KHOST -- Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former militant commander, has criticized Iran for interfering in Afghanistan and fomenting conflict over the past 30 years, Khaama Press reported Monday (December 11).
Hekmatyar made his remarks during a news conference Monday in Khost Province.
Members of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) fleeing Syria and Iraq might have come to Afghanistan via Iran, according to Hekmatyar.
Hekmatyar criticized Afghan officials who publicly supported the recruitment of Afghan youths by Iran to fight in Syria -- referring to remarks made by Afghan Deputy Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqiq in November.
Hekmatyar and his dormant Hezb-e-Islami militant group signed a peace deal with the Afghan government in September 2016.
