Khalis faction
Encyclopedia
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
's Hezb-e Islami and formed his own resistance group. It was also called Hezb-e Islami. The two parties were distinguished as Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin and Hezb-e Islami Khalis, after the names of their respective leaders.
The Khalis party was part of the "Peshawar Seven", who fought against the Soviet presence in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
. Among its most famous commanders were Abdul Haq
Abdul Haq (Afghan leader)
Abdul Haq was an Afghan Pashtun mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviets and Afghan communists during the Soviet-Afghan War...
, Amin Wardak
Amin Wardak
Amin Wardak was an Afghan mujahideen leader who fought in Wardak Province during the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He was educated a the Lycée Esteqlal in Kabul, before taking his B.A...
, and Jalaluddin Haqqani
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani is the leader of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. He also fought in the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, including in the Operation Magistral...
.
Following Khalis' death in 2006, a power struggle ensued between his son Anwar ul Haq Mujahid
Anwar ul Haq Mujahid
Anwar ul Haq Mujahid is the son of deceased Afghan militant leader Mohammed Yunis Khalis, founder of the Hezb-e Islami Khalis. When Khalis died in 2006, his son took over the organization, but later transitioned to the Tora Bora Military Front.-References:...
and Haji Din Mohammad
Haji Din Mohammad
Hajji Din Mohammad is a politician in Afghanistan, who first served as the Governor of Nangarhar Province followed by Governor of Kabul Province. He comes from a distinguished Pashtun family which has served the Afghan nation for more than 150 years. His great-grandfather, Wazir Arsala Khan, served...
, the current governor of Kabul Province
Kabul Province
Kābul , situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul City, which is also Afghanistan's capital. The population of Kabul province is 3.5 million people as of 2009, of which almost 80 percent live in the urban areas...
. Mohammad appears to have been successful in consolidating his control over much of the party.