A man reported by some sources to be a senior commander of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) was shot dead in Pakistan’s Punjab province, though the Pakistani government has rejected claims that the individual had any connection to the group.
The initial claim was made by former United States Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, who stated on social media that a senior ISKP operative known as Burhan, also referred to as Zaid, had been killed by unidentified gunmen in the Phatak area of Akhtarabad. According to reporting that cited his statement, Khalilzad described the deceased as an important figure within ISKP and linked him to the group’s leadership in Afghanistan.
Some Afghan-government–affiliated outlets, including Mirsaad, also reported that Burhan had previously held a significant operational role within ISKP and had been active in Afghanistan’s eastern region.
However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) issued a statement rejecting the claims. According to the ministry, the killing did not occur in Akhtarabad but in Habibabad, Kasur district, on 5 March, and was the result of a robbery or personal dispute, not militancy. The MoIB further stated that the deceased was not an ISKP commander and that authorities had found no evidence linking him to the organisation. It also reiterated that, according to Pakistan’s security assessment, ISKP has no operational presence in Punjab province.
The incident comes against the backdrop of several recent killings of individuals reported by some media and local sources to be senior ISKP members across Pakistan, including the death of Asim Baloch, a Pakistani-origin ISKP figure, and a Tajik associate in Khuzdar, Balochistan. Pakistani authorities have not independently verified all such identifications.
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No official information has been released regarding the motive, the circumstances of the shooting, or the identity of the assailants. Investigations by Pakistani law-enforcement agencies are reportedly ongoing.