The South Asian region is marked by a high level of geopolitical tensions that are caused by a complicated mixture of past heritage clashes, ongoing territorial disputes and social and economic marginalization. Many scholars argue that Pakistan’s current militancy is the result of a number of recent events that date back to the partition of India, which resulted in the formation of Pakistan as an overly Islamic state.

Besides, the confrontation between the Soviets and the Afghans have created war and this was one of the determinants, the rest of the phases of the cold war have contributed to this as well. For instance, some of the issues like government failure, social class-based prejudice, or religious tools of exploitation have made society very vulnerable to potentially hostile forces. The impact of terrorism reaches well beyond the border of Pakistan and encompasses the whole globe.

The Pakistani government has consistently swept the matters that plague the country’s viability under the carpet, and this disregard of the social and economic structures has led to instability.

At the same time, although there are security concerns for the state, the regional instability is posing security concerns. Also, it is situated in such neighboring states, and the general world security is equally affected. The region is more and more getting trapped into the complicated net of global terrorism, the line drawing of militant ideologies, and the growing challenge of nuclear proliferation. This reinforces the obvious and pivotal role in eliminating childhood violence in the area.

Likewise, what was happening in the Afghan-Soviet war and afterwards in the Cold War was also pushing for radicalism within those regions. Besides internal factors like the failure of leaders, social-economy prejudice and religious manipulation of the powerless make society more prone to violent influences.

These impacts, which are complicated in nature, do not solely affect Pakistan but also the regions around it and the world at large. The Pakistani government fails to address the fundamental issues leading to the social and economic factors which arise from poverty, insecurity, and illness. This impacts the neighbouring states and global security. The region has to tackle the co-arising challenge of expanding international terrorism, circulation of extremist concepts, and an aggravating intonation on nuclear proliferation. This pinpoints the fact that the immediate measures aimed at the elimination of the trigger factors of violence are of paramount urgency.

The continuing militancy in South Asia, such as in Pakistan, has presently become the greatest threat to national and regional security in the 21st century. Various experts, together with scholars, have been trying to establish the origin of militancy, but they have not come up with a satisfactory analysis. With urgency, one must gain a thorough understanding of the causes that make militancy grow complex, such as a historical legacy, economic inequality, and ideological impact, as a basis for evidence-based decisions.

Addressing the gap is crucial for dealing with the transnational dangers posed by militancy. It requires collaboration across governments to establish peace and stability in the South Asian region, which is a significant issue to highlight.

The origins of militancy in Pakistan can be traced back to the country’s participation in the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s, as affirmed by some renowned scholars like Ahmed Rashid and Anatol Lieven. Pakistan’s involvement, through its intelligence agency, ISI, in the US-led invasion of Afghan mujahideen groups not only ignited the evolution of militant organizations but also catalyzed the gradual growth of extremist ideologies in Pakistan.

It was at this time that religious seminaries (madrasa) cropped, whereby radicalization was habituated, making the already existent threats of militancy in the country more complex.

Additionally, prominent political economists have explained the linkages between Pakistan’s political economy to militancy. The persistent shortages of governance that the country faces, such as corruption, weak institutions, and unequal distribution of resources, fed the protests of marginalized populations. The fertilized grounds provided guerillas with enough grounds for recruitment. The complexity of the state-non-state actor’s nexus, especially Pakistan’s military establishment, proved to be a catalyst of the vicious circle of violence. This serious problem stood in the way of withdrawing from the causes of militancy.

The link of religion with politics playing a role in this is also not to be ignored. This particularly involves the synergy of the Deobandi Sect with nationalist and jihadist narratives, making militant outfits more prevalent, with varying levels of extremism. Therefore, militant beliefs and their patriarchal nature have fed off each other, which influenced gender relations in these groups and extremist organizations’ recruitment strategies.