Afghanistan Signs Draft Accord With Militant Leader

Afghanistan signed Wednesday a draft agreement with the Hezb-e-Islami militant group that the government hopes could lead to a full peace accord with one of the most notorious warlords in the insurgency.

Hezb-e-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is a veteran of decades of Afghan war and human rights organizations have accused his group of widespread abuses, particularly during the civil war of the early 1990s, when he briefly served as prime minister.

The U.S. has also linked the group to al Qaeda and the Taliban, and put Hekmatyar on its designated terrorist list.