ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: Nasiruddin Haqqani, eldest son of the chief of the Haqqani network that has been blamed for attacks on the Indian Embassy in Kabul and US forces, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital, police sources said today.
Nasiruddin was killed by two gunmen riding a motorcycle while returning home from a mosque in a car in Barakahu area late last night.
Police sources confirmed that he was killed though there was no information on who was behind the attack. It was also not known what Nasiruddin was doing in the area and how his body was taken to Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency for burial.
Leaders of the Haqqani network were also quoted by the media as confirming his killing.
Nasiruddin, the eldest son of Haqqani network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani, was born in Paktika province of Afghanistan. He was put on the UN Security Council’s sanctions list for individuals subjected to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo after the 9/11 terror attacks.
According to the sanctions list, Nasiruddin had travelled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to raise funds for the Taliban and operated from Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region.
The Haqqani network is considered the most dangerous Taliban faction in Afghanistan.
Nasiruddin was mainly involved in “dialogue-related affairs” of the group. Three more of Jalaluddin’s sons have also been killed. According to the US, Nasiruddin was a key financier and emissary of the dreaded network.
The Haqqanis have been blamed for high-profile attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan, including the 2008 bombing of the Indian Embassy that killed 54 people. The network was also believed to be behind an attack on the Indian mission in Jalalabad.
Nasiruddin’s brother Sirajuddin currently heads the network. The Haqqani network is considered to be close to the Inter-Services Intelligence and the Pakistani military.
Former US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen had once described the Haqqani network as a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
BBC reported that Nasiruddin represented the Haqqani network in last year’s efforts to set up a Taliban office in Doha for peace talks with the US. He was also the network’s main contact person for pro-Taliban elements in Pakistan.
Unlike his father and many of his brothers, Nasiruddin and two of his uncles did not to live in Miranshah in North Waziristan. He chose to base himself near Islamabad, from where he made many journeys abroad to secure funds, BBC reported.
Nasiruddin reportedly had major business interests in the Gulf, including a transport company. He is not thought to have been publicly photographed and those who met him described a tall, educated, well-dressed man who travelled in expensive cars.
They said his appearance gave no clue to his militant connections. His code name was “The Doctor”, possibly because of a degree that he had studied for. (PTI)
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