Afghan outfit ISKP launches digital war on India, seeks to derail New Delhi-Kabul ties
New Delhi, June 20
The Islamic State has launched an aggressive anti-India propaganda campaign following the recent reset in relations between New Delhi and Kabul.
Through its magazine Al Azaim, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has targeted Indian media narratives and urged its supporters to challenge them. The publication has raised a range of issues in recent editions as part of its broader campaign against India.
The ISKP has particularly focused on Indian media coverage of issues ranging from the Ram Mandir to Jammu and Kashmir. Through its propaganda material, the outfit has urged its sympathisers to become more active on social media, launch blogs, and challenge narratives promoted by the Indian media. It has also increasingly encouraged supporters to criticise the judiciary and portray the institution as being biased against Islam.
An Intelligence Bureau official said that agencies are maintaining close surveillance on blogs, YouTube channels, and social media platforms that promote ISKP propaganda. These platforms are being closely monitored as several of them are allegedly being used at the behest of the terror outfit to spread anti-India narratives and media campaigns.
The official further said that the ISKP has renewed its efforts to revive the Ram Mandir issue in its propaganda material.
"The group questions why Indian Muslims have remained silent and claims that it is still not too late to act against the Indian State. Its sympathisers have also been urged to target the judiciary over the Ram Mandir verdict," the official alleged.
Another official said that although many years have passed since the judgment was delivered, the ISKP has decided to rake up the issue once again. It speaks about how the media covered the judgment and the inauguration of the temple. The outfit wants a different narrative and hence has been urging its followers to take it up on multiple platforms.
The ISKP has also spoken about building a network of social media accounts and blogs to serve as a counterweight to Indian media narratives. The outfit has urged its supporters to launch blogs and expand their reach through word-of-mouth promotion. According to its propaganda material, such platforms have the potential to gain traction not only within India but also internationally.
"The objective is to create alternative narratives to those presented by the Indian media and ensure they reach a wider audience, including the global community," the officials said.
The ISKP has also been targeting the newfound ties between India and Afghanistan. The outfit wants to break this at any cost. It urges its followers to spread a false narrative stating that the Indian government is trying to bully the people of Afghanistan. The ISKP says that eventually the Indian government would take control of Afghanistan.
Officials say the campaign is a clear attempt to derail the improving India-Afghanistan ties.
"The ISKP is seeking to turn public opinion in Afghanistan against the ruling Afghan Taliban and its engagement with New Delhi. By pushing such narratives, the outfit hopes to build pressure on the regime to distance itself from the ties with India," they alleged.
This move by the ISKP comes at a time when the Afghan Taliban has launched drone attacks to decimate Islamic State terror camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). The Taliban says that these centres were being used to plan and organise attacks on Afghan soil. The Islamic State and the Afghan Taliban have been at loggerheads for over ten years now.
The ISKP was established in Afghanistan and later broke ranks with the Taliban after refusing to align with its policies, leading to a bitter fallout between the two groups. Since then, the Taliban has carried out sustained operations against the Islamic State, significantly weakening the outfit's presence and capabilities.
An official said that the fallout with the Taliban led to the Islamic State cozying up to Pakistan. Islamabad, on the other hand, has been trying to use the outfit to battle groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
— IANS
Reader Comments
Sad to see terrorist groups using the Ram Mandir issue again to create divisions. The Supreme Court verdict was final and accepted by all. These extremist outfits don't represent Indian Muslims. Our agencies need to be very vigilant about these YouTube channels and blogs spreading hate.
Interesting to see this from an outside perspective. India is handling its security well, but the propaganda war is real. ISKP targeting Indian media and judiciary shows they understand soft power. The world should support India countering these narratives.
This is a classic case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend—Pakistan cozying up to ISKP. But I worry about Indian agencies' ability to monitor every blog and channel. The internet is vast. We need more partnership with social media companies to take down these accounts fast.
I support India's engagement with Taliban if it helps stabilize Afghanistan and curb terrorism. But we must be careful not to legitimize them too much. ISKP's propaganda shows they fear India's influence. 😠 These terrorists should be dealt with a strong hand.
While the threat is real, I'm a bit skeptical about how much impact a terrorist magazine can have. Most Indians are smart enough to see through this garbage. But yes, monitoring is needed. Also, India should invest more in counter-narratives that highlight our secular values and development work.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.