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137-591: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, and former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called after Mohammad Yunus Khalis split from Hezbi Islami in 1979 to found Hezb-i Islami Khalis . He twice served as prime minister during the 1990s. Hekmatyar joined the Muslim Youth organization as
274-539: A "game changer" coined the term "Stinger effect" to describe it. However, these statistics are based on Mujahedin self-reporting, which is of unknown reliability. A Russian general however claimed the United States "greatly exaggerated" Soviet and Afghan aircraft losses during the war. The mujahidin were heavily backed by Pakistan (through the Inter-Services Intelligence ) and the United States (through
411-495: A 96-horse caravan bringing aid into northern Afghanistan, stealing a year's supply of medicine and cash that was to be distributed to villagers. This would have allowed the villagers to buy food. French relief officials also asserted that Thierry Niquet , an aid coordinator bringing cash to Afghan villagers, was killed by one of Hekmatyar's commanders in 1986. It is thought that two American journalists traveling with Hekmatyar in 1987, Lee Shapiro and Jim Lindelof , were killed not by
548-506: A ceasefire with local commanders in Jalalabad , Kunar , Logar and Surobi , and stated that they should only fight foreigners. Hekmatyar was classified as a terrorist organization in Canada in 2005, and is one of two individuals on Canada's list; his party Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin was added in 2006. In May 2006, he released a video to Al Jazeera in which he accused Iran of backing the U.S. in
685-632: A half million martyrs. We are ready to offer as many to establish a true Islamic Republic." His attacks also had a political objective: to undermine the Rabbani government by proving that Rabbani and Massoud were unable to protect the population. In 1994 Hekmatyar would shift alliances, joining with Dostum as well as Hizb-e-Wahdat , a Hazara Shi'a party, to form the Shura-i Hamahangi ("Council of coordination"). Together they laid Siege on Kabul , unleashing massive barrages of artillery and rockets that led to
822-840: A homogeneous organization that Olivier Roy described as " Leninist ", and employed the rhetoric of the Iranian Revolution . It had its operational base in the Nasir Bagh, Worsak and Shamshatoo refugee camps in Pakistan. In these camps, Hezb-i Islami formed a social and political network and operated everything from schools to prisons, with the support of the Pakistani government and their Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). From 1976 to 1977 Afghan President Daoud made overtures to Pakistan which led to reconciliation with Pakistani leader Bhutto. Bhutto's support to Hekmatyar, however, continued and when Bhutto
959-666: A looming civil war. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi , a leader of Islamic mysticism and a hazrat , was one of the original leaders of an organized anti-government armed group. He created an organization named the Afghan National Liberation Front ( Jabha-i Nejat-i Milli ) and on May 25, 1979, appealed for support in New York City. Sayyed Ahmad Gailani , a spiritual leader ( pir ), also created a resistance organization during this time, called National Islamic Front ( Mahaz-e-Millie-Islami ). Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi ,
1096-471: A mile away from the signing ceremony. Human Rights Watch called the deal "an affront to victims of grave abuses". Hezb-i-Islami agreed to cease hostilities, cut ties to extremist groups and respect the Afghan Constitution in exchange for government recognition of the group and support for the removal of United Nations and American sanctions against Hekmatyar, who was also promised an honorary post in
1233-765: A more broad coalition was created, named Islamic Unity of Afghan Mujahidin (IUAM), comprising the four main Islamist and three moderate groups. It was also nicknamed the Seven Party Mujahidin Alliance , the Peshawar Seven , and the Seven Dwarves . In 1989 under the patronage of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, An Afghan Interim Government (AIG) was formed in Pakistan to coincide with the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. The Interim Government had been in exile in Pakistan since 1988. The Interim Government
1370-644: A new organization based in Peshawar , Pakistan, aiming to establish an Islamic Republic . Other rebel movements were also active throughout the country, including Hazara tribes that had some 5,000 men as of August 1979. A broad mujahidin had existed as a de facto political bloc since May 1979, when the Pakistani government decided to limit the flow of financial aid to the said seven organizations, thus cutting off monetary supply to nationalist and left-wing resistance groups. The Soviet operation of December 1979 turned
1507-514: A period of diplomatic tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan, due to Daoud's revival of the Pashtunistan issue. Under the patronage of Pakistani General Naseerullah Babar , then governor of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , and with the blessing of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , camps were set up to train Hekmatyar and other anti-Daoud Islamists. The Islamist movement had two main tendencies:
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#17328446982661644-508: A propitious time for insurgency, following the killing of Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah , when some elements of the Taliban were becoming "disorganized and frustrated." HIG claimed responsibility for and is thought to have at least assisted in a 27 April 2008 attempt on the life of President Karzai in Kabul that killed three Afghan citizens, including a member of parliament. Other attacks for which it
1781-598: A religious scholar and former member of parliament in the Kingdom, formed the Revolutionary Islamic Movement (Harakat-e-Inqilab-e-Islami); he was well known for assaulting prominent leftist Babrak Karmal inside the House of Representatives in 1966. On August 11, 1979, the Afghan National Liberation Front along with three others groups ( Jamiat-i Islami , Hezb-i Islami Khalis , and Revolutionary Islamic Movement) formed
1918-615: A second civil war , which saw the large-scale collapse of the united Afghan mujahidin and the victorious emergence of the Taliban , which established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan shortly after taking most of the country in 1996. The Taliban groups were then ousted in 2001 during the War in Afghanistan , but regrouped and retook the country in 2021. Certain organisations that would later form
2055-400: A sermon in Kabul that the talks of Bonn (2001) and Doha (2019–2020) failed to bring peace to Afghanistan because of the influence of "foreigners". He proposed intra-Afghan talks to form an inclusive government to replace the current interim Taliban government. In 2024, the Taliban cracked down on Hekmatyar, forcing him out of his government residence and shutting down his weekly sermons and
2192-671: A student in the early 1970s, where he was known for his Islamic radicalism rejected by much of the organization. He spent time in Pakistan before returning to Afghanistan when the Soviet–Afghan War began in 1979, at which time the CIA began funding his rapidly growing Hezb-e Islami organization through the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI , one of the largest of the Afghan mujahideen . He received more CIA funding than any other mujahideen leader during
2329-543: A superpower, the lack of unity showed weaknesses in the guerillas, such as the lack of a clear political strategy. In an attempt to dissuade infighting and develop a de facto functioning proto state , Ahmad Shah Massoud created the Shura-e Nazar in 1984, an offshoot of the Jamiat faction. Shura-e Nazar was created as a military–political combination and consisted of an organized structure dealing with health and education in
2466-590: A traditionalist group, controlled the Hazarajat at first, but pro-Iran Khomeinist groups challenged them and took control of the region from them. By the mid-1980s the strongest of these was Sazman-i Nasr , while Shura-i Inqilab-i Ittifaq was prominent only in Maidan Wardak . They united as the " Tehran Eight " in 1987 (so-called due to Iranian support). In 1989, most of these merged into one group, Hezb-e Wahdat . There were also Maoist militias that fought against
2603-497: A united movement. The resistance parties remained deeply divided along ethnic, ideological and personal lines, despite internal and external pressures to unite. Dutch journalist Jere Van Dyk reported in 1981 that the guerillas were effectively fighting two civil wars: one against the regime and the Soviets, and another among themselves. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 's Hizb-i Islami was most cited as the initiator of cross-mujahidin clashes. Through
2740-578: Is held at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1664 Redi wrote his first monumental work Osservazioni intorno alle vipere ( Observations on Vipers ) to his friend Lorenzo Magalotti, secretary of the Accademia del Cimento . In this he began to break the prevailing scientific myths (which he called "unmasking of the untruths") such as vipers drink wine and shatter glasses, their venom
2877-407: Is poisonous if swallowed, the head of dead viper is an antidote , the viper's venom is produced from the gallbladder , and so on. He explained rather how snake venom is unrelated to the snake’s bite, an idea contrary to popular belief. He performed a series of experiments on the effects of snakebites, and demonstrated that venom was poisonous only when it enters the bloodstream via a bite, and that
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#17328446982663014-473: Is said to have resided for almost six years. Isolated from Afghanistan he is reported to have "lost ... his power base back home" to defections or inactivity of former members. He was also distrusted by the Iranian Government, who found him too unpredictable, unreliable, and an unnecessary liability, considering its tense relations at the time with the Taliban and the Pakistani government. Despite his pleas,
3151-399: Is used in a religious context by Muslims to refer to those engaged in a struggle of any nature for the sake of Islam , commonly referred to as jihad ( جهاد ). The Afghan mujahidin consisted of numerous groups that differed from each other across ethnic and/or ideological lines, but were united by their anti-communist and pro-Islamic goals. The coalition of anti-Soviet Muslim militias
3288-543: Is why one has to treat the cancer first. – Ahmad Shah Massoud following a truce with the Soviet Army, c. 1983 Hezb-e-Islami distinguished itself among the mujahideen by its practice of takfir , or pronouncing apostasy against other Muslims. On that basis it regularly attacked other mujahideen factions as well as the Soviet occupation. Hekmatyar's conflict with Jamiat-e Islami and its commander Ahmad Shah Massoud
3425-456: The Afghan civil war . All the different parties participated in the destruction, but Hekmatyar's group was responsible for most of the damage, because of his practice of deliberately targeting civilian areas. Hekmatyar is thought to have bombarded Kabul in retaliation for what he considered its inhabitants' collaboration with the Soviets, and out of religious conviction. He once told a New York Times journalist that Afghanistan "already had one and
3562-579: The Arab states of the Persian Gulf . By May 1980, mujahidin controlled virtually all of rural Afghanistan, and these regions were cleared of Khalqists and Parchamites . With the exception of parts of the north near the Soviet border (under Abdul Rashid Dostum 's command), along with several cities, mujahidin guerillas were in control of most of the country as of 1987. As of 1985, the Jamiat-i Islami held
3699-737: The Central Intelligence Agency ), also receiving backing primarily from Saudi Arabia and the People's Republic of China , while more covert support came from the United Kingdom , Egypt , and West Germany (through the Federal Intelligence Service ). The Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin faction received the lion's share of weapons from the ISI and CIA. While Ahmad Shah Massoud's group was supported by Britain's MI6 and trained and supplied by
3836-667: The Gulf War , U.S. and Saudi officials indicated that they would stop funding both commanders, but this did not happen. However, the CIA and Saudi intelligence pressured the ISI to send captured Iraqi tanks to Haqqani instead of Hekmatyar. In 1993, it was reported that some Mujahidin were deployed in the Caucusus to fight the forces of Armenia in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War . Afghan mujahidin fighters have also been reportedly involved in
3973-748: The Iranian Revolutionary Guards refused to establish a proxy through any of his organizations or assist him in any way. Allegedly, they even cut his phone lines and turned away anyone who wished to see him in his villa in North Tehran. After the 9/11 attacks in the United States Hekmatyar, who had allegedly "worked closely" with bin Laden in the early 1990s, declared his opposition to the US campaign in Afghanistan and criticized Pakistan for assisting
4110-449: The Jamiat-e islami ("Islamic society") led by Burhanuddin Rabbani , that advocated a gradualist strategy to gain power, through infiltration of society and the state apparatus. Rabbani advocated for the "building of a widely based movement that would create popular support". The other movement, called Hezb-i Islami ("Islamic Party"), was led by Hekmatyar, who favored a radical approach in
4247-600: The SAS . Britain's support to the Afghan resistance turned out to be Whitehall 's most extensive covert operation since the Second World War . The CIA's Operation Cyclone was said to be its "largest and 'most successful' covert operation ever." Pakistan controlled which rebels received assistance: the four "fundamentalist" factions received most of the funding. A large amount of funding also came from private donors and charities from
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4384-671: The Sazman-i Jawanan-i Musulman ("Organization of Muslim Youth") which was gaining influence because of its opposition to the Soviet influence in Afghanistan increasing through the PDPA elements in Daoud's government. He was one of the foundational members of the organization. He may have also been influenced by the ideological teachings of Muslim Brotherhood member Sayyid Qutb . By his own account he became an Islamist when he heard of Qutb's death in 1966, on radio, and also contradicts that he
4521-445: The Taliban takeover of Kabul forced him to flee to Iran 's capital Tehran . Sometime after the Taliban's fall in 2001 he went to Pakistan, leading his paramilitary forces into an unsuccessful armed campaign against Hamid Karzai 's government and the international coalition in Afghanistan. In 2016, he signed a peace deal with the Afghan government and was allowed to return to Afghanistan after almost 20 years in exile. Following
4658-425: The United Kingdom , as well as other countries and private international donors. The basic units of the mujahidin continued to reflect the highly decentralized nature of Afghan society and strong loci of competing Pashtun tribal groups , which had formed a union with other Afghan groups under intense American, Saudi Arabian and Pakistani pressure. The alliance sought to function as a united diplomatic front towards
4795-578: The civil war in Tajikistan during 1992–1993. After Najibullah's government collapsed, the Mujahidin factions (apart from Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin ) signed a power sharing agreement (the Peshawar Accord ) and captured Kabul on April 28, 1992, celebrating their " Victory Day ". However, the divisions between the various factions were still there and it was a catalyst that led to another civil war between
4932-556: The communist government of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan , which had taken power in the 1978 Saur Revolution , and the Soviet Union, which had invaded the country in support of the former. There were many ideologically different factions among the mujahidin, with the most influential being the Jamiat-e Islami and Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin parties. The Afghan mujahidin were generally divided into two distinct alliances:
5069-446: The earthworm (generally regarded as a helminth ) and Ascaris lumbricoides , the human roundworm. An important innovation from the book is his experiments in chemotherapy in which he employed the " control "', the basis of experimental design in modern biological research. He described some 180 species of parasites. Perhaps, his most significant observation was that parasites produce eggs and develop from them, which contradicted
5206-402: The fang contains venom in the form of yellow fluid. He even showed that by applying a tight ligature before the wound, the passage of venom into the heart could be prevented. This work marked the beginning of experimental toxinology / toxicology . Redi is best known for his series of experiments , published in 1668 as Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl'insetti ( Experiments on
5343-402: The mujahideen had already existed, such as Jamiat-e Islami in 1972 and Hezb-e Islami in 1976, as militias and paramilitary groups. The two organizations first took part in the 1975 Panjshir Valley and Laghman uprisings , and perpetrated acid attacks on women who were unveiled. Groups of resistance formed in parts of eastern Afghanistan by the fall of 1978, but it was in early 1979 that
5480-532: The "Islamic Society" split between supporters of Massoud and Burhanuddin Rabbani , who led the Jamiat-e Islami, and elements surrounding Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who then founded the Hezb-i Islami . Akbarzadeh and Yasmeen describe Hekmatyar's approach as "radical" and antagonistic as opposed to an "inclusive" and "moderate" strategy by Rabbani. The arrival of Afghan opposition militants in Peshawar coincided with
5617-658: The AIG. He eventually decided to go at the Kabul regime in a very different way: a coalition with Khalq communists of General Shahnawaz Tanai , which caused many resignations in his party in protest. Together, they launched a coup attempt in 1990 to oust the Parchamite Mohammed Najibullah , but failed. A number of Shia militia groups also operated, mainly in central Afghanistan populated by ethnic Hazaras . These groups were also, similarly, divided between themselves. Sayyid Ali Beheshti 's Shura-i Inqilab-i Ittifaq ,
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5754-629: The Afghan Air Force could no longer fly due to fuel shortages. Consequently, the Army's desertion rate skyrocketed. In March 1992, Dostum's militiamen defected to Massoud after negotiations, and Najibullah's regime fell shortly afterwards. In 1991, some factions of the Mujahidin were deployed in Kuwait to fight Iraq . After Hekmatyar and Sayyaf publicly denounced the U.S. and the Saudi royal family for their role in
5891-480: The Afghan army in fortified positions and even helped them conduct counteroffensives, in order to leave them in as strong a position as possible. The withdrawal was completed on schedule, with commander Boris Gromov of the 40th Army being the last Soviet soldier to leave Afghanistan. After the Soviet withdrawal, most of the Afghan mujahidin continued its fight against the government of Mohammad Najibullah , which continued to receive funding from Moscow, while similarly
6028-451: The Afghan conflict and said he was ready to fight alongside Osama bin Laden and blamed the ongoing conflicts in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan on U.S. interference. In an audiotape released the same month, he called for revolt against U.S. forces and Karzai's "puppet government", and directly threatened to kill Lt. General Karl Eikenberry . In September 2006, he was reported as captured, but
6165-462: The CIA and ISI to establish his organization as one of the leading heroin producers in the Middle East. Hekmatyar first became involved in the narcotics trade in the summer of 1988, as it became apparent that the Soviets were intending to withdraw. Initially becoming involved in trafficking opium, Hekmatyar's was the first of the mujahideen groups to establish and operate heroin production factories in
6302-596: The Generation of Insects ), published in 1668. He disproved that vipers drink wine and could break glasses, and that their venom was poisonous when ingested. He correctly observed that snake venoms were produced from the fangs , not the gallbladder , as was believed. He was also the first to recognize and correctly describe details of about 180 parasites , including Fasciola hepatica and Ascaris lumbricoides . He also distinguished earthworms from helminths (like tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms). He possibly originated
6439-416: The Generation of Insects ), which is regarded as his masterpiece and a milestone in the history of modern science. The book is one of the first steps in refuting " spontaneous generation "—a theory also known as Aristotelian abiogenesis . At the time, prevailing wisdom was that maggots arose spontaneously from rotting meat. Redi took six jars and divided them into two groups of three: In one experiment, in
6576-681: The Hezb-e Islami local commanders joined the Taliban, "both out of ideological sympathy and for reason of tribal solidarity." Those that did not were expelled by the Taliban. In Pakistan, Hezb-e Islami training camps "were taken over by the Taliban and handed over" to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) groups such as the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). Hekmatyar then fled to Massoud's stronghold in Panjshir who, despite Hekmatyar's history of animosity towards him, helped him flee to Iran in 1997, where he
6713-451: The Hizb party ... Hekmatyar's party had the dubious distinction of never winning a significant battle during the war, training a variety of militant Islamists from around the world, killing significant numbers of mujahideen from other parties, and taking a virulently anti-Western line. In addition to hundreds of millions of dollars of American aid, Hekmatyar also received the lion's share of aid from
6850-693: The Islamic Movement and Hezbollah Merged into Hezbe Wahdat ) Other Groups Afghanistan Mujahedin Freedom Fighters Front The Afghan mujahideen ( Pashto : افغان مجاهدين ; Dari : مجاهدین افغان ) were Islamist militant groups that fought against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War and the subsequent First Afghan Civil War . The term mujahid (from Arabic: مجاهدين )
6987-693: The Islamic groups to make attempts to unite. A coalition of the three Islamist and three traditionalist organizations, the Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan, was formed, headed by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf . However, it did not last, as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 's group ( Hizb-i Islami Gulbuddin ) and later the three traditionalist groups seceded from it. These three set up the Union of the Three. The Islamic Union later called
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#17328446982667124-399: The Karmal government. The moderate Afghan Social Democratic Party (Afghan Millat) , formed in the 1960s, also resisted in the early days of the war. It was treated as a pariah by the recognized Peshawar-based mujahidin groups. Its guerilla band was heavily damaged in September 1980 following an attack by Hekmatyar's mujahidin forces. The regime in Kabul neutralized an Afghan Millat unit in
7261-517: The Medici Court as both the head physician and superintendent of the ducal apothecary to Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and his successor, Cosimo III . It is here that most of his academic works were achieved, which earned him membership in Accademia dei Lincei . He was also a member of the Accademia del Cimento (Academy of Experiment) from 1657 to 1667. He died in his sleep on 1 March 1697 in Pisa and his remains were returned to Arezzo for interment. A collection of his letters
7398-447: The Mujahidin was also still receiving funding from Washington and Islamabad. Despite initial estimates, the Mujahidin proved unable to topple Najibullah's regime immediately after the Soviet withdrawal. The government concentrated its forces in defense of key cities, while relying on vast amounts of military and humanitarian aid from the Soviet Union to stay afloat. Soviet military advisors were still present in Afghanistan, helping advise
7535-406: The Mujahidin's attempts to take the city of Jalalabad in March 1989, and the civil war settled into a stalemate for three years. Women also played a part in the Afghan mujahidin, often traveling with them to cook food or wash their clothes, but also taking part in weapons smuggling. There were many female sympathizers who encouraged their husbands, sons or other male family members to take part in
7672-577: The Mujahidin. Veteran mujahidin leaders who fought against the Soviets were divided regarding the Taliban. Yunus Khalis was a strong supporter of the Taliban and Nabi Mohammadi also supported them, even dissolving his own organization in doing so. However, Rabbani and Sayyaf were against the Taliban and formed a new united opposition force called the Northern Alliance , which also recruited Abdul Qadeer (a commander who defected from Khalis's faction), prominent Shi'ite leaders such as Muhammad Mohaqiq , and former DRA commander Abdul Rashid Dostum . This group
7809-405: The Pakistanis began turning towards the predominantly Pashtun Taliban . After capturing Kandahar in November 1994, the Taliban made rapid progress towards Kabul, making inroads into Hezb-e Islami positions. They captured Wardak on 2 February 1995, and moved on to Maidan Shahr on 10 February and Mohammed Agha the next day. Very soon, Hekmatyar found himself caught between the advancing Taliban and
7946-456: The Parcham government. In addition, there were frequent reports throughout the war of Hekmatyar's commanders negotiating and dealing with pro-Communist local militias in northern Afghanistan. Overall, Hekmatyar has been accused of spending "more time fighting other Mujahideen than killing Soviets." Through the anti-Soviet war and beyond, he remained a controversial yet persistently influential figure whom The New York Times described as "perhaps
8083-437: The Peshawar Seven and not nationalists or tribal elders. After the Soviet withdrawal, the AIG attempted to establish itself within Afghan territory – the mujahidin and Pakistani forces attacked the city of Jalalabad in March 1989, visioning a final victory towards Kabul, but were disastrously defeated by the Afghan Army. The rivalry between Hekmatyar and the Jamiat-i Islami only increased, leading to Hekmatyar's resignation from
8220-401: The Saudis." Hekmatyar's constant scheming against all of the mujahideen factions led Pakistani general and leader Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq to warn Hekmatyar that it was Pakistan that made him an Afghan leader and that Pakistan could and would destroy him if he resisted operational control by ISI. As the Soviet-Afghan War was coming to its end, Hekmatyar used the funds and weapons provided to him by
8357-413: The Soviet-Afghan War. In the late 1980s Hekmatyar and his organization used the funds and weapons provided to them by the CIA to start trafficking opium , and later moved into manufacturing heroin . He established himself and his group amongst the leading heroin suppliers in the Middle East. Given the CIA's connection, this became a subject of diplomatic embarrassment for the US foreign service. Following
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#17328446982668494-412: The Soviets and the Afghan regime, as well as the Mujahidin. They were initially well organized and carried out attacks in Kabul; the KGB then had a policy of clearing Kabul of any pro-Chinese elements. A mild suspicion from KHAD was enough to put someone in prison by accusing them of being a pro-Chinese communist. The People's Republic of China , which was a backer of the main Pakistan-based Mujahidin,
8631-470: The Soviets, as Hekmatyar's men claimed, but during a firefight initiated by Hekmatyar's forces against another mujahideen group. Hekmatyar made an unlikely alliance with hardline communist and Minister of Defence Shahnawaz Tanai who launched a failed coup attempt in March 1990 against President Najibullah . Many senior members of his party resigned in protest of the coalition, and other Mujahideen groups ridiculed Hekmatyar for uniting with Khalqists to oust
8768-448: The TV station that aired them. Some of Gulbuddin's relatives have served or are suspected of serving as his deputies. Having been described as a "prolific writer" who, "despite rarely ceasing to fight, has authored more than 60 (reportedly 79) books on linguistics, Pashto grammar, comparative religion and political analysis", some of his publications include : Afghan mujahideen Tehran Eight (Shia Groups) (All except
8905-525: The Taliban or al-Qaeda . He was also a suspect behind the 5 September 2002 assassination attempt on Karzai in Kandahar and a bomb the same day that killed more than a dozen people in Kabul. That same month, he released newsletters and tape messages calling for jihad against the United States. One of his commanders commented that there "will be suicide attacks [...] against soldiers". On 25 December 2002, news broke that American spy organizations had discovered Hekmatyar attempting to join al-Qaeda. According to
9042-413: The Taliban to end their insurgency and lay down arms. Hekmatyar ran in the 2019 Afghan presidential election and finished a distant third. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his organization are reported to have joined the Council of Reconciliation formed by the Taliban. He voiced his support of the Taliban in September 2021 even if he and his party will not be included in governance. In October 2022, Hekmatyar told
9179-428: The Taliban. Hekmatyar took office on 26 June, and immediately started issuing severe decrees on women's dress that struck a sharp contrast with the relatively liberal policy that Massoud had followed until then. The Taliban responded to the agreement with a further spate of rocket attacks on the capital. The Rabbani/Hekmatyar regime lasted only a few months before the Taliban took control of Kabul in September 1996. Many of
9316-486: The U.S. army near Spin Boldak . On February 19, 2003, the United States State Department and the United States Treasury Department jointly designated Hekmatyar a "global terrorist." This designation meant that any assets Hekmatyar held in the U.S., or held through companies based in the U.S., would be frozen. The U.S. also requested the United Nations Committee on Terrorism to follow suit, and designate Hekmatyar an associate of Osama bin Laden. In October 2003, he declared
9453-400: The United States. After the U.S. entry into the anti-Taliban alliance and the fall of the Taliban , Hekmatyar rejected the U.N. -brokered accord of 5 December 2001 negotiated in Germany as a post-Taliban interim government for Afghanistan. As a result of pressure by the U.S. and the Karzai administration, on 10 February 2002 all the offices of Hezb-e-Islami were closed in Iran and Hekmatyar
9590-403: The areas it operated in (northern and north-eastern Afghanistan). In 1981 the Islamist groups formed a broader alliance, the Union of the Seven , made up of the three Islamist groups, the newly formed organization led by Sayyaf, and three splinter groups. But many differences remained between them. In 1985, under pressure from the king of Saudi Arabia – which was a major donor to the mujahidin –
9727-541: The benefit of Pakistani interests. The plan was delayed until 1992 due to US pressure to cancel that plan. In April 1992, as the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan began to collapse, government officials joined the mujahideen, choosing different parties according to their ethnic and political affinities. For the most part, the members of the khalq faction of the PDPA , who were predominantly Pashtuns, joined with Hekmatyar. With their help, he began on 24 April to infiltrate troops into Kabul, and announced that he had seized
9864-652: The caves and led them to a safe place." In May 2008, the Jamestown Foundation reported that after being "sidelined from Afghan politics" since the mid-1990s, Gulbuddin's HIG group had "recently reemerged as an aggressive militant group, claiming responsibility for many bloody attacks against Coalition forces at the time, primarily the International Security Assistance Force and the administration of President Hamid Karzai ." The re-emergence of him as an "experienced guerrilla strategist" came at
10001-727: The city in 1983. Most of the Mujahidin's weapons were of Soviet design; this includes mostly those that were supplied by their funders and smaller numbers that were captured from the Soviet or Afghan militaries. It was disclosed in 1981 that recoilless rifles (Chinese 83mm, Blo, 70mm) were being used by the resistance. Also in use were Soviet 82 mm mortars , British mortars and Chinese Type 63 mortars. Twin barrelled Chinese-built Type 58s has been seen in smaller numbers. Lee–Enfield rifles, Egyptian made AKMs , and Chinese made SKSs have also been used by them. Beginning in 1985, they began to receive heavy equipment like bazookas and heavy machine guns, while also receiving better equipment for
10138-489: The city, and that should any other leaders try to fly into Kabul, he would shoot their plane down. The new leader of the "Islamic Interim Government of Afghanistan", Sibghatullah Mojaddedi , appointed Ahmad Shah Massoud as defense minister, and urged him to take action. This he did, taking the offensive on 25 April, and after two days heavy fighting, the Hezb-i Islami and its allies were expelled from Kabul. A peace agreement
10275-555: The civil war into a war of liberation, and the jihad was more forceful than previous Afghan empires had fought against the British and the Sikhs. Except for pockets of supporters of the DRA regime, almost every social, religious and ethnic group protested the Soviet action (despite their removal of the tyrannical Khalq regime), and even religious minorities of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus covertly assisted
10412-451: The cold winters, such as snow boots and ski tents. The raised fundings or assistance from the United States, China and Saudi Arabia all contributed to strengthening the Mujahidin movement by 1987. The portable surface-to-air " Stinger " missile was first used by Mujahedin in September 1986 and is considered by some to have been a turning point in the war. Some military analysts considered it
10549-566: The collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan , on 17 August 2021, Hekmatyar met with both Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah , former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation and former chief executive , in Doha seeking to form a government. However they were subdued as the Taliban formed a non-inclusive government in September 2021. Hekmatyar remains in Kabul. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
10686-547: The country in 1989, after which the rebels' war against the communist Afghan government continued. The loosely-aligned mujahidin took the capital city of Kabul in 1992 following the collapse of the Moscow -backed government. However, the new mujahidin government that was formed by the Peshawar Accords following these events was quickly fractured by rival factions and became severely dysfunctional. This unrest quickly escalated into
10823-485: The country, Hekmatyar appeared less reluctant. On 10 February 2014, Gulbuddin's HIG group executed an attack which killed two US civilians, Paul Goins and Michael Hughes, and wounded two other Americans and seven Afghan nationals. HIG was also responsible for a 16 May 2013 suicide VBIED attack in Kabul, which destroyed a US armored SUV and killed two US soldiers, four US civilian contractors, eight Afghans—including two children—and wounded at least 37 others. The attack marked
10960-402: The deadliest incident against US personnel in Kabul in 2013. On 22 September 2016, Hekmatyar was pardoned by the Afghan government as part of a peace deal between Hezb-i-Islami and the government. The deal also allowed for the release of Hezb-i-Islami prisoners and the return of Hekmatyar to public life. The deal led a group of young activists to organise a protest against the pardoning less than
11097-584: The evacuation of U.N. personnel from Kabul, and caused several government members to abandon their posts. However the new alliance did not spell victory for Hekmatyar, and in June 1994, Massoud had driven Dostum's troops from the capital. The Pakistani military had supported Hekmatyar until then in the hope of installing a Pashtun-dominated government in Kabul, which would be friendly to their interests. By 1994, it had become clear that Hekmatyar would never achieve this, and that his extremism had antagonised most Pashtuns, so
11234-445: The exiled king, Mohammed Zahir Shah , also caused divisions. Zahir Shah enjoyed considerable popularity among the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Both Hekmatyar and Khalis were strongly against the king, while Gailani, Mojaddedi and Mohammadi supported an interim coalition with him. Rabbani and Sayyaf were initially against a role for the king, later changing their minds. Although the Afghan mujahidin were praised for bravery in resisting
11371-477: The first depiction of the larva of Cephenemyiinae , the nasal flies of deer, as well as the sheep liver fluke ( Fasciola hepatica ). His next treatise in 1684 titled Osservazioni intorno agli animali viventi che si trovano negli animali viventi ( Observations on Living Animals, that are in Living Animals ) recorded the descriptions and the illustrations of more than 100 parasites. In it he also differentiates
11508-402: The first jar of each group, he put an unknown object; in the second, a dead fish; in the last, a raw chunk of veal . Redi covered the tops of the first group of jars with fine gauze so that only air could get into it. He left the other group open. After several days, he saw maggots appear on the objects in the open jars, on which flies had been able to land, but not in the gauze-covered jars. In
11645-454: The form of violent armed conflict. Pakistani support largely went to Hekmatyar's group, who, in October 1975, undertook to instigate an uprising against the government. Without popular support, the rebellion ended in complete failure, and hundreds of militants were arrested. Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami was formed as an elitist avant-garde based on a strictly disciplined Islamist ideology within
11782-448: The former Afghan king, Mohammed Zahir Shah , would be an ideal "National Leader" in any coalition. However, Pakistan, which preferred a divided Afghan resistance, was against the return of the former king to Afghanistan, seeing it as a symbol of Afghan nationalism. There were seven major mujahidin groups as recognized by Pakistan and its allies, based in Peshawar and sometimes called the Peshawar Seven . They were often categorized into
11919-594: The fundamentalist and traditional; the fundamentalist factions were militarily stronger in the war. Some of the group leaders also acted as commanders, such as Khalis and Hekmatyar. The other notable mujahidin commanders were Ahmad Shah Massoud (Jamiat-i Islami), Abdul Haq (Hizb-i Islami Khalis), Ismail Khan (Jamiat-i Islami), Jalaluddin Haqqani (Hizb-i Islami Khalis), Amin Wardak (Mahaz-e Melli) and Mohammad Zabihullah (Jamiat-i Islami). The Afghan mujahideen were not
12056-464: The government forces, and the morale of his men collapsed. On 14 February, he was forced to abandon his headquarters at Charasiab, from where rockets were fired at Kabul, and flee in disorder to Surobi . Nonetheless, in May 1996, Rabbani and Hekmatyar finally formed a power-sharing government in which Hekmatyar was made prime minister. Rabbani was anxious to enhance the legitimacy of his government by enlisting
12193-456: The government with Soviet bombardment and logistical support. By the time Soviet forces completed their withdrawal, the Afghan government held only sixty urban centers and the Mujahidin controlled six entire provinces. However, the Mujahidin were unable to seize the country's major cities for several years, due to the lack of coordination between the various groups and the lack of heavy firepower necessary for such actions. The Afghan Army beat back
12330-415: The government" and hints that they would be offered official posts "such as deputy minister or head of department", were thought to be directed at Hekmatyar. It was reported in 2008 that Hekmatyar lived in an unknown location in southeastern Afghanistan, close to the Pakistani border. In 2008, he denied any links with the Taliban or al-Qaeda and was even considered for prime minister. At the time, Hekmatyar
12467-412: The government. The agreement was formalised on 29 September 2016 with both Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Hekmatyar, who appeared via a video link in the presidential palace, signing the agreement. UN sanctions on him were formally lifted on 3 February 2017. On 4 May 2017, he returned to Kabul along with his fighters to meet President Ghani after spending two decades in hiding. He has then called on
12604-481: The governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan signed the Geneva Accords , guaranteed by the United States and Soviet Union. This committed the Soviet Union to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by 15 February 1989. The withdrawal was conducted in two phases. The first half of the contingent was removed between 15 May and 16 August 1988, and the second half after 15 November 1988. As the Soviets withdrew, they left
12741-660: The group during this period was Osama bin Laden , who would later found al-Qaeda and mastermind the September 11 attacks on the United States. Other international fighters from the Indian subcontinent became involved in terrorist activities in Kashmir and against the states of Bangladesh and Myanmar during the 1990s. The mujahidin guerrillas fought a long and costly war against the Soviet military , which suffered heavy losses and withdrew from
12878-595: The international community, and sought representation in the United Nations and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference . The Afghan mujahidin also saw thousands of volunteers from various Muslim countries come to Afghanistan to aid the resistance. The majority of the international fighters came from the Arab world , and later became known as Afghan Arabs ; the most well-known Arab financier and militant of
13015-575: The lack of trust among the various leaders was a factor for the many disunited organizations. Numerous mujahideen commanders additionally regarded schools and its teachers as legitimate targets for attacks, with their justification being that the PDPA ’s leftist ideology was taught in educational institutions to students. The only party fighting the Soviets was the Harakat-i Inqilab-i Islami. The others were all fighting each other. The issue of
13152-544: The larger and more significant Sunni Islamic union collectively referred to as the "Peshawar Seven", based in Pakistan , and the smaller Shia Islamic union collectively referred to as the " Tehran Eight ", based in Iran ; as well as independent units that referred to themselves as "mujahidin". The "Peshawar Seven" alliance received heavy assistance from the United States ( Operation Cyclone ), Pakistan , Saudi Arabia , Turkey ,
13289-713: The main seven parties include the Sharafat Kuh Front in Farah Province and Harakat-e-Mulavi . Additionally a Baloch nationalist group operated called the Nimruz Front . The Settam-e-Melli was a small long-time splinter faction of the PDPA based in Badakhshan Province that fought against the regime and other Mujahidin. They were driven out of Panjshir Valley by Massoud's mujahidin forces in 1981. By 1983 its resistance seemed to have ceased as it appeared to join
13426-572: The midst of anarchy in Afghanistan. Supported by Pakistan and recruited from religious students from madrasas across the border, it won a highly effective military campaign against former Mujahidin factions in the civil war, gaining control and establishing the Islamic Emirate in 1996. Nearly all of the Taliban's original leadership fought in the Soviet–Afghan War for either the Hezb-i Islami Khalis or Harakat-i Inqilab-e Islami factions of
13563-528: The most brutal of a generally brutal group". A highly controversial commander, Hekmatyar has been dubbed the "Butcher of Kabul", accused of being responsible for the destruction and civilian deaths Kabul experienced in the early 1990s. According to the U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan in 1989–1992, Peter Tomsen , Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was hired in 1990 by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to conquer and rule Afghanistan in
13700-404: The most territory, stretching from Herat in the west through the north to Badakhshan in the north-east. Harakat-i Inqilab also held a large amount of territory in the southern provinces, stretching from Nimroz to Logar . Hizb-i Islami Khalis had its stronghold around Nangarhar and Paktia , while Hizb-i Islami Gulbuddin held many pockets of territory throughout the country. The Mahaz-i-Milli
13837-501: The mujahidin. Following the exodus of Afghans to Pakistan in 1980, as many as 84 different resistance groups were formed in Peshawar. A coalition of the resistance with a united front for military activities was demanded by Afghan refugees during meetings in Peshawar in 1980. They, including tribal and community elders, former members of parliament and mujahidin commanders, met in several loya jirgas (traditional grand assembly) to solidify
13974-453: The new government and Mujahidin factions that rebelled against it. This meant that after 1992, various Mujahidin factions including the Shi'ite Hezb-i Wahdat continued to exist as militias rather than merely political parties, with many fighters being loyal to specific leaders. The Taliban is a puritanical movement that was formed in 1994, five years after the end of the Soviet–Afghan War and in
14111-412: The news, he had said that he was available to aid them. However, in a video released by Hekmatyar 1 September 2003, he denied forming alliances with the Taliban or al-Qaeda, but praised attacks against U.S. and international forces. On 10 February 2003, the Afghan government reported that Hekmatyar was planning an alliance with Taliban and al-Qaeda factions. His group was involved in an intense battle with
14248-592: The ouster of Soviet-backed Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah in 1992, Hekmatyar declined to form part of the new government and, with other warlords , engaged in the Afghan civil war , leading to the death of around 50,000 civilians in Kabul alone. Hekmatyar was accused of bearing the most responsibility for the rocket attacks on the city. In the meantime, as part of the peace and power-sharing efforts led by Ahmad Shah Massoud , Hekmatyar became Prime Minister of Afghanistan from 1993 to 1994 and again briefly in 1996, before
14385-671: The prevailing opinion that they are produced spontaneously. As a poet , Redi is best known for the dithyramb Bacco in Toscana ( Bacchus in Tuscany ), which first appeared in 1685. His bacchanalian poem in praise of Tuscan wines is still read in Italy today. He was admitted to two literary societies: the Academy of Arcadia and the Accademia della Crusca . He was an active member of Crusca and supported
14522-514: The region. Hekmatyar's involvement in the production and distribution of illegal narcotics became a subject of diplomatic embarrassment for the United States Foreign Service . The CIA officer with responsibility for its operations in Afghanistan at the time, Charles Cogan , said "Every situation has its fallout...There was fallout in terms of drugs, yes. But the main objective was accomplished." Hezb-i Islami men are like cancer, that
14659-460: The report was later retracted. In December 2006, a video was released in Pakistan, where Gulbuddin Hekmatyar claimed "the fate Soviet Union faced is awaiting America as well." In January 2007 CNN reported that Hekmatyar claimed "that his fighters helped Osama bin Laden escape from the mountains of Tora Bora five years ago." BBC news reported a quote from a December 2006 interview broadcast on GEO TV , "We helped them [bin Laden and Zawahiri] get out of
14796-536: The resistance, liberate Afghanistan from the Soviet Union, topple the Kabul regime, and create a single political bloc. Mojaddedi took part in these, and the first jirga passed a resolution on February 21, 1980. The last round of the jirga in May 1980 set up the Islamic National Revolutionary Council, headed by Mohammad Omar Babrakzay as acting president. It advocated for a national, Islamic, and democratic republic. The pressure persuaded leaders of
14933-426: The same thing was done with living flies, maggots did. His interpretations were always based on biblical passages, such as his famous adage: omne vivum ex vivo ("All life comes from life"). Redi was the first to describe ectoparasites in his Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl'insetti . His notable illustrations in the book are those relevant to ticks , including deer ticks and tiger ticks; it also contains
15070-568: The second experiment, meat was kept in three jars. One of the jars was uncovered, and two of the jars were covered, one with cork and the other one with gauze. Flies could only enter the uncovered jar, and in this, maggots appeared. In the jar that was covered with gauze, maggots appeared on the gauze but did not survive. Redi continued his experiments by capturing the maggots and waiting for them to metamorphose, which they did, becoming flies. Also, when dead flies or maggots were put in sealed jars with dead animals or veal, no maggots appeared, but when
15207-556: The situation rapidly escalated to open rebellion. As early as February 2, 1979, it was reported that Afghan dissidents were receiving guerilla training across the border in Pakistan. The conflict reached a height during the Herat mutiny in March, in which a non-organized group of Afghan army mutineers from the 17th Division and the civilians rebelled and briefly overthrew the city garrison. The incident and subsequent air bombardment gave indications of
15344-477: The summer of 1990, the Afghan government forces were on the defensive again, and by the beginning of 1991 the government controlled only 10 percent of Afghanistan. In March 1991, Mujahidin forces captured the city of Khost ending an eleven-year siege. After the failed coup d'état attempt by hardliners in the Soviet Union in August 1991, Soviet support to Najibullah's government dried up. This effectively doomed it, as
15481-588: The support of Pashtun leaders. However, the Mahipar agreement did not bring any such benefits to him as Hekmatyar had little grassroots support, but did have many adverse effects: it caused outrage among Jamiat supporters, and among the population of Kabul, who had endured Hekmatyar's attacks for the last four years. Moreover, the agreement was clearly not what the Pakistanis wanted, and convinced them of Hekmatyar's weakness, and that they should shift their aid entirely over to
15618-525: The tribal Revolutionary Council an "enemy". Because of disunity, elders from western Afghanistan attempted to hold a loya jirga, citing that party politics disunited the resisting Afghans. Political Islamists warned against people attending the jirga, but it was held safely in September 1981 in Pishin, Pakistan , consisting of tribal elders, the Ulama, and military officers. Elders native from Nangarhar proposed that
15755-539: The use of the control , the basis of experimental design in modern biology. A collection of his poems first published in 1685 Bacco in Toscana ( Bacchus in Tuscany ) is considered among the finest works of 17th-century Italian poetry, and for which the Grand Duke Cosimo III gave him a medal of honor. The son of Gregorio Redi and Cecilia de Ghinci, Francesco Redi was born in Arezzo on 18 February 1626. His father
15892-496: The war against the invaders. However, women in Afghanistan were split between the two sides, with many also supporting the Democratic Republic where they enjoyed social privileges. Female refugees also created and recited Landays (traditional Afghan poems) about the war. There is one recorded female mujahidin warlord, Bibi Ayesha (nicknamed Kaftar , meaning "dove"), who operated in Baghlan Province . On 14 April 1988,
16029-561: The war effort and even coordinate air strikes. Soviet volunteers operated the Scud missiles which gave the government an advantage in firepower. The Afghan Air Force, supplied and maintained with Soviet support, proved to be a crucial asset in keeping the government in power. As late as December 1991, Soviet pilots were recorded flying bombing missions against the Mujahidin. The Mujahidin's divisions and factionalism hindered their war effort, and skirmishes between rival groups became common. Massoud
16166-647: The years, there were various efforts to create a united front, but all were either non-effective or failed in a short time. At least three different iterations of an "Islamic Unity of Afghan Mujahedin" (IUAM) were tried, none of which lasted. The formation of the Afghanistan Interim Government (AIG) in 1988 also failed to promote unity. Additionally, it only included the select Sunni Muslim groups approved by Pakistan; Shi'ite groups backed by Iran and pro-Chinese (anti-Soviet) leftist groups were excluded. Mujahideen leader Mohammad Yunus Khalis thought that
16303-422: Was Headed by traditionalist Sibghatullah Mojaddedi , with orthodox Abdul Rasul Sayyaf as prime minister, the AIG represented itself as a government in exile and a legitimate incoming state following the Soviet withdrawal. The two individuals proved popular, despite not being leaders of major groups, with Sayyaf said to have had exceptional ability in solving issues. However, the AIG was weak, as it only included
16440-638: Was a communist during his youth. Although some believe that Hekmatyar threw acid at multiple female students, others have attributed this claim to the Soviet KGB 's black propaganda . Hekmatyar's radicalism put him in confrontation with elements in the Muslim Youth surrounding Ahmad Shah Massoud , also an engineering student at Kabul University. In 1975, trying to assassinate a rival for the second time in three years, Hekmatyar with Pakistani help tried to assassinate Massoud, then 22 years old, but failed. In 1975,
16577-616: Was a renowned physician at Florence . After schooling with the Jesuits , Francesco Redi attended the University of Pisa from where he obtained his doctoral degrees in medicine and philosophy in 1647, at the age of 21. He constantly moved, to Rome , Naples , Bologna , Padua , and Venice , and finally settled in Florence in 1648. Here he was registered at the Collegio Medico where he served at
16714-525: Was also known as the "Afghan resistance", and the Western press widely referred to the Afghan guerrillas as "freedom fighters", or "Mountain Men". The militants of the Afghan mujahidin were recruited and organized immediately after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, initially from the regular Afghan population and defectors from the Afghan military , with the aim of waging an armed struggle against both
16851-536: Was based on his record as an effective anti-Soviet military commander in Afghanistan. Others describe his position as the result of having "almost no grassroots support and no military base inside Afghanistan", and thus being the much more "dependent on Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq 's protection and financial largesse" than other mujahideen factions. Author Peter Bergen states that "by the most conservative estimates, $ 600 million" in American aid through Pakistan "went to
16988-518: Was believed to shuttle between hideouts in Pakistan's mountainous tribal areas and northeast Afghanistan. In January 2010, he was still considered one of the three main leaders of the Afghan insurgency . By then, he held out the possibility of negotiations with President Karzai and outlined a roadmap for political reconciliation. This contrasted with the views of Taliban leader Mullah Omar and allied insurgent chief Sirajuddin Haqqani , who refused any talks with Kabul as long as foreign troops remained in
17125-687: Was born in 1949 in Imam Saheb , Kunduz province , in the north of what was then the Kingdom of Afghanistan , a member of the Kharoti tribe of Ghilji Pashtuns . His father, Ghulam Qader, who migrated to Kunduz, is originally from the Ghazni province . Afghan businessman and Kharoti tribal leader Gholam Serwar Nasher deemed Hekmatyar to be a bright young man and sent him to the Mahtab Qala military academy in 1968, but he
17262-647: Was either unable or unwilling to help the Afghan Maoists. Majid Kalakani , a prominent figure and leader of the Liberation Organization of the People of Afghanistan (SAMA), was executed by the Afghan regime in June 1980. Members of Shola-e Javid ("Eternal Flame") were involved in fighting the government and mujahidin (particularly Hezb-i Islami ). The Babrak Karmal government arrested many of its members in June 1981. Smaller mujahidin groups not connected to
17399-416: Was expelled by his Iranian hosts. The United States accused Hekmatyar of urging Taliban fighters to re-form and fight against Coalition troops in Afghanistan. He was also accused of offering bounties for those who kill U.S. troops. He has been labeled a war criminal by members of the U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai 's government. ISAF identified Hekmatyar in 2002 as the number one security threat, ahead of
17536-538: Was expelled due to his political views two years later. From 1969 to 1972, Hekmatyar attended Kabul University 's engineering department. During his first year at the university he wrote a 149-page book entitled The Priority of Sense Over Matter , where he refutes communists denying the existence of God by quoting European philosophers and scientists like Hegel or Francesco Redi . Though he did not complete his degree, his followers still address him as "Engineer Hekmatyar". During his years in university, Hekmatyar joined
17673-464: Was one of the most active elements in this time. In both 1990 and 1991 he staged spring offensives, capturing several cities and steadily expanding the territory under his influence. The government meanwhile came to rely heavily on tribal militias to stay in power, primarily the Jowzjani militia of Abdul Rashid Dostum. After 1989, these were the only forces capable of offensives against the Mujahidin. By
17810-624: Was particularly contentious. Massoud was arrested in Pakistan for espionage in 1976 with Hekmatyar's cooperation. Later Massoud and Hekmatyar agreed to stage a takeover operation in the Panjshir valley . Hekmatyar at the last minute refused to engage his part of the offensive, leaving Massoud open and vulnerable. Massoud's forces barely escaped with their lives. In July 1989 Hezb-e-Islami commander Sayyed Jamal ambushed and killed 30 commanders of Massoud's Shura-ye-Nazar at Farkhar in Takhar province . The attack
17947-527: Was prominent in Loya Paktia but also had territory in other parts of the country. As Soviet forces withdrew in 1988–89, the Mujahidin captured several key districts, towns and provincial capitals, such as Taloqan , Mahmud Raqi , Asadabad , Bamyan , Spin Boldak , Dara-i-Suf and Imam Sahib . The cities of Kunduz , Qalat , and Maidan Shahr also fell to the Mujahidin in the summer of 1988, but were retaken by
18084-537: Was removed from power in Pakistan by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, Zia continued supporting Hekmatyar. During the Soviet–Afghan War , Hekmatyar received large amounts of aid from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States. Hekmatyar also gained the support of the British MI6 and even met Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street. According to the ISI, their decision to allocate the highest percentage of covert aid to Hekmatyar
18221-480: Was signed with Massoud on 25 May 1992, which made Hekmatyar Prime Minister. However, the agreement fell apart when he was blamed for a rocket attack on President Mojaddedi's plane. The following day, fighting resumed between Burhanuddin Rabbani 's and Ahmed Shah Massoud's Jamiat, Abdul Rashid Dostum 's Jumbish forces and Hekmatyar's Hezb-i Islami forces. From 1992 to 1996, the warring factions destroyed most of Kabul and killed thousands, many of them civilians, during
18358-420: Was supported following the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 that successfully drove out the Taliban and led to the rise of Hamid Karzai . Francesco Redi Francesco Redi (18 February 1626 – 1 March 1697) was an Italian physician , naturalist , biologist , and poet . He is referred to as the "founder of experimental biology ", and as the "father of modern parasitology ". He
18495-510: Was the first person to challenge the theory of spontaneous generation by demonstrating that maggots come from eggs of flies . Having a doctoral degree in both medicine and philosophy from the University of Pisa at the age of 21, he worked in various cities of Italy. A rationalist of his time, he was a critic of verifiable myths, such as spontaneous generation. His most famous experiments are described in his magnum opus Esperienze intorno alla generazione degl'insetti ( Experiments on
18632-565: Was thought to be responsible included the 2 January 2008 shooting down in Laghman province of a helicopter containing foreign troops; the shooting and forcing down of a U.S. military helicopter in Sarubi district of Kabul on 22 January; and blowing up a Kabul police vehicle in March 2008, killing 10 soldiers. In interviews he demanded "all foreign forces to leave immediately unconditionally." Offers by President Hamid Karzai to open talks with "opponents of
18769-569: Was typical of Hekmatyar's strategy of trying to cripple rival factions, and incurred widespread condemnation among the mujahideen. Hekmatyar's faction also attacked non-combatants such as British cameraman Andy Skrzypkowiak, who was killed in 1987 while carrying footage of Massoud's successes to the West. Despite protests from British representatives, Hekmatyar did not punish the culprits, and instead rewarded them with gifts. The same year Médecins Sans Frontières reported that Hekmatyar's guerrillas hijacked
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