Senior US national security officials have cautioned lawmakers that terrorist organizations with roots in South Asia — especially networks linked to Pakistan and Afghanistan — continue to present a persistent and evolving threat to the United States, despite changes in how modern terror attacks are planned and executed.

Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee on global security risks, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joseph Kent said groups such as ISIS and al-Qaida remain active across South and Central Asia, with Afghanistan once again serving as a permissive environment for extremist activity following political transitions in the region.

“ISIS and al-Qaida have found sanctuary in places like Afghanistan,” Kent told lawmakers, warning that instability and weak governance have allowed terrorist networks to regroup, reorganize, and project influence beyond regional borders. He emphasized that threats emanating from South Asia increasingly have global implications, including direct risks to the US homeland.

According to Kent, intelligence assessments show that these organizations are shifting tactics away from centrally planned, large-scale attacks toward a strategy focused on ideological inspiration. Rather than directing operations, extremist groups are increasingly using online propaganda, encrypted messaging platforms, and social media to radicalize individuals abroad.

“The trend we are seeing is a move away from structured terror cells toward inspirational violence,” Kent said, explaining that individuals influenced by extremist ideology may act independently without direct command from overseas organizations.

FBI National Security Branch Operations Director Michael Glasheen echoed those concerns, describing international terrorist organizations linked to ISIS and al-Qaida as among the most immediate and serious threats facing the United States. He noted that many recent terror plots involve individuals radicalized within US borders rather than operatives dispatched from overseas.

“Some international terrorists are people located and radicalized primarily inside the United States,” Glasheen told the committee. “They are inspired by foreign terrorist organizations, even if there is no direct operational connection.”

Kent also raised concerns about vulnerabilities exposed during the US evacuation from Afghanistan, saying that emergency admission programs allowed some individuals into the country who later displayed links to extremist groups. He said intelligence agencies had since identified people who, under normal vetting procedures, would not have been permitted to enter the United States.

“These are individuals who ordinarily would never have been admitted because of known or suspected ties to groups like ISIS and al-Qaida,” Kent said, adding that agencies are now working to address those gaps.

The warnings on South Asia-linked terrorism came during a broader hearing that later turned politically contentious. A sharp exchange unfolded between Indian American Congressman Shri Thanedar and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over immigration enforcement practices.

Thanedar accused Noem of misleading Congress regarding the detention of US citizens by immigration authorities. “You lied to me under oath,” he said during the heated exchange. Noem strongly rejected the accusation, insisting that the Department of Homeland Security complies fully with court orders and does not detain or deport American citizens, except briefly to confirm identity.

“I will consider your request that I resign as an endorsement of my work,” Noem responded when pressed.

The House Homeland Security Committee was established in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More than two decades later, US officials continue to emphasize that instability in South Asia — particularly terrorism linked to Afghanistan and Pakistan — remains closely connected to global security challenges, even as extremist tactics evolve from organized plots to decentralized acts of violence.