Pakistan News:

Pakistan Arrests Key Taliban Leader

Move seen as response to U.S. calls for tougher action against terrorist networks.

Reuters-Corbis

Jalaluddin Haqqani (right) with his son, Nasiruddin (left) during a visit to Islamabad, Pakistan. Click to view a photo gallery of the world's most-wanted terrorists.

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Appearing to answer U.S. calls for greater toughness against Taliban networks operating on its border, Pakistan this week arrested the son of feared insurgent leader, Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to Taliban and Pakistani government sources.

Nasiruddin Haqqani,whose jihadist code name is Dr. Khan, reportedly was traveling by car with four fellow militants from the city of Peshawar to North Waziristan when he was picked up by Pakistani agents. One of the men traveling with him was a senior Haqqani commander named Mullah Muhammad Jan.

Pakistan has come under increasing pressure by the U.S. to move more forcefully against jihadist groups, in particular the violent Haqqani network that has operated with impunity in North Waziristan, attacking U.S. troops across the border in Afghanistan. Last week, Adm. Mike Mullen, the top U.S. military officer, made an unscheduled stop in Islamabad, delivering a message of “strategic impatience” to the government there.

The arrest of the younger Haqqani is significant. Nasiruddin Haqqani, who has relatives in the Arab Gulf region, is reportedly the Haqqani network’s key fundraiser and financial operative in the Middle East. (It is believed that Nasiruddin’s mother hails from the United Arab Emirates.)

Afghan Taliban sources say Nasiruddin was a frequent visitor to the Gulf, traveling on various Pakistani passports, as he raised large cash donations to fund the jihad against the U.S. military in Afghanistan. The Taliban sources say that Nasiruddin and his four traveling companions were arrested just as they were returning from the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, a trip that also had included substantial fundraising activities.

Nasiruddin’s arrest could severely hamper fundraising for the insurgent network. “It is a serious blow to the Haqqanis’ financial network,” says one Afghan Taliban source, who declined to be named for security reasons.

Nasiruddin is also the younger half-brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, a top insurgent commander responsible for several bombings in Kabul, including a bloody strike on the Indian embassy there two years ago.

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