Hizb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Monday expressed his opposition to the calls for holding the Loya Jirga in the country and said current circumstances were not appropriate to convene the Loya.
 
Hekmatyar said the ongoing war in Afghanistan was favoring Iran, adding that Pakistan has lost much due to the crisis in Afghanistan.
 
“I don’t want the government to change or an interim government to be formed. I do not agree with those who call for an interim government and I oppose those who call for Loya Jirga,” said Hekmatyar.
 
On the peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban, Hekmatyar said the Taliban must use the opportunity and enter into purposeful peace negotiation talks with the government by opening an office in Kabul.
 
“It is a fact that Pakistan has suffered much from this war. Pakistan not only benefited from this war, but it paid much for it. Even today Pakistan has its own Taliban and it has reached Karachi. The only country which is has benefited from this war is Iran,” he added.
 
Members of the Afghan public have dismissed Hekmatyar’s views and say that Pakistan gains more than any other country from the turmoil in Afghanistan.
 
“When the US defeated the Taliban regime, Pakistan achieved a lot from it. All Afghans know that Pakistan has always benefited from the war in Afghanistan and therefore Pakistan wants the war to be continued,” said civil society activist Sayed Jamaluddin Asif Khail.
 
“Pakistan gets more from the war in Afghanistan than Iran. Pakistan funds and supports the militants in Afghanistan. The Jihad project in Afghanistan is handled by Pakistan, it has also developed nuclear weapons and lives in peace. It is only the Afghans who are facing problems,” said another activist Farid Ahmad Taskeen.
 
Hekmatyar’s remarks come at a time that relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been fragile over the past years, with Afghan president Ashraf Ghani constantly warning that Pakistan may face isolation unless it halts its meddling in the affairs in Afghanistan.
 
Earlier in the day, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah reacted to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s recent remarks and said “unity among the people is a must".

On Sunday Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hizb-e-Islami, said at a gathering in Khost province that some eastern parts of the country have less of a share in the government compared to Panjshir, Bamiyan and Daikundi provinces in the center of Afghanistan.

Reacting to Hekmatyar's comments, Abdullah said “unity among the people is crucial at the moment”.