Daily Times

The shooting of an American woman in Karachi has all the hallmarks of a typical terrorist attack, yet it also brings new developments in the modus operandi of terrorist organisations into focus. Debra Lobo, the vice principal of Jinnah Medical College, was shot in the face and the arm on her way home from work by four men on motorcycles. Luckily, her wounds were not fatal and she is recovering in hospital. The attackers left leaflets at the crime scene, saying that they attacked Lobo because she was American and that they “will burn America”. If such attacks continue, Pakistan runs the risk of becoming a pariah in the international community, eliminating the possibilities of trade, tourism and development projects facilitated by other countries. The deplorable state of law and order in Karachi makes it all the more susceptible to terror attacks and target killings. It is high time for the government to bolster security in Karachi and for foreign nationals living in Pakistan. The leaflets also claimed that the attackers were “falcons of the caliph” (the leader of Islamic State, IS) avenging the killing of five suspected Pakistani Taliban militants in Karachi by the Rangers.

Despite the claims of the leaflets, Raja Umer Khattab, an official of the Counter-Terrorism Department, said that since the five militants killed in Karachi did not belong to IS, it is probably not responsible for the attack. This is the first time that such an attack has been carried out in the name of IS and should be taken seriously by the authorities. Since several terrorist groups all over the Muslim world, including the brutal and ever-growing Boko Haram, have pledged allegiance to IS, it is not implausible that proscribed organisations in Pakistan are following suit. IS members have reportedly visited Pakistan to meet the leaders of Jundullah. IS does not need to be physically present in Pakistan to organise and facilitate terror attacks here. It is a far more formidable threat than the smaller militant groups in Pakistan, which will only grow stronger and more difficult to combat if they begin to receive support from IS. Considering the porous and badly policed nature of some of our borders, it is not inconceivable that IS could start sending men and weapons to Pakistani terrorist organisations in the future, if it is not doing so already. On November 11, 2014, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan unequivocally declared that IS does not “exist” in Pakistan. The very next day the news of the meeting between IS and Jundullah broke. This incident should be an eye opener for the government and security forces because the growing threat of IS is fast encroaching into Pakistan. *