THAT Al Qaeda has been active in Pakistan is no secret, as several top-ranking foreign militants belonging to the transnational terror franchise, including Osama bin Laden, have been apprehended here. However, what is cause for concern is that evidence is emerging that Al Qaeda has made inroads inside urban Pakistan, attracting bright young men to its cause. Police on Friday said they had unearthed an ‘organised network’ of the militant group in Karachi; investigators revealed that Al Qaeda is recruiting university students from numerous middle-class Karachi localities, focusing on young talent proficient in information technology. The discovery of the network has put the spotlight on urban religious militancy, particularly amongst the educated youth, whereas most of the earlier focus had been on extremist madressahs. Similar discoveries had been made in Lahore.

Pakistani militants can be divided into two broad categories; the first consists of students enrolled in extremist madressahs or those attracted to these establishments, who often provide the cannon fodder for suicide missions or foot soldiers for sectarian groups. The second consists of educated youth plucked from universities and colleges and selected to run the infrastructure of ‘jihad’. The second category is perhaps more dangerous than the jihadi foot soldier, providing the brains for transnational terrorism. It is believed that Al Qaeda recruits young, educated Pakistanis to groom them for leadership roles and to provide the technical and logistical support structure for global militancy. The authorities must crack down on similar networks existing in Karachi and other cities. The metropolis does not need the additional infamy of becoming the international recruiting ground for terrorism. At a deeper level, state and society, specifically the religious parties, need to look into why intelligent young men choose to take up the gun. The reasons can be many. Some youths are self-radicalised, reacting to atrocities against Muslims in Kashmir, Palestine and other areas, while others belong to student wings of religious parties or are already members of proscribed groups. Whatever the motivation, the educated militant is politically aware, media- and tech-savvy and ideologically driven. This presents a new de-radicalisation dilemma: while working to wean the madressah student away from militancy, the state must now also work to convince ideologically motivated university students to shun transnational jihad.