From Preacher to Merchant of Death: How the Killing of a Controversial Imam Deepens Sectarian Fault Lines in Pakistan

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Hamid Ul Haq, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) group and a supporter of the Taliban in Afghanistan, was killed in a suicide attack at the Haqqania Madrasa, better known as Darul Uloom Haqqania in Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. During his lifetime, he repeatedly supported Taliban suicide attacks in Afghanistan. Hundreds of Taliban fighters graduated from his madrasa and were dispatched to Afghanistan to fight against the previous government and international forces. His father, who was killed in 2018, was known as the spiritual father of the Taliban. However, the killing of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) leader has sparked mixed reactions among Afghan citizens. Since many citizens despised Hamid Ul Haq due to his support for the Taliban, several social media users, civil society activists, and political activists have welcomed his death. Meanwhile, Pakistani experts express concern that the ongoing conflicts between Salafists and Deobandis, as well as religious rivalries between Barelvis and other groups, have increased the potential for civil war in Pakistan, with these tensions deepening day by day.

On Friday of last week, Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, the leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Samiul Haq group and deputy of the Haqqania Madrasa in Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was killed in a suicide attack. Pakistani police confirmed that the attack, which took place at the Darul Uloom Haqqania Mosque in Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, resulted in six other deaths and 15 injuries. According to police reports, the explosion occurred after Friday prayers, and the suicide attacker targeted Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, the head of the Haqqania Madrasa.

The killing of Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani was met with joy by some Afghan citizens and politicians. These individuals, with sarcastic messages, blamed the Haqqania Madrasa for the killings and bloodshed of the past two decades in Afghanistan, stating that what was sown must now be reaped. These citizens accused Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani of supporting the war and suicide attacks in Afghanistan. They expressed happiness that his relatives are now aware of the suffering of the survivors of the suicide attack victims in Afghanistan.

Some social media users also expressed satisfaction, saying, “The well-digger is in the well.” They emphasized that the relatives of the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Samiul Haq must now understand the suffering of children and survivors of Taliban suicide attack victims, which were supported by this madrasa and its leader.

Zubair, one social media user, wrote: “The well-digger is in the well.” He noted that no one is happy about the death of a human being, but in Afghanistan, thousands of people are happy about the killing of Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, a supporter of Taliban suicide attacks. He stressed that terrorism and suicide attacks, regardless of the group that carries them out, are condemned and will one day claim the perpetrators themselves.

Meanwhile, Rahmatullah Nabil, the former head of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS), reacting to the killing of Hamid Ul Haq, the head of the Haqqania Madrasa and son of Samiul Haq, the spiritual father of the Taliban, described him as “a human in the guise of a devil.” Nabil stated that both the father and son were “merchants of death.”

Mujib Rahman Rahimi, the spokesperson for the former government’s High Council for National Reconciliation, wrote: “It is good that the muftis and criminals who supported the legitimacy of suicide attacks in our country, trained suicide bombers, and sent them to kill our people, now taste the bitterness of this vile and despicable phenomenon and realize their mistake.”

The Taliban condemned the suicide attack on Abid Ul Haq Haqqani, the head of the Haqqania Madrasa in Pakistan. Without naming any group or country, they issued a statement claiming, “May God take revenge on the oppressors who operate against truth-seeking scholars in the region for such a great oppression and crime.”

Meanwhile, Afrasiab Khattak, a Pakistani political activist, told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that the killing of Abid Ul Haq, the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S), was the result of a sectarian war. He said: “This is the manifestation of a sectarian war that is set to deepen.” The Pakistani political activist also wrote on his X page: “Religion was used by the security state [Pakistan’s army] to fight the hegemonic wars of great powers and engineer internal polarity. It has now turned into a sectarian war. Salafists against Deobandis and Barelvis against the rest with the potential for civil war [in Pakistan]. Where do we go from here?”

Who is Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani?

Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani, 57, was the central leader of the Samiul Haq branch of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam. He served as a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly from 2002 to 2007 and became the head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S) in 2018 following the assassination of his father, Samiul Haq. The Haqqania Madrasa, where he was targeted in the suicide attack, holds a special place among the Taliban in Afghanistan. Many Afghans view this madrasa as a center for extremist education and the birthplace of the Taliban.

In 2001, following the presence of the United States and NATO in Afghanistan, the deputy of the Haqqania Madrasa founded the “Afghanistan Defense Council,” which later became the “Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal,” a political coalition of Pakistan’s conservative, Islamist, religious, and right-wing parties.

Last year, Abid Ul Haq Haqqani led a delegation of Pakistani religious scholars to Afghanistan under the name of “religious diplomacy” to meet with Taliban leaders. He claimed that the visit helped reduce tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban. His uncle, Maulana Anwar-ul-Haq Haqqani, is currently the head of the Haqqania Madrasa.

The Haqqania Madrasa in Pakistan has always been surrounded by controversies and severe tensions. Some students of this madrasa have also been accused of involvement in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani’s father, Maulana Samiul Haq, was a prominent political and religious figure in Pakistan. Maulana Samiul Haq’s father, Maulana Abdul Haq, founded this madrasa in September 1947, one month after Pakistan was created. The madrasa’s fame is due to Maulana Samiul Haq, the former head of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-S).

Maulana Samiul Haq always considered the war in Afghanistan legitimate but encouraged Pakistani Taliban to end the war in their country. However, he supported the Taliban in Afghanistan, earning him the title of “spiritual father of the Taliban.” Samiul Haq was killed at the age of 81 by unknown individuals with 12 stab wounds in his bedroom.

 

[syed putra]

Unfortunately for Pakistan, most elected government got too cosy with China and it us now a target of US destabilisation and perpetual regime change program. Currently it's under military rule as it's elected representatives were banned by the courts.
With Afghanistan at peace, the army chiefs in Pakistan are now denied the right to make money supplying goods to the US military. So CIA, step in with the millions.