Pak fears IS may recruit locals amid widening sectarian divide

The Pakistan government reportedly fears that the Islamic State (Daish) may take advantage of the sectarian divide by recruiting locals.

According to the Dawn, National Security Committee Secretary Muhammad Sadiq said at the concluding session of a two-day South Asian security conference that it would be "dishonest to say Daish is not a threat, knowing the contacts between it and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban."

Speaking at the conference on 'Flashpoints of the South Asian security - A review of political and security architecture in the Subcontinent', Sadiq said that while Daish had not challenged the security in Pakistan, it saw the region as a potential recruitment ground.

He added that with the weakening of TTP after operations in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency and displacement of Haqqanis, many foot soldiers of terrorism would be looking for new leadership and resources and Daish was a natural source of attraction for them.