Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar described Prince Harry as a “jackal” and accused him of being “drunk” while on duty in Afghanistan in comments published Wednesday.
“The British prince comes to Afghanistan to kill innocent Afghans while he is drunk,” Hekmatyar told the Daily Telegraph.
Harry has been serving in Afghanistan since September as an Apache helicopter pilot.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it was “simply absurd” to suggest that the third-in-line to the throne or any other member of the British armed forces was conducting operations under the influence of alcohol.
“The consumption of alcohol by UK military personnel is not permitted under any circumstances while deployed in Afghanistan,” a ministry spokesman said.
Hekmatyar, a former prime minister who leads militant group Hezb-i-Islami, also vowed to kill as many Western soldiers as possible before NATO-led combat forces withdraw from the country in 2014.
“Before the withdrawal of invading forces, the Mujahideen would like to witness with their own eyes a scene that will teach the invaders to never think of coming this way again,” he said in a video obtained by the Telegraph in response to questions asked through an intermediary.
Hekmatyar, designated a global terrorist by the United States, warned that Afghanistan could collapse into bloody civil unrest after international troops withdraw, 13 years after the US-led invasion.
“The fact is that the government has failed,” said the former premier, who is shown in the video with a white beard and wearing a black turban.
“We might have a dreadful situation after 2014 which no one could have anticipated.”
NATO is aiming to train 350,000 Afghan soldiers and police by the end of 2014 to take over responsibility for security.
But trust between the two sides has been seriously undermined by “insider” attacks by Afghan forces that killed more than 60 foreign troops in 2012, and the transition process has been beset by other problems including desertions.
Afghan warlord Hekmatyar calls Prince Harry 'jackal'
