Jalaluddin Haqqani

Who is Jalaluddin Haqqani?

Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani is the leader of the Haqqani network, a resistance group fighting, initially against US-led NATO forces, and the present government of Afghanistan they support. He distinguished himself as an American-sponsored freedom fighter in the 1980s during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, including Operation Magistral. By 2004, he was directing pro-Taliban militants to launch a holy war in Afghanistan and hit government targets inside Pakistan. Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars, claims that Haqqani introduced suicide bombing in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.