Zaffar Alam
In the last two decades, many parts of the world have convulsed at the hands of seemingly ever expanding paroxysms of violence often couched in religious and political-ideological vocabulary. These waves of violence, terrorism and militancy have resulted in large-scale mobilization of resources for inter and intra-state wars that have left hundreds of thousands dead across the world and millions more wounded and traumatized. Since the turn of the century, there has been a nine-fold increase in the number of deaths from violent extremism, rising from 3,329 to 32,685. Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syria, and Iraq-accounted for 78 percent of lives lost in 2014 alone. The damages and costs of violent extremism continue to spread and generate new iterations of crisis for states and societies. Purveyors and perpetrators of violence, terrorism and militancy around the world kill and injure indiscriminately: girls in Nigeria, and unsuspecting, innocent civilians in Paris and Brussels. From the newly emergent security challenges and vicious barbarity perpetrated by the Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, to the millions of displaced refugees from Syria, Africa and Afghanistan seeking homes and refuge in an economically and politically challenged Europe, terrorism and militancy, driven by violent extremism, are the foremost existential challenges of our times.
Contemporary, violent extremism has two distinct features. First, it is an amalgam of intolerant religious and political beliefs. Violent extremist groups in many countries have acquired and adopted perverse interpretations of religious teachings and fused them with political objectives to impose indiscriminate violence. Second, violent extremist groups are truly global. From actively exploiting social media and targeting youth across different countries, to financing and resource transfer, violent extremism operates through transnational networks, and poses challenges that require unprecedented global inter-state policy coordination. Evidence from dealing with violent extremism around the world indicates two necessary conditions that facilitate the growth and spread of terrorism and militancy. First, conflict and instability incubate the emergence of violent extremism. Conflicts within and across states reverse developmental gains, spread socio-economic and political impoverishment, and normalize violence through the spread and availability of the tools and methods to wage conflicts.
The new social values in the west are based on defamation of religion and religious historical facts either done artificially or deliberately and through both official diplomatic-political channels and non-diplomatic channels which include NGOs, CSOs, news media and social media. The very important element is the creation of Euro- Islam (A manipulative new version of Islam being created in European Union at the behest of the United States), its enhanced importance in the policy calculus and forceful implementation in the broader Islamic world especially Pakistan. Handpick scum of society and ideologically brainwash them and give them franchise by creating like-mindedness and mentoring for social transformation / engineering. These individuals (mostly women) are given international political protection and recognition as Human Rights Activists, Civil Society champions, young and emerging global leaders. Bringing to political power or move to higher bureaucratic position these ideologically subversive individuals and use them to transform and change social values, civil and criminal justice systems, constitutional order and other rules / regulations which contradict tangible and intangible exploitation of the victim country.
The ultimate aim of this clandestine intervention is exacerbating violent extremism in all its manifestation especially religiously motivated. The victim state in whose power structures already likeminded useful idiots have been planted and kept under constant heightened diplomatic-political dissuasion, gives a kinetic and non-kinetic decisive blow to the aspirations of its own people, thus further leading to violent extremism. This process is kept on repeating until there arises de-legitimization of statehood within the public sphere. With Pakistan, who is among only a handful of countries with declared nuclear weapons, threats, challenges and the stakes are very high.
Pakistan requires increased efforts in building horizontal and vertical linkages between different actors and groups in the country. Once such networks are established, it is critical that resources are invested in building local capacities for dispute resolution, conflict mitigation, and increased social cohesion. The primary vehicle for achieving these outcomes is through imbuing and empowering local actors at the grassroots level with the knowledge and capacity to build and promote peace in their social circles and networks. Moreover, Pakistan’s National Action Plan against terrorism is currently focused on the immediate military, intelligence and security operations against these forces. However, it is critical that the plan is expanded to incorporate the long-term, non-security programmes and policies that are equally vital in preventing violent extremism in the country.
