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| Afghanistan | |
| Taliban's al Qaeda ties obstacle to Afghan peace | |
| 2010-07-05 | |
Pakistan is trying to broker a deal between the Afghan government and the Haqqani group, one of the most violent Taliban factions led by veteran rebel leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to Afghan parliamentarians and Pakistani analysts. Haqqani was a legendary commander in the war against the Soviets who had close ties to the Reagan administration. Now, he and his son Sirajuddin command hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of fighters blamed for some of the most audacious attacks in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan. Pressurising: "The president is trying to use old friendships with Jalaluddin Haqqani and his sons to make them participate in the reconciliation process," said Khaled Pashtun, an Afghan lawmaker from the Taliban heartland of southern Kandahar. "Pakistan is also pressurising the government to bring this person (Haqqani) in the government," he said. Yet Haqqani's ties to al Qaeda run deep. His friendship with Osama bin Laden dates back to the war against the Soviets in the 1980s. Haqqani allowed bin Laden to set up a base on his territory in Khost province of eastern Afghanistan. Since US President Barack Obama announced the start of a US troops withdrawal in July 2011, Karzai has sought to improve relations with Pakistan and reach out to the insurgents. As a sign of good faith, he pledged to seek the release of detainees and lobby the United Nations to remove some of the insurgent leaders from a blacklist that froze their bank accounts and prevents them from travelling abroad. He also signed a reintegration decree this week offering amnesty and economic incentives to Taliban fighters who want to leave the battlefield, if they accept the Afghan constitution and break ties with al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The Pakistani military and the Inter-Services Intelligence believe the Haqqani group is an important force to protect Pakistani interests in Afghanistan. General (r) Talat Masood said Pakistan's military believes that bringing insurgents -- including the Haqqani group -- into the Afghan government is the only way of stabilising the country once America and its allies leave. But the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think-tank, describes Haqqani as "irreconcilable", saying negotiations with his network would strengthen al Qaeda, undermine regional stability and threaten US security. In a study released this week, the institute cited a statement released in April by Sirajuddin, describing cooperation with al Qaeda as "at its highest level". "Any negotiated settlement with the Haqqanis threatens to undermine the raison d'etre for US involvement in Afghanistan over the past decade," the study said. Brian Cloughley, South Asia defence analyst for Jane's Sentinel Country Risk Assessments, said it is clear that Pakistan has leverage with Haqqani and other extremist groups. But he added Haqqani's tight links to al Qaeda "may be just a shade too deep for the Americans to accept". | |
| Posted by:Fred |