Pakistan’s President Asif Zardari issued a stark warning on Sunday. He said the current situation is like Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks. Terror groups like the TTP and IS-K operate freely. "Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups found refuge in Afghanistan during the Taliban’s first period in power," Zardari said. Today, many of these groups operate under Taliban rule in Kabul. Some, like IS-K, are enemies of the Taliban, but many, including the TTP, have friendly ties with them. President Zardari also accused India of "assisting the Taliban regime and threatening ... Pakistan." In a related update, Pakistan’s federal interior minister announced the arrest of the alleged mastermind behind Friday’s suicide bombing in Islamabad. The suspect is an Afghan national. IS claimed responsibility for the attack. The minister further claimed India had increased funding for terrorists. The threat from both inside and outside Pakistan is complex. Leaders from federal and provincial governments must put aside political differences. They should unite to fight terrorism. However, recent remarks from the federal information minister blaming the PTI party for terrorism resurgence hurt efforts for unity. Last week had shown hope when KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi chaired his first Apex Committee meeting. He stressed cooperation between provinces, the central government, and the military to fight terrorism. The interior minister praised KP’s Counter Terrorism Department for arresting suspects linked to the Islamabad blast. All political parties must now show similar commitment. It is not the time for blame games about who allowed terrorists to regroup. After all, terrorism took root over many decades. The priority is to defeat terrorism now. The recent terrorist attack at Islamabad’s imambargah has been linked to IS. This group is hostile to the Afghan Taliban but operates near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. That IS could organize an attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and target Pakistan’s capital raises concern. Intelligence-based actions are urgently needed to stop future IS attacks. Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to battle the TTP’s terrorist violence. The state must not allow any space for IS to expand. The challenge is huge but demands full focus and unity.