Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have arrested Khariji Sultan Aziz Azam, spokesperson for the Islamic State Khorasan and founder of the group’s official media wing, the Al-Azaim Foundation, according to a United Nations report submitted to the Security Council.
The findings were detailed in the sixteenth report of the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. The document states that Azaim served as Islamic State Khorasan’s (IS-K) central platform for propaganda and recruitment, and that the group’s media operations have been suspended following Azam’s arrest.
Pakistani authorities have carried out a series of high-profile operations targeting IS-K operatives. Among them was the detention of Azam on May 16, 2025, the report confirmed.
“There have also been a number of high-profile arrests by the Pakistani authorities, such as the arrest of an IS-K spokesperson, Sultan Aziz Azam, on 16 May 2025,” the report noted.
According to the UN assessment, Pakistan’s actions have weakened IS-K’s organisational structure at the global level. The report said several planned attacks have been foiled, while the number of the group’s fighters has declined.
“Overall, the capability of IS-K has been degraded as a result of counter-terrorism operations by the de facto authorities and Pakistan,” the document stated.
It added that the mid-2025 arrest of Abu Yasir al-Turki, a senior figure in the group’s media and logistical network, by Turkish and Pakistani authorities may have contributed to the shutdown of the IS-K publication Voice of Khorasan.
The document further stated that key IS-K commanders and ideological leaders have been neutralised, with arrests such as those of Azam and Abu Yasir al-Turki significantly reducing its operational capacity. As a result, major propaganda platforms, including Voice of Khorasan, have been taken offline.
The report also highlighted the evolving militant landscape in Afghanistan. It said Al Qaeda continues to maintain close ties with the Taliban, with a persistent presence in several Afghan provinces. IS-K, however, remains the Taliban’s primary adversary, continuing to carry out attacks both inside Afghanistan and abroad, despite losing territorial control.
Widely viewed as critical of the Afghan Taliban regime, the report rejected Kabul’s assertions that terrorist groups are not using Afghan soil for cross-border violence, calling the claim “not credible.”
It warned that neighbouring states increasingly view Afghanistan as a source of regional insecurity, with non-state actors including IS-K, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Al Qaeda and others operating in the country, some of whom are believed to be using Afghan territory to plan external attacks.
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