ISIS-K | Pakistan

A third Afghan national has been arrested in the US, days after another Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, shot two National Guards, for providing “material support to ISIS-K”, according to a statement issued by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday. Jaan Shah Shafi, who entered the US in 2021 under former president Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome, “provided support to the ISIS-K. He also provided weapons to his father, who is a commander of a militia group in Afghanistan,” the press release stated. It further stated that Shafi applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), but his application was terminated once DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ended TPS for Afghans. He was arrested in Waynesboro, Virginia. The Trump administration halted the Afghan refugee resettlement program on January 20 and suspended the entry of Afghan nationals, for “protection and safety of Americans”. Nearly 190,000 Afghan nationals entered the US during Biden administration, the statement read. Lakanwal, who wo...

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) on Monday debunked a claim by former United States special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who had alleged that a ISIS- Khorasan (ISIS-K) commander had been killed in Punjab. On Sunday night, Khalilzad said on social media platform X, “Good news from #Pakistan: Reportedly a senior ISIS-K commander Burhan, also known as Zaid, was killed in Patak part of Akhtarabad city in Punjab.” In response to the post, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s official fact-checking account said the incident in question took place in Habibabad in Kasur district on March 5 and not in Akhtarabad as claimed. “The victim, Burhan, was killed by a dacoity/robbery-related incident or a case of personal enmity, not a counter-terror operation,” the ministry said, adding that a first information report (FIR) of the incident was also registered on March 6 at the Saddar Pattoki police station. It said that Burhan was living with his father-in-law, Shah Muhammad, near a fr...