Youth Perceptions on Pakistan’s War on Terror since ‘Zarb-e-Azab’ – Views from Two Leading Pakistani Universities
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Date
2019-11-04
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UMT.Lahore
Abstract
The aim of this research is to study youth perceptions on Pakistan’s role in the ‘war on terror’ since the Zarb-e-Azab Operation. The study therefore seeks to (a) explore youth’s diverging opinions regarding terrorism, (b) know the youth’s thinking about the role of government in combating terrorism, (c) uncover youth’s perspective on the Pakistan-US engagement to counter terrorism, and (d) understand the risks of radicalization posed to Pakistani youth. Semi-structured interviews of the youth were conducted at two leading Pakistani universities. This thesis concludes that according to the selected youth, the US led ‘war on terror’ is hard to justify and this war was mainly beneficial for the US. Pakistan’s participation in the ‘war on terror’ affected it in different respects i.e. politically, economically, socially and most importantly the lives of livelihood of its citizens were endangered. Our youth is well aware of the adverse impacts of the ‘war on terror’ and remain appreciative of the efforts of Pakistan’s Armed Forces for curbing terrorism and insurgencies