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Founder of Haqqani Network Died Nearly a Year Ago, Member Says Founder of Haqqani Network Died Nearly a Year Ago, Member Says
(about 2 hours later)
WASHINGTON — The founder of the Haqqani network, considered to be one of the most violently effective factions of the Taliban, has been dead for nearly a year, a senior member of the group said on Friday, days after it emerged that the Afghan insurgency’s overall leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, died more than two years ago. WASHINGTON — The founder of the Haqqani network, considered to be one of the most violently effective factions of the Taliban, has been dead for nearly a year, a senior member of the group said on Friday, days after it emerged that the Afghan insurgency’s overall leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, died more than two years ago.
An American diplomatic official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said that the United States had not yet confirmed that Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the militant faction that bears his family name, had died. But the official said that Mr. Haqqani had been seriously ill for years, and that little to nothing has been heard of him “for a while now.”An American diplomatic official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said that the United States had not yet confirmed that Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the militant faction that bears his family name, had died. But the official said that Mr. Haqqani had been seriously ill for years, and that little to nothing has been heard of him “for a while now.”
The Taliban, which confirmed on Thursday that Mullah Omar had died, has yet to make any formal announcement about Mr. Haqqani. But like Mullah Omar’s passing, the death of Mr. Haqqani would be a milestone in the wars that have engulfed Afghanistan since the 1980s. The Taliban, which confirmed on Thursday that Mullah Omar had died, has yet to make a formal announcement about Mr. Haqqani. But like Mullah Omar’s passing, the death of Mr. Haqqani would be a milestone in the wars that have engulfed Afghanistan since the 1980s.
That he and Mullah Omar both could have been dead without the United States or its allies finding out would likely raise serious questions about the abilities and focus of American intelligence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It also renews questions about the United States’ often fraught alliance with Pakistan, which has long denied sheltering Afghan insurgents and has said nothing of Mullah Omar’s reported death inside its borders. That he and Mullah Omar both could have been dead without the United States or its allies finding out would raise serious questions about the abilities and focus of American intelligence in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It also renews questions about the United States’ often fraught alliance with Pakistan, which has long denied sheltering Afghan insurgents and has said nothing of Mullah Omar’s reported death.
Mr. Haqqani first rose to prominence as part of the American-backed mujahedeen rebels who fought the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan, and later allied himself with the Taliban when the Islamist militants took the country by force during the civil war in the 1990s. Mr. Haqqani rose to prominence with the American-backed mujahedeen rebels who fought the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan, and later allied himself with the Taliban when they took power in the 1990s.
Mr. Haqqani moved most of his family to Waziristan, one of the northwestern tribal regions in Pakistan, in the mid-1970s, and fully based himself and his organization there after the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. In the years that followed, Mr. Haqqani is said to have stepped back from actively leading his faction, ceding control of the militant network to his son Sirajuddin Haqqani, who this week was appointed as one of the Taliban’s deputy leaders. Mr. Haqqani moved most of his family to Waziristan, one of the northwestern tribal regions in Pakistan, in the mid-1970s, and fully based himself and his organization there after the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. In the years that followed, Mr. Haqqani is said to have stepped back from active leadership, ceding control of the militant network to his son Sirajuddin Haqqani, who this week was appointed as one of the Taliban’s deputy leaders.
As his health grew worse, Mr. Haqqani reached out to his old benefactors, the Saudis, to help him travel for treatment. Saudi diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks said that Nasiruddin Haqqani, one of Mr. Haqqani’s sons, met with the Saudi ambassador to Pakistan in February 2012 to inform him that the edler Haqqani was in ill health and to request that he be treated at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.As his health grew worse, Mr. Haqqani reached out to his old benefactors, the Saudis, to help him travel for treatment. Saudi diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks said that Nasiruddin Haqqani, one of Mr. Haqqani’s sons, met with the Saudi ambassador to Pakistan in February 2012 to inform him that the edler Haqqani was in ill health and to request that he be treated at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.
The cables indicate that the elder Haqqani carried a Saudi passport “that had been issued during the Afghani jihad” and that the request for treatment was forwarded to King Abdullah with a favorable note from the foreign ministry. The documents did not say whether Mr. Haqqani ever made the trip. The cables indicate that the elder Haqqani carried a Saudi passport “that had been issued during the Afghani jihad” and that the request for treatment was forwarded to King Abdullah with a favorable note from the Foreign Ministry. The documents did not say whether Mr. Haqqani ever made the trip.
The senior Haqqani network member said that Mr. Haqqani died in December 2014 and that he and other members of the group had attended the funeral prayers for the militant leader. Mullah Omar is believed to have died the previous year in a hospital in or around Karachi, the main city in southern Pakistan. The senior Haqqani network member said that Mr. Haqqani died in December 2014 and that he and other members attended the funeral prayers for him.
The Haqqani network member spoke on the condition of anonymity because he had not been cleared to talk with the news media. The Haqqani network member spoke on the condition of anonymity because he had not been cleared to talk with the press.