The family-run Haqqani network is a semi-autonomous component of the Taliban with predominance in southeastern Afghanistan. Widely recognized as the deadliest and most effective faction of the Afghan insurgency from a military standpoint, the Haqqani network also appears to be the most diversified and well-organized component of the insurgency from a business perspective, occupying key spaces in both the licit and illicit economies of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The network’s financial activities today can be broken down into seven broad categories: 1. The Haqqanis have carved out a lucrative niche extorting business entities that operate in Afghanistan’s southeast and in Pakistan’s...
Long considered one of Afghanistan’s most effective commanders, Jalaluddin Haqqani was also one of the earliest militant Islamists to emerge in Afghanistan.40 The son of a trader, he studied to become an Islamic scholar at the Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania madrassa in Akhora Khattak. Years before the Soviet invasion, Jalaluddin settled in Miran Shah where he began training—with Pakistani support—to overthrow the proSoviet regime of Mohammed Daoud Khan, who also promoted Pashtun nationalism, a cause that worried Islamabad.41 Along with other individuals who would go on to become prominent mujahidin commanders in the 1980s, including Ahmad Shah Massud and Gulbuddin...
The Haqqani network is a remarkably small organization at the top, with less than a dozen key players, mostly all of them relatives of the founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani. The small and centralized nature of the decision-making process and fund distribution network could be a major vulnerability for the Haqqanis, suggesting the possibility that the killing or capture of key senior figures, in particular those who handle financial matters and supplies, might significantly degrade overall network capacity. Beneath the top tier of the leadership, decision-making becomes progressively less centralized. Individual field commanders can enjoy a high level of autonomy, in particular...
This section outlines the main sources of funding for the Haqqani network. It does not claim to outline a complete list of Haqqani-owned businesses, nor does it even attempt to estimate how much the network earns in total from illicit and licit enterprises. Not only are funding streams intertwined across militant groups, but much information regarding network financing lacks specific detail or verifiable documentation. Thus, instead, this section aims to present a broad picture of how the Haqqani network derives income in and outside Afghanistan, and to trace how money moves between key network actors and into banks in Pakistan...
Over the course of three decades the Haqqani network has evolved into a sophisticated and diversified mafia-type network, meticulously maintaining its autonomy and from early in its existence making concrete efforts to secure financial independence. The network is ruthless, innovative, invests in a diverse range of business interests, pays attention to detail and thinks long-term. In other words, the Haqqanis have been holistic in their strategy to consolidate control over illicit and licit industry in their area of operations, in effect creating a jihadi enterprise that both supports and is supported by the ongoing conflict. The network is transnational in...
