Pakistan is fighting the war on terror effectively on the ground and they have achieved success. But fighting is not the only solution. Why? Because the recent attack on Peshawar High Court Judge on February 28, 2019, has proved that there is a dire need for de-radicalisation strategy than military operations.
International
response to countering radicalisation is taking on creative, multi-level
actions. But in Pakistan the only solution targeting impoverished youth is in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through de-radicalisation centres. It is time we adopt out
of the box thinking and should do more than fighting to counter
terrorism.
2. De-radicalisation centres
De-radicalisation
has been discussed a lot in our media but none have found solutions to it nor
have they offered a methodology to counter radical ideology. The military and its counter terrorism department
links radicalisation to poverty. In their view, poverty is the only driver
of radicalisation. Because of this they only offer skills to children,
including psychological support, in their de-radicalisation Centres in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, while ignoring other parts of the country.
When we look at
statistics Khyber Pakhtunkhwa certainly is a hotbed for radicalisation but it’s
not the only breading ground of radical thinkers. Why have we not established
de-radicalisation centres in other parts of the country?
De-radicalisation
centres are used to de-radicalising youth who are caught in military
operations. This is their only mandate. But could this mandate be extended, say
to a broader group that are not already far in the radicalisation process or
not already taking up weapons in military operations?
While the focus of
the de-radicalisation centre is on those captured and are already radicalised,
are there other opportunities? Should we spend our resources on those already
radicalised or should we address the process of radicalisation too? Is there a
role we can play in intervening before our young people become radical?
1. Radicalisation
is believe or expressing the belief that there should be great or extreme
social and political change.
The government is running De-radicalisation Centres since 2009 but they are not proven effective. Part of this is linked to them trying to de-radicalise young people without understanding the drivers behind radicalisation. For countering radicalisation first we have to understand why a child has been radicalized? What are the drivers behind his radicalization? We must listen to their beliefs and what influenced these beliefs, thereafter we can design new beliefs to counter them.
Terrorist groups
like ISIS and TTP are using propaganda with very clear aims to target young
people. They are targeting narratives to specific people through social media.
After understanding the young person’s mentality they indoctrinate their
narrative. These narratives are targeted to different groups, with different
beliefs.
Terrorists are not
only targeting poor people but rich and the highly educated as well.
Radicalisation is
related to ideology. While ideology provides a background that is why young
people are attracted to radical thinking. There are many factors that
push a young person to adopt radical ideology. These are factors such as peer
groups, influential Masjid Imams and a lack of Islamic Knowledge and lack of
opportunities like jobs or feeling of social purpose.
While our emphasis
continues to be de-radicalisation, should we not start to consider counter
radicalisation? This being the ability to understand what is driving young
people to join radical groups and interrupting the messages of terrorist groups
to target young people.
There should be a
clear counter radicalisation strategy so that the youth who want to escape
radicalisation may get alternate information.
The Government
should design alternate narratives to counter terrorist narratives because in
the absence of alternative narrative the youth may easily fall prey to
terrorist narrative and easily seduced by radical ideas.
Fantastic
🙏🙏🙏🙏
You Did a great job Mr. Kamran Khan,, wish you all the best in future,,