He denied that his militant group was behind the killing of the top Afghan peace envoy. The Pakistan-based Haqqani network is affiliated with both the Taliban and al-Qaida and has been described US and other western nations as the top security threat in Afghanistan. The group has been blamed for hundreds of attacks, including a 20-hour siege of the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters last month. The group s is led by Jalaludin Haqqani, but the ailing leader has relinquished most operational control to one of his sons, Siraj. Last week, US officials accused Pakistan s spy agency of assisting the Haqqanis in attacks on Western targets in Afghanistan. The United States and other members of the international community have in the past blamed Pakistan for allowing the Taliban, and the Haqqanis in particular, to retain safe havens in the country s tribal areas along the Afghan border particularly in North Waziristan. The outgoing chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, has also claimed Pakistan s military spy agency helped the group. However, Haqqani told the BBC Pashtu service that while the group had contacts with a number of spy agencies, including that of Pakistan, during the Soviet invasion, he said there are now "no such links that could be beneficial." "Right from the first day of American arrival till this day not only Pakistani, but other Islamic and other non Islamic countries including America contacted us and they still doing so, they are asking us to leave the ranks of Islamic Emirates," he said referring to the Taliban leadership.He said that the outsiders have promised an "important role in the government of Afghanistan," as well as negotiations.
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