“Don’t you kill our own Muslim brothers?” a mop-haired youth asks a terrorist recruiter in one animated video showing up on Arabic Facebook accounts in North Africa. “So much of this, it doesn’t seem right.” The video is one of several paid ads that are turning up on millions of cellphones and computer screens in countries known to be top recruiting grounds for the Islamic State. The ads offer a harrowing view of life inside the self-proclaimed caliphate, sometimes with photos or cartoons and often in the words of refugees and defectors who warn others to stay away.

Overtly member states of the Heart of Asia Conference emphasized upon regional peace and stability, especially in Afghanistan, but, covertly US-led secret diplomacy prevailed over the moot. It was owing to such a strategy and American influence that the member delegates appreciated India’s constructive role in supporting Afghanistan and its people for the past decade and half.

One option is to cut the monster at its roots. This is the strategy adopted by Hollande, calling for stepped up anti-terrorism operations in Syria and Iraq. Eradicating the source of propaganda and erasing the motivations for terrorist acts is one of the few options left when the embedded enemy cannot be identified. However, this strategy is uncertain and will take time to yield results, which means France facing up to the prospect of similar attacks in the near future.

In 2014, Indonesia declared it has chosen “soft power” to counterattack ISIS, determined to resort to violence or war only if every other means failed. Later in March 2016, Indonesia emphasized its decision not to join any military alliance in countering terrorism.

In spite of persistent conflict and the rapidly changing political  configurations across the Middle East, Arab countries must galvanise around their common interests [...] Additionally, a shared language, cultural affinity and a rich resource base must act as rallying points to bring the region together.