RASC News Agency: In recent days, thousands on social media have expressed outrage over the growing closeness between Rashid Khan and Anas Haqqani. Users, sharing images of Rashid Khan alongside Anas Haqqani, assert that “ethnicity and Pashtunism” hold greater significance for Rashid Khan than “the rights of women and the blood of victims killed in Taliban suicide bombings.”
This marks the second time that Rashid Khan’s association with the Haqqani network has sparked public outcry. Khalid Zadran, the Taliban’s police spokesperson in Kabul, recently posted a video on X (formerly Twitter), showing Rashid Khan and Anas Haqqani, a senior figure within the Haqqani network, seated together at a poetry recitation event.
Anas Haqqani is the brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister and the leader of the Haqqani network, one of the most notorious factions within the Taliban, responsible for orchestrating some of the most lethal suicide attacks and bombings against civilians and government targets over the past two decades. Despite this, Rashid Khan, captain of Afghanistan’s cricket team and lauded as one of the world’s best bowlers having gained widespread popularity across Afghanistan with public funding has fostered a close relationship with this “terrorist network.”
The first public revelation of Rashid Khan’s connection to the Haqqani network occurred last year when he reposted a message from Anas Haqqani on X, expressing gratitude toward this “leader of the Taliban’s suicide brigades.” Upon his return to Kabul earlier this year, Rashid Khan also met with several Taliban leaders, which ignited widespread criticism. However, he remained indifferent and unresponsive to the backlash.
During the T20 World Cup, Rashid Khan even engaged in a video call with Taliban leaders, including Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister. Over the past three years, he has refrained from voicing any criticism or protest against the Taliban’s policies toward women. The Afghanistani people expect their athletes, who benefit from public resources and funds, to stand with them. However, some social media users have remarked that “the fever of ethnic loyalty” hinders Rashid Khan from doing so.
It is also noteworthy that in 2022, the collective meeting between members of Afghanistan’s cricket team and Sirajuddin Haqqani sparked significant public outrage. Afghanistan’s cricket team, which consumed nearly 50% of the country’s sports budget during the republican era, has been exclusively composed of Pashtun players from the athletes to the administrative board while non-Pashtun citizens are still barred from joining the team.
