1. SHIFTING SHADOW OF HAQQANI NETWORK IN
AFGHANISTAN
ANIMESH ROUL /EDITOR KHABARNAMA ENGLISH/ 7 / September 2016
The province of Paktia in Afghanistan bore maximum brunt in terms of death and
destruction as the battle raged in eastern Afghanistan between Taliban and the
government forces in August 2016. Over a thousand strong Taliban force led by the
deadly Haqqani Network’s senior commanders stormed the Janikhel district, a strategic
location with multiple routes into Pakistan, in late August. Nearly 30 security personnel
died in a pitch battle as Taliban militants seized the opportunity by taking over the
district and a huge cache of arms and ammunition along with military vehicles. However,
soon joint air strikes led by the US dealt a major blow to the Taliban by killing at least
four senior Haqqani commanders identified as Abdul Wali, Kakai, Khaibar and
Matiullah. Speaking to Reuters, Naqeeb Ahmad Atal, the spokesman for the governor of
Paktia, claimed that over 120 Taliban militants mostly affiliated to the Haqqani Network
(HQN) were killed in the offensives in Janikhel.
But Taliban’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid downplayed the air strikes saying only eight
of his people had died. Despite the fall of Janikhel and the loss of men and materials, the
government forces have one thing more to cheer about, that is the relative success
achieved by going after the Haqqani commanders in their (HQN’s) strongholds. This is
not the first time that Afghan forces have achieved success against the HQN. In months
of April and June this year, HQN suffered some setbacks in terms of men and materials
in the hands of Afghan security forces when at least eleven of its commanders were
arrested and couple of hideouts and weapon depots were busted in Khost and Paktika
province.
Haqqani Network is considered the most brutal arm of insurgents in mega cities and Kabul
While maintaining safe havens in both sides of the Durand Line, HQN’s strongholds are
in Pakistan’s North Waziristan and in Loya Paktia region of Afghanistan. This guerrilla
insurgent group is associated with many high profile attacks across Afghanistan,
including its Capital city Kabul, in recent times. The UN, United Kingdom and the

2. United States have listed the Haqqani network as a terrorist organization. In September
2012, the US state Department blacklisted the HQN as a foreign terrorist organization.
In November 2012, the United Nations Security Council added the HQN to the
blacklisted Taliban affiliated groups. Both Canada and United Kingdom imposed
proscriptions on the HQN and listed it as terrorist entity in May 2013 and March 2015
respectively.
The HQN is long regarded as Taliban’s conjoined twin, which is presently headed by
Sirajuddin Haqqani, Afghanistan Talban’s second in command. To note, a bounty of up
to $10 million is placed on Sirajuddin Haqqani under the US’ Rewards for Justice
Program. There are some others in the Haqqani Network too who have $5 million
bounty on their heads as announced by the Rewards for Justice Program. They are Khalil
al Rahman Haqqani, Yahiya Haqqani and Aziz Haqqani.
In August 2016, Pakistan’s lack of interest or reluctance to act against HQN was nailed
when the US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter did not give Congressional certification to
Islamabad for satisfactory action against the Network and on the basis of that the
Pentagon blocked the release of $300 million military aid to Pakistan under Coalition
Support Fund.
Jalaluddin Haqqani was the mastermind behind forming the Haqqani Network during anti-soviet era,
the Taliban and post-2011 insurgency
Signature Strikes
Many acts of violence in Afghanistan are attributed to the deadly Haqqani Network.
Some of them are targeted at the US and Indian interests over the last decades. The
HQN’s brazen attacks in Kabul, the heart of Afghanistan, too symbolize its capability
and strategic planning strength. Some instances are listed here:
April 19, 2016: The attack in Kabul was claimed by the Afghan Taliban and there were
indications that strike units of HQN (comprising of the so-called Kabul Attack Network)
were behind the deadly attack against the security agency responsible for protecting
senior government officials and VIPs stationed at the famed Directorate 10 (D-10)
building. The deadly attack killed nearly 70 people and injured over 300 others.

3. April 02, 2015: Suicide bombing outside the governor’s house in Afghanistan’s Khost
province killed nearly 17 people, including protesters who had gathered to demand the
ouster of the acting governor of the province, Abdul-Jabbar Naeemi, for charges of
corruption and land grabbing. According to the Afghanistan Intelligence agency, the
HQN was involved as the suicide bomber was identified as Shah Ghulam, who was
recruited and guided by Sirajuddin Haqqani and Mullah Abdul Rahman.
May 13, 2015: The HQN militants launched a deadly attack on the Park Palace
guesthouse in Kabul killing 14 people where many western and Indian nationals were
present.
Haqqani Network has been behind major attacks in Kabul including a recent one in 2016
Beyond these recent resurge, 2011 was HQN’s most successful year in terms of violence
perpetrated in Afghanistan. In that year, HQN and Taliban militants jointly unleashed
mayhem in Kabul and elsewhere targeting US Embassy, NATO Headquarters, Kabul
Bank (in Jalalabad), Hotel Intercontinental Kabul, etc., killing over a hundred people and
damaging properties worth millions. In the same year, HQN targeted US and India
managed construction projects on the Kabul-Gardez road and in Paktia Province.
On the back foot?
The Haqqanis too suffered huge setbacks due to large-scale deployment of drones
(Unmanned aerial vehicle) in the borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Many of
HQN’s senior leaders perished in drone strikes and targeted attacks in Pakistan and
Afghanistan. Haqqani brothers such as Nasiruddin and Badruddin Haqqani were killed in
the past in Pakistan. Senior members of HQN such as Sirajuddin Khademi, a logistics
commander, and Sher Ullah were killed in drone strikes between June and August 2016
in Paktia province.
Many more of HQN’s senior commanders as well as foot soldiers were captured during
various operations. In October 2014, Afghan intelligence service informed about the
capture of two senior Haqqani members, Anas Haqqani and Qari Abdul Rasheed Omari,

4. who have been in the custody since then. Anas Haqqani has been sentenced to death by
a Kabul Court. The HQN is now attempting to trade his release in exchange of few
(Joshua Boyle, Canada, and Caitlan Coleman, US) abducted by them back in 2012 with
the Afghan government. It also threatened to target judicial installations if the Afghan
government follows through on executing Anas Haqqani. A Taliban statement reportedly
said, “If the higher courts also uphold the death sentence to Anas Haqqani, it will have
very disastrous and dangerous consequences for the current regime. A lot of blood will
be spilled and the government will be responsible for all of it.”
Anas Haqqani who is in custody of government of Afghanistan is sentenced to death
Pakistan factor
The infamous HQN, whose founders had pioneered Jihad in Afghanistan in early 1970s,
is apparently a proverbial ‘Warlord’ dominated network that existed and flourished amid
lawlessness along the Durand lines since the days of erstwhile Soviet Union’s invasion of
Afghanistan. The HQN dominated larges swathes of territory for over three decades
under the jihadist patriarch Jallaluddin Haqqani, supported by his family and clan
members. True to the definition, HQN as an organised Non State Actor (NSA) thrived
within a failed or weak state system. It has played substantial role in establishing and
nurturing Taliban and Al Qaeda’s infrastructures in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
HQN is undoubtedly one of the longest serving Warlord-Militant conglomerates of the
region and one of the most brutal networks operating in the borderlands of Afghanistan
and Pakistan. With thousands of armed mercenaries or militias as followers, Haqqanis
have gained military and financial strength mostly by exploiting resources under their
suzerainty and showing immense robustness against government or coalition forces
throughout its existence. Pakistan’s contributions remain a major factor in HQN’s
resilience.
Loosely tagged as the “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, HQN has been
backed by the Pakistan’s secret service since its inception[1] and has been instrumental in
destabilizing Afghanistan since last couple of decades closely aligning with Al Qaeda and
Taliban.

5. Scene of attack on elite protection forces directorate in Kabul believed to be conducted by Haqqani
Network in 2016
In June this year, Abdul Rashid Dostum, a senior Afghan leader and the Vice President
of Afghanistan, observed that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is the real
enemy of Afghanistan. According to Dostum, the present Taliban leadership, including
the newly crowned Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada and Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob
(eldest son of Mullah Omar), is mere nominal heads, but the real authority lies with
HQN’s Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is trusted by the ISI. As per the US state department,
Pakistan has not taken concerted and serious steps against the Haqqani Network and
indirectly Washington administration somewhat admitted that Pakistan has been playing
a double game throughout the course of war on terror.
If some reports are to be believed, for example one report published in the Diplomat
magazine, Taliban’s effort to storm Janikhel was backed by Pakistani agencies and the
whole operation was aimed at repositioning the Haqqani Network deep into the Paktia
province. It is more or less certain that this battle for Janikhel and nearby districts such as
Tsamkani and Patan is largely to facilitate the Haqqani Network’s foothold and for its
robust consolidation in South-eastern Afghanistan. If it manages to consolidate further
deep into the province, the Haqqani Network could well utilise this opportunity to target
major cities, including Kabul, from this strategic location.
Despite many past military reversals, HQN has actually not weakened, rather with its
support system intact in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Network has the capability to
resurge and can increase its influence over other fringe Taliban factions across the
borders. Otherwise known as Taliban’s Miramshah Shura, the HQN has in the meantime
expanded its outreach towards the powerfull Quetta Shura of Taliban. With safe heavens
or secured sanctuaries inside Pakistan and abundant resources both in terms of men and
materials, the HQN remains the most potent force against the government in
Afghanistan.

6. Siraj Haqqani the network’s commander and the Taliban’s deputy leader is believed to be the key figure
in 2016 Taliban insurgency
[1] Also for a detailed seminal study on the Haqqani Network evolution and ISI’s tacit
support, See Vahid Brown and Don Rassler, “Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani
Nexus, 1973-2012”, Oxford University Press, 2013