Here's a chilling little quote: "They are producing an army of militants like none before. Previously, at least, they had handlers in the state machinery. Now, they say, we only answer to Allah."
The militants, security officials agree, now operate in small cells that have a great deal of autonomy from the upper command structure of the organization.
The security forces face an uphill struggle"This means that when we break a cell, they have no idea as to the leaders' whereabouts," another intelligence official says.
"But what is even more frustrating and dangerous is that they will not know about another cell operating in the same area, or against the same target."
Much of the focus in recent years has been on the Waziristan tribal area.
Waziristan serves primarily as a safe hideout, the second intelligence officer says.
"Even as a training area it is over rated... all you need is a couple of rooms to train and arm a suicide bomber.
In the past, most of the militants were Pashtun tribesmen, from Waziristan and other tribal areas that straddle the Afghan-Pakistan border. But that is no longer true.
The jihadis recruitment is at an all time high, and it is principally due to lack of will on the part of the government
Pakistani investigator"There are as many Punjabis and Muhajirs, as there were prior to 9/11... Kashmiris and ethnic Baloch are also present," the second intelligence officer says.
In a recent plot by Sunni Muslims to attack Shias in Karachi, the alleged ringleader was a Kashmiri.
"Now prior to 9/11, the involvement of Kashmiris in sectarian attacks was almost unheard of... and now here is one actually leading the way."
It makes for an uphill task for the security forces.
It is compounded by what most security officials call the government's "see no evil, hear no evil" approach to militants.
"The jihadis recruitment is at an all-time high, and it is principally due to lack of will on the part of the government," the investigator says.
He is referring to the lack of enforcement of a section of Pakistan's anti-terrorism laws.
When a person under suspicion is released from custody, he is required to provide police with a detailed daily account of his movements, saying where he went, whom he met and when he returned, the official says.
But it hardly ever happens.
"The released men bribe the local police station so they don't have to call in everyday," the official explains.
"After the payment, they are free to travel as they wish."
The investigator says the ex-militants use this time to travel around the country giving lectures and sermons at certain mosques and madrassas.
The article kicked off by focusing on one recent suicide bomber who killed 11 at an air base, including seven officers, with an innovative new technique. Check out this:
Police say the cell was led by a retired army major, Ehsan-ul-Haq. This is not the first time that a security official has been involved in militancy.