ABSTRACT
The so-called tribal areas in northwest Pakistan are in the international limelight due to its continuing significance for the political situation in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ever since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1978, these borderlands have been intrinsically connected to the war in Afghanistan. Millions of refugees have found a place to stay here during the last three decades. The Afghan resistance known as the mujahideen largely operated from these areas – both Al Qaeda and the Taliban as well as lesser-known jihadi groups were formed and trained from here, and it is widely believed that Al Qaeda leaders including Osama bin Laden himself had/have been hiding in this mountainous region. Today, the tribal areas are the arena in which the Pakistani army and militant organisations such as the Pakistani Taliban clash. The tribal areas have witnessed all this primarily because of its unique legal status as a part of Pakistan where the state has given up its formal authority to so-called tribal customary law. In effect, the region is ruled by what we will call the state of exception. 1
