TRANSFORMATIONAL GOVERNANCE AND PEACE IN PAKISTAN’S ERSTWHILE FATA: A 3-DIMENSIONAL STRATEGY

Pakistan’s tribal region (erstwhile FATA) is the centre of gravity of the country’s nationwide peace. For decades, it has been bearing the brunt of militancy and terrorism. The present study explores emic and etic perspectives to identify issues and challenges to engender peace and prosperity in FATA. Drawing on “Structural Functionalism Theory”, this qualitative study uses a judgmental (purposive) sampling technique to select the study participants (n=35), comprising civil and military officers and civil society workers hailing from FATA. The study collects the primary data through semi-structured interviews and employs thematic analysis to draw findings from the identified themes. The study unfolds the malfunctioning social institutions in FATA that resulted in various evils, from militancy to illicit arms and drug trade to human trafficking. The results describe how social institutions should work in parallel to maintain a stable social order in the tribal region. Though the Parliament of Pakistan has made a historic move by merging FATA with its neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the FATA Interim Governance Regulation, 2018, lasting peace cannot be achieved without transforming social institutions. FATA has attained a considerable global research focus. Very few researchers have tried to explore the social realities of FATA that serve as triggers to escalate violence. Apart from adding to the existing literature, the study recommends a 3-dimensional strategy, geographic monitoring, social order, and good governance for bringing peace and prosperity to FATA. The study utilised a qualitative interpretive research design that may bring different results if conducted through different methodological and theoretical choices. Each social institution (family, religion, education, economy, and government) must function independently and in parallel for a stable societal order. If an institution malfunctions, overlaps, or replaces the role of other social institutions, it will lead to societal instability.