A recent announcement by Gulbudin Hekmatyar, leader of the outlawed Islamic party the Hizb-e-Islami to support al-Qaida network against the United States and allied troops, would have little impact on the trend of the ongoing militancy in Afghanistan, local observers believe.

"I do not think it would give any impetus to the trend of insurgency as he (Hekmatyar) already was in the side of Taliban and al-Qaida," eminent analyst Qasim Akhgar pointed out.

He also was of the view that Hekmatyar has been assisting the al-Qaida and Taliban groups since 9/11 attacks on the United States.

Hekmatyar, wanted by the United States, has announced recently that he would fight Americans alongside the al-Qaida group, according to Arabic television channel the Al-Jazeera.

Blaming the United States and its allies for the mayhem in Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan, the former anti-Soviet resistance leader said in a videocassette aired by the Al-Jazeera that "The United States and its European allies had imposed the war on Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan."

The Afghan observer also was of the opinion that Hekmatyar had already lost his popularity among Afghans and his call to wage Jihad or holy war would fall in deaf ears.

In the factional clashes that erupted among different anti- Soviet resistance groups including Hekmatyar's faction after the fall of Najibullah's Moscow-backed regime in 1992, thousands of Afghans have been killed and over one million others migrated to foreign countries.

"It makes no difference if Hekmatyar joins Taliban or al-Qaida as they have already established cooperation," journalist and writer Ahmad Shafai observed.

The anti-government's troika, Hekmatyar, Taliban and al-Qaida, according to Afghan sources, had reached an agreement with the mediation of Hekmatyar's elder son Jalaluding Hekmatyar in Pakistan last year to carry out coordinated attacks on the Afghan government and U.S.-led coalition troops interests.

"There is nothing new in Hekmatyar's fresh announcement," said Shafai.

Shafai also believes that Taliban-linked militancy has already reached its peak and Hekmatyar's support would not give new momentum to it.

Over 300 people including 25 American soldiers have lost their lives in Taliban-linked insurgency since the beginning of this year.

Once a close ally of the Untied States in the Cold War era, Hekmatyar received generous financial and military support from Washington to resist former Soviet's occupation of Afghanistan in 1979-89.

However, he has frequently vowed to resist U.S.-dominated foreign troops till their withdrawal from the country since his return from Iran after the fall of Taliban regime in late 2001.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman General Zahir Azimi played down Hekmatyar's new strategy saying it would have served no interest for the enemies except a propaganda.

Source: Xinhua