Former Afghan jihadi leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has called on Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to transfer power to an elected government under a new constitution, warning that refusing political change could lead to wider violence and a national uprising. His remarks mark a tougher break with the Taliban, whom he had supported after their return to power in 2021.
In an online meeting with members of his Hezb-e-Islami party, Hekmatyar said elections were the only way to resolve Afghanistan’s political crisis. He called for an elected assembly and a proportional representation system, arguing that all Afghans should have equal rights and a role in government.
Hekmatyar presented his proposal as a way to prevent further bloodshed. He said the current Taliban government could remain in place until a new government was formed under a new constitution, describing this as a concession to the Taliban. He also argued that political change was inevitable and that the current system could not endure.
He warned that rejecting the proposal could intensify the armed insurgency against the Taliban. Hekmatyar said Taliban forces could face attacks across the country and referred to fighting already under way in Badakhshan. At the same time, he urged Afghans initially to avoid taking up arms and called on them to give Taliban figures time to consider his proposal.
Hekmatyar also questioned the Taliban’s public and foreign support. He argued that the group lacked broad public backing and said it no longer had the same international support that had helped it in the past. He further challenged the Taliban’s religious and political authority, arguing that a leader must consult the people and can be removed if he rules unilaterally.
The timing and location of Hekmatyar’s remarks are unclear. His son, Habiburrahman Hekmatyar, posted the 96-minute video on X on October 6. After the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Hekmatyar stayed in Kabul and initially supported them, but the authorities later shut down his Barya TV outlet and barred him from delivering mosque sermons. He left for Malaysia in December 2025, reportedly for medical reasons, and his current whereabouts are unknown.
Former justice minister Fazel Ahmad Manawi said Hekmatyar’s position, together with recent criticism from a Pakistani cleric, could weaken the Taliban’s religious and tribal support bases. He described Hekmatyar’s emergence as a more explicit voice against the Taliban from within Pashtun society as significant.
Hekmatyar’s warning suggests that continued Taliban resistance to political change could bring greater pressure from armed opponents and contribute to a broader national uprising. He argues that accepting elections and a new constitutional government is the alternative to further conflict, while critics cited in the article see his stance as potentially weakening the Taliban’s existing sources of support.
