THE WAR ON TERROR: SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Abstract

The war on terror became a significant national issue for Pakistan following the 9/11(2001) incident. Pakistan had never experienced a conflict that was as violent and difficult for the country's state, society, and institutional system. The war had compromised the country's security at home and abroad. According to the United States, non-state actors purportedly held the Taliban administration and the Afghan Al Qaeda network accountable. Pakistan was most important since it offered access bully land, air, and sea in addition to logistical and intelligence help. General Pervaiz Musharraf's choice to make Pakistan a front- line state in the US- sponsored War on Terror (WOT) is the most contentious move in Pakistan's political history. Musharraf offered the US unreserved cooperation, and the nation joined the War on Terror, which eventually prompted the establishment of a counterterrorism policy by the government on a global as well as local, regional, and national level. The country had to deal with the Socio-Economic, political, and strategic effects and shortco6as a result of which it was vulnerable to the influence and pressure of wealthier countries. Pakistan paid a high price for its involvement in the War on Terror (WOT) as the country experienced a string of suicide attacks, nearly 500 IED explosion, and bombings in the country's major cities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).