AFGHANISTAN: Taliban leader Anas Haqqani paid a visit to Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi’s mausoleum on Thursday. Ghaznavi was the first independent ruler of the Turkic dynasty who invaded India 17 times. He ruled from 998 to 1030. His empire stretched from northern Iran to the Indian subcontinent’s Punjab.
On Twitter, Haqqani praised the Persian leader, who had previously attacked Gujarat, plundered the Somnath temple, and broken its jyotirlinga (idol).
“Today, we visited the shrine of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, a renowned Muslim warrior & Mujahid of the 10th century. Ghaznavi (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) established a strong Muslim rule in the region from Ghazni & smashed the idol of Somnath,” tweeted Haqqani.
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The ruler attacked and looted the wealthiest cities including Mathura and Somnath and temple towns in medieval India. He used the looted wealth to expand his Ghazni capital. Ghaznavi has attacked the Somnath temple 17 times before eventually ransacking the Lord Shiva idol in 1024 AD.
The tweet has received major backlash from Indians who consider Ghaznavi as an invader. He targeted Hindu temples primarily because they were the Hindus’ wealth, economics, and ideological centers.
Anas Haqqani is the youngest son of Afghan military commander Jalaluddin Haqqani who founded the Haqqani Network and fought both the Soviet Union and the US in Afghanistan during the Cold War period.
