Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan: Origin, Evolution and Future Portents

Dr. Ashok K. Behuria

This volume is a result of an abiding interest in the phenomenon of radical Islamist terror that haunts Pakistan today. The research questions that it seeks to answer are: Why do the tribal areas remain a problem for rulers and administrators throughout history? How and why did radical Islam embed itself in the terrain? Was it influenced by the overall emphasis on Islam in Pakistani state politics? What is the role of history and politics in fuelling religious passions in the area? What has led to the survival of TTP despite humongous efforts of the Pakistan Army to decimate it? What are the future portents of such a movement? What impact is it likely to have on Pakistani society and politics?

The volume makes an attempt to understand the context in which Pakistani Taliban or TTP, as it is called now, came into being, the enabling factors that made the growth of TTP possible, the formation and growth of TTP as a militant organisation, its leadership and its activities over the years, its ideological orientation and its worldview, its aims and objectives, its relationship with other militant groups in and outside Pakistan and the efforts of the Pakistani establishment to come to terms with such a phenomenon. There is an attempt to analyse the process and study its implications for Pakistan and the region.

Dr. Ashok K. Behuria is Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the South Asia Centre at MP-IDSA. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. He joined MP-IDSA in 2003 and prior to that he was Assistant Director at the International Centre for Peace Studies, New Delhi. Dr. Behuria has also been Editor of International Studies, the prestigious research journal from Jawaharlal Nehru University and is on the Editorial Boards of Journal of Peace Studies and Strategic Analysis, the flagship journal of MP-IDSA. He has taught at University of Delhi and JamiaMilliaIslamia, New Delhi. He is a close observer of developments in the South Asian neighbourhood and was conferred the prestigious K. Subrahmanyam Award for excellence in strategic studies for his work on Pakistan in 2009. He has published many research articles on strategic issues related to Pakistan, India-Pakistan relations, Sri Lanka, Nepal and the South Asian security environment in Indian and foreign journals. He has edited several books on South Asia and continues with his research on internal politics in Pakistan, India’s engagement with the neighbourhood, regional security, and inter-state cooperation.

Contents

Preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. The Terrain and People
2. Tribal Areas in Tumult (2001-2007)
3. Enter TTP: Formation and Growth
4. Monsters and the Master: TTP in Action in the Heartland & Response of the State
5. What Propels Talibanisation

Conclusion: Prognosis

Select Bibliography

Index