The Making of Pakistani Human Bombs

By (author) Khuram Iqbal

Not available to order

Publication date:

30 October 2015

Length of book:

230 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9781498516495

A multi-level analysis of Pakistani human bombs reveals that suicide terrorism is caused by multiple factors with perceived effectiveness, vengeance, poverty, and religious fundamentalism playing a varying role at the individual, organizational, and environmental levels. Nationalism and resistance to foreign occupation appear as the least relevant factors behind suicide terrorism in Pakistan. The findings of this research are based on a multi-level analysis of suicide bombings, incorporating both primary and secondary data. In this study, the author also decodes personal, demographic, economic and marital characteristics of Pakistani human bombs. On average, Pakistani suicide bombers are the youngest but the deadliest in the world, and more than 71 percent of their victims are civilians. Earlier concepts of a weak link linking terrorism with poverty and illiteracy do not hold up against the recent data gathered on the post-9/11 generation of fighters in Pakistan (in suicidal and non-suicidal categories), as the majority of fighters from a variety of terrorist organizations are economically deprived and semi-literate. The majority of Pakistani human bombs come from rural backgrounds, with very few from major urban centres. Suicide bombings in Pakistan remain a male-dominated phenomenon, with most bombers being single men. Demographic profiling of Pakistani suicide bombers, based on a random sample of 80 failed and successful attackers, dents the notion that American drone strikes play a primary role in promoting terrorism in all its manifestations. The study concludes that previous scholarly attempts to explain suicide bombings are largely based on Middle Eastern data, thus their application in the case of Pakistan can be misleading. The Pakistani case study of suicide terrorism demonstrates unique characteristics, hence it needs to be understood and countered through a context-specific and multi-level approach.

Acknowledgements

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1: History of Suicide Terrorism in Pakistan

Chapter 2: Research Problems and Methodology

Chapter 3: Militant Landscape of Pakistan: The Environmental Level

Chapter 4: Driving Forces of Suicide Terrorism in Pakistan: The Organisational Level

Chapter 5: Motivating Factors of Suicide Terrorism in Pakistan: Individual Level

Chapter 6: Suicide Terrorism in Pakistan: A Multi-Causal Phenomenon

Chapter 7: Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendices

Appendix 1: Chronology of Suicide Attacks in Pakistan (1995–2012)

Appendix 2: Profiling Suicide Bombers in Pakistan

What factors are responsible for the intensification of suicide attacks in Pakistan since 9/11? Which groups are primarily responsible for carrying out these attacks? What is the background of the attackers? Is suicide terrorism in Pakistan comparable to what is seen in the Middle East? Basing his book on interviews of unsuccessful suicide attackers, recorded videos of deceased attackers, and audio/video materials provided by terrorist groups themselves, Iqbal pieces together a picture of suicide terrorism in Pakistan. The author claims that feelings of revenge and the perceived effectiveness of the tactic are the primary motivating factors behind suicide attacks. Understanding the nature of suicide terrorism in Pakistan may make it possible to develop effective policies to address this problem. The author’s findings shed light on the implications of the country’s ongoing war against the Pakistani Taliban and its allied groups as well as the global war on terror. Iqbal deserves praise for his painstaking research and analysis of a phenomenon that is often reported in the news but rarely studied in depth. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries.