US Eases Stance On Haqqani Network Leaders In Bid To Work With Kabul-Based Taliban

Michael Kugelman, South Asia Director at the Wilson Center, says the United States is signalling a shift in its approach to the Taliban. He believes the US is now looking to work more closely with Taliban leaders based in Kabul, sidelining the group’s leadership in Kandahar.

According to Kugelman, the US has limited goals in Afghanistan. These include securing the release of American hostages, recovering weapons, and identifying ISIS operatives. He added that lifting the bounties on key figures from the Haqqani Network could help advance these goals.

On Sunday, Kugelman posted on X that the US is avoiding broader ideological or social issues and dealing with areas under Kabul’s control.

The US State Department recently removed Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister and head of the Haqqani Network, along with Aziz Haqqani and Yahya Haqqani, from its Rewards for Justice wanted list. Previously, it had offered $10 million for information on Sirajuddin and $5 million each for Aziz and Yahya.

Sources confirmed to Afghanistan International that the bounties were lifted. However, Sirajuddin Haqqani’s name still appears on the FBI’s wanted list.

The Haqqani Network is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the US. It was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani in the late 1970s and is accused of carrying out some of the deadliest attacks during the two-decade war in Afghanistan. These include the 2011 19-hour assault on the US Embassy in Kabul and the 2008 attack on the Serena Hotel.

The removal of names from the State Department’s list coincided with a visit by a US delegation to Kabul. The group was led by Adam Boehler, US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and included former peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad.

This was the first US delegation to visit Taliban-controlled Afghanistan since the US withdrawal in 2021. They met with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister. It is unclear if other Taliban leaders took part in the talks.

Before the visit, the Taliban removed anti-American slogans from the walls of the US Embassy in Kabul.