Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:23 pm
Time: 9:23 pm
Results for terrorism (pakistan)
2 results foundAuthor: Siddique, Qandeel Title: Tehrik-E-Taliban Pakistan: An Attempt to Deconstruct the Umbrella Organization and the Reasons For Its Growth in Pakistan's North-West Summary: The present report aims to describe the concept of the militant umbrella organization Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) by looking at the organisational structure, background and ideology of the group. Tactics and recruitment strategies are also discussed, along with the various financial sources that have helped sustain the TTP. Finally, the reasons for the spread and rise of the TTP are analysed. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan’s presence and influence appear to be spreading across the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KPP). Pockets within the Punjab and Sind provinces have also been affected by the TTP. However, in light of recent political and military manoeuvres along Pakistan’s North Western Pashtun belt, the dynamics of ‘Talibanization’ – i.e. jihadist activity and the enforcement of a parallel administrative system and social code – are expected to alter. A number of the new breed of TTP leaders are in their thirties, with little or no formal education, and come from relatively poor socio-economic backgrounds. The exact number of TTP militants is uncertain but likely to be upwards of 10,000. Fault lines and nuances exist within the TTP umbrella organization, distinguishing one Taliban faction from the other. Bombings, including suicide strikes, appear to be the group’s preferred modus operandi, these being targeted especially at the Pakistani security forces and symbols of the state. Illegal FM radio channels and the circulation of DVD, CDs and pro-TTP newspapers and websites serve to promote the organization’s propaganda campaign. Child recruitment appears common; certain Pakistani Taliban commanders bear a specific responsibility for training suicide bombers, and a significant amount of propaganda material is directed at young people. The role of Internally Displaced Persons as a possible recruitment pool for the TTP needs to be studied further. A myriad of financial sources swell TTP coffers, including criminal activity, ‘protection money’ and donations from sympathisers inside and outside of Pakistan. TTP ideology reinforces the points laid out in the initial moves announced by the organization upon its formation in December 2007, namely: 1. Enforce sharia. 2. Unite against coalition forces in Afghanistan. 3. Perform defensive jihad against the Pakistani Army. In addition, a marked sectarian tinge has coloured the TTP ideology, this most likely being due to the injection of leaders and cadres from sectarian backgrounds into the TTP. Although previously affiliated with religious political parties, TTP leaders now appear to have adopted a rigid anti-democracy stance. There has also been a growing reference to a ‘global jihad’ – either in relation to rescuing fellow Muslims from ‘occupation,’ spreading sharia, or avenging the growing US presence and drone attacks in Pakistan. Difference may arise with regard to how any particular TTP faction prioritize the above points, depending on the individual background of a particular group leader, the political history of his territory, predominant social dynamics, and the extent and nature of its relations with other groups, such as the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida. Such nuances distinguish, for example, the Muqami Tehrik-e-Taliban and the Haqqani group, who remain focused on Afghanistan, from the Baitullah Mehsud group and Fidayeen Islam, who claim the fight against the Pakistani security forces to be the ‘real jihad.’ It is also important to separate rhetoric from reality: alliances are often formed for the purpose of political posturing, rather than reflecting an actual alignment of agendas or ideologies. The frequent formation of tribal militias to confront the Taliban points to a lack of local support for the TTP. Factors accounting for cases where the TTP is known to have received local backing include threats and coercion by the rebels, local power structures supplanted by TTP governance, an effective propaganda campaign and feeding off the socio-economic frustrations of the local population. The last point in particular deserves further attention, as evidence from FATA and KPP suggests that long-standing socio-economic grievances among the local population, coupled with ongoing feelings of victimization at the hands of the Pakistani state and army, may drive them to support extremist ideology and the parallel forms of governance and ‘justice’ it offers. Details: Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies, DIIS, 2010. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: DISS Report 2010:12: Accessed December 17, 2010 at: http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/Reports2010/RP2010-12-Tehrik-e-Taliban_web.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.diis.dk/graphics/Publications/Reports2010/RP2010-12-Tehrik-e-Taliban_web.pdf Shelf Number: 120536 Keywords: Criminal ViolenceTerrorism (Pakistan)Terrorists |
Author: Perito, Robert Title: A Counterterrorism Role for Pakistan's Police Stations Summary: Violence is escalating in Pakistan, both in its megacities and along the border with Afghanistan-from terrorism, to secessionist insurgency, to sectarian conflict, to ethnic turf wars. The police station and the police who staff it, despite their historic role as a symbol of government authority and responsibility for public order, are woefully ill prepared and ill equipped to meet these challenges. This report, part of a project to increase Pakistan's capacity to combat terrorism, explores the role police stations could and should play and suggests definitive steps to that end. Summary - Terrorism, secessionist insurgency, sectarian conflict, and ethnic turf wars have convulsed both Pakistan's major cities and tribal areas along the Afghanistan border. The escalation in mega-urban centers in particular has increased the importance of the police in controlling the endemic violence. - The police station retains both its historic role as the symbol of government authority and its position as the basic law enforcement institution responsible for public order, law enforcement, and police services. Yet police stations and personnel are ill prepared and poorly equipped to meet the challenges of the country's complex, urbanized, and increasingly violent society. - Pakistani police have found themselves on the front lines, and a growing number have given their lives to protect others in the struggle against terrorist and criminal groups. The need is now urgent to empower the police through a program of positive reform that would begin with modernizing police stations and reorienting and retraining their personnel. - An effective program for police station reform would begin with assigning primacy to the police for controlling terrorism. It would include developing new organizational structures, positions, and standard operating procedures to ensure that local police understand their enhanced role and mission. It would also include improving police-public relations and networking police stations into a national information-sharing network with anti-terrorist agencies. - Creating high-profile specialized units appears to offer a quick fix to a complex and increasingly pervasive problem. The real solution, however, lies in empowering Pakistan's police stations to protect their communities from criminal and extremist violence through modernization and reform. Details: Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2014. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Special Report 351: Accessed September 27, 2014 at: http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/SR351-A-Counterrerrorism-Role-for-Pakistan%E2%80%99s-Police-Stations.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Pakistan URL: http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/SR351-A-Counterrerrorism-Role-for-Pakistan%E2%80%99s-Police-Stations.pdf Shelf Number: 133452 Keywords: Counter-TerrorismPolice ReformPolicingTerrorism (Pakistan) |