KABUL (Ariana News) — The leader of the Hezb-i-Islami of Afghanistan (HIA) has given the government a 10-day ultimatum for the release of prisoners from his party.

Gulbadin Hekmatyar

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. In May 1996, Rabbani and Hekmatyar finally formed a power-sharing government in which Hekmatyar was made prime minister. The Rabbani/Hekmatyar regime lasted only a few months before the Taliban took control of Kabul in September 1996.

In an interview released Monday, Gulbadin Hekmatyar attacked the government for violating the 2016 peace agreement with his party. He told Ariana News: "The Presidential Palace must implement its agreement with Hezb-i-Islami and release all our prisoners. We give them (the government) 10 days to do so.”

If the authorities do not implement the peace pact, warned the former Prime Minister, his party will organise demonstrations throughout the country.

Hekmatyar issued the warning a week after HIA supporters gathered in Kabul to protest against the delay in implementing the peace deal and the targeted killings in the country. Hekmatyar accused the government of complicity in these targeted attacks. He threatened to reveal the elements involved in the attacks:

They have 10 days to respond to our demands. The presidential palace has to understand that we will certainly reveal the criminal group involved in the assassinations..