The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has reportedly forged a working relationship with the Pakistani establishment, and intelligence inputs now suggest the terror outfit is preparing to significantly escalate attacks against Deobandi organisations aligned with the Afghan Taliban. The development, flagged by security officials in New Delhi on 5 October 2026, marks a significant shift in regional militant alignments — with consequences for stability across Pakistan, Afghanistan, and South Asia.

The Ideological Pretext

According to an official familiar with intelligence assessments, the ISKP has long cloaked its violence against Deobandi institutions in theological language. 'The ISKP says that the South Asian Deobandi Hanafi jurisprudence is flawed and an illegitimate interpretation of Islam. The ISKP has very often called such institutions apostates,' the official said. While the ideological framing has remained consistent, analysts note that the operational drivers have grown increasingly strategic rather than purely doctrinal.

Pakistan's Calculated Gamble

An Intelligence Bureau (IB) official stated that the ISKP now has the backing of the Pakistani establishment, which is reportedly using the group as a proxy to fight battles it cannot win openly. 'The Pakistani establishment is at loggerheads with the Afghan Taliban. The establishment would encourage ISKP attacks on institutes that are sympathetic to the Afghan Taliban,' the IB official said. Islamabad is simultaneously battling the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and seeking to destabilise the Afghan Taliban regime — two objectives that the ISKP's violence conveniently serves, according to security experts.

JUI-F in the Crosshairs

The primary institutional target for the ISKP, officials said, remains the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a political-religious party that openly advocates for the Afghan Taliban. In 2023, the ISKP carried out a devastating suicide attack at a JUI-F political rally in Bajaur district, killing nearly 60 people. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) region, the group has allegedly murdered JUI-F local leaders. Deobandi seminaries and madrasas that support the Afghan Taliban are also reportedly on the ISKP's target list, another official said.

A Reversal of Old Enmities

Notably, when the ISKP was initially established in Afghanistan, it treated Pakistan as a sworn enemy, directing attacks squarely at the Pakistani establishment and exploiting gaps in the country's intelligence apparatus. There were calls at the time to upgrade Human Intelligence (HUMINT) capabilities to contain the threat. Security officials say the relationship has shifted dramatically as tensions between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban deepened. Pakistan has, reportedly without evidence, repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering the TTP and permitting cross-border strikes into Pakistan. In recent engagements, the TTP has reportedly inflicted heavy losses on Pakistani security forces — leading Islamabad to reportedly view ISKP as a useful counterweight.

Strategic Implications

Pakistan observers argue that the ISKP is leveraging this new alignment to advance its own agenda: eroding the Afghan Taliban's legitimacy by demonstrating that the Taliban cannot protect allied parties and institutions. This convergence of interests, critics warn, risks creating a more emboldened and operationally capable ISKP, even as Pakistan believes it is merely deploying a tactical tool. 'What the ISKP has undertaken to weaken the TTP and Afghan Taliban fits well into Pakistan's scheme of things,' experts quoted by officials noted. The arrangement, however, carries the risk of strategic blowback for Islamabad if the ISKP's capabilities and ambitions outgrow the relationship. How both Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban respond in the months ahead will be closely watched by regional security agencies.