Pakistani Authorities Arrest IS-K Spokesperson: UN Report
UN Security Council notes IS-K’s operational capabilities degraded following high-profile arrests, including Azzam
Islamabad, Dec 19: Pakistani authorities arrested Sultan Aziz Azzam, a spokesperson for Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), earlier this year, according to a recent report submitted to the United Nations Security Council.
The 16th report by the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team highlighted that IS-K’s operational capacity in the region has been significantly reduced due to high-profile arrests like that of Azzam in May. The militant group, active primarily in Afghanistan, Central Asia, and South Asia, has faced setbacks in its propaganda and recruitment networks following his detention.
State-run Associated Press of Pakistan and PTV News reported that Azzam was apprehended during an intelligence operation near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Following his arrest, IS-K propaganda arms, including the Al-Azaim Foundation, suffered a major blow, according to the UN report.
“Overall, the capability of [IS-K] has been degraded as a result of counter-terrorism operations,” the report stated. “Key [IS-K] commanders and ideologues have been neutralised, and the numbers of [IS-K] fighters have likely been reduced. Several plotted attacks have been disrupted.”
The report also noted that IS-K’s freedom of movement along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has been curtailed, while dismissing Kabul’s claims that no terrorist groups operate in or from Afghan soil as “not credible.” It highlighted that in northern Afghanistan and areas near the Pakistani border, IS-K continues indoctrinating children in madressahs and has reportedly established suicide training courses for minors.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, requested on December 8 that the report be circulated to the Security Council.
According to the Dawn newspaper, Azzam had served as IS-K spokesperson since the group’s formation in Afghanistan in 2015, overseeing its media wing, Al-Azaim Media. He claimed responsibility for multiple high-profile attacks, including a 2021 suicide bombing near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, the assassination of three female journalists in March 2021, and a prison attack in Jalalabad in August 2020.
The UN report underscores the continuing threat posed by IS-K while acknowledging the impact of coordinated counter-terrorism measures by Pakistan in degrading the group’s operational and propaganda capabilities.
