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Anas says Haqqani Network never existed, that it was pure ‘propaganda’

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(Last Updated On: July 9, 2022)

Anas Haqqani said this week that the Haqqani Network never existed and that when he was arrested in Qatar, he had been a harmless student on holiday.

In 2014, when he was 20, Haqqani was arrested in Qatar, tried in Kabul and sentenced to death.

According information obtained by Der Spiegel, the only reason he wasn’t ultimately executed was because China intervened with the government in Kabul at the request of Pakistan. In the end, Anas Haqqani was freed in a prisoner exchange.

Speaking to Der Spiegal this week, in a rare interview, 28-year-old Haqqani said: “The so-called Haqqani network that the West keeps talking about never existed. This is pure propaganda by our enemies.

“And I was a harmless religious student in his young twenties. So, please distinguish between theoretical support for certain goals and practical action. Of course, like most Afghans, I wanted to liberate our country from occupation so that we could live independently and in dignity, peace and prosperity, in an independent state.”

During the 20-year-war in Afghanistan, prior to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan take over in August last year, the Haqqani network was alleged to have planned some of the most serious attacks in Afghanistan from Pakistan.

Haqqani told Der Spiegel that he spent the first years of his life in Wazir Akhbar Khan in Kabul before his family, including his father Jalaluddin Haqqani, fled to Miranshah in Waziristan in Pakistan.

He said contrary to popular belief, his father never invited Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan but stated they had known each other from the war against the Soviet Union.

He reiterated that the Haqqanis had nothing to do with many of the attacks they were blamed for and said while both sides did fight “I myself never fought”.

On being arrested in Qatar, Haqqani said: “In 2014, I was arrested in Qatar on behalf of the then Kabul government and extradited to Afghanistan. This happened completely illegally.

“I was kept in solitary confinement for years in a tiny cell, first in an intelligence prison, then in Bagram. That was against all the laws and rules that prevailed in that country at that time as well.”

“I was really innocent, a young religious student in my eighth year. I was only on holiday in Qatar. There, I visited friends and relatives who had just been released from Guantanamo.

“All the accusations that were made against me at the time in these court proceedings are false.”

He also said: “Please, we did not choose this war. It was forced upon us. I hope that we will never have to suffer these things we suffered during those years again.”

On the general amnesty, Haqqani said: “The amnesty applies to everyone, without exception, including the armed opposition. The head of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Emir Akhundzada Haibatullah, has ordered this. We therefore call on all Afghans to return to their home country.

“The leadership of the Emirate is very serious about the amnesty. Action will be taken against anyone who violates this general amnesty. They will be prosecuted and severely punished,” he said, adding that “the Emir has ordered the establishment of military courts. If you know of any examples of unjust persecution, please report them to us. There must be no revenge or reprisals against the representatives of the previous government.”

Haqqani also acknowledged that the Shia minority has long been targeted by extreme elements throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan. “The position of the Islamic Emirate against these elements is crystal clear:

“There is no truth to the allegations of the oppression of the Hazaras by the current government. Our government is very serious about any harassment or harm toward our Hazara brothers. Our government is not perfect. After so many years of war, there are problems between individuals. There are old scores that have been settled, family disputes.

“But the main reason why many people leave is hardship. The economic disaster in Afghanistan is again a consequence of the U.S. sanctions. We are not responsible for that, but rather the international community is, the Americans are. This is tantamount to the collective punishment of our people. Why doesn’t the international community cooperate with us?”

He also said that during negotiations in Doha, the Germans played a particularly positive role in helping the IEA reach a peaceful solution, especially the German envoy Markus Potzel.

“Therefore, we expect the Germans to remain engaged and to renew our relationship with the usual bilateral strength. And we expect the Germans to take a bold step and to overlook small problems in order to improve relations.

In conclusion he said: “Things take time. And please tell the Germans in your home country that they should not always worry about women’s problems, but also about men’s rights. Men suffer, too, and they make up more than half of the population, after all.”

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World Bank donates $84 million to Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: May 1, 2024)

The World Bank announced Tuesday it has approved $84 million in aid to Afghanistan in order to fight the economic crisis and implement livelihood projects in the country.

According to a statement, this “complements $70 million in additional financing from the Afghanistan Resilience Trust Fund (ARTF).”

The project was started in 2022 with a grant of $265 million from the ARTF to provide livelihoods support and services in rural and urban areas, support social grants for women and the most vulnerable, and strengthen community institutions for inclusive service delivery.

With this additional financing, the project will scale up activities in more rural and urban areas, provide more livelihood opportunities for women, expand activities focused on building climate resilience, and provide employment and services to returning Afghan migrants, the World Bank stated.

Melinda Good, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan, said: “In the past 18 months, the project has laid the foundation for an effective service delivery platform and operational model at scale for delivering jobs, providing essential services and assets, and, importantly, reaching women.

“With the additional financing, the project will continue its essential works in all six regions of the country, 26 of the 34 provinces, 67 rural districts, 6,200 rural communities, and eight major cities,” she said.

To date, the project has provided short-term employment to over 776,000 households, benefiting around 5.4 million Afghans, and about 92,200 vulnerable households received cash transfers or in-kind social grants, with a significant portion being female-headed households or those with disabled members.

Approximately 7.4 million Afghans gained access to services like roads, sanitation, and water supply, and more than 2.1 million community members received training in health and nutrition, the effects of climate change and disaster risk management.

In addition, the project has helped create a market for local civil works and preserve local contractors’ capacities built over the last two decades.

An estimated 2,200 highly skilled market-driven jobs have also been created.

The project is implemented by UNOPS, which facilitates international and local NGO partners and local private sector contractors to implement activities in rural and urban areas.

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Save the Children sends plane with 92 tonnes of medicines to Afghanistan

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(Last Updated On: April 30, 2024)

A plane carrying 92 tonnes of vital medicines has arrived in Afghanistan to treat about 675,000 people, including children, with life-threatening but treatable illnesses after an increase in respiratory infections and measles this year, Save the Children said on Tuesday.

The consignment – the largest delivered by Save the Children in a year – will provide lifesaving treatment for nearly 400,000 children afflicted by endemic childhood illnesses such as respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, acute watery diarrhoea, and skin diseases, the organization said in a statement.

Since the beginning of 2024, more than 1,000 children under the age of 5 have died after contracting pneumonia, comprising 88% of all deaths from respiratory infection.

The current number of cases is higher than the average number reported during the past three years, according to the World Health Organisation.

The number of measles cases among children under five has risen by 44% compared with the same period last year, the statement said.

“Too many children in Afghanistan die from easily preventable diseases and illnesses. The arrival of these medicines means that more than 400,000 children will receive potentially lifesaving treatment in some of the most remote areas of the country,” said Arshad Malik, Country Director for Save the Children in Afghanistan.

He added that every day around the world, roughly 16,000 children under the age of 5 will die from common illnesses that can be prevented and treated.

The medicines, which are worth about US $590,000, were donated by the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA), the European Union Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) and Save the Children’s internal Humanitarian Fund, among other organisations.

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Kabir reiterates IEA will not give in to international pressure

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(Last Updated On: April 30, 2024)

Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy prime minister, said on Tuesday that the Islamic Emirate will not give in to international pressure and will not take orders from any country.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of Kabul Polytechnic students, Kabir said that transit within the region is not possible without Afghanistan and that the government is working on the issue.

Kabir also said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) is working on the implementation of projects and on developing the mining sector.

He also emphasized the need to provide conditions for the return of immigrants to the country.

The Islamic Emirate’s minister of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, also spoke at the event and said the IEA is not against the development of modern sciences in the country, but that Western countries are spreading negative propaganda against the Islamic Emirate.

Nada Mohammad Nadim, Acting Minister of Higher Education, also emphasized that the Islamic Emirate was victorious on the battlefield and will also win in the field of economy, health and education.

On the other hand, some officials of the Ministry of Higher Education said that the ministry is trying to make progress in the direction of scientific and educational expansion and to be equal to global standards.

Over 530 students graduated from seventeen departments of this university, and their graduation certificates were presented by the authorities of the Islamic Emirate.

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