By Lynsey Chutel, Safiullah and Yaqoob Akbary
An explosion in the capital of Afghanistan on Wednesday resulted in the death of a Taliban official linked to one of the nation’s most influential political clans, as reported by government sources.
The killing of minister Khalil Haqqani marks the most notable assassination in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained control of the country in 2021. This incident strikes a significant blow to the core of the Taliban’s power structure following years of largely unhindered authority.
Haqqani served as the minister of refugees and repatriation and was a prominent figure within the Haqqani Network, a powerful subgroup of the Taliban. The United States and the United Nations have classified the Haqqani Network as a terrorist entity.
The U.S. Treasury designated Haqqani as a “specially designated global terrorist,” offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to him.
His nephew, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who currently holds the position of acting interior minister, has worked to reframe the Taliban’s international image. Since the Taliban’s resurgence, the Haqqanis have shown a willingness to engage with Western nations for acknowledgment — with limited success to date.
However, this endeavor has sometimes appeared inconsistent with the directives from the Taliban’s supreme leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, who has reinstated an unyielding marginalization of women and restrictions on education in Afghanistan.
No immediate claim of responsibility has been made regarding the explosion. The government attributed the attack to an affiliate of the Islamic State known as ISIS-K, one of the few remaining adversaries to the Taliban.
According to the U.S. Treasury, Haqqani was a key funder for the Taliban. He also directed military operations and was involved in al-Qaida’s activities, as noted in a United Nations Security Council report.
As a special envoy for the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haqqani took on a public role in reinforcing the Taliban’s governance as it formed its new administration.
