Can the new Pakistanian policy of anti-Ekstressism win the rise of armed attacks? | News of the conflict

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has discovered a new policy to solve “violent extremism” using a unlikely bouquet of tools, including changes in the school curriculum, religion and achievement of social media, except for military tactics, at a time when deadly armed attacks are growing.

However, many analysts warn that the plan is too ambitious, thin in detail and are difficult to perform under the entire leadership of the army adapted to the military force as their primary weapon. Some experts claim that the national prevention of violent extremism (NPVE) is, as it is called a new plan, in force “Stari wine in a new bottle”.

The last policy, published for a public account of last week comes at a time escalating violenceespecially in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern Province of Balochistan.

According to figures From the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), a research center based in Islamabad, in 2024 she was the most deadly year in almost a decade for Pakistan. Data reveal that 2,526 people were killed in attacks last year – including almost 700 security staff, more than 900 civilians and about 900 armed fighters.

Most of these attacks were carried out by Pakistani Taliban, known for the Acronyal TTP, an armed group ideologically associated with the Taliban in Afghanistan. TTP has led an armed rebellion against Pakistan since its emergence in 2007.

While Pakistan has introduced similar frames against extremism in the past, a new document on 71 pages [PDF]Prepared by a national body for the fight against terrorism – an autonomous government body responsible for collecting intelligence data, estimates of threats and strategy against terrorism – is different, said Dayyab Gillani, director of research and development of NActa.

The key shift, according to him, is that the new policy promotes the strategy of “the whole society” to prevent “violent extremism”, including the use of “non-acid” means. In military terminology, kinetic measures relate to armed force.

“The so -called war against terrorism taught us that only military operations are not a sustainable strategy. Kinetic successes are only temporary, because they fail to eliminate terrorism at the roots, “Gillani told Al Jazeera during a recent interview in Islamabad. “The causes and initiators of terrorism have never been removed, which is why terrorism has repeatedly appeared, despite short -term profits.”

What does the NPve policy say?

Gillani, who joined Nacti two years ago, said that the work on the NPve was originally started in 2019, but political instability delayed the end until 2024. Politics was approved by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet in December.

Politics is an approach to “5-R”-Revised, reach, reduce, strengthen and reintegrate-a series of 700 key indicators of the success of the corporate style (KPI) to measure effectiveness in short-term and medium and long-term.

The first policy action, “Revisit”, focuses on the reform of the curriculum and the program and engaging young people and influences such as teachers and religious leaders. “Reaches” aims to promote a national narrative through the media and opposing hard narratives on social media.

“We live in a time of social media, which has become a major tool for radicalization,” Gillani said. “This requires a remodeled communication strategy.”

“We need to encourage the culture of tolerance, acceptance and involvement, where people respect social, political and religious differences without resorting to violence,” he added.

“Reduce” target young and women through the peace initiatives and exploration of women’s roles in armed rebellion. “Increases” seeks to promote peace and tolerance through art, culture and scientific innovation.

The final action of politics, “reintegration”, includes programs of decadicalization, rehabilitation and reconciliation for former fighters and communities affected by conflicts.

“The fundamental responsibility of the state according to their citizens is to provide care for them. Nonethetic measures, which are empathetic nature and approaches, is what the Government has to focus on in order to counteract the extremism, “Gillani said.

Military operations and old politics

Pakistan faced two decades of armed violence and launched several military operations in the fight against armed groups.

After the attack on September 11 and the subsequent invasion of the United States in Afghanistan, Pakistan became a refuge for the Taliban leaders and members of Al-Qaeda who flee to Afghanistan.

After TTP got the country in Pakistan, the army launched several campaigns to eradicate and regain control of the territory. However, only the attack on the public school of the Army in 2014 in Pesawar, in which more than 140 children were killed, formulated the National Action Plan (NAP) – one of its first formal frames for the suppression of armed rebellion. Similar policies have since been triggered and updated.

But Gillani claimed that these previous policies were “reactive” and are primarily focused on kinetic measures, which is NPV’s preventive and joint access based on a unique.

“Community engagement is crucial for success. Kinetic measures leave lasting scars on communities that have suffered violence, “he said.” That’s why we emphasize prevention. “

Challenges of policy implementation

However, while analysts admit that NPVe establishes a balance between military and negligent strategies-Barre on paper-in-paper that an ambitious scope of politics is a challenges to implement.

“Pakistan has a history of well -meaning policies that have failed because of poor implementation. The success of this policy depends on whether the state provides appropriate execution, “said Abdul Basit, a scientific associate at the School of International Studies Singapore with Rajaratnam.

Similar concerns were expressed by the iftikhar Firdous, co -founder of the Khorasan daily, a platform that monitors regional security.

“This policy admits that intellectual capital is as crucial as military action, because ideologies are often more influential than weapons. However, the policy implementation framework lacks the rigor necessary to achieve its goals, “said Firdous, based in Peshawar.

In the center of these challenges in the implementation is the central question: Who must perform politics?

Civil and military control

Although Nacta is a civilian institution, Pakistan’s security policies were historically dominated by his powerful army, which ruled the state directly for more than three decades and continues to have a significant influence even over civil governments.

“At a time when the fast influence of the army is visible in almost all aspects of society, Nacta is no exception, so when the army implements a non-militarized framework for solving violent extremism, who can guarantee its success?” Said Basit, an academic based in Singapore.

Firdous agreed that military supervision of politics would cause concern.

“How can NActa act effectively if it is considered that other law enforcement agencies are considered to be the jurisdiction of the law? Can a naka under the guidance of civilians be accepted in a system dominated by the military? These are key questions to answer the construction of consensus and to implement politics, “he added.

Rohan Gunarat, professor of security studies at the School of International Studies with Rajaratnam, claimed that the new policy also suffers from another flaw.

It is crucial for Pakistan to develop “customized policy options” that meet the specific needs of each group of society, he said.

“Although the NPve policy can serve as a comprehensive guideline, it requires models specific to the region to address the unique challenges that are facing different groups and regions,” Gunarat told Al Jazeera. “One size approach will not work.”