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ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Pakistani authorities have taken into custody Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) figure, according to intelligence sources. He was arrested in May 2025 while attempting to cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan, the sources said. According to sources, Azzam was born in 1978 in the village of Olaswali Badi Kot in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. He is a graduate of Nangarhar University, where he studied Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqa Qanoon), completing his degree in 2005. He later worked with an FM radio station in Jalalabad. Sources said Azzam joined ISKP in 2016 and went on to become a prominent member of the group&rsquo;s leadership council, or Shura. He is believed to have overseen media operations and headed ISKP&rsquo;s Al-Azaim media foundation outlet. Azzam has held the position of ISKP spokesperson since the group first established itself in Afghanistan in 2015, according to a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) report. Building on his former experience as an &ldquo;Afghan journalist,&rdquo; his activities as the ISKP&rsquo;s spokesperson increased the group&rsquo;s &ldquo;visibility and influence&rdquo; among its followers, the report said. He recruited new members through his &ldquo;rousing radio speeches&rdquo; and built a sophisticated &ldquo;media empire&rdquo;, as per the report. &ldquo;His transformation from a popular local media professional to a ruthless jihadist propagandist &mdash; who even threatened his former colleagues &mdash; is synonymous with [ISKP&#39;s] success in Afghanistan,&rdquo; said the Jamestown Foundation.&nbsp;Azzam played an instrumental role in spreading the ISKP&#39;s &ldquo;violent jihadi ideology, glorifying and justifying terrorist acts,&rdquo; according to the UNSC.&nbsp;&ldquo;His numerous statements and other propaganda activities have encouraged the recruitment of new members and the perpetration of terrorist acts on behalf of the organization,&rdquo; the UNSC added.&nbsp;On August 26, 2021, Azzam claimed responsibility on behalf of ISKP for the suicide attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport, which killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 United States service members, and injured 150 others.&nbsp;Following the attack, the United States designated Azzam as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in November 2021.&nbsp;According to the UNSC, Azzam was listed on April 26, 2023, pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 4 of Resolution 2610 (2021), as being associated with parent group ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) or Al-Qaida for &ldquo;participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of&rdquo; and for &ldquo;recruiting for&rdquo; the ISKP.&nbsp;Overall, Azzam&rsquo;s propaganda activities supported ISKP in recruiting and inspiring its members to carry out high-profile attacks in Afghanistan, the report added.

Security

Pakistani authorities arrested Islamic State Khorasan Province media chief and spokesperson Sultan Aziz Azzam in May 2025 while crossing from Afghanistan, intelligence sources say, citing his key role in propaganda and recruitment.

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Head of ISKP media outlet in Pakistan custody: Sources

Head of ISKP media outlet in Pakistan custody: Sources