The gates of hell opened in Kabul the very next day.
By Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi
In mid-April 1992, I spent a week or more in the village of Surkhab, overlooking the Afghan capital of Kabul, with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. In those days, he had set up a base there, hoping to win the great historical privilege of being the conqueror of Kabul and the restorer of Islam in this century! But suddenly another conqueror caught up with him and snatched the initiative from him on the field of victory and defeat, thereby taking this great honor for himself. This conqueror was Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was no less than Hekmatyar in jihad and struggle. However, Hekmatyar could not agree to divide the world between two men at that time.
These were very intense days, but at the same time very sensitive and fateful. The scenes were very dramatic. Those days, I witnessed moments of victory and defeat, joy and sadness, humility and arrogance, submission and pride, truth and lies. I saw reality change color every moment, and I watched the truth transform in the hands of certain people, I also witnessed for the first time how a Stinger missile was aimed at the Mujahideen themselves.
Yes, the days of Surkhab, for all their limitations and forgotten, are considered a significant turning point in the course of modern Afghan history. If what we saw these days had not happened, the Mujahideen of Afghanistan would never have lost the achievements of a decade and a half of jihad and the consequences of the sacrifice of two million people of the nation for freedom of religion and homeland. It was these dark days that shattered the hopes, goals, and plans of the Mujahideen to establish a just Islamic state until finally, another group called the Taliban emerged, who in coordination with their known allies, seized the remaining lands and gains from the Mujahideen. The rest of the story is known to all and we still see the aftermath of those days.
Professor Adel Buterji and another Saudi friend at the scene also accompanied me during those days. Mr. Buterji, who was then the head of one of the Saudi charities operating in Afghanistan, and I was also a member of that institution, in addition to my work in the press, wrote down and documented all the events of those days in a beautiful book called “Fourteen Critical Days in the Modern History of Afghanistan.” I recommend this book to young Muslims, especially the Saudi youth associated with the Sahwa movement, who always base their harsh positions on the experience of the Afghan Jihad. I hope that Professor Buterji will also reprint this valuable work and add other details to it or write another book on this topic; Because he was an eyewitness to the events and knows what other participants in the Afghan Jihad do not know.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who has recently become the new hero of today's extremists, was also a hero of our generation of passionate youth fascinated and captivated by his so-called strong and dynamic personality. But his reality became clear to us when his rockets and mortars smashed Kabul and its defenseless people, and he drew his sword against his brothers and attacked the lives of Muslims with indescribable tenacity. At the same time, we witnessed first-hand his many atrocities and sabotage, which led to him finally finding refuge in Iran.
I accompanied him to Surkhab when he was at the height of his pride and arrogance, boasting greatly about his strength and power, and never listening to the advice of those close to him, even the elders of the Islamic Movement who were in Peshawar then. He ignored the Mujahideen who had gathered their forces around Kabul after the communist regime began to collapse to prevent tensions and war.
I, next to Hekmatyar, could hear the voice of the martyr Ahmad Shah Massoud, humbly asking Hekmatyar on the radio to return to Peshawar and, in agreement with other leaders of the jihadi parties, form a joint and inclusive government, and then all together without war and conflict come to Kabul. Shahid Massoud said that Kabul had fallen, the communists were ready to hand over power completely to the mujahideen, he did not want any privileges for himself, and that the military phase had passed. He said that the political phase had begun, so there was no need to act in a way that would lead to unnecessary tension and conflict among the mujahideen. But Hekmatyar stubbornly refused, repeatedly emphasizing that he wanted to enter Kabul with pride, with weapons and green flags.
Of course, at that time his arguments seemed very strong to us because we had succumbed to him from the very beginning. None of us dared to repeat to him what Masoud had said, or even to remind him of the Islamic advice that the Prophetic tradition commands us, according to which one should not engage in war with the enemy as long as the goal can be achieved by peaceful means. Therefore, we kept our mouths shut and, together with Hekmatyar, dreamed of a victorious entry into Kabul within the next two days.
The next day, I followed the course of a telephone conversation between Sheikh Muhammad Qutb (Sayyid Qutb's brother) and Hekmatyar. Sheikh advised him to stop his unilateral actions to conquer Kabul and, in agreement with other mujahideen, to form a transitional government for the peaceful acquisition of power in Kabul. Professor Mohammad Qutb, a little harsh and serious in his conversation with Hekmatyar, told him that he should not consider himself right and others completely wrong. Because no matter how honest, far-sighted and pure a person may be, he can still make mistakes and be misled. But Hekmatyar, who had none of these qualities, assured him that the Mujahideen would never fight each other. This was when his armed men were preparing to attack Kabul and he knew that they would encounter the Mujahideen under Ahmad Shah Massoud there.
Now I confess that I participated in the crime of lying and deceit with Hekmatyar that day and asked him to suggest to Ustad Mohammad Qutb that he meet the other well-wishers again in Peshawar, approve the new plan and then contact Hekmatyar. Hekmatyar immediately conveyed this opinion to Sheikh Muhammad Qutb to keep them occupied for some time and, having gained time according to the previous plan, enter Kabul the next day, thus presenting everyone with a fait accompli.
Before the above-mentioned telephone conversation ended, Osama bin Laden, who was in Peshawar at the time along with other Arab mediators, also got on the line and expressed his concern about the inevitability of civil war among the mujahideen if they entered Kabul separately and without prior agreement. Hekmatyar assured him that war among the mujahideen was impossible and immediately ended the conversation with bin Laden. When Hekmatyar walked away from the radio, bin Laden's voice could still be heard repeating, "Engineer Sahib, can you hear me?" But Hekmatyar ignored him and walked away. Here, one of Hekmatyar's subordinates picked up the phone and told bin Laden that Engineer Sahib had left. The very next day, the gates of hell opened before Kabul. This may have been the last conversation between Hekmatyar and bin Laden.
Al-Watan newspaper, Riyadh, 05.09.2006
