KABUL: The Taliban denounced on Saturday moves by the United States to blacklist the Haqqani network, saying that it would have no impact on operations and was indicative of US defeat in Afghanistan.

In a statement released through Twitter, they said there was “no separate entity... in Afghanistan by the name of Haqqani,” adding that the network’s founder and its fighters were totally loyal to Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar.

The militia, which is leading a decade-long war against Nato troops and the Afghan government, claimed that such moves against its members in the past had no impact on operations and said “this latest announcement will also be ineffective”.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday that she would press ahead with the Haqqani blacklisting, which would make it a crime in the United States to provide the network with any material support, and freeze any of their property or interests in the US.

“The Islamic Emirate does not have any trade agreements with any American companies or individuals and neither does it have monetary funds there which could be frozen”, the Taliban said.—AFP