RASC News Agency: In a disturbing development that underscores the global security risks stemming from the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan, U.S. federal authorities have apprehended an Afghanistani refugee suspected of being a former member of the Haqqani Network an internationally sanctioned terrorist group now occupying top positions within the Taliban’s de facto government. U.S. law enforcement sources, speaking to American media outlets, confirmed the arrest of a 33-year-old man identified as Dalbar Gul, who had recently entered the United States with his wife and five children under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program. This visa category is intended for individuals who cooperated with U.S. or NATO forces during the war in Afghanistan. However, investigations have revealed that Gul’s entry was facilitated by fraudulent documentation and deliberate misrepresentation of his past affiliations.
According to federal prosecutors, Gul concealed his ties to the Haqqani Network a group responsible for some of the most horrific terror attacks in Afghanistan over the past two decades and falsified records to portray himself as an ally of U.S. forces. Biometric data collected upon his arrival reportedly linked him to an earlier terror plot inside Afghanistan. Further intelligence assessments suggest that he had played an operational role in at least one attack coordinated by the network before his departure from the country. What has intensified scrutiny is the revelation that U.S. intelligence services had been aware of Gul’s potential connections to the Haqqani Network prior to his arrival. However, in a calculated move aimed at pursuing criminal charges on U.S. soil, authorities allowed his entry under surveillance, triggering legal proceedings shortly thereafter.
This incident highlights the dangerous and persistent reach of Taliban-affiliated militant networks beyond Afghanistan’s borders. It also reveals troubling weaknesses in refugee screening procedures especially for individuals arriving from territories now controlled by the Taliban. Security analysts and lawmakers are now calling for an urgent review of vetting protocols to prevent further infiltration by individuals associated with designated terrorist groups. The Haqqani Network, currently led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, who serves as the Taliban’s acting Minister of Interior, remains one of the most violent and ideologically extreme factions within the Taliban coalition. Despite its deep history of orchestrating suicide bombings, assassinations, and attacks on foreign embassies, the group has been effectively mainstreamed under Taliban rule. Sirajuddin Haqqani himself was previously listed as one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists with a multi-million-dollar bounty for his capture.
Yet, in a stunning move that has sparked international outrage, the U.S. State Department recently removed Sirajuddin Haqqani’s name from its global terrorism watchlist drawing fierce criticism from human rights organizations and survivors of Haqqani-led atrocities. Observers warn that such diplomatic concessions to the Taliban are emboldening violent extremists while compromising accountability for decades of war crimes. The Taliban’s harboring and promotion of Haqqani Network leaders to senior government posts offers undeniable proof that the current regime in Kabul remains fundamentally entwined with global jihadist movements. The group’s promises of moderation and reform have been consistently belied by their actions on the ground from the systemic erasure of women from public life to the reinstatement of medieval punishments and the brutal suppression of dissent.
Analysts note that the exposure of a known militant like Gul within U.S. borders is a stark reminder of the consequences of the international community’s failure to construct a robust post-withdrawal framework in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s unchecked consolidation of power alongside its protection and promotion of internationally wanted terrorists has turned Afghanistan into a safe haven for extremist elements, with consequences that now extend far beyond its borders. As the humanitarian crisis deepens under Taliban misrule, and opposition voices are silenced with impunity, the international community faces a critical question: How long can the world tolerate a regime that serves as both the custodian and enabler of international terrorism?
