On Thursday, March 12, 2020, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS), launched its recent research paper titled “Islamic State Wilayat Khorasan: Phony Caliphate or Bona Fide Province?” Distinguished politicians, diplomats, academics, civil society members and media representatives attended the event. The research, therefore, specifically sets out to determine the extent to which Islamic State Wilayat Khorasan is a genuine wilayat of the Islamic State, or a simple ‘change of flag’ (a change of flag being a rebranding of the organization without adhering to ISIS’s methods and ideology)?
Hussian Ehsani, AISS researcher and Dr. Dawood Azami, head of the BBC in London (Pashto department) were the speakers of panel accompanying the launch program. The event was moderated by Mitra Mehran, researcher/civil activist.
At the beginning, Hussain Ehsani presenting the summary of the research`s findings, said that the study sought to provide as complete a picture of the Islamic State of Khorasan province. According to Ehsani, the report uses information from more than 30 journalists, experts, Afghan government officials, embassies officials, NATO members, UN members and Islamic State fighters.
Dr. Dawood Azami which was linked to the program online, stressed that ISIS-K was the first group to challenge the Taliban in Afghanistan both militarily and ideologically. According to him, the Islamic State not only rejected the “Emirate” but also challenged the legitimacy of the group's leader by declaring the Islamic caliphate.

You can find the full research paper below:
https://aiss.af/aiss/publication_list_by_category/2

Metra Mehran
Dawood Azami
Hussain Ehsani
Abdul Basir Azimi
Rasheed Qutbzadah