Pakistan - Islamic State pamphlets distributed in South Waziristan

Pamphlets of the Islamic State (IS) militant group were reportedly distributed in parts of South Waziristan, residents said on Wednesday.

This is the first reported incident of IS pamphlets being distributed in South Waziristan.

However, officials in the region claimed that IS has no presence in South Waziristan, and that the pamphlets had been distributed in lieu of “vested motives” to create panic.

IS pamphlets had previously been distributed in Peshawar– as well as in Afghan refugee camps in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Graffiti in support of IS appeared in Karachi, Quetta, Lahore and Gilgit.

Tribesmen in Wana said they had found the handwritten pamphlets with inscriptions in Urdu in the main marketplace. They went on to add that unidentified people had thrown the pamphlets that praised people for supporting a Taliban splinter group.

The pamphlets said the IS founder has “instructed to take action against those who are responsible” for the killing of militants. It also accused tribal elders of spying on militants for the US.

A political agent in South Waziristan, Islam Zeb, said there is no existence of IS in the area, adding that people want to create panic through the group’s pamphlets.

He said no militant group operates in Wana now, adding that authorities had recently conducted a three-day anti-polio campaign without any problem.

Regardless, authorities launched a search for those who may have distributed the pamphlets.

The Maulvi Nazeer militant group has influence in Wana and surrounding areas, which are not under the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Maulvi Nazeer was killed in a US drone strike last year.

Six Pakistani Taliban leaders, including their spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid, parted ways with the TTP last month and joined IS. The TTP later expelled Shahid and appointed a new spokesperson.