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Hekmatyar
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By
Nadeem Shaker, IOL Afghanistan Correspondent
JALALABAD,
September 4 (IslamOnline) - In a tape recording addressed to the Afghan
people, former Afghan prime minister and Islamic Party leader Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar called on the Pashtun tribes in southeastern Afghanistan to
revolt against U.S. troops in the country, and denied any links with
Taliban or Al-Qaeda, stressing that: “Our only aim is for foreign
troops to quit Afghanistan and for the Afghan people to decide their own
future.”
Hekmatyar’s
call comes just a few days after IslamOnline published a statement it
received via e-mail from an Afghan group calling itself ‘The Muslim
Mujahedin’s Secret Army’, in which it claimed responsibility for
recent attacks against U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and vowed to continue
its attacks in retaliation for the U.S. brutal murder of innocent Afghan
civilians.
In
the tape recording, made available to the media Tuesday evening,
September 3, Hekmatyar said: “We announce our full solidarity with the
people of the southeastern provinces; we condemn U.S. atrocities against
our people; and we call on all Afghans to stand up against Americans
like they did with the Russians,” stressing that Afghanistan’s
problems could only be solved by popular resistance to the American
presence.
The
exiled Islamic Party leader explained that Americans are fighting
Pashtuns in the provinces of Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Nangarhar, Konar,
Kandahar, Helmond, Rozgan “because they realize Pashtuns hold on to
their faith, defend religious sanctities and national interests and
reject foreign oppression.”
“It
is no coincidence,” he continued, “that 85% of U.S. military
operations have been in Pashtun areas, where U.S. troops shelled
villages, pounded mosques, searched homes for weapons and ammunition,
erected checkpoints in public roads, and detained Pashtun leaders and
chiefs in its Bagram base or in Guantanamo.”
Urging
Pashtuns to carry on with Jihad, Hekmatyar said: “You set an
example with your Jihad against the Russians; do the same with
the Americans,” reminding them that the attacks on U.S. troops in
Khost and the massive anti-U.S. demonstrations are evidence the people
of Paktia are bent on starting Jihad in Afghanistan.
“If
the U.S administration insists there is no Taliban or Al-Qaeda presence
in Afghanistan, why then is it adamant on accusing the Islamic Party of
links with Taliban?” he asked, himself giving the answer: “The U.S.
simply seeks to justify its ways with the Islamic Party in a bid to
eliminate it just as it did Taliban.”
“If
the Americans were able to topple the Taliban regime, they will never be
able to occupy Afghanistan forever,” said Hekmatyar. “You can see
for your eyes how resistance to the U.S. presence is spreading out.”
“The
Russians failed to fight Mujahedin with 120,000 Russian soldiers and
hundreds of thousands of Afghan militias. How can a mere 15,000
Americans, with the help of a small shunned group of collaborators,
stand against popular resistance?” he told the Afghans.
Hekmatyar
added that American troops, with the help of Afghan collaborators,
killed more than 700 POWs after disarming them and binding their hands
to their backs. Those of them who resorted to caves were burned inside
them as ordered by the U.S. commander who did not want any Taliban POWs
from Kunduz.
Analysts
told IslamOnline that Hekmatyar has imitated late Imam Khomeini in his
use of a tape recording to mobilize the Afghan people who are largely
illiterate, stressing that the means is quite effective and easily
widespread in Afghanistan where there are no papers.
Finding
a connection between Hekmatyar’s address and the statement of ‘The
Muslim Mujahedin’s Secret Army’, an expert in Afghan affairs said:
“It is very likely Hekmatyar’s Islamic Party is linked to the Secret
Army.”.
Listen to Hekmatyar calling on Pashtuns to revolt against U.S. troops in the country
