Extremism, marginalization, and talibanization: an ethnographic analysis of culture and state narratives of the pashtun society of Pakistan

Abstract

The US troops’ withdrawal and the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in 2021 led to the resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS Khurasan and Tehreek I Taliban Pakistan, expanding their bases in the Indigenous Pashtun-populated region of Pakistan along the Durand Line, a contested border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The region’s indigenous social structure is eroding due to militancy, religious intolerance, continuous militarization, and marginalization in the decision-making processes in the center of the post-colonial state. This qualitative research examines the growing culture of extremism and its contributing factors in this volatile region. The study is based on autoethnographic fieldwork and empirical evidence collected in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan from 2020 to 2024. It includes eight focus group discussions, 22 open-ended interviews, a research stay, and participation in communal and political activities related to the issue. The study showcases the current state of militarization and marginalization of the region by the military dominated center, religious indoctrination, and manipulation of extreme narratives by extremists in society. It investigates cases of mob violence related to blasphemy allegations, issues of mistrust between marginalized Pashtuns and the state, and an indigenously emerged nonviolent social movement, the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, aka PTM, that seeks to protect ethnic Pashtuns’ equal rights. The primary investigation shows that the movement is oppressed by the state’s security agencies, which marginalize and mistreat the Pashtuns – highlighting a correlation between marginalization and extremism in society. The primary data indicate that over five decades of militarization of the region has significantly impacted the socio-political and indigenous cultural aspects of the population, and militants manipulate the society’s narratives of culture, religion, marginalization, and racial profiling by the state – resulting in a culture of intolerance – fueling extremism. Based on theories of social change, this research presents a blueprint for practitioners to implement resilient peace structures in volatile Indigenous populations.