When the matter of whether or not there was an Islamic State (IS) presence has been raised with any of the ruling party, it has been vehemently denied.
Such denials are going to be more difficult to make in the wake of the arrest by security forces in Lahore of a man reported by Reuters news agency to be the commander of the IS in Pakistan.
He is said to be a Syrian-Pakistani and, along with two accomplices, is believed to have been recruiting people to send to Syria to fight under the IS banner.
This was a money-making venture for the man arrested as he was charging about $600 per person, but there is no information about how many men he has recruited and dispatched.
The rise of the IS in parts of Syria and Iraq in the last year has seemingly taken many by surprise... It is militarily powerful as it is utilising a vast stockpile of equipment and munitions left behind by the Americans, and it is very adept in its utilisation of social media to get its message across...
The IS may not be operationalised in Pakistan but it is only a matter of time before it is, and there will be an incident to which it lays claim.
The underlying mindset of extremist sympathies is the foundation of a latent infrastructure that will be easily potentiated.
There are experienced and battle-hardened fighters who are already in place and may choose to march under the IS flag and there is nothing that can be done to stop them if they so wish. The IS is not yet a threat, but it will be. — The Express Tribune, Pakistan
