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Summary A report published in Times says that America is using Haqqani network as a new pretext for war.
The report says that both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the US are ratcheting up pressure on the network as well as Pakistan, but many see these as ill-conceived or ineffectual efforts by an occupying power whose time is running out in Afghanistan.In recent weeks, there has been a seemingly incessant barrage of NATO press releases coming out of Kabul, announcing the capture or death of commanders within the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network.It would almost make one believe that the war on the Pakistani border is being won against this shadowy militia known for their daring and complex attacks in Kabul over the past few years. But the reality is different, the report added.“Thomas Ruttig, a co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN) and expert on the Haqqani network, thinks ISAF may be crowing over very little — and still has a lot of work to do. Mali Khan has not been one of the top five Haqqani network commanders. His name was not widely known, and he was more of local importance. In the news of his capture, I see more of an attempt to project progress in the fight against this Taliban network, as we saw a few years ago in the fight against Al Qaeda, when a number of previously unknown number fours and fives were discovered and killed or captured, says Ruttig.If Afghan security forces should go into Pakistan to root out the Taliban in their bases, he tells TIME, We cant even ensure security in our own country, how we can go into Pakistan to clear the area? Look at our provinces: in Logar we cant go to the villages although Logar is the closest province to Kabul. Now its not advantageous for Afghanistan to fight on the border. We should take care of our local problems first. The main challenges are corruption and strengthening the army and other security forces.Over the past year the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has said it has carried out more than 500 operations against the Haqqani network. On Sept. 30, ISAF announced what it touted as a major coup: the capture of Haji Mali Khan, whom it described as the senior Haqqani commander in Afghanistan and uncle of Siraj and Badruddin Haqqani, the day-to-day commanders of the fighting force and the sons of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the patriarch of the family and a former commander of a mujahideen force funded by the CIA during the war with the Soviets, the report maintained.ISAF says Khan moved forces from Pakistan to Afghanistan to conduct terrorist activity, served as an emissary between the group and the Pakistani Taliban and established a militant camp inside Afghanistan along the border.The report quoting an analysis concluded, From now on Afghanistan will follow the trust but verify approach toward Pakistan, in particular with regard to our peace effort. Karzai himself said that Kabul could no longer negotiate with the Taliban, and the only viable negotiating partner is Pakistan.
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