JALALABAD, September 12 (IslamOnline) - Former Afghan Prime Minsiter Gulbuddin Hekmatyar denied reports that he “called for Jihad (holy struggle) against the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai”, stressing that he only declared that the Islamic resistance supported the Afghan people in their struggle against any foreign presence.

This comes in the wake of a blast Thursday, September 5, in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and Karzai’s statements in which he referred to Hekmatyar’s earlier tape recorded call for Jihad against U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

In his latest tape recorded speech made available to IslamOnline Sunday, September 8, Hekmatyar said, “I don’t know what Karzai aims to by inviting me to Kabul or by declaring Jihad against the [anti-Karzai] forces that destroyed Afghanistan. Kabul has been destroyed by forces possessing Russian air-craft - the same forces that supported the U.S. forces in their military offensives against the Afghan people.”

Hekmatyar strongly denied reports he had anything to do with the Kabul blast, saying, “the blast which killed 30 innocent civilians runs counter to all religious and human standards. In light of our Islamic faith, we condemn all acts of terror.”

“But we also condemn the terrorism of those who kill innocent people in the light of day, and destroy their houses and mosques,” he added. “We are saddened by the death of Afghans in this savage way.”

“The United States is the biggest terror state in the whole world,” said Hekmatyar who dubbed America “The Mother of World Terror”. He added that in the case of an American invasion of Afghanistan, the current interim government would lose all legitimacy; hence, “it is a waste of time and effort to carry out any action against such government.”

“The International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, cannot provide security for themselves; how can they provide it for the Afghan people?” asked Hekmatyar.