Pakistan Conflict Monitor

Senior Haqqani Network Leader Denies Alleged Links to ISI

Taliban Responds to WikiLeaks, The Daily Beast, 28 July 2010

EXCERPT: "Responding to WikiLeaks' release of tens of thousands of pages of classified military documents about the war in Afghanistan, a high-ranking Taliban commander rejected reports that the Taliban had any links with Pakistan’s spy agency. 'Look, we’re at war and would like to get aid from anyone to fight against the U.S. and its allies who invaded our homeland,' Sirajuddin Haqqani, a senior leader of the Haqqani network, told The Daily Beast on Monday, denying any existing links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, known by its acronym ISI. According to The New York Times, the leaked military reports suggest that Pakistan—a country at least nominally a U.S. ally and the recipient of more than $1 billion a year in U.S. aid—has been collaborating indirectly or directly with the Taliban and its affiliates in Afghanistan. [...] While Haqqani said the leaked reports were useful to him, he also said he wished they had been leaked earlier because they provided evidence of American brutality in Afghanistan."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Insurgent leader on WikiLeaks: Now you tell us, Wired Magazine, 28 July 2010
My war, WikiLeaked: Why the public (and the military) can’t count on those battle logs, Wired // Danger Room, 28 July 2010
US report on ISI-Taliban link is fictional: Ex-ISI chief [video], Times of India, 28 July 2010
Key quotes from the document, BBC News, 28 September 2006

Related posts:
Former ISI spymaster denies links to Taliban, 27 July 2010
Pakistan aids insurgency in Afghanistan: Leaked reports, 26 July 2010
Pakistan efforts to broker Afghan-Haqqani peace "undermine US interests", 25 June 2010
Afghan Taliban deny links to ISI, 16 June 2010
ISI trains, funds, and supplies Taliban: Report, 14 June 2010

US Designates Three Haqqani Network, Taliban Leaders as Terrorists

Treasury Targets Taliban and Haqqani Network Leadership: Treasury Designates Three Financiers Operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan, US Department of Treasury, 22 July 2010

EXCERPT: "The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated three key leaders and financiers for the Taliban and its affiliated group the Haqqani Network, for supporting acts of terrorism and for acting for or on behalf of the Taliban or the Haqqani Network. Today's designation, pursuant to Executive Order 13224 targets Gul Agha Ishakzai, the head of the Taliban's financial commission; Amir Abdullah, former treasurer to senior Taliban leader Mullah Berader; and Nasiruddin Haqqani, an emissary for the Haqqani Network. The Haqqani Network is a Taliban-affiliated group of militants that operates out of North Waziristan Agency, Pakistan and has been spearheading insurgent activity in Afghanistan. Executive Order 13224 freezes any assets the designees have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with them. Today's designees were added to the United Nations 1267 Consolidated List on July 19, 2010 for being associated with Al-Qa'ida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban. [...] Gul Agha Ishakzai is the head of the Taliban's financial commission and is part of a recently-created Taliban council that coordinates the collection of zakat from Baluchistan Province, Pakistan. [...] Abdullah helped many senior Taliban members who fled Afghanistan settle in Pakistan. Abdullah also facilitates communications for Taliban leadership and coordinates high-level meetings at the guesthouse of his Karachi residence."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
US adds Haqqani Network, Taliban leaders to list of designated terrorists, The Long War Journal, 22 July 2010
US slaps sanctions on Afghan Taliban leaders, The Associated Press, 22 July 2010

Related posts:
Petraeus wants to blacklist the Haqqani network, 14 July 2010
ISI trains, funds, and supplies Taliban: Report, 14 June 2010
Haqqani network key to Afghan peace talks, Pakistan's interests: Analysts, 31 May 2010
US mulls adding Pakistan Taliban to terror list, 11 May 2010
Taliban, Al-Qaeda cooperation "at the highest limits": Siraj Haqqani, 15 April 2010
US hunt for Haqqani nightmare for Pakistan, 7 January 2010

Petraeus Wants to Blacklist the Haqqani Network

US May Label Pakistan Militants as Terrorists, The New York Times, 14 July 2010

EXCERPT: "The new American military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David H. Petraeus, is pushing to have top leaders of a feared insurgent group designated as terrorists, a move that could complicate an eventual Afghan political settlement with the Taliban and aggravate political tensions in the region. General Petraeus introduced the idea of blacklisting the group, known as the Haqqani network, late last week in discussions with President Obama’s senior advisers on Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to several administration officials, who said it was being seriously considered. Such a move could risk antagonizing Pakistan, a critical partner in the war effort, but one that is closely tied to the Haqqani network. It could also frustrate the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, who is pressing to reconcile with all the insurgent groups as a way to end the nine-year-old war and consolidate his own grip on power."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Sen. Levin urges State Department to put Afghan Taliban on list of terror groups, The Washington Post, 14 July 2010
Viewpoint: The US must choose to talk or fight the Taliban, BBC News, 14 July 2010

Related posts:
Pakistan bans 23 militant outfits, 6 July 2010
Govt efforts at Taliban reconciliation complicated by Haqqani's ties to Al-Qaeda, 30 June 2010
Pakistan efforts to broker Afghan-Haqqani peace "undermine US interests", 25 June 2010
Haqqani network key to Afghan peace talks, Pakistan's interests: Analysts, 31 May 2010
US mulls adding Pakistan Taliban to terror list, 11 May 2010

Pakistan Army Finds Taliban Tough to Root Out

Pakistan Army Finds Taliban Tough to Root Out, The New York Times, 4 July 2010

EXCERPT: "In an offensive nearly two years old, the Pakistani Army has been fighting Taliban militants in the nation’s tribal areas and beyond, and like the United States across the border in Afghanistan, it is finding counterinsurgency warfare tougher, and more costly, than anticipated. Months after declaring victory on several important fronts, including in South Waziristan and the Swat Valley, the army has been forced to reopen campaigns after militants seeped back in. [...] Much like the challenge facing American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, an absence of Pakistani civilian authority has made it nearly impossible to consolidate military gains. While eliminating some Pakistani Taliban insurgents, the long campaign has dispersed many other fighters, forcing the Pakistani Army in effect to chase them from one part of the tribal areas to another.As the campaign drags on, the Pakistani military relies more and more on American-supplied F-16 fighter jets and Cobra helicopter gunships to bomb militants in areas of treacherous terrain, increasing civilian casualties, according to reporters and Pakistani officials in the tribal areas."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Analysis: Fusion of militants brings new threats, The Associated Press, 5 July 2010
Pakistan renews call for dialogue with some Taliban, Reuters Canada, 5 July 2010
Pakistan weighs up chances in post-McChrystal era, BBC News, 2 July 2010

Related posts:
Negotiating with the Taliban: Issues and prospects, 28 June 2010
Taliban regroup in areas thought secure, 22 June 2010
Overview: What have Pakistani offensives achieved?, 27 April 2010
More than 200,000 flee violence in tribal regions, 9 April 2010
Pakistan epicentre of global jihadism: Report, 25 January 2010

Govt Efforts at Taliban Reconciliation Complicated by Haqqani's Ties to Al-Qaeda

Reconciliation Efforts with Afghan Militants Face Major Obstacle, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Prospects for an effort by Pakistan to broker a reconciliation between the government of neighboring Afghanistan and a violent wing of the Afghan Taliban depend on overcoming a major obstacle: severing long-standing relations between the militant group and Al Qaeda.Experts say both Pakistan and Afghanistan realize that breaking the Haqqani network's ties with Al Qaeda is a prerequisite to any deal. They question whether it would ever happen. [...] Amir Rana, one of Pakistan's leading analysts on militant groups, said it's not possible for many militant groups, including the Haqqani network, to completely separate from Al Qaeda. 'What the Haqqani network and the other Taliban groups can offer is a guarantee that they will influence Al Qaeda to not attack U.S. or NATO forces, and a guarantee that their soil would not be used in a terrorist attack against the West,' he said. 'This is the maximum concession that the Taliban can offer.' Numbering in the thousands of fighters, the Haqqani network has a strong relationship with Pakistan's military and intelligence community that stretches 30 years, back to the time when Pashtun warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani organized mujahedin fighters against Soviet troops in the 1980s. Haqqani has now delegated authority over his network of fighters to his son, Sirajuddin."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Pakistan's gambit in Afghanistan, Council on Foreign Relations, 30 June 2010. Interview with Daniel Markey.
The Haqqanis and Al-Qaeda, Foreign Policy // The AfPak Channel, 30 June 2010
Pakistan's dual policy on Taliban, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2010

Related posts:
Negotiating with the Taliban: Issues and prospects, 28 June 2010
Kabul denies Karzai met with Haqqani, Pakistani army chief, 28 June 2010
Pakistan efforts to broker Afghan-Haqqani peace "undermine US interests", 25 June 2010
Pakistan seeks to broker Afghan deal, 16 June 2010
Haqqani network key to Afghan peace talks, Pakistan's interests: Analysts, 31 May 2010

Kashmir Police Investigate Indian Soldiers Accused of Murdering Civilians

Kashmir Police Investigate Indian Soldiers Accused of Murdering Civilians, Guardian, 29 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Police in Kashmir are investigating a series of incidents in which Indian soldiers are accused of killing civilians who they subsequently claimed were Islamic militants. In one case, exposed this month, three labourers were allegedly murdered in an attempt to boost the combat record of an Indian army unit whose members were then able to claim bonuses. According to police investigators, the three men were lured to their deaths by local intermediaries paid cash by an army officer. They were executed and buried, and a report was filed claiming they were violent extremists. [...] Last week a case was registered with police involving two porters who the Indian military said had been shot by Pakistani forces across the Line of Control, the de facto border that separates Indian and Pakistani-controlled parts of the disputed state. But doctors who carried out a postmortem said the men had been shot from close range. Army spokesmen refused to comment on the details of the cases, saying that investigations were underway. [...] Local human rights activist Parvez Imroz said he was aware of at least 50 other cases in which non-combatants had disappeared. 'This is the tip of the iceberg,' he said. [...] The upsurge in public disorder coincides with a series of visits of senior Indian officials to Pakistan. External affairs minister SM Krishna is due to travel to Islamabad next month in an effort to restart peace talks frozen since the attacks by Pakistan-based terrorists in Mumbai in November 2008."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Lashkar behind Kashmir trouble: Chidambaram, The Times of India, 30 June 2010
Political steps needed, Army chief tells TOI, The Times of India, 30 June 2010
Army called in as Held Kashmir boils again, Daily Times, 30 June 2010
Q&A: What's happening in troubled Indian Kashmir?, AlertNet, 30 June 2010

Related posts:
Deadly clashes continue in Kashmir, 29 June 2010
Pakistan violates Kashmir ceasefire ahead of talks: India, 21 June 2010
Kashmir peace options: Crisis Group, 3 June 2010
Kashmir attacks increase "98 percent" in past year, 13 April 2010
Symbiosis of peace and development in Kashmir: An imperative for conflict transformation, 27 January 2010

Negotiating with the Taliban: Issues and Prospects

Negotiating with the Taliban: Issues and Prospects [pdf], The Century Foundation, 28 June 2010

EXCERPT: "This initiative is examining ways in which the international community may take greater collective responsibility for effectively assisting Afghanistan’s transition from a war-ridden failed state to a fragile but reasonably peaceful one. The program adds an internationalist and multilateral lens to the policy debate on Afghanistan both in the United States and globally, engaging the representatives of governments, international nongovernmental organizations, and the United Nations in the exploration of policy options toward Afghanistan and the other states in the region. [...] This report tries to lay out how the Taliban are structured and organized, with an eye to assessing the impact of their organization and modus operandi on their willingness to negotiate and to reach a political settlement."

Read the full report [pdf].
Read the press release.

Related articles:
Overture to Taliban jolts Afghan minorities, The New York Times, 26 June 2010
Karzai pressed to move on Taliban reintegration, The New York Times, 25 June 2010

Related posts:
Pakistan efforts to broker Afghan-Haqqani peace "undermine US interests", 25 June 2010
Pakistan, Afghanistan begin talks about dealing with insurgents, 21 June 2010
Pakistan seeks to broker Afghan deal, 16 June 2010
Haqqani network key to Afghan peace talks, Pakistan's interests: Analysts, 31 May 2010
US pushes for regional approach to AfPak security, 13 May 2010

Kabul Denies Karzai Met with Haqqani, Pakistani Army Chief

Kabul Dismisses Report Karzai Met Militant Leader, AFP, 28 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Afghanistan's government angrily dismissed as baseless on Monday a media report that President Hamid Karzai had met face-to-face with an Al-Qaeda-linked Taliban leader in Kabul. Karzai's spokesman said the report on Al-Jazeera television on Sunday was part of a conspiracy to undermine a government-initiated peace plan aimed at ending almost nine years of war. Al-Jazeera said Karzai had met with Sirajuddin Haqqani, who heads the Al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, at his palace in the Afghan capital as a prelude to peace talks. Haqqani is regarded as one of the most brutal militant leaders in the troubled region. 'The report is totally baseless. It is a lie and there is no truth in it,' Karzai's spokesman Waheed Omar told reporters. The report 'was a source of some concern for us because we believe there is a connected chain of irresponsible rumours about the government of Afghanistan. We believe this is part of the same campaign to undermine the peace process and undermine the process that we are going to start very soon,' he said, referring to plans by Karzai to hold talks with Taliban. He said Karzai's government had 'pre-conditions for any peace talks' with insurgents. [...] Al-Jazeera reported that a meeting between Karzai and the militant leader had recently taken place in Kabul mediated by Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Kayani and the head of its intelligence services, lieutenant general Ahmad Shuja Pasha."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Pakistan seeks to exploit U.S. command vacuum, Reuters, 28 June 2010
US, India leery of Pak's Haqqani card in Afghanistan, The Times of India, 28 June 2010
Afghan president meets with Siraj Haqqani: Report [blog], The Long War Journal, 27 June 2010
Afghanistan in turmoil after peace talk rumours, The Guardian, 27 June 2010
Pakistan's plan on Afghan peace leaves US wary, The New York Times, 27 June 2010
Pakistani military sees opening in McChrystal exit, AOL News, 25 June 2010

Related posts:
Pakistan efforts to broker Afghan-Haqqani peace "undermine US interests", 25 June 2010
Pakistan seeks to broker Afghan deal, 16 June 2010
Analysts discuss links between Kandahar, N. Waziristan offensives, 15 June 2010
US praises Pakistan's "excellent cooperation"; security pledge made, 19 May 2010
US-Pakistan relationship uncertain: Brief, 29 March 2010
The US strategy in Afghanistan: Impacts upon US interests in Pakistan, 12 November 2009

Pakistan Efforts to Broker Afghan-Haqqani Peace "Undermine US Interests"

Pakistan is Said to Pursue Foothold in Afghanistan, The New York Times, 24 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Pakistan is exploiting the troubled United States military effort in Afghanistan to drive home a political settlement with Afghanistan that would give Pakistan important influence there but is likely to undermine United States interests, Pakistani and American officials said. The dismissal of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal will almost certainly embolden the Pakistanis in their plan as they detect increasing American uncertainty, Pakistani officials said. [...] Pakistan is presenting itself as the new viable partner for Afghanistan to President Hamid Karzai, who has soured on the Americans. Pakistani officials say they can deliver the network of Sirajuddin Haqqani, an ally of Al Qaeda who runs a major part of the insurgency in Afghanistan, into a power-sharing arrangement. In addition, Afghan officials say, the Pakistanis are pushing various other proxies, with General Kayani personally offering to broker a deal with the Taliban leadership."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
Renewed strains between Islamabad and Washington, BBC News, 25 June 2010
Pakistani links alarm US, The Australian, 25 June 2010
How a negotiated peace could leave Afghanistan looking like Lebanon, The Washington Post, 25 June 2010
Pakistan can help broker Afghan peace talks: Hague, The Daily Times, 24 June 2010
McChrystal's exit not to reduce pressure on Pakistan in fighting militancy: experts, China View, 24 June 2010

Related posts:
Pakistan, Afghanistan begin talks about dealing with insurgents, 21 June 2010
Pakistan seeks to broker Afghan deal, 16 June 2010
Karzai looks to Pakistan in hope of ending Afghan insurgency, 10 June 2010
Haqqani network key to Afghan peace talks, Pakistan's interests: Analysts, 31 May 2010
Taliban exploit porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, 5 February 2010

Pakistan, Afghanistan Begin Talks About Dealing with Insurgents

Pakistan, Afghanistan Begin Talks About Dealing with Insurgents, The Washington Post, 19 June 2010

EXCERPT: "Afghanistan and Pakistan are talking about how to make peace with insurgents fighting U.S. troops in Afghanistan, including one faction considered the coalition forces' most lethal foe, according to Pakistani and U.S. officials. The discussions reflect the beginnings of a thaw in relations between Kabul and Islamabad, which are increasingly focused on shaping the aftermath of what they fear could be a more abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops than is now anticipated. But one element of the effort -- outreach by Pakistan to the militia headed by the young commander Sirajuddin Haqqani -- faces opposition from U.S. officials, who consider the al-Qaeda-linked group too brutal to be tolerated. [...] The previously undisclosed visits came as the United States, gradually warming to the idea of reconciliation with insurgents, encourages improved relations between the two governments, which have long viewed each other with suspicion. But Obama administration officials have cautioned Afghanistan and Pakistan that they will not support talks with Haqqani's militia."

Read the full story.

Related articles:
US leadership must assert clear role amidst Pak, Afghan's Taliban reconciliation efforts, Sify News, 20 June 2010
US calls for Pakistan action against Haqqani network, DAWN, 17 June
Pak trying to get Karzai, Haqqani together, Hindustan Times, 16 June 2010

Related posts:
Pakistan seeks to broker Afghan deal, 16 June 2010
Karzai looks to Pakistan in hope of ending Afghan insurgency, 10 June 2010
Haqqani network key to Afghan peace talks, Pakistan's interests: Analysts, 31 May 2010
US pushes for regional approach to AfPak security, 13 May 2010
Taliban exploit porous Afghanistan-Pakistan border, 5 February 2010