Strategic Playbook continues……….

Communications exchanged between the ISI and the Haqqani Network from 1989 to 1992 showed the agency had considerable say in the group’s operations. The ISI influenced the group’s logistics and combat operations at the tactical level. This was reflected in the communication exchanges between them during this period. This influence continues even today. There are reports that ISI officers are either on the Miramshah shura, one of the Taliban shura headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, or act as liaison between the Haqqanis and the Taliban.

The Haqqani Network is in large part a criminal enterprise with considerable stakes in the $500 billion drug industry. In fact, many believe that without the financial and material backing of the Haqqani Network, the Taliban would stand no chance against the security forces in Afghanistan. The Haqqanis have allied with the ISI simply because of the patronage they enjoy in Pakistan in running their vast empire. The ISI sees its relationship with the Haqqani Network as a backchannel means of communication with other militant groups in North Waziristan and as a way of moulding the insurgent strategy to match Pakistan’s goals.12 The Haqqanis have carried out specific attacks against Indian and US targets on ISI’s directions. This relationship has seen some fissures of late. The most telling indication was the mysterious killing of one of Jalaluddin’s son, Nasiruddin Haqqani, in the heart of Islamabad in November 2013. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the killing, observers believe it to be the result of an internecine war. No one, however, is really sure whether it is between the Haqqanis and the ISI or the Haqqanis and other anti- Pakistan militant groups.

To be continued………