The December 2014 terrorist attack in Peshawar that killed 132 schoolchildren forced Pakistan to acknowledge the extent of its ongoing problem with radical Islamist militancy. Islamabad, however, has yet to implement a comprehensive deradicalization strategy. In January 2015, it took a formal step in this direction with its twenty-point National Action Plan in response to the Peshawar attack—a step, but only a first step. If deradicalization is to meet with any success in Pakistan, the national narrative itself needs to change.
Summary
Over the last fifteen years, Pakistan has become a hub for radical Islamist militant groups.
Despite the rising militancy and increased terrorist attacks, however, the country has yet to implement a comprehensive deradicalization strategy.
Lack of access to mainstream education, poverty, and weak legal and political institutions are major contributors to a growing league of young jihadi recruits.
Most deradicalization programming is led by the military, is concentrated in the Swat valley, and has little connection to scattered efforts by police and civil administration elsewhere in the country. Although the Pakistani army and civil society institutions have taken steps to counter violent militant ideologies, the government has yet to step up to the plate.
Most deradicalization programming—in Pakistan and elsewhere—emphasizes the importance of economic incentives and alternative livelihoods.
Ideological countermessaging and efforts to prevent recruits from reconnecting with militant networks are also elements of successful programs.