Khalil Rahman Haqqani (Pashto: خلیلالرحمن حقاني [xalilʊrahˈmɑn haqɑˈni]; born 1 January 1966), also reported as Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, Khaleel Haqqani, Khalil Ahmad Haqqani, etc., is a Pashtun Warlord, former Mujahideen leader and Specially Designated Global Terrorist in Afghanistan. He has been the acting Minister of Refugee and Repatriation in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime since 7 September 2021.[1][2][3] He has been a prominent member of the insurgent Haqqani network.[4]
Khalil Rahman Haqqani | |
|---|---|
| خلیلالرحمن حقاني | |
| Minister of Refugee and Repatriation | |
Acting | |
| Assumed office 7 September 2021 | |
| Prime Minister | Mohammad Hassan Akhund |
| Supreme Leader | Hibatullah Akhundzada |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1966 Paktia Province, Kingdom of Afghanistan |
| Political party | Taliban |
| Relations | Jalaluddin Haqqani (brother) Sirajuddin Haqqani (nephew) Anas Haqqani (nephew) Abdulaziz Haqqani (nephew) |
| Alma mater | Darul Uloom Haqqania, Pakistan |
| Occupation | Politician, former Mujahideen leader |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) |
| Branch/service |  Haqqani network |
| Years of service | until 2021 |
| Rank | Chief of operations (until 2009) Commander (2009-2021) |
| Commands | Chief of security for Kabul (August 10, 2021 - September 7, 2021) |
| Battles/wars | Soviet–Afghan War |
Early life and activities
editHaqqani was born 1 January 1966 in Paktia Province of Afghanistan. He belongs to the Zadran tribe of ethnic Pashtuns. During the Afghan War, Haqqani engaged in international fundraising for the Taliban and supported Taliban operations in Afghanistan.[5] In 2002, he deployed men under his charge to reinforce al-Qaida in Paktia Province.[5] In 2009, he aided in the detention of enemy prisoners captured by the Haqqani network and the Taliban.[5] In 2010, he provided funding to the Taliban in Logar Province of Afghanistan.[5] Haqqani has carried out orders provided by his nephew, Sirajuddin Haqqani, a leader of the Haqqani network and who was designated a terrorist in March 2008 under Executive Order 13224.[5]
On 9 February 2011, the United States Department of the Treasury under Executive Order 13224 designated Khalil Haqqani a Specially Designated Global Terrorist[6] and offered a US$5 million bounty for him as one their most wanted terrorists.[7][5] He was listed with the title of a Haji and supposed to be rsiding in Peshawar, Miram Shah, North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan and in Paktia Province of Afghanistan; while his date of birth has been variously given between 1958 and 1966.[8]
On 9 February 2011 the United Nations pursuant to paragraph 2 of resolution 1904 (2009), Khalil Haqqani was added to the 1988 Sanctions List (TAi.150) for association with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden or the Taliban for “participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of” or “otherwise supporting acts or activities of” the Taliban.[9]
The Haqqani network was founded by Khalil Haqqani's brother Jalaluddin Haqqani. In the mid-1990s they joined Mullah Mohammed Omar's Taliban regime.[9] The UN determined that Khalil Haqqani engages in fundraising activities on behalf of the Taliban and the Haqqani network and conducts international travel to obtain financial supporters.[9] As of September 2009, Haqqani obtained financial support from the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and from sources in South Asia and East Asia.[9] In addition, he has acted on behalf of Al-Qaida and is associated with their military operations including the deployment of reinforcements to Al-Qaida elements in Paktia Province.[9]
Government positions
editIn August 2021, after the fall of Kabul, Haqqani was placed in charge of security for the Kabul during the transition of power.[4][10]
On 7 September 2021, Khalil Haqqani was appointed as Minister of Refugees for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime.[11]
References
edit- ^ "Over 1.5M Migrants Returned to Country During Past Year". TOLOnews. 3 May 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ "Ministry of refugees gets 15 million Euro boost". Ariana News. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ "Haqqani proposes trilateral meeting on Afghan refugees". Pajhwok Afghan News. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ a b Latifi, Ali M. (22 August 2021). "'All Afghans' should feel safe under Taliban, says security chief". Al Jazeera English.
- ^ a b c d e f Rewards for Justice - Khalil Haqqani
- ^ Executive Order 13224: Blocking Terrorist Property and a summary of the Terrorism Sanctions Regulations
- ^ "Khalil Haqqani, long on America's terrorist list, is welcomed by cheering crowds in Kabul". The New York Times. 21 August 2021.
- ^ "HAQQANI, Khalil ur Rahman". sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e United Nations Security Council - Khalil Ahmed Haqqani
- ^ Gardner, Frank (26 August 2021). "Afghanistan crisis: Who are Isis-K?". BBC News.
- ^ "Taliban announce new government for Afghanistan". BBC News. 7 September 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
Further reading
edit- U.S. Army (2014). The Haqqani Network. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1500318796.
- Brown, Vahid (2013). Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus, 1973–2012. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-932798-0.
- Coll, Steve (2004). Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-007-6.
- Goodson, Larry P. (2001). Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics and the Rise of the Taliban. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-98111-3. OCLC 44634408.
- Griffiths, John C. (2001), Afghanistan: A History of Conflict, London: Carlton Books, ISBN 978-1-84222-597-4
- Matinuddin, Kamal (1999), The Taliban Phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994–1997, Karachi: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-579274-2
- Rashid, Ahmed (2000), Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-08340-8
- Rashid, Ahmad (2001). Taliban: The Story of the Afghan Warlords. London: Pan Books. ISBN 0-330-49221-7.
External links
edit- Special Documentary about Haji khalil Rahman 29.12.2023 on YouTube, Shamshad TV
- The Haqqani Network (PDF), by Jeffrey A. Dressler, Institute for the Study of War
