Sources close to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hizb-e-Islami party, confirmed on Monday that the Taliban has barred him from holding meetings with people seeking to visit him, a shift from his earlier practice of more open public engagements.
According to these sources, Hekmatyar is not permitted to meet with the public without coordination with the Taliban’s security agencies.
Meanwhile, Habib Rahman Hekmatyar, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s son, indirectly confirmed the restrictions in a post on X, stating, “Ups and downs in political struggle and facing difficulties for speaking the truth against tyranny and lawlessness are natural.”
The tension between the Taliban and Hekmatyar comes as the Taliban recently forced Hekmatyar out of his residence in the Darulaman area of Kabul.
In a recent statement, Abdul Hakim Sharaee, the Taliban’s justice minister, said that the party’s activities in Afghanistan are “banned.”
