Public Intelligence

Pakistani Minister for Interior Rehman Malik.

Haqqani network not created by Pakistan: Rehman Malik (Associated Press of Pakistan):

Federal Minister for Interior A Rehman Malik on Sunday said that CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) of the United States not Pakistan created the Haqqani network and trained its members.Talking to media-persons at a ceremony held to laud the Islamabad police over the recovery of a huge cache of weapons, the Interior Minister said that the Haqqani network was present in Afghanistan and those claimimg otherwise should give the evidence of its presence in Pakistan.“We will fight the terrorists as our forces are capable of handling them and countering any challenge,” the minister said and added that it was evident from combating militants in Swat and other troubled areas that the law enforcement agencies were making sincere efforts to root out the menace of terrorism.

He said Pakistan never blamed CIA or Afghanistan directly over various attacks in Mohmand Agency or other areas and enven the Afhan Interior Minister was contacted for resolving the issue.

He said that the nation was confident of the capabilities of Pakistan Army, government leadership and its strength as Pakistanis. “The nefarious designs of external elements will be foiled,”  he added.

Rehman Malik stressed for a strong immigration system at Pak-Afghan border and urged the international community not to forget the sacrifices of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. “Pakistan has so far suffered a loss of $ 68 billion in fighting terrorism,”  he added.

Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll – Page 202:

Haqqani network challenges US-Pakistan relations – December 2009 (AP):

The network’s aging leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani, was a respected commander and key U.S. and Pakistani ally in resisting the Soviet Union after its 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. Haqqani even visited the Reagan White House.

In 1992, three years after the Soviet withdrawal, Haqqani and others seized power in Afghanistan with U.S. approval. In the 1980s and 1990s, Haqqani also hosted Saudi fighters including Osama bin Laden. That hospitality is believed to extend to al-Qaida and other foreign fighters on both sides of the border today.

After the Taliban seized power in the mid-1990s, it made Haqqani a government minister. Following the Islamist regime’s ouster he was again offered Cabinet posts – this time by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. But he decided to focus on ridding Afghanistan of Western troops.