BAJAUR:
In a distressing development, threatening pamphlets attributed to ISIS-Khurasan have surfaced in various parts of the Bajaur tribal district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, triggering widespread panic among local residents in the lead-up to the general elections.
According to reports from local residents, these pamphlets, written in Pashto and featuring an ISIS flag, denounce democracy as incompatible with the Islamic Khilafat. The anonymous local tribal elder stated that residents were warned to abstain from participating in the democratic process, acting as spies, and engaging in activities against ISIS.
The pamphlets criticize democratic parties, alleging that they portray themselves as Islamic while simultaneously supporting an anti-Islamic form of government. The message contends that democracy, in its essence, opposes the Islamic model of governance. Furthermore, it singles out Jamait Uelema-e-Islam (JUI) as a party disguised as Islamic but advocating for democracy, a stance deemed contradictory to the principles of the religion.
The situation is exacerbated by the vulnerability of influential local clerics associated with JUI-F, who have been targeted in bomb blasts over the past two years. The failure of the police to apprehend any culprits behind these attacks has heightened concerns about the potency of the ISIS threat in the tribal district.
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In a grim incident in April of this year, a cleric, Maulana Naseeb Gul, was fatally shot in the Mamond area of Bajaur, allegedly by ISIS-K. The assailants ambushed Gul and his friend Mufti Shafiullah as they were returning home in a motorcar after shopping in Lagharai Bazaar. Gul was killed on the spot, while Shafiullah sustained critical injuries.
The broader trend of attacks on clerics, particularly affiliated with JUI-F, is evident in recent years. In March 2021, JUI leader Maulana Abdul Salam was seriously injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast in the Dama Dola area of Mamund tehsil in Bajaur.
The emergence of ISIS-Khurasan pamphlets and the history of targeted attacks on local clerics underscore the palpable threat posed by the terrorist organization in the Bajaur tribal district. The situation necessitates a concerted effort to address security concerns and safeguard the democratic process in the region.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2023.
