ABSTRACT
After discussing the overall situation of peace and conflict in the region, the first section of this final chapter (Chapter 7) discusses FATA’s 2018 merger with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The section discusses various constitutional reforms and amendments that took place before the region’s integration with ‘mainstream’ Pakistan. In its second section, the chapter discusses the formation and rise of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), which fits within the overall narrative of isolation and suffering of ‘tribal’ Pashtuns in Pakistan. In its final section, the chapter discusses the future of FATA region, with its administrative units now renamed as ‘tribal districts’ after the merger, and argues why the unresolved nature of various issues, as highlighted by the PTM, suggests that the situation in the region remains fragile. Moreover, it is also argued how, and why, the future of the ‘tribal’ region also depends on the security landscape in neighbouring Afghanistan.
