Afghan peace impossible until foreign troops go: Hekmatyar

There will be no peace in Afghanistan until NATO forces leave, Islamist warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar warned Tuesday in an interview with the French daily Liberation and radio station RFI. Hekmatyar is the leader of Hizb-e-Islami, an armed movement that -- along with the larger Taliban and Haqqani network -- is part of a loose coalition of insurgent forces fighting Western and Afghan government troops. His group has had disputes with the Taliban in the past and there have been reports that it might be more ready than other insurgent groups to negotiate a settlement with Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government. But Hekmatyar, who has had close ties with Al-Qaeda in the past, has also carried out some of the bloodiest attacks of the war and Washington dubs him a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist".

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