The specter of Daesh in South Asia: Threats and the Way Forward

摘要

The Islamic State's specter has further complicated the already per- -ilous security situation in Southi Asia. The terror group has fully capitalised on the mindset of regional governments - they consider IS threat a non-existent problem to reckon with- to strike its roots from Afghanistan to Bangladesh. Though US aerial strikes in Afghanistan have made it difficult for IS-K to spread its terror in every nook and cranny of Afghanistan, the militant group has gone underground and preparing to resurface and launch a wave of deadly terror in the country; Afghan security forces are largely rickety and ramshackle to counteract the group once it is on the rampage. The governments in Pakistan and Bangladesh are also unmindful to the lurking threat posed by IS which bodes ill for the security of both countries. To make the impending terror of IS a non-starter, the regional countries should be on the qui vive with clear-cut, all-comprehensive and pragmatic countert-errorism and counter-militancy strategies against the group.