Building Peace through Learning: Integrating Educational Reform into Peace Architecture in the Conflict-Affected Pashtun Tribal Region, Pakistan

The Pashtun tribal region lying on the Durand Line has been severely marginalized and radicalized by lethal conflicts over the past four decades that have led to extremism, militancy, terrorism, and deep collective trauma. Governed by the colonially designed Frontier Crimes Regulation for over a century, the region was integrated into Pakistan in 2018 as part of its journey toward peace and post-conflict development. There is an urgent need to address Pashtun society’s social and territorial wounds. This paper describes the traditional Pashtun jirga—an inclusive council where all members have equal voice—as a decolonizing method of data collection. Charmaz’s grounded theory methodology, as conducted by a Pashtun researcher adhering to Pashtunwali, offers insider insights into the community’s educational needs. Culturally sensitive in-depth interviews and jirgas for data collection with Pashtun tribal elders, activists, politicians, and educators identify gaps and prospects within the existing educational system. The current education system largely ignores the local context and fails to acknowledge the memories of violent conflicts, neglecting the pressing need for community healing and reparation. Given the recent extension of Pakistani state laws and the destruction of thousands of schools, there is an urgent need for contextualized educational policies. This research contributes practical suggestions grounded in Pashtun society’s realities, addressing unique challenges that the current national curriculum is unable to resolve.

Integrating Pashtun Indigenous knowledge and practices such as jirga into the education model embraces varied knowledge ecologies and multiple ways of knowing and feeling. Schools and colleges can create a new generation and open spaces for empathy and peacebuilding.