New Delhi, Oct 16 Pakistan’s desperation and its lack of capability to fight the Taliban and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has pushed it close to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).
Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, recently said that the ISKP is being handled and run by Pakistan’s ISI.
This validates India’s stand on the issue.
What Indian security officials are extremely concerned about is that the ISKP had a relatively quiet 2024. Several international agencies keeping a track of the outfit had almost called it a dead outfit.
The Taliban was no match for the ISKP, and in the process of fighting in Afghanistan, the outfit suffered heavy losses. In 2024, the ISKP tried to gain momentum both on the ground as well as in cyberspace. However, both in terms of a ground battle and propaganda, it was failing miserably.
The game that Pakistan has played now is an extremely dangerous one for the region, currently - and in the long term for Islamabad too.
It is not a natural alliance, contended an Indian Intelligence Bureau official.
These are desperate times for both the ISKP and Pakistan, which have been facing losses on a massive scale.
The Pakistan Army has been humiliated by the TTP, the Taliban, and the Balochistan Nationalist Army (BLA).
The ISKP, on the other hand, has been failing on the recruitment and propaganda front. Further, it has been embarrassed by the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In such a scenario, both the ISKP and Islamabad decided to come together to battle a common enemy. This push by the ISI gives the ISKP ammunition. It would look to take on the Taliban with the backing of the ISI and the Pakistan Army.
However, with this kind of backing, the next attempt would be to strengthen the outfit in India.
While the ISKP has been focusing largely on the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, its major target is India.
With losses in Afghanistan, it has not been able to push its agenda too much in India.
However, officials say that with this push from the ISI, the ISKP would look to play its games in India. It would use this fresh impetus to recruit, propagate, radicalise, and then strike in India.
Security officials say that the game that Pakistan is playing is a very dangerous one. It is a short-term gain, but in the long run, it would turn against Islamabad, as one saw in the case of the TTP.
For this, one needs to understand the history of the ISKP. When it announced its formation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, it was clearly anti-Pakistan. It came with the message that it wants to overthrow the Pakistan government as it views the country’s military as illegitimate. It said that the government of Pakistan is apostate and sought to replace it with its Caliphate.
Moreover, the ISKP has carried out violent attacks on Pakistani soil.
In 2023, a bombing in Bajaur killed 60, while in 2018, it struck at a political rally in Mastung and a market in Orakzai.
What is even more ironic is that it had a major problem with the relationship that Pakistan shared with the Taliban. It has also, in the past, opposed Chinese investment in Pakistan.
Another official said that looking at the trajectory, it is very much similar to what relationship that the TTP shared with Pakistan. It is a temporary truce, and once the job is done, the ISKP could turn into a monster against Pakistan.
Security analysts say that, while Pakistan would soon be battling the ISKP along with the rest of its enemies, it is creating an extremely dangerous situation in the region.
These battles could spill into the border regions in India and other countries that share a boundary with Pakistan. Overall, it is a very dangerous game that the ISI and Pakistan Army are playing that threatens the entire region, analysts also add.
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