Gulbuddin Hekmatyar - Early Life

Early Life

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was born in 1947 in Imam Sahib District of the Kunduz province, northern Afghanistan, a member of the Kharoti tribe of the Ghilzai Pashtun. His father, Ghulam Qader, who migrated to Kunduz, is originally from the central Ghazni province.

Afghan businessman and Kharoti tribal leader Gholam Serwar Nasher deemed Hekmatyar to be a bright young man and sent him to the Mahtab Qala military academy in 1968, but he was expelled due to his political views two years later. From 1970 to 1972, Hekmatyar attented Kabul University's engineering department. Though he was unable to complete his degree, his followers therefore address him as "Engineer Hekmatyar".

Hekmatyar initially was a pro-Soviet militant of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) but with time also became influenced by extremist interpretations of Islam. In 1972, he was imprisoned for ordering the killing of Saydal Sukhandana, a pro-China Maoist student. While attending Kabul University Hekmatyar's supporters had also allegedly become known for throwing acids into the faces of women not wearing the all covering veil on campus. He was released after two years when the monarchy of Zahir Shah was overthrown and Daoud Khan with the help of the communist PDPA seized power in 1973.

After being released, Hekmatyar joined the Sazman-i Jawanan-i Musulman ("Organization of Muslim Youth") which was gaining influence because of its opposition to the Soviet influence in Afghanistan increasing through the PDPA elements in Daoud's government. Hekmatyar's radicalism put him in confrontation with elements in the Muslim Youth surrounding Ahmad Shah Massoud, also an engineering student at Kabul University. In 1975, trying to murder a rival for the second time in three years, Hekmatyar with Pakistani help tried to assassinate Massoud, then 22 years old, but failed. In 1975, the "Islamic Society" split between supporters of Massoud and Burhanuddin Rabbani, who led the Jamiat-e Islami, and elements surrounding Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who then founded the Hezb-i Islami. Akbarzadeh and Yasmeen describe Hekmatyar's approach as "radical" and antagonistic as opposed to an "inclusive" and "moderate" strategy by Rabbani.