In his first public appearance in about 20 years, Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Saturday addressed a crowd of supporters in Laghman province and called on all insurgent groups to end the war and join the peace process.
 
Hekmatyar, who signed a peace deal with government late last year, on Saturday repeatedly emphasized the need for peace in the country and said all Afghans were tired of the ongoing security situation.

He also called on all parties involved in the war and other leaders to come together to find a lasting solution to end the crisis.
 
However, referring to last week’s army base attack on the 209 Shaheen Military Corps in Balkh, Hekmatyar slammed the Taliban for having attacked soldiers while they were praying.
 
He said: “Let's stop this devastating war for the sake of Allah.”
 
“We cannot tolerate such a war that shoots dead Muslims in a mosque while they are praying to Allah,” he said.
 
“When there was a need for Jihad we did it and when there was a need for peace we (Hizb-e-Islami) joined too,” he said.
 
Meanwhile, Hekmatyar thanked the Afghan security forces for all the sacrifices they have made in terms of securing the country and said that the Taliban’s war against government was “senseless and illegitimate”.

He also said the country must not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Hekmatyar did however criticize the media for broadcasting music programs and TV series and also said the press should report less about war stories.

In addition he called on neighboring countries to stop interfering in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani in a post on his Twitter account said he welcomes Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s return to Afghanistan as a result of Afghan-led peace process.

"Peace deal with Hezb-e-lslami shows Afghans have the capacity to resolve conflict through dialogues, he tweeted.