Pakistan Inequality Fuelling Taliban Support [video+article], BBC News, 13 May 2010
EXCERPT: "[...] Before the conflict Swat's lack of economic development was part of its charm. But poverty and lack of infrastructure, combined with the failure of the Pakistani government to provide education or an adequate justice system, were key ingredients which led some Pakistanis to wonder if the Taliban could do better. In the town of Mardan I spoke to a typical Taliban recruit - a young man whose family have been trapped in poverty for generations, and for whom the Islamist extremists offered escape: 'The Taliban wanted to get the landholders property and to snatch their homes, they wanted to kill the landowners, then everything would be with us. We could have sold the land and got the money, under Islamic law everything would be with us,' he said. [...] Khalid Aziz, a retired senior official from North West Pakistan, explained why nonetheless the Taliban's message still resonates with some in Pakistan: [...] 'Their message is there is a lot of injustice and we will give you land, we will look after you, we will be the empowered future - join us and be part of the future.' This message, along with the anti-Americanism resulting from the invasion of Afghanistan, fuels the Taliban's popularity, particularly among the dispossessed"
Read the full story.
Related articles:
Pakistan Taliban in overthrow call, Al Jazeera, 14 May 2010
Police dept rattled by terrorist threats, Daily Times, 14 May 2010
, The Washington Post, 14 May 2010
Taliban find safe haven in Karachi, Reuters, 14 May 2010
Pakistanis demand answer, want to take down militant networks [blog], Reuters // Afghan Journal, 13 May 2010
Jihadi infrastructure [op-ed], DAWN, 12 May 2010
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