Acting Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani has said the Taliban regime in Afghanistan does not look at the United States “as enemies” and wants to have good ties with it but that they have reservations over Washington’s intentions based on its conduct.
The deputy chief of the Afghan Taliban — who is still wanted by the US that has offered a reward of $10 million for information leading to his arrest — made these remarks during his first on-camera interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in Kabul, more than two months after making his first public appearance in the Afghan capital to address a passing-out parade for police.
During the interview, Amanpour asked Haqqani that “do you consider America still to be your enemy?”
Haqqani — whose replies were translated and played as a voiceover — began his answer with saying that he wanted to make a “small clarification”.
“The period of the last 20 years was a situation of defensive fighting and war,” he said, recalling that when an agreement was reached between the Afghan Taliban and the Trump administration in Doha in February 2020, “we decided that we would not be talking about this”. He did not elaborate further as to what was not to be talked about.
The Taliban deputy chief then added that in the future, “we would like to have good relations with the United States and the international community, based on rules and principles that exist in the rest of the world”.
“And based on their arrangement, we have made [a] commitment with them,” he continued, adding that currently, “we do not look at them as enemies”.
But, he said, “based on their conduct, the Afghans have reservations about their intentions”.
“From our side, the freedom of the country and struggling for the country’s defence is a legitimate right, in accordance with international rules,” he said, reiterating that as of now, the Taliban did not consider the US an enemy.
“And we have time and again spoken about diplomacy. We are committed to the Doha agreement. Like the rest of the world, we want relations with them based on principles and diplomatic norms that they establish with us, and that they don’t go back on that,” Haqqani said.
Leading on from there, Amanpour pointed out to Haqqani that he not just had a multi-million dollar bounty on his head but was also under sanctions by the US. She then went on to quote a “top Western official” speaking about Haqqani.
“This is what a top Western official told me just before I got here. He said: ‘We are in a new world. The guy (Haqqani) has a huge amount of American blood on his hands. He has got, in the Taliban, the tightest ties to extremist movements. He was one of the first to put women back to work in his ministry. We have seen his ministry take promising steps to contain terrorism. To call it a paradox is an understatement. This is not just my opinion. It is the opinion of every single envoy working on these issues.'”
She then underscored that while the US, on the one hand, believed Haqqani to be a terrorist, on the other hand, it thought it could work with him.
“What do you say to that?”
In response, Haqqani maintained that “this is a judgement that they should make”.
He added that in order to create a secure Afghanistan, the Taliban had sent a positive message to the world, as well as the Afghan nation.
“While the previous condition had concealed our real picture. And currently, praise God — and that the conditions of freedom — our conduct is being revealed gradually to the international community and also, this is being revealed to certain circles within the country who are thinking negatively about us,” Haqqani said.
