Book review - The Haqqani network: talent for survival
Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus 1973-2012
by Vahid Brown and Don Rassler
Reviewed by RAZESHTA SETHNA
The historic relationship between the Pakistani establishment and the Haqqanis is detailed in Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus 1973-2012, by Vahid Brown and Don Rassler. They use previously un-researched primary sources in various languages, including information from the Haqqani network’s magazine Manba’ al-Jihadi, from which the book takes its title. The authors connect the dots outlining the Haqqani network’s ideological ties and triangle of relations since the 1970s, especially as they emerge through its publications, revealing how they resemble mainstream Pakistani Deobandi Islamism.
by Vahid Brown and Don Rassler
Reviewed by RAZESHTA SETHNA
The historic relationship between the Pakistani establishment and the Haqqanis is detailed in Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus 1973-2012, by Vahid Brown and Don Rassler. They use previously un-researched primary sources in various languages, including information from the Haqqani network’s magazine Manba’ al-Jihadi, from which the book takes its title. The authors connect the dots outlining the Haqqani network’s ideological ties and triangle of relations since the 1970s, especially as they emerge through its publications, revealing how they resemble mainstream Pakistani Deobandi Islamism.
The Haqqanis have revamped their role since the days of the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
when as seminary students with ideological ties to Pakistan ’s
religious parties — especially during the Zia years — they became useful to Pakistan ’s
military establishment and had access to resources and finances to fight across
the border from Pakistan ’s
tribal belt. With direct support from Pakistan ’s
military establishment, political sympathisers and safe havens in North
Waziristan and Paktia (Afghanistan ),
they were well-established by 1979. Then, almost two decades later, they placed
themselves at the nexus of Afghan jihad as lethal players orchestrating a
network of global jihad with ties to the Pakistani Taliban, the Afghan Taliban,
Al Qaeda and other regional actors benefitting their long-term survival.
However, with the US
drawdown next year in Afghanistan ,
it is clear the Americans are losing trust in the Pakistan
government when it comes to clamping down on the Haqqanis of North Waziristan
and their allies and thus the escalation in drone strikes. Drone strikes have
eliminated militant members from the senior cadre (Sangeen Zadran, Sept 2013)
with another strike last month targeting fighters gathered at a Haqqani
affiliated seminary in the Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa — a rare drone
strike outside the tribal region and second after Bannu district in 2008.
Known to be a close aide of the Haqqani network’s founder
Jalaluddin, Ahmed Jan, who was killed in the Hangu strike, was in charge of
operations in Kabul . November was
also when Jalaluddin’s son and the chief financier for the militant organisation
was shot dead in Islamabad .
Designated as a terror organisation last year by Washington ,
the Haqqani network is perceived as a strategic threat to Afghanistan ’s
stability in the future. The shift in strategy to wear down its fighters and
leaders before 2014 could partially be attributed to Pakistan ’s
refusal to give up its support for the Haqqanis and the Taliban. But given
their ability to persist through decades of war, what role will the Haqqanis
choose to play in Afghanistan
and Pakistan in
the next decade and how will that impact the West?
The Haqqanis have historically operated within Afghanistan ,
primarily in Khost, Paktia and Paktika provinces. Haqqani leaders recruit,
train and direct operations in Afghanistan
from Miramshah, North Waziristan , facilitating fighters,
commanders, and resources across the border... read more:
Fears of Afghan women
WITH the withdrawal
of Nato-led troops and the transition of security to Afghan forces, the future
of Afghan women is threatened. That women’s hard-won rights are already eroding
is evident as many among the Afghan Taliban target working women. A pattern of what might unfold is becoming clearer: the
number of women killed or injured in the first half of this year alone is
two-thirds higher than last year according to a UN report on civilian
casualties. High-profile attacks have risen by nearly a third with the
Taliban issuing warnings especially in the insurgent-ridden south where women
are vulnerable targets. The latest in a series of attacks on policewomen
includes the killing of Lieutenant Nigara in Helmand
province, shot on her way to work.
