Higher the income, greater the chance of people supporting militancy: Report. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
Support for militancy has been linked to poor governance in areas including Malakand Divison in a report unveiled by the Governance Institutes Network International (GINI) on Monday.
Titled Misgovernance-Radicalisation Nexus in Pakistan, the report’s initial findings were revealed at the Centre for Public Policy and Governance (CPPG) at the Forman Christian College here on Monday.
The report says the greater the average years of schooling, the less likely it was to generate support for militancy. The report indicates that in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), people who feel that their rights are protected are less likely to support militancy. The report says the survey covered 2,000 households - 600 in FATA, 800 in settled districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 600 in the Malakand division. A questionnaire comprising of 67 queries translated in Urdu and Pashto was put forth to the respondents. The report which explores links between governance and radicalisation and highlights factors which it says are predictors of militancy support.
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The report says in the FATA, support for militancy is driven by three major factors. These included size of land holding, monthly income and protection of rights including freedom of expression, life, property, dignity and basic necessities.
The report said availability and access to each of these factors made it less likely that individuals would support militancy.
The report deduces that governance failures owed to continuation of practices and policies by the Pakistan government enforced during the British rule.
GINI Chief Executive Officer Usama Bakhtiar Ahmed said data indicated that 55 per cent of the households in the FATA earned around $50 to $100 per month.
With an average household size being 9, he said per capita income had been reduced to 19 to 37 cents per day.
Malakand
Six factors were explored by the survey in Malakand.
The support for militancy was found to be related to h monthly income, perceived inability of elected representatives, devolved local government and years of schooling.
The report suggests that the greater the number of years of formal schooling, the less likely it is for individuals to support militancy.
It says 36 per cent illiteracy rate in Malakand is “worrisome.”
The report said there were 0.5 million out of school children across KP and had poor learning outcomes.
“The cycle of illiteracy fuelling radicalisation would be repeated and amplified over coming generations.”
It says individuals who rate elected representatives poorly in terms of competency are more likely to support militancy.
It said reveals individuals who disagreed with Western policies and considered them against Pakistani interests were all more likely to support militancy. Interestingly, it was also said that the higher the monthly income the more likely it was that the individuals would support militancy.
The report calls this trend “counter-intuitive at first glance.”
This, the report attributes to a coalition of the landed elite, tribal leadership, clergy and the local administrators controls the local judicial system.
Settled districts in KP
The report says factors linking support for militancy in settled districts include perceived poor delivery of the justice systems and services along with high degrees of corruption in the state apparatus.
The report states that greater the frequency of statements by clergy in favour of militants, the greater the likelihood of support for militancy among individuals.
Like Malakand division, the findings from these districts indicate that individuals who receive more years of formal schooling are less likely to support militancy.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2014.
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