One of Afghanistan's most notorious warlords Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has returned to the Afghan capital Kabul after nearly two decades in exile, Afghanistan's state news agency Tolo reports
The return of Hekmatyar, a former prime minister, comes eight months after the government signed a peace deal with representatives of Hezb-e-Islami -- the insurgent faction led by the warlord.
Tolo reports that Hekmatyar's convoy, complete with luxury SUVs loaded with heavily armed men, drove almost 200 kilometers from Nangarhar Province to Kabul on Thursday.
Dozens of Kabul residents gathered along the streets as he arrived, with some chanting, "Long live Hekmatyar." He then met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. He is expected to address a mass rally Friday at Kabul's Ghazi Stadium, Tolo reports.
Ruthless reputation
Hekmatyar developed a ruthless reputation during more than three decades of virtually uninterrupted conflict in Afghanistan.
In the 1980s, he received some $600 million in US aid, as Washington armed Afghan mujahideen fighters battling the Soviet occupation.
During the subsequent civil war between rival mujahideen commanders in the 1990s, Hekmatyar was accused of committing atrocities against civilians during the deadly struggle for control of the Afghan capital.
Some residents nicknamed the warlord "Rocketyar" because of his faction's frequent rocket strikes on the city.
Photo: Hekmatyar sits with former Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Afghan former mujahideen leader Abdul Rasul Sayaf during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Kabul.
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