Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on Thursday rejected former Afghan spy chief's claim suggesting links between Hizb and Islamic State militant group or Daesh.

Few days ago, Amrullah Saleh, Afghanistan’s former head of National Directorate of Security, said that the government had more than 20 IS suspects in custody all having current or pre-reconciliation ties with Hekmatyar.

“None have been referred to court system in order to cover up their affiliation with Hekmatyar and save the deal. Hekmatyar has been lobbying and bargaining for their release,” Saleh said on social media.

Hekmatyar, however, rejected it as a “false allegation by certain mischievous circles.”

“We have no link with any international group, we have no link with Daesh, Taliban or al-Qaeda,” he said at a press conference in Kabul.

Hekmatyar inked a peace agreement with the Afghan government in September 2016. The deal includes also release of Hizb-i-Islami prisoners. So far, around 70 prisoners have been released, according to Hekmatyar.

“The list went through government filters, it was also discussed with international stakeholders,” Hekmatyar said. “There is no single person in the list having ties with group other than Hizb.”

IS has claimed some deadly attacks including in capital Kabul. The latest IS attack in Kabul killed 41 people and wounded scores more in west of the city a week ago.

Hekmatyar believes that IS fighters are sent from Iraq and Syria to Afghanistan via Iran.

“Probably, Iran is seeking to play the same game it played in Iraq and Syria,” he said. “They benefited a lot from that game.”

In his comments on rift between the central government and ousted Balkh governor Ata Mohammad Noor, Hekmatyar said that the government should not be weakened.