Civility and Incivility of War during Taliban Insurgency in Pakhtun Tribal Society of Pakistan

• In Event: State Crime and Its Harms

Abstract

This study aims at defining and explaining the religious and cultural norms of civility of tribal Pakhtuns. The study further explores the civility and incivility being practiced in the Taliban insurgency. For this purpose, an ethnographic approach was adopted. The researchers spent about three months in the field and conducted 50 in-depth interviews in a tribal district named Bajaur. It was noted that the tribal culture and religion offer clear principles of civility and incivility for war and peace. Both religion and culture emphasize tolerance, respect and empathy with weak and vulnerable persons who are considered non-participants of war such as children, women and old age persons. The paper discusses findings at three levels. Firstly, it counts the civility of local people during the war and their peacebuilding efforts. Secondly, the violation of norms of civility of security forces in their search for militants. Thirdly, the civility of the Taliban for gaining power and their barbarity after gained power. The paper also discusses the implications of inhuman treatment of local people in post-conflict and post-state building contexts.

Authors

• Nizar Ahmad, Bacha Khan University Charsadda

• Paghunda Bibi, Bacha Khan University Charsadda