RASC News Agency: The Taliban have denounced the assassination of Hamed-ul-Haq Haqqani, the head of the Haqqania Seminary, calling it a “great loss.” Haqqani was killed in a bomb blast inside a mosque in Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. On Friday, February 28, Hamdullah Fitrat, the Taliban’s deputy spokesperson, issued a statement condemning the attack. Meanwhile, the Taliban’s embassy in Islamabad also condemned the explosion at the seminary, characterizing the assault as “cowardly.” Haqqani was killed during Friday prayers in an attack that has yet to be claimed by any group. However, the Taliban’s condemnation carries a deep historical irony. During previous Afghanistan governments, the Taliban themselves orchestrated and proudly claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings and targeted explosions. At the time, they glorified such attacks as “martyrdom operations.” Yet now, from their seat of power, they denounce the very tactics they once championed.
The Haqqania Seminary, located roughly 60 miles from the Afghan border, has long been regarded as a breeding ground for radical ideology. For over four decades, it has served as one of the primary incubators of extremism, militancy, terrorism, and conflict in Afghanistan. Many regional and international terrorists have been trained under the supervision of Haqqani and his father within its walls. Now, however, those who once fostered a culture of violence have themselves become its victims. As a Persian poet aptly wrote:
“Though the snake-charmer may master his craft,
In the end, he falls to the serpent he tamed.”
The Taliban, having once cultivated the serpent of terror to unleash upon others, now find themselves ensnared by its venomous embrace.
