Hekmatyar should be held accountable for war crimes: HRW

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, infamous as the 'butcher of Kabul', should be held accountable for his crimes during the Afghan civil war.

According to Tolo News, Patricia Gossman, a senior researcher of HRW in Afghanistan said Hekmatyar, like other warlords, does not feel accountable for what he has done in the past.

Gossman also criticised Hekmatyar's repeated remarks against the media and said the achievements of the past 15 years should be preserved.

Hekmatyar returned to Kabul city on Thursday after 20 years after a 25-point peace deal signed in September 2016 with President Ashraf Ghani.

Under the agreement, the Hezb-e-Islami leader will adopt a political role.

The peace agreement between the Afghan Government and the terror group gives Hekmatyar and his followers' immunity for past actions and grants them full political rights.

Hekmatyar was a prominent anti-Soviet commander in the 1980s. He is accused of killing thousands of people when his fighters fired on civilian areas of the capital city during the 1992-1996 civil war.