A report circulated by Home Department of Punjab to its attached departments has warned against the potential threat of the global terror network Daesh even though the federal government is officially denying any organised existence of the Middle East-based terrorist outfit in Pakistan.
Sources privy to the report titled "Recruitment of Pakistani boys and Afghan refugees by Daesh", which was sent to the relevant security agencies on December 24, 2015 by additional secretary internal security, government of Punjab, claimed that Daesh is spreading its propaganda literature, particularly through CDs, to win the support of Pakistani youth to its global agenda.
The report while citing various other reports warned that there are indications that after consolidating its position in Afghanistan, Daesh is making efforts to establish its footing in Pakistan as well.
The report further stated that Daesh has started recruiting individuals from Pakistan, especially Afghan refugees living in different refugee camps in FATA against a monthly salary of Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.
After enrolment, the report stated that these recruits are sent to Afghanistan, where they are being trained to handle sophisticated weapons and other explosive materials. Around 50 youth have reportedly left for Afghanistan mainly from the refugee camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to attend training camps run by Daesh militants across the border.
According to the report, Daesh has already appointed former Taliban commander in Orakzai Agency Hafiz Saeed as its chief for Pakistan and Mohammad Khurasani as his spokesman. Amir Mansoor has been appointed as Daesh chief for the federal capital Islamabad, the report further revealed.
It further revealed that various other former Taliban militants have also joined the terror network.
The report further warned that various banned outfits like Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Turkistan Islamic Movement, Uzbek and Chechen Movement, Jamat-ul-Ahrar and Lashkar-e-Jangvi have also joined hand with Daesh.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Foreign Office continue to reject an organised existence of Daesh in Pakistan despite various reports that have begun surfacing.
"In the context of presence of Daesh in Pakistan, we have consistently made several points. Firstly, there is no footprint of Daesh in Pakistan. Secondly, we will not tolerate even the shadow of Daesh in Pakistan. Thirdly, we have alerted our security agencies to the threat posed by Daesh", Foreign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah told media briefing on Thursday.
Senior defence analyst Brigadier (retd) Mehmood Shah while talking to this correspondent said that the official denial of existence of Daesh in the country was aimed at not giving significance to the terror network which is primarily based in Syria and Iraq. However, he said that extra vigilance is needed to prevent the terrorist network from influencing Pakistani youth through its comprehensive propaganda on the social media as well as through its printed literature.
Referring to the recent arrests of some suspected terrorists associated with Daesh in various parts of the country, he said that the measures indicate that government agencies are highly vigilant about the emerging threat of Daesh.
He also emphasised that the government needs to ensure implementation of national action plan to avert re-emergence of various terrorist networks that have been destroyed during operation Zarb-e-Azb as well as the intelligence based actions in the urban areas of the country.
Amir Rana, Director Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) said that an effective co-ordination between Pakistan and Afghanistan was necessary to thwart the emerging threat of Daesh in both the countries. He added that the two counties need to co-ordinate their efforts against the common challenge of terrorism. Security analysts maintain that extra measures should be taken to stop the spread of Daesh as the terror network, unlike the Taliban, are mostly targeting the educated youth as well as women through effective propaganda.