The Narrative of Militancy: A Case Study of Swat, Pakistan

Abstract

Unlike other faith-based conflicts, the militancy in Swat seems unique, as militants used religion for promoting their agenda and giving voices to the grievances of the poor people through a popular narrative likely without knowing narratology. Using narratives and narratology as a theoretical framework, this qualitative study is an effort to understand the essence of militants' narrative in Swat and the mechanism through which they steered it up until the time it gained verisimilitude. Conducting 73 semi-structured interviews, the study finds that it was a planned strategy of the militants that popularized them in Swat, while they later lost this support due to their atrocities against general populace. The militants used the socially and culturally constructed narrative through FM radio and motivated the masses to follow their ideology and brand of Islamic Sharia. The study concludes that the formulation and popularization of social narratives play vital roles in social movements and conflicts to muster popular support for promoting vested interests that can be used against the state and general public.

Civil Security in the Wake of Crisis—Renegotiating Police-Community Relations in Post-Crisis Development in Swat, Pakistan

“…This allows for an analysis of conflict resolution and management at multiple levels, and can include conflict over borders, resources, or interpretations of cultural and religious norms and practices. This is a particularly useful approach in Swat, as conflicts are an integrated part of peoples' everyday lives, are often multiple and overlapping, and include elements of both political and personal interests at several levels [4,[20][21][22].…”

“…The Swat Valley is one of these affected areas. From around 2006, militants [3] began to move into the area, introducing a comparatively conservative religious agenda through local religious leaders such as Sufi Mohammad and Fazal Ullah, and appealing to those parts of the population who were already frustrated with an ineffective government, a particularly slow and expensive judicial process, and marked class differences [4]. Claim-ing a moral high ground, as well as consensus of the local population, the militants demanded quick justice systems (Nizam-e-Adl) and Sharia [5] to be imposed in Swat, and the government eventually conceded.…”

Recent trends in synthetic strategies using magnetic nanostructures as green catalysts in synthesis of pyran analogues

“…[25,26] Transition metal-influenced chemical conversions are one of the supreme potent and adaptable strategies for creating matching chemicals or biological molecules, and they have seen significant expansion in recent decades. [27][28][29][30][31] Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are one of the most common and commonly utilized nanomaterials, with distinctive features that set them apart from other nanostructures. [32,33] Iron oxides, when compared to other magnetic nanoparticles, have good magnetic characteristics and, alternatively, demonstrate strong permanency against degradation.…”