SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF TERRORISM: A CASE STUDY OF TERRORISM IN DISTRICT SWAT OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

Abstract

This rsearch paper is focused on the socio-psychological factors responsible for terrorism in District Swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Poverty, disappointment, domestic disputes, easy access to weapons, ethnicity, regionalism, racism as well as religious extremism and interest in Jihad (Holy War) have been the main causes of terrorism in Swat. Socio-psychological values define the direction for a society. In KP generally, and its district Swat particularly, the domestic culture and environment and the war-like situation in its neighbouring Afghanistan for decades has fueled the terrorism.The KP’s society has historical, cultural, religious and ethnic links with Afghanistan. Their mutual socio-psychological resemblance also matters a lot in this regard. Especially, after the incident of 9/11, the US-led forces declared the “war on terrorism” across the globe and, mainly, targeted al-Qaida and its sponsor, the Taliban government, in Afghanistan. As a result, there was an influx of Taliban and al-Qaida members (“terrorists” as termed by the US-led forces) in KP including its district Swat. Being an ally of US-led forces in her declared “War on Terrorism”, Pakistan had to take action against this influx of “terrorists” coming from Afghanistan. Since the days of US-sponsored Afgan Jihad against the USSR in Afghanistan during 1970s-80s, the Afgahn and Pakistani Mujahiddin (Holy Warriors) considered all infidels and their supporters as their “common enemy” in the line of Islam. As a result, after the 9/11incident, both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban joined hands against the “infidel-US”. In Pakistan, they formed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and, soon, district Swat of KP became one of its strongholds. It challenged not only the authority of the then civilian givernment in Swat but even thretened the territorial integration of the state of Pakistan. To coup with this rising situation, the state adopted the “carrot and stick” approach towards TTP. Initially, the state-agencies negotiated with them and ensured them lucrative offers on their surrender to the state. Some of them accepted the states’ offer and save their skin. Others did not surrender and met the wrath of the state. This paper narrates and analyzes that, ‘how and why the socio-psychological factors were active behind the whole scenario of terroism in district Swat of KP, Pakistan?” Keywords: Factors, Islam, Jihad, Pakhtunwali, Socio-Psychological, Terrorism.