(MENAFN- The Peninsula) With Pakistan already named among the 10 nations that contribute the most to global poverty, a recent World Bank (WB) report has found that the likelihood of violence and terrorism in the country is increasing with the surge in food insecurity and land inequality.
The report, titled 'Addressing Inequality in South Asia', underscores the need to address increasing inequality and appalling poverty amid the government's indifference towards the poor.
"In Pakistan, the probability of violent attacks by insurgents, sectarians, and terrorists is found to increase with food insecurity and land inequality", the report stated. It cited studies carried out by Pakistan Institute of Policy Studies on the correlation between inequality and violence.
The report claimed that the impact of conflicts differs across income groups.
"Contrary to expectations, poor Pakistanis dislike militants more than middle-class citizens. The dislike is strongest among the urban poor, particularly in violent districts, suggesting that exposure to terrorist attacks reduces support for militants," it said.
It stated that a 6,000-person nationally representative survey was conducted to measure attitudes toward four militant organisations.
While citing a survey carried out by World Food Programme (WFP) in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in 2010, WB said 16 percent of households reported high levels of insecurity from strict rules imposed by militants, curfews or bans on freedom of movement, military operation against militants, displacement, and property damage. Almost two-thirds of respondents had experienced one or more shocks over the three-year study period.
"In two conflict-affected regions of Pakistan, poor households were more likely to incur debts, to sustain house damage during fighting, to be displaced, to become victims of crime and theft," it added.
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