Pakistan hand suspected after attack on Chinese nationals in Afghanistan

Over the years, the ISKP has become a thorn for the Taliban. It has managed to rope in several members of other terror groups and has been targeting minorities in Afghanistan in particular

New Delhi, Jan 12: The role of Pakistan is being suspected following the suicide bombing in the heart of Afghanistan's Kabul which is administered by the Taliban. The attack targeted members of a Chinese delegation on the evening of January 11.

The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) backed by Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack. A suicide bomber had detonated himself after which 20 casualties were reported.

Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, senior research fellow at New Delhi-based Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies told WION that the ISKP is a fabrication of Pakistan's ISI. He said that time and again it has been proven that the ISKP is a creation of Pakistan.

The attack on Wednesday is the second in less than a month in which Chinese people living in Afghanistan were the main targets. On December 10 2022, the operatives of the ISKP stormed a hotel frequented by Chinese people and wounded five Chinese nationals.

The ISKP has in the past blasted China and the Taliban for maintaining close ties with each other. The ISKP while blasting called out the Taliban for considering the murder of Uyghur Muslims as an internal matter of China. It also said that the Taliban has also remained silent on the mass murders committed by Beijing's proxies-Russia and Iran.

Following the hasty US withdrawal and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan scores of ISKP members lodged in several jails were freed for some strange reason. The outfit has since become a thorn for the Taliban and has been frequently targeting Chinese nationals and the minority community.

Over the years, the ISKP has managed to draw in disgruntled terrorists from other groups. The first leader of the ISKP was Hafiz Saeed Khan, a former member of the Tehreek-e-Taliban, Pakistan. Following his taking over, he has managed to bring in many from the TTP into the fold of the ISKP. He also appointed a Abdul Rauf Khan, a former commander of the Taliban as his deputy.

Officials tell OneIndia that courtesy the ISKP, there have been defections from many terror groups such as the Lashkar-e-Islam, Haqqani Network, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The officer also said that these defections are courtesy Pakistan's ISI which wants to keep a check on the Taliban. The Taliban has been increasingly distancing itself from Pakistan which has been wanting to make Afghanistan its launchpad against India, the officer also said.