This presentation talks about the history of the war on terror in Federally Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA), Pakistan. This Presentation helps with how to apply Conflict Profiling and do conflict analysis.
1. Presentation topic:
War on Terror in FATA Region
Presented by: NUML Students
Salman Mehmood
Abbas Khan
Urooj Ilyas
Maryam Maqsood.
Presented to: Madam Aliya Naseer
2. Profile
Geography
FATA was a group of administrative units in
northwest Pakistan and consists of 7
agencies. These agencies which are now
become districts, Khyber, Mohmand,
Bajaur, Orakzai, Kurram, North Waziristan,
and South Waziristan. These merged
districts are located in a narrow belt running
along the Durand Line, the disputed border
between Pakistan and Afghanistan. FATA
and Afghanistan share 1500 miles of this
porous border in largely unmarked
mountainous terrain.
3. History of the Conflict
• Terrorism in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) referring to
root causes that the Russian aggression in 1979 towards Afghanistan,
anarchy in post-soviet era, and US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 are
the key reasons of spreading of violence in FATA. However, there are
different controversy about the violence in the bordering areas of
Pakistan and Afghanistan:
4. The Conflict Roots within the USSR Invasion Of
Afghanistan
• The conflict in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has been
explored to greater extent and the majority of studies conclude that
the violence in FATA has its roots within the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) invasion of Afghanistan which ended up in the
Afghan civil war. Soviet invasion pulled the United States of America
(USA) into this region. The US won the proxy war in Afghanistan
against USSR with the involvement of Pakistan and consequently the
USSR was disintegrated.
5. The Soviet Disintegration
• The Soviet disintegration created power vacuum in Afghanistan and
the ensuing chaos and anarchy caused civil war. The neighboring
countries particularly Iran, India and Pakistan participated in this civil
war to serve their own national interests through influencing the
conflicting groups.
6. • Pakistan had actively participated in the Afghan war through Mujahedeen who were
supported morally and materially. These Mujahedeen, after the installation of the
Taliban government in Afghanistan after USSR,
• Pakistan supported the religious groups, which had organized in the name of the Taliban
under the leadership of Mullah Muhammad Umar
• This might be one of the reasons for Taliban’s friendly relation with Pakistan
• The intelligence agencies of Pakistan and the US worked together in Afghanistan till the
Soviet disintegration.
• After the disintegration of USSR, the USA did not look back to rebuild the war affected
country and left the people of Afghanistan in internal conflict
• However, Pakistan remained there till the installation of the Taliban government in
Afghanistan which was in power from 1996 to 2001 Therefore, Taliban remained loyal
to the Pakistani governments in later years.
7. Factors which made Pakistan Distinctive
• There were many factors which made Pakistan distinctive from those
countries that had shown their interests in the Afghan war. The
intelligence sharing between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of
the USA and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan during
Soviet aggression against Afghanistan was raison d'être of the
importance of Pakistan’s role. Another factor was the settlement of
Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The strategic location of Pakistan and the
cultural links among the people residing on both sides of Durand Line
are reasons which differentiate the role played by Pakistan from other
states.
8. After the 9/11 Event
• The event of 9/11 relocated the US interest in the region. This time Afghan
Taliban fell into the category of “against” the USA as they harboured Al-Qaeda’s
leaderships, who were allegedly involved in the 9/11 attacks.
• Thus, the USA launched global campaign of “war against terrorism” and the
Taliban regime in Afghanistan became its first target.
• The US considered Pakistan's role inevitable in its “War on Terror”. Subsequently,
there was military rule imposed in Pakistan and resultantly the cooperation
between the USA and Pakistan also increased tremendously. The US considered
Pakistan for the second time as a front line ally.
9. • The Taliban government had been uprooted after the US invasion of
Afghanistan. Keeping in view the old relations and considering it a
safe heaven, Taliban entered into Pakistan’s tribal regions. They had
not been supported by the Pakistani government or factions of
government this time but the local population of FATA, with whom
they had ties since the Soviet invasion of Afghan gave them shelter to
carry out their activities.
10. • The international pressure forced Pakistan to take a U-turn towards
the Taliban. Since the war was between the US and the Taliban,
Pakistan had to support one of the two because the then USA's
President G. W. Bush declared both- terrorists and their supporters-
as the enemy of USA and called for all other nations to join them in
this war against terrorism Therefore, Pakistan joined hands with
America, which apparently meant withdrawal of its support from
Taliban.
11. • In fact, Pakistan's support to Taliban in the past and the subsequent
non-supportive policies had roots in the pressure being exerted by
the USA. The increased activities of Taliban and other foreign
militants brought conflict into FATA.
• Under the US led war on terror, Pakistan adopted a counter terrorism
strategy which attracted military operations at different scales in
FATA.
• The multiple counter terrorism approaches applied by the Pakistani
while the conflict resulted in enormous causalities and left 0.37
million families as Internally Displaced Persons-IDPs (FDMA, 2012).
12. Political Context
• The Tribal Areas and Afghanistan were a buffer zone between the British and the
Russian Empires in the 19th century." The British could not enforce their writ
upon the tribal area. Exhausted by repeated battles with the tribes, the Frontier
Crimes Regulation (FCR) was introduced in an effort to subdue them." The FCR
was a special governing system for the tribal region only; civil and criminal laws
were different than the ones enforced in the rest of British India. The Political
Agents (PA) and the Maliki system were also developed to allow for greater
colonial control and will be further discussed in succeeding paragraphs.
• In the Constitution of Pakistan FATA was governs through the colonial system
established by the British in 1901, which was different from the rest of Pakistan's
governance structure.
13. • As a result the region was isolated and militants reigned free until military
operations were conducted in the area.
• In order to prevent this from happening again the government had integrated FATA
with the rest of Pakistan.
• After Pakistan's independence from India in 1947 it was cheaper for the
government to stick with the British system than replace it with a new system.
• In 1948 Pakistan government granted the tribal areas a special administrative
status." Under article 247 of the Constitution,
• the President of Pakistan was the chief executive for FATA who in turn administers
it through the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as NWFP). The
Governor has this special power due to the proximity of the tribal areas near
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This form of government was mutually agreed to at the
explicit request of the tribes..
14. • The tribes guarantee loyalty to Pakistan in return for maintaining their
own identity, for securing the Western Border and not allowing any
hostile agency to function within its territories.
• The tribes that inhabit the areas independent and were peaceful until
the fall of the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan
15. Socio-cultural Context
• There is one hospital bed for every 2,179 people in the former FATA
region, compared to one in 1,341 in Pakistan as a whole. There is one
doctor for every 7,670 people compared to one doctor per 1,226
people in Pakistan as a whole. 43% of the former FATA region's
citizens have access to clean drinking water. Much of the population is
suspicious of modern medicine, and some militant groups are openly
hostile to vaccinations. The Former FATA region has a total of 6,050
government education institutions out of which 4,868 are functional.
Out of these 4,868 functional institutions, 77 percent (3,729) are
primary schools. The Former FATA region has one university, FATA
University in Akhurwal, Darra Adam Khel, FR Kohat which was
approved by Mir Hazar Khan Khoso in May 2013.
16. Current Political Situation
• On 31 May 2018, The FATA Reforms Bill, in essence the 31st amendment to the
constitution, abolished this provision, and In his final executive decision under the
article, President Mamnoon Hussain Repealed the 1901 regulations.
• By repealing 1901 regulation the political and Executive system comes as per the
national system under 1973 constitution.
• The decision to mainstream FATA was hailed by most parties. They argued that in
first phase, people should be provided with basic facilities including education and
political rights. Thereafter referendum may be held to ensure due representation of the
people.
17. Factors that caused more destruction in north-
eastern border of Pakistan:
• The intelligence sharing between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the USA
and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan during Soviet aggression against
Afghanistan was raison d'être of the importance of Pakistan’s role.
• Another factor was the settlement of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The strategic
location of Pakistan and the cultural links among the people residing on both sides of
Durand Line are reasons which differentiate the role played by Pakistan from other
states.
18. Conflict Prone Areas
• There were many factors that made the conflict in South and North
Waziristan different from the one in other tribal agencies. There was a
clear bifurcation between the pro and anti-government militants in
South Waziristan Agency.
• The former was led by Mullah Nazir while the latter, called Tehrik-e-
Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was led by Hakimullah Mahsud. Mullah Nazir
is based in the southwest of South Waziristan while Hakimullah is
based in the north of the Agency. The military operation in South
Waziristan was directed against the TTP.
19. • What are the economic, political, and socio-cultural contexts?
Economy; The people of the former FATA region were the most
impoverished part of the nation. FATA makes only 1.5% of Pakistan’s
economy with a per capita income of $663 in2010. Most the people
are uneducated.
• The economy is chiefly pastoral with some agriculture practiced in the
region with few fertile valleys. The region is a major center for opium
trafficking. Only 34% of households managed to rise above the
poverty level.
20. Causes of conflict
• 1) Structural causes
• One of the structural causes of the FATA conflict is the lack of a political system in tribal
areas. The government didn’t provide the facility for election to them. They were always
deprived of politics.
• The dismal situation of lawlessness can be better understood by revealing the fact that
the first-ever police station in FATA was established in Wana, the largest district of the
Waziristan Agency, in 2018.
• Then, there is a lot of incongruity between the Federally Administered Tribal Areas Interim Governance
Regulation, 2018, and the Constitution of Pakistan.
• The other thing is inequality in FATA in terms of economics. Due to the poor government
policies, the government never treats them equally as they treat and provide resources
to the other provinces or areas.
• Due to the lack of social opportunities, there were no proper schools, health, and games
systems. They are deprived from social activities. So these were some structural causes
of conflict.
21. Proximate causes
• One of the proximate causes is that from our neighbor country
militants came and created terrorist activities.
• The other proximate cause was a violation of human rights. Due to a
lack of awareness, the people didn’t receive their basic needs in life.
• One of the main proximate causes of conflict in FATA is that there was
no police system. So the proliferation of weapons increased day by
day and there was no check-in balance or monitoring system on
security issues.
22. Trigger
• A single event happened in FATA, so from this, a long-term conflict was
generated.
e.g. Pakistan Army attacked different areas of FATA mostly on BAJAWAR
Agency.
• Due to the claim that militants were present in that area.
• Rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and
custodial deaths continue, as does collective punishment. For example,
after the December 2017 killing of two soldiers, the military imposed a
curfew in North Waziristan’s Hamzoni town, preventing access to hospitals
and forcing women and children out of their homes during search
operations. These and other heavy-handed measures sparked local
protests
23. ACTORS
• Main actors in FATA conflict;
• The actors were the Pakistani government,
• Pakistan Army, Taliban, and FATA residents.
• Government Of Pakistan:
• Political Agent
• Militancy in FATA has been countered at the state level through various means such as
military operations, civil militia operations, and the involvement of local people under
collective responsibility.
• Taliban:
• Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), SWA, led by Hakimullah Mehsud
• Haqqani network NWA and Gul Bahadar Group NWA
• Pakistan Military:
• Military operations were to counter the militants and terrorists in FATA.
• Many individuals were slain and thousands more were displaced as a result of the
government and militants abusing their basic rights. They were deprived of their
rights for many years.
24. Interest, goals etc.
• Taliban were battling in the name of Islam, but there was no such thing in reality.
Because they were largely sponsored from outside, they had a strong desire to
rule tribal territories.
• The Pakistani military started Zarb-e-Azb (Quick Strike) in North Waziristan a week
after a terrorist attack on Karachi's Jinnah International Airport on June 8, 2014.
Zarb-e-mission Azb's was to destroy the final traces of militant activity in FATA,
following prior operations that ostensibly eradicated other portions of the tribal
belt.
• In principle, it would not distinguish between "good" militants (those backed by
the Pakistani military establishment, including Afghan Taliban factions and other
groups fighting the US and Afghan government troops across the border) and
“bad” militants (those backed by the Pakistani military establishment, including
Afghan Taliban factions and other groups fighting U. (those, like the TTP, that had
turned against the Pakistani state itself).
• Goal of the Pakistan government and Pak Army was to clear the FATA and the
other linked regions from militant groups completely and to secure the integrity
and sovereignty of Pakistan.
25. Spoilers in conflict
• Some groups took benefits from conflict directly as well as indirectly.
• The Americans took benefits, they want to clear the area from
terrorists because the presence of militants in FATA is a threat
indirectly to the American army in Afghanistan.
• Some foreign enemies who used these militants against us took
benefits.
26. Peace institution
• In FATA, there is a peacekeeping mechanism known as JIRGA. As a result,
several tribal leaders met with militants and the government to try to
resolve the issue in a traditional manner. However, that negotiation is
never successful. Following the merging of FATA and KPK, the region is
becoming increasingly weapon-free.
• Because locals have little knowledge of the council of elders and its
following procedures for conflict resolution, FATA interim regulations allow
an Assistant Commissioner to depend on a selected council of tribal elders
to judge civil disputes on the basis of customary law.
• Furthermore, the new law will ensure that the Rewaj System is consistent
with the Constitution’s fundamental rights. Furthermore, the present KP
intends to expand the number of Dispute Resolution Councils (DRCs) in the
newly combined tribal districts. DRCs will aid in the resolution of blood
feuds and the prevention of rural murders.
27. Dynamics and Current Trend
De-escalation occurred in FATA conflict. Now in
present time, there is almost peace in tribal areas.
Pakistani government reconcile most of the area.
Development is going on in different levels.
After these military operations, According to the
25th constitutional amendment of the 1973
constitution of Pakistan FATA has merged with
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan (The
25th amendment, 2018).
28. Similarly, another positive achievement is the mechanism of
border management. To stop militant’s infiltration across the
border. For this purpose, the government of Pakistan is
installing fencing on the Pak-Afghan borders. This border
management mechanism includes the constructions of
various military posts, entrance gates, aerial surveillance as
well as valid travel documents.
When tribal people migrated to other cities, “people to
people contact in cities and towns exposed them to the
outside ecosystem, thus they became more secularized. They
moulded their behaviors and started behaving in new ways.
29. The conservatism that was inculcated in the region of FATA
has decreased because of military operations and peace is
restored.
The local culture has promoted in certain aspects. It is also
assessed that cultural traits like Adabi Sangar, Rabab, Hujra
and Mehfil are given the same sanctity after eradication of
terrorism through military operations.
Due to the increasing intensity of militancy in the region
attracted the attention of Pakistan’s policymakers for
political reforms, otherwise, the area will remain as such it
was before.
Pakistan army played a pivotal role in boosting economic
activities by working towards construction and repairing of
road networks in the region.
30. The rehabilitation phase in terms of resettling of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) is in progress.
But main issue right now most of the people are still deprive
from their basic needs of life.
There is an explicit possibility that the merged region with
no state apparatus working there is the most vulnerable
place, which can become a hub of terrorism.
Stability in Afghanistan will have direct impact over stability
in FATA. Precipitous withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan
with no installation of effective political and security
mechanism can descend the region back into the chaos of
2001.
31. In future opportunity ?
• The future of FATA sees developmental because the current government
launched different projects to develop and construct FATA.
• Schools, hospitals, etc are now built in different places in tribal areas.
• During the Imran Khan’s time DRC ( Dispute Resolution Court) was also
established to settle the disputes at the local level, instantly.
• FATA merger with KPK has achieved negligibly low as far as improving
the educational infrastructure of these remote areas is concerned. A
robust mechanism to implement education reforms is the need of the
hour.
• Political change and stability: political freedom is provided by the
government to the people of FATA.
32. Conclusion
Both the militancy and military operations have left deep
impacts on the culture and social norms of the tribal people.
On one hand, the militants and Taliban destroyed the cultural
institutions of Maliks, Hujra and Jirga by imposing their
version of Islam to achieve their self-interest. On the other
hand, military operations have affected the local culture of
FATA in both a positive and negative ways
33. • The previous federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments
fulfilled a major commitment to ending FATA’s constitutional
limbo. Their successors cannot blame insecurity or seek
other justifications for delaying FATA’s integration into the
mainstream. To be sure, the task will require resources,
further reforms, and, above all, stamina in the face of
bureaucratic resistance. Though the principle of integration
is now firmly established, the civil and military bureaucracies
and the tribal elite will likely seek only partial reforms that
retain the current governing structure
34. • Under the proposed reforms package, the people of
FATA will get basic human and legal rights under
Pakistan’s constitution, along with robust social and
economic development aid to help eradicate the
decades-long sense of alienation and deprivation
among the FATA residents.
• Despite widespread support for the reforms package,
mainstreaming FATA is expected to be a long and
difficult journey, with many roadblocks to be
surmounted. Nonetheless, integrating FATA into the
rest of Pakistan now seems inevitable.
