Oxford dictionary defines terrorism as; "the use of violence in order to achieve political aims or to force a government according to what they desire." The lust for power is thus the ultimate reason for terrorism. Oxford dictionary defines a terrorist as; "a person who takes part in terrorism or violent activities against innocent people or state functionaries." Terrorists are essentially power-hungry people; they adopt a shortcut route towards power corridor of a country.

The ideological foundation of terrorism is extremism. The prominent causes of terrorism can be grouped into five broad categories- psychological, social, economic, political & global. The prominent psychological reason of terrorism is rigid or dogmatic beliefs (a rigid or dogmatic belief is unscientific and irrational); a rigid belief leads, inevitably, towards violent behavior. The social reason of terrorism is religious and racial extremism. The economic reason of terrorism is income inequality and poverty. The political reason of terrorism is the absence of meritorious polity and true democracy in a country. The sole reason of global terrorism is the desire to control maximum resources, both human and non-human, of the world.

Terrorism is a major issue all around the world. It has disturbed the whole fabric of our society. There are countless bloody spots everywhere due to terrorism. We need unity against this adversity. Practically, we may adopt five approaches against the menace of terrorism;

Quality Education - Quality education enables people to develop all of their attributes and skills to achieve their potential as human beings and members of society. It develops rationality and wisdom among people. A wise or rational person is free from any type of extremism.

Adoption & Promotion of Eternal Human Values - There are four main eternal human values; truth, peace, love & non-violence. Promotion of these human values among people lessens terrorism, visibly.

Promotion of Family System - In a family system each member has a role to play and rules to respect. Members of the system are expected to respond to each other in a certain way according to their role, which is determined by relationship agreements. The kind behavior among family members develops a non-violent and peaceful attitude.

Developing Democracy - Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. By developing the democratic scheme, the political reason of terrorism is abolished.

Poverty Alleviation - Poverty is state of being extremely poor. By alleviating poverty, the economic reason of terrorism is not lessened; rather, it vanishes.

Terrorism in Pakistan has become a major and highly destructive phenomenon in recent years. Hence, it is the biggest threat to Pakistan's progress. Terrorism data indicates that over the past decade, Pakistan has had the highest number of terrorism-related deaths in the world. Historically, terrorism's roots can be traced back from 1979, when there was an effort to kick out Russia from Afghanistan. But the problem became severe after 9/11. And now in 2016, it has become a menace for our motherland. The annual death toll from terrorist attacks has risen from 164 in 2003 to 3318 in 2009. In 2014, in Pakistan, a terrorist attack killed 143 people; most of them were children/teenagers (134) from grades 1 to 10 when Taliban gunmen attacked the school on December 16th, 2014 in the morning. But now the government and state institutions are taking strict measures against terrorists, terrorism and extremism in our country. Now we should all hope for the betterment of the world.povert,