The reported death of Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, is likely to reduce tensions between Washington and Islamabad, but it is unclear whether Pakistan will support Afghan peace efforts.
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Mullah Fazlullah – nicknamed "Mullah Radio" for his radical sermons on a Pakistan-based local radio station – was the leader of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He hailed from Swat district of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkwa province.
In 2007, Fazlullah established a parallel government in Swat and enforced Shariah (Islamic law). A subsequent military operation in 2009 forced him to flee to Afghanistan's northeastern Kunar province.
"In 2009, Pakistani officials claimed that Fazlullah was wounded in a raid, but later it was revealed that he had moved to Afghanistan. It is believed that he had stayed in Afghanistan until his reported death," Shamim Shahid, a Peshawar-based journalist, told DW.
In March, US State Department announced a 5-million-dollar bounty on Fazlullah's head.
Seventeen years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the war-torn country remains in the grip of Islamist violence. A string of deadly attacks in the last year suggests militants are stronger than ever.
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Fragile security
Repeated attacks in Afghanistan in 2018 and 2019 have killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Afghans, and shown the world the fragile and worsening state of security in the conflict-stricken country. The incidents have plunged war-weary Afghan citizens into a state of despair and highlighted the limitations faced by the government in Kabul in ensuring public security.
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A long series of attacks
The violent incidents have made Afghanistan once again a staple of international headlines. Outfits like the Taliban and the "Islamic State" (IS) have claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Afghan government is under heavy pressure to restore security and take back territory controlled by a number of insurgent groups, including the Taliban and IS.
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Spring offensive
In 2018, the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive, dismissing an offer of peace talks by President Ashraf Ghani. The militants, fighting to restore their version of strict Islamic law to Afghanistan, said their campaign was a response to a more aggressive US military strategy adopted in 2017, which aims to force the militants into peace talks.
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Trump's Afghanistan policy
US President Donald Trump unveiled a new strategy for Afghanistan in 2017, vowing to deploy more troops to train and advise Afghan security forces. Trump also pledged to support Afghan troops in their war against the Taliban and maintain US presence in the country for as long as there was a need for it. In 2019, he reversed course and promised a troop pullout.
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Afghan peace process
Despite President Ghani's offer in February 2018 for peace talks "without preconditions," the Taliban had until 2019 shown no interest, dismissing the peace overtures as a "conspiracy."
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Pakistani support
Pakistan has been under pressure from Kabul and Washington to stop offering safe havens to militants blamed for attacks in Afghanistan, a charge Islamabad denies and insists that its influence over the insurgents has been exaggerated. Kabul and Islamabad regularly trade accusations of harboring the other country's militants and the harsh language has underscored the strains between them.
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Role of the warlords
Apart from the Taliban, Afghan warlords exercise massive influence in the country. Last year, Hizb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul after a 20-year exile to play an active role in Afghan politics. In September 2016, the Afghan government signed a deal with Hekmatyar in the hope that other warlords and militant groups would seek better ties with Kabul.
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An inefficient government
In the midst of an endless battle for power, President Ghani's approval ratings continue to plummet. Rampant corruption in the Afghan government and a long tug-of-war within the US-brokered national unity government has had a negative impact on the government's efforts to eradicate terrorism.
"I confirm that Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the Pakistani Taliban, has been killed in a joint air operation in the border area of Marawera district of Kunar province," Mohammad Radmanish, spokesman for the defense ministry, told media.
The NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan also confirmed the killing, according to Reuters news agency.
The US military had earlier said that it had carried out a strike against a senior militant figure in Kunar, which borders Pakistani.
The Pakistani Taliban have so far not commented on Fazlullah's alleged killing.
"The TTP is likely to deny the news at first, but it will confirm it a later stage," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a defense analyst and bureau chief of The News International newspaper in Peshawar.
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A thaw in US-Pakistan ties?
Fazlullah was wanted in Pakistan's 2014 military school attack that killed 132 children. He was also accused of being involved in a 2012 failed murder attempt against Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
If confirmed, Fazlullah's death could be a huge blow to the TTP.
"Fazlullah was accused of planning and carrying out attacks on the Pakistani military's border posts. His killing would be welcomed by Pakistan," Wahid Muzhdah, a Kabul-based Taliban expert, told DW.
The US attack on Fazlullah has the potential to ease tensions between Washington and Islamabad. On a number of occasions, Islamabad had demanded that Afghan authotrities act against the Islamist leader.
US-Pakistan ties have deteriorated in the past few years. Earlier this year, Washington stopped its military aid to Islamabad, alleging that Pakistani authorities did not want to take decisive action against militant groups, including the Haqqani Network.
"The alleged killing proves that negotiations between Pakistan and the US are underway and that the two countries are cooperation again," Yusufzai said.
Militant Haqqani Network - a brief history
Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, has passed away after a protracted illness, the Taliban announced. Why is the Pakistan-based outfit considered one of the most feared militant groups in the region?
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Remnants of the Afghan war against Soviets
The Haqqani Network was formed by Jalaluddin Haqqani, who fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. In 1995, the Haqqani Network allied with the Taliban and the two groups captured the Afghan capital Kabul in 1996. In 2012, the US designated the group a terrorist organization. On September 4, 2018, the Taliban announced that Jalaluddin passed away after a long illness.
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An Islamist ideologue
Jalaluddin Haqqani was born in 1939 in the Afghan province Paktia. He studied at Darul Uloom Haqqania, which was founded in 1947 by the father of one of Pakistan's most prominent religious leaders, Maulana Sami ul Haq. Darul Uloom Haqqania is known for its alleged ties with the Taliban and other extremist groups.
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Jalaluddin Haqqani as Taliban minister
Jalaluddin was made minister for Afghan tribal affairs under the Taliban rule. He remained in the post until the US toppled the Taliban regime in 2001. After the Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Jalaluddin was considered the most influential militant figure in Afghanistan. Jalaluddin also had close links with the former al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.
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Where is the Haqqani Network based?
Security experts say the command center of the group is based in Miranshah city of Pakistan's North Waziristan region along the Afghan border. US and Afghan officials claim the Haqqani Network is backed by the Pakistani military, a charge denied by Pakistani authorities. Washington says the group's fighters launch attacks on foreign and local troops and civilians inside Afghanistan.
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The Haqqani heir
It is believed that Jalaluddin Haqqani died in 2015, but his group denied those reports at the time. The network is now headed by Sirajuddin Haqqani, Jalaluddin's son. Sirajuddin is also the deputy chief of the Taliban.
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Who is Sirajuddin Haqqani?
Although there isn't much credible information available about Sirajuddin Haqqani, security experts say he spent his childhood in the Pakistani city of Miranshah. He studied at Darul Uloom Haqqania, situated in Peshawar's suburbs. Sirajuddin is believed to be an expert on military affairs. Some analysts say Sirajuddin's views are more hard line than his father's.
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Anas Haqqani's death sentence
One of Jalaluddin's sons is Anas Haqqani, whose mother hailed from the United Arab Emirates. He is currently in the custody of the Afghan government and is facing the death penalty. The Haqqani Network has warned Kabul of dire consequences if Afghan authorities hang Anas Haqqani.
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How big is the Haqqani Network?
Research institutes and Afghan affairs experts say the group has between three and ten thousand fighters. The network allegedly receives most of its funding from the Gulf countries. The Haqqani Network is also involved in kidnappings and extortion through which it funds its operations.
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Ties with other militant groups
The Haqqanis have close relations with other regional and international terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Taiba and Central Asian Islamist groups. Jalauddin Haqqani was not only close to bin Laden, but also had ties with al Qaeda's current chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.
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Future of Afghan peace process
The Afghan Taliban have already agreed to a three-day ceasefire during Eid holidays. Kabul and Washington believe Islamabad can facilitate Afghan peace talks and pressure the Taliban leaders to negotiate their demands with the Afghan government.
The killing of Fazlullah, according to experts, could encourage Pakistan to help Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in his peace efforts.
"This incident shows that Islamabad and Kabul are working to improve ties by meeting each other's demands," Muzhdah said.
Others say that Pakistan would likely to use Islamist militants as "proxy jihadists" to create instability in Afghanistan and would not give up on its "bargaining chip" until Western troops completely withdraw from its neighborhood.
