Socio-political and Economic Implications of US War on Terror for Pakistan

Abstract

The terror attack on the twin towers in New York, US on the 11th September 2001 proved instrumental in shifting the socio-political and economic paradigms all across the globe. Pakistan’s decision to join in as the frontline state in America’s War on terror has had tremendous repercussions for the country.

This study has undertaken an in-depth content analysis of the implications that Pakistan’s allegiance to the US has entailed on the socio-political front. Pakistan has suffered an exponential rise in multiple types of terrorism which include religious, sectarian, ethnic and domestic violence.

A simple regression model has been run to see the impact on the economy of the country over the period of thirteen years (2001–2014) ever since the war started. The impact of the terrorist acts has been negative on the FDI inflow in Pakistan; similarly, the GDP growth rate has also been unimpressive over these years.

One of the exogenous factors responsible for the sluggish economic growth of Pakistan has been the deteriorating security conditions in the country. Repeated acts of terrorism have deterred smooth economic growth.

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