The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are located in northwestern Pakistan and along the border with Afghanistan. This is a deeply conservative part of Pakistan and very underdeveloped. It is a semi-autonomous region of Pakistan, meaning that the government of Pakistan doesn’t actually exercise full control over what happens there. It’s actually governed by different judicial and legal systems than the rest of Pakistan and because of this, it’s politically marginalized and also very underdeveloped, meaning that there’s high, high levels of unemployment, very low literacy rates, inadequate infrastructure, and almost no business except for smuggling.
We should be concerned about the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan because it’s an area where different militant groups, such as Al Qaeda and the Taliban have reestablished themselves and now have safe havens. And from these areas they are able to train and plan attacks against the United States, the West, Afghanistan, and even Pakistan. They now have training camps, they have places to recruit, their leadership structures are intact, and it’s a danger for international security.
In order to be able to deal with the extremist and militant threat in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, it’s going to require a long-term solution. This area has been so politically isolated and economically marginalized that you need to start addressing that problem first, which is basically trying to integrate this area and the people of that area into the rest of Pakistan, and giving them a voice politically and also giving them employment. The new government of Pakistan is already starting to begin trying to integrate this area and also negotiate with some of the tribal leaders in that area. The United States needs to support the Pakistani government in their efforts and also provide assistance in development: economic assistance versus just taking a military approach.