Sami ul Haq (, Samī'u’l-Ḥaq; 18 December 1937 – 2 November 2018) was a Pakistani religious scholar and senator.[ He was known as the Father of Taliban for the role his seminary Darul Uloom Haqqania played in the graduation of most Taliban leaders and commanders, having close ties to Taliban leader Mullah Omar.]
With his party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (S), which split from Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) because Haq supported Zia-ul-Haq and his policies, he was a member of the Senate of Pakistan from 1985 to 1991 and again from 1991 to 1997.
After his assassination in 2018 his son Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani became the chancellor of the seminary and the ameer or head of the political party.
Early life and family
Haq was born on 18 December 1937 in Akora Khattak, North-West Frontier Province of British Raj (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan).
He had four brothers, including Anwarul Haq Haqqani, responsible of the seminary’s administration, and Mehmood Ul Haq Haqqani, who was professor of chemistry at the Peshawar University and who also served as Pakistan’s deputy ambassador to Saudi Arabia, while he himself married twice and had nine children.
Career
Ties with the Afghan Taliban
Sami-ul-Haq was regarded as the "Father of the Taliban"
He had also served as a member of the Senate of Pakistan.
Haq stated that the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Richard G. Olson,
visited him in July 2013 to discuss the situation of the region.
In October 2018, an Afghan delegation comprising Ashraf Ghani government representatives and diplomats stationed in Pakistan, met Samiul Haq asking him to play a role in restoring peace in Afghanistan by bringing the Afghan Taliban back to the dialogue table.
Fatwa on polio vaccination
After Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan initiated a campaign against polio immunisation, forcing hundreds of thousands of children to miss vaccinations, on 9 December 2013 Sami ul Haq issued a fatwa in favor of polio vaccination.
Death
On 2 November 2018, Sami-ul-Haq was stabbed multiple times at around 7:00 pm PST at his residence in Bahria Town, Rawalpindi.
Following the assassination, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government declared a day of mourning.
On 3 November 2018, he was buried in the premises of Darul Uloom Haqqania in his hometown of Akora Khattak in the afternoon. The funeral prayer was offered at the Khushal Khan Degree College and led by his son Hamid Ul Haq Haqqani.
Books
The editor-in-chief of the monthly journal Al-Haq until his death, he has been described as "a prolific Islamist writer" who "authored more than 20 books",[Farhan Zahid, "Post-Mortem Analysis: The Assassination of Taliban Godfather Sami ul Haq" in Militant Leadership Monitor, Volume X, Issue 3 (March 2019), p. 11] some of his works including:[ Sami-ul-Haq's profile on WorldCat]
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Islām Aur ʻAṣr-i Hāz̤ir, 1976. On Islam and the modern world, collected articles.
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Qādiyān Sey Isrāʼīl Tak, 1978. Critical assessment of the Ahmadiyya movement.
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Kārvān-i Āk̲h̲irat, 1990. Collection of condolence letters on the death of various South Asian religious scholars.
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Ṣalibī Dahshatgardī Aur ʻĀlam-i Islām, 2004. Collection of interviews discussing Taliban movement, United States of America and West interests in Afghanistan.
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Qādiyānī Fitnah Aur Millat-i Islāmiyah Kā Mauʼqqif , 2011. Criticism of the Ahmadiyya movement, co-authored with Taqi Usmani.
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K̲h̲ut̤bāt-i Mashāhīr, 2015. Collected sermons on religious life in Islam, Islam and conduct of life and Islam and politics, in 10 volumes.
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Afghan Taliban: War of Ideology : Struggle for Peace, 2015. His last notable book, on the peace process in Afghanistan.
Further reading
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Maulana Sami-ul-Haq's death seals the end of an era
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Pakistan religious schools get scrutiny, Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times
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The 'university of holy war', Haroon Rashid, BBC Online
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Pakistan: The Taliban takeover, Ziauddin Sardar, New Statesman
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Education mullah style, Tony Cross, Radio France Internationale
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EU snub for hardline Pakistan MP, BBC News Online
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EU snub draws Pakistani protest, BBC News Online
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– Khyber.org website
