9/11: LESSONS FOR PAKISTAN

A GENERAL belief prevails that 9/1l was a tragic event that took place fourteen years ago. A dominant account suggests that the US has fought and won wars against global terrorism and now there are only local conflicts in the Middle East and Afghanistan that are the responsibility of local populations and their neighbouring countries.
The fact is that 9/11 continues to influence international politics and internal dynamics in many countries, including Pakistan. In the last fourteen years, extremism and terrorism in the Muslim lands spread rapidly; and the Western world was radicalized. Religious differences became a defining idiom in international relations. Suspicion and mistrust grew. States relied on surveillance and security structures to monitor activities of their and foreign citizens; and economic development, investment and welfare in the countries hit hardest by terrorism took a back seat.