A Brief History Of The Haqqani Network And How It Waged A War Against India For Pakistan

Twenty five devotees, including eight women, were killed and eight others injured in a gun and bomb attack at the Gurdwara Har Rai Sahib in Kabul on Wednesday. The Islamic State was quick to claim the responsibility of what is being described as one of the deadliest attacks on the minority Sikh community in Afghanistan.

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Despite this, according to some reports, the Indian intelligence agencies believe that the dastardly attack was the handiwork of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and ISI backed Afghan militia group Haqqani Network.

This is because the Haqqani Network or Haqqanis as they are called has a long history of targeting religious minorities and Indian interests in Afghanistan.

The Haqqani Network was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani, an ethnic Pashtun former Mujahideen commander who was trained and funded by the CIA in the 1980s to fight against the Soviet Union.

In the 90s after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, he joined hands with them and even served as the Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs in one of the provincial governments.

In the early 2000s, Haqqani rose through the ranks of the Taliban and was made a military commander. And during the US invasion of Afghanistan post the 9/11 attacks, Haqqani fought the NATO and is believed that even helped Osama Bin Laden get away.

It is believed that during the peak of the US raids Haqqani was hiding in North Waziristan in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan.

Following the death of Taliban chief Mullah Omar, who died in 2013, but the news was only revealed in 2015, and the power struggle that ensued, Haqqani became the king-maker of sorts and supported Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour as the new leader while his son Sirajuddin was made the second-in-command. Haqqani died in 2018 due to prolonged illness.

Attacks against India

The Haqqanis have been blamed for a number of attacks targeting Indian interests in Afghanistan including the 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul that killed 58 people and wounded 141.

The suicide bomb attack on the Indian consulate in Afghanistan¡¯s western city of Herat is also blamed on the Haqqanis.

Ties with Pakistan

Haqqanis have always been viewed as a proxy of the ISI in Afghanistan to target foreign troops and interests. Jalaluddin himself had taken refuge in Pakistan to avoid being killed by the US troops.

One of his sons, Badruddin Haqqani who was an operational commander of the network was killed in a US drone strike in 2012 in North Waziristan, Pakistan.

Another of his sons, Nasiruddin Haqqani, an illusive figure who is said to have been photographed only ones was killed by unknown assailants in the outskirts of Islamabad in November 2013. Nasiruddin who was Jalaluddin's son from an Arab wife was said to be key financier of the network. and used to travel to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates frequently for fundraising.