Аннотация:Despite Pakistan's extensive contribution to the global war on terrorism, many questions persist about the extent to which Al Qaeda and its associated outfits are currently operating within Pakistan. This article examines this issue by posing several empirical questions: (1) What are the general contours of militancy in Pakistan? (2) What motivates individuals to join specific Pakistan-based militant outfits? (3) By what means do groups recruit specific individuals? (4) What do these findings suggest for Al Qaeda operations in Pakistan? (5) What linkages exist between Pakistan-based organizations to Al Qaeda? These issues are addressed through regional fieldwork, extensive literature reviews, and consultation with numerous highly regarded analysts to South Asia. This article concludes that Al Qaeda likely does not have an explicit and dedicated recruiting infrastructure to recruit Pakistanis for its operations. Rather, Al Qaeda relies upon a web of informal relations with groups based in Pakistan to gain access to operational collaborators and individuals to execute attacks within Pakistan.
Ключевые слова:Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East, Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence, Political Conflict and Governance
