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How are the Taliban, Al Qaeda, IS and Haqqani Network interconnected

Afghan VP Amrullah Saleh has maintained that Pakistan has a hand in formation of IS-K

afghanleaddership Haibtullah Akhndzada, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar | Reuters

A vividly angry President Joe Biden, on Friday, said that the US would hunt down the IS-K, the group that claimed responsibility for a blast at Kabul airport, which claimed the lives of 13 American troops. Two suicide bombers in two separate suicide blasts outside the airport's gates claimed the lives of at least 90 Afghans. On August 23, the Taliban had warned the US of consequences if the US delayed the complete withdrawal of its troops after August 31. 

IS-K or Islamic State- Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the blasts. While the Taliban had promised the US, that it will not let Afghanistan become a breeding ground for terror, a few terror groups have already entered the country. Here are the main terror outfits that will try and get a share of the pie.

The Haqqani Network

One of the Taliban’s prominent members is Sirajuddin Haqqani, the son of prominent mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, who leads the Haqqani Network. The Haqqani Network is a group that is known to oversee the Taliban’s financial and military assets across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Haqqani is currently the deputy leader of the Taliban.

The Haqqani Network is a Sunni-Islamist organisation founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani. Jalaluddin Haqqani is said to have connections with former Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. And while the US has said that the Haqqani network and the Taliban are two separate groups, the fact that Sirajuddin Haqqani, in 2015, was named Taliban leader Mullah Ghani Baradar in 2015, cements the relationship between the two groups. The group is said to have a haven in North Waziristan, in Pakistan. In the 1980s, the US government under Ronald Reagen’s leadership funded the network to take down the Soviets from Afghanistan. The Haqqani Network’s ideology is aligned with that of the Taliban—to eradicate western influence and establish a state established based on Sharia law. In 20122, the US designated the Haqqani Network as a terrorist organisation and in 2015, Pakistan banned the group as part of the National Action Plan.

Jalaluddin Haqqani commanded a Mujahideen Army from 1980 to 1992, of which Osama bin Laden, founder of Al Qaeda was said to be a part. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, a Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar and an influential Salafist jihadist was also part of the Mujahedeen army that Jalaluddin Haqqani led. Azzam promoted militant jihad.

Al Qaeda and IS-K

Another group, which is very likely to get a footing in Afghanistan, once a Taliban government is formed is Al Qaeda. 

Currently, Haibatullah Akhundzada is the supreme leader of the group. When Akhundzada was appointed chief of the outfit in 2016, he secured a pledge of loyalty from Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. Ideologically, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are aligned too. Also, according to analysts, ISIS commanders and fighters were once part of Al Qaeda or a group affiliated to Al Qaeda. And, IS leader Shahab al-Muhajir was reportedly a former mid-level Haqqani commander before defecting. Therefore, a connection between Al Qaeda, the Haqqani Network and the IS cannot be ruled out. Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan was celebrated by Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups across the globe, including Jaish-e- Mohammed and Lashkar e Taiba in India. al Qaeda members identify themselves as Salafi jihadists.

While the Taliban has said that it views the IS-K as its rival, both groups comprise Sunni Muslim fighters and are pro-establishment of Sharia law. Khorasan is regarded as the province that comprises areas of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. the IS-K has attracted fighters from LeT. When ISIL was formed in 2015, a former militant of TTP or Tehrik i-Taliban Pakistan (Taliban’s operation in Pakistan), Hafiz Saeed Khan was appointed its leader. IS-K is a branch of ISIL or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. IS-K is said to be operational in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and is said to be allied with Jundallah, an affiliate group of the TTP. 

Afghanistan Vice President Amrullah Saleh has maintained that Pakistan has a hand in the creation of IS-K and have been able to carry out acts of terror in the country, by creating sleeper cells. The IS and Taliban have, over the course of the last six years, clashed several times, especially in the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan. When the Taliban took over Kabul, the IS, in its newsletter al-Naba said the takeover was in line with the US peace deal signed by the two sides in Qatar in February 2020.

Douglas London, a former senior CIA operations officer who last served as chief of counterterrorism for South and Southwest Asia, told USA Today that said the threat posed by IS-K is now higher because of the vacuum created by the Taliban takeover. According to experts, the IS-K will continue to challenge the Taliban.

With the militant groups wanting a piece of the pie in both enforcing sharia law and purging western influences, it looks like Taliban 2.0 will have its share of challenges even after it forms a government; especially, if it wishes to carry forward a rule dictated by religious extremism, but laced with moderation. This indeed will prove to be a struggle for the Taliban, who aims to seek diplomatic recognition from western powers. The people of Afghanistan, in the meantime, are still far away from experiencing peace, more so, if the groups don’t resolve matters through talks.

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