Pakistan and Regional Terrorism: An Analysis

Abstract

The rise of religious terrorism is one of the South Asian region's expanding concerns. From the region's periphery to its central states, where it intersects with religious and ethnic identities that have assumed the form of contemporary fear, terror has increased. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was a significant turning point in South Asian politics and modern terrorism, and these events had spillover effects. Religious extremism and sectarian organisations grew in India under the direction of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) movement. After the Afghan War, Pakistan saw an increase in religious extremism. Despite the fact that terrorism has never been institutionalised in Pakistan or endorsed as a national policy, India continues to associate Pakistan with the term "terrorist" both at home and internationally. The global campaign against terrorism has also strengthened the present wave of terror in South Asia following 9/11. The area is now in a condition of instability and unpredictability as a result of the US's 20-year engagement in Afghanistan and premature withdrawal. Thus, religious terrorism is not restricted to or specifically associated with Pakistan; rather, it is a regional issue that is a part of the fourth wave of terrorism, and Pakistan is not alone among South Asian states in having to deal with its ramifications. This paper follows qualitative methodology, and its arguments were created via content analyses of local historical occurrences.