Armed Ideological Conflict in North Waziristan, Pakistan Impacts on Livelihoods and Education

Abstract

The US attack on Afghanistan in 2001 has changed the landscape of North Waziristan Tribal District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A vast number of the Taliban and ally foreign militants made an influx into the NWTD, where they found safe heavens among the local people. The deployment of armed security forces by Pakistan escalated the acute armed ideological conflict in NWTD. The violent conflict had adversely affected the livelihoods of the local people. This research study aims to investigate the various factors which contributed to the violent ideological conflict in NWTD and its impacts on the human and physical capital of livelihoods. The study evaluates how the livelihoods of the different groups of the community were affected by conflict and forced internal displacement and what the post-conflict situation of the livelihoods of the returnee population is. The armed conflict had the worst impacts on livelihood opportunities and outcomes, the displacement period had mixed effects, and in the post-conflict period, improvement is evident in the livelihood opportunities and outcomes. Besides, this research further investigates how local people do experience violent conflict and how the conflict does affect education. The armed conflict and displacement further exacerbated the already worse condition of education. In the post-conflict period, there is an increase in the number of children enrolling in schools and the opening of new private schools, which shows that the people of NWTD are investing more in human capital. The research data was collected in village Hassukhel of Mir Ali tehsil of NWTD through semi-structured interviews and informal interviews with the villagers and staff, and participant observation in the village, including key interviewees from the government and NGOs sectors.