Militancy in the Pakistani Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Afghanistan

In conclusion, the primary objective of this report has been the identfication of militant organizations operating within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and some more detailed profiling and the identification of their supporters in the rest of Pakistan. This report also shows the scope of the support that the militants - on both sides of the Durand-line - receive from Pakistan. Inaddition, the report shows how interconnected the security situation in Pakistan is with the low-intensity war in Afghanistan. It is obvious that in order to come to terms with the situation in the FATA (and increasingly in Baluchistan and the rest of the North West Frontier Province), Afghanistan and Pakistan need to be discussed simultaneously. In addition, the report has mapped and described what support for the militants look like as well as who some of the key players in Afghanistan are, both individuals and groups. In the report we have also outlined the various initiatives taken by the new Pakistani government to open up a "new approach" (as the term goes) in negotiations between, on one hand the Islamabad government, and on the other, the tribes and militants in the North West. The emphases on negotiations and a possible "down-shifting" when it comes to the use of the military, have still to render any clear breakthroughs between the government and the militants and the tribes. But the will to change is there.