Anas Haqqani: Taliban Wanted to Enter Kabul Through Agreement to Preserve Legitimacy

Kokcha News Agency: Anas Haqqani, a prominent member of the Taliban’s Haqqani Network, stated in an interview with a local Taliban-run radio station in Kabul that four years ago, they had realized that the United States would definitely withdraw from Afghanistan. He said that the Taliban had intended to enter Kabul through an agreement to ensure that relations with the world remained normal, but at the last moment, they received news that Ashraf Ghani had left the country.

According to Haqqani, during the negotiations between the Taliban and the U.S. in Doha, they understood that the Americans were seeking a way to exit Afghanistan but were not explicit about it. At the time, the government led by Ashraf Ghani consistently claimed that it had been sidelined from the negotiation process and believed that the U.S. would not withdraw.

Haqqani explained that the Taliban leaders were aware that the government would be handed over to them, and their primary effort was to enter Kabul through an agreement with the existing government to maintain normal relations with the world.

However, he added that at the last moment, when they were working on some other possible options, news arrived that Ashraf Ghani had left. As a result, due to the power vacuum in Kabul and the urgency of the situation, they entered the city.

Haqqani stated, “Regarding Kabul, the idea was to preserve the legitimacy of the government, ensure that institutions were not harmed, and prevent looting. That’s why the leaders tried to enter Kabul through an agreement to keep relations with the world normal.”

He further emphasized, “We knew that the Americans would definitely leave, and they were following that path, but they were not explicit about it. We understood the situation and were aware of its necessity.”

Haqqani is one of the few Taliban members who uses the term “left” instead of “fled” to describe Ashraf Ghani’s departure from Kabul. He also refers to Ghani as “Dr. Ashraf Ghani.”

Regarding the Doha negotiations, Haqqani stated that their negotiating team’s main effort was to sign an agreement with the U.S. in front of the world, which, according to him, was essentially the signing of America’s defeat, although the West called it a “peace agreement.”

He noted that with the start of intra-Afghan talks, a sense of disappointment emerged among the Taliban’s negotiating team.

Haqqani added that the delegation from Kabul wanted to stall for time until Biden replaced Trump in the White House and then cancel the agreement.

He said, “Overall, the negotiating leaders [of the Taliban] were disappointed that we could reach an agreement with them. Talks with the Afghan team were futile, and it was decided to hold symbolic meetings with them.”

These remarks come on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Taliban rule.

Some Afghan politicians believe that an important aspect of the peace negotiations was the “intra-Afghan agreement,” but in Doha, the U.S. signed an agreement with the Taliban without reaching a consensus among various Afghan parties, leading to the collapse of the Republic and the handover of Afghanistan to the Taliban.

Anas Haqqani, the stepbrother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister, was arrested by the National Security Directorate in 2014 but was released in November 2019 in exchange for the freedom of two American professors. He immediately joined the Taliban’s negotiating team in Doha.

Although he has not held a high-ranking or official position in the Taliban’s administration, he has always been actively involved in discussions and decision-making processes.

After the Doha negotiations, the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan for the second time in 2021. With the group’s return, strict laws were imposed in the country: political activities and parties were banned, media was censored, education for girls and women was halted, women’s political participation was prohibited, and they were even barred from visiting recreational parks.

Additionally, after taking power, the Taliban handed over all senior government positions to clerics, and skilled professionals trained in technical sectors to preserve Afghanistan’s national assets were forced to leave the country.

Due to these policies, no country in the world, except Russia, has recognized the Taliban government so far.