The arrest of three affiliates of the Islamic State group (IS) from Lahore, including a medical student Noreen Laghari who hailed from Hyderabad, has set alarm bells ringing for the state and urban public opinion in Pakistan. Reportedly, Noreen and two other terrorists were netted during a special intelligence-based operation conducted by the security forces whilst one terror suspect, identified as Tariq, was killed. Currently, Pakistan has been facing a two-pronged threat from the TTP’s splinter groups and from the IS. Both organisations have worked hard on their reputation for bloodshed. The involvement of a medical student in religious-fundamentalist militancy has renewed concerns about the propaganda power of the terrorists, who are busy influencing young minds by presenting a very dark, unfortunate and wrong reading of Islam. Despite repeated military offensives against them, the state has failed to completely eliminate the threat from them. Much has been said about the consistent state policy which created such fundamentalist elements for strategic purposes. Today, with those strategic aims far from achieved, an atmosphere the promotion of an obscurantist and fundamentalist form of religion has divided the country into various sectarian camps. The ground has been prepared for such militancy for decades. Meanwhile, the government is still – for practical purposes – in a state of denial regarding the massive threat posed by the IS group and other extremists. Instead of downplaying the presence of the terrorist organisations in the country, the government and security agencies need to act. Along with the continuation of operation in restive areas, there is a need to seriously implement the National Action Plan across the country. The government needs to ensure that the situation does not spiral further out of control. It is time for political and security leaders to recognise the fact that if the Islamic State group wins the support of the TTP splinter groups, as well as other local banned outfits, the stage will be set for a bloodbath on a massive scale. Pakistan cannot afford that. *