The Haqqani family, one of the important branches of the long-lasting anti-occupation struggle against the Soviet Union and the USA in Afghanistan, has today become an important component of the state established by the Taliban. So who is this family?
While the Haqqani Network has long been accused of affiliation with al-Qaeda and other jihadist organizations and marked as "terrorist" by Western states, the changing balances in the country, with the Taliban's declaration of dominance in Afghanistan, made the Haqqani family a component of a state that is likely to be recognized by the whole world in the future.
The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government in the 21st century. It is considered to be a "semi-autonomous" offshoot of the Taliban. It has been most active in eastern Afghanistan and across the border in northwest Pakistan.
The Haqqani family is on the USA's most wanted list, and whose members are awarded prizes; The new government established with the Taliban's capture of Kabul and domination of Afghanistan last August; draws attention as a structure that is influential in its political, economic, and military wings.
The Taliban entrusted the security of the city to the Haqqani family, which was defined as a "terrorist organization" by the United States and was held responsible for numerous shocking attacks against foreign forces in the country after the Taliban captured Kabul, which once again caused the eyes to turn to this structure.
Established by Celaleddin Haqqani, one of the important commanders of the Afghanistan struggle, the organization gained recognition for its struggle against the Soviet occupation with the support it received from different countries, especially Pakistan. With the rise of the Taliban, Jalaluddin Hakkani merged the structure he had founded with the Taliban militias, but the Haqqani family, on the other hand, was still somewhat autonomous.
The “Haqqani Network”, whose number of the militia is estimated to be between 3 thousand and 10 thousand people; also came to the fore in the struggles against the US occupation, and although it was claimed that the US supported its growth, at the end of the day, it became the target of the US due to the shocking attacks it carried out against the occupation troops. As Taliban Spokesperson Abdulhak Hammad stated in a television program in the past weeks, the "Hakkani Family" lost 57 of its members in the wars against the United States.
While the Haqqani Network has been accused of affiliation with Al Qaeda and other jihadist organizations for a long time and marked as a 'terrorist' by Western states, the changing balances in Afghanistan have made the Haqqani Network a component of a state that is likely to be recognized by the whole world in the future, with the Taliban's declaration of dominance in Afghanistan.
The main actors of the Haqqani Network from past to present
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Celaleddin (Jalaluddin) Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, was born in Khost, Afghanistan, as the son of a family affiliated with the Pashtu Zadran Tribe. When he completed his education at Darul Ulum Hakkaniye in Peshawar, he received the title of "Mevlevi" and then returned to Afghanistan and started his Islamic activities during this time, which corresponds to the 1970s. It is said that the madrasah he established in the town of Gulam Khan in North Waziristan, which can be considered one of the most important results of these Islamic activities, is still active today.
Hakkani, who participated in the war that started after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1978, became famous as an important commander who resisted the Soviets with the armed group he commanded. Inviting foreign fighters to the anti-occupation struggle in Afghanistan, Celaleddin Hakkani had key importance in the anti-occupation struggle due to the relations he established with foreign fighters.
In 1992, in the new administration established with the collapse of the communist puppet state that ruled in Afghanistan, he was given the task of minister of justice. However, upon the disagreement between the Mujahideen, Celaleddin Hakkani chose to remain neutral and withdrew to the province where he was born, Khost.
Celaleddin Hakkani made the decision in 1995, which played an important role in the formation of the armed group he headed, by joining the Taliban, which emerged as a new formation. Haqqani, who served in various ministries during the Taliban rule, would eventually become an important power center within the Taliban.
Celaleddin Hakkani, who took part in the war against the US occupation this time in 2001, had become one of the most important and strongest networks of the anti-occupation struggle with his family. Having lost 4 of his 7 sons for this cause, Hakkani's sons Ömer Hakkani (death 2008), Muhammed Hakkani (death 2010), Bedreddin Hakkani (death 2012), and Nasiruddin Hakkani (death 2013) were killed by the USA.
Celaleddin Hakkani died at the age of 79 while his youngest son, Enes Hakkani, was serving a solitary sentence in Bagram Prison and the dates were September 3, 2018.
Sirajeddin Haqqani
Siraceddin Hakkani, who became the head of the Hakkani Network years ago due to his father's health problems, commanded many attacks against the occupation forces in Kabul and in different cities. At the end of these attacks, which forced the US forces, the Hakkani Network was included in the terrorist list of the USA in September 2012. Known as the "Caliph Sahib" by the members of the organization, Sirajeddin Hakkani was appointed as one of the three assistants of Mullah Heybatullah Ahundzade, who came to power in 2016 with the death of Mullah Akhtar Mansur, the second leader of the Taliban.
Until his last announced mission, it was known that he was tasked with ensuring the security of eastern Afghanistan, considered a stronghold of the Taliban from Pakistan's Paktiya province, which for many years became a second home for the Hakkanis. Now, he is in charge as the "minister of interior" of the announced provisional government. Sirajeddin Hakkani, whose head was put at $10 million, is still on the US terror list, and Taliban officials are harshly critical of this situation, claiming that "the US violated the Doha Agreement".
There is no other image of Siraceddin Hakkani, who is on the USA's most wanted list and has a $10 million bounty on his head, taken from his side profile.
Halilurrahman Haqqani
Celaleddin Hakkani's brother, Halilurrahman Hakkani, was appointed as the city's security chief after Kabul was captured by the Taliban.
Halilurrahman Hakkani, whose history is full of deadly attacks designed against US troops in Afghanistan, has been on the terrorist list of Washington and the United Nations since 2011. Halilurrahman Haqqani, who has a $5 million bounty on his head, served as the "minister of refugees" in the Taliban government, which was announced last month. The USA, on the other hand, made the statement that we are "concerned" because Siraceddin Hakkani and Halilurrahman Hakkani, who are on the "terrorist lists", are serving in the cabinet of the newly formed government.
Enes Haqqani
Enes Haqqani, the youngest son of Celaleddin Hakkani, was one of the names who pioneered the efforts to establish an administrative system in Kabul during the period when the Taliban seized Kabul and declared its dominance in the country.
According to journalists like Hamid Mir who dominate regional politics, Enes Hakkani is one of the brightest names of the Taliban front with his education and equipment. Together with names such as Enes Hakkani and Abdulkahhar Belhi, he represents the young and influential new generation of the Taliban.
Born in 1994, Enes Haqqani was arrested in Bahrain in 2014 by the USA, on the grounds that he was a "member of the Hakkani family," according to some sources, and was handed over to the Afghan government at the time.