Pakistan - The IS threat

The flocking of fighters from all over the world to the Middle East to join the self-styled Islamic State (IS) poses a threat to the world that is bigger and more violent than the Taliban and al Qaeda. Pakistan too, with its dubious distinction in fostering terrorism in the past, is not spared such danger. Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Huassain on Friday warned the nation against the looming threat of IS in the country. Rightly so, since as a result of many Taliban commanders, including its spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid, pledging their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph, serious concerns about the militants’ spreading network have emerged. A recent UN report says 1,000 militants are reaching Iraq and Syria each month, not only from Muslim countries but also from the west. The situation is frightening because once these battle-hardened fighters return to their countries of origin, they may present a serious terrorist threat. On the other hand, the steps taken by the world community to turn the tide of these flocking jihadists are proving to be far less than effective because the IS juggernaut keeps on thundering its way through Iraq and Syria. The Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani is on the verge of falling into IS hands. It is naïve of Turkey to think that IS poses no threat to it and therefore there is no need for Turkey to step in. Even though it has finally allowed the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces to pass through its territory to help save their co-ethnics, the fact that anti-Assad sentiment has still held it back from recognising IS as its enemy may come back to haunt it later.

To crush such a monster, first and foremost there needs to be a strong political will. Only then will the airstrikes and other military actions produce any substantial result. The current lacuna created by this ‘coalition of the unwilling’ of the US with its Arab allies is so far going in IS’s favour. The monster we are dealing with came through the doors that were opened by these very countries. Not only does Turkey need to join this coalition of Arab and western allies but others too should keep a close eye on the movement of citizens to such combat zones. Above all, Pakistan, which is already in the crosshairs of the Taliban and other extremist organisations, should wake up to the threat posed by IS’s growth in the country as another front in the war on terrorism would increase the challenge to be overcome.