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Following the Peshawar School Attack, Pakistan Moves Against Domestic Terrorism

Perkins, Brian M.

Following the Peshawar School Attack, Pakistan Moves Against Domestic Terrorism / [Recurso electrónico] PDF .-- Recurso online


The attack by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16 was a watershed moment in the country’s fight against terrorism. The death of 132 children transcended preconceived boundaries between civil and military or Sunni and Shi’a, creating space for concerted action against terrorism and Islamic extremism (Dawn [Karachi], December 16, 2014). In its aftermath, the Pakistani government immediately stepped up its war against terrorism through both military and legislative action. The reinstatement of the death penalty and a move to establish military anti-terrorism courts are at the forefront of its 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) (Express Tribune [Karachi], December 25, 2014). The military meanwhile intensified Operations Zarb-e-Azb and Khyber-I against the TTP in the country’s volatile Federally Administered Tribal Area, with increased air and ground operations (Express Tribune [Karachi], February 5). Meanwhile, Pakistan’s civil society demonstrated a level of unity unusual in a country divided along ethnic and religious lines. Although implementing the NAP, and maintaining public support of it, is essential to sustaining its momentum, events nonetheless suggest that the attacks created a new willingness in Pakistan to tackle terrorism.

Terrorismo Talibán

Pakistán