A new intelligence report from NDTV reveals that Pakistan is backing a dangerous alliance between Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) funds and guides this partnership. This raises concerns about growing terror activity in South Asia.
According to the report, Pakistan’s military uses ISKP to attack Baloch nationalists and anti-Islamabad factions within Afghanistan’s Taliban. Also, ISKP’s propaganda magazine Yalgaar shows plans to expand attacks into Kashmir. This signals a fresh wave of terrorism under Pakistan’s cover.
A photograph shows ISKP’s Balochistan coordinator, Mir Shafiq Mengal, handing a pistol to LeT chief Rana Mohammad Ashfaq. Intelligence officials say it marks the start of formal cooperation between the groups, directed by the ISI.
Mengal, the son of former Balochistan Chief Minister Nasir Mengal, has long worked as an ISI asset. He provides funding, weapons, and safe houses to ISKP. Meanwhile, he has set up bases in Mastung and Khuzdar to suppress Baloch resistance and attack across the border.
After Baloch fighters attacked ISKP’s Mastung base in March 2025, killing 30 militants, the ISI turned to LeT to rebuild its influence. Then, by June 2025, LeT leaders pledged jihad against “anti-Pakistan” forces. Analysts warn this alliance could escalate violence in Kashmir and deepen instability in Balochistan and Afghanistan.
