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Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid’s statement that Pakistan spy agency ISI had planned attacks in Kerman in Iran and Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in 2024 has validated the findings by Indian intelligence agencies that ISI and the Pakistan military were running IS-Khorasan modules from Af-Pak border areas.The two attacks, which happened in a span of three months, were claimed by the IS in Khorasan Province. Iran’s probe had revealed that the main accused Abdollah Tajiki had entered Iran two weeks before the attack by crossing the southeast border (that is Pakistan).US had called the attack in Moscow as “IS-K’s first successful attack in Russia”, though Moscow had accused “the special services of an unfriendly state” for the blast — seen as a reference to Ukraine.“Both operations — originally claimed by the Islamic State — were coordinated on Pakistani soil and IS-K’s leadership is based in Pakistan,” Mujahid claimed during a press briefing on Oct 12. The Taliban administration’s spokesman also implicated the ISI in fomenting unrest in Afghanistan, alleging that certain elements within Pakistan’s military establishment were averse to peace in the region.The Taliban’s claims corroborates the assessment of the Indian agencies that IS-K’s recruiters brainwashing Indian youths were actually being controlled by ISI. Several IS-inspired modules busted in Delhi, Ranchi and other places were being handled by ISI operatives with the internet protocol analysis pointing to locations deep inside Pakistan. “A particular group within the Pakistani army is turning a blind eye to IS activities,” Mujahid alleged. He accused Pakistan of allowing IS-K to operate from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, planning attacks on Afghan soil.
