NEW DELHI: The Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) is also a Pakistani proxy that is thriving under Islamabad's patronage.
Most of ISKP's cadres include disgruntled elements from the Taliban, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, and Pakistan's other proxy groups like Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The rest include foreign fighters from Uzbekistan, Kerala (India), etc., Abhinav Pandya wrote in National Interest. There is a strong likelihood that IS-KP will claim responsibility for more attacks on Western and Indian targets in the region soon. Moreover, Pakistan's double game of keeping up the pretense of being the US ally against terror while sheltering, funding, and training terrorist groups with US aid money is likely to continue. The only difference now is that IS-KP has replaced Al Qaeda and the Taliban as America's latest antagonist. Regardless, as long as the Pakistani Army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi continue to play its bloody and covert intelligence game from behind the scenes, innocent Afghans will continue to suffer, the article said.
"Hence, since raising multiple proxies gives Pakistan deniability, the ISI is using the same model in Afghanistan. For example, luring Indian nationals into IS-KP and inducing them to target Indian interests in Afghanistan has offered convincing deniability to Pakistan compared to using known proxies like LeT and JeM. Likewise, since Pakistan's links with the Taliban and HQN are well-known, it is nurturing IS-KP for three reasons: to maintain a degree of plausible deniability, to project an image of also being a victim of terror, and to make the Taliban more acceptable to international actors," it added.
In the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, there are numerous heavyweight proxies that are supported by the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) like the Haqqani Network (HQN), JeM, LeT, and the Taliban. Given these groups' presence, it is almost impossible for a new organisation to survive without the blessings of the Pakistani Army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the article said.
Reportedly, since its formation in 2015, the ISI has infiltrated the IS-KP with a sizable number of its cadres from LeT, JeM, and HQN.
There is no reason to believe that IS-KP and the Taliban are sworn enemies due to perceived ideological differences. If some disgruntled individuals deserted the Taliban to join IS-KP, it mainly was over the leadership clashes, turf wars, and the distribution of financial resources from opium smuggling. "Interviews I had with informed interlocutors in Pakistan suggest that key figures in IS-KP have had links with individuals and entities associated with the Pakistani ISI since the group's inception,'' the author said. (IANS)
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