ABSTRACT
This chapter defines Punjabi militants groups as those that were established in Punjab province during or soon after the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan and which grew powerful during the 1990s as a result of state patronage. It also aims to fill in some of the missing pieces as well as to qualify the threat Punjabi militants pose to Pakistan. system affiliated with it. Initially, Punjabi militants who turned against the state targeted US interests and members of Pakistan's Christian community, but before long, the Pakistani establishment itself had become a target. Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) was two years in the making, according to Zawahiri, and its formation reflects critical changes in al-Qaeda and the Punjabi militant milieu. AQIS may be a manifestation of some of the changes that have occurred within the Punjabi militant milieu, but it is only part of the wider Punjabi militant threat to Pakistan.
