Cross-Border Crimes, Afghanistan-Pakistan Bilateral Relations and Sustainable Peace in Erstwhile Fata: A Post-Cold War Study on Pakistan’s Western Border

Abstract

The thesis aims to articulate the conceptual logic of the cross-border crime and terrorism nexus in the unique context of the western borderlands of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It considers the framework of illicit cross-border political economy to understand the convergence between transnational terrorism and organized crime, particularly in the erstwhile region of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and contextualizes the ‘security’ in the unique western Afghanistan-Pakistan borderland. In doing so, while recognizing the socio-economic and cultural complexities and vacillating nature of the borderland, the thesis elucidates how Pakistan has responded to the cross-border crimeterrorism nexus (from both institutional/governance and security perspectives). The thesis argues that effective border management and controlling is an important element of the state approach to counter cross-border terrorism and crime. It has been further argued to develop a coordinated and regional approach to effectively counter the organized transnational criminal network intertwined with the terrorist organization in Afghanistan and Pakistan.