Khalil Haqqani

Haji Khalil Rahman Haqqani
خلیل‌الرحمن حقاني
Acting Minister of Refugee and Repatriation
In office 7 September 2021 – 11 December 2024
Prime Minister	Hasan Akhund
Supreme Leader	Hibatullah Akhundzada
Succeeded by	Muhammad Yousuf Wafa
Personal details
Born	c. February 1966 Paktia Province, Afghanistan
Died	11 December 2024(2024-12-11) (aged 57–58) Kabul, Afghanistan
Manner of death	Assassination by bombing
Political party	Taliban
Relations	Jalaluddin Haqqani (brother) Sirajuddin Haqqani (nephew) Anas Haqqani (nephew) Abdulaziz Haqqani (nephew)
Alma mater	Darul Uloom Haqqania, Pakistan
Occupation	Politician, Mujahideen leader
Military service
Allegiance	Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)
Branch/service	Haqqani network
Years of service	until 2021
Rank	Chief of operations (until 2009) Commander (2009–2021)
Commands	Chief of security for Kabul (10 August 2021 – 7 September 2021)
Battles/wars	Soviet–Afghan War Operation Magistral Siege of Khost Siege of Urgun Battle of Jaji Battle for Hill 3234 War in Afghanistan War in North-West Pakistan 2021 Taliban offensive

Khalil Rahman Haqqani (Pashto: خلیل‌الرحمن حقاني [xalilʊrahˈmɑn haqɑˈni]; c. February 1966 – 11 December 2024) was an Afghani Pashtun warlord, Mujahideen leader and Specially Designated Global Terrorist. He was the acting Minister of Refugee and Repatriation in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime since 7 September 2021. He was a prominent member of the insurgent Haqqani network.

Haqqani was killed by a suicide bomber in December 2024. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS) claimed responsibility.

Early life and activities

The Rewards for Justice Program stated that Haqqani may have been born in 1966 in Paktia Province of Afghanistan, but birth years between 1958 and 1964 were also possible. He belonged to the Zadran tribe of ethnic Pashtuns. During the Afghan War, Haqqani engaged in international fundraising for the Taliban and supported Taliban operations in Afghanistan. In 2002, he deployed men under his charge to reinforce al-Qaida in Paktia Province. In 2009, he aided in the detention of enemy prisoners captured by the Haqqani network and the Taliban. In 2010, he provided funding to the Taliban in Logar Province of Afghanistan. Haqqani has carried out orders provided by his nephew, Sirajuddin Haqqani, a leader of the Haqqani network and who was designated a terrorist in March 2008 under Executive Order 13224.

On 9 February 2011, the United States Department of the Treasury under Executive Order 13224 designated Khalil Haqqani a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and offered a US$5 million bounty for him as one their most wanted terrorists. He was listed with the title of a Haji and supposed to be residing in Peshawar, Miram Shah, North Waziristan Agency in Pakistan and in Paktia Province of Afghanistan; while his date of birth has been variously given between 1958 and 1966.

On 9 February 2011, the United Nations pursuant to paragraph 2 of resolution 1904 (2009), Khalil Haqqani was added to the 1988 Sanctions List (TAi.150) for association with Al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden or the Taliban for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of" or "otherwise supporting acts or activities of" the Taliban.

The Haqqani network was founded by Khalil Haqqani's brother Jalaluddin Haqqani. In the mid-1990s they joined Mullah Omar's Taliban regime. The UN determined that Khalil Haqqani engaged in fundraising activities on behalf of the Taliban and the Haqqani network and conducted international travel to obtain financial supporters. As of September 2009, Haqqani obtained financial support from the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and from sources in South Asia and East Asia. In addition, he has acted on behalf of Al-Qaida and was associated with their military operations including the deployment of reinforcements to Al-Qaida elements in Paktia Province.

Government positions

In August 2021, after the fall of Kabul, Haqqani was placed in charge of security for Kabul during the transition of power.

On 7 September 2021, Khalil Haqqani was appointed Minister of Refugees for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in the internationally unrecognized Taliban regime.

Death and funeral

On 11 December 2024, a suicide bomber killed Haqqani and five others at his ministry office in Kabul. The Washington Post described it as the most significant death among the Taliban leadership since the military takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Haqqani was buried in Paktia on 12 December 2024. The funeral, which was attended by thousands of people, took place amid strict security measures.

The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-KP) later claimed responsibility for the attack. According to a report issued by IS's news outlet Amaq, an IS-KP militant waited outside the minister's office and detonated explosives as he walked out.

Further reading

• U.S. Army (2014). The Haqqani Network. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 978-1-5003-1879-6.
• Brown, Vahid (2013). Fountainhead of Jihad: The Haqqani Nexus, 1973–2012. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-932798-0.
• Coll, Steve (2004). Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1-59420-007-6.
• Goodson, Larry P. (2001). Afghanistan's Endless War: State Failure, Regional Politics and the Rise of the Taliban. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-98111-6. OCLC 44634408.
• Griffiths, John C. (2001), Afghanistan: A History of Conflict, London: Carlton Books, ISBN 978-1-84222-597-4
• Matinuddin, Kamal (1999), The Taliban Phenomenon: Afghanistan 1994–1997, Karachi: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-579274-4
• Rashid, Ahmed (2000), Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, New Haven: Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-08340-8
• Rashid, Ahmad (2001). Taliban: The Story of the Afghan Warlords. London: Pan Books. ISBN 978-0-330-49221-8.

External links

• Special Documentary about Haji khalil Rahman 29 December 2023 on YouTube, Shamshad TV
• The Haqqani Network (PDF), by Jeffrey A. Dressler, Institute for the Study of War