Name of Organization


Haqqani Network

Formation

The Haqqani Network is an insurgent group that was founded in the mid-1970s, during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.[1]


Leadership


Founder: Jalaludin Haqqani

 

Photo I – Jalaludin Haqqani [2]

 

Current head of the Haqqani Network: Siraj Haqqani, son of the founding leader. Siraj is also known as “Khalifa” and “Salahuddin”.[3] He deals mostly with non–military strategic issues. His remit is political and includes negotiations with other groups and authorities in Pakistan and Afghanistan.[4]

 

Operational Commander: Badruddin Haqqani, son of Jalaluddin Haqqani. (Killed August 21, 2012)[5]

 

Other notable members:

Sangeen Zadran is one of the top commanders of the Haqqani Network.[6]

 

·         Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani is responsible for training of combatants and for the fundraising in the Persian Gulf.[7]

 

·         Nasiruddin Haqqani is responsible for fundraising and gaining logistical support from Taliban.[8]

School of thought/ Classification

Nationalist Islamist[9]/ Sharia Law

Ideology

The Haqqani Network’s goal is to take control of Afghanistan by defeating the US and other foreign forces. They also bolster the efforts and morale of global jihadists.[10]

Framework

The Haqqani Network has their safe haven in the southern part of the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Pakistan and in the provinces Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Logar, Wardak, Nangarhar, Kapisa and Laghman of Afghanistan. They use their bases in Pakistan as training areas for terrorist groups including; Lashkar-i-Taiba, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. They use the safe havens in Afghanistan to support insurgent and terrorist operations throughout Afghanistan.[11]

Financial resources

 

The Haqqani Network’s funds come from a number of sources. It earns its revenue from illegal enterprises such as the sale of chromite and cross-border smuggling.[12] The Sirajuddin brothers are believed to travel to the Persian Gulf to raise funds. They also raise funds through the methods of collecting donations through masjids, kidnapping-for-ransom and extortion.[13]

Recruitment tools & demographics

The Haqqani Network gains support from the local populace by offering them monetary compensation.[14]

Connections & linkages

The network falls under the umbrella of the widespread Afghan Taliban and is closely tied to Al-Qaeda[15].

Areas of Operation

The Haqqani Network is operational in the FATA region of Pakistan and in Afghanistan.[16] Its strategic headquarters are in North Waziristan, Pakistan.

Tools 

N/A

Name Variations

N/A

 

Who they are

The Haqqani Network is an insurgent group that has been using guerrilla warfare to fight the US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. It operates from its strategic havens in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Haqqani Network has been involved in various high-profile attacks in Afghanistan including the attack on the Kabul Serena Hotel in 2008[17] and the attack on the NATO convoy in Kabul in 2010[18]. A deadly attack in the Wardak province of Afghanistan in September 2011 that killed 5 and wounded 94 people including civilians, police officers and US soldiers was also carried out by the Haqqani Network.[19] The Network was also involved in the attack on the US Embassy in Kabul in 2011.[20] They were held responsible for the attacks on a hotel in Kabul June 2012, which killed 20 people.[21]

History

The Haqqani Network (HQN) is relatively secretive, and is generally believed to be included under the general umbrella of the ‘Afghan Taliban’ movement. The Haqqani Network has its earliest roots in the mid-1970s, during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. They became a strategic threat to the enduring stability of the Afghan State and the US national security interests in the region.[22] The Network was formed under the leadership of Jalaluddin Haqqani[23], a local warlord whose achievements as a military commander during the Soviet invasion eventually gave the Network popularity in the regions of Khost, Paktia and Paktika, and in its base of operations in Miran Shah in North Waziristan[24]. Jalaluddin is an ethnic Pashtun belonging to the Zadran tribe. In his initial years, he fought as a mujahid (Holy Warrior) and allied himself with Hizb-e-Islami under the tutelage of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar[25]. In the year 1979, Hizb-e-Islami split into two factions; one of these came to be known as Hizb-e-Islami Khalis (HI-K) group, and Jalaluddin served as its key commander in South Eastern Afghanistan. In 1986, he left HI-K to form his own group. During this time, he established linkages with al Qaeda’s Osama Bin Laden, consolidating his ideology of anti-Soviet resistance. The Network fought against Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and was nurtured by funding and weapons from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Saudi Arabia, and was given covert training by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)[26].

Shortly before the Taliban consolidated power in Kabul, the Network aligned itself with them in the mid-1990s. Jalaluddin served as a military commander and ‘Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs’ under Mullah Omar’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan[27]. According to some sources, Jalaluddin does not completely accept the authority of the Taliban, but remains ‘an independent but allied force[28]’. After the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan, the Haqqani Network retracted to their base in Miran Shah in North Waziristan, where they ran a network of madarassas (religious seminaries). Haqqani Network’s current leader is Jalaluddin’s son, Sirajjuddin.

Organization’s Message

The Haqqani Network seeks to eliminate the US forces and its allies from Afghanistan and also opposes the Afghan government.[29] It seeks to do this via a ‘Jihadi-aligned resistance[30]’.

Target Audience

The Haqqani Network targets young people from Federally Administered Tribal Areas[31]. According to Gopal, Mahsud and Fishman, Haqqani Network’s membership broadly consists of four types of members[32]: The first group consists of those individuals who had served under Jalaluddin during the Soviet era. The second consists of those belong to Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces, and have joined since the year 2001. The third consists of all those individuals who have been affiliated with, or are from the Haqqani-run madaris (seminaries). Lastly, the group also recruits non-Pashtun foreign Arab, Chechen and Uzbek militants. While a majority of the fighters in the Haqqani Network belong to the Zadran tribe, it is still debatable whether HQN is a tribal network or not. HQN’s middle-tier commanders are responsible for recruiting the lower-tier fighting force, and ensuring that they are indoctrinated with HQNs religious and political ideology in their madaris.

Tools

Not available.

Splinter Groups

Not available.


 

[1] Afghanistan Report 6. The Haqqani Network. Retrieved from: http://www.understandingwar.org/report/haqqani-network

[2] Ibid.

[3] Backgrounder. The Haqqani Network: A Foreign Terrorist Organization. Retrieved from: https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Backgrounder_Haqqani-FTO.pdf

[4] The Express Tribune. Who on earth are the Haqqanis? Retrieved from: http://tribune.com.pk/story/257761/who-on-earth-are-the-haqqanis/

[5] Backgrounder. The Haqqani Network: A Foreign Terrorist Organization. Retrieved from: https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/Backgrounder_Haqqani-FTO.pdf

[6] US Department of State. Diplomacy in Action. Retrieved from: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2011/08/170582.htm

[9] Threat Convergence Profile Series; The Haqqani Network. Retrieved from:  http://library.fundforpeace.org/library/ttcvr1127-threatconvergence-haqqani-11b.pdf

[10] Ibid.

[12] Threat Convergence Profile Series; The Haqqani Network. Retrieved from: http://library.fundforpeace.org/library/ttcvr1127-threatconvergence-haqqani-11b.pdf

[14] Threat Convergence Profile Series; The Haqqani Network. Retrieved from: http://library.fundforpeace.org/library/ttcvr1127-threatconvergence-haqqani-11b.pdf

[15] Ibid.

[16] Ibid.

[21] “NATO Commander Links Haqqani Network to Kabul attack.” Reuters. Retrieved from: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/22/us-afghanistan-hotel-haqqani-idUSBRE85L0MX20120622

[22] Threat Convergence Profile Series; The Haqqani Network. Retrieved from: http://library.fundforpeace.org/library/ttcvr1127-threatconvergence-haqqani-11b.pdf

[23] Afghanistan Report 6. The Haqqani Network. Retrieved from: http://www.understandingwar.org/report/haqqani-network

[24] Mufti, Mariam, ‘Religion and Militancy in Pakistan and Afganistan’. 2012.

[25] Agha, Ambreen. ‘Haqqani Network: Desperate Measures’, SATP.

[26] Ibid.

[27] Ibid.

[28] Ibid. 24. Page 62.

[29] Threat Convergence Profile Series; The Haqqani Network. Retrieved from: http://library.fundforpeace.org/library/ttcvr1127-threatconvergence-haqqani-11b.pdf

[30] Ibid. 24. Page 62.

[31] Ibid.

[32] Gopal, Mehsud and Fishman, ‘Battle for Pakistan: Militancy and Conflict in North Waziristan’. 2010.