Weapons, Youth, and Motivation: Why the Taliban Is Growing in Pakistan

August 03, 2012 from Vice

WARNING: Graphic Content. Vice went to Pakistan to investigate why suicide bombings, IED use, and the Taliban are all growing at alarming rates. In a recent trip to Pakistan to report on the recent spike in the region's violence and bloodshed, Suroosh Alvi heard over and over the same sentiment from people on the ground: America's war on terror is falling flat on its face. The military conflict in neighboring Afghanistan, repeatedly cited by locals, sends a constant flood of guns, refugees, militants, and heroin flowing into Pakistan. Heroin is now actually cheaper than hashish in cities like Lahore, and the Kalashnikov culture, the foundation of which was laid 30 years ago when the CIA financed the mujahideen, is all-consuming. According to the Pakistanis he spoke to, it's all taken a devastating toll on the country and is creating the next generation of militants.

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Pakistani Taliban

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist militant groups based in the northwestern Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Pakistan. Most, but not all, Pakistani Taliba... Explore this topic

Peshawar

Peshawar, also known as Pekhawar, is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the administrative centre and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated in a large valley near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, close to the ... Explore this topic

Federally Administered Tribal Areas

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in northwestern Pakistan, bordering Pakistan's provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to the east and south, and Afghanistan's provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia, Khost and Paktika to the w... Explore this topic

Pakistan

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a sovereign country in South Asia. With a population exceeding 180 million people, it is the sixth most populous country in the world. Located at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Cent... Explore this topic

War on Terror

The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign which started as a result of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. This resulted in an international military campaign to eliminate al-Qaeda and other militant organizati... Explore this topic

Terrorist attack

A Terrorist Attack can refer to any attack lead by a small group against a populace, agency, business, government etc. that is done for ideological purposes. Explore this topic

Taliban

The Taliban, alternative spelling Taleban, is an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan. It spread into Afghanistan and formed a government, ruling as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from September 1996 until December 2001, with Kandahar as the capital. Ho... Explore this topic

2010 Pakistan floods

The 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater, approx... Explore this topic

Suicide attack

A suicide attack is an attack upon a target, in which an attacker intends to kill others and/or cause great damage, knowing that he or she will either certainly or most likely die in the process. Between 1981 and 2006, 1200 suicide attacks occurred around the world, constituti... Explore this topic

Shooting

Shooting is the act or process of firing firearms or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets, and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman. Shooting can take place in a shooting range ... Explore this topic

Also See

Pakistani Taliban

Peshawar

Federally Administered Tribal Areas

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