Reuters, file

Jalaluddin Haqqani (R), the Taliban's minister for tribal affairs, points to a map of Afghanistan while his son Naziruddin looks on in Islamabad in October, 2001. The Haqqani insurgent group is named after its patriarch and founder Jalaluddin Haqqani, who was a legendary anti-Soviet mujahideen commander in the 1980s. Back then he was admired by the Americans.

Senior members of the Haqqani network said that the United States' designation of the militant group as terrorists could endanger the life of an American soldier thought to be in their custody and jeopardize peace talks.

"The Obama administration and U.S. military commanders know that their soldier Bowe Bergdahl is in our possession," a Haqqani commander told NBC News in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location on Friday.  "He is in our custody, but his government failed to make any sincere effort for his release, and now this new development could add to his woes."

AFP - Getty Images

This image grab from an undated video reportedly posted on the internet by Afghan militants on Dec. 25, 2009, allegedly shows U.S. soldier Bowe Robert Bergdahl, who was captured in Afghanistan around six months previously.

The Haqqanis, a Pashtun tribe with strongholds in southeastern Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan, have been blamed for an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and other high-profile assaults in Afghanistan.  The group is also believed to be holding U.S. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured in 2009 in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, bordering Pakistan’s South Waziristan.

Members of the network say Bergdahl was handed over to the Taliban when a delegation of senior Taliban leaders began peace talks with the U.S. in Qatar in exchange for the top five Taliban commanders from Guantanamo Bay. After those talks failed, the Taliban sources told NBC News that Bergdahl was returned to the Haqqani network.

Report: US offers Taliban more for captive soldier

On Friday, U.S. officials announced that the Obama administration would formally designate the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist organization. The move was part of a complicated political decision as the U.S. withdraws from Afghanistan and pushes for a reconciliation pact to end more than a decade of warfare.  

But the move would only undermine the United States' efforts in the region, one of the Haqqani commanders told NBC News.

NYT: White House backs listing Haqqani militant group as terrorists, officials say

"How (will) their talks with the Taliban bring peace to Afghanistan when they declared us terrorists?" the commander, who asked to remain anonymous, said. "It would further increase their hardship and they should wait for more losses in the coming days." 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a report to Congress saying the network met criteria for a terrorist designation on Friday, State Department officials told reporters.  

'Frustrated' dad of kidnapped US soldier takes action

The Obama administration has been trying to coax Afghanistan's fighting groups into peace talks, offering the prospect of a Qatar-based political office for insurgents and even the transfer of several prisoners being held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Negotiations have been dormant for months, and the Haqqanis have been among the least interested in talking.

Designation by the State Department as a foreign terrorist organization would bring sanctions such as criminal penalties for anyone providing material support to the group and seizure of any assets in the United States.

The Haqqani commanders also told NBC News that they were part of the mainstream Afghan Taliban headed by Mulla Mohammad Omar and declaring them as a terrorist group would make it worse for the United States and its allies in in Afghanistan.

"We are fighters of Islam Emirate of Afghanistan led by our supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar," a senior commander said. "Our aim is to expel all the occupying forces from Afghanistan and install a purely Islamic government there."

The Pentagon welcomed the designation of the group as a terrorist group.

"The Haqqani Network represents a significant threat to U.S. national security and we will continue our aggressive military action against this threat," said George Little, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, in a statement. "These new group designations will build on our efforts to degrade the Network's capacity to carry out attacks, including affecting fundraising abilities, targeting them with our military and intelligence resources, and pressing Pakistan to take action."

The United States accuses Pakistan's intelligence agency of supporting the Haqqani network and using it as a proxy in Afghanistan to gain leverage against the growing influence of its archrival, India.

Pakistan denies the allegations.

Photos: Pakistan -- A nation in turmoil

A senior Pakistani foreign ministry official, who asked to remain nameless because of the sensitivity of the issue, both denied claims that Pakistan was working with the network and dismissed the designation. 

"If we are sponsoring the Haqqanis, which we are not because they cause more problems for Pakistan than anyone else, then only will this new labeling equate to something," he told NBC News. "No responsible person has proven that we are directing them in any way. Obviously there are contacts, but the U.S. has contacts for the purposes of negotiations, etc. too with these guys."

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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with newly elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi for the first time, arriving in Egypt amid a showdown between the Islamist president and the country’s powerful military leadership that has filled the gap since the ouster of long-time President Hosni Mubarak.

In comments at a news conference after her meeting with Morsi, Clinton said the United States supports the full establishment of democratic rule in Egypt and the return of its military to an exclusively national security role. She was scheduled to meet on Sunday with Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi who headed a group of generals who oversaw Egypt's transition period.

"The United States supports the full transition to civilian rule with all that entails,'' Clinton said during a news conference after her meeting with Morsi. She commended the military's stabilizing role during Egypt's transition, Reuters reported.

 "But there is more work ahead. And I think the issues around the parliament, the constitution have to be resolved between and among Egyptians. I will look forward to discussing these issues tomorrow with Field Marshall Tantawi and in working to support the military's return to a purely national security role.'' 

The Egyptian military ruled the country for 16 months until Morsi's inauguration on June 30, but the generals retained far-reaching powers and stripped the presidency of many powers before they stepped down.

Even before that, Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved the first democratically elected parliament, which was Islamist-dominated, after ruling that a third of its members were elected illegally. Morsi has tried to reinstate the lawmakers, many of them allies from the Muslim Brotherhood.

Prior to their meeting Clinton and Morsi exchanged pleasantries in the presence of the media, the BBC reported. Clinton talked about the rapid pace of change in Egypt.

Morsi said: "We are very very keen to meet you and happy that you are here."

The Associated Press noted that the two did not shake hands when they first met, sparking speculation about whether Morsi’s beliefs prohibited it. But the president shook hands with Clinton and the entire U.S. delegation behind closed doors, according to a U.S. official, the AP reported later.

Clinton's trip is also intended to shore up the U.S.-Egypt relationship. Mubarak was a staunch military and strategic ally in the region. Morsi’s Islamic Brotherhood was outlawed by the Mubarak regime for decades.

EPA

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi meets with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday.

Clinton emphasized the need for Egypt to adhere to its 1979 peace treaty with Israel, and offered U.S. support to help Cairo regain control of the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula — a major security concern for Israel, Reuters reported. She is slated to fly to Israel from Egypt.

In Egypt, Clinton will highlight a number of initiatives the United States is taking to bolster the Egyptian economy, which has structural problems from the past three decades under the Mubarak regime and suffered a hit to key industries including tourism amid political turmoil.

The Obama administration has promised a billions dollars in support of the new Egyptian government when it was formed.

Clinton was expected to begin talking about the details of that support package and debt relief — providing funds that can go into job-creating programs and training, especially focused on Egypt's young people, a senior U.S. official said.

In addition, Clinton was planning to announce the head of a new U.S. Egypt Enterprise Fund, initially capitalized at $60 million to invest in the country and speak to the Egyptian leadership about the steps they need to take to tap into another $250 million U.S. fund earmarked for small and medium-sized enterprises.

NBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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