Peace Deal Expected With Armed Afghan Group

The Afghan government is expected to finalize a peace deal with a notorious militant insurgent group within days.
Peace Deal Expected With Armed Afghan Group
Amin Karim (2nd R), an official of the Hezb-i-Islami Party, speaks as he leaves after a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 17, 2016. An Afghan official says the government will finalize a peace deal with a notorious militant insurgent group within days. Ataullah Saleem, a deputy head of Kabul's High Peace Council, said on Saturday, May 14, an agreement with the armed wing of Hezb-i-Islami could be completed Sunday, after two years of negotiations. AP Photo/Rahmat Gul
|Updated:

KABUL, Afghanistan—Afghanistan is expected to finalize a peace deal with a notorious militant group in the coming days, in what could be a template for ending the 15-year war with the Taliban, a government official and a representative of the militant group said Saturday.

The deal is partly symbolic as the group in question, Hezb-i-Islami, has been largely inactive for years, but it marks a breakthrough for President Ashraf Ghani, who has made little progress in reviving peace talks with the far more powerful Taliban.

Under the 25-point agreement, a draft of which was seen by The Associated Press, Hezb-i-Islami would end its war against the government, commit to respecting the Afghan constitution and cease all contact with other insurgents. In return its members would receive amnesty and its prisoners would be released.