Regional and International circumstances/ pressures as factors of extremism in Pakistan and solutions to counter it

To muddle through all the problems like terrorism, radicalization, poverty and energy crisis that Pakistan is currently facing requires a policy shift,” noted Dr. Shaheen, a research fellow at  the Institute for Regional Studies Islamabad (IRS), while addressing a session organized by Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) Islamabad on September 29, 2009 at its premises. While … Read more

“Countering extremism: Strategies and sharing best practices”

“Militants wanted power, not Nizam-e-Adl,” said federal minister for religious affairs while addressing a two days international seminar titled “Countering Extremism: Strategies and Sharing Best Practices” which opened on 4 May in Islamabad. The seminar is organized by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) in collaboration with the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, … Read more

Pakistan needs to develop consensus on combating radicalization and extremism: Parvaiz Hoodbhoy

“There is need to create harmony and consensus in the society and the political forces to combat radicalization and extremism as their threat is rapid increasing. Radicalization is a process or series of experiences that an individual goes through, and at the end of which it becomes an extremist, the ultimate outcome of which is … Read more

External players will continue to exploit Pakistan’s internal security threats if left unmanaged

“The security challenges to Pakistan in the form of religious extremism, terrorism and radicalization, are internal and real, which if not managed through a comprehensive security policy will continue to be exploited by the external players. Once the internal security issues are resolved, the external links of the miscreants, militants and nationalist insurgents will cease … Read more

Post-diaspora generations in Europe suffer from identity crisis: Prof. Catrina Kinnvall

“The second and the third generations of the immigrants into Europe, including UK, France, Netherlands and Denmark etc., are suffering from identity crisis and generation conflict. They have a sense of structural or socio-psychological discrimination and are attaching themselves to global Islam with an increasing pace”, this was stated by Miss Catrina Kinnvall, Associate Professor … Read more

Radicalization can be religious, secular, political or economic phenomenon: Shabana Fayyaz

Radicalization is as an ongoing phenomenon and to define it there is need to look at the theoretical interpretations of the subject overtime. One must understand the radicalization in context of theories and approaches put forward by traditionalists/behaviorists, structuralists and constructivists. Radicalization is a process, which is not stagnant in its nature. In its definition … Read more

Radicalization in Pakistan: Journalists see media’s reconciliatory role as desirable

Radicalization has become too a complex phenomenon in Pakistan to be tackled by media alone. Media should, however, play the role of a mediator between government and the people. Becoming a motivational force for peace, Pakistani media can initiate a dialogue and based-on-it reconciliation. But for this, media groups and journalists would have to adopt … Read more

Groups and movements become radical in a ‘comparative perspective’: Dr. Muhammad Islam

“Radicalization is a group phenomenon where views and actions become violent in a ‘comparative perspective’. Radicalization is generally described as a situation in which groups or society [as a whole] resort to use of violent tactics. But this will be incomplete definition. Radicalization actually occurs at the level of ‘perceptions or ideas’ (ideology) even before this … Read more