Impact of the War on Terror in Afghanistan on Combatants’ Families from Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The paper explores the impact post-9/11 US-led War on Terror in
Afghanistan on combatants’ families belonging to Dir, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa. The combatants from Dir had crossed over to Afghanistan
under Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) to help the Taliban
in their fight against NATO forces. The fall of the Taliban government
resulted in the deaths of majority of TNSM while many went missing. Their
families back home in Dir faced a host of challenges which included
emtional trauma, social stigma, economic hardships, and inheritance
disputes. Besides, the Jihadi organizations covertly operating in the area
offered financial support to attract the young ones of these families to join
their ranks. Moreover, it also brings to the fore the cultural barriers that
prevented the widows of the combatants from re-marrying and denial of
share to combatants children under the pretext of denial of inheritance to
orphaned grandchildren, highlighting the vulnerability of combatants
families to manipulation. By charting the adverse impact of the conflict on
these families provides a deeper understanding of the conditions of the
marginalized ones including children of the combatants, their aged parents,
and widows. The tool used for collecting primary data was unstructured
interview through which the lived experiences of affected families were
recorded. A total of 25 respondents identified through snowball sampling
technique were interviewed, including 20 affected families members and 5
local key informants. The study attempts to contribute to the broader
discourse and deeper understanding of the impact of wars on the
marginalized populations.