‘Haqqani tribe is non-existent’

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan has been criticized for saying Haqqani Network is acutally Haqqani Tribe of Afghanistan during his interview with CNN.

Reacting to his statement, senior Pakistani journalist Hamid said, “It’s not a tribe.All students of Darool Alum Haqqania Akora Khattak, KPK, are called Haqqanis including Jalaluddin Haqqani ,who played important role in the defeat of Soviet Union in Afghanistan.”

Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the US said, “If Jalaluddin Haqqani is from Haqqani Tribe then Imran Khan is from Aitchison and Oxford Tribes. (Jalaluddin and his sons get the name Haqqani from attending the Haqqania Madrasa in Akora Khattak, near Nowshera in Pakistan’s KP province.”

He added, “My surname comes from the Haqqani family of Delhi. The Pashtun Haqqanis get their name from studying at Darul Uloom Haqqania in Akora Khattak (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). Jalaluddin and his family is from Zadran Tribe. There is no Haqqani tribe among Pashtuns”

A political activist said “There is no Pashtun tribe called ‘Haqqani’ in Afghanistan, adding that the Haqqani Network is not named after any Pashtun tribe.”