Al Qaeda is on the backfoot, and is hard pressed to prove its relevance in a changing world with the spectacular rise of the Islamic State (IS) in the Levant. To avoid direct confrontation with the IS, Al Qaeda has chosen another front, the subcontinent.

“Why is there no storm in your ocean?” This was the question put to Indian Muslims by the Amir of the recently established franchise of Al Qaeda in the subcontinent.

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri has named Maulwi Asim Umar to lead the jihadists in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). Maulwi Umar was educated in religious seminaries of Karachi and Akora Khatak in Pakistan, and worked with the Punjabi Taliban before joining Al Qaeda.

Religious parties and organisations coordinating the activities of seminaries in Pakistan have long claimed that their institutions are not involved in terrorism. I fail to understand what further proof is required to link the seminaries with the ongoing mayhem in Pakistan and Afghanistan, now being extended to other countries in the subcontinent.

The Pakistan Army has been fighting terrorists for a long time in South Waziristan, Swat and other tribal areas and is now fully engaged in evicting the Taliban from North Waziristan.

I think Pakistan is still fighting the symptoms, not the disease itself.

Unless and until we defeat the ideology that is brainwashing thousands of seminary students, we will only be running after shadows. All our efforts and sacrifices will be in vain as religious zombies get ready to replace their downed comrades. It is up to us to make a sensible choice, otherwise the subcontinent will continue to bleed for the years to come.

Masood Khan
Jubail, Saudi Arabia

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2014