Leading military and political analysts like the Canberra-based Sanu Kainikara like to trace the IS phenomenon to "the narrative shaped by al Qaeda that was aimed at creating an Islamic powerbase". They may be right but the fact remains that today the Islamic State is present in Afghanistan and has spread its tentacles deep-inside the Sindh province of Pakistan.
The mood in Washington is that the US needs to befriend Pakistan both at the political and military levels as a part of its plan for peace in Afghanistan. Hence the invitations to Prime Minister Sharif and his Army Chief General Raheel Sharif.
On his part, the General has been on record underlining the urgency for reconciliation between President Ghani government and the Good Taliban.
"This reconciliation in Afghanistan is very important. If we do not do it in the proper manner and the Afghan Taliban splinter, they would go for a bigger name and that is Daesh", he said in his London address.
This is sweet music to the American Generals based in Kabul and political leadership in the White House and Capitol Hill, who are receiving reports that many Taliban groups have been become Daesh outfits. More over the Pakistan Army Chief has won accolades for his operation Zarb-e-Azab targeted at the 'Bad Taliban' militants.
Nonetheless, Washington will do well to utilise the time at its disposal before the Sharifs arrive in American capital to find out how Pakistan is addressing the Daesh threat, so eloquently highlighted by General Sharif. Because, the Inspector General of Sindh Police in a briefing to a Parliamentary committee as recently as Oct 12 stated that the IS had links with banned Sunni militant groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). The Safoora Goth carnage was the handiwork of either IS proxies or its affiliates; the mastermind of the attack has reportedly escaped to Syria.
"From the outset, from the first reports that the Islamic State (IS) was present in the country, the government reaction was to promptly go into Ostrich Mode, head firmly in the sand. For months, denial was the order of the day; senior ministers made a point of ignoring the elephant in the room, almost to the point of farce", influential English daily Express Tribune lamented editorially on Oct 13 just when the White House was firming up its talking points with Prime Minister Sharif. One of these talking points is said to be a civilian nuclear deal like the Bush regime had granted to India.
To return to the editorial in Express Tribune, which is published in collaboration with the New York Times, the daily was brutally frank in its assessment thus:
"As Denialistan gathered heft and traction, the IS was busy pamphleteering in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, badging shops in south Punjab and making itself felt in the retail sector of Islamabad where its symbology started to appear two months ago. Pictures of trucks adorned with the IS symbol have appeared on social media ".. Militarily, the group was not as active or visible as was its propaganda arm, but it appears to have been in capacity-building mode. It is now the turn of the Sindh police to have an awakening to the elephant problem. Those suspects now in custody have confessed to having played a part in 37 attacks. A picture is now emerging of the IS as an entity that has a presence across the country, has sympathisers widely spread and prepared to declare their support, and a military capacity that speaks of an active intelligence network to identify targets and competent foot soldiers to deliver death and destruction. This did not happen by osmosis. It happened because it was allowed to happen in a climate of wilful neglect and denial. That, in turn, fed into a populace that had been radicalised over the years, meaning that the IS found itself pushing an open door when it came calling. Elephants are not always benign, and the IS elephant has a murderous gleam in its eye".
Well, the message is clear: US cannot afford to play for short term stakes in Af-Pak region!
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