According to Turkey’s Official Gazette, the decision was taken by President Tayyip Erdoğan and the Council of Ministers. Hekmatyar is known in Turkey with his old photo with the President Erdoğan, where Erdoğan sits beside him.
The Afghan government had sealed a peace deal with Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami in September. Following the deal, UN Security Council had removed Hekmatyar from its list concerning Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaida and also lifted the sanctions against him.
HEKMATYAR IS KNOWN WITH HIS PHOTO WITH ERDOĞAN
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s photo, showing him kneeling before Hekmetyar had sparked huge debate in Turkey.
The former Prime Minister of Afghanistan and an anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s., Hekmatyar is dubbed the "Butcher of Kabul", accused for the civilian deaths in Kabul in the early 1990s. Following the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan and fall of the Taliban, the US designated him a terrorist, accusing him for supporting Al-Qaeda and Taliban attacks.
