(AKI) - by Syed Saleem Shahzad - Maulana Jalaluddin Haqqani, a cleric who first rose to fame fighting Soviet occupation forces in the 1980s, is the mastermind behind recent kidnappings in Afghanistan, well-placed sources have told Adnkronos International (AKI). The 50-year-old Jalaluddin Haqqani, is considered the Taliban's second-in-command after the Islamists' traditional spiritual leader Mullah Omar. While hailing from the Afghan province of Paktia and Khost, Jalaluddin has long been based in North Waziristan were he has also run a seminary. The sources also confirmed reports that the leader of Pakistan's opposition religious six-party alliance, the MMA, has been mediating with the Taliban to secure the release of remaining 21 South Korean hostages kidnapped by the Islamist militants. In fact, MMA leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has been in direct contact with Jalaluddin Haqqani's son Sirajuddin Haqqani who is based in Dandai Darpa Khail in Pakistan's North Waziristan province which borders with Afghanistan, the sources told AKI.
They also identified another intermediary negotiating for the Korean hostages' release as Mullah Abdus Salam Rocketi, a Taliban turncoat who now sits in the National Assembly in Kabul. Through Abudus Salam Rocketi - his third name a moniker referring to his prowess at launching rockets against the Soviets - Jalaluddin Haqqani's representatives demanded an undisclosed amount of money as ransom for the Koreans' release, the sources said.
Jalaluddin Haqqani's territorial control stretches across much of south eastern Afghanistan, including Paktia, Khost, Kunar, Gardez, and Ghanzi, where the bodies of two Korean hostages killed by the Taliban were found.
Before he was killed by Afghan and NATO forces in May, Mullah Dadullah had been the Taliban commander most involved in kidnapping - including the abduction of an Italian journalist who was reportedly released for a 20 million dollar ransom and the freeing from prison of several captured Taliban. With the kidnapping of the 23 Koreans, Jalaluddin Haqqani seems to have taken over a role left vacant by Dadullah's demise.