Terrorism in Pakistan
Sociological Research
By
Faisal Iqbal
Sociological Analysis of Terrorism in Pakistan
Abstract
Terror, Terrorists and Terrorism are more frequently burning issues of the media. Terrorism is the result
of extremism which results in different forms of manifestation of violence. Terrorism is the social evil
and problem of the today. The phenomenon of terrorism has occurred due to many sociological factors
including religious conflicts, psychological causes, unwillingly indulgence, political and social injustice,
poverty and lack of education, and many more. No doubt, terrorism upsets humanity on the whole and
creates unrest in the society. The war on terror had a major impact on Pakistan, when terrorism
increased violence, but after the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, it also had to
combat the threat of Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, who fled from Afghanistan and usually targeted
high-profile political figures. After 9/11 the phenomenon of terrorism has drastically changed the socio-
economic and geo-political scenario of the Pakistan. It has shaken the social life of Pakistan. Although
the acts of terrorism are visible everywhere in the world, but Pakistan is facing the phenomenon of
terrorism directly and severely as a social problem. With various motives, using the newest weapons,
engulfing a wider area, and claiming more lives, terrorism in Pakistan has attracted considerable local
and global attention. The people and state of Pakistan are facing the outrage of the terrorists. Pakistan
was considered to be most peaceful country, but since 1979 after the Russian invasion in Afghanistan,
the society saw great twist in social and political economic system. The world powers provided their
huge support to the government of Pakistan and related militant organizations in the form of money,
weapons and political moral support. Meanwhile, political instability, corruption, social injustice and
economic disparity added fuel on fire in giving rise to different forms of manifestation of terrorism. After
9/11, Swat and Waziristan mission Rah-e-Nijaat, Pakistan once again became the front line state in war
against terror. Pakistan played its role to stop terrorism and militant groups which increased the acts of
terrorism in Pakistan. Terrorism has rapidly increased in Pakistan since 2001 and number of deaths per
year is growing. The annual death toll from terrorist attacks has risen from 164 in 2002 to 3318 in 2009,
with a total of 35,000 Pakistanis killed between September 11, 2001 and May 2011. This research seeks
to find the impacts on social life and culture of Pakistan, the reason of increase in terrorism and effects
of terrorism on social well being. Terrorism is one of the social evils, not only for Pakistan but also for all
over the world that negatively hit the society as a socio-economic and political problem.
Literature Review
Terrorism
“Terrorism” comes from the French word terrorisme, and originally referred specifically to state
terrorism as practiced by the French government during the 1973-1974 Reign of Terror. The word
terrorism can be best defined as “The calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in
order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through
intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.” OR “Terrorism is the use of threats and violence to frighten or
alarm people.” Terrorism is a term used to describe violence or other harmful acts committed (or
threatened) against civilians by groups or persons for political or ideological goals. Most definitions of
terrorism include only those acts which are intended to create fear or “terror”, are perpetrated for an
ideological goal and deliberately target. The terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” (someone who engages in
terrorism) carry a strong negative connotation. These terms are often used as political labels to
condemn violence or threat of violence by certain actors as immoral, indiscriminate, or unjustified.
Those labeled “terrorists” rarely identify themselves as such, and typically use other generic terms or
terms specific to their situation, such as; separatist, freedom fighter, liberator, revolutionary, vigilante,
militant, paramilitary, rebel, jihadi or mujahidin, or any similar meaning word in other languages. In
simple words terrorism is the state of fear created through the act of violence. The common
understanding about the terrorism is that “Terrorism is an organized system of intimidation, especially
for political ends”. Different stakeholders such as terrorist groups, states and social scientists have arch
differences over the definition of the terrorism depending on the complexity of the circumstances.
There is a great controversy over how to term various freedom movements as a liberation struggle or
terrorists’ movements. An act of certain group is freedom fight for some people and terrorism for
others. This phenomenon makes it difficult to agree on exact meaning and definition of the terrorism.
Every one explains the terrorism according to his/her certain connotation and vested interests. Some
definitions and versions of terrorism are mentioned below to understand the phenomenon more
profoundly. Terrorism is the public harassment, wave of agitation, protest against the government,
damage to public and private property, in order to draw the attention of authorities. It can be asserted
that terrorism is absolutely against peaceful political set-up. According to Encyclopedia of political
thought it is a form of political violence, directed at a government but often involving ordinary citizens,
whose aim is to create a climate of fear in which the of the aims of the terrorist will be granted by
government in question.
Charles Townshend (2002) describes the US and British version of terrorism in his book entitled
“Terrorism a very short Introduction” as “The terrorism is the calculated use or threat of violence to
inculcate fear, intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies”. Terrorism is the language of
being noticed (Delillo, 1992).
According to the Dictionary of Social Sciences “Terrorism refers to the illegitimate use of force by those
who oppose existing social, political or economic arrangements”
In short it can be concluded that the terrorism is an act of violence performed by any rebellion group or
individual to get the certain viewpoint acknowledged or recognized by the society and government. It is
a use of force to impose the vested interest of the extremist schools of thoughts and violent groups.
Terrorism may be described as a strategy of violence designed to inspire terror within a particular
segment of a given society. When the certain groups or certain school of thought are not given due
socio-political acknowledgement and accommodation they turn to violence to show their existence. It is
the extreme of imposition of the will by the rulers or dissident groups on the society.
Top 10 Reasons why people become terrorists?
There isn’t just one reason. Many different factors play a role in this. Here are top 10 reasons why do
people become terrorists:
10. Looking for Thrill
Some people become terrorists just because they find it to be an entertaining and thrilling experience.
Every day, we see news, and these are the sources to motivate the people to commit crimes,
unfortunately. Some teenagers and little kids are attracted towards terrorism as a part of fantasy.
9. Identity Search
Studies have proved that a total of 2032 foreign people who joined Al-Qaeda were the identity seekers.
Most of them are vulnerable to the society and are willing to prove themselves. Some of the youngsters
want to know “Who am I”, and to get an answer, they commit crimes and become terrorists.
8. Inspired by Its Effectiveness
Some of the young minds get inspired by the effectiveness of terrorism. They think that creating havoc
can benefit them to seek attention rapidly. This attitude leads them to commit crimes on small or large
scales.
7. Poverty & Lack of Education
Poverty and lack of education are the two most common reasons why people become terrorists.
According to studies of University of Chicago, terrorism and poverty are directly linked to each other.
The nations suffering from poverty and having lack of educational facilities are unable to understand
that terrorism by no means is beneficial. The situation can be controlled by increasing development
policies, and reducing unemployment rate.
6. Political and Social Injustice
When a person is deprived of his rights, he becomes angry and is likely to react negatively. Usually the
terrorists are the production of the restless societies we live in. The people here are not given freedom
to raise their voice against some political and social injustice, as a result of which they commit crimes to
get attention.
5. State Sponsored
It is very shocking to know that various terrorism activities are being carried out under the supervision of
government. The government sponsors terrorist groups for suicide attacks, bombings, plane hijacks and
many similar activities. The main reason is to gather money by one mean or another.
4. Unwillingly Indulgence
It is true that many of the terrorists don’t join this field with their own wish. Internet has become
common these days, and the news about terrorism groups go viral all the time. There are numerous
unwilling indulgences involved that provoke the youngsters to become terrorists.
3. Reaction to Oppression
If you are not treated well, how will you react? Obviously, it is going to be something severe. Those who
keep people oppressed will face the consequences. Keeping the people under burden will end in their
improper behavior, leading them to act like criminals and terrorists.
2. Psychological Causes
Some of the psychological causes also pave the ways for terrorists. About 25% of terrorists have had
grown in poor and bad environments, leading them to become mentally sick. As a result of this, they
start committing crimes of different types, and tend to remove injustice from the societies.
1. Religious Conflicts
Religious conflicts play a vital role in someone’s life to make him live a positive or negative life. In case,
you see that your religion is being disrespected, you will certainly react to control it. When it comes to
religion, no one is ready to listen even a single word.
Table 1
Fatalities in terrorist violence in Pakistan 2007-2012
Year Civilians Security Force Terrorists/Insurgent Total
Personnel s
2007 1522 597 1479 3598
2008 2155 654 3906 6715
2009 2324 991 8389 11704
2010 1796 469 5170 7435
2011 2738 765 2800 6303
2012 3007 732 2472 6211
In the table above, it is evident that there are a lot of fatalities each year from 2007 to 2012 due
to terrorist violence. In year 2009 the sum reached to 11,704 more than any other year. In year 2012,
civilians suffered the most where the numbers of civilian deaths are equal to 3007.
Table 2
Terrorists Incidents in Pakistan Since 2001
Year Incidents Deaths Injuries
2015 1235 1606 1847
2014 2147 2412 3395
2013 2213 2874 5768
2012 1652 2783 4264
2011 1011 1655 2638
2010 713 1695 2961
2009 667 1487 3541
2008 567 1184 1876
2007 260 1406 2343
2006 164 314 669
2005 78 150 296
2004 67 304 671
2003 29 119 181
2002 46 105 331
2001 53 109 265
Total 10902 18203 31046
In the table above, it is shown that the terrorism is increasing in Pakistan since 2001 and
numbers of deaths are rapidly increasing. People feel fear in their hearts when going out from their
houses. They are afraid of being the victims of terrorism. Most of them agreed that the violent acts of
terrorism has badly damaged their mental growth and created a constant stressful situation for them
and their family.
Social Impacts
The word social Impact tells us about the Society, In order to understand it first we’ll discuss the
definition of society.
“An extended social group is having a distinctive cultural and economic organization”
Or
“A formal association of people with similar interests”
As the definition shows, a society is a grouping of individuals, which is characterized by common interest
and may have distinctive culture and institutions. In a society members can be from a different ethnic
group. A "Society" may refer to a particular people such as Pakistani, or to a broader cultural group, such
as Western society. Society can also be explained as an organized group of people associated together
for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes. Implicit in the
meaning of society is that its members share some mutual concern or Interest, a common objective or
common characteristics.
Hypothesis
H-1: Terrorism creates security crisis and social problems.
H-2: Terrorism is affecting the social life and culture of Pakistan.
Research Methodology
The methods selected for the research are as follows:
O Survey
O Secondary Analysis
O Documents
Survey
The primary research was carried out through surveys including questionnaires and interviews. The
interviews were taken from our relatives and different faculty members of our university including
students. Questionnaire was particularly devised for testing the selected hypothesis by randomly
selecting the individuals of different age groups of Fast University Lahore.
Secondary Analysis
The secondary data and researches that were already there helped us study and brain-storm about what
we wanted to get out of this research. This research methodology was mainly used to test our second
hypothesis that terrorism is affecting the social life and culture of Pakistan. It helped us a lot to get the
desired information and come up with the effects of terrorism on their social life and culture.
Documents
Internet, Magazines, Articles & Journals and Newspapers were mainly used to collect all the information
related to the effects of terrorism on social life and culture of Pakistan.
Result Analysis
The following research analyses that terrorism is creating security crisis and social problems and is
affecting the social life and culture of Pakistan badly. So, both of our hypothesis have been proved
through our study.
Effects of terrorism on social life and culture of Pakistan
These are some of the following effects and impacts devise through our research:
First of all the terrorism has created a sense of fear in the minds of the people. This fear has
further lead to sense of dissatisfaction and terror among the people.
Due to terrorism the sense of helplessness has prevailed in the human minds. This sense of
helplessness has further lead to hopelessness among the people regarding their personal and
social well-being.
The violent acts of terrorism has badly damaged the mental growth of the human beings and
put them in to constant stressful situation. Such attacks especially, leave harmful and far
reaching effects on the minds of the children when they see dead bodies and horrible scenes of
the terrorism on the media.
These days the media gives extra ordinary coverage to the incidents of terrorism all over the
world and people find themselves involved very much which creates resentment in their minds.
Government has lost their trust and solidity. It has enhanced anger and resentment among the
masses against the government and the state apparatus.
The people have become the victims of psychological diseases such as anxiety and frustration,
aggression, and deprivation.
Due to the fear of terrorist attacks the people are trying to escape from their social and
professional responsibilities.
Terrorism has affected the social progress and well-being of the people. Because of the
terrorists activities the businesses and economy of the country has suffered a great loss. As a
result poverty has increased which damages the society very much.
Conclusion
The research informs that the terrorism in Pakistan is increasing with the passage of them and is
affecting the social life of humans badly. The study reveals the devastation of socio-economic structure
as a consequence that includes murders and dehumanization, transport and communication problems,
infrastructural sabotage and lower standard of life.
Recommendations
I. Government should establish some rehabilitation centre for the sufferers who have become the
victims of these psychological diseases due to psycho-social effects of terrorism.
II. The international community should try to agree upon the common agenda to stop terrorism.
III. The clear cut distinction should be established and maintained to work closely in the fight
against terrorism.
IV. We should stop supporting the dictators who fund the terrorists in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey
and Bahrain.
Bibliography
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terrorism
O [Link]/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/database/[Link]
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Questionnaire about Terrorism
1) What do you mean by Terrorism?
Terrorism is like when there is bomb blasts at some places, firing, honor killing, killing at public places
and same type of incidents at any places.
2) What is the difference between a “terrorist” and a “freedom fighter”?
A Terrorist is the one who kills people for their own means or to get money while a Freedom fighter is
the one who kills people to defend his country people or for the sake of other innocent people.
3) Why do people use terror?
People use terror for money or poverty, social injustice, to spread terror among people and sometimes
to save their family kidnapped by terrorists.
4) Are you afraid of travelling because of terror?
Yes, because now-a-days, nobody is safe in Pakistan. There are lots of terrorist activities happening
everywhere. Nobody knows that when he or she will go out, whether he or she will come back or not.
5) Can government stop terrorism?
Yes, Government can stop terrorism in country by search operations, heavy security, honest police duty,
action on terrorists and working properly.
6) Where do terrorists get their money and weapons from?
Terrorists get their weapons and money from other countries like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. They are
not individuals, they are in groups and they have people who have been supplying weapons and money
to terrorists for many years and this is just like a web of terrorism spread almost all over the world.
7) Have you ever seen a terrorist?
I haven’t seen any terrorist in real but I’ve seen terrorists many times in TV, Newspapers and Internet.
8) Should people be afraid of anyone who is Muslim or from the Middle East?
It is totally wrong to consider all people from Middle East or anyone who is a Muslim as a terrorist just
because a few of them commit terrorism. It is important to remember that there are good and bad
people in all countries, races and religions.
9) Have you ever been to an area which is affected by a natural disaster or a terrorist attack?
Yes, I’ve visited to Turkey right after some PKK bombings and capture of Ochalan.
