David fox
09/09/2021 6:01 AM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 09/09/2021 6:01 AM
The new Taliban government integrates two representatives of
the Haqqani network, a group considered terrorist
by Washington, accused of being behind the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan in recent years.
As expected, the Haqqani network emerged
as a major player
in the new Afghan state, after the fall of the previous regime and the taking of Kabul on August 15.
This armed group was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani
, who became known in the 1980s as a hero of the anti-Soviet jihad.
In the middle of the Cold War, this patriarch is a valuable asset of the CIA against the USSR.
The United States and its allies, such as Pakistan, directly finance and arm the Mujahideen.
During this ten-year conflict, and after the Russian withdrawal, Jalaluddin Haqqani
maintains close contacts with foreign jihadists
, such as Osama bin Laden.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, left, meets with Haqqani group leader Anas Haqqani.
AP Photo
alliance
He then allied with the Taliban, who took control of Afghanistan in 1996 after a fierce civil war.
He became a minister of the Islamist regime
until he was overthrown in 2001 by an international coalition liberated by Washington, after the September 11 attacks.
Jalaluddin Haqqani dies in 2018
due to a long illness.
His son Sirajuddin succeeds him at the head of the network.
Thanks to its financial and military strength, and its bloody reputation, the Haqqani network is considered
semi-autonomous,
but in the orbit of the Taliban.
It is based primarily in eastern Afghanistan
and would have bases across the border in northwestern Pakistan.
The Haqqani network is accused of orchestrating
some of the bloodiest attacks in recent years
against coalition and Afghan security forces.
The United States designated it
as a terrorist group
and the United Nations has imposed sanctions on it.
In its attacks,
the network often uses kamikazes
, often drivers of cars or trucks loaded with explosives.
It also knows how to organize complex attacks against important targets, such as military installations.
Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Photo EFE
They are accused of multiple murders - including an attempted murder of
former President Hamid Karzai in 2008
- and kidnapping Western officials and citizens for ransom.
They are also suspected of having long-standing
ties to the Pakistani military
, which the former Afghan regime has always accused of destabilizing Afghanistan.
The Haqqani network has contributed much to the advance of the Taliban, who represent
"the most combat-ready forces,"
according to a UN report released in June.
In this same text, the group is described as the "main link" between the Taliban and Al Qaida.
Sirajuddin Haqqani has become Minister of the Interior
, one of the most important portfolios.
He will be in charge of security in Afghanistan, the same security that his group has attacked so many times in the past.
The new minister will have to face the threat from the regional branch of the Islamic State (ISIS) group.
Although the Taliban and ISIS have clashed in eastern Afghanistan, according to the former regime, the Haqqani network
carried out attacks on behalf of ISIS.
Sirajuddin Haqqani will also have to grapple
with the country's deep ethnic divisions.
His uncle Khalil Haqqani
will take over the Refugee Ministry.
Sirajuddin and Khalil Haqqani remain on the
United States' wanted
list
,
under a reward of millions of dollars.
AFP Agency
PB
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