FBI 'most wanted' terrorist who wrote op ed for New York Times named Taliban’s interior minister

Leader of the terrorist group the Haqqani Network, and member of the FBI’s most wanted list Sirajuddin Haqqani was named the Interior Minister of Afghanistan by the Taliban on Tuesday.

Haqqani is accused of organizing the 2008 bombing at the Kabul Serena Hotel which killed six people, including one American. He is also accused of an assassination attempt on then-Afghan president Hamid Karzai, according to the Daily Caller.

The FBI offered $5 million for information leading to Haqqani's arrest in connection to these accusations.

In 2020, Haqqani wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times titled "What We, the Taliban, Want," in which he claimed that the group was "committed to working with other parties in a consultative manner of genuine respect to agree on a new, inclusive political system," echoing similar remarks made by Taliban leadership in recent weeks of a more inclusive government compared to that of 20 years ago.

"We together will find a way to build an Islamic system in which all Afghans have equal rights, where the rights of women that are granted by Islam — from the right to education to the right to work — are protected, and where merit is the basis for equal opportunity," he wrote.

Haqqani wrote that "we are ready to work on the basis of mutual respect with our international partners on long-term peace-building and reconstruction. After the United States withdraws its troops, it can play a constructive role in the postwar development and reconstruction of Afghanistan."

He also noted that this would bring "a new beginning" in Afghanistan "that invites all our compatriots to return from their exile to our country — to our shared home where everybody would have the right to live with dignity, in peace."

The Haqqani Network, which has been allied with the Taliban since the 1980s, was founded by Haqqani's father Jalaluddin, who was a close ally of Osama Bin Laden, according to the Daily Caller.

In a May 2020 United Nations Security Council report, they noted the close relationship between the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and al-Qaida.

"Relations between the Taliban, especially the Haqqani Network, and al-Qaida remain close, based on friendship, a history of shared struggle, ideological sympathy and intermarriage," states the report.

The report also stated that "the Taliban regularly consulted with al–Qaida during negotiations with the United States and offered guarantees that it would honor their historical ties."