Islamabad: Signs of local support for the dreaded Islamic State have surfaced in various parts of Pakistan’s restive North Waziristan tribal region, a day after four flags of the militant group were confiscated here.
Wall-chalking welcoming the Islamic State (IS) appeared on City Road, Cantt Road, Dera Ismail Khan road and Miran Shah road in Bannu district. There were similar reports from other parts of the country about the presence of support for the extremist group, The Dawn reported. “We welcome the head of Syrian Daish Group Abu Bakkar Al Bagdadi and pay him tributes,” said a graffiti in Urdu.
Bannu borders North Waziristan, known to be the Pakistani Taliban nerve-centre where the Pakistani military is carrying operation Zarb-i-Azb against Taliban militants.
Earlier, pamphlets believed to be from the IS were also distributed in various parts of Peshawar and the Afghan refugee camp, but were later seized. The IS first started making inroads into Pakistan and Afghanistan in September this year as former Guantanamo detainee, Abdul Raheem Muslim Dost, was made the chief of its ‘Khorasan’ (the old name for Afghan, Pakistani, Irani and Central Asian territories) belt.
IS propaganda booklets were reportedly distributed in parts of the Afghan-Pakistan tribal belt and in some Afghan refugee camps in Peshawar. Operating mostly in Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan, Rahim and other militant commanders had previously announced their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
A senior Afghan Mujahideen commander confirmed that Rahim had been appointed as the IS chief of Khorasan belt and he has kicked off a campaign to muster support from jihadist fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Haroon Zargon, spokesperson of the Hizb-i-Islami, a conservative militant and political group in Afghanistan, confirmed that they also had reports of the propaganda booklet being distributed in the Pak-Afghan border areas and Afghan localities in Peshawar. Six top militant commanders of the outlawed Tehreek-i- Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including its former spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, have previously announced allegiance to the IS. Responding to the reports, Home Secretary Syed Akthar Ali Shah of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa said that they were probing the reports of the distribution of the booklets but had doubts about its authenticity. (PTI)
