The Spread Of Radicalization And Violent Extremism And Government Response In Pakistan After 2001

Historically,international scholarship has explained radicalization and violent extremism in terms of religious ideology.Most of the policies to tackle the menace of radicalization and violent extremism have been developed in light of religious doctrine as the chief instigator.This research attempts to highlight the immediate instigators of radicalization and violent extremism in societies like Pakistan by providing a step forward for policymakers to understand the causal mechanism between the independent and dependent variables-radicalization and violent extremism are the dependent variables and the immediate factors that have been discovered in this research are independent variables which exist on a micro and macro level in societies,this research provides a bridge between the micro and macro levels and aims to analyze the interaction at the middle-range level in terms of explaining the process of radicalization and violent extremism.The research attempts to highlight the role of ideology as a beacon that is used by social movement organizations to attract individuals for recruitment.Hence,during the fieldwork for this research,it was found that most of the militant networks lure youth through ideological motivation,portraying Islam as something that is in danger and appealing to every Muslim’s moral obligation to protect the torch of Islam.In other words,these organizations use the concept of us vs.them.In other words,they are of the view that Islam is in danger by the western Ideologies,and it is their moral obligation to protect Islam from these Islamophobic ideologies.This study has found that religious ideology is not the sole factor that causes radicalization,but it acts as a beacon for the justification of violent acts.The case study at the center of this research is Pakistan after 2001,and various fieldwork and interviews have led to the discovery that the social movement organizations in this period were exploited in the name of religious ideology and for political motives.Similarly,hostile external forces have also utilized these movements to further their agendas,namely for the destabilization of Pakistan.The year of 2015 appears to be the cornerstone in the formation of Pakistan’s counter racialization policies.In January 2015,Pakistan’s launch of the National Action Plan(NAP)in response to the Peshawar incident had proven to be a significant shift in terms of Pakistan’s strategy to counter radicalization and extremism.It has been observed that for the first time policymakers in Pakistan have come up with realistic steps to curb extremism in Pakistan.Pakistan Introduced its first National Internal Security Policy(NISP)Under the National Action Plan(NAP).It has been for the first time that all the stakeholders in Pakistan are on the same page to counter the spread of radicalization and violent extremism.A broad and conclusive de-radicalization and counter-violent-extremism policy or program are essential to be formulated;it is imperative to evaluate a conceptual framework;there is a need to understand the trends that underpin the phenomenon.Moreover,all counter-violent extremism strategies are context-bound and casespecific.The 9/11 incident has been a significant factor of prevalence among social science scholarship to address the question of radicalization and violent extremism in Muslim societies by ideological explanation.The ethnic,sectarian,and religious divide has been exploited by internal and external hostile forces to foster radicalization and extremism.On the other hand,Pakistan’s inability to confront the internal ethnic and sectarian rifts has fanned the flames too.Inconclusive and weak strategic planning has led to forming an impression that there is reluctance among policymakers to address the issue.According to survey results,it can be argued that radicalization and violent extremism have become more of a global problem rather than domestic since it involves transnational actors.However,this religious fundamentalism and extremism,primarily that influenced by different followers and heretics,has led to sectarian tensions and frequent attacks.Pakistan requires a broad spectrum of policies in order to provide an effective counter to radicalization and violent extremism,and this requires a more cohesive society,which historically has been difficult due to the exploitations` fomented by political parties and other groups – those interested in furthering their own agenda have sown division and the seeds of this division are very difficult to uproot.After the Army Public School(APS)incident,the policies formed need to be implemented in their full scope in order for the symptoms of this disease to be adequately addressed;without treating the root and branch holistically,Pakistan will suffer from falling into the same spiral.Significant reasons for Pakistan’s struggle to uproot the cancer of radicalization and violent extremism is because of its failure to implement the policies in its full spectrum.Most of the strategies that have been implemented are area restricted and headed by law enforcement institutions;the role of civil society and civil institutions has been limited that has led to ambiguity and confusion among the masses and affectees of terrorism.In a predominantly Muslim society such as Pakistan,anything offered in religious rhetoric gets immediate appeal and masses unknowingly end up supporting various agendas whether they constitute a radical ideology or peaceful rhetoric.Most of the masses in Pakistan lack the actual knowledge of Islam that is happening because of the nonexistence of quality education in society.It is crucial to affirm that support for movements does not mean that people condone violence or somewhat overlook it.A number of reasons are responsible for the crumbling law and order situation in Pakistan including the war in Afghanistan,internal issues as well as external exploitation by hostile forces who not wish to see a stable Pakistan,and various factors that are discussed in this research which exist in Pakistani society.This study consists of several chapters,chapter 1,constitutes research background and provides a concrete foundation for the study under the mentioned topic,it proposes the hypothesis and highlights the gap by evaluating the previous literature.The last section of this chapter represents the research methodology and theoretical framework.Chapter 2 lays down the historical background of this research.The first part provides an understanding of the origins of radical ideology and its import into Pakistan after Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union and its.It also highlights the rise of the Al-Qaeda movement and its conquest of jihad at the global level.The second part of the chapter focuses on the creation of the Pakistani nation-state on ideological bases.It also provides the evolution of the militant groups such as the rise of TTP in Pakistan.Chapter 3 introduces social movement theory and a pathway to understand the rise of radicalization and violent extremism in Pakistan.The first part of the section sheds light on the characteristics of social movement theory in understanding the process of radicalization and violent extremism.It also highlights the features of social movement organizations and their pathway to turning into violent movements.The second part of the chapter has laid down the foundation to understand the environment of radicalization and violent extremism in Pakistan.It also adapts micro,macro,and meso level approach in explaining the evolution of individuals,social movement organizations,and their interaction in terms of turning into violent movements.Chapter 4 addresses the main research question of this study by providing a solid ground to understand the evolution of radicalization and violent extremism in Pakistan.It also highlights the role of the main factors that cause radicalization in Pakistan.This part of the research surveys the in-depth analysis of the causes of radicalization and violent extremism by examining empirical data.The second part of the chapter focuses on the factors of radicalization in Pakistan.It explains the evolution of radicalization in Pakistan and establishes the causal mechanism of dependent and independent variables.Chapter 5 has highlighted Pakistan’s progress and challenges in the process of fighting radicalization and extremism.Radicalization and violent extremism have emerged to be an existential threat to the state of Pakistan.The countermeasures,which have been taken by Pakistan have been unable to address the problem.The first part of the highlights of Pakistan’s struggle against the abovementioned epidemics.It also provides a glimpse of some of the significant events that resulted in the rise of radicalization and violent extremism.It also gives us details of the reasons which caused radicalization and violent extremism to spiral upwards.The second part of the chapter illustrates the efforts and measures that have been taken for de-radicalizationChapter 6,concludes the study by evaluating the process of radicalization and violent extremism and the progress which been made to address the issues.It also highlights the dynamics of radicalization.