Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

US Congressmen Want Haqqani Network Designated as ‘Terrorist’ Group

US Congressmen Want Haqqani  Network Designated as ‘Terrorist’ Group

KABUL - US congressional intelligence committee members have urged US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to immediately designate the Haqqani network as a terrorist group, Reuters reported.
The committee's leaders, who recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan, said the Haqqani is still a major threat for the US in Afghanistan and for the protection of women, children, and innocent people in the region.

The leaders have sent a letter to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to immediately there are clear evidences that the Al Qaeda-liked network continue indiscriminate attacks against the US and the region.
"It was clear that the Haqqani Network continues to launch sensational and indiscriminate attacks against US interests in Afghanistan and the group poses a continuing threat to innocent men, women, and children in the region," the letter said.

"The Haqqanis have continued to attack US troops and the US Embassy in Kabul," the lawmakers wrote.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the lawmakers' letter had been received, and that the review of the potential designation was still under way.

But she pointed out that many key Haqqani leaders had already been targeted by individual designations, freezing any US-based assets they might have and barring any US citizen from transactions with them.
"As we continue our review we consider it absolutely essential to designate individuals because that allows us to pursue the assets of individuals rather than have to sort of try to divine who might be covered by a blanket designation," Nuland said.

One Afghan analyst believes that naming the Haqqani network as an international terrorist group could have a positive impact and may put more pressure on Pakistan to cease any support for the group.

"The US lawmakers are trying to put pressure on the government to quit negotiations with them [Haqqani network] and name them as international terrorist group. This could put pressure on Pakistan to quit supporting the group because if they continue supporting them, they will be entered in the terrorist groups black list," Afghan political analyst Ahmad Joyenda told Tolonews.

Unlike Joyenda, Kabul University political science professor Faizullah Jalal believes that designating Haqqani as a terrorist group will further deteriorate the situation.
"If the demand made by the US congressmen is approved, it could very well deteriorate the situation if they are not destroyed," Jalal said.

"They could create problems for US presence in Afghanistan and the region."
The Haqqani is based in Pakistan's tribal region and has direct links with the terrorist-designated Al Qaeda network. (Tolo News)