Pseudonym claims: Afghan Taliban reject Haqqani reports

Nasiruddin Haqqani was killed in a gun shooting at a local bakery in Islamabad on Monday.

Afghan Taliban have rejected media reports suggesting that Dr Nasiruddin Haqqani was, in fact, their spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. In a statement, Zabihullah Mujahid himself said that he strongly denied the media reports claiming that Dr Nasiruddin Haqqani interacted with journalists using the pseudonym of Zabihullah Mujahid. “I strongly reject these rumours. Dozens of journalists are in contact with me and I’m still performing my duties [as the spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan],” he said. Nasiruddin was the son of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a veteran of the Afghan war against the Soviets in the 1980s. He was killed in a gun shooting at a local bakery in Islamabad on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2013.