September 2010 Pakistan’s Responses to Terrorism A Broad Overview

SEPTEMBER
Pakistan’s Responses to Terrorism
2010
A Broad Overview

Wajahat Ali

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September 2010 Pakistan’s Responses to Terrorism A Broad Overview

Abstracts

Pakistan has been facing the menace of religious militancy for many years. Yet, it has failed to
formulate a coherent and comprehensive strategy to defeat radical outfits and neutralize their extremist
ideology. This paper not only takes a broad overview of the country’s responses to the twin challenges
of radicalization and Islamist violence but also recommends steps that must be taken to win this war.
Giving a concise account of Pakistan’s involvement in the pre-9/11 Afghanistan, it argues that the
country could not have distanced itself from the US-led “war on terror” in the region. It also contends
that militant groups are posing a grave threat to the state not only because they find its alliance with
the United States unpalatable but also because they despise its constitution and democratic system.

(Complete paper is published in PIPS Research Journal Conflict and Peace Studies, Volume 3, Number 3, Jul-Sep 2010.)

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About Institute

The Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) is an independent, not-for-profit non
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analysis of political, social and religious conflicts that have a direct bearing on both
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