NCJ Number
242601
Date Published
April 2013
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the history of the Taliban in Pakistan following the initial intervention in Afghanistan by the U.S. military.
Abstract
The U.S. military sought to dismantle the Taliban's control over Afghanistan, which provided a sanctuary for the Al Qaeda leadership as it engineered the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The Taliban then retreated to the mountainous region along the Pakistan border, where Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FTA) offered an ideal breeding ground for a new organization called the Pakistani Taliban, which adheres to the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban. This new face of the Taliban has sought to impose its ideology on the settled areas of Pakistan, with support from similar groups already operating in mainland Pakistan. The consequences of this trend for Pakistan's political and economic stability are discussed. This paper argues that any counterterrorism effort in Pakistan must revolve around the police and local law enforcement, with a centralized coordination unit based on intelligence; however, Pakistan security challenges are complicated because of fundamental religio-political spheres. Internal efforts to build a stronger police force are evident but limited in scope. There are deficiencies in the policing system, such as inadequate training, meager equipment, weak intelligence-collection mechanisms, and inadequate human resource capability. In addition, the lack of political will to pursue a reform agenda and the lack of trust in the effectiveness of the police undermine support for reform efforts. The aforementioned assessment of the police system in Pakistan was conducted by the Asia Society's report on reforming the Pakistan police. The requisite political will and adequate funding are needed in order for the report's recommendations to be implemented. 13 references