Afghan Interior Minister Sarajuddin Haqqani, for whom the FBI is currently offering a reward of $10 million for any information on his whereabouts, said in a January 22, 2022 interview on Al-Jazeera Network (Qatar) that the Taliban will continue to pose a threat so long as the Americans refuse to recognize the Taliban government. He said that by refusing to recognize the Taliban, the U.S. is only "keeping the gates of hostility against the Afghan people wide open." Haqqani, who is the leader of the Islamist guerrilla insurgent group the Haqqani Network, appeared in the interview with his face digitally blurred.
To view the clip of the Sarajuddin Haqqani video on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
"There [Are No Other Organizations] In Afghanistan Except For The Islamic Emirate"
Sarajuddin Haqqani: "There are matters concerning the previous rule of the [Taliban's] Islamic Emirate that I do not want to discuss now. There is also the issue of the occupation of Afghanistan by the [Americans]. Their pretext for the occupation of our country was that people wanted [by the U.S.], especially from Al-Qaeda, were on Afghan soil. Now I can assure them that there is no one in Afghanistan except for the Islamic Emirate. No other organizations are present here, and they can show no evidence for their claims. The world has seen, during the 19 or 20 years of American occupation, that only the Islamic Emirate is present in Afghanistan.
"Refusing To Recognize [Our Government] Means Keeping The Gates Of Hostility Against The Afghan People Wide Open"
"America has signed a peace agreement with us in Doha, and we abide by our commitments in this agreement. They asked us to make sure that Afghan soil is not used to launch attacks against others, and we agreed and abided by this [commitment]. They must also abide by their commitments in the agreement. Once we receive recognition, we will not pose a threat to anyone. But refusing to recognize us, while dealing with us in an informal manner, and preventing the international community from dealing with us – this is unacceptable. Only the recognized government cans guarantee these commitments. Refusing to recognize [our government] means keeping the gates of hostility against the Afghan people wide open."
