Conflict Induced Displacement: Analysing Perceptions of Conflict and Shifts in Political Orientation among the Youth of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Borderland, North Waziristan

Abstract

The aim of this research is to study how perceptions of conflict among the youth of North Waziristan (which sits on the Pakistani side of the border with Afghanistan) have changed in political orientation within a short period of time following several periods of internal displacement. Broadly speaking the change in orientation that this thesis explores is from one that tended toward extremist religious views to one that can now characterise as secular leftist. These periods of displacement occurred as a result of local conflicts that were caused by militancy linked to the Pakistani Taliban and foreign militant organisations in North Waziristan and the military offensive Zarb-e-Azb that was ostensibly launched to counter that militancy. Both the religiously inspired militancy and Zarb-e-Azb brought about momentous social and political changes that ultimately fostered a counter-extremist movement among the region’s youth. This study which is written from the perspective of someone who grew up in North Waziristan and witnessed many of these changes first-hand provides a granular understanding of the impact of conflict and displacement on the youth of my community. I conducted ethnographic field research which I refer to as conflict zone ethnographic field research because North Waziristan is an active conflict zone. My data was interpreted through a critical discourse analysis framework as a way to understand the perspectives of the youth who were displaced. The study also lends itself to an engagement with a critical terrorism studies framework because the field research reveals a connection between the counter-discourse of the local youth and the use of terrorism by the Pakistani state.