The deal with the notorious fugitive warlord — whose rockets rained down on Kabul during the 1990s civil war — was touted as a breakthrough that could induce Taliban insurgents to follow suit. When the Taliban militia seized power in 1996, Hekmatyar went underground, moving between Pakistan and Iran. After the Taliban regime was overthrown in 2001, he declared war on the new civilian rulers in Kabul, sometimes fighting alongside Taliban insurgents. His political party, Hezb-i-Islami, was declared illegal, and the U.S. government designated it as a terrorist group. Hekmatyar wants to bring his own security; the government wants its forces involved.

Source: Washington Post March 25, 2017 09:00 UTC