New Delhi, Feb. 10 -- After nearly five years, the Islamic State (ISIS) has carried out a high-intensity terror attack in the subcontinent, targeting a Shia mosque in Pakistan and killing more than 30 people while injuring around 170. The last comparable attacks include the 2023 Khar bombings, the deadly Peshawar mosque bombing in 2022 that killed over 60 people, and the Abbey Gate bombing during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, which claimed more than 170 lives.

After a relative lull, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) once again demonstrated its capacity for mass-casualty violence-this time through a suicide bombing carried out during the visit of the Uzbek president to Pakistan. While the incident may appear episodic, dismissing it as ...