Pakistan's Jihadism: Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Local Militants ()

Key Chapter Title List

1. Introduction: Pakistan's Jihadist Ecology and Core Issues
2. Pakistan's Deep State, Al-Qaeda, and Early Contacts with Jihadists (1980-2001)
3. The Strategic Evolution of Global Jihadist Organizations in Pakistan Post-2001
4. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan: The Bastard Child of Global Jihad
5. Sunni Supremacists: Al-Qaeda's Unusual Allies
6. Global Jihad and Kashmir Jihad: Cooperation or Assimilation?
7. Conclusion

Document Introduction

This report, based on original field research, provides an in-depth analysis of the complex and evolving dynamics between global jihadist organizations (primarily Al-Qaeda and its affiliate AQIS, as well as the Islamic State) and local jihadist armed groups within Pakistan. The core of the study explores how Pakistan's military and intelligence agencies (the Deep State), in the process of utilizing jihadist groups as tools of foreign policy, gradually lost control over them, and how Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State exploited this gap to expand their influence. The report challenges the traditional view that simplifies Al-Qaeda as a monolithic franchise model, revealing its greater reliance in South Asia on an advisory and assistance model, cultivating a network of clients and allies through funding, training, and advice, rather than establishing powerful, direct branches.

The research employs a unique hybrid methodology. Its cornerstone is 114 interviews, phone contacts, or meetings conducted by local researchers between 2013 and 2020, engaging with current or former members of 36 jihadist organizations, including Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harakat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the Islamic State's Khorasan Province and Pakistan Province branches, and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. Additionally, intelligence officials, tribal elders, and donors from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran were interviewed. Through multiple rounds, multi-channel cross-verification, and screening of sensitive information, the research team strived to reconstruct facts as accurately as possible within a highly sensitive and misinformation-laden environment.

The report meticulously traces the genealogical evolution of Pakistani jihadism from the 1980s Afghan anti-Soviet war to the present. In the early stages, Pakistan successfully shaped its surrounding strategic environment by supporting Afghan mujahideen and Kashmir-focused armed groups. However, after the 9/11 attacks, particularly the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, core Al-Qaeda members flowed into Pakistan and established deep connections with local jihadist groups. Key chapters analyze the rise, internal fragmentation, and conflict with the Pakistani state of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan as a key client of Al-Qaeda; examine the pragmatic, rather than ideologically aligned, alliances between Al-Qaeda and Sunni extremist sectarian groups (like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi); and explore how Kashmir-focused armed organizations (like Lashkar-e-Taiba) maintain cooperation with both the Pakistani state and Al-Qaeda.

A key finding of the study is that the relationship between Al-Qaeda and Pakistan's Deep State is not simply one of antagonism or collusion, but has experienced multiple cycles of agreements and ruptures (e.g., alleged agreements in 2005, 2014, 2019), with its nature fluctuating alongside regional developments and U.S. pressure. Concurrently, the Islamic State's entry into South Asia since 2014, through its Khorasan and Pakistan Province branches, has further complicated the landscape by competing with Al-Qaeda for the loyalty of local jihadist groups. The report notes that despite strategic and ideological differences between the two major global jihadist organizations, their operational practices in Pakistan demonstrate a high degree of pragmatism and local adaptation.

Ultimately, this report provides a first-hand, in-depth analysis for understanding the complexity of Pakistan as a critical hub for global jihadism. It reveals the blurred lines between state and non-state actors in Pakistan, the localized limitations of global jihadist strategies, and the enduring challenges this complex interplay poses to Pakistan's domestic stability and regional security in South Asia.