DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan’s Taliban have rejected Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi’s claim to be the global leader of all Muslims, the movement said in a statement seen by Reuters on Saturday.

The Pakistani Taliban’s statement comes after a similar rejection by the Afghan Taliban following pledges of allegiance from low-level commanders of both militant movements to the Middle East-based Daesh.

Last year, Daesh, an Al-Qaeda offshoot, proclaimed its leader as “caliph” — the head of the state. Al-Baghdadi aspires to establish a global caliphate with himself at its head.

The latest statement from the Pakistani Taliban comes amid speculation that the movement’s leadership, whose goal is to topple the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is actually wary of Daesh, which is driven by different ambitions that have little to do with South Asia.

The Pakistani Taliban operate separately from the Afghan insurgents of the same name, but are loosely aligned with them.

Late last year, a few breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban declared allegiance to Daesh and ordered militants across the region to join its campaign to set up a “global caliphate.”

Pakistani authorities say Daesh has no financial ties with any Pakistani group. But there are concerns about further turmoil in the region as US-led foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan, with groups like the Haqqani network and Daesh likely to exploit the security vacuum.

The entry of Daesh, while its numbers remain small, will also complicate Pakistan’s fight against indigenous militants fighting to overthrow the government.

The Pakistani Taliban have been beset by bitter internal rivalries in the recent past.