The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), once on the verge of collapse, has re-emerged as a credible threat to Europe, South Asia, and beyond — with intelligence officials pointing to Pakistan's covert support as a primary driver of this resurgence. The deadly van and knife attack in Berlin, carried out by an Islamic State operative identified as Abdul Ballout, has brought renewed attention to how the group sustains its reach despite holding almost no territory in Syria or Iraq.

Pakistan's Calculated Gamble with ISKP

According to officials, Islamabad has been deliberately engaging the ISKP as a proxy instrument — deploying the group against the Afghan Taliban and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The strategy, officials say, reflects a calculated but increasingly reckless bet: use a designated terror outfit to weaken regional adversaries. An Intelligence Bureau official said the problem extends far beyond Afghanistan, with Pakistan reportedly facilitating the movement of Islamic State operatives into European countries.

In the Berlin case, Abdul Ballout was reportedly frustrated at his inability to travel abroad and join the outfit directly. According to officials, he redirected that anger toward civilians on the streets of Berlin. The incident illustrates how ISKP's radicalisation pipeline — increasingly digital and decentralised — can produce lone-wolf attackers without requiring direct operational contact.

Technology and the ISI Connection

Officials allege that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has provided the ISKP with significant technological, financial, and logistical support. ISKP cadres are reportedly trained by ISI-linked elements in the use of the dark web, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and chatbot creation. The Al-Azaim Foundation Media Production, established by the ISKP following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, was initially struggling for reach but has since grown into a widely circulated propaganda operation.

The foundation now publishes and distributes content in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Urdu, Hindi, Russian, English, and Pashto. In recent months, the ISKP has added AI-driven chatbots to its toolkit — tools used to identify and target vulnerable individuals in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and across Europe. Once identified, these individuals are radicalised and, in several documented cases, have gone on to carry out lone-wolf attacks.

Europe Under Pressure: 45 Attacks in 2025

In 2025 alone, 45 Islamic State-linked attacks were reported across 10 European countries, according to officials — a striking figure given that the group had been struggling with recruitment and funding just a few years prior. In June, European law enforcement and the FBI jointly targeted ISKP financing and operational networks. Investigators found that while battlefield activity in Syria and Iraq had sharply declined, the group's overseas financing, recruitment pipelines, and operational cells remained largely intact. Many of the recruits entering Europe were found to have transited through Pakistan, North Africa, and the Sahel.

A Monster of Islamabad's Own Making

Officials argue that Pakistan's border operations and alleged atrocities in frontier areas have fuelled widespread grievance — grievances that the ISKP has systematically exploited for radicalisation and recruitment. The group, which had been largely suppressed by the Afghan Taliban, was given what officials describe as 'a fresh lease of life' by Islamabad. While Pakistan has publicly accused the Afghan Taliban of backing the TTP — a charge Kabul disputes — ties between the two neighbours have deteriorated sharply, creating the very instability that ISKP has capitalised on.

Counter-terrorism experts warn that the Islamic State's ideological reach, amplified by technology and sustained by external state support, makes it structurally different from territorially-bounded groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad or Lashkar-e-Taiba. An official summed it up starkly: Islamabad, in pursuit of short-term regional leverage, has revived an organisation that now threatens South Asia, Europe, and well beyond.