COUNTERING VIOLENT EXTREMISM (CVE) IN PAKISTAN: FROM KINETIC TO NON-KINETIC APPROACHES (2025–26)

Abstract

Pakistan's security landscape in 2025–26 presents a paradox of structural urgency and institutional inertia. For the first time in the history of the Global Terrorism Index, Pakistan ranked first in 2026, recording 1,139 terrorism-related deaths in 2025, the highest since 2013. This qualitative research paper critically analyzes Pakistan's evolving counter-terrorism architecture, specifically examining the transition from kinetic (military) to non-kinetic (preventive, rehabilitative, and ideational) approaches to Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). Drawing on document analysis of the National Prevention of Violent Extremism (NPVE) Policy 2024, the National Action Plan (NAP) 2021, and provincial CVE legislation, and supplemented by secondary sources from think tanks such as PIPS and NACTA, as well as international organizations including UNODC and the UN, the paper first maps the historical dominance of kinetic operations from Operation Zarb-e-Azb to Operation Azm-e-Istehkam before evaluating their structural limitations. It then assesses the architecture, logic, and critical gaps of emerging non-kinetic instruments including the NPVE's 5-R framework, deradicalization programs, curriculum reform, counter-narrative strategies, and community engagement initiatives. The research concludes that while Pakistan's policy shift toward non-kinetic approaches marks meaningful progress, success depends on resolving persistent institutional contradictions, particularly civilian–military jurisdictional tensions, weak NACTA capacity, and implementation deficits across provinces.