Sociology and Criminology-Open Access
Open Access

The Complex Structure of Violent Extremism in Pakistan

Kyleigh O’Donnell^{* *}Correspondence: Kyleigh O’Donnell, University of Maine Athletics/MGN) ORONO, Maine, Pakistan, Email:

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Introduction

Multiculturalism in Pakistan

Pakistan is a large country located in Southern Asia. It has a large population of Indian Muslims, along with several other ethnicities including the Hindis, Turco-Mongols, Afghans and Sikhs. The military in Pakistan holds much power over the country, the president of the country, and the prime minister. Multiculturalism is present in a country when different ethnic and cultural groups are living in the same space, speak the same language and, these groups keep their own identity and beliefs as a culture [1]. Is Pakistan actually a multiculturalist country or are they trying to integrate the cultures to one religion? Pakistan, a country with a Muslim-majority, had found themselves focusing solely on religion, nationhood and their ideology. Religion and the ideology in Pakistan is what control the identity of people there. Pakistan is not a fully multiculturalized society yet, but the terrorist groups that are present there are adamant that their surroundings, and the country follow their beliefs and ideology. [2] Force is used when individuals or groups of people do not follow the beliefs or the ideology, and it could lead to further problems and more violence to begin.

Causes of Violence from Multiculturalism

Along with the several different cultures present in Pakistan, there is a large presence of violent extremism. Some of the most dangerous and well-known terrorist groups in the world stem from Pakistan. These terrorist groups are influenced by their religion and their culture. The multiculturalism in Pakistan is giving these violent groups an ideology as to who their enemies are, and what they need to accomplish, even if it means violence. Religious minorities are one of the targets of violence. The fear of violence influences their feelings and religious beliefs to conform to those of the people of Pakistan. In recent decades, Muslims have been seen as a radicalized group as a whole, and their war on terror began to find a sense of belonging in the Middle East. [3] Violent extremism in Pakistan is a complex structure that has many different terror groups, and religious ideologies that create the countries reputation.

Al Qaeda and the Taliban are possibly the two most well-known terrorist groups in the world. One of the most recent attacks from Al Qaeda that sparked my interest in studying Pakistan was the hijacking of the planes on September 11, 2001 in New York City.

Overview

Pakistan is considered the most dangerous country in the world when it comes to terrorism, and terrorist groups. There is a very complex system of terrorism groups that are spread out all over the country. In this paper, I will be further discussing the different terrorist groups that inhabit Pakistan and the damage that they have produced all over the world. The four major categories are the Neo-Jihads, Religious Nationalist Groups, Baloch Ethno- Nationalist Groups, and Sectarian. Al Qaeda, one of the largest and most violent terrorist groups in Pakistan will be one of the main focuses of this paper. I will begin to describe how terrorism began in Pakistan, and the 4 different categories of terrorist groups. I will then begin to dive into the Taliban another major extremist group, and their leaders, motives and recruitment. Following that, I will discuss the major terror attacks that have occurred all over the world, such as 9/11 in New York. I will also talk about how these terrorist groups affect Pakistan, such as the effects that women and children face. This manuscript concludes with a discussion on Pakistan’s future predictions.

History of Terrorism in Pakistan

Terrorism in Pakistan dates back to the 1980s and it creates a sense of uncertainty for the people living there. The country has faced more terrorism in the last decade than they did in total since Pakistan became their own country in 1947, and it is seen as the most dangerous territory in the world. [4] Identified three elements that are key to the rise of terrorism in Pakistan: (1) The all-out support by Pakistan to the war against terrorism, (2) Pak- India fighting over the land of Kashmir (3) Negligence of social development in Pakistan.

Support from Pakistan on the War against Terrorism

When the uprising of terrorist groups in Pakistan was going on, such as the rise of Al Qaeda, and the Taliban, Pakistan needed to do something to fight back, and to rid their country such violence. After the attacks on September 11th, Pakistan’s alliance with Afghanistan was cut, and the Afghan Taliban began attacking Pakistan. [4] The terrorist attacks in Pakistan were not only coming from Afghanistan but from India as well.

The Pakistani Government has tried several times to create relations with the United States in order to fight the war against terrorism. [5] Finally they became an ally to the United States and were on the frontline fighting this war. The United States put Pakistan into question, and asked if they are they a part of the problem or the solution of terrorism?The United States criticizes Pakistan, saying that they do not do enough to fight in this war on terror, and they need to step up and do more.

The war against terrorism was declared by US President George W. Bush, and he made it clear that,“they will not rest until terror groups of global reach have been found, stopped and defeated, and this goal will not be achieved until the entire world’s nation’s stop harboring and supporting the terrorists” [5].

Pakistan wanted to join this war against terror because they were the victims of the violent extremism as well, even if they were home to groups such as Al Qaeda. The United States finally saw effort in the war by Pakistan when they launched Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). The aim of this program was to destroy al Qaeda and to eliminate the Taliban. Pakistan was very open the United States entering their country to help fight this war. They allowed them to use five of their airbases and they could land planes anywhere in Pakistan in an emergency. To make the alliance better, there was no major threat to the United States security while occupying space in Pakistan [5].

Pakistan has captured more terrorists, and has more troops than anyone in this war. They have put a stop to thirty-eight different attacks planned, but they have also suffered the most casualties since joining forces with the US. The United States occupancy in Pakistan has put a target on their backs, the terror groups see Pakistan as weak, and think they are under the control of the United States, when in reality they are working alongside each other [5].

Pak-India and the Kashmir Dispute

Three wars, several violent attacks and encounters, and 2 countries fighting for the land of Kashmir. Kashmir is an area of land in between Pakistan and India. Both India and Pakistan claim the land of Kashmir as their own.This area is said to be the starting point of all of the terrorist groups that are in Pakistan. These groups were started by joint anger and aggression towards India while fighting for this land. The dispute over this land has caused three conventional wars, and numerous other violent attacks and confrontations. Pakistan’s involvement in the dispute over Kashmir has led to them being the first Muslim group to join the nuclear weapons club. In 1947, the first war in Kashmir had broken out. This war had begun from the slaughtering of the Muslims by the Hindus and the Sikhs. During this year approximately 250,000 Muslims were murdered, and 500,000 were forced to move to Pakistan. This war had caused trauma and the need for revenge on the people of Kashmir and Pakistan. Later in 1947, the people of Pakistan had joined forces and marched into Kashmir, which forced India to intervene. From this first war the violence from both sides had continued until 1949 when Pakistan and India agreed to stop fighting because of the United Nations, in which they were both a part of. The land of Kashmir is said to be Pakistan’s chosen trauma, in which their fear, anger, and sorrow stem from, and it was mainly from the war in 1947. Instead of mourning the losses that they have faced over the dispute of Kashmir, Pakistan has turned to something else, violence and terrorism. The dispute over Kashmir still continues today, although it is not as violent, and several policies have been created, there has not been a solid resolution to the dispute.

Negligence of Social Development

Terrorism in Pakistan was formed in order to pursue political and ideological objectives. [4] The ideologies that the terrorist groups created are mainly based on religion and their desire to fulfill a religious prophecy. The dispute over the land of Kashmir is what keeps terrorism flowing within Pakistan. If it weren’t for the dispute between India and Pakistan, terrorism in the country would not have been as large, as prominent or especially as dangerous as it has become. There are many underlying factors that have made terrorism in Pakistan grow as well. Economic modernization has created a problem in which prices of everyday goods and services are very inflated. Along with the economic inflation that was occurring, the wages of jobs were declining. This had created anger for several people, which in turn made them join terrorist groups. Poverty had also become apparent for many families and people because of the economic frustrations with prices and low job pay. Because Pakistan is not a democratic nation, the people do not have economic freedom. This adds to the inequality and frustration that the people in Pakistan are facing and it makes them more vulnerable to terrorism.

The Four Complex Terrorism Categories

When it comes to terrorism in Pakistan, the system present is highly complex. As of right now there are four major groups of terrorism (1) Neo-Jihadi, (2) Baloch Ethno-Nationalist, (3) Sectarian and the (4) Religious Nationalist.

Neo-Jihadi Groups

The Neo-Jihadi groups are the most recent major group out of the four. Neo-Jihadism is defined as a product of the modern day instead of Islam traditions. [6] The Neo-Jihadi groups are a post 9/11 phenomenon. This group rejects the idea of nation states and they see their terrorist groups as their own, and rule themselves. The Neo-Jihadi groups that are in Pakistan prefer to aim their attacks and violence toward their near enemies instead of their far enemies. An example of this is, that these groups think that the United States are using Pakistan as a puppet and are controlling what the country does. In turn, these groups are not attacking the United States, but instead are committing terrorist attacks in their home country Pakistan. Also within the Neo-Jihadi groups they justify violence against fellow Muslims.They believe that what they are doing is right and there is always a reason for their violent extremism.

Baloch Ethno-Nationalist Groups

The next group, the Baloch Ethno-Nationalist groups have been a threat to Pakistan ever since they were formed. These terrorist groups were formed in response to the governments forcefulness on the Baloch people in Pakistan. The Balochethno-Nationalist group includes, the Baloch Liberation Army, Baloch Republican Army, Baloch Liberation front, Lashkar-e-Balochistan, and the United Baloch Army.

Sectarian Groups

The third complex terrorist group in Pakistan is the Sectarian Group. This type of terrorist group attacks people and places toward a religious group, such as the Hindus, Shia, Sunnis, and other small religious groups in Pakistan. Sectarian terrorism is probably the most well-known by people. Al Qaeda and the Taliban are Sectarian terrorism groups. From 2010 to 2015, there have been multiple sectarian terrorist attacks in Pakistan alone. There have been 2,000 deaths and 3,500 injuries from these attacks. [7] The attacks that the sectarian groups create are getting deadlier as the years go on, and their main goal seems to be to kill. More than half of all the districts in Pakistan have been a target point for sectarian attacks, which have been successful. The group is known for the violent relations between the Sunnis and the Shi’a.

Religious Nationalist Groups

Religious Nationalist groups and Sectarian groups are very similar in the fact that they are both very religious, one being more violent than the other. The sectarian group is the most violent terrorist group out of the four. Religious nationalism in Pakistan refers to the terrorism groups that base their violence on patriotism for their country. They see their violent attacks as a way to make their country proud. But there’s a problem with these nationalist groups, Pakistan residents seem to have lost their vigor for the spirit of their country. [8] The loyalty to Pakistan has diminished and has shifted to religious loyalty instead. The ultimate source of identity for the people of Pakistan is their religious views and ideology of Islam. Religious nationalism is not the main form of nationalism to the country though. Pakistan became their own country because of the religion specifically Islam, not based on language, ethnicity or culture. Religious nationalism should be the main source of nationalism in the country but it is not. Because religious nationalism is not the main source of nationalism, the religious nationalist groups are working to change that, even if it brings violence into the picture.

Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda, meaning “the base” in Arabic, is a violent terrorist organization that was created in the late 1980s. They are notorious for the extreme terror attack on the United States on September 11, 2001. The founder of this group was a man named Osama bin Laden, who was recently killed by United States troops because of the attack on New York City. Bin Laden was the mastermind behind Al Qaeda and called all of the shots. He had planned to use Jihad against the United States because of their occupation of some parts of the Middle East. Because of Al Qaeda’s attack on 9/11 the United States declared a war on terror in order to try to rid of Al Qaeda and other major terrorist groups. Because of this war on terror Al Qaeda has changed its ways of operation to more of a lone wolf terrorism group instead of a top-down group like it used to be. After the death of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda has not had a major attack in comparison to 9/11. Al Qaeda is a sectarian terrorist group meaning that they carry out attacks based on their religion and ideologies[9].

Al Qaeda was formed in 1988, and their first terrorist attack was in 1998. The attack was outside a U.S. embassy in Kenya and Tanzania. The death toll was 223, and there were over 4,000 people injured. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2019) Al Qaeda’s ideology is to rid the Muslim world of foreign influence and to establish Shariahbased Islam. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2019)

It was said by the Economist Intelligence Unit (2004) that the finances for the attacks created by al Qaeda were funded by Osama bin Laden’s personal wealth. Bin Laden grew up in a wealthy family, and made a life for himself fighting for Islam. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2019) They also had donations given to them from different people and groups that supported them from all around the world. Another way that they were financed was by exploiting charities and other groups from all over the world [9].

Al Qaeda’s ideology stems from their Muslim religion, and they followed the rules of Sharia law. The group members did not believe in the laws that Pakistan had and did not follow them. They wanted to restore the proper Muslim faith in Pakistan and in other countries as well. Within their ideology they believe that their killing of fellow Muslims is justified, and they see no problem with it. Another rule that they have is, that the killing of anyone who is aiding their enemies are to be killed and there is justification for the killing as well. When Al Qaeda was first being recognized in 1996, bin Laden declared war on the United States and a year later he told all Muslims all over the world to kill Americans any chance that they got. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2019)

In the beginning years after Al Qaeda’s founding, they began working with a group called Hekmatyar. This group was working with the United States before-hand while fighting in the Middle East during the Cold War. The Hekmatyar was an Afghan Islam Military group who received nearly $600 million dollars as aid from the United States to fight in this war. But soon after the United States had stopped with their aid and withdrew their help. This is when Hekmatyar began working with Al Qaeda. These groups merged and created a violent extremist extension to al Qaeda in the war.

After the attack on September 11th, Al Qaeda began to spread to several other countries, creating ALQaeda groups in Yemen, Arabian Peninsula, Iraq (which later turned into ISIS), and Islamic Maghreb. The Al Qaeda group that was in Islamic Maghreb became the deadliest branch of Al Qaeda in the world. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2019) The different Al Qaeda groups in each of the countries mentioned started to carry out their own attacks that were not planned by the main group. A militant Al Qaeda group Jemaah Islamiyah, carried out a bombing at two Bali night clubs, killing 202 people. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2019) This was the largest attack from Al Qaeda since September 11, 2001[9].

Suicide Terrorism

Suicide terrorism is a terrorist attack that has been planned out and is executed, but members of the terrorist group risk their lives in order to complete the attack on their enemy, and are seen as a martyr. The main goal of the suicide attacks is to get the attention of worldwide media to show that the terrorist groups and the individuals in each group are willing to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs. Suicide terrorism is common in Pakistan, with 36 suicide attacks from January 2009 to July 2009, killing 465 people and injuring another 1,120. The average number of suicide attack victims a month at one point was 90. Pakistan is first in the world for the amount of suicide terrorist attacks per year. A suicide attack began in 2002, and was conducted by the Pakistani Army. The first suicide bombing took place in Karachi, killing 14 people. [10] Psychology of suicide bombing is very unique and is seen as the highest commitment to your group, or religion. In an article written by Ehud Sprinzak in 2001, he said, “In fighting suicide bombers, it is important not to succumb the idea that they are ready to do anything and lose everything.” Western presence in Pakistan has been a major trigger for pulling off suicide bombings, and they will use this tactic against anyone who rejects or is against their ideology [10].

The method of suicide bombing is on the rise, especially in Pakistan. From 2002 to 2008 there were more than 140 suicide attacks. One suicide attack occurs every five to six days in Pakistan. [10] Research has showed that suicide bombings that take place in Pakistan typically happen in the presence of a military occupation of their own country. Another main target for suicide bombing attacks is towards their government, and government officials. Government officials alone make up for sixty percent of victims from suicide attacks [10]. Suicide bombing is almost never the first option for a terrorist attack. They usually take place as a second plan within the conflict, according to Mia Bloom. The Taliban and Al Qaeda are both notorious for suicide attacks. Are they using suicide bombings to try and one up each other? This question was asked by Mia Bloom, the suicide attacks against one another are a way of trying to gain control and power over the other [10].

September 11^th, 2001

The September 11^th terrorist attack affected millions of American people. On this day, 19 Al Qaeda members hijacked four aircrafts, and executed the deadliest terrorist attack the world has ever seen. Two of the aircrafts that were hijacked flew into the Twin Towers in New York, the third aircraft crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C, and the fourth was aimed at Washington D.C as well, but crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. This suicide attack killed 2,977 people and injured 6,000 others. [10] Two thousand, seven hundred and fifty people died in New York, one hundred and eighty-four died at the Pentagon and forty people died in Pennsylvania, also all nineteen of the hijackers were killed [11].The suicide attacks that had occurred that day did not only affect those who died, their families or the buildings, but the United States as a whole. The economy was hit hard after these attacks, forcing the stock market to freeze following the terrorist attacks for several days. [11] Basically after the attacks on September 11^th, the whole country shut down. This was the biggest suicide terrorist attack in the United States and in the world.

The 9/11 attacks were airplane hijackings in the United States, New York and Washington D.C. These attacks were planned out by Al Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden. He planned out these attacks because he thought that the United States was weak, and that they were just putting up a tough front.

The Mastermind behind the Attack

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was the man behind the original plan for 9/11. He presented his idea to bin Laden to train pilots in order to crash them into buildings here in the United States. This attack that Al Qaeda had planned was to prove two things; the United States was weak, and they were able to commit terrorist attacks across the globe. The plan for these attacks on 9/11 were very meticulous and well thought out on their end. They would send emails from the United States to Al Qaeda in code, and they made it seem as though they were writing to their girlfriends. The day that they executed this attack there were 19 suicide bombers spread out on 4 different aircrafts. Al Qaeda became well-known worldwide after these attacks. After this suicide attack was conducted and the United States was suffering, many countries from all over the world had joined forces with them including Pakistan.

Pakistan vs. Violent Terrorist Groups

Al Qaeda calls Pakistan home, the terrorist group was built and continues to raise taking control in their home country. Al Qaeda has not necessarily been welcomed in Pakistan because of the violent extremism that they have brought to the country, so they are enemies that are living in close proximity. Pakistan has been working with other countries in order to try and rid the terrorism from Pakistan, but they have not been as successful as they want to be. But in recent times, Pakistan has captured and arrested eighteen Al Qaeda terrorists and has gained access to the network in which Al Qaeda plans out their attacks. This small win for the country of Pakistan does not mean that they are remotely close to putting an end to terrorism there. As previously mentioned in this paper, Al Qaeda sees Pakistan as a puppet to the United States, and instead of attacking the United States, Al Qaeda is putting their target on Pakistan. By doing this, it is making it more difficult for Pakistan to get the help it needs to rid the country of terrorism.

The Pakistan Policy Working Group

The Pakistan Policy Working group is an independent group of Americans that are experts on the relations between Pakistan and the United States. This group was formed in 2008 in order to give insight, ideas and further information to the President of the United States on the relations between the two countries. The United States knows that Pakistan is a threat to national security because of the major extremist groups that reside there. The heightened attention toward these relations is crucial and needs to be passed on throughout each new President. [12] The meetings with the President include discussions about counterterrorism, security challenges, the relationship status with the government there, and economic development. These meetings are continued for a span of the first eight months of the new presidency. These meetings are important to the well-being of the people living in America.If the terrorist groups take over in Pakistan, the country does not know the effects it will have on America, but they know they will not be good. Counterterrorism is one of the main focuses of the Pakistan Policy Working group, they are developing ideas that can adjust and help Pakistan’s use of military, and work with the United States Military that are in Pakistan as well. An increase in support of the civilians is another counterterrorism approach that is being implemented. These civilian institutions can provide support to the people of Pakistan and can oversee the Pakistani Military to help with their centers of intelligence [12].

Counterterrorism

Within the Pakistan Policy Working Group that deals with relations with Pakistan and gives information to the president of the Unites States, one of the main focuses of the policy is counterterrorism. Pakistani policy changed greatly after the attacks on 9/11. The big change that they made was before 9/11 they did not deal with the terrorist groups such as al Qaeda or the Taliban as much and never fought against them, now the Pakistani Government is going after al Qaeda terrorists. They went after the extremist group and killed and captured more high ranking al Qaeda leaders than any other country fighting against them. [12]. While the United States and Pakistan are fighting against terrorism there, one big thing came into question. That is Pakistan’s alleged support of the Afghan Taliban. The support has been reported in previous years by media reports and it was told to the CIA and other US Government officials while they were in Pakistan. It is still not clear if they are actually working with the Taliban or if they are trying to play them in order to capture their leaders. [12] Another major problem that the counterterrorism action is facing is the Pakistan Army’s decision making regarding national security. The army is making their own decisions, and they are unaware of the terrorist group plans and actions that are happening there and other places in the world. The biggest change Pakistan needs to make in order to fix the terrorism problem in their country is to hold their government accountable for the problems they are facing and to make it more of a civilian based government instead of a military based government [12].

The Taliban

Tehrik-al-Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) is the most dangerous, violent, and largest terrorist group in Pakistan. This extremist group was only recently formed in 2007, they are an extremist militant group. TTP is in close contact with al Qaeda and focuses mainly on the Pakistani security forces and government. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2018) The main focus of the group is to overthrow the Pakistani government and establish an Islamic caliphate there. TTP has three main goals: (1) to enforce the Shariah law in Pakistan, (2) establish a unified front against the United States Military that are in the Middle East for protection and (3) to wage Jihad against Pakistan.

Efforts made by the United States and Pakistan by their counterterrorism plan have weakened the Taliban. Also, the counterterrorism efforts made by Pakistan and the United States led to the death of Maulana Fazlullah, the Taliban’s most notorious leader. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2018)

The TTP and Al Qaeda [13] put their differences aside in 2008 in order to help the Afghan Taliban fight off the US troops that were there. At this point, none of the groups wanted to attack each other because they had one common goal, and that was to take down the United States troops. But less than a year after they had begun working together, they were already feuding with each other again. The alliance did not last long, nor did it work, the same year the leader of the TTP was killed by a United States drone strike. Throughout the first, two to three years of this terrorist group they had several leaders, who were all killed while in power, there was a struggle for leadership within the group. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2018)

In 2007, the Pakistani Government planned a raid against one of the Taliban’s bases called the Red Mosque, which killed 100 of the Taliban’s militants. Soon after this raid they declared war on the Pakistani Government. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2018) The Government froze all accounts and assets the Taliban had, banned them from media sources and placed bounties on the Taliban leaders. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2018) With the several attacks on the Taliban by Pakistan, they were struggling to plan any attacks of their own because they were trying to protect themselves. During this time, the Islamic State made them pledge allegiance to them, which took away a lot of their authority. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2018) The Taliban was experiencing trouble with their leadership soon after their allegiance to the Islamic State, and their new leader turned himself in to the Pakistani Government admitting they maligned Islam. (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2018)

Risk Factors

Pakistan, as I have mentioned in previous paragraphs is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. In the past 10 years Pakistan has had several terrorist attacks that were planned out by various terrorist groups. These attacks have claimed the lives of nearly 37,000 people, and have injured close to 28,000 people. These numbers were achieved from 3,482 bomb explosions and 281 suicide attacks. [14] The terrorist groups themselves have sacrificed their lives in order to fulfill their ideologies. Twenty-one thousand and sixty-seven terrorists have been killed from 2001-2011, from terrorist attacks.Pakistan has suffered the most casualties in the last decade than any other country, even the countries that have been at war. The several attempts by the Pakistani Government to rid their country of terrorism have backfired immensely. [14] Theseterrorist attacks have major consequences, not only because so many have been affected by them physically, but economically there is an astonishing decline.

The main point that the people of Pakistan said was the biggest problems stemming from terrorism, besides the attacks themselves, was that they were deprived of their basic needs in society and they were financially unstable, and lastly, they were uneducated. Because of the violence and extremism occurring in Pakistan, their economic activities have almost come to a complete stop. [14] Terrorism cannot be eliminated just by focusing on the groups themselves, there needs to be attention put on other things as well, such as education, the economy and politics. By focusing more on these things in society and trying to improve them, there is a chance that the amount of people who are joining the terrorist groups will start to decline.

The motivations for each terrorist group are different; they could be motivated by culture, religion, and their psychological views. What are the preconditions that make Pakistan so vulnerable to terrorism? This question can have several different answers. When these preconditions are avoided, and stopped the threat of terrorism will start to decline. Economic opportunity is a reason that individuals migrate towards terrorism, and join the extremist groups. When a country is facing an economic decline, they are more vulnerable to terrorism, and leads people to join terrorist groups [14].

Individuals with a lower income and lower education along with terrorism were found to have a correlation. These terrorist groups focus on the low-income individuals and make them the target for recruitment [14]. Better educated communities were much less of a target for terrorism. If the higher educated people joined the extremist groups, they were found to be the most violent and brutal.

Effects on Women and Children in Pakistan

The terrorism that occurs in Pakistan is not only affects the enemies of the attacks it also affects the innocent civilians that call Pakistan home. One of the biggest groups of people that the terrorism in Pakistan is affecting is women and children. Spousal violence is becoming more prominent within households as terrorism grows and becomes more popular there. One fourth of women in Pakistan are victims of intimate partner violence whether it is physical or emotional. (Hassan, 2020) [15]. Another major problem that occurs because of the terrorism for women is that the maternal health care in Pakistan is not good. Maternal health includes pregnancy, domestic violence and gender equality. A study has been conducted with the conclusion that maternal health needs to be improved and needs to include more treatment and safe spaces for women who are being abused in their homes. Because Pakistan is suffering from an economic decline because of the terrorism, 33 percent of women experience complications with pregnancy, miscarriages, and maternal death [15].

Women’s Education

Women’s education was being affected greatly because of the terrorism that is occurring in Pakistan. The area called Swat Valley in Pakistan was one of the main targets of violent extremism. When the war on terror was established, the violent extremism in Swat Valley progressively got worse. The people of Swat Valley were forced to relocate and it obstructed the women’s opportunity to be educated for a long time.

Swat Valley, Pakistan is home to the women’s education and peace activist Malala Yousefzai. Malala was the main target of an attempted murder for her activism for women’s education. In 2009, an estimated 120,000 women students and 8,000 women teachers were killed by a terrorist organization, from several violent extremism attacks. [16] After that year the drop-out rate from women from all age levels in school was 77%. Because of the number of attacks, injuries and casualties aimed towards women trying to get an education in Pakistan, families are hesitant to send their female children to school. Also, because of the number of terrorist attacks on the schools where women are in attendance, the families are also holding back their sons from going to school. The rate of education in Pakistan is on a steady decline because of the amount of terrorist attacks on the education system [17].

Children’s Mental Health

The other group that is suffering greatly from the violent terrorism that is occurring in Pakistan is children. At such young ages children in Pakistan are developing lifelong mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), severe anxiety and depression. When the children are attending school, they fear for their lives because of the amount of school shootings and attacks on the schools in Pakistan. It was reported that there are only 342 psychiatrists working in the whole country of Pakistan, meaning that there is 1 psychiatrist per 500.000 people. Also, there are .001% of psychiatrists that specialize in children’s mental health there as well. There is a lack of help for these children who are experiencing this trauma and mental illness, so they are left in the dark [18].

Discussion

Violent extremism in Pakistan is a complex structure that has many different terror groups, and religious ideologies that create the countries reputation. Pakistan has a very promising future without the violence of the terrorist groups that inhabit the country but we will not see Pakistan without terrorism for a long time.

In this manuscript, I have highlighted main points regarding the start of terrorism in Pakistan, the most violent and notorious terrorist groups, the largest terror attack in the world’s history, types of terrorism present, the types of terrorism, the effects terrorism has on women and children and lastly risk factors.

There have been several efforts made by Pakistan, and other countries such as the United States in order to rid the country of its extreme problem of violent terrorism. In recent years there has been a decline in the massive terrorist attacks around the world that have been conducted by extremist groups in Pakistan. But these groups are not gone, and they have not stopped their attacks, they are more lone wolf terrorism acts than leader-led.

In Pakistan, there are several changes being made to their education systems, economy and their politics, but not enough is being done in order to rid the country of the violent terrorism. These changes are being made to better the country, and are being implemented at younger ages to deter the younger population from becoming terrorists, but the ways that they are trying to fix the problem are not being done correctly. The Minhaj Education Society (MES) in Pakistan was put into place in order to provide education to the lower socioeconomic statuses of people in the country. Like previously stated, the people of Pakistan are hesitant to send their children to school because of the major terrorist attacks on the school system.

In conclusion, terrorism in Pakistan is continuing to be violent, but it is veering off into a different direction that is has followed in the past. Major groups like al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban are still threats worldwide. Although efforts are being made as counter terrorism toward these groups, it is not necessarily working. The efforts being made are making the extremist groups more creative and they are more secretive. Pakistan is taking steps in the right direction to rid their country of such violence, but the future is untold and is unpredictable.

A recommendation for policy and practice for Pakistan in order to rid their country of terrorism is to accept all the help that they can get from other countries. The United States has been a major asset to them, but they are going off track from America’s help. Fear is one of the reasons that Pakistan does not fight back against the terrorist groups. The times that the Pakistani Government has fought back against the terrorist groups, they took out their major leaders. I believe if the Pakistani Government continues to put pressure on the terrorist groups, taking out their leaders, they will eventually have more power over these groups in order to stop them. They just have to step up, use their resources and be confident in their attacks which will help the threat of terrorism decline in the future.

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