Even as President Joe Biden was hosting the Quad Summit in Washington DC, both Houses of the US Congress were in the midst of heated debates on the abrupt and badly planned evacuation of American nationals and armed forcesfrom Afghanistan. There was scathing criticism of the ill-planned, clumsy withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan, by members of both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Similar anger was expressed at the perfidious role of Pakistan, in providing safe haven, weapons and equipment to the attacking Taliban forces.
One of the worst culprits in the Taliban attacks was Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Head of the infamous Haqqani Network, who has been appointed as the Taliban’s Interior (Home) Minister. Haqqani has the dubious record of having been declared a terrorist by the United Nations. He and his extended family live a luxurious life in Pakistan. They own extensive properties in North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan, and even in Pakistan’s Capital Islamabad.
Pakistan appeared prepared to advertise its role in the Taliban offensive. Its ISI Chief, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, arrived in Kabul at a time when moderate leaders in the Taliban were being eased out of office and replaced by hardcore Islamists like Sirajuddin Haqqani and Defence Minister Maulvi Mohammed Yaqoob.
Faiz Hameed’s Kabul visit, just ahead of Afghan Government formation, ensured that the ISI had direct control of the Taliban Government’s security policies. With women being...
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