Afghanistan is close to signing a peace agreement with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, President Ashraf Ghani said Monday, in a landmark accord that could pave the way for the notorious warlord's political return after years in hiding.
Hekmatyar, who heads the now largely dormant Hezb-i-Islami militant group, is the latest among a series of warlords whom Kabul has sought to reintegrate into Afghan politics in the post-Taliban era.
If inked, the deal with Afghanistan's second-biggest militant group would mark a symbolic victory for Ghani, who has struggled to revive peace talks with the much more powerful Taliban.
"The peace agreement will be finalised very soon," Ghani said in his address on the occasion of the Islamic festival of Eid-ul-Adha.
"We hope for peace in Afghanistan and to end the war in the country."
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