Pakistan Condemns Attack That Killed Khalil Rahman Haqqani

Pakistan's envoy condemns the attack that killed Khalil Rahman Haqqani, Taliban's refugee minister, expressing shock and sadness. [Image via Amu]

Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Sadiq Khan, condemned the attack that killed Khalil Rahman Haqqani, the Taliban’s minister of refugees, calling it a “heinous act of terrorism.”

In a statement on X, Khan expressed his condolences, saying Pakistan was “shocked and saddened” by the attack, which occurred at the Ministry of Refugees compound in Kabul.

Also See: Fall of Haqqani: ISKP’s Deadly Checkmate or Taliban’s Inner War?

Who was Khalil Haqqani?

Khalil Rahman Haqqani, the Taliban’s minister of refugees, was killed on Wednesday in an explosion at the Ministry of Refugees compound in Kabul.

Born in February 1966 in Paktia Province, eastern Afghanistan, Haqqani was a senior member of the Haqqani Network, a powerful faction within the Taliban. He was appointed minister of refugees in 2021 following the Taliban’s return to power.

Haqqani was the brother of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, and the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister and the current leader of the network. His family has long played a central role in the Taliban’s operations and strategy.

Operating primarily from North Waziristan and Peshawar, Pakistan, Haqqani was instrumental in securing funding and managing the financial operations of the Haqqani Network. He frequently traveled to Gulf countries to raise funds and maintained close ties with Afghan refugee communities in Pakistan, acting as a principal liaison.

Haqqani also coordinated with various militant groups, including al-Qaeda, strengthening the network’s influence and operational capacity across the region.

In 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department designated Haqqani as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), citing his involvement in activities on behalf of al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. government offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.

He was also sanctioned by the United Nations, further isolating him on the international stage.

Throughout his life, Haqqani was known for his armed presence and deep involvement in the Haqqani Network’s activities.

This news is sourced from Amu and is intended for informational purposes only.

News Desk

Your trusted source for insightful journalism. Stay informed with our compelling coverage of global affairs, business, technology, and more.

Recent

When Insurgents Rule: The Taliban’s Crisis of Governance

When Insurgents Rule: The Taliban’s Crisis of Governance

The Taliban’s confrontation with Pakistan reveals a deeper failure at the heart of their rule: an insurgent movement incapable of governing the state it conquered. Bound by rigid ideology and fractured by internal rivalries, the Taliban have turned their military victory into a political and economic collapse, exposing the limits of ruling through insurgent logic.

Read More »
The Great Unknotting: America’s Tech Break with China, and the Return of the American System

The Great Unknotting: America’s Tech Break with China, and the Return of the American System

As the U.S. unwinds decades of technological interdependence with China, a new industrial and strategic order is emerging. Through selective decoupling, focused on chips, AI, and critical supply chains, Washington aims to restore domestic manufacturing, secure data sovereignty, and revive the Hamiltonian vision of national self-reliance. This is not isolationism but a recalibration of globalization on America’s terms.

Read More »
Inside the Istanbul Talks: How Taliban Factionalism Killed a Peace Deal

Inside the Istanbul Talks: How Taliban Factionalism Killed a Peace Deal

The collapse of the Turkiye-hosted talks to address the TTP threat was not a diplomatic failure but a calculated act of sabotage from within the Taliban regime. Deep factional divides—between Kandahar, Kabul, and Khost blocs—turned mediation into chaos, as Kabul’s power players sought to use the TTP issue as leverage for U.S. re-engagement and financial relief. The episode exposed a regime too fractured and self-interested to act against terrorism or uphold sovereignty.

Read More »
The Indo-Afghan Arc: Rewriting Pakistan’s Strategic Geography

The Indo-Afghan Arc: Rewriting Pakistan’s Strategic Geography

The deepening India-Afghanistan engagement marks a new strategic era in South Asia. Beneath the façade of humanitarian cooperation lies a calculated effort to constrict Pakistan’s strategic space, from intelligence leverage and soft power projection to potential encirclement on both eastern and western fronts. Drawing from the insights of Iqbal and Khushhal Khan Khattak, this analysis argues that Pakistan must reclaim its strategic selfhood, strengthen regional diplomacy, and transform its western border from a vulnerability into a vision of regional connectivity and stability.

Read More »
Pakistan’s rejection of a Taliban proposal to include the TTP in Turkey talks reaffirmed its sovereignty and refusal to legitimize terrorism.

Legitimacy, Agency, and the Illusion of Mediation

The recent talks in Turkey, attended by Afghan representatives, exposed the delicate politics of legitimacy and agency in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. By rejecting the Taliban’s proposal to include the TTP, Pakistan safeguarded its sovereignty and avoided legitimizing a militant group as a political actor, preserving its authority and strategic narrative.

Read More »