What is Haqqani Network? All about the decade-old alliance between them & Taliban

The United States recently attempted to dissociate the Taliban and the Haqqani network and called them two separate entities despite both terror groups sharing close links. When US State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked about sharing information regarding the security of Kabul airport with the Taliban and if it was shared with Haqqani Network, he replied saying, “The Taliban and Haqqani Network are two separate entities."

Even though the US denies the association of the Taliban and the Haqqani Network, it has been reported that both continue to share close links. Taliban’s deputy leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani also heads the Haqqani Network, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation in the United States since 2012. Meanwhile, the Haqqanis, according to National Counter Terrorism Center is “considered the most lethal and sophisticated terror group targeting US, Coalition, and Afghan forces.” 

It has also been said that Haqqani Network is considered as a terrorist group "because of its involvement in the Afghan insurgency, attacks on US military and civilian personnel and Western interests in Afghanistan, and because of its ties to the Taliban and Al Qaeda." In the past two decades, the network was also viewed as one of the most dangerous factions combatting the Afghan and US-led NATO troops in the war-torn country. The group is also known for using suicide bombers.

What is Haqqani Network? What is its connection with Taliban?

The Haqqani Network is a Sunni Islamist organisation that was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani. He had emerged as the top Afghan warlord and an extremist commander back in the anti-Soviet war. Before founding the deadly organisation, he was a member of the Hezb-e Islami faction led by mujahideen commander Younis Khalis.

The connection between the Taliban and Haqqani Network dates back to its roots when Jalaluddin reportedly allied with the Taliban in Afghanistan as the group’s Minister of Tribal and Border Affairs when the extremists held power in the war-torn nation in the 1990s.

As per the Counter Terrorism Guide of the National Counterterrorism Center, Jalaluddin was a known associate of Osama bin Laden and was even recognised as one of the latter’s closest mentors during the Al-Qaeda founder’s prominent years in the 1980s Afghan war.

Jalaluddin’s son, Sirajuddin Haqqani, currently presides over the group’s day-to-day activities along with the family’s close relatives. In August 2015, Sirajuddin was named as a deputy to newly appointed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammed Mansur. This further cemented the strong alliance between the Taliban and the Haqqanis. 

Where does Haqqani operate?

As per the guide, Haqqanis are primarily based in North Waziristan, Pakistan. It conducts cross-border operations into eastern Afghanistan and Kabul. The Haqqani Network is mainly made of members of the Zadran tribe. The Counter Terrorism Guide explained the network as the “most lethal and sophisticated insurgent group targeting US, Coalition, and Afghan forces in Afghanistan; they typically conduct coordinated small-arms assaults coupled with rocket attacks, IEDs, suicide attacks, and attacks using bomb-laden vehicles.”

Terror attacks blamed on Haqqani Network?

According to National Counter-terrorism Center, the Haqqanis are responsible for "some of the highest-profile attacks of the Afghan war" that included the June 2011 assault on the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel. The Haqqanis jointly conducted the attacks with the Afghan Taliban, and two major suicide bombings—in 2008 and 2009—against the Indian Embassy in Kabul.

In September 2011, the Haqqani Network, as per the Center, participated in a day-long assault against major targets in Kabul, including the US Embassy, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters, the Afghan Presidential Palace, and the Afghan National Directorate of Security headquarters.

“More recently, in October 2013, Afghan security forces intercepted a truck bomb deployed by the Haqqanis against Forward Operating Base Goode in Paktia Province. The device, which did not detonate, contained some 61,500 pounds of explosives and was the largest truck bomb ever built. The group is also involved in a number of criminal activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including extortion, kidnapping for ransom, and smuggling,” it added.

IMAGE: AP