Abstract
This paper sets out to discuss role of social work as an egalitarian profession in the terrorists affected Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (Ex-FATA) in the north of Pakistan. The culture, politics and governance of FATA is
different from rest of the Pakistan due to its centuries old tribal culture, clan dynamics and Jirga system for
governance. Since 1979, FATA has been also militarized by local tribal warriors. Consequently, FATA became the
focus of military operations by the law enforcement agencies of Pakistan. As a result of these political and
governance dynamics, thousands of families in FATA have been internally displaced and lived in temporary camps
established by the government of Pakistan. Being in these campus for years, families were traumatized and are
suffering from numerous social, political, economic and psychological problems. Unfortunately, Pakistani social
work has failed to protect human rights of the FATA communities despite of its origin dating back to 1954. We
argue that lack of state and societal recognition for social work as a profession, is major reason for failure of social
work in the FATA. The study concludes that border lands and conflict-ridden areas like that of FATA do provide
opportunities to practice international social work that ensures power to the powerless in the Pakistani society.
Aisha Shoukat, Aliya Khalid, Muhammad Jafar, Syeda Mahnaz Hassan, Bala Raju Nikku. (2020) Culture and Politics of Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan: Borderlands and Conflict Areas as Critical Spaces for International Social Work, Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, Volume 57, Issue 1.
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