Agencies Published August 12, 2022
Rahimullah Haqqani
KABUL: A senior Taliban cleric known for his fiery speeches against the militant Islamic State (IS) group and support for female education, was killed in a suicide blast at his madressah in the Afghan capital on Thursday.
Rahimullah Haqqani, who had recently spoken publicly in favour of girls being allowed to attend school, had survived at least two previous assassination attempts — including one in Pakistan in October 2020.
“The madrassa of Sheikh Rahimullah was targeted today and as a result he and one of his brothers were martyred,” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran told AFP, adding that three others were wounded in the blast.
Government spokesman Bilal Karimi confirmed Haqqani’s death “in an attack carried out by a cowardly enemy”, but did not offer further details.
Haqqani backed girls’ right to attend school; IS claims responsibility for attack
Despite sharing the same name, the cleric was not related to Afghanistan’s Haqqani militant group network.
Hours later, IS claimed the attack on its telegram channels, saying the bomber had detonated his explosive vest inside the cleric’s office.
However, Reuters claimed the attacker detonated explosives “hidden in a plastic artificial leg”, quoting officials and Taliban sources.
Four Taliban sources told Reuters the attacker was someone who had previously lost his leg and had hidden the explosives in a plastic artificial leg.
“We are investigating who this ... person was and who had brought him to this important place to enter the personal office of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani. It’s a very huge loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said one senior Taliban official of the interior ministry.
Haqqani was one of the most “prominent advocates for the Taliban and one of the biggest of them who incited to fight” IS, jihadist monitoring group SITE said, translating a statement from IS.
Taliban sources said that although he held no official position, Haqqani was an influential figure who had taught many of the group’s members over the years.
Scores of Taliban officials took to social media to express their condolences.
“You have fulfilled your responsibility. Destiny cannot be prevented, but the Muslim community has been orphaned,” tweeted Mobin Khan, a former spokesman for the Kabul police.
Haqqani was known for angry speeches against IS, that has claimed several attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in August last year.
In recent months, Haqqani also backed the right of girls to attend school.
“There is no justification in Sharia to say female education is not allowed. No justification at all,” he told the BBC in an interview in May.
He added: “All the religious books have stated female education is permissible and obligatory, because, for example, if a woman gets sick, in an Islamic environment like Afghanistan or Pakistan, and needs treatment, it’s much better if she’s treated by a female doctor.”
Since seizing power, the Taliban have imposed harsh restrictions on girls and women. They have not allowed secondary schools for girls to reopen in most parts of the country.
Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2022
KABUL: A senior Taliban cleric known for his fiery speeches against the militant Islamic State (IS) group and support for female education, was killed in a suicide blast at his madressah in the Afghan capital on Thursday.
Rahimullah Haqqani, who had recently spoken publicly in favour of girls being allowed to attend school, had survived at least two previous assassination attempts — including one in Pakistan in October 2020.
“The madrassa of Sheikh Rahimullah was targeted today and as a result he and one of his brothers were martyred,” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran told AFP, adding that three others were wounded in the blast.
Government spokesman Bilal Karimi confirmed Haqqani’s death “in an attack carried out by a cowardly enemy”, but did not offer further details.
Haqqani backed girls’ right to attend school; IS claims responsibility for attack
Despite sharing the same name, the cleric was not related to Afghanistan’s Haqqani militant group network.
Hours later, IS claimed the attack on its telegram channels, saying the bomber had detonated his explosive vest inside the cleric’s office.
However, Reuters claimed the attacker detonated explosives “hidden in a plastic artificial leg”, quoting officials and Taliban sources.
Four Taliban sources told Reuters the attacker was someone who had previously lost his leg and had hidden the explosives in a plastic artificial leg.
“We are investigating who this ... person was and who had brought him to this important place to enter the personal office of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani. It’s a very huge loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said one senior Taliban official of the interior ministry.
Haqqani was one of the most “prominent advocates for the Taliban and one of the biggest of them who incited to fight” IS, jihadist monitoring group SITE said, translating a statement from IS.
Taliban sources said that although he held no official position, Haqqani was an influential figure who had taught many of the group’s members over the years.
Scores of Taliban officials took to social media to express their condolences.
“You have fulfilled your responsibility. Destiny cannot be prevented, but the Muslim community has been orphaned,” tweeted Mobin Khan, a former spokesman for the Kabul police.
Haqqani was known for angry speeches against IS, that has claimed several attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in August last year.
In recent months, Haqqani also backed the right of girls to attend school.
“There is no justification in Sharia to say female education is not allowed. No justification at all,” he told the BBC in an interview in May.
He added: “All the religious books have stated female education is permissible and obligatory, because, for example, if a woman gets sick, in an Islamic environment like Afghanistan or Pakistan, and needs treatment, it’s much better if she’s treated by a female doctor.”
Since seizing power, the Taliban have imposed harsh restrictions on girls and women. They have not allowed secondary schools for girls to reopen in most parts of the country.
Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2022
Afghan cleric’s killing
Editorial Published August 13, 2022
THAT a suicide bomber belonging to the self-styled Islamic State group managed to target a senior Taliban cleric in Kabul should send alarm bells ringing, specifically regarding the terrorist outfit’s reach and capabilities. Rahimullah Haqqani, the cleric in question — who is not a part of the powerful Haqqani Network — was targeted in a suicide blast inside his madressah. The late Haqqani was a staunch critic of IS and, by the Taliban’s standards at least, relatively liberal as he advocated for the cause of girls’ education. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have lamented the targeting of the senior cleric, blaming “a cowardly enemy” for the hit and calling the killing “a huge loss for the Islamic Emirate”. Reportedly, Haqqani had also been targeted earlier by IS, including an attack in Pakistan in 2020. If IS militants can strike someone so high in the current Afghan hierarchy, they are capable of striking anywhere, and Afghanistan’s de facto rulers need to come up with a plan of action to root out the terrorist group from their soil.
The warning signs regarding IS’s existence in Afghanistan had been present even before the Taliban took Kabul last year. The terrorist group has staged regular attacks, targeting Afghanistan’s Shia community, as well as the country’s tiny Sikh minority. Earlier this month, the Taliban claimed to have neutralised an IS cell that was apparently planning to carry out attacks during Muharram-related activities. The fact is that the Khorasan chapter of the terrorist franchise is one of its deadliest and most well-organised units. While IS’s reign of terror in its erstwhile Middle Eastern heartland may be over, it has found fertile ground to regroup in Afghanistan. As per a recent UN report, IS seeks to use Afghanistan as a launching pad to revive its vision of a ‘great caliphate’. Needless to say, any progress on this front would spell trouble for neighbouring states, as well as the international community. Primarily, the Afghan Taliban need to do more to liberate all their territory from IS control. Regional states — which face a direct threat from the IS presence — should also help the Taliban achieve this goal while the US and Western states need to chip in if they are serious about counterterrorism efforts. The Taliban may be difficult partners, but IS poses a much bigger threat to regional security, which is why Afghanistan’s rulers, as well as foreign states, must work together to neutralise the outfit.
Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment