KABUL: The Afghan Taliban on Tuesday attacked US allegations that Pakistan supported the Haqqani network as a plot to undermine the militant unity.
After a spectacular assault on the US embassy and Nato headquarters in Kabul in mid-September, senior US officials openly accused Pakistan’s intelligence agency of ties to the Haqqani group.
The Pakistan government as well as the army rejected the allegations, and the Taliban said they were military tactics.
“America wants to depict the strength of Islamic Emirate as feeble and attribute its attacks to others,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an English-language statement e-mailed to reporters.
“The respected Maulawi Jalaluddin Haqqani (the group’s founder) is (one of the) Islamic Emirate’s honourable and dignified personalities and receives all guidance for operations from the leader of the Islamic Emirate,” the statement said, in reference to the Haqqani network’s leader.
The Haqqani network is one of three Taliban-allied factions fighting in Afghanistan and perhaps the most feared – they are thought to have introduced suicide bombing to the country and be behind many high-profile attacks.
They have sworn allegiance to the Taliban, but have long been suspected of also having ties to Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate.
The outgoing chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, testified before the Senate after the Kabul attack that the Haqqani network was a ‘veritable arm’ of the ISI.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, who currently heads the group, says it no longer needs sanctuaries in Pakistan, and it feels safe operating in Afghanistan.
The Taliban said the allegations aimed to create a climate of mistrust and distract from a deteriorating military situation in Afghanistan. The statement also warned Pakistan that the United States aimed to ‘loot’ the country’s assets.
The militia advised Pakistan to prioritise Islamic and national interests and stand firm in the face of “America’s two-faced and implacable politics”.
“Neither are our bases in Pakistan nor do we need residence outside of our country,” said the statement also posted on the Voice of Jihad website.
Most analysts consider the Haqqani network a Taliban faction loyal to Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar, with strong ties to Al Qaeda.
A spokesman for the US State Department says it is considering placing the Haqqani network on its list of terror groups.—Agencies
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