Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is thought to be the chief of the Haqqani Network, has issued a rare audio to dismiss as false claim by the Afghan intelligence agents that his militants were behind the May 31 truck bomb attack that had killed 150 people and injured nearly 350 others.

The Afghan National Directorate of Security or NDS accused the Haqqanis of carrying out the deadliest attack since the U.S.-led NATO invasion in 2001.

The Taliban had denied and condemned the attack but now Siarj ud Din Haqqani, who is known among the Afghan and Pakistani militants as “Khalifa” and is also the Taliban second-in-command, came up with a denial.

No group has yet claimed responsibility. The authorities have removed several officials who were responsible for security of the capital city.

The nearly 11-minute Pashto audio of Haqqani was released by the Taliban official media and was also posted on the insurgents WhatspApp groups late Sunday.

“There had been attacks in Kabul, in funeral, and in a mosque in Herat city in recent days. The Islamic Emirate has not only denied involvement but has strongly condemned the incidents. Whoever planned and carried out these attacks were not associated with the Islamic Emirate,” Haqqani said. The Taliban call themselves as Islamic Emirate, the term they used during their 1996-2001 rule.

Being one of the most wanted men, the U.S. has announced up to $10 million reward for information leading to the location and arrest of Haqqani. The U.S. Department of State designated the Haqqani Network a Foreign Terrorist Organization on September 19, 2012. There is no information about his whereabouts.

“The spokesmen of the Islamic Emirate have not only denied involvement in the recent attacks but condemned them. However the puppet regime, when it faces embarrassment over failure, had no option but blame rivals to defame them and to create gulf between the people and the Islamic Emirate,” Siraj Haqqani further said.

The two-headed National Unity Government has been under fire after the truck bomb exposed the weaknesses of the security in Kabul as the driver succeed to enter the highly secured diplomatic neighbourhood. Protesters have camped in parts of Kabul and are demanding resignation of the leaders.

The wave of recent attacks also multiplied political problems for President Ashraf Ghani and his top security officials. Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who is also heading Jamiat-e-Islami party, has publicly called for the removal of the NDS Chief Masoom Stanikzai and the National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar after three bombers struck funeral for the son of the Senate deputy chairman, who was killed in anti-gov’t protest.

Rabbani alleged that the bombers had tried to eliminate the top leadership of Jamiat, who were in the funeral when the suicide attacks were carried out. The Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah escaped unhurt in the bombings which had killed and injured dozens earlier this month.

The recent attacks have also raised fears about the ethnic tensions and the trend is evident in the social media.

Siraj Haqqani also used his message to point out the ethnic conflict. “The rulers have pushed Afghans to linguistic division and even there are fears of Afghanistan’s division. They have divided the Pashtoon, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras. This is now happening openly and nothing is secret. The rulers have raised different tribes against each other and are trying to push the country towards a civil war,” the Haqqani network leader claimed.

In a reference to claims by the Afghan rulers that Taliban and Haqqanis are fighting others’ war, he said the Taliban are not carrying out armed resistance on the behest of others. “This jihad will continue until our death. As the people in Afghanistan celebrate the anniversaries of the defeat of the erstwhile Soviets and Britain, time will also come when they will celebrate the defeat of the Americans in Afghanistan. Everyone will feel proud of rendering more sacrifices in the liberation of Afghanistan,” he said.

Sirajuddin Haqqani, the son of top Mujahideen leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, is the lone non-Kandahari to get a senior position in the Taliban hierarchy. Almost all top positions are held by Taliban from Kandahar and the other southern parts.