WHEN terrorism began spilling into Pakistan from Afghanistan in the 1990s, most counter-strategies focused on military and intelligence-based measures.
Yet, the Ministry of Health recognized that public health, when linked with social development, could also play a meaningful role. Health-based programs had the potential to undermine extremism by fostering compassion, unity, and resilience within communities. During that period, three major initiatives were developed under government policy with this vision in mind. Though circumstances prevented their full implementation, they hold important lessons for Pakistan today as the fight against terrorism continues. Health and mosque/Madrassa initiative: An NGO project in Rawalpindi demonstrated the transformative role mosques and madrassas could play in community health. The madrassa integrated preventive and curative health services into its daily functioning: Preventive health: Madrassa students took part in vaccination drives, sanitation awareness campaigns, and other outreach health programs. Curative health: A small outpatient department and day-care operating theatre provided free treatment for patients of all backgrounds.
The environment challenged stereotypes about seminaries. Students guided patients with courtesy, provided them with water, and even helped taking them to the operation theatre. Local surgeons volunteered three days a week to perform minor procedures. This reflected Islam’s true spirit—compassion, service, and kindness—rather than hostility. Historically, mosques and madrassas were intended to be sanctuaries of worship, fraternity, and community service. However, sectarian politics and foreign funding had drawn many into ideological conflicts. The Rawalpindi example showed how these institutions could instead become hubs of healing and unity.
Religious leaders linked health-related humanitarian work with Qur’anic verses and Hadith, teaching students that service to the sick was an act of worship. The impact was transformative: students carried no sectarian hatred and, as future mosque leaders, were positioned to spread messages of compassion rather than division. Recognizing its potential, steps were initiated to replicate the model nationwide. With WHO’s support, pilot projects were planned in all four provinces, with an agreement scheduled for October 18, 1999. A week before its launch, however, the government was toppled, and the project never materialized. Pakistan thus lost an opportunity to counter extremism through peaceful, faith-rooted reform.
Building a health data bank: By the late 1990s, terrorism in Pakistan was escalating, with militants easily blending into local populations due to weak census and identity systems. To address this, the government proposed creating a comprehensive health demographic map of the country. The plan envisioned mobilizing 44,000 Lady Health Workers under the Primary Health Care & Family Planning program. Their household visits would be expanded to collect: Blood samples and fingerprints, Records of blood groups and DNA, Computerized family and health data.
The Health Data Bank would serve dual purposes. From a health perspective, it would enable advanced research into non-communicable diseases and improve surveillance of infectious outbreaks. From a security perspective, it would allow for the identification and tracking of terrorists. Fingerprints or DNA left at crime scenes could be matched quickly, making it harder for militants to disappear into communities or cross borders undetected.
Although foreign donors praised the vision, they dismissed it as “too ambitious” for its time. This was before 9/11, when the world realized how devastating hidden networks could be. Had it been implemented, Pakistan might today possess one of the region’s most advanced demographic and security systems. Importantly, the idea remains relevant and worth reviving.
The program was included in Pakistan’s 9th Five-Year Plan (1998) by the then government, giving it national policy status. Special focus was placed on the tribal belt, where poverty was not only economic but also a tool of exploitation. Many madrassas filled this gap by offering free food, clothing, and education, often with hidden agendas of steering vulnerable youth toward extremism. To counter this, a pilot BDN project was planned in Kurram Agency for February 2000. Bordering Afghanistan on three sides, Kurram was both vulnerable and strategic. Tackling poverty there meant addressing extremism at its roots. However, the removal of the government in late 1999 prevented its launch. Another chance to counter extremism through social justice and uplift was lost.
Conclusion: These three initiatives represented non-military yet powerful ways of addressing terrorism. They aimed to counter extremism not with force but with compassion, dignity, and opportunity. Unfortunately, long-term health and social strategies were often undervalued, with policymakers preferring short-term fixes. This shortsightedness has proven costly—socially, spiritually, and economically. The vision, however, remains relevant. Reviving such initiatives could strengthen Pakistan’s health system, foster unity, undermine fanaticism, and highlight Islam as it was meant to be: a faith of compassion, service, and peace.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Manchester, UK.
