Sources close to Haqqani have confirmed that the ministry has also canceled the reward set for their arrest. However, Sirajuddin Haqqani remains listed as a “global terrorist” on FBI websites and on previous versions of the US State Department website.
The US government had previously offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
In addition to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the names of Aziz Haqqani and Yahya Haqqani have also been removed from the US State Department's most wanted list.
These two are considered key figures in the Haqqani network, and the US had previously set a financial reward for their arrest.
Yahya Haqqani is accused of acting as a liaison between the Haqqani network and al-Qaeda, taking on responsibilities in the absence of the network's senior leaders.
The US government's move comes while another leader of the network, Khalilur Rehman Haqqani, who was recently killed in an ISIS attack in Kabul, remains on the US Most Wanted List.
A $5 million reward had been offered for information leading to his arrest. The US government has not yet responded to this.
However, it is also unclear whether this move is part of a broader process to change Washington's policies towards the Taliban.
The US State Department has removed the names of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban's interior minister, and two other leaders of the Haqqani network from its most wanted list.
Farzana Ahmadi
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