ISLAMIC STATE AND AFGHAN CONUNDRUM: IMPACT ON POLITICAL LANDSCAPE OF AFGHANISTAN

Abstract

The Islamic State is a complex global terrorist organization and its ultimate goal is to establish Caliphate through length and breadth. Following its emergence in West Asia, where it established the caliphate for some period before getting defeated, it started to increase its sphere of influence in other regional countries as well including Afghanistan where its ultimate goal is to centralize its supremacy in Khorasan i.e. the heart of Afghanistan under its IS-KP (Islamic State -Khorasan Province) project. Islamic State?s increasing presence could prove catastrophic for the whole region especially Afghanistan, because it will make Afghan „end-game? and more specifically Afghanistan?s peace process more complex as there are already multiple actors competing for dominance in Afghanistan. In the backdrop of all these events, the proposed study will examine and analyse the impact of presence of ISIS on the precarious Afghan security situation and peace process in Afghanistan, especially when US forces are leaving by May 2020 leaving the war-torn country to fend for itself