FINALLY : Afghanistan signs peace accord with rebels

The deal with warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is
the country's first peace agreement since the
Taliban launched their insurgency in 2001, after
being driven from power in the wake of the
9/11 attacks on the United States.
It grants full political rights to his Hezb-i-Islami
Gulbuddin party and obliges the Afghan
authorities to work to have it removed from the
United Nations' list of foreign terrorist
organizations.
Hekmatyar himself was designated by the U.S.
as a "global terrorist" in 2003. He was
blacklisted at Washington's request by the U.N.
the same year, and has similar status with the
British government.
The agreement ends years of talks between
Kabul and Hekmatyar, who is in his late 60s. It
should enable him to return to Afghanistan
after 20 years in exile — he is believed to live in
Pakistan — as it includes provisions for his
security at government expense.
The signing ceremony was broadcast live on
television. The agreement was signed by the
head of Kabul's High Peace Council, Ahmad
Gilani, national security adviser Mohammad
Hanif Atmar, and Hekmatyar's representative
Amin Karim. Hekmatyar's son Habiburahman
sat with an audience of officials.
To be formalized, the agreement must be
signed by President Ashraf Ghani and
Gulbuddin Hekamtyar; no timetable has been
announced.
The deal marks a victory of sorts for Ghani,
who has been unable to bring peace to
Afghanistan despite election promises and early
efforts to forge a close diplomatic relationship
with neighboring Pakistan. The failure of those
efforts has seen Ghani reverse course in recent
months — he now openly accuses Pakistan of
supporting and protecting the Taliban. Pakistan
denies the accusations, though the Taliban's
leadership councils are based in Quetta and
other Pakistani cities.
Talks between Kabul and the Taliban, hosted
by Pakistan and aimed at ending the war, broke
down earlier this year.
With this peace deal, Ghani can demonstrate to
the Taliban's leaders that his government is
willing to make compromises for the sake of
peace. The key points are the removal from
international blacklists, immunity from
prosecution for alleged war crimes, allowing
unilateral political activity, and the release of
prisoners.
"It proves peace is possible," Franz-Michael
Mellbin, the European Union's special
representative for Afghanistan, said of the
agreement.




Source :foxnews
Edited by DANIEL IKECHUKWU EKWUNIFE