The unholy threat from Daesh

Abu Bakar Al-Baghdadi, after the destruction of Iraq and Syria, is now looking towards Pakistan. According to reports, he has been relocated to Afghanistan by his handlers for this purpose. Baghdadi, whose Iraqi identity has never been confirmed and family background is also unknown, is regarded as

the top agent of anti-Islam forces to harm the interests of Muslim countries through terrorism.

The Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) first appeared in Afghanistan in 2014 but now boasts thousands of like-minded terrorists. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had revealed some time back that thousands of Daesh or IS terrorists were present in northern and eastern Afghan regions and were being joined by militants fleeing Syria and Iraq, introducing a new dimension of instability and chaos in the region.

Daesh has carried out many attacks in KP and Balochistan provinces. The carnage in Mastung on July 13, 2018 with at least 150 deaths and scores of injuries had all the hallmarks of Daesh attack. In Sindh, it carried out an attack on the Sehwan shrine in 2017, which killed 90 people and injured more than 300.

Many TTP elements have joined Daesh, which has mysterious sources of funding and offers lucrative terrorist ideology and careers. The survival of organizations like Daesh and TTP should be seen in the context of international and domestic environments as they are operated by inimical international players. They are used by foreign hostile agencies, which also exploit hired combatants and disaffected segments of society locally.

How can Baghdadi be a global leader of Muslims, who are residing in 57 countries with distinct cultures and ethnicities, political, social and religious ideologies?

Observers say for Pakistan and other regional countries like Iran and Russia, Daesh is a greater threat than the Afghan Taliban because the former is ideologically and fundamentally expansionist in nature while the latter has never expressed its desire to operate in or influence other countries.

The new National Internal Security Policy (NISP) recently approved by the last federal cabinet stated: “The emergence of Daesh in close proximity to Pakistan has raised new internal security challenges. The potential for spill over in Pakistan with the support and collaboration of TTP and its offshoots is not a possibility to be ignored. This situation has been compounded by the return of battle-hardened militants from Syria and Iraq.”

In Pakistan, renowned Muftis and leading Ulema have put full trust in the government and armed forces by issuing a consensus Fatwa, the Paigham-e-Pakistan, to refute the extremist ideologies and terrorist outfits like Daesh. According to this Fatwa, the state and the government are Islamic in accordance with Shariah and no individual or a group can proclaim its rule and Jihad in the country.

The security forces are working to eliminate and root out terrorists, their facilitators and supporters throughout the country. These terrorists – who have turned into a coalition of sub-nationalist, criminal, sectarian, anti-state forces – are being used by anti-Pakistan forces in the geo-political proxy war that the country is facing from both eastern and western borders. It is imperative for all to reject the deception of Baghdadi and Daesh and all Pakistanis should offer full support to security forces to eliminate the terrorist group from Pakistan.