Taliban warlord reveals how he avoided assassination as America’s most-wanted Afghan

Taliban warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani has revealed how he avoided assassination as America’s most-wanted Afghan by leveraging his family’s ties with the United States. 

Haqqani’s reputation as a ruthless military strategist during the U.S.-led war against the Taliban solidified his status as a dangerous criminal. He formed alliances with both Taliban and al-Qaeda, notorious for his use of suicide bombers against both American and Afghan forces. His alleged involvement in cross-border attacks and a deadly hotel bombing in January 2008, which claimed the lives of six people, earned him a $10 million bounty on his head from the United States.

In an exclusive interview with the New York Times, Haqqani, who has only agreed to one interview with a Western journalist previously, spoke with reporter Christina Goldbaum. The warlord revealed how his secret communications with the United States and his family’s decades-long relationship with the US government have saved him from assassination.

Since the Taliban regained control in 2021 they have attempted to present a united front, but the group’s officials have clashed in ideologies and what they want for the future of Afghanistan. These divisions have put Haqqani and the Taliban’s head of state, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzadam, at odds.

While most Taliban leaders secretly oppose Sheikh Haibatullah’s ultraconservative implementation of Sharia law, the common thread holding the terrorist group together is their undying loyalty to their supreme leader. Those who had quietly combatted Sheikh Haibatullah’s policies have been silenced after he took total control of the state.

Haqqani gained infamy for his ruthless military tactics during the US-led war against the Taliban, forming alliances with other terrorist groups and establishing a criminal network. (Pictured: Taliban authorities arrive for the inauguration of a solar energy project in Kabul)

But Haqqani continues to look for support outside the country to make his voice heard, making connections with diplomats in Europe, the Persian Gulf, Russia, and China. He is still designated as a terrorist in the United States.

The Haqqani family has a long-standing relationship with the United States dating back decades. Haqqani’s father, Jalaluddin Haqqani, formed close ties with the CIA, receiving substantial financial and military support to combat the Soviets.

In the beginning of the Afghanistan war, the Haqqanis attempted to use their connections to reconcile with US officials, but their efforts were rebuffed.

But in 2010, secret letter communications between the Haqqanis and American officials culminated in a meeting between Haqqani’s uncle, Ibrahim Omari, and US officials in Dubai the following year.

Four years later, Omari, under the guise that he was to deliver a message from his family, met with American officials in a European city to explore potential avenues for ending the war. 

During the meeting he conveyed a message from his family expressing a shared desire for peace in Afghanistan. By that point, the democratic Afghan republic had been established, but the United States continued its occupation.

Pictured: Taliban security personnel stand guard along a road on the eve of the third anniversary of Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, in Kabul on August 13, 2024

Fast forward to the present day and Sheikh Haibatullah’s reign has been characterized by a relentless assault on women’s rights, earning his government international condemnation. 

His reversal of his previous decision to allow girls to continue their education in 2022 and his subsequent implementation of increasingly harsh restrictions on women have effectively banned them from all aspects of public life, depriving them of their fundamental rights.

Haqqani and his associates have been discreetly lobbying for the reinstatement of girls’ education beyond the sixth grade and for women to resume their government positions, their efforts have been met with limited success amid the broader crackdown on women’s freedoms.

But Haqqani’s public support for women’s rights is primarily a strategic move, rather than a genuine commitment to gender equality, as he believes it could lead to increased support from Western nations and local leaders that have resisted the Taliban’s rule.