Causes of Terrorism

Pakistan has been afflicted by this worse form of social malice for more than 65 years. It
changed its forms and with the passage of time became more lethal and frightening.
The religious intolerance, political mistrust and instability, military interventions, partial
economic policies, ethnic, regional and lingual prejudices let the flame of terrorism
flared up in full swing which resulted in economic instability, trust deficit among different
social factions and sense of instability among the masses of Pakistan.

The Afghan Conflict

Pakistan had been facing the brunt of terrorism and sectarian violence since early 80s.
The Soviet Afghanistan war was the most critical event for spreading militancy and
intolerance in Pakistan. In order to fight proxy war against the Soviets, the US and the
Arab countries provided the funds serving the Mujahedeen who were motivated for
battle through religious propaganda urging them to expel the infidels from Afghanistan.
It brought the flare of religious fundamentalism, intolerance and extreme prejudices
among different religious sects and factions. Being a heterogeneous society, it was not
affordable for Pakistan that a single theology could have complete domination over the
others

Political Instability
In Pakistan, no attention was paid to development of people and institutions at grass
roots level, consequently giving rise to oligarchy from landlords, businessmen and
bureaucracy. This has led to the problems of weak governance, poor economic
performance and has adversely affected overall internal security of country.

Poverty
There is lot of difference of opinion on the poverty being a root cause of terrorism.
Those who consider it to be one of the primary causes of terrorism argue that most of
the recruits are drawn from poor; uneducated and jobless youth who cannot complete
their education due to financial constraints and fall pray to the terrorist organizations to
meet their basic economic needs and obligations. These are the people motivated by
social needs and pressures and chances for personal gain rather than ideology.

Pakistans Location
Pakistan, owing to its geo-strategic location is placed naturally in the eye of storm.
When coupled with issues like terrorism, extremism, international power play and
regional security environment, our position gets further focused on international scene.
Moreover, presence of extra regional forces in our neighborhood has a serious
ramification for trend of growing militazation and terrorism of our society.

Effects of Terrorism
The menace of terrorism which was on the increase especially after Pakistans
cooperation with the US in the Global war on Terror has led to severe consequences for
the Government of Pakistan, and the countrys social fabric. The phenomenon of
terrorism is indeed affecting every component of society and is becoming greatest
threat to our country. Some of important effects and impacts which are creating serious
security challenges are as follows:-

Loss of National Pride

Despite countless sacrifices as front line state in war against terror, ironically Pakistan is
recognized with terror, chaos and as the most dangerous place on the globe. Pakistan
has failed to correctly plead its case and publically implicate all those who are
responsible for the mess that we are into. This is an image which Pakistanis are taking
with pinch of salt and has deprived them of the national pride. Besides tarnishing the
image abroad, as a nation it has weakened our faith in our ideology. For example, due
to terrorist attack on Sirilankan cricket team, international cricket was banned in
Pakistan and recognized Pakistan a state of terrorists.

Effects of Terrorism on Social Life and Culture of Pakistan

The end sufferer or victim of the terrorism is the general public. Most of social scientists
thought that human conflict and corruption cannot be done away from the society. The
human conflict results in the form of violence or terrorism. The repercussions of the
terrorism are very serious for the masses. No doubt, the terrorism not only directly
affects economic development and prosperity but heavily damages the human
personality and the society. The effects of terrorism may vary from different persons to
different societies. These are the some effects and impacts terrorism which are as
follows:

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
dissatisfaction 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. The social relationships have
severely suffered from great loss in the presence of these psychological
diseases.
Due to terrorism social splits has widened among the people belonging to the
different schools of thought. This split has become the cause of significant social
division which harms the social fabric and unity negatively.
Due to the fear of terrorist attacks the people are trying to escape from their
social and professional responsibilities.
Terrorism has promoted social segregation and isolation among the different
groups of the society. That means the terrorism has enhanced the social
disturbance and people feel division in the society.
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.

In short, terrorism has long lasting effects on the individuals, groups and overall society.
The social prosperity and the well-being of the masses are at the risk and in the
situation of constant strain and stress, the human beings find it difficult to live their life
properly and calmly. The violent behavior develops among the people who lead to
socio-economic decline and destroy the human and social relationships.