ISIS-Khorasan (Also known as ISKP) recently released a song titled "We Kill Spies to Save the People" in Pashto. The video features graphic imagery and footage of beheadings and massacres committed by the group in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, serving as a threatening message to ISIS’s opponents. The song uses the term "Lar o Bar," which is common among Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pashtun nationalist movements in both countries believe that Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand Line are of Afghan descent, and that dividing them by borders is meaningless. As a result, years ago, they popularized the slogan "Lar o Bar, Yo Afghan" (Pashtuns on both sides of the border are all Afghan). In ISIS-Khorasan’s propaganda song, this phrase is modified to "Lar o Bar Khorasan." The intended audience of this slogan, delivered in Pashto, is likely the Pashtuns living on either side of the Durand Line, the region where ISIS-Khorasan first emerged in 2014. ISIS's Khorasan Province encompasses present-day Afghanistan and a significant part of Pakistan, and the use of the "Lar o Bar" slogan aligns with Pashtun views about the irrelevance of borders between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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In Which Languages Does ISIS-K Disseminate its Messages?
ISIS has recently made advances in media propaganda and military operations in various parts of the world, particularly in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia (Afghanistan and Pakistan), causing concern for governments and civilians alike.
On Saturday, March 4th, ISIS news channels announced the creation of a new media center called Farasan al-Tarjama (Knights of Translation). The center aims to translate and republish ISIS’s reports, books, magazines, and announcements into 18 languages worldwide. The announcement states that ISIS’s media centers in various provinces are responsible for translating and disseminating their messages and books.
According to the statement, Farasan al-Tarjama will now release ISIS content in languages such as Persian, Pashto, Urdu, Turkish, Uzbek, Maldivian, Hausa (an African language), Hindi, Spanish, French, Bengali, Russian, Kurdish, Somali, Albanian, Indonesian, and Tajik script. The announcement emphasizes that ISIS media centers, particularly Farasan al-Tarjama, strive to republish ISIS propaganda across all digital platforms and websites to reach their target audience and supporters.
One of ISIS’s main media outlets is the Al-Azaim institute, which manages the propaganda for ISIS-Khorasan. Al-Azaim operates in Persian, Pashto, Uzbek, and Tajik script. While it focuses primarily on Pashto, it has recently published magazines in Uzbek and Tajik script as well.
Most of ISIS-Khorasan's magazines and messages are shared on Telegram and Twitter under pseudonymous accounts, as restrictions on platforms like Facebook and Instagram limit the group's activities. In recent weeks, ISIS-Khorasan members have openly promoted their plans and ideology on Twitter, inviting members of the Taliban and other groups to join them.
A review of the Twitter accounts of ISIS members in Afghanistan reveals that these individuals frequently refer to Taliban members as "apostates," allies of the U.S., "servants of Pakistan," and obstacles to the establishment of a caliphate. They emphasize continuing the fight against the Taliban.
In some cases, ISIS-Khorasan members have also used Twitter’s "Space" feature to hold online discussions about the possibility of establishing a caliphate, the group’s achievements in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and other related topics.
The *Al-Azaim* institute also translates and publishes news, statements, and educational materials from Arabic into Persian, Pashto, and Uzbek, releasing weekly books in PDF format. Additionally, *Al-Azaim* publishes a weekly translation of *Al-Naba* magazine, ISIS’s official media outlet, from Arabic to Pashto. This magazine contains news about ISIS’s activities worldwide, with some pages dedicated to important articles. A special section called "Featured Photo" is typically focused on ISIS’s military operations.
ISIS-Khorasan members also use various Telegram channels to spread video songs, audio messages, and short stories about the lives of their fallen members. One newly launched program related to these topics is an audio series called *The Path of Winding Roads*, which is published as an audio file on Telegram channels. The first episode recounts the life of Sultan Aziz Azzam, ISIS-Khorasan’s former spokesman in Afghanistan. Azzam, a Pashtun journalist, poet, and writer, lived in Nangarhar and joined ISIS in 2014. Before joining ISIS, he was a radio host, and after joining the group, he set up a radio station to broadcast ISIS programs in areas under their control. Sultan Aziz Azzam was killed in 2018 in a U.S. drone strike in Nangarhar, but his remaining books and articles continue to inspire ISIS supporters and members.
In the past two weeks, Al-Azaim has published several books on topics including Uyghurs and the Chinese government, the Taliban’s relations with the U.S., the government of Pakistan, Iran’s activities in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s proximity to Shia groups, and international financial aid to the Taliban. These books, written by authors using pseudonyms who are members of ISIS, claim that ISIS is the only defender of Uyghurs against the Chinese government and that the group upholds the values of Muslims who believe in establishing an Islamic caliphate in opposition to global governments and groups like the Taliban.
The expansion of ISIS’s media activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan coincides with the group’s increasing number of fighters, which has raised concerns among various countries, including Russia and Central Asian nations.
Recent deadly ISIS-Khorasan attacks, such as those on a hotel housing Chinese citizens, Kabul airport, and other targets, were carried out by Pakistani and Tajik nationals, highlighting the effectiveness of ISIS’s media campaigns in recruiting from different countries.
A security source, who closely monitored ISIS and Taliban activities during Afghanistan’s previous government, told *Independent Persian* under the condition of anonymity that recently, many ISIS members, mainly from Central Asian countries, have traveled from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan. According to this source, while disgruntled Taliban members are joining ISIS, other members who had been in Syria and Iraq in recent years are now also arriving in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Taliban announced on February 26th that Qari Fateh, a senior ISIS-Khorasan commander, had been killed in a clash with the group in Kabul. Additionally, on February 19th, reports surfaced that Ejaz Ahmad Ahanger, a prominent ISIS-Khorasan suicide bomber of Indian origin, had been killed in eastern Afghanistan.
The Taliban claims they have curbed ISIS-Khorasan’s activities through their operations, but the growing media presence of ISIS, combined with dissatisfied Taliban members and individuals who embrace extremist ideologies joining the group, indicates an increasing ISIS threat in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and neighboring countries.
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