Download Religious Militancy and the Pakistan Army

Countering Militancy in Pakistan: Domestic, Regional and
International Dimensions Conference - August 2009
Religious Militancy and the Pakistan Army
Speaker - Dr Adeel Khan
Institution - University of New England, Australia
In the 2002 elections, for the first time in Pakistan's history a conservative religious
alliance, Mutahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA, United Action Group), won the majority of seats
and in 2003 formed government in the NWFP. The elections results were a surprise for
many political observers because Pukhtuns had traditionally voted for liberal nationalist or
federalist parties like the Awami National Party, the Pakistan People's Party and the
Muslim League.During the last five years, however, parts of the NWFP have become
increasingly violent and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of South and
North Waziristan, and latterly Swat valley, have constituted a battleground between the
Pakistan army and the Taliban and pro-Taliban locals.
How have a people, Pukhtuns, whose politics, despite their social conservatism, have been
secular and liberal, started supporting religious parties and militants? This is a question
which this paper proposes to explore. The paper starts with a brief description of the
colonial, Indian and Pakistani myths about Pukhtuns, and then goes on to look at the
Pukhtun reality today. Based on fieldwork in various parts of the NWFP during January
2008 and January 2009, when I interviewed many civil and military officials and
journalists, the paper deals with the issue of the Pakistan army’s role in fighting terrorism.
It also engages with the recruitment of local Taliban.
An ethnographic survey of Pukhtuns' concept of their identity provides the background for
the discussion.