This report, sponsored by the Center for Conflict Management at the U.S. Institute of Peace, focuses on the inroads extremist narratives have made in Pakistani society. As
Pakistani reactions to the attack on schoolgirl Malala
Yousufzai illustrated, Islamist extremists of various types
have largely succeeded in painting their worldview as being
analogous to Pakistan’s self-image. Their success in framing
the narrative makes extremism in Pakistan a unique challenge
and countering it of importance to global counter extremism efforts. Reversing this success and preventing extremists from destabilizing Pakistan and threatening the international community requires engagement with the narratives that shape
Pakistanis’ views of their country and their country’s place on the world stage.