Abstract

This paper examines how the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) establishes ideological warfare through narrative tactics using ISKP’s literature, Voice-of-Khurasan (VoK) and interrogation reports of detained militants of ISKP in Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Using narrative criminology as the theoretical framework, the analysis explores how stories shape militant identities, motivations, worldview and closure mechanisms that sustain violence. The findings reveal a four-tiered structure: identity narratives with five dimensions that are true-believer, victimhood, rejection-of-worldly-life, enemy-oriented and ummah-based identities, motivational narratives with eight dimensions that are revenge and justice, religious-obligation, spiritual-consolation, promise-of-paradise, sacrifice-for-‘deen’, rejection-of-hypocrisy, loyalty-to-the-organization and call-for-collective-action, master narratives with three dimensions that are global-khilafat-vision, struggle-against-apostates/crusaders and historical-continuity-of-resistance and narrative closures with three dimensions that are martyrdom-as-fulfillment, eternal-salvation and victory-of-islam. A cognitive map illustrates the interconnection among the dimensions, demonstrating that identity frames enable the motivational narratives which are further legitimized through the master narratives and accomplished through the narrative closure. The study confirms the existing insights from narrative criminological perspective about the role of stories in shaping violent action, while extending the literature by identifying new sub-dimensions that are the rejection-of-worldly-life identity and rejection-of-hypocrisy as motivational tools. Importantly, the findings point-out how ISKP localizes global jihadist scripts into the socio-cultural fabric of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, blending universal Islamic narratives with regional grievances. The study has implications for counter-extremism policies, suggesting that effective counter-narratives must address not only ideological claims but also emotional, cultural, closure-oriented appeals that sustain militant activities.