Khalil Haqqani

Haji Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani
خلیل‌الرحمن حقاني
Minister of Refugees
Acting
Assumed office 7 September 2021
Prime Minister	Mohammad Hassan Akhund
Supreme Leader	Hibatullah Akhundzada
Personal details
Born	(1966-01-01) 1 January 1966 (age 58) 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 Operation Magistral Siege of Khost Siege of Urgun Battle of Jaji Battle for Hill 3234 War in Afghanistan War in North-West Pakistan 2021 Taliban offensive

Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani (Pashto: خلیل‌الرحمن حقاني [xalilʊrahˈmɑn haqɑˈni]; born 1 January 1966), also known as Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, Khaleel Haqqani and Khalil Ahmad Haqqani, is the Afghan Minister of Refugees and a prominent leader of the Haqqani network.^[1][2]

Early life and activities

Khalil Haqqani was born 1 January 1966 in Paktia Province, Afghanistan and belongs to ethnic Pashtun from the Zadran tribe of Khost. During the Afghan War Haqqani engaged in international fundraising for the Taliban and supported Taliban operations in Afghanistan.^[3] In 2002, Khalil deployed men under his charge to reinforce al-Qaida in Paktia Province, Afghanistan.^[3] In 2009, Haqqani aided in the detention of enemy prisoners captured by the Haqqani network and the Taliban.^[3] In 2010, Haqqani provided funding to the Taliban in Logar Province, Afghanistan.^[3] 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.^[3]

On 9 February 2011, the United States Department of the Treasury under Executive Order 13224 designated Khalil Haqqani a Specially Designated Global Terrorist^[4] and offered a US$5 million bounty for him as one their most wanted terrorists.^[5][3] He is listed with the title of a hajji and addresses in Peshawar, Miram Shah, North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan and in Paktia, Afghanistan; while his date of birth has been variously given between 1958 and 1966.^[6]

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.^[7]

The Haqqani network was founded by Khalil Haqqani's brother Jalaluddin Haqqani. In the mid-1990s they joined Mullah Mohammed Omar's Taliban regime.^[7] The UN determined that Haqqani engages in fundraising activities on behalf of the Taliban and the Haqqani network and conducts international travel to obtain financial supporters.^[7] 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.^[7] In addition, Khalil 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, Afghanistan.^[7]

Government positions

In August 2021, after the fall of Kabul, Haqqani was placed in charge of security for the Kabul during the transition of power.^[8][9]

On 7 September 2021, Khalil Haqqani was appointed as Minister of Refugees for the reinstated Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.^[10]

References

Further reading

• 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

• The Haqqani Network (PDF), by Jeffrey A. Dressler, Institute for the Study of War