ISLAMABAD:
Pakistani intelligence services have struck the nerve center of the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), arresting its public face and propaganda architect in an operation near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in a move that has disrupted the group’s media apparatus and weakened its cross-border reach, it emerged on Thursday.
The detention of Sultan Aziz Azzam, which took place months ago but was kept under wraps for operational reasons, has had immediate consequences for IS-K’s ability to maintain its propaganda-driven model.
Officials said the arrest led to the suspension of key media platforms linked to the group, undercut recruitment pipelines and weakened its capacity to frame narratives, broadcast operational signals and inspire lone or coordinated attacks.
Security officials said the Al-Azaim Foundation was a central pillar of IS-K’s propaganda ecosystem, responsible for recruitment messages, ideological dissemination and operational signaling.
They said its shutdown has weakened the group’s ability to communicate with followers and coordinate narratives.
Azzam was detained on 16 May 2025 as part of a wider campaign by Pakistani authorities targeting ISIS-K networks. In recent weeks, several high-profile arrests have been made against the group, reflecting intensified counter-terrorism operations.
Meanwhile, the impact of these actions has also been recognized internationally. The 16th report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team noted that Pakistan’s operations have weakened IS-K’s organizational structure at the global level.
The report said several planned terrorist attacks were foiled and the number of militants associated with the group had decreased.
The UN report further highlighted that the arrest of Sultan Aziz Azzam along with senior ISIS-K leader Abu Yasir al-Turki in May 2025 significantly reduced the group’s operational strength.
As a consequence of these arrests, major ISIS-K propaganda platforms, including the Voice of Khorasan, have also been suspended, further limiting the group’s ability to project power and maintain recruitment.
“Overall, the ability to [IS-K] has been degraded as a result of counter-terrorism operations,” the UN report said. “The key [IS-K] commanders and ideologues have been neutralized, and the number of [IS-K] warriors have probably been reduced. Several planned attacks have been disrupted.”
The report noted that IS-K’s ability to operate freely on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has been curtailed. But it also casts doubt on claims by the Afghan Taliban that no militant groups operate from Afghan soil.
“The Taliban claim that no terrorist groups operate in or from Afghanistan,” the report said. “However, Member States’ reporting indicates that a number of terrorist groups are still operating in the country, with varying degrees of autonomy and oversight from the Taliban authorities.”
It further warned of alarming recruitment practices in border regions, saying: “In northern Afghanistan and areas close to the Pakistani borders, [IS-K] are reported to have indoctrinated children in madressahs, establish a suicide course for minors around 14 years old.”
In a letter dated December 8, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, formally requested that the report be circulated among members of the UN Security Council.
According to the UNSC, Sultan Aziz Azzam has served as IS-K’s spokesman since the group emerged in Afghanistan in 2015. Islamabad-based security platform The Khorasan Diary has described him as the group’s second-in-command, while the European Council has identified him as the operator of IS-K’s media arm, Al-Azaim Media.
Analyst Shan A Zain wrote for the Jamestown Foundation’s Militant Leadership Monitor that Azzam was born in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and had worked for at least three local radio stations before becoming IS-K’s chief propagandist. He had also written books and poetry.
One of his major works, Maze Travelers, recounts the alleged experiences of IS fighters in the Spin Ghar mountains. Excerpts from the book were circulated on Telegram platforms frequented by potential recruits.
“Sultan Aziz Azzam has been credited with recruiting IS members to carry out high-profile attacks in Afghanistan,” Zain wrote. “He has written several books and articles in which he has told stories about [fighters] to inspire people to join the ranks of IS.”
The UNSC has described Azzam as a central figure in enhancing IS-K’s ideological reach. “Seam [IS-K’s] spokesman, Azam has played an instrumental role in spreading ISIL’s violent … ideology, glorifying and justifying terrorist acts,” the organization’s website said.
“Based on his previous experience as an Afghan journalist, his activity as [IS-K’s] advocate has increased [IS-K’s] visibility and influence among his followers.”
Azzam, on behalf of IS-K, had claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing on 26 August 2021 near Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. He also spread IS-K statements following the killing of three female journalists on 2 March 2021 and a major prison attack in Jalalabad on 3 August 2020.
