| In recent years, Pakistan has seen a spike in Islamic militarism that has threatened to topple its democratic and even nuclear stability. The political vacuum left by a violent war with the Soviets and the subsequent collapse of a stable government, has allowed a generation of Islamic extremists to become hardened and nurtured by the Taliban's distinct form of Islam. The result has been a region which has helped foster a climate of Islamic extremism that has seeped through Afghanistan's porous borders into Pakistan's already fragile democracy. Today, a new generation of extremists inspired by the Taliban, are fighting to overthrow Pakistani government with the hope of ultimately establishing an Islamic style government based on the teaching and principles prescribed by the Taliban.;While many ideas have been put forward to tackle extremism in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, they too often rely on short term solutions rather than dealing with the roots of the problem. This paper will attempt to define the conditions which helped spawn Islamic extremism in the region by synthesizing otherwise disparate bodies of knowledge -including the rise of the mujahedeen in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan's democratic and socioeconomic conditions which provided the fertile land needed for Islamic extremism to grow. In the end, I hope to develop practical solutions that will help stem the increase of Islamic extremism in the region as well as lead to a more stable and secure Pakistan. |
