AFGHANISTAN & THE WORLDTHE DAILY BRINE
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THE TORSHI DOSSIERS · 01 / DOHA

Board of Directors

They planned their next role. History changed the cast.

Doha promised a new political chapter. Everyone had a role in mind; the ending had other plans. Meet the rivals, negotiators and broadcasters around the peace process—and the futures that never arrived.

The promises, the players, the aftermath. Open each dossier for background and sources.

1 of 10 profiles

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

Hezb-e Islami leader; former prime minister

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar

گلبدین حکمتیار

Ethnicity
Pashtun
Province / origin
Imam Sahib, Kunduz

Hekmatyar believes power should come from the ballot box, provided the box understands whom it works for. Ghani's government signed him back into politics; he later rejected Ghani's election victory. Democracy is sacred until it produces another man's name. Then Afghanistan urgently requires a different arrangement.

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Brief biography

Founder of Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin and former prime minister. Born in Imam Sahib, Kunduz, into the Kharoti Pashtun tribe. Signed a separate agreement with the Afghan government in 2016.

Documented role in the peace process

Advocated negotiations in a February 2020 interview and discussed the peace process in Pakistan later that year. His 2016 agreement must not be confused with the 2020 US–Taliban deal.

Sources

Image: Tameem Akhgar / Radio Azadi · Public domain (Wikimedia Commons). Displayed without retouching; fitted to the card.

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