Leaving ‘them’ alone
Naseeruddin Haqqani was killed on November 10.
A residence believed to belong to Nasiruddin Haqqani is pictured in the Bara Kahu area on the outskirts of Islamabad. PHOTO AFP
One of the “most dangerous men on earth” has been living in Islamabad, the federal capital, for over four years and police had no idea about his presence or activities. At least this is what the police said after news of the killing of Naseeruddin Haqqani, the son of Jalaluddin Haqqani and a member of the notorious Haqqani Network broke out on November 10.
The police’s version was unbelievable, and if it is accepted, the police are guilty of gross negligence and dereliction of duty. Under their own standing operating procedures (SOPs), the police are required to collect and update data on all people living in Islamabad, particularly in the suburbs of the city.
Afghan nationals almost always remain on law enforcement radars. Yet, Haqqani junior, a native of Miranshah in North Waziristan Agency, managed not only to sneak into Islamabad --- he had been living quite comfortably all these years.
Between 2009 and 2013, the Islamabad police conducted multiple search operations in the outskirts of Islamabad on the orders of then-interior minister Rehman Malik. Special operations were carried out against Aghan residents living in the outskirts of Islamabad including the area of Shahpur, where Haqqani had been living in a single-storey house.
And he did not try to maintain a low profile. Haqqani was popularly known as “Doctor Sahib” in the area. Based in Islamabad, he has been directly managing finances for the terrorist network, based along the Pak-Afghan border, and was accused of having a role in all major terrorist activities in Afghanistan through his ‘contacts’ and ‘friends’ in Pakistan and abroad.
Interestingly, Afghan intelligence was aware of Haqqani’s killing at the hands of two gunmen riding a motorbike on Simly Dam road only 200 metres from the Bhara Kahu Police Station. They were the first to leak the news of his death to journalists based in Afghanistan and the borders towns of Pakistan.
The news “surprised” the Islamabad Police, which claimed complete ignorance about Haqqani’s presence in the city and subsequently about his death. Some policemen even asked, “Who was he?”
This high-value killing in Islamabad raised many questions for authorities in Pakistan to answer, along with legal complications.
The Bhara Kahu police did not register a case over the killing. They said they did not see Haqqani’s body. It was quickly shifted from the crime scene by his bodyguards and transported to Miranshah for burial within 10 hours of his death.
Why the police did not manage to make it to the crime scene within the first five minutes needs to be investigated.
However, if Haqqani died, then he died somewhere. His family claimed he died in a firing incident in Islamabad. The police deny this. So where would the case for the extrajudicial killing be registered? Who would investigate it? And where would the trial be carried out?
Published in The Express Tribune, November 25th, 2013.