Haqqani network

DW-WORLD.DE: The Haqqani network is a military, terrorist Islamist organization that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The US has mentioned it several time in connection with attacks on American targets in Afghanistan. Have the Taliban and al Qaeda got a new ally?

Conrad Schetter: The so-called Haqqani network has worked with al Qaeda and the Taliban on and off. The links between the movements are fluid. The Haqqani group is extremely experienced. Its founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, fought against the Soviet Army in Afghanistan.

Haqqani is said to have started its fight in 1980

That's right. At the time, the US was supporting the Haqqani group's fight against the Soviet occupiers in Afghanistan. And Jalaluddin Haqqani was already carrying out attacks in Kabul and other parts of the country. He had his base in North Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan. That's where the Haqqani network's main base still is today. The Americans know that the Haqqani group is in a better position to carry out terrorist attacks than the Taliban because of its long experience. They also know that the Pakistani secret service, ISI, has got close links to the Haqqani network.

Where do these contacts between the Haqqani network and the ISI stem from?

ISI supported the Haqqani group in the 1980s in its fight against the Red Army in Afghanistan. The Haqqani network has proven to be a very loyal and reliable partner to ISI since then. Today the Pakistani government supports the Haqqani network so it can attain its goals in Afghanistan.

What are the government's goals in Afghanistan?

Pakistan has border disputes with both its neighbors - Afghanistan and India. It wants to prevent an India-friendly government from coming to power in Afghanistan at all costs. Traditionally, Afghanistan and India have got on very well – this could be Pakistan's undoing.

So Pakistan wants to help bring a government to power in Kabul that answers to Islamabad. That’s why its banking on different groups, including the Taliban. But the most effective and loyal one is the Haqqani network. If there is an Islamabad-friendly government in Kabul, Pakistan could get closer to achieving its economic goals in the region. For Pakistan, Afghanistan is the gate to Central Asia – a region that is still in the early stages of economic reconstruction and is rich in resources.

If the connection between Islamabad and the Haqqani group is so plain what chance does the US have of convincing its partner Pakistan to fight against such terrorist groups?

The US government has now clearly understood that Pakistan is playing a double game. Officially, the Pakistani government is fighting against extremists but it leaves those working in Islamabad’s interests alone. Pakistan does not want to succumb to US pressure – at least it hasn't yet. It won't give up its own interests in the region so easily. What the US does against Islamabad will become clearer over the next few days or weeks. But what is certain is that the relations between Islamabad and Washington are at their lowest ever.

Conrad Schetter is an Afghanistan expert at Bonn University's Center for Development Research.

Interview: Ratbil Shamel / act
Editor: Ana Lehmann / Grahame Lucas