ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) on Monday rejected a claim by former US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who alleged that an ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) commander had been killed in Punjab.
In a post on X late Sunday, Khalilzad stated: “Good news from Pakistan: Reportedly a senior ISIS-K commander, Burhan — also known as Zaid — was killed in Patak, part of Akhtarabad city in Punjab.”
Responding through its official fact-checking account, the MoIB clarified that the incident occurred on March 5 in Habibabad, Kasur district — not in Akhtarabad — and had no links to terrorism.
According to the ministry, Burhan was killed in a robbery or a personal enmity-related incident. A first information report (FIR) was lodged the next day at the Saddar Pattoki police station.
The statement added that Burhan had been living with his father-in-law, Shah Muhammad, near the Habibabad fruit market at the time of the incident.
“There is no presence of ISIS/Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) elements in Punjab, Pakistan, according to credible security assessments,” the ministry asserted.
It further said that no evidence connected Burhan to ISKP, nor was he a commander, accusing Khalilzad of twisting a “purely criminal or personal dispute into a terrorism-linked killing” and creating a misleading picture of ISKP activity in Punjab.
“The case remains a criminal matter, unrelated to militancy or organised terrorist groups,” it concluded.
