Abstract
This article examines one of the key responses to terrorism in Af-Pak—courting Pashtun
Mashra’n(commonly known as elders such as Khan, Maliks, tribal chieftains and
influentials) — to counter Taliban militancy in the Pashtun region of Pakistan,
comprising FATA and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The aim of this article is to
discuss both the successes and failures of the strategy in various parts of the region
especially forming peace committees/militias (lashkars) as a counter-insurgency strategy.
The analysis evaluates the strategy which initially focuses on strengthening the local
influentials rather than combating Taliban. However, the flaws in this strategy have
never been fully acknowledged. Instead of counter-insurgency measures, the
government’s initial approach was to protect the local influential’s on one hand and
close its eyes to the Jihadi groups on the other. This strategy paved the way to strengthen
the former jihadi and religious figures and finally produce an insurgent movement. This
has created suspicion amongst people and particularly in Pashtun traditional elites. The
Pakistani government has resorted to military operations in various parts of the region.
As part of the strategy, government has tried to court Pashtun elites and help create local
militias/lashkars to combat Taliban. However, the situation in Swat and FATA shows that
Pashtun elites no longer enjoy support in society at large. They are dependent on the
state to protect them, their families and property. The strategy of facilitating and arming
local influential’s brings fewer gains as Pashtun elites are unable to stand up to militants
because of their social base. The emergences of new social forces on Pashtun soil have
consequently destabilized society as whole. Despite military operations in various parts
of the region, the law and order situation has deteriorated and progress towards peace is
still far from being achieved.
Sartaj Khan. (2015) Responding to Taliban’s Terrorism: A Strategic Analysis of the Courting Pashtun Mashra’n Campaign in Pakistan, Karoonjhar Research Journal, Volume-1, Issue-2.
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