The arrest of Noreen Leghari, a student at Liaquat Medical University, for planning to carry out – for Islamic State (Daesh) – a suicide bombing on a church during Easter, comes as a reminder that it is impossible to stereotype what turns a person into a militant. We tend to think of a terrorist as someone who is poor, male and radicalised at a madressah. While many militants do fit that description, there are just as many who do not and we have seen businessmen and students from elite schools having taken to terrorist activities. The rise of IS, in particular, seems to have been a magnet for educated people who are susceptible to radicalism. This is because IS, more than Al-Qaeda and other multinational terror groups before it, has encouraged lone-wolf style attacks and does not have a centralised leadership that is plotting attacks. From the vehicular attacks in Europe to the shootings in San Bernardino, the attacks have been carried out by individuals who assumed the IS mantle.
In the case of Noreen Leghari, it appears that her radicalisation took place through social media. This is where IS, more than any of its militant predecessors, has been able to attract recruits who may otherwise not know how to go about seeking out militant groups. They use specific hashtags, encrypted messaging services and virtual coaches. After that, Noreen was assigned to a handler within Pakistan. The only reason she was caught was because she posted a message that she was going to Syria to fight. This led her family to contact the army to try and locate her. The decentralised nature of IS makes it difficult to disrupt their online recruitment and it can be equally hard to figure out which alienated youth may be ripe for radicalisation. This is what has made IS the most feared militant group in the world today. Noreen will now likely be released and allowed to attempt to live a normal life. But the thought that there are tens of thousands more like her – both in Pakistan and around the world – who are channelling their rage in such a dangerous way puts into perspective just how difficult the task of defeating militancy truly is.