06.05.2003 - Source: Integrated Regional Information Network

Afghan police arrested eight suspects from the Hezb-i-Islami faction of renegade warlord Guldbuddin Hekmatyar ("Afghanistan: NGO continues operating despite armed attack") [#12408],  [ID 1064]

"Reuters reported on Monday that Afghan police had arrested eight suspects from the Hezb-i-Islami faction of renegade warlord Guldbuddin Hekmatyar in connection with the killing. Hekmatyar has called for a jihad or holy war against US forces in Afghanistan. His forces have been connected with a number of attacks on aid workers and coalition forces this year."

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13.02.2003 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Afghan troops clash with suspected Taliban, Hezb-e Islami troops north of Kandahar ("Afghanistan Report, 13 February 2003, Volume 2, Number 6") [#30477],  [ID 1065]

"Provincial corps commander General Khan Mohammad said on 5 February that fighting broke out north of Kandahar on 4 February between government forces and "Taliban and Hizb-e Islami forces," Reuters reported. "Three people have died on our side, and two were wounded," Khan Mohammad said, adding that "five of the enemy were killed, and that toll could rise." Military officials have expressed concern that radical leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has allied his Hizb-e Islami with Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in an effort to carry out his proclaimed intention of ousting foreign troops from Afghanistan. (Michael Scollon)"

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11.07.2002 - Source: UN Security Council

UN Secretary-General: Politically motivated arrest of Hezb-e Islami activists in April 2002 highlight need to bring security services under the rule of law ("The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security [A/56/1000–S/2002/737]") [#49253],  [ID 1066]

"The human rights situation in Afghanistan clearly requires the presence of strong human rights institutions. […] The politically motivated arrests and month-long detention — without trial or the issuing of charges — of alleged Hezb-e-Islami activists in April by the National Directorate for Security highlighted the need to bring the security services under the rule of law. In this regard, President Karzai’s promise to establish a commission to overhaul the National Directorate for Security is a welcome development."

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04.04.2002 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

At least 350 people arrested ("Afghan Coup Claims Under Scrutiny") [#28896],  [ID 1067]

At least 350 people arrested, several held on suspicion of serious offences, including terrorism

"Most of the significant figures reported to have been arrested had taken up residence in a Kabul hotel specifically to facilitate cooperation with the government. Many had met at length with interim president Hamid Karzai on Tuesday, the eve of their internment. Among them was Hekmatyr's deputy, Jumma Khan Hamdard, who went on record in March to say the Hezb-e-Islami in Afghanistan would cooperate with the interim authority. Also arrested were Bashir Khan Baghlany, a faction leader in the province of Baghlan, and Hekmatyar's one-time aide, Wahidullah Sabawon. Sabawon was once the military chief of Hezb-e-Islami and served as defence minister in 1995 when Hekmatyar became prime minister under President Burhanuddin Rabbani. When the mainly Pashtun Taleban took over the country in 1996, Sabawon joined the mainly Tajik Northern Alliance resistance. Observers believed the three had not given any indication that they overtly opposed the process begun in Bonn, and appeared willing to go along with its deliberations. But Mohammed Naseer, the security director at the Kabul governor's office, told western and local media that the Hezb-e-Islami leaders had planned a coup d'etat against the interim government in effort to disrupt June's scheduled Loya Jirga. Naseer said about 350 people had been detained during the week. A western official said twice as many had been arrested and 250 subsequently released. Ten were being held on suspicion of serious offences, including terrorism, the official said. The Northern Alliance figures in charge of the interior and defence ministries are falling into a habit of arresting Pashtun figures they consider a threat. Interim defence minister Mohd Qaseem Fahim had Nangarhar military commander Haj Zaman arrested for 15 days in early February on allegations that he had aided the escape of Osama bin Laden from his besieged Tora Bora mountain redoubt. The real reason, Zaman told IWPR later, was that Fahim wanted him ousted from his post - against Karzai's wishes - in favour of his chosen man. Most of the Tajiks now dominating the interim administration belong to the Jamiat-e-Islami faction, the principal force in the Northern Alliance."

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