Kabul's safety in the hands of the Taliban hakan faction

Officials of Western intelligence agencies say this fact is alarming and conflicts with Taliban pledges to follow a more moderate path than when they ruled the country from 1996-2001.

This situation also leaves open the possibility of al-Qaeda being welcomed into Afghanistan, which is contrary to promises made by Taliban leaders during diplomatic talks in Qatar with American officials last year, not allowing the country to return to a safe haven for foreign jihadists.

On Thursday, Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan's National Accession Council, a group of prominent figures and tribal chiefs involved in Qatar's talks, met with Khalil al-Rahman Haqani and his associates in Kabul. Abdullah later said publicly that Khalil al-Rahman Haqqqani would oversee security in the Afghan capital and that he had provided assurances that he “would work hard to ensure adequate security for the citizens of Kabul”.

The American Treasury Department identified Khalil al-Rahman as a global terrorist in February 2011, providing a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture. His name is also on the UN terrorist list.

The meeting between Abdullah and Khalil al-Rahman Haqman took place hours before the Taliban announced the formation of an Islamic Emirat of Afghanistan.

The fact that Khalil al-Rahman is at the top of the security in Kabul is shocking,” said a British intelligence official for the Voice of America under anonymity.

The Hakan and al-Qaeda framework have a long history together; it can be argued that they are combined and that it is unlikely that they will cut ties”.

Retired British diplomat Ivor Roberts told the Voice of America that putting members of the Hakani network to oversee Kabul's safety is like putting “dhelp to guard the chicken dump”.

Roberts, senior adviser to the Anti-Extremism Project, a nonprofit network that studies extremist groups, said he was surprised by the move. I thought, from the point of view, the Taliban would be a little smarter. But they are being introduced to the worst elements of their coalition, which sends a terrible signal to women, girls, and civil society. I think it increases the possibility of Afghanistan becoming an incubator again for international terrorism”.

He adds, “They're connected and they've always been”.

In an agreement US President Donald Trump's administration reached with the Taliban in February 2020, the leaders of this group agreed to “allow none of its members, or individuals or other groups, including al-Qaeda, to use Afghanistan's land to threaten the security of the United States and their allies”.

Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda, led from his base in Afghanistan to the September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, which were the cause for military intervention 20 years ago, led by the US in this Central Asian country.

On Monday, in his address to the country, President Biden said the US had fulfilled its intention of intervention in Afghanistan -- responses to those who attacked America on September 11th 2001, as well as to ensure that al-Qaeda would no longer use Afghanistan as the basis for further attacks on the US.

The Hakan network is considered the tree derived from the Taliban group, but acts with autonomy greater than other factions. Since its establishment in the 1980s as an anti-Soviet force, this network has become more integrated with the Taliban, anti-terrorism experts say.

Network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani is also one of the highest Taliban leaders and is grandson of Khalil al-Rahman Haqan, who has actually taken the post of security in the Afghan capital.

The Hakkan network has been charged, or taken responsibility in the past for some of the bloodiest attacks in Afghanistan, including the 2008 attack on the luxury hotel Serena, the 2012 attack by a group of militants who blew themselves up at the American base in Kest, as well as the 2017 explosion near the German Embassy in Kabul that left 96 people dead.

During the uprising against the Soviets in the 1980s, the Hakan group was among the first to welcome foreign Muslim fighters, including Osama bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda. The two groups established ties between them, according to analysts Don Rasssler and Vahid Brown.

According to expert Peter Bergen, the Hakan and al-Qaeda network jointly led training camps in the northern Vatican province of Pakistan, following American intervention in Afghanistan. The Hakkan network also helped bin Laden escape to Pakistan when he was approaching American forces in 2001.

Taliban officials insist there are no more ties to al-Qaeda, though they claim some old sympathies exist.

Asked Sunday about the danger of al-Qaeda's return to Afghanistan, State Secretary Antony Blinken said it is in Afghanistan's self-interest not to house terrorist groups that hurt the West.

The “E know what happened last time the terrorists who attacked America,” said Blinken in interview with NBC channel./voa