by Umar Cheema in the News, April 09, 2015
ISLAMABAD:-The first generation of Pakistani youth that joined militancy after Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan has stronger desire of returning to normalcy as compared with the second generation switched after 9/11, according to a new book.
However, the book offers an optimistic conclusion that many banned groups have the potential of reintegration into society and calls upon the government to initiate a comprehensive plan for their rehabilitation.
The militants of the first generation were largely drawn from the poor and lower middle class with either no habit of reading at all or that of only religious literature. In contrast, the second generation of militants has representation of the poor sections of society, middle class and upper middle class with access to history, politics and religious literature, notes a newly released book: “The Militant: Development of a Jihadi Character in Pakistan.”
Amir Rana, author of the book, is an expert on the growth of militant network in Pakistan and head of Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies. The parents of the first generation of jihadis were predominately moderate in comparison with the second generation that was largely brought up in religious families.
Another noteworthy analysis made in the book is about their tendency to indulging in criminal activities mostly for collecting donations for Jihad operations as they were found involved in extortion, bank robberies and kidnapping for ransom. Research of the author has found that second generation was more into criminal activities than the first generation.
Brief profiles of some militants have also been featured in the book reflecting their life stories. Included among them is a resident of Lahore, Shahid who joined Punjabi Taliban and was enlisted in a group from Faisalabad that used to harass wealthy businessmen from various cities to extort money. In 2007, the group shot and killed two businessmen in Faisalabad after they refused paying extortion.
Majid, a Karachiite, received weapons training in Fata and later indulged in criminal activities like kidnapping for ransom and extortion in Karachi. However, the common factor in both groups is the lack of economic opportunities as majority of them were jobless by the time they entered into the ranks and files of militant organizations.
Examples of highly qualified militants have also been found in the book. Imran, a resident of Bhakkar, was born to a poor family but his father sent him to PAF School Sargodha. He later graduated from the University of Engineering & Technology in Lahore.
He was working in a textile mill in Kasur where he met colleagues who were regular readers of jihadi literature which convinced him to this side. The book has laid its focus on the development of the militant’s character in recent years. “The phases of militant discourse have completely changed his (militant) personality,” it says.
The militants of the 1990s and those in-making today have a huge difference. The old generation of militants was adventurous but the new generation has clarity of ideology and objectives, according to the book.
It also offers a structural analysis of the militant groups and has explored that varied forms of groups, with a range of ideological and political tendencies, are operating throughout Pakistan. These groups have many similarities but important task is to consider where their interests converge and diverge.
Equally important is to probe how these groups influence each other and how they broaden their ideological paradigms, according to the book. Analysing these aspects, probabilities for effective engagement with the militants can be drawn and spaces identified to intervene in order to break the cycle of terrorism.http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-311704-First-generation-of-Jihadis-more-willing-to-return-to-normal-life-says-book
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