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Pakistan’s Tango With Terror

What makes Pakistan such a fertile breeding ground for terrorism?

June 24, 2004

What makes Pakistan such a fertile breeding ground for terrorism?
his list casts a pointed spotlight on a country that may have the highest internal terrorism threat level in the world. Among the fluid — and often hard to identify — violence-oriented organizations in Pakistan are these 22 groups:
Known Terrorist Groups in Pakistan

Source: The Globalist Research Center
Of these 22 groups, only three are listed on the U.S. State Department’s List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
Five of these groups have a purely domestic agenda, while the rest have a wide range of focus, from Kashmir to sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites.

With over 150 million people, Pakistan is the world’s seventh-most populous country.

It is also one of the world’s most densely populated countries. By 2050, experts predict its population will have soared to nearly 350 million people — well over double its current size.

Back in 1985, Pakistan’s per capita GDP was 6.5% higher than India’s. Today, it is 23% lower.

Nearly half of Pakistan’s population of 148 million people is illiterate — and 20% is undernourished.

As of 2002, as many as 1 million Pakistani students study in madrasas — compared with primary school enrollment of 1.9 million.

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