UN removes former Afghan warlord from blacklist
KABUL — The United Nations has removed the name of a former Afghan warlord from its Islamic State group and al-Qaida sanctions list.
According to a statement posted Friday by the Security Council, a U.N. committee removed Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s name from the sanctions list. The statement said Hekmatyar, leader of Islamist organization Hezb-i-Islami, would no longer have his assets frozen, be subject to a travel ban or to an arms embargo.
Amin Karim, the group’s chief negotiator told reporters on Saturday “The removal of sanctions proved that the solution is Afghan-owned negotiations inside the country and coming to a national consensus. If Afghans come to such a conclusion the international community is supportive of the peace process and it is good news for peace and the Afghan nation.”
Hekmatyar, a former warlord who battled U.S. forces after the 2001 invasion and nursed bitter rivalries with other Afghan factions, agreed to lay down arms last year. Karim had earlier told The Associated Press that he would return to the capital in “a matter of weeks, not months.”