Introduction To Political Science

FALL 2023
Course Title: Political Science
Course Code: PLS 101
Assignment No. 1
Course Instructor: Ayesha Aqeel
Submission Date: 25-12-
Section: A18 Program: BSCS
2023
Maximum Marks: 10 Obtained Marks:
Program Learning Objective: Course Learning Objective:
Taxonomy level: C2
PLO10 CLO1
TO BE FILLED IN BY THE STUDENT
Student Name: Faris Habib Registration No: L1F23BSCS0772
Q: Discuss Terrorism in your own words. Describe the causes of Terrorism in Pakistan and
also predict the measures to counter the terrorism.

Instructions:
• Using Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT, Bard AI, paraphrasing websites etc.) is strongly
prohibited. You will be marked zero if found using these tools for Assignment. Therefore,
make your assignments with honesty.

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name and registration number.

• Further, you are only allowed 15% plagiarism in your assignment. An increase in
plagiarism(copying) % will decrease your marks.

• Submit your assignment in soft copy on Portal (Submission Tab). Late submissions would
not be accepted. Therefore, submit timely.
 Introduction To Political Science

Terrorism:
Terrorism means the use of violence against a country and its people for Political Reasons. It
results in the loss of lives of many people and damage to a country’s image. There have been
many cases of terrorism in the world the most popular being 9/11 in which two planes crashed in
the Twin Towers in New York City (United States of America) which resulted in almost 3000
people losing their lives. Terrorism makes people scared and feel unsafe in their own country, so
it is important for every country to control it as much as possible. Let us discuss about this topic
further:

Terrorism around the world:

The country with the most terrorist attacks in Afghanistan with a GTI (Global Terrorist Index) of
almost 9 percent and its latest terrorist attack happened in November this year called the Kabul
Bombing. Because of these terrorist attacks Afghanistan is considered one of the most unsafe
countries in the world. Let us also look on the other side as well, countries like China, Finland
and many others have GTI of 0 percent. China last faced a terrorist attack in 2019 and no one
died in that attack. It is very impressive how China have been able to control it through their
amazing security also because it has the most population in the world so for them to have such
low terrorism rates is brilliant. If they were to face such a disaster it would result in the loss of
lives of many people.

Biggest Terrorist cases around the world:

9/11: As previously mentioned this was one of the biggest terrorist cases in the world which as
the name suggest happened on September 11th 2001. Two planes crashed into the twin towers
which resulted in the death of many people.
London Bombings: London is a city in the UK (United Kingdom). Suicide bombers targeted the
London transport system during the rush hour (rush hour meaning when it is most crowded). 52
people were killed in these bombings and several hundred were injured. This happened in 2005
and was rumored to be done by ISIS.
Madrid Bombings: Madrid is a city in Spain and once again in 2004, the terrorist targeted the
trains. They were suicide bombers. They ended up killing 191 people and injuring over 1800
people which was a big tragedy in Spain. Once again this was rumored to be done by ISIS.
Boston Marathon Bombing: Two individuals planted homemade bombs near the finish line of
the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring several hundred.
Charlie Hebdo Shooting: Islamist extremists attacked the offices of the satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France, killing 12 people. The attackers claimed the act was in response
to the magazine's depiction of Prophet Muhammad.

ISIS (Terrorist Organization) and how it has affected Islam:

 Introduction To Political Science

ISIS is one of the most well-known terrorist groups in the world. They claim they do all these
terrorist attacks for Islam and because of this it has given the religion a very negative reputation.
People now have the beliefs that Muslims are terrorists and are responsible for almost all terrorist
activities that happen in the world. This is simply not true, if anyone even bothered to do some
research and learn about the religion of Islam, they would come to know that what they do is the
opposite of what Islam teaches us. It is important for this terrorist organization to be put to an
end, because if they continue to do these crimes it will not only increase the already negative
reputation of Islam but also many people will lose their lives. It is by far the most dangerous
group of people that can cause violence.

Why it is important to control Terrorism:

If your country is constantly dealing with terrorist attacks, then it will make the locals (people
living in the country) scared and want to leave. It will affect the country's peace and security. It
will also result in low tourism rates in the country. People will lose their lives if it goes out of
control and the country will face economic instability if they keep destroying its infrastructure.

Different Types of Terrorist Attacks

Holding someone Hostage: The terrorist tries to kidnap an important person or even a normal
civilian and demands things in exchange to let the hostage go.
Destroying buildings (infrastructures): This is the most generic form of terrorism in which
they destroy buildings like the example I gave before of the 9/11 attacks. This hurts the country’s
economy as well.
Hijacking: The terrorist tries to take control over like for example an airplane. They threaten
the pilot and if the pilot does not do what he says the terrorist will use violence. The most famous
case is of the DB Cooper incident in which he hijacked the plane, made it land somewhere else
and demanded 200k dollars (1.2 million in current times) and parachutes. He then jumped off the
plane and was never seen again.
Assassinations: The action of killing someone (for political reasons) is called Assassination.
USA has lost 4 presidents due to assassinations (Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William
Mckinley, and John F. Kennedy).
Shootings: The terrorist starts shooting and killing people in a specific location. When we talk
about America school shootings have become quite common which is quite scary. America
currently has experienced 288 school shootings and the second on the list is Mexico with 8 so the
difference between 1st and 2nd is quite astounding.
Bombings: Throwing bombs at various places which kills and injures many people in that area.
It is also quite a generic form of terrorism.

General Causes of Terrorism:

 Introduction To Political Science

Religion: If some people have different religious beliefs, then others think that violence is the
solution rather than accepting each other's different views and beliefs. Terrorism is used to
advance their religious or ideological goals.
Attention: Some people in this world really want attention and knowing if they were to do
violence against people and country, the attention it will get from media and others around the
world makes them want to commit these horrible acts.
Political Cause: People who do not agree and want a political change in the country use
violence (terrorism) to make a change.
Race (Skin Color or Nationality): Nationality can contribute to terrorism when communities
feel marginalized or oppressed and resort to violence to assert their identity or gain autonomy.
State hired terrorism: Believe it or not some governments around the world hire people who
will cause violence to other states or countries for their own gain. Most common rumor of the
9/11 attack is that America did the terrorist attacks themselves and blamed Afghanistan so they
can raid the country.

Terrorism in Pakistan:
Terrorism is a major issue in Pakistan. Pakistan is ranked 6 in GTI of 8.16 percent. There have
been 84 incidents of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2023 alone in which the most recent being in
15th of December 2 Pakistani troops were killed by militants in an attack on a security checkpoint
in the Khyber District and 6 others were also injured. This makes it one of the most unsafe
countries in the world and tourists are afraid to visit it. The first ever terrorist attack which
occurred in Pakistan was on July 14th, 1987, which was known as the Karachi car bombing. Two
more happened in September of the same year, and then from 1990 Pakistan dealt with multiple
terrorists attack every year with each year came with the increase in the rate of terrorist attacks.
No effective method has been implemented which can control these violent crimes. Following
are some of the biggest terrorist cases that have happened in Pakistan.

Significant terrorist case (Mumbai):

This terrorist attack happened in India but also effected Pakistan. People who committed violent
act against India in Mumbai were affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant
organization. This led India to believe that these terrorist attacks were initiated by Pakistan and
these acts was on the orders of Pakistan. This built-up tension between the two countries.

Second Deadliest Terrorist case in Pakistan:

The second deadliest case that happened in Pakistan happened on 25th of July. One hundred and
forty-nine people lost their lives because of a suicide bomber. Out of this 9 of them were
children. Furthermore over 180 people were injured due to this attack. It was rumored to have
been done by ISIS.
 Introduction To Political Science

Attack on Army Public School:

On 14th of December 2014 a devastating tragedy occurred in Army Public School. This happened
in Peshawar which resulted in the death of over 130 children. The families of the victims and
whole of Pakistan was filled with grief.

Benazir Bhutto Assassination:

Benazir Bhutto was the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Unfortunately, she was killed in 2007
making her the only Prime Minister assassinated in Pakistan. This raised the concern of political
violence and instability.

Church attacks on Peshawar and Quetta:

Both of these attacks were done through suicide bombings which killed many people and injured
others. The attack on Peshawar happened in 2013 while the attack on Quetta happened in 2017.

Causes of Terrorism in Pakistan:

Afghanistan Issue: As we know that Afghanistan has the highest Terrorism rate in its country,
so Pakistan being its neighboring country has affected its security. Not only has that but also the
Afghan Soviet War and the substantial number of refugees also affected it.
Ethnic Backgrounds: As we know Pakistan is not short of having people with diverse cultures
traditions etc. But this is also one of the leading causes of terrorism in the country. People do not
accept each other and consider their ethnic background as superior so they result in using
violence.
Security Issues: The security, law enforcement agencies are not that great. This helps the people
doing terrorist attacks with ease. Pakistan needs to tighten up its security to control this. Because
of these security issues people are afraid to visit the country like the New Zealand cricket team
which left the country for the same reason and were scared. The public and government, instead
of using this criticism to improve their security, they made fun of the team for leaving the
country.
Location on the map: Pakistan is in South Asia and its neighboring countries are India and
Afghanistan (Both which have higher terrorism rates in their country then Pakistan). All these
countries have tension between them as well.
Kashmir Issue: The dispute of Kashmir between Pakistan and India is still not resolved to this
day. The tension is still there between both the countries. This has led to many terrorist’s attacks
to try and have control over it.
Lack of education and Poverty: Pakistan is in economic crises and many people in the country
are unemployed and people also lack education. Some people for money will do violence against
people either by influence of others, or just wanting attention. They will make deals with these
uneducated people in reward for money if they commit these bad crimes.
 Introduction To Political Science

How terrorism has affected Pakistan:

Death: Many people due to these violent crimes have lost their lives. Their Families filled with
grief within some cases no justice is served. People become scared and even think of leaving
their area or even country as a result.
Economy: Pakistan is already in an economic crisis and these terrorist attacks like bombings
which damage infrastructures and other things really hurt the economy of Pakistan.
Refugees: Some people lose their homes due to these terrorist attack and have no place left to
live, but some people just leave their homes because of the fear of what if their area is attacked
next.
Education Institutions: As I previously mentioned, America is constantly dealing with school
shootings which results in many kids losing their lives. Pakistan has experienced 4 school
shootings in its existence all which led to the death of many students and teachers. This will
terrify a student of going back to school. Thankfully, security is being installed in these
educational institutes.
Government Pressure: People are losing faith in the government and are demanding for these
terrorist attacks to be put under control. Demand for security will be at an all-time high.
Religion: People have even started to blame Islam or other religions due to these terrorist
attacks. Terrorist groups like ISIS have given Islam an unbelievably bad reputation and make it
look like Muslims themselves are committing these violent crimes. As a result, people outside
that religion see the people following Islam in a negative way. Even in some cases the people
who are following Islam start showing doubt in their own religion which is a big sin.
International Reputation: These terrorist attacks make tourists scared to visit the country. This
results in low tourism rates and not only that, but the governments of other countries also look at
Pakistan in a negative way. Pakistan has faced criticism and scrutiny from the international
community for its perceived role in harboring or supporting certain militant groups.

How Pakistan can control terrorism in its country:

Focusing on Security: Well, we start it off with the most obvious point that is Pakistan should
focus or building up their security. It has a population of almost 250 million so it should do its
level best to protect people's lives and their homes. Security on borders should also be focused to
prevent terrorist groups from getting supplies.
Counterterrorism: Always patrol the streets and try to find terrorist hide outs and catch them.
They can collab with partners or even other countries and ask them to provide supplies for
support.
Educate People: Most of terrorist attacks are done mostly by illiterate people so it is important
to give them education and teach them the negative impact they would have on people lives if
they were to go on an do their violent crimes.
 Introduction To Political Science

Media: Counter terrorist propaganda: Develop media campaigns that challenge and counteract
terrorist propaganda, promoting messages of peace and tolerance. Monitor and regulate media:
Implement measures to monitor and regulate media content to prevent the spread of extremist
ideologies.
Promote Islam: Pakistan is a country which is run on the principles of Islam, so it is important
to promote it. Islam teaches us peace not violence so this message should be spread across the
whole country for people to follow.
Community: Build trust between law enforcement agencies and local communities through
community policing initiatives, fostering cooperation and information-sharing. Involve local
leaders and influencers: Engage religious and community leaders to condemn terrorism and
discourage support for extremist ideologies.

Conclusion:
It is obvious by the points that terrorism only causes harm to the country and people. People lose
their lives, home etc. Due to these violent crimes. Not only Pakistan but every country in the
world should take measures to control terrorism. It will make the people living in the area feel
safe. Pakistan should try to learn from countries like China or Finland who have extremely low
terrorism rates in their country. Currently as we look through the data and analysis of Pakistan
terrorism rate, every year the number keeps going up and no effective method have been put into
place. If this continues it will hurt Pakistan badly and will make people lose trust in the
government. Let us just hope for the best that in the future the number of terrorist attacks in the
country each year will continue to decrease.