The killing of Taliban’s top commander Rahimullah Haqqani, what a big blow to the Islamic Emirate
Top Taliban commander Rahimullah Haqqani has been killed in a suicide attack on a seminary in Kabul. Rahimullah was a staunch supporter of the Taliban’s terrorist ideology as well as an Islamic scholar. No organization has claimed responsibility for this attack yet. However, Taliban sources say that the Resistance Force or Islamic State may be behind this. The Taliban’s Special Police has also started an investigation into the matter. Rahimullah Haqqani is considered the ideological mentor of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the current Interior Minister of Afghanistan and the leader of the Haqqani network. Rahimullah was also considered the face of Taliban on social media. This terrorist has lakhs of followers on a social media platform.
There have already been attacks on Rahimullah
Rahimullah Haqqani was an Afghan citizen of Pachir Aw Agam district of Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan. Known as a scholar of hadith literature, Haqqani received his religious education in the Deobandi madrasas of Swabi and Akora Khattak. This was the third attack to kill Rahimullah Haqqani. Earlier in October 2020 also Rahimullah was targeted, in which he narrowly escaped. In 2013, gunmen fired indiscriminately at his convoy on Peshawar’s Ring Road. At that time the attackers fled and Rahimullah’s life was saved due to immediate retaliation by Pakistan Police and Army.
Rahimullah had opened a madrasa in Pakistan
Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani has also been a member of the Taliban Military Commission in Nangarhar province. It was captured by the US Army during the encounter, after which it was imprisoned for many years in Bagram prison in Afghanistan. He lived in Pakistan for nine years before the Taliban took over Afghanistan. It also established Madrasa Zubairi in Deer Colony located in Peshawar, Pakistan. Afghan citizens and Taliban fighters receive religious education in this madrassa. It is also considered a major base of the Taliban in Peshawar. Through this madrasa, donations are collected for Taliban from all over Pakistan and abroad. Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI also helps in this.
Rahimullah was very vocal against ISIS
Haqqani was quite vocal against the ideology associated with Salafi and Islamic State. It is believed that for this reason he came under the target of his opponents. Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani also started his Facebook and YouTube channel under the guise of a madrasa. The Afghan cleric enjoys popularity in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Facebook page and YouTube channel have hadith literature and many videos of Afghan clerics speaking on religious issues related to Deobandi and Hanafi ideology.
What a big blow to Taliban
The killing of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani is considered to be the biggest blow to the Haqqani network. Rahimullah Haqqani was the ideological face of the network. He represented the Haqqani network throughout the Arab world, including Afghanistan. In such a situation, this murder in the capital Kabul while the Home Minister of Sirajuddin Haqqani has shaken the Islamic Emirate government of the Taliban. This attack shows that the Taliban’s hold in Kabul is also loosening. These days the Taliban are busy trying to get their government recognized. In which the role of Rahimullah was considered very important. Second, the death of this terrorist may also have an impact on the funding received by the Taliban from abroad and Pakistan.
