Factors: urban terrorism in Pakistan

The number of incidents of ‘violence and terrorism’ in Pakistan fell by 11 percent in 2010 when compared to the previous year’s, says a report prepared by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies.

It further states that Pakistan needs to come up with an inclusive, sound and long-term strategy to tackle militancy.

According to a noted writer: “No civilised society can give to stand by and allow urban guerrilla warfare to be waged in its streets. The problem increased from the level of response that is considered enough to contain the terrorism.”

In countering urban terrorism, it is vital to launch psychological warfare so that population can be neutralized and alienated from terrorists. The problem is that this strategy may backfire if not accompanied by
socio-economic actions.

There are multiple factors of urban terrorism in Pakistan: cross-border terrorism, religious militancy, socio-economic decadence, bad governance, poverty, injustice, etc. The pace with which urban terrorism is increasing may lead to full-scale urban-guerrilla warfare, giving birth to anarchy.

In today’s world, a problem affecting a specific region can spread like wildfire in other directions. Criminal organizations have developed the ability to suddenly adopt their modus operandi and areas of intervention.

In order to combat the new trends of urban terrorism in Pakistan, government, intelligence agencies, civil society and media
should adopt an effective, well-coordinated, long-term and comprehensive strategy.