... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun...
has said the Afghan government is close to conclude a peace deal with Hezb-e-Islami led by
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar... who used to be known in intelligence circles as
The Most Evil Man in the Worldbut who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil...
Speaking during a cabinet meeting today, Abdullah said negotiations between the High Peace Council and Hezb-e-Islami are underway.
Abdullah further added that the national interests of the country and the Afghan people are a top priority in all key issues, insisting that there will be no negligence in this regard.
He also emphasized that anyone joining grinding of the peace processor should lay down arms, stop insurgency activities, respect the Afghan constitution and reach to an agreement with the government.
In other parts of his speech, Abdullah hailed the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) for their devotion and commitment and said the Afghan people remains thankful to armed forces of the country.
The remarks by Abdullah comes as the Afghan government signed the draft peace agreement with Hezb-e-Islami last week.
Deputy Chief Executive Mohammad Khan told news hounds last week that the draft agreement has been signed and will become enforceable once the Hezb-e-Islami party signs it.
Khan further added that the group has agreed to have no links with the anti-government armed holy warrior groups, insisting that Hekmatyar’s only demand is to remove his name from the international blacklist.
Meanwhilel, the United States has welcomed political negotiations between the Afghan government and Hezb-e-Islami party led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
"We support an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned process for a negotiated resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan," said John Kirby, front man of the US Department of State.
Kirby further added that all relevant groups, including Hezb-e-Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, should be a part of such a political dialogue so that Afghans can talk directly to other Afghans about the future of their country.