ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) on Monday rejected claims by former US special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, who alleged that a senior ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) commander had been killed in Punjab. Khalilzad had tweeted that a commander named Burhan, also known as Zaid, was killed in Akhtarabad city.
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The MoIB clarified that the incident actually occurred on March 2 in Habibabad, Kasur district, and was related to a robbery or personal enmity, not a counter-terror operation. An FIR was registered on March 6 at the Saddar Pattoki police station, and local authorities confirmed that Burhan lived with his father-in-law near a fruit market in Habibabad.
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The ministry stressed that there is no presence of ISIS-K elements in Punjab, and there is no evidence linking Burhan to the group or suggesting he held a commander role. “Khalilzad’s post twisted a purely criminal dispute into a terrorism-linked killing, creating a false impression of ISKP activity in Punjab,” the MoIB said.