Taliban's secretive Haqqani Network leader finally shows his face
Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani
One of theTaliban's mostsecretiveleaders, whose only picture on US "most wanted" lists is a grainy semi-covered profile, was photographed openly for the first time Saturday at a passing-out parade for new Afghan police recruits.
Interior Minister SirajuddinHaqqani, who also heads the fearedHaqqaniNetwork, has previously only been photographed clearly from behind -- even since the hardline Islamists seized power last August.
"For your satisfaction and for building your trust... I am appearing in the media in a public meeting with you," he said in a speech at the parade.
Before theTaliban's return,Haqqaniwas the most senior of three deputies toleaderHibatullah Akhundzada.
Akhundzada himself hasn't been seen in public for years, and many Afghan analysts believe he may not even be alive.
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Haqqaniheads a powerful subset of theTalibanblamed for some of the worst violence of the past 20 years.
The United States has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest, saying he was responsible for a string of terror attacks.
Pictures ofHaqqaniwere being widely shared on social media Saturday byTalibanofficials who had previously only posted photographs that didn't show hisface, or if it had been digitally blurred.
At the police parade Saturday,Haqqaniwas dressed like many of the seniorTalibanofficials -- very heavily bearded and wearing a black turban and white shawl.
He said he was showing hisfaceso "you could know how much value we have with our leadership".
Not seen in public
Haqqani's appearance also suggests theTalibanhave grown even more confident of their hold on the country since seizing power on August 15, two weeks before the last US-led foreign forces left.
Several diplomats were in the crowd -- including Pakistan's ambassador -- even though no country has officially recognised the newTalibanregime.
TheHaqqaniNetwork, founded in the 1970s by JalaluddinHaqqani, was heavily supported by the CIA during the Mujahideen war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
SirajuddinHaqqani, who is believed to be in his 40s, is his son, and succeeded him following his death in 2018.
The latter was blamed for the deadly 2008 attack on Kabul's Serena Hotel that killed six people, as well as at least one assassination attempt against former Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The FBI Rewards for Justice programme says he maintains "close ties" to Al Qaeda, and "is a specially designated global terrorist".
He is reported to have been the target of several US drone strikes -- in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and in the rugged terrain between them that is the heartland of theHaqqaniNetwork.
He was also credited as the author of a New York Times opinion piecein 2020 titled "What We, theTaliban, Want", sparking controversy that the newspaper had given "terrorists" a public platform.