Marketing the beard: the use of propaganda in the attempt to Talibanize Pakistan

2012-05-09This paper examines the revival of propaganda techniques and their application to the Taliban’s global jihad. More specifically, it is a study of the Pakistani Taliban’s efforts to use propaganda to “Talibanize” Pakistan. The purpose of this paper is to understand the Pakistani Taliban as a terror institution and to identify the various strategies they are pursuing to achieve their goals. The key issues discussed in this paper include the origins of the Taliban phenomenon, factors that led to a Taliban stronghold in Pakistan, Talibanization of Pakistan and how the Pakistani Taliban are using communication tactics to pursue their agenda. Analyses reveal that the Pakistani Taliban consist of militant groups, state and non-state actors and influential personalities. The principal conclusion is that the Talibanization of Pakistan is being pursued by a number of groups through various institutions and an aggressive and grassroots strategy is required to mitigate the risk Pakistan faces from the Taliban