Does anybody remember Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma City bomber), Colleen LaRose (“Jihad Jane”) and John Walker Lindh (the “American Taleban”)? They had one thing in common — they did not “fit” the stereotypical appearance and characteristics of terrorists. This is what made them even more dangerous. As such individuals do not arouse suspicion of intelligence agencies or the common public, they go undetected and manage to execute their evil intentions with impunity.
Recently, authorities in Pakistan claimed to have arrested terror suspects involved in the Safoora Goth carnage in Karachi and the widely reported murder of social activist, Sabeen Mahmud. More shockingly, the nabbed extremists behind these cowardly acts were presumably ordinary men, some of them attending the most prestigious educational institutes of Pakistan and coming from financially stable backgrounds. With their apparently “normal” behavior and lifestyles, they blended well in the society and their association with any terror group was almost unimaginable. As a result, this Al-Qaeda-linked sleeper cell was able to perpetuate several high profile terrorist attacks and related nefarious activities since 2011.
A close look at the backgrounds of these terrorists debunks the myth that unequal income and educational opportunities fuel terrorism in a society. A study by Alan Krueger and Jitka Maleckova reveals that “any connection between poverty, education, and terrorism is indirect, complicated, and probably quite weak.”
Terrorism was more directly linked to frustrations emanating from political conditions, religious ideologies and other personal motivations. Individuals who go off-track and belong to more privileged backgrounds actually prove to be invaluable resources for terrorist outfits as they have greater intellectual capabilities, expertise and interest, in political and other social matters.
These young and well-educated criminals have been further aided by easy access to technology, which has empowered them to swiftly learn and carry out acts of violence. In this new era of terrorism, technology has allowed some of the amateur terrorist outfits to form linkages with other more notorious global terror groups as well. In fact, it is almost imperative for terrorists to be technically savvy and competent in today’s globalized world.
While terrorism has scarred Pakistan for a long time now, the latest sleeper cell bust points toward a terrifying new reality of this menace. Terrorists could be hiding among us — they could be our friends, family members or our schoolmates. As Pakistan’s military continues to wage a battled against insurgents in the volatile northwestern province, the threat of terrorism has evolved and become even more complex. Terrorism has manifested itself within the society and is likely to persist in the coming times. The new face of terror also highlights the challenges faced by local law enforcement agencies in defining real terrorism threats and sharing intelligence to counter them.
There is a dire need to carry out self-scrutiny and to not associate terrorism with any particular ethnic background in Pakistan. The government needs to revisit its domestic policies and the national counterterrorism policy to determine an official response to such threats in the urban centers. Without clamping down on these urban terror groups, Pakistan may not be able to achieve lasting peace.
