The Afghan Haqqani militant group will not take part individually in any peace talks with the United States and negotiations must be led by the Taliban, a senior commander told Reuters on Tuesday. “They (the Americans) would not be able to find a possible solution to the Afghan conflict until and unless they hold talks with the Taliban shura,” said the Haqqani group commander, referring to the Taliban leadership council. Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in Islamabad with a heavyweight team of US military and intelligence leaders, urged Pakistan to persuade the Haqqanis to pursue peace.
She also warned that tough action would have to be taken against Afghan and Pakistani militants if they did not cooperate in efforts to stabilise Afghanistan. The Haqqani commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, viewed her efforts with scepticism. “This is not the first time the US has approached us for peace talks. The Americans had made several such attempts for talks which we rejected as we are an integral part of the Taliban led by Mullah Mohammad Omar,” he said by telephone from an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. “We are united and our goal is to liberate our homeland Afghanistan from the clutches of occupying forces.” Clinton said the US had held preliminary meetings with the Haqqanis – arguably the most dangerous Afghan insurgent faction – and was working with Afghanistan and Pakistan to try to put together a peace process. Taliban leader Omar has been in hiding since the Taliban were forced from power by US-led forces after refusing to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden weeks after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
The Haqqani Network is a major source of tension between the United States and Pakistan. Admiral Mike Mullen said before retiring as chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff last month that a militant group that had attacked US targets in Afghanistan was a “veritable arm” of Pakistani intelligence. Pakistan angrily denied the accusation. After years of demanding Pakistan crack down on the network, named after veteran Afghan militant commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, the United States wants Pakistan to bring that group and other militants to the peace table. The battle-hardened Jalaluddin Haqqani is believed to be in poor health and his son, Sirajuddin, is the group’s operational leader. More than 2,700 NATO troops have been killed since 2001, as well as more than 11,000 civilians. Many thousands more have been wounded.
