Abdulaziz Haqqani (, ; born ), also known as Aziz Haqqani (), is an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

senior member of the

Haqqani network The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanis ...

, one of the sons of its former leader

Jalaluddin Haqqani Jalaluddin Haqqani () (1939 – 3 September 2018) was an Afghan insurgent commander who founded the Haqqani network, an insurgent group who fought in guerilla warfare against US-led NATO forces and the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan g ...

, and deputy to his brother

Sirajuddin Haqqani Sirajuddin Haqqani (, ; aliases '' Khalifa'' and Siraj Haqqani; born December 1979) is an Afghan leader who is the first deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting interior minister in the post-2021 Taliban regime. He has been a deputy lead ...

. While his brother operates as the overall leader of the network, Abdulaziz functions as his deputy and operational commander in charge of planning and undertaking all major attacks.

Life

Abdulaziz Haqqani was born in Afghanistan between the years 1987 and 1989 to Jalaluddin Haqqani and his first wife. He is referred to by the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

with the honorific ' Hafiz', indicating that he has completely memorized the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

. After the deterioration of Jalaluddin Haqqani's health, his son Sirajuddin Haqqani took over operations as the overall leader of the Haqqani network. Another son of Jalaluddin, Badruddin Haqqani, took up a high-level role in the organization as an operational commander, before being killed in an American drone strike in 2012. Following his brother Badruddin Haqqani's killing, Abdulaziz Haqqani assumed responsibility for all major Haqqani Network attacks, heavily engaging in military decision-making and logistical processes. According to

FDD's Long War Journal ''FDD's Long War Journal'' (LWJ) is an American news website, also described as a blog, which reports on the War on terror. The site is operated by Public Multimedia Incorporated (PMI), a non-profit media organization established in 2007. ...

, as head of Haqqani network operations, Abdulaziz Haqqani maintains strong ties to

al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) , Army of Jhangvi) was a Deobandi terrorist organisation driven by a Takfiri Anti-Shia ideology based in Afghanistan. The LeJ was an offshoot of anti-Shia party Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP). The LeJ was founde ...

, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...

. Subsequent to the

2021 Taliban Offensive The 2021 Taliban offensive was a Offensive (military), military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan (200 ...

and restoration of the

Islamic emirate of Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

's rule over the country, he was officially appointed to the position of deputy to Sirajuddin Haqqani.

Sanctions

Although the Haqqani network has been sanctioned by the United States as a

Foreign Terrorist Organization Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is a designation for non-United States-based organizations deemed by the United States secretary of state, in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA), to be involved i ...

since September 2012, Abdulaziz Haqqani has only been sanctioned as a

Specially Designated Global Terrorist A Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) is a person or entity that has been designated as such by the United States Department of State or the U.S. Department of the Treasury. An SDGT designation is made under authority of U.S. Executive ...

since 25 August 2015, with a reward of up to $5 million USD for information leading to his location. This move was decried by the Taliban, who described Abdulaziz Haqqani as simply a "low-ranking Mujahid of Islamic Emirate," whilst stating that the sanctions would be ineffective. In March 2025, the Afghan interior ministry announced the lifting of bounties placed by the United States on Haqqani and his relatives

and Yahya Haqqani.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haqqani, Abdulaziz Afghan warlords Afghan Islamists Afghan Sunni Muslims Haqqani network Individuals designated as terrorists by the United States government Living people Pashtun people Place of birth missing (living people) Taliban commanders Taliban leaders Year of birth missing (living people)