Over the past few years, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has demonstrated a marked shift in its strategy, intensifying both its ideological and operational focus inside Pakistan. This shift is evident not only in the group’s increasing number of high-profile attacks, but also in its targeted propaganda campaigns, cross-border recruitment methods, and evolving tactics such as the unprecedented use of female suicide bombers. What initially appeared as isolated incidents now form part of a broader strategy aimed at undermining religious leadership, challenging state authority, and fuelling sectarian and ideological divisions within Pakistani society.
ISKP claimed responsibility the day after a major suicide bombing that killed dozens and injured more than a hundred people during a political gathering. The group issued two statements: the first from Amaq News Agency confirming the target, and the second from ISKP’s central media branding the party involved as “apostates.” ISKP accused the group of aligning with the Pakistani state and supporting the Afghan Taliban, whom it opposes ideologically. The attack was framed by the group as retaliation against those it perceives as betraying “true jihad.”
ISKP’s designation of certain religious scholars and political entities as apostate stems from its broader ideological conflict with Deobandi clerics and figures in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Through its Urdu-language propaganda channels such as Yalghar magazine and affiliated platforms, ISKP has routinely condemned Deobandi scholars for endorsing democracy, legitimising state institutions, and supporting the Afghan Taliban or the Pakistani state. These themes have been central to its radical messaging.
The group’s operational hostility has long preceded its media rhetoric. From the assassination of Mufti Basheer ur Rehman in Bajaur in May 2022 to a series of targeted killings in Khyber, Swabi, Peshawar, and beyond, ISKP has pursued a campaign against religious figures and institutions. Attacks on religious scholars and madrassas across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including grenade attacks, gunmen assaults, and targeted killings reveal a sustained effort to eliminate voices seen as compromising with state authority.
A defining moment in this evolving campaign was ISKP’s deployment of a female suicide bomber the first such case in Pakistan marking a major operational shift. Pakistani intelligence confirmed the attacker was an Afghan national, recruited and trained in Afghanistan and dispatched across the border. This development signals a growing transnational threat, underlining concerns about sanctuaries and logistical support available to ISKP beyond Pakistan’s frontiers.
Since early 2022, ISKP has extended its attacks to include not just religious figures but also members of the Afghan Taliban and other individuals in Pakistan. Notable incidents include the killing of a Taliban commander in Peshawar, the bombing of a Shia mosque in March 2022 that left over 60 dead, and multiple strikes across Peshawar, Karachi, Quetta, and Bannu. The pattern suggests that ISKP’s operational scope is national in ambition, even if regionally concentrated for strategic reasons.
This escalation is closely tied to ISKP’s narrative warfare. The group criticises the Afghan Taliban for abandoning jihad by engaging in diplomacy and governing within state frameworks. It accuses Pakistani scholars of theological betrayal for endorsing electoral politics and working with institutions ISKP deems illegitimate. Urdu and Pashto propaganda content, such as that in Yalghar, is tailored to radicalise local populations and mobilise them against state and religious institutions alike.
The broader objective of this campaign appears to be a deliberate attempt to sow sectarian discord, erode the credibility of mainstream religious leadership, and challenge the state’s authority. The ideological dimension framing cooperation with any state or political system as Taghut (idolatrous) is key to understanding ISKP’s long-term goals.
Despite the scale and audacity of ISKP’s recent attacks, Pakistan’s security forces have successfully disrupted multiple plots and dismantled several operational cells. Nevertheless, the evolving tactics of ISKP including cross-border recruitment, female operatives, and propaganda targeting youth and clergy demand a re calibrated response. This includes coordinated intelligence efforts, ideological counter-narratives, and regional diplomacy to dismantle terrorist safe havens.
ISKP’s footprint in Pakistan remains smaller than other groups in terms of manpower, but its methodical, symbolic, and ideological attacks make it an especially disruptive force. Understanding and countering ISKP’s operations requires more than a security response it demands a holistic approach involving regional coordination, societal resilience, and the strategic delegitimization of extremist narratives.
Pakistan has consistently demonstrated resilience in the face of such threats. The country’s security agencies, religious communities, and civil society remain committed to confronting extremism in all its forms. The ongoing vigilance and unity of Pakistan’s institutions and people will remain the strongest bulwark against forces that seek to exploit religion and spread violence.
