Building Community Resilience for Countering the Lure of Extremism

Abstract

The rampant rise of violent extremist incidents across the globe poses an urgent threat to humanity requiring an immediate action. Vulnerabilities within diverse communities can serve as a critical fault line that can potentially foster extremist tendencies. This paper focuses on examining this pressing issue with specific reference to Pakistan. The study argues that although external factors contribute significantly, internal factors too, hold paramount importance in confronting the challenge of violent extremism.  The paper addresses the issue of violent extremism in Pakistan, emphasizing the importance of building community resilience. The study aims to inform and shape state’s policies and strategies in the context of P/CVE. It sheds light on various forms of violent extremism, i.e., acts of terrorism, religious violence, gender-based violence, violent protests, riots, and hate crimes, demanding a comprehensive understanding. The literature review underscores various factors influencing community resilience, highlighting the significance of a multi-stakeholder approach. The paper highlights the need for an active role of academic institutions, think tanks, and NGOs in P/CVE. Structured across chapters, this paper analyses the issue of violent extremism in Pakistan and suggest soft approaches to tackle this issue. By charting a comprehensive path forward, it aims to contribute to a more secure and resilient Pakistan.

References

Ahmad, I. (2023, July 12). Punjab police registered 10,365 cases of violence against women in 4 months: SSDO. The Nation. https://www.nation.com.pk/12-Jul-2023/punjab-police-registered-10-365-cases-of-violence-against-women-in-4-months-ssdo

Babakhel, M. A. (2023, March 18). Two Approaches. DAWN.COM. https://www.dawn.com/news/1742789

Dal Farra, S., & De Riz, L. (2017, December 19). Building Resilience Against Violent Extremism. Retrieved from https://www.salto-youth.net/downloads/toolbox_tool_download-file-1773/Booklet%20BRAVE.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR COUNTERING TERRORISM AND TARGETED VIOLENCE. (2019, September). US Department of Homeland Security. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_0920_plcy_strategic-framework-countering-terrorism-targeted-violence.pdf

Ghosh, R., Chan, W. Y. A., Manuel, A., & Dilimulati, M. (2017, May 4). Can Education Counter Violent Religious Extremism? Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 23(2), 117–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/11926422.2016.1165713

Gul, A. (2023, September 30). Report: Surge in terrorism kills more than 700 Pakistanis. Voice of America. https://www.voanews.com/a/report-surge-in-terrorism-kills-more-than-700-pakistanis/7291609.html

Hummel, K. (2023, May 23). The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan After the Taliban’s Afghanistan Takeover. Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. https://ctc.westpoint.edu/the-tehrik-i-taliban-pakistan-after-the-talibans-afghanistan-takeover/

Iqbal, K. (2021). Pakistan’s Non-Kinetic Responses to Violent Extremism. Strategic Thought, 3, 147–161. https://doi.org/https://www.strategicthought.ndu.edu.pk/site/article/view/31

Khan, S. (2022, October 10). Pakistan: Activists Sound Alarm over Hate Crimes – DW. Dw.Com. https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-activists-sound-alarm-over-hate-crimes-blasphemy-claims/a-63396489

Kumar, A. (2011). The Terror Challenge in South Asia and Prospect of Regional Cooperation. Institute for Defence Studies Studies & Analysis, New Delhi, 1–144. https://doi.org/https://www.idsa.in/system/files/book/Book_TerrorChallengesSouthAsia.pdf

Nafees, M. (2022, January). Blasphemy Cases in Pakistan: 1947 – 2021. Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). https://crss.pk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Blasphemy-Report-.pdf

Pakistan. (n.d.). United States Department of State. Retrieved December 14, 2023, from https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2019/pakistan/

‘Administration Report’, 2022. https://nacta.gov.pk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Administration-Report-2022.pdf.

‘Aarhus Model: Prevention of Radicalisation and Discrimination in Aarhus’. Accessed 27 October 2023. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/networks/radicalisation-awareness-network-ran/collection-inspiring-practices/ran-practices/aarhus-model-prevention-radicalisation-and-discrimination-aarhus_en.

‘Four Pakistani Police Killed in Violence at Far-Right TLP Protest’, 27 October 2021. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/27/pakistani-police-killed-at-tlp-protest.

‘Good Practices on Community Engagement and Community-Oriented Policing as Tools to Counter Violent Extremism’. Global Counter Terrorism Forum, n.d. https://www.thegctf.org/documents/10162/159885/13Aug09_EN_Good+Practices+on+Community+Engagement+and+Community-Oriented+Policing.pdf.

‘Outreach Branch – NACTA – National Counter Terrorism Authority NACTA Pakistan’, n.d. https://nacta.gov.pk/outreach-branch/.

Rae, J. A. (2012, September 22). Will It Ever Be Possible to Profile the Terrorist? doi:10.15664/jtr.380.

‘Report: Surge in Terrorism Kills More Than 700 Pakistanis’, 30 September 2023. https://www.voanews.com/a/report-surge-in-terrorism-kills-more-than-700-pakistanis/7291609.html.

Taylor, E. (Lily), Taylor, P. C., Karnovsky, S., Aly, A., & Taylor, N. (2017, April 3). “Beyond Bali”: A Transformative Education Approach for Developing Community Resilience to Violent Extremism. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 37(2), 193–204. doi:10.1080/02188791.2016.1240661

United States Institute of Peace. ‘The Current Situation in Pakistan’, 23 January 2023. https://www.usip.org/publications/2023/01/current-situation-pakistan.

UNESCO. We Need to Talk: Measuring Intercultural Dialogue for Peace and Inclusion. Vol. 4. Institute for Economics and Peace, 2022. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000382874.

‘UNICRI :: United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute’. Accessed 8 October 2023. https://unicri.it/news/role-social-media-mali-and-its-relation-violent-extremism-youth-perspective.

‘UNITED KINGDOM NATIONAL SUBMISSION: BEST PRACTICE AND LESSONS LEARNED ON HOW PROTECTING AND PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS CONTRIBUTES TO PREVENTING AND COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM’, May 2016. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Issues/RuleOfLaw/PCVE/UK.pdf.

‘President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, Graced National VCs Peace Conference as the Chief Guest. – NACTA – National Counter Terrorism Authority NACTA Pakistan’, n.d. https://nacta.gov.pk/national-vcs-peace-conference/.

‘Youth Empowerment for Peace and Resilience Building and Prevention of Violent Extremism in Sahel and Surrounding Countries: A Guide for Teachers’. UNESCO, 2019. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000371537.