ASADABAD: Unlike other Afghan warlords, his portrait appears nowhere, but the shadow of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is omnipresent on the plains of the eastern Afghan province in Kunar and its capital Asadabad.

Supporters of the former Afghan premier and radical Hezb-i- Islami party head, infamous for rocketing Kabul during a 1992- 1996 civil war and wanted by Washington, are numerous along Kunar’s mountainous border with Pakistan.

Here the US military is mounting intense operations in search of Hekmatyar and the remnants of the former Taliban regime and Al Qaeda network who it believes are all working in league.

But although Kunar is viewed as perfect breeding ground for the extremists favoured by Hekmatyar, observers in the area are sceptical of the idea that he is hiding out in the province.

Based in the next door province of Laghman, Hekmatyar and his Hezb supporters drove out their rivals after the Soviets were defeated.

“After the civil war, Hekmatyar lost his credibility with the people,” said one Afghan former soldier.

But Hekmatyar has held on to a degree of support in Kunar, heavily populated by Pakhtoons and old mujahideen.

The majority of Kunar’s local commanders still live in imposing fortresses with dried mud walls, and although they support authorities, Hezb-i-Islami is still an influential presence in the region.

Hezb “remains very active” said one local elder. “With large bundles of dollars, the party conducts a massive recruitment campaign based around calls for jihad,” he added.

Supported by militants, the propaganda against “crusaders and infidels” is peddled in mosques by itinerant preachers.—AFP