Militancy and its Implications in the Tribal Belt of Pakistan

The objective of this study is to examine militancy and its implications in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which was annexed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018. The people of erstwhile FATA become victims of militancy and armed conflict for a number of reasons. However, the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 led to the rising of militancy in the tribal belt of Pakistan, which adversely affected the region, its people and their way of living economically, socially, culturally and psychologically. The paper concludes that the in-time action of the government put this region on the path of peace and stability. The merger of FATA to KP was a significant act the government did in 2018 that has a far-reaching impact on peace in the area. The article suggests the best possible and viable options to reduce the suffering of tribal people in all domains.