Hekmatyar Denies Participation in Anti-Taliban Meeting in Islamabad

Kokcha News Agency – Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Afghanistan’s Hezb-e-Islami party, has announced that he will not participate in the upcoming anti-Taliban political meeting in Islamabad.

The meeting, set to take place on August 25-26, has drawn significant attention and reactions from various political figures.

Hekmatyar criticized certain media outlets for spreading rumors of his attendance, stating, “I have no intention of participating in meetings outside the country, nor have I been invited to such a meeting. A trip to Pakistan is not in my plans.”

The meeting, which will bring together a number of Taliban opponents in Pakistan, has sparked widespread reactions. Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Peace, described the meeting as “provocative.”

However, several Afghan political figures, including Mohammad Mohaqiq and Noor Rahman Akhlaqi, have rejected his claims, stating that organizing such gatherings is the right of Taliban opponents.