Hizb-e-Islami Chief Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Rejects Islamic Clerics’ Fatwas against Suicide Bombings, Says: 'Tehran Thinks that the U.S. and Its Allies have Conquered Afghanistan for It [Iran]'

"Hamid Karzai has No Solid Program to Hold Talks with the Mujahideen; He is Talking about Peace and Harmony Just for the Sake of Propaganda"

Anchor Saleem Safi: "On our program Jirga today, we will meet a person whose life has been an epitome of jihad, Qital or battle, exile, detention and imprisonment. His organization [Hizb-e-Islami] played a distinguished and lead role against the Soviet Union. He was nominated as the Prime Minister of Afghanistan for a short period. He was forced to take asylum in Iran after the Taliban took control of Kabul. After 9/11 when the U.S. and its allies attacked Afghanistan, he returned to Afghanistan and started [armed] resistance against the U.S. and its allies in the mountainous region of Afghanistan.

"You must certainly have recognized that today’s guest on Jirga is the Emir of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan and the former Prime Minister, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who is leading his troopers in unknown areas of Afghanistan against the U.S. and its allies and has a reward on his head. Viewers, we have not interviewed Hekmatyar directly. We sent our video questions to him and he was courteous enough to send answers on video. Please watch the interview with him.

"Hekmatyar sahib, very many thanks for giving us time again. My first question is that President Hamid Karzai has invited you and the Taliban for the talks and the grand jirga of Afghanistan has also supported his peace initiative. Now tell me on what conditions are you ready to participate in the peace talks, or do you not want to negotiate with him at all?"

Hekmatyar: "In the name of Allah, the most kind and merciful. Dear Safi Sahib, I’m happy to reply to your bitter yet lovely queries. Hamid Karzai has no solid program to hold talks with the Mujahideen and he has not presented any to the Mujahideen as of yet. He is talking about peace and harmony just for the sake of propaganda. He has not been granted any authority from the U.S. to take any step towards maintaining peace with the Mujahideen. The Mujahideen’s first condition is that the foreign troops should leave Afghanistan first and an acceptable roadmap should be announced for the Mujahideen.

"But this is a task which the Kabul government cannot perform and neither has it any right to guarantee anything regarding this. Hizb-e-Islami has already presented a comprehensive plan named Milli Meesaq [National Accord] and many people from within the Kabul government and other political parties have supported it.

"But the powerless government of Kabul kept silence over it, for it cannot commit to one of the foremost conditions mentioned in it, which asks for the exit of the foreign troops in a year from Afghanistan. A public jirga [the June 2-4 National Consultative Jirga] was held in Kabul to hoodwink the people for it has not included any proposal for the end of war and the Afghan crisis in its declaration. At the public jirga, the government officials took care that no recommendations for the evacuation of foreign troops were made."

"The Mujahideen Will not Only Refrain from Attacking Kabul after the Exit of Foreign Troops, But They Will Also Not Try to Come into Power with the Help of Arms"

Anchor: "You have put the condition of the exit of NATO forces before the Kabul government for the talks. But, what is the guarantee that you or the Taliban would not try to occupy Kabul after the NATO forces leave Afghanistan?"

Hekmatyar: "If the Kabul government and political leaders fear that the Mujahideen would occupy Kabul after the exit of the allied forces, they should accept our program Milli Meesaq. It is guaranteed in the Meesaq that no previous experiments [in government formation] would be repeated after the withdrawal of the foreign troops from Afghanistan as was done after the exit of the Russian troops [leading to fractured governments and civil war].

"We are ready to dispel the concerns of the Afghan government in this regard and we can also guarantee that the Mujahideen will not only refrain from attacking Kabul after the exit of foreign troops, but they will also not try to come into power with the help of arms and ammunition."

Anchor: "You and the Taliban could not evolve a common mechanism to fight. And if the NATO forces leave Afghanistan, would it not result in a civil war in Afghanistan as has happened in the past?"

Hekmatyar: "Our endeavor has been that all the Mujahideen, Islamic groups and personalities should unite around a reliable axis and should accept the common stand, leaving behind their personal priorities for the sake of coming out of the present crisis; they should also unify their resistance and should also from a common ideal for the future of Afghanistan.

"We are ready for talks to achieve these goals; we are ready to create a common strategy against those who want to remain in power through the support of foreigners. If other parties are ready, we can easily end the possibility of fights within Mujahideen."

"Iran and Pakistan are Faced with Extreme Internal Problems; The Alliance of Tehran and Moscow does not Exist Anymore"

Anchor: "Hekmatyar Sahib, we are noticing that Afghanistan has become a fighting ring for international and regional countries. What is the guarantee that after the departure of the NATO forces, Afghanistan would not become the center of proxy wars between the regional powers like Pakistan, India, Iran, Russia and others?"

Hekmatyar: "We don’t say that with the exit of the foreign forces, foreign intervention in Afghanistan would completely end and our selfish neighbors or India, Russia or the U.S. would refrain from interfering into our internal matters or they would not try to instigate bloody conflicts like in the past in Afghanistan. The world powers who find their interest in war in Afghanistan would try to keep the war continuing by giving military and monetary support to those groups who are traitors.

"But the fact is that today neither those countries nor their allies in Afghanistan have their previous position; neither the situation in the region is like past, nor is the international scenario. Iran and Pakistan are faced with extreme internal problems. The alliance of Tehran and Moscow does not exist anymore and their relations are no longer the same. The Northern Alliance [coalition of anti-Taliban parties that came to power] has broken.

"The U.S. and allied forces will have to face the same situation after their withdrawal from Afghanistan that the Soviet Union had to face. These countries cannot do what they did after the 9/11, and neither can they repeat what had happened after the evacuation of Soviet Union at their hands. Then they had created Northern Alliance... They came in the way of establishing an Islamic state through Mujahideen.

"Al-Qaeda and the Taliban of Pakistan are no longer in a position to assist the Taliban [of Afghanistan] like in the past. I can say on the basis of the ground realities that Insha’ Allah [Allah willing] the bitter experience of the past would not be repeated."

"The Importance Iran and Its Supporting Groups have Gained in the U.S.-Supported Afghan Government Now, We don’t Find Any Such Instances in the Past"

Anchor: "Hekmatyar Sahib, the U.S. and its allies fear that Afghanistan would become the stronghold of Al-Qaeda after their withdrawal. And they also say that neither you nor the Taliban have control over Al-Qaeda. Can you guarantee that after the withdrawal of NATO forces that Al-Qaeda would not make Afghanistan its center once again and would not take action against the U.S. and its allies from there?

Hekmatyar: "This is something against [ground] realities and is a treacherous hypothesis of the West to justify their aggression. There are neither centers of Al-Qaeda nor are their fighters are present [in Afghanistan] now. The Western countries themselves say that there remain less than 100 Al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan now. Would you believe that over 100 to 150 thousand troops armed with the latest weapons have been present [in Afghanistan] for nine years just to kill Al-Qaeda fighters who are less than 100 in number?

"And now after nine years, they say that they could not achieve their goal and that too in a state where they killed over a hundred thousand innocent Afghans. They bombard the civilian population, madaris [religious schools], mosques, and marriage and funeral processions on a daily basis; and oppressed Afghans are being killed. If there are neither foreign troops nor any center of foreign mercenaries in Afghanistan, Afghanistan does not have any threat from the West, then Afghans are ready to ensure that."

"Tehran Thinks that the U.S. and Its Allies have Conquered Afghanistan for It [Iran] and Its Groups"

Anchor: "Hekmatyar Sahib, your adversaries allege that you get help from the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and if these allegations are not true then there arises the question where are you getting the help from and how are you continuing the fight?"

Hekmatyar: "Neither any neighboring country nor any anti-U.S. country is helping us. All our neighboring countries, including India, Pakistan, Iran and Russia supported the U.S. in the war against Afghanistan. Apparently Iran is anti-U.S. but covertly it is supporting it [the U.S.]. Iran wants the U.S. troops to further stay in Afghanistan. Tehran thinks that the U.S. and its allies have conquered Afghanistan for it [Iran] and its groups. The importance Iran and its supporting groups have gained in the U.S.-supported Afghan government now we don’t find any such instances in the past.

"Iran had never enjoyed such influence and importance in the internal matters of Afghanistan that it is enjoying today. You and the world have seen that we are carrying out this war on our own. And by the help of Allah we will continue this war till all the foreign troops leave Afghanistan. The high-level officials of NATO and U.S. forces are acknowledging that the Afghan Mujahideen are fighting against them with their indigenously developed arms. They say that Mujahideen make bombs with ammonium nitrate which are planted along the roads and that is why they have banned its import in Afghanistan."

Anchor: "Hekmatyar Sahib, tell us where did you vanish mysteriously after getting out of Iran? Your adversaries allege that you and Mullah Omar are hiding in Pakistan. If the allegation is wrong, then how did you survive the NATO forces’ attacks for nine years while living in Afghanistan?"

Hekmatyar: "I left Iran at the end of 2001 on the day of Eid-ul-Azha amidst heavy snow fall and downpour. I reached Kunar [unclear]. A few days later, Americans tried to hit me with an unmanned aircraft in the Shahgal district. After this unsuccessful attack, I refrained from open activities and use of telephones. During this period, the NATO troops launched campaigns in Kunar, Laghman and Nuristan to arrest or kill me. There came such moments when I kept watching and hearing the U.S. troopers who had come to kill me. I watched their first bombardment with my own eyes. I was watching their aircraft dropping bombs and rockets before my eyes.

"It is not only me but there are many thousands of other Mujahideen who defied the NATO forces and they [NATO forces] failed in killing them; and they are [Mujahideen] fighting against them in every nook and corner of the country. These people could neither kill them nor arrest them."

Anchor: "Hekmatyar Sahib, in your last interview with me you had said that Osama bin Laden after leaving Tora Bora had come to you and you had met him. Tell us, did you meet him again or was that your last meeting and contact with him?"

Hekmatyar: "No, after that I never met [with] Osama bin Laden [again]."

Anchor: ‘’Many people believe that practically Al-Qaeda does not exist, that it is a hypothesis and that the incident of 9/11 was planned by the Jews themselves. What is your knowledge about that and what is your opinion on that? Was the 9/11 done by al-Qaeda or was it the handiwork of the Americans themselves?

Hekmatyar: "In my opinion the incident of 9/11 was result of the actions by the 19 Arab fidayeen [suicide bombers] who belonged to Al-Qaeda. It is just a rumor that it was the work of Jews. Jews cannot prepare a single person for such fidayeen attacks."

"Those Who Support Infidels are Considered One Among Them; Islam has Shown Us How to Make Distinctions Between the Actual and Subsidiary Enemies"

Anchor: "Hekmatyar Sahib, when you were fighting against the Russians, the Jamaat-e-Islami of Pakistan had helped you a lot. Tell us, whether Jamaat-e-Islami is still supporting you or if you have any relation with them at any level now or did that relationship end with that specific situation?"

Hekmatyar: "I am grateful to all Pakistanis including the people of Jamaat-e-Islami and pray to Allah for better rewards for those who supported and helped Mujahideen in their struggle against the Russian aggression. But at the same time I want to make it clear that Jamaat-e-Islami did not assist the Mujahideen in anyway after the day Russian troops left Afghanistan.

"According to my knowledge, Jamaat-e-Islami [of Pakistan] was supporting the Taliban at a point in time and now it is supporting an organization named Jamiat-e-Islah, which has its headquarters in Kabul."

Anchor: "Hekmatyar Sahib, some of the Mujahideen and the Taliban in Pakistan are fighting against the Pakistani government with this argument that if waging jihad is obligatory against the U.S.-supported Hamid Karzai government of Afghanistan, why can’t it be obligatory against the Asif Zardari government which supports the U.S.. What is your opinion in this regard? Are they doing the right thing or they are wrong?"

Hekmatyar: "I ask all the Mujahideen to concentrate all their efforts against their real enemy and support us in our efforts for the freedom of Afghanistan and in jihad for the success of the Muslim community. If we succeed here, other problems of Muslim communities will also be resolved. Pakistani Mujahideen should try to do those things which are beneficial for the freedom of Afghanistan. They should keep in mind that we are fighting against the occupation and invader forces; and jihad is obligatory for Muslims against the aggressors.

"If these invader forces attacked Pakistan or any other Muslim country, then the support of the Pakistani people against these aggressors would be obligatory on the entire Muslim community. Supporting the aggressors is haram [forbidden in Islam] on Muslims and it is against the spirit of Islam. There is no denying the fact that those who support infidels are considered one among them in accordance with the Islamic ruling. Islam has shown us how to make distinctions between the actual and subsidiary enemies; making distinction between the big and small, and they should be dealt with in different manners.

"Islam also tells us that those people should not be hurt who are not directly participating in the war. In my view, those actions are against the spirit of Islam in which innocent and un-warring people suffer."

Anchor: "Hekmatyar Sahib, it is the argument of the Pakistani Taliban that since the Pakistani government is supporting the U.S. policy what they are doing is the reaction against those policies. If this is so, why does a personality like you, who is fighting against the U.S., not support them in their struggle?"

Hekmatyar: "I support every action against the American aggressors, including speeches, writings, dua [prayer] after namaz, protests and attacks on the aggressors and their convoys carrying materials for them."

Anchor: "Some of the Islamic clerics say that these suicide bombings are illegal [in Islam]. What is your opinion in this regard?"

Hekmatyar: "Safi Sahib, these are not the opinions of the real [Islamic] clerics but these are the fatwas [edicts] given by the government clerics and by those Muftis who sell their religion. Those who are fighting in the path of Allah and carrying out fidayeen attacks against those who are against His religion’ their rewards and position are far more heightened than the common martyrs.

"But at the same time I want make it clear that only an insane Mufti who is bound to go to hell would give such fatwas in which a fidayeen is asked to wear a jacket to explode it in a mosque in which a certain person would be killed and ask them not to worry about other Muslims who are killed in that attack. No momin [true believer], Mujahid and Allah fearing Aalim [Islamic scholar] would give such a wrong fatwa.

"Desecration of the mosque and shedding the blood of innocent Muslims who come to pray in the mosque are no ordinary things; and only the one who has no faith would dare to do this."