afghanistan.

U.N. Security Council lifts sanctions on Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on February 04, 2017 and was last updated on February 04, 2017. This news story is related to Latest/183988-UN-Security-Council-lifts-sanctions-Gulbuddin-Hekmatyar/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "U.N. Security Council lifts sanctions on Gulbuddin Hekmatyar" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/183988-UN-Security-Council-lifts-sanctions-Gulbuddin-Hekmatyar.</s>The UN Security Council has lifted sanctions on the notorious Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, previously branded "a global terrorist" and accused of war crimes.

The move follows a peace deal between Hekmatyar's insurgent group Hezb-i-Islami and the Afghan government in September that granted him legal immunity from past offences, sparking outrage from rights groups.

Although Hekmatyar is accused of killing thousands in Kabul during the 1992-1996 civil war, many foreign governments, including the United States, praised the landmark accord as a step towards peace in Afghanistan.

A statement on the UNSC's website Friday said an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo targeting Hekmatyar -- a former prime minister and one of the most controversial figures in Afghanistan's modern history -- no longer applied.

Diplomatic sources said only Russia had opposed the move, which theoretically opens the way for Hekmatyar's return to Kabul after two decades of exile in Iran and then in Pakistan.

France was initially reluctant because of Hezb-i-Islami's involvement in an ambush northeast of Kabul that cost the lives of 10 French soldiers in August 2008, but later changed its mind.

"It is an important point of the peace agreement between Hezb-i-Islami and the Afghan government," chief negotiator for Hekmatyar, Mohammad Karim Amin, told AFP.

"And it shows the commitment from the government and from the Hezb-i-Islami to pursue on this peace track," Karim said.

It would also "open the door" and stimulate the peace process and would send a "strong signal to other fighters" in the country, he said in reference to the Taliban.

He further said that it showed "the only key to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict is through an inter-Afghan negotiation without any foreign interference".

"We always said his return (Hekmatyar) won't be linked to the lift of the sanction but obviously it will widely ease it," Karim said.

The whereabouts of Hekmatyar, who was not present in Kabul for the signing of the agreement that was completed via video conference -- remains unknown.

Hekmatyar was a prominent anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s and a major figure during the bloody civil war of the 1990s when he was accused of indiscriminately firing rockets into Kabul, as well as other human rights abuses.

In recent years the insurgent conflict has been led by the Taliban.

Hekmatyar is believed to be in hiding in Pakistan, but his group claims he remains in Afghanistan.

With the UN sanctions now scrapped, government officials expect Hekmatyar to return to the Afghan capital.

Hezb-i-Islami has been trying to repair Hekmatyar's public image as a murderous warlord as it attempts to rebrand from a radical, misogynistic movement to a mainstream political force.</s>Image copyright AP Image caption Mr Hekmatyar has been in hiding for many years

The UN has dropped sanctions against former Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, paving the way for him to return to the country.

The Afghan government asked for the move as part of a deal with Mr Hekmatyar and his militant group in September.

The deal grants him immunity in return for support for the Afghan constitution and a promise to abandon violence.

He fought the Soviet occupation but was later accused of shelling civilians.

Mr Hekmatyar is also a former Afghan prime minister and his Hezb-e-Islami militant group is the second biggest in the country.

He was forced to flee Kabul in 1996 when the Taliban came to power and in 2003 was designated as a terrorist by the US.

Mr Hekmatyar's whereabouts remain unknown. He did not attend the signing ceremony in Kabul for the deal with the government.

Under the UN Security Council move, his assets are unfrozen and a travel ban is rescinded.

The 'Butcher of Kabul' - Virginia Gidley-Kitchin, BBC News

Image copyright AFP

As a guerrilla leader in the 1980s, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar had air of icy menace about him that hinted at ruthless ambition, a characteristic he demonstrated to the full during the ferocious power-struggle that followed the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

He became known as the Butcher of Kabul for his faction's indiscriminate firing of rockets into the capital. The death and destruction this caused led many Afghans to welcome the takeover of the Taliban.

Once one of the main recipients of western aid, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was deeply hostile to the west and was later accused by the US state department of supporting attacks by al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The deal between Mr Hekmatyar and the Afghan government was seen as being highly symbolic because it is the first to be concluded without UN or international mediation.

BBC Afghan Service editor Waheed Massoud said Mr Hekmatyar appeared to have calculated that he would be more significant as a political leader in Kabul than as the leader of a group of fighters up in the mountains who are also competing with the Taliban for influence.

Hezb-e-Islami has supporters across the country and it is thought the peace agreement could encourage some Taliban leaders to consider joining the process.
The United Nations drop sanctions on Gulbuddin Hekmatyar after his Hezb-e Islami faction and the Afghan government reached a deal in September. Hekmatyar is granted immunity in exchange for his abandoning violence and supporting the Constitution of Afghanistan.