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Jalaluddin Haqqani

Jalaluddin Haqqani (Pashto: جلال الدين حقاني, romanized: Jalāl al-Dīn Ḥaqqānī) (1939 – 3 September 2018)[4][5] was an Afghan insurgent commander who founded the Haqqani network, an insurgent group who fought in guerilla warfare against US-led NATO forces and the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government that they supported.

Jalaluddin Haqqani
جلال الدين حقاني
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Born1939[1]
Paktia Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan
Died3 September 2018 (aged 78–79)[2]
Afghanistan
Buried
Afghanistan[3]
Allegiance Haqqani Network (1970s-2018)
Taliban (1995-2018)
Years of service1970s–2018
Battles / wars
RelationsKhalil Haqqani (brother)
Sirajuddin Haqqani (son)
Anas Haqqani (son)
Abdulaziz Haqqani (son)

He distinguished himself as an internationally sponsored insurgent fighter in the 1980s during the Soviet–Afghan War, including in Operation Magistral. He earned U.S. praise and was called "goodness personified" by the U.S. officials.[6][7] US officials have admitted that during the Soviet–Afghan War, he was a prized asset of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[8] Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan called Jalaluddin Haqqani a "freedom fighter" during the Soviet–Afghan War.[9] By 2004, he was directing pro-Taliban insurgent group to launch a holy war in Afghanistan. In 2016, U.S. Lieutenant General John W. Nicholson Jr. claimed that the U.S. and NATO were not targeting Haqqani's network in Afghanistan.[10]

Media reports emerged in late July 2015 that Haqqani had died the previous year. According to the reports, he died in Afghanistan and was buried in Khost Province of Afghanistan.[11] These reports were denied by the Taliban and some members of the Haqqani family.[12][13] On 3 September 2018, the Taliban released a statement announcing that Haqqani had died after a long illness in Afghanistan.[3]

Early life

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Jalaluddin was born in 1939 in the village of Karezgay in the Zadran District of Paktia Province, Afghanistan. He was an ethnic Pashtun from the Zadran tribe of Khost. His father was a wealthy landowner and trader. The family later moved to Sultankhel.[14] He started advanced religious studies at Darul Uloom Haqqania, a Deobandi Islamic seminary (darul uloom), in Pakistan in 1964. He graduated in 1970 with an advanced qualification that entitled him to the status of mawlawi,[15] and added "Haqqani" to his name,[16] as some alumni of Darul Uloom Haqqania had done.[17]

After King Zahir Shah's exile and President Daoud Khan rose to power in 1973, the political situation in Afghanistan began to slowly change. A number of parties, such as the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), and other people were seeking power. Haqqani was one of them, and after being suspected of plotting against the government, he went into exile and based himself in and around Miranshah, Pakistan. From there he began to organise a rebellion against the government of Daoud Khan in 1975.[18] After the 1978 Marxist revolution by the PDPA, Haqqani joined the Hezb-i Islami movement of Mawlawi Mohammad Yunus Khalis.[19]

Military career

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Mujahideen commander

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In the 1980s, Jalaluddin Haqqani was cultivated as a "unilateral" asset of the CIA and received tens of millions of dollars in cash for his work in fighting the Soviet-led Afghan forces in Afghanistan, according to an account in The Bin Ladens, a 2008 book by Steve Coll. He reputedly attracted generous support from prosperous Arab countries compared to other resistance leaders.[20] At that time, Haqqani helped and protected Osama bin Laden, who was building his own militia to fight Soviet-backed Afghanistan.[21] Mujahids under his command were also responsible for the assassination of Faiz Mohammed and two other diplomats in Lake Tiga, Paktia Province.

The influential U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson, who helped to direct tens of millions of dollars to the Afghan Islamists, was so taken by Haqqani that he referred to him as "goodness personified".[6] Charles Wilson also desired to fire a Stinger missile at one of the Soviet helicopters. Haqqani was happy to make Charles Wilson's wartime fantasy come true. They dragged chains and tires on road to create dust cloud which will attract the Soviet helicopters. However, none of the Soviet helicopters came and Charles Wilson was unable to fire any missile.[22] This episode highlights the type of relationship which U.S. officials and Haqqani network used to share. He was a key US and Pakistani ally in resisting the Soviet-backed Afghanistan. Some news media outlets report that Haqqani even received an invitation to, and perhaps even visited, President Ronald Reagan's White House,[23][24][25] although the photographs used to support the allegation of such a meeting have cast doubt that Haqqani ever visited the US.[26][27] (The pictures originally purporting to show this meeting are, in fact, of Mohammad Yunus Khalis.)[28][29][30]

During the rule of Najibullah in 1991, Haqqani captured the city of Khost, which became the first communist city to fall to the jihadis.[31] After the fall of Kabul to the Mujahideen forces in 1992, he was appointed Justice Minister of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, and refrained from taking sides in the fratricidal conflict that broke out between Afghan factions during the 1990s, a neutrality that was to earn him respect.[32]

Relations with the Taliban

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Haqqani was not an original member of the Taliban; in 1995, just prior to the Taliban's occupation of Kabul, he switched his allegiance to them. In 1996–97, he served as a Taliban military commander north of Kabul, and was accused of ethnic cleansing against local Tajik populations.[33] During the Taliban government, he served as the Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs and governor of Paktia Province.[34]

In October 2001, Haqqani was named the Taliban's military commander. He may have had a role in expediting the escape of Osama bin Laden. Initially the Americans tried to convince him to turn against the Taliban. He refused their offers on the grounds that, as a Muslim, he was duty bound to resist them as "infidel invaders", just as he had the Soviets in earlier decades.[35] His base in Khost was attacked and four Guantanamo detainees—Abib Sarajuddin, Khan Zaman, Gul Zaman and Mohammad Gul—were captured and held because American intelligence officials received a report that one of them had briefly hosted Haqqani shortly after the fall of the Taliban.[34][36][37][38]

A September 2008 US airstrike that allegedly targeted Haqqani resulted in the deaths of between ten and twenty-three people. The missile hit the house of Haqqani in the village Dandi Darpa Khail in North Waziristan and a close by seminary.[39][40] The madrasah, though, was closed and Haqqani had previously left the area.[40][21] Haqqani has been accused by the United States of involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul and the February 2009 Kabul raids.[41]

Role in the Taliban insurgency

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Further information: Haqqani network and Taliban insurgency

Haqqani was the commander, with his son Sirajuddin, of the Haqqani network.[42] The network is made up of resistance forces waging a jihad against US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. On 16 October 2011, "Operation Knife Edge" was launched by NATO and Afghan forces against the Haqqani network in south-eastern Afghanistan. Afghan Defense Minister, Abdul Rahim Wardak, explained that the operation will "help eliminate the insurgents before they struck in areas along the troubled frontier".[43] Both he and his son, Sirajuddin appear to have been the first Taliban to adopt the Iraqi tactic of using suicide bombers, and their network is accused of engaging in kidnappings, beheadings, the killing of women, and assassinations.[44] George Gittoes, the Australian maker of Pashto-language films at his Yellow House in Jalalabad says Haqqani, who has befriended him, would be ready to support Ashraf Ghani in future Afghan elections.[45]

Personal life

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Haqqani was fluent in Persian,[46] Arabic,[47] Urdu and his native Pashto language. He had two wives, a Pashtun wife and an Arab wife[48] from the United Arab Emirates,[49] and had at least seven sons from his Pashtun wife:

  • Sirajuddin Haqqani – He currently leads the day-to-day activities of the Haqqani network.
  • Anas Haqqani – Senior member of the network. He was arrested on 15 October 2014 by the Afghan forces, and sentenced to death in 2016.[50] He was released in a prisoner swap in November 2019.[51]
  • Abdulaziz Haqqani – A key leader of the network and son of the Pashtun wife.[52][53] He is currently serving as the deputy of his elder brother Interior Minister Afghanistan Sirajuddin Haqqani.[54]
  • Nasiruddin Haqqani –He was a key financier and emissary of the network. He spoke fluent Arabic and traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for fundraising.[55][56] He was killed by unknown assailants in Bhara Kahu, in the eastern part of the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, on 11 November 2013.[57]
  • Badruddin Haqqani – He was an operational commander of the network. He was killed in a US drone strike on 24 August 2012 in North Waziristan. Badruddin was targeted and killed by US forces for planning and directing the deadly suicidal VBED operation carried out in south Kabul on May 18, 2010. The attack killed 5 American and 1 Canadian service members, as well as a dozen or more Afghan civilians who were innocently going about their own business along the road.[58][59][60]
  • Mohammed Haqqani – He was a military commander of the network and was killed in a US drone strike on 18 February 2010 in North Waziristan.[61][62]
  • Omar Haqqani – He was killed leading Haqqani network fighters during a US military operation in Khost province in July 2008.

Death

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On 3 September 2018, the Taliban released a statement via Twitter proclaiming Haqqani's death of an unspecified terminal illness in Afghanistan. He was buried in Afghanistan.[3][7][63]

References

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  1. ^ "WHO WAS JALALUDDIN HAQQANI? 'EXEMPLARY WARRIOR' FOUNDED AFGHAN HAQQANI NETWORK". Newsweek. 9 April 2018.
  2. ^ Salahuddin, Sayed (4 September 2018). "Jalaluddin Haqqani: Implacable U.S. foe dies in Afghanistan says Taliban". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Haqqani Network Founder Dies After Long Illness". Voice of America (VoA). 4 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019.
  4. ^ Brown, Vahid; Rassler, Don (2013). Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus, 1973–2012. Oxford University Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-19-932798-0.
  5. ^ Rashid, Ahmed (2012). Pakistan in the Brink. Allen Lane. pp. 18, 52–53, 131, 133–134, 154, 180, 187. ISBN 9781846145858.
  6. ^ a b "Leader of Haqqani network in Afghanistan is dead, say Taliban". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b Smith, Alexander; Yusufzai, Mushtaq (4 September 2018). "Haqqani network's founder dies after long illness, Afghan Taliban says". NBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of Afghan militant network, dies". Gulf News. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  9. ^ McCallister, Doreen (4 September 2018). "Taliban Announce: Founder Of Much-Feared Haqqani Network Dies At 72". NPR. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  10. ^ Gul, Ayaz (29 January 2016). "US Will Not Target Haqqanis in Afghanistan". Voice of America. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  11. ^ "'Haqqani Network's chief died a year ago'". Daily Times. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 August 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  12. ^ "Reports of Haqqani network founder's death, but family denies". Reuters. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Taliban deny reports of Haqqani network founder's death". AFP. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  14. ^ Brown & Rassler 2013, p. 28.
  15. ^ Brown & Rassler 2013, pp. 38, 42.
  16. ^ Shah, Pir Zubair; Gall, Carlotta (31 October 2011). "For Pakistan, deep ties to militant network may trump U.S. Pressure". New York Times.
  17. ^ "Seminary students involved in Benazir's killing, court told". Times of Oman. 27 February 2015 – via ProQuest.
  18. ^ "Questions Raised About Haqqani Network Ties with Pakistan". International Relations and Security Network. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  19. ^ Syed Salaam Shahzad (5 May 2004). "Through the eyes of the Taliban". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  20. ^ "Ex-CIA allies leading Afghan fight vs. G.I.s". New York Daily News. 2 December 2005.[dead link‍]
  21. ^ a b Perlez, Jane; Pir Zubair Shah (9 September 2008). "US attack on Taliban kills 23 in Pakistan". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  22. ^ Jones, Seth G. (12 April 2010). In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 105. ISBN 9780393071429.
  23. ^ "Haqqani was once a White House guest!". Indiavision news. 28 September 2011. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Reports quoted Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Mallik saying, "The network's aging leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani, was a respected commander and key US and Pakistani ally in resisting the Soviet Union after its 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. Haqqani even visited President Ronald Reagan at the White House."
  24. ^ Toosi, Nahal (29 December 2009). "Haqqani network challenges US-Pakistan relations". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  25. ^ Handel, Sarah (3 October 2011). "Who Are The Haqqanis?". NPR. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  26. ^ Yusufzai, Rahimullah (30 September 2011). "Khalis, not Haqqani, was photographed with Reagan". The News International. Retrieved 24 October 2011. Haqqani then was much younger and had a thick black beard. The evidence suggests he had never been to the US. He certainly was a well-known mujahideen commander of the Hezb-e-Islami (Khalis) — a party led by Maulvi Yunis Khalis, and had a status equal to another famous commander Ahmad Shah Masood. But Haqqani does not figure among the Afghan mujahideen leaders known to have been invited to the White House in Washington and hosted by President Reagan.
  27. ^ "Why Pakistan's media needs a code of conduct". BBC News. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011. More recently, an image of a bearded man wearing a substantial white turban and a brown blazer standing next to former US President Ronald Reagan was reprinted in many Pakistani dailies as an image of Reagan with the notorious Afghan militant Jalaluddin Haqqani. But Haqqani has never visited the US. The picture, is in fact of an Afghan mujahideen commander called Younis Khalis.
  28. ^ "Dawn's $118 mistake". Pakistan Media Watch. 29 September 2011.
  29. ^ "Jalaluddin Haqqani Never visited America" (in Urdu). BBC Urdu. 28 September 2011.
  30. ^ "Clarification: Younus Khalis, not Jalaluddin". Dawn. 1 October 2011.
  31. ^ Williams, Brian Glyn (2012). Afghanistan Declassified: A Guide to America's Longest War. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0812206159.
  32. ^ Williams 2012, pp. 142–43.
  33. ^ Griffin, Michael. "US Post-Taleban Plans Hit Problems". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  34. ^ a b Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Mohammad Gul's Combatant Status Review Tribunal – – mirror – pages 1–12
  35. ^ Williams 2012, p. 143.
  36. ^ Burns, John F. (2 February 2002). "Villagers Say Errors by U.S. Causing Grief For Innocent". New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  37. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Abib Sarajuddin's Combatant Status Review Tribunal – pages 36–41
  38. ^ Summarized transcripts (.pdf), from Gul Zaman's Combatant Status Review Tribunal – mirror – pages 39–53
  39. ^ Newhouse, Barry (8 September 2008). "Suspected US Missile Strike Hits Taliban Commander's House". Voice Of America. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  40. ^ a b Shahzad, Syed Saleem (9 September 2008). "US's 'good' war hits Pakistan hard". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 9 September 2008. Retrieved 9 September 2008.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  41. ^ "The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) – Nation – Embassy blast link to Kabul strike". Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  42. ^ Khan, Ismail (22 June 2006). "Forces, militants heading for truce". Dawn. Archived from the original on 28 June 2006. Retrieved 29 September 2006.
  43. ^ Sharifzada, Jawad (18 October 2011). "Push launched against Haqqanis in border areas". Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  44. ^ Williams 2012, p. 144.
  45. ^ 'Ice-cream boys of Afghanistan,' Late Night Live, 28 May 2014.
  46. ^ Special meeting between Haqqani and Abdul Ali Mazari mazari 1/6 on YouTube (video made before 1995).
  47. ^ Bergen, Peter (October 2004). "The Long Hunt for Osama". Atlantic Monthly.
  48. ^ Dressler, Jeffrey A. (2010). The Haqqani Network: From Pakistan to Afghanistan (PDF). Afghanistan Report 6. Washington, DC: Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  49. ^ Anwar, Madeeha; Zahid, Noor (1 June 2017). "What Is the Haqqani Network?". Extremism Watch. Voice of America. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  50. ^ "Afghan forces arrest Haqqani militant network leaders". BBC News. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  51. ^ Zucchino, David; Goldman, Adam (19 November 2019). "Two Western Hostages Are Freed in Afghanistan in Deal with Taliban". The New York Times.
  52. ^ "Aziz Haqqani". Rewards for Justice. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  53. ^ Yusufzai, Arshad (7 March 2022). "Sirajuddin Haqqani, feared and secretive Taliban figure, reveals face in rare public appearance". Arab News. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  54. ^ "Al Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban" (PDF). Ultrascan Research Services. 10 October 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  55. ^ Khan, Zia (22 September 2011). "Who on earth are the Haqqanis?". The Express Tribune News Network. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  56. ^ Roggio, Bill (22 July 2010). "US adds Haqqani Network, Taliban leaders to list of designated terrorists". The Long War Journal. Public Multimedia Inc. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  57. ^ "Senior Haqqani Network leader killed near Islamabad". The Express Tribune. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  58. ^ "Pakistani Officials Confirm Death of Key Militant". Time. AP. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  59. ^ Karen DeYoung (29 August 2012). "U.S. confirms killing of Haqqani leader in Pakistan". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  60. ^ "Taliban confirm death of Badruddin Haqqani in drone strike last year". Long War Journal. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  61. ^ "Jalaluddin Haqqani's son killed in North Waziristan strike: Report". 19 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  62. ^ "Senior al Qaeda military commander killed in Predator strike". 20 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  63. ^ "Zabihullah (ذبیح الله م ) on Twitter: "Statement of Islamic Emirate r…". Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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Military offices
New command Leader of the Haqqani network
1970–2018 		Succeeded by
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