BIG STORY: Middle Class Kingdom

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In a five-part series, VICE founder Suroosh Alvi travels the world to investigate the origins and impact of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations: al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Boko Haram and the Islamic State.

In the series’ third episode, Suroosh travels to Pakistan – where he spent many summers growing up – to trace the roots of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. As Pakistan’s umbrella organization for the Taliban, the group has engaged in ruthless terror campaigns that have killed tens of thousands in Karachi and beyond.

Suroosh trails the TTP while meeting attack survivors in schools and mosques, riding along in counter-terrorism night raids and watching a bomb unit dismantle a TTP roadside trap. And, while investigating the TTP’s impact, he also explores whether or not Pakistan’s police are blurring moral lines in their fight against the group.

Exploring the binary universe of the war on terror – good versus evil, us versus them – he takes us behind the curtain to show us the cycle of violence Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has left behind, while helping answer a fundamental question: is there an end in sight?

WATCH:

Big Story - TERROR pt.3: Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan

On Big Story, VICE founder Suroosh Alvi travels to Pakistan – where he spent many summers growing up – to trace the roots of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. As Pakistan’s umbrella organization for the Taliban, the group has engaged in ruthless terror campaigns that have killed tens of thousands in Karachi and beyond.

CHASING TERROR PHOTOS

A vigil is held for Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist who survived being shot in the head by the TTP.

A vigil is held for Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist who survived being shot in the head by the TTP.

A bomb technician works to disassemble a roadside explosive left by the TTP.

A bomb technician works to disassemble a roadside explosive left by the TTP.

Suroosh meets with a 12-year-old survivor of a TTP school massacre.

Suroosh meets with a 12-year-old survivor of a TTP school massacre.

Troops advance to the border between North and South Waziristan, to ambush TTP rebels.

Troops advance to the border between North and South Waziristan, to ambush TTP rebels.

Morning prayer at the Imania Mosque, where a 2015 TTP attack killed 20 and injured more than 60.

Morning prayer at the Imania Mosque, where a 2015 TTP attack killed 20 and injured more than 60.

After a terror threat is uncovered, police go on a night raid to round up suspected militants.

After a terror threat is uncovered, police go on a night raid to round up suspected militants.

NEIGHBORING CRISES: A comprehensive guide to the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Having outlasted the world’s most potent military forces, the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan present a severe challenge the governments of both nations.

But the conflict is delivering consequences far beyond their borders.

Read the Council of Foreign Relations’ Taliban InfoGuide, here.

Pakistan is fourth in the top 10 countries most impacted by terrorism according to the 2016 Global Terrorism Index.

Global Terrorism Index 2016

SOURCE: Global Terrorism Index 2016

WEB EXTRAS:

Suroosh, whose family hails from Pakistan, on his motivation to produce this series.

WEB EXTRA: Alvi on his motivation to produce this series.

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