According
to the recent study of Counter-Terrorism Centre (CTC),
a Pentagon think tank, the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan,
which is a deadly source of terror attacks against Indian
and United States (US) interests, is also emerging as
a significant economic player in the Afghanistan-Pakistan
region, getting into new businesses like rare earths
mining, which are of interest to both India and China,
making them a more complicated foe, reported The
Times of India on August 3 (today). The study also
shows that the Haqqani Network is closely intertwined
with the state and security machinery in Pakistan. Its
resiliency can be credited as much to military prowess
as the Haqqani’s capacity to network with Pakistan’s
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), other militant groups
(particularly al Qaeda) and key religious figures.
The
study by CTC said that the Haqqani Network receives
financial and logistic support from the Pakistani military.
The study also said the Afghan Taliban-linked group
have a massive network of "mafia"-style financing
operation that relies on extortion, kidnapping, smuggling
and ties to legitimate businesses. |
