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ABSTRACT
This study explores the post-9/11 ramifications of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It discusses how the post-colonial state has undermined state and tribal political relations which constituted political order first during the British colonial era and later in Pakistan. Furthermore, it explores how the post-colonial state has shared de facto sovereignty in the region with a “good” Taliban in the shape of a peace committee. To understand the Pakistan post-colonial state’s engagement with South Waziristan, it is necessary to make sense of the ongoing GWOT and the resulting necropolitics of life and death in South Waziristan. The paper explores how residents have confronted different scenarios when they encounter the new powerholders. It details the everyday experiences, life stories, and socio-political existence of the people of South Waziristan as an alternative narrative to how mainstream media and academic sources have discussed this area.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, as well as to Dr. Robert J. Shepherd and Saeed Husain for enhancing the manuscript's language and structure, resulting in a more coherent and comprehensible document. We would also like to extend our appreciation to our research contributors for generously sharing their time and experiences, without which this research would not have been possible.
Notes
1 Pashtun tribes traditionally have been led by malaks (village representatives) and mashar (tribal elders). This governance system was legally codified by British colonial authorities in the 1890s. Malaks were given financial support in exchange for maintaining order in the frontier region. Some scholars suggest that, whether good or bad, the Malaki system formulated during the British Raj and later maintained by the post-colonial state provided a durable and stable political order in tribal regions. See Ullah and Khalil Citation2018, 117; Naseemullah Citation2014, 503.
2 Siddique Citation2018. Maulvi Nazir,a member of the Kakakhel tribe (part of the Ahmadzai Wazir), was killed in anAmerican drone strike near Wana on January 2, 2013.
3 Taj Citation2011, 91.
4 Siddique Citation2018; Wazir Citation2018.
5 Local people use the phrase tuu karrai spi (“pet dogs”) to refer to the relationship between Pakistan authorities and these “good Taliban.”
6 Siddique Citation2018.
7 Dawn Citation2014.
8 Almeida Citation2017.
9 Siddique Citation2018.
10 All respondents have been given pseudonyms.
11 In 2018, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) were administratively merged with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, through a constitutional amendment.
12 Naseemullah Citation2014, 502.
13 Nawaz Citation2009.
14 Titus Citation1998.
15 IMF Citation2010, 107.
16 Tahir Citation2017, 14.
17 Shah, et al. Citation2022. The paucity of scholarly and journalistic examination of the region, in conjunction with the isolation of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas by the military establishment, has facilitated the utilization of this area by the state as a strategic location in the advancement of strategic depth within Afghanistan.
18 Cheema and Nuri Citation2005.
19 Naseemullah Citation2014.
20 Naseemullah Citation2014, 502. According to Madiha Tahir, “the Tribal Areas are administered through strategic forms of regulated enclosures enabled by draconian legislation, a configuration of security forces, and, when necessary, temporal and spatial closure—a system that, paradoxically, reproduces itself by claiming to preserve the autonomy of the tribes.” See Tahir Citation2017, 223.
21 Hayat Citation2009.
22 Deobandi madrasahs are Islamic religious schools that follow the Deobandi movement, which originated in India in the nineteenth century. The Deobandi movement emphasizes the importance of the Qur'an and the Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) in guiding the daily lives of Muslims, and it advocates a return to the traditional Islamic legal system known as sharia.
23 Ashraf Citation2022.
24 Hayat Citation2009, 181.
25 Tahir Citation2017
26 Burki Citation2010, 188-189.
27 Siddique Citation2014, 217.
28 Hayat Citation2009, 196.
29 FATA sustainable development plane (2006-2016). Government of Pakistan.
30 Akhtar Citation2020.
31 Hansen and Stepputat Citation2006, 297.
32 Naseemullah Citation2014, 503.
33 Hansen and Stepputat Citation2006, 307-308.
34 Naseemullah Citation2014, 501.
35 Hansen and Stepputat Citation2006, 308.
36 Hansen and Stepputat Citation2006.
37 Ashraf Citation2021.
38 Taj Citation2011, 90-91.
39 Aman Citation2013, 183.
40 Taj Citation2011, 82. The Frontier Crimes Regulations, which were based on the Murderous Outrages Regulations of 1867, were promulgated by British authorities in 1901. These regulations, which were applicable specifically in the FATA, remained in force until 2018. These regulations voided three basic rights for citizens in the region – a right to legal representation, a right to be presented with evidence against them, and a right to appeal a conviction.
41 Taj Citation2011, 91.
42 Javed Citation2021.
43 Mbembe Citation2003, 12-14.
44 Mbembe Citation2003, 17-18.
45 Mbembe Citation2003, 40.
46 Mbembe Citation2003, 39.
47 Mbembe Citation2003, 32.
48 Ullah and Khalil Citation2018, 115.
49 Mbembe Citation2003, 39.
50 Emerson Citation2019, 2.
51 Mann Citation2012, 61.
52 Daur Citation2014, 205.
53 Interview, July 21, 2020. For a description of the traditional social role of a malak and a mashar, see footnote 1.
54 Sharia law, as interpreted by the Taliban, is a legal system based on Islamic principles and teachings. It includes strict codes of conduct and punishment, the segregation of men and women, the suppression of religious minorities, dress codes, and a ban on music and entertainment.
55 Ullah and Khalil Citation2018.
56 Interview, April 13, 2020.
57 Farooq Wazir was the brother of current Pakistani Member of Parliament Ali Wazir from South Waziristan and was known for his outspoken opposition to the Taliban in the region.
58 Interview, February 19, 2020.
59 Daur Citation2014, 37.
60 Mbembe Citation2003, 32-33.
61 Mbembe Citation2003, 34.
62 Interview, April 13, 2020.
63 Interview, August 7, 2020.
64 Wazir Citation2018.
65 Taj Citation2011, 85.
66 Angor-adda, South Waziristan borders Afghanistan’s Paktika province.
67 A veteran of the anti-Soviet jihad and member of the Ahmadzai Wazirs, Noor Islam fought for the Uzbeks in 2007 and sought refuge with Baitullah Mehsud (the then-head of Tehreek Taliban Pakistan). He directed approximately 250 to 300 fighters in cross-border attacks against US and allied forces in Afghanistan, and the Pakistan Army in 2004, while being an adversary of Maulvi Nazir. Noor Islam later came under the protection of Maulvi Nazir after an agreement with the Emir of the TTP, Hakimullah Mehsud. Although the Pakistan military viewed this as a violation of a previous (2007) peace agreement with Maulvi Nazir, he stood firm in upholding the agreement despite their insistence to terminate it. Noor Islam died during an army raid in Wana in 2016, when he fell into a well while attempting to escape. See Mahsud, Citation2013.
68 Mbembe Citation2003, 34.
69 Mbembe Citation2003, 39.
70 Green Citation1994, 233.
71 Khattak Citation2018.
72 Akhtar Citation2021.
73 Interview, July 26, 2020.
74 Mahsud, Zubiar and Hussan Citation2016, 78-79.
75 Interview, January 23, 2020
76 Taj Citation2011, 103.
77 Mbembe Citation2003, 32.
78 Khan Citation2019.
79 Dawn Citation2019.
80 Since the start of the GWOT, seventeen members of Member of Parliament Ali Wazir's family have been targeted and killed by the Taliban. Ali Wazir spent twenty-six months in prison for an alleged controversial speech against state institutions he gave in Karachi, Pakistan. Additionally, Arif Wazir, a cousin of Ali Wazir, was shot by unknown assailants during our fieldwork and later died in Islamabad on May 2, 2020. The string of targeted killings against Ali Wazir's family underscores the danger faced by those who speak out against extremist groups in the region.
81 A cheegha is an emergency, task-specific, first responder group organized and sanctioned by Pashtun elders to address gross injustices against individuals, families, or groups. They are summoned by the beat of a drum called a cheegha. See Daur Citation2014.
82 Green Citation1994, 227.
83 Emerson Citation2019, 31.
84 Interview, July 12, 2020.
85 Emerson Citation2019, 29-30.
86 Interview, February 7, 2020.
87 Mbembe Citation2003, 30.
88 The road coming from Tyarza towards the Wana bazaar heads north out of the bazaar and splits into two directions, one towards the Wana camp and the other towards Shakai and Aazam-Warsak Road. This bypass is famous for the corpses of various victims of violence thrown on it.
89 Interview, May 16, 2020.
90 Green Citation1994, 239.
91 Mbembe Citation2003, 32.
92 Green Citation1994, 227.
93 Green Citation1994, 227.
94 Interview, August 7, 2020.
95 Emerson Citation2019, 5.
96 Green Citation1994, 231.
97 Shah Citation2020.
98 Shah Citation2020.
99 Khanday Citation2020.
100 Naseemullah Citation2014, 501.
101 Taj Citation2011, 82.
102 Mehsud Citation2018.
103 Aasim Sajjad Akhtar characterizes "strategic depth" as a concept rooted in Pakistan's patronage of militant ideologies and views Afghanistan as its "fifth province." This ideology has led to the alienation of and discrimination against ethnic peripheries within Pakistan, resulting in their political and economic exploitation by the state. See Akhtar Citation2020.
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Notes on contributors
Adnan Wazir
Adnan Wazir is an interdisciplinary researcher who is dedicated to exploring the intersection of necropolitics, the post-colonial state, and post-colonial theory. His research aims to critically examine the politics of mortality and its consequences for marginalized communities by exploring the interplay between political, economic, and social forces in shaping the governance of life and death.
Ikram Badshah
Ikram Badshah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. His research interests include Pakhtun culture, encountering militancy through Pashto poetry, proverbs and gender, content analysis of textbooks, the position of Pakistani women, identity politics, and student politics.
Zahid Ali Shah
Zahid Ali Shah is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad He researches frontier ecology and colonial empire, Pakhtun resistance, identity, colonial constructions, and postcolonial representations.
Uzma Rahim
Uzma Rahim is an independent researcher with a focus on analyzing the connections between mobility, gender, women's positions, kinship, and public health, with a particular emphasis on marginalized communities. She aims to tackle societal disparities and promote social justice by engaging with communities and critically examining the impact of societal norms and structures on individuals.