When Pakistan entered into a war with the Afghan Taliban, little did it realise that it was indirectly making the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) stronger
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NEW DELHI — When Pakistan entered into a war with the Afghan Taliban, little did it realise that it was indirectly making the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) stronger. Today, the ISKP has become a stronger force, and even the recruitments have shot up considerably.
For the Afghan Taliban, the ISKP was always an enemy. When the Taliban refused an offer from Abu Bakr al-Bhagdadi, the founder of the Islamic State, to battle together in Afghanistan, both outfits ended up becoming enemies.
The Taliban wanted no interference from the Islamic State and decided to stay away. This led to the formation of the ISKP in Afghanistan, and since then, it has been in a battle with the Taliban.
The ISKP was formed to take control over Afghanistan and set up a Caliphate in Pakistan, while also targeting India. The speed at which the outfit was set up and carried out attacks at will, especially in Pakistan and Afghanistan, baffled many. However, after the Taliban took over Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops, the trajectory of the ISKP went down considerably.
By 2023, the outfit was largely decimated as the Afghan Taliban took on the terror group. The Taliban managed to sustain its pressure until late 2025. By this time, the Afghan Taliban’s ties with Pakistan had strained considerably. Pakistan then accused the Taliban, without proof, that it was providing the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a launchpad.
Even as the Taliban continued to deny this, Pakistan decided to attack Afghanistan. The ISKP was quick to shift sides. The outfit which viewed Pakistan as an enemy was now being backed by the same country.
In fact, Islamabad reached out to the ISKP to help it battle both the Taliban and the TTP.
While this has helped the ISKP a great deal, the real change began once the war began. With the Taliban busy with the war, the ISKP has had time to rebuild and create a bigger operational space.
An official explained that a weakened Taliban automatically translates into a stronger ISKP. This is another nuisance that Pakistan has created, the official said.
The ISKP, while trying to build a stronger base in Afghanistan, has its attention largely focused on India. It has been striking deals with the Pakistani establishment about furthering its agenda in Jammu and Kashmir.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that the ISKP is, in fact, relieved that Pakistan is at war with the Afghan Taliban. It has been given breathing space as the Taliban is busy elsewhere.
The war being prolonged only means the ISKP gets more time to rebuild into a strong group, the official added.
Another official said that Pakistan is so blinded by the war that it fails to realise that the ISKP can turn against it very soon. The ISKP, after its formation, had trained its guns against Pakistan. Some of the notable attacks that the ISKP has carried out in Pakistan include a suicide bombing in September 2023 in Mastung, Balochistan, in which 52 people were killed. It also attacked a Shia Mosque in Peshawar in March 2022.
The ISKP feels that the true Islamic laws are not being followed in Pakistan, and it is time to convert it into an Islamic State.
While the war does help strengthen the ISKP, Pakistan has failed to understand that this conflict is also giving both the TTP and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) breathing time. Both these groups are in a battle with the Pakistan establishment, and they would use this time to regroup and hit harder, another official said.