Thursday, August 18, 2011 – Pakistan military officials said, it can bring the notorious Haqqani militant network, considered one of the most lethal threats against U.S.-led coalition troops in Afghanistan, to the negotiation table.
The comments are followed as Washington instead is pushing Pakistan to carry out military assaults against Haqqani hideouts in the tribal regions.
Haqqani network is blamed for most of the major attacks in Afghanistan, particularly the often brazen assaults on the capital Kabul. They are also blamed to be affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorist network.
According to a study released by West Point’s Combatting Terrorism Center earlier this month said, “The Haqqani network has been more important to the development and sustainment of al-Qaida and the global jihad than any other single actor or group.”
Meanwhile, a senior Pakistani military officer now says that Pakistan can deliver the Haqqani network to the negotiation table.
A Pakistan military officer speaking on a condition of anonymity said, Pakistan has kept open communication lines with Jalaluddin Haqqani, the elderly leader of the al-Qaida aligned network.
The officer also denied U.S. and Afghan allegations that Islamabad is aiding and arming the network.
But delivering the Haqqanis would guarantee the Pakistanis a major role in negotiations to end the war and shore up their influence in Afghanistan after the Americans have gone.
This comes as accelerated efforts are being made by Afghans and the International community to find a negotiated end to the protracted Afghan war ahead of the 2014 U.S. military pullout.
In the meantime, Washington wants Pakistan to go after the Haqqanis because they are threatening coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen during a visit to Afghanistan earlier this month bristled at Pakistan’s reluctance to clear out safe havens on its territory.
He said, “There has been frustration with the speed with which that (safe havens) has been addressed … because in particular, the Haqqani network, which continues to be central to this, not exclusive, but central, in feeding this fight in Afghanistan.”
He also added, “At some point that has got to stop. We continue to engage on that, to bring pressure on that, but I would be hard pressed to be able to tell you time and place when it is going to happen, but it needs to happen.”
But the senior Pakistani officer said a military assault on Haqqani hideouts would quickly engulf the entire tribal region in a war that the Pakistan army can’t win.
The impasse of of how to deal with the Haqqani network has bedeviled Pakistan’s relationship with both the United States and Afghanistan over the years.
Meanwhile, Deep links were found by the West Point study between the Haqqani network and Pakistan’s intelligence agency, known as ISI.
Maj. Gen. Daniel Allyn, the coalition’s commander for eastern Afghanistan, recently called the Haqqani network “enemy Number One”, ahead of the Taliban’s one-eyed leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.
The United States on Tuesday designated Mullah Sangeen Zadran, a commander in the Haqqani network, as a terrorist, freezing any assets he has in the United States and barring Americans from doing business with him.
Skeptical of Haqqani’s willingness to negotiate, Allyn also complained about safe havens in Pakistan.
Following an interview on Aug 9 with the online Long War Journal, Allyn said, “From what I’ve seen from Haqqani so far, their ruthless tactics and the way they have senselessly murdered by the hundreds Afghan citizens, it’s hard for me to imagine that (reconciliation) is very high on their list right now, particularly as long as they have the safe haven they enjoy in Miram Shah.”
According to analysts and Western officials, U.S. demands for Pakistan to launch military operations against Haqqani havens have escalated as the U.S. and NATO prepare to deploy more troops to the eastern border regions.
Meanwhile, Gen. David Patraeus ahead of his departure last month as head of Afghanistan’s military operation said, the thrust of the war would be redirected against Taliban hideouts in the east of Afghanistan, where Haqqani’s Afghan headquarters is located.
But on the other hand, at least two Western officials in the region say Haqqani’s network cannot be defeated militarily.
Speaking on condition of anonymity to allow them to speak candidly, the two officials, both of whom have Western military experience, said Pakistan’s soldiers are poorly trained and equipped. A military operation in North Waziristan’s Miram Shah would temporarily disrupt Haqqani’s operation but not defeat it, they said.
The officials further added, attacks on Haqqani safe havens in Miram Shah are part of the larger U.S. strategy that uses military pressure to bring insurgents to the negotiation table.
According to senior Pakistani military official, insisting Pakistan can bring the Haqqanis to the table without a military operation, adding it’s still not clear what the Haqqanis could be offered if they agree to open talks.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Ismai Qasemyar, a representative of Afghanistan’s High Peace Council tasked with finding a peaceful end to the 10-year war said, “We won’t make any deals with Haqqani.” The only promises on offer so far are personal security guarantees and “every rights granted all Afghan citizens.”
Mr. Qasemyar further added, on their part, Haqqanis would have to denounce al-Qaida.
