The dilemma of Peace Sustainability: Administrative and Political Factors Affecting Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

442 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) The dilemma of Peace Sustainability: Administrative and Political Factors Affecting Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan https://currentsign journal.com/index. php/JCS/index 1Mohammad Hussain 2Aziz Ul Hakim 3Zakir Hussain 4Umar Daraz 5Ibrahim* Vol. 3 No. 4 (2025) 443 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) The dilemma of Peace Sustainability: Administrative and Political Factors Affecting Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan The process of peacebuilding is long-lasting in societies where conflict is fully resolved, and socio-cultural conditions and systems that once transformed into sources of violence and conflict are no longer present. However, unlike this, in most conflict-affected societies, peacebuilding efforts are less effective. They are challenged by post-conflict fragility and insecurity, which make it difficult to resolve the conflict comprehensively and increase the likelihood of relapse. A lot of these problems arise from deep-rooted, historical, administrative, and political factors that are practiced in ordinary ways and largely rationalized by social cosmology, administrative barriers, the ineffective role of politicians, and structural violence in society, which are the causes of peacebuilding failure. This research paper examines the factors that impede peacebuilding in post-conflict regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, specifically the district of Swat. The methods of qualitative research are grounded theory and theoretical sampling, which are applied to identify participants, collect data through interviews, and analyze the data. Results of the current study show that peacebuilding activities are largely influenced by poor management, administrative loopholes, and poor governance, and ineffective political leadership. Keywords: Administrative Loopholes, Ineffective Leadership, Militant Conflict in Swat; Peacebuilding; Post-Conflict Fragility; Poor Governance, Security Challenges, Introduction This work examines the influence of administrative and institutional factors on peacebuilding. It particularly focuses on the post-conflict Swat Valley scenario and the peacebuilding process undertaken to date following the violent armed conflict. In this research, particular attention is paid to such areas—tehsils or administrative units and communities — that became targets of militancy and subsequent military operations. Moreover, the paper discusses the various efforts 1Mohammad Hussain Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. 2Aziz Ul Hakim Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. 3Zakir Hussain Lecturer, Department of Social Work, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. 4Umar Daraz Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. 5Ibrahim* (Corresponding Author) Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan Abstract 444 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) and actions adopted by state organizations and the international community in post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. Administrative concerns pertain to the political and administrative arrangements of the state, including political affairs, structures, and legal obstacles. Equally, institutional factors are procedural, structural, and organizational arrangements that, in most cases, control or restrict individuals’ willful participation and access to mainstream societal activities. These are the variables that exist on the ground and are due to prolonged historical institutionalization and to the society’s social-political and administrative suppositions, norms, and values. Moreover, such realities are constructed and applied as important and guiding values to control individual actions, functioning as invisible forces. These norms also provide greater structure to society and offer a framework of basic concepts— legitimacy, consensus, and compliance — that indirectly bring about order. Nonetheless, when this order disintegrates or is politicized within a society, conflict usually arises. Violent forms of conflict do not always occur in isolation. Instead, it is at times politically created and used either for personal or group interests. It is an opportunity for many interest groups, nation-states, institutions, and administrative setups to cash in on the sufferings of people in the conflict, particularly in the post-conflict situations. On the one hand, such arrangements and constructions are conducive to people and help them order their daily affairs. Still, they prevent open interactions in activities such as peacebuilding and development. In this paper, emphasis has been placed on post-conflict, where it is argued that the majority of the hostilities between parties have been put off on a seemingly apparent basis. Nevertheless, the tension that has been suppressed or hidden may resurface, and the peace currently in a weak state may once again lead to conflict. In this case, conflict is considered one of the social processes that are evoked into violence by a combination of interrelated institutional structures and politicoadministrative setups constantly created and re-created. These decisive aspects become the cause of a conflict justified as the representation of the state, its institutions, and jurisdiction (De Zeeuw, 2001). If they are not met or if they are not properly prepared to address the current conflict and contribute to establishing sustainable peace, these factors lead to new conflicts. Some of these administrative and institutional structures are discussed in the next sections, where detailed descriptions are developed during data transcription and analysis for this research. Objectives of the Study This study aims to identify the administrative and political factors that affect peacebuilding in the conflict-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in general, and specifically in the district of Swat. Methods and Procedures The current paper is grounded in a qualitative research methodology. The research strategy employed was grounded theory, primarily used by qualitative researchers such as sociologists. In this approach, researchers are not heavily dependent on the available literature and theories; instead, they extract patterns and insights from field data (Mohajan, 2018). The focus of this paper was the regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, which were hit by the waves of militancy and terrorism that began following the 9/11 incident. The militant activities in this province took place in the district of Swat, although terrorism and war against terrorism have 445 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) been experienced in many areas of this province. This district of the province had been seriously affected in terms of suicide attacks, loss of life, displacement of people, and other forms of destruction; hence, this study was restricted to the district of Swat to collect data. The theoretical sampling method was adopted, in which the sample size or number of participants is not set in advance and is determined as data are gathered and analyzed. It initially purposely selects fewer instances as participants in the study, then selects others in the same manner until the data becomes saturated (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, and Blinkhorn, 2011). In this respect, this research purposely selected certain units of society — units of study— comprising representatives of various institutions, media, academia, government officials, civil society members, political leaders, and local elders as key informants, and ordinary people as volunteers in the peacebuilding efforts. The interviews and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) with participants in the study units were conducted, totaling 36 interviews and 4 FGDs. Moreover, data collection was conducted through interviews, as only a few participants were purposely selected; the remaining participants were identified and reached through friends’ and acquaintances’ networks. In the case of interviews, however, they were biased towards respondents who had primarily been residents of the area, or who had either first-hand experience and knowledge of the armed conflict and subsequent peacebuilding activities, or still had friends and acquaintances who did. Likewise, willing participants in this research, who were able to provide their voices on the phenomenon to be examined, participated in the interview. Moreover, in-depth interviews using an open-ended interview guide were conducted. The study involved parallel data collection and analysis: the data were initially prepared using questions; a few interviews were conducted, transcribed, and categories and themes were developed and compared with the prepared questions. The next interviews were then modified and enriched using the given questions and used in the future. This way, the research was conducted in a backward-and-forward approach to data collection, analysis, and comparison, culminating in the final interview. In the same way, all the factors identified as hurdles through constant comparison of various themes and categories were analyzed and discussed in detail. Results and Discussions Administrative and Security Challenges Interstate armed conflicts are on the decline worldwide, whereas internal and intrastate armed conflicts are on a slow increase (Cooperation, 2009). This increasing tendency implies that the territories and nations where conflict has occurred are fragile and are likely to revert to conflict (Walter, 2011). To address this issue, the United Nations, in its peacebuilding decisions, focuses on reforms and adjustments in countries during post-conflict transitions, including security and administrative matters. These countries are willing to put everything into them and into the world community to create sustainable peace and physical prosperity. The member states of the United Nations acknowledge the delivery of justice and the formation of the rule of law as major components and requirements of conflict prevention, conflict resolution, the safeguarding of human rights, and sustainable peace (Feinäugle, 2018). The rule of law is said not to safeguard the rights of about 4 billion people. A majority of them live below the poverty line and encounter legal, institutional, and administrative impediments. These challenges also restrict their talents 446 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) and their ability to engage freely across various domains and become effective members of society (Banik, 2008). As this research found, in most conflict-prone societies, failure to obtain permission and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the local administration, such as the deputy commissioner, assistant commissioner, police, and other law enforcement bodies, led to the failure of peacebuilding efforts initiated by various peace actors Many respondents raised this, particularly the representatives of various peacebuilding organizations in their interviews, which explains why the local administrative officers are scared of community members, especially volunteers who work as peacebuilders and call people to attend their respective peace-related workshops and seminars. The fear that administration workers have towards such public meetings is that they believe that such public gatherings can enable the militants (Taliban) to target the people in charge of the peace, as well as the general populace they are targeting. They are hesitant and aware that insurgents are being repressed or tamed by the negative peace instituted in the study area. In so doing, the local government and security organizations either employ the delaying strategy or reject the NOC request or authorization submitted by the peacebuilding consultant. One local peacebuilding organization, in the form of an interviewee and its representative, stated: The local administration and security agencies are largely hesitant and anticipate the re-emergence of militants (Taliban) in the meetings and events that we hold to encourage advocacy, counsel the locals, and train them in the prevention of conflicts and peacebuilding. The administrative officers believe that militants would attack our events and activities because we talk of such concepts as cohesive society, conducive environment, and peacebuilding in our conferences, and they (militants) believe that those concepts are not in their interest (OH4 Male). Another player and peacebuilding practitioner working in the same organization also shared his opinions on it: One of the conditions frequently given when we undertake peacebuilding activities is to have fewer community members participate and not to organize such programs in locations or areas accessible to militants. The administrative officers are similar to the suppressed militant groups, like the iron spring; they say that the more you suppress the spring, the higher it will jump (OH2 Male). This means that negative peace, or the suppression of militants, is not the peace, nor is it a resolution to the long-standing insecurity and uncertainty that are rife in the research area. Moreover, the local administration and other institutions, including the police and judiciary, are not in a position of authority to make independent choices on issues of normalcy and to fulfill their proper roles in securing the masses, advancing peacebuilding, and pursuing development endeavors. Most participants thought that, despite being in the 21st century, their administrative structures are still influenced by the legacy of British colonization, which continues to treat common people and their daily matters with the same intent. In addition, this paper found that office holders of most administrative structures exhibit issues of attitude, ego, and power greed; 447 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) thus, they use the masses to serve their interests rather than make life more difficult for them. To this end, one of the female participants and the university students came forward with their opinions in a group interview (FGD) at the University of Swat: Our civil bureaucracy, including the commissioner, deputy commissioner, and assistant commissioner, believes it is the king of the division and district. And so is the case with police, who also share the same colonial mentality, i.e., to rule and be ruled by (AP5 Female). This field data reveals that, although numerous changes and reforms are introduced into such administrative structures and organizations, particularly after the military conflict ends, to make their work more efficient and less dominated by elites and their manipulations, the vast majority of these changes do not yield the desired outcome. Many respondents presented their opinion where a participant, a male student, and a participant in the FGD thought that: Despite all the reforms introduced to change the behavior of various administrative staff in organizations and institutions to address the masses politely, these reforms remain theoretical. In practice, I do not see any transformation or enhancement of the roles and services of these governmental establishments and their administrative units (AP4 Male). On the same note, one of the interviewees, who also happens to be a representative of the government employee and a member of the police department, believes that: We are doing what our bosses say, and bosses will always take orders from either the government or the local elites. We are working in the interests of the common mass because we prioritize making the bosses or the elites happy (GO2 Male). Secondly, the researcher’s field observations revealed that the poor administrative and institutional machinery in the researched area is largely ineffective and can hardly solve the local problems of the people. This ineffectiveness also creates structural obstacles and significantly discourages efforts in peacebuilding and development. Due to these weaknesses and barriers, a socio-psychological distance is established between individuals and office holders, reducing the trust between them and increasing insurgency and the recurrence of conflicts, including militancy and other criminalities. Under these circumstances, it is challenging to treat the prevailing peace as rocket science; rather, it is the opposite of what the interviewees stated in individual and group interviews. According to one of the interviewees and an elder of the community, the presence of such attitudes and structural impediments affects current peacebuilding efforts in the locality. Governance and Political Leadership The concept of durable peace is usually understood as the process of constructing society in a way that embodies a shared vision and seeks to fulfill the essential needs and demands of all segments and populations without exploiting or discriminating against them. It is possible to establish sustainable peace by strengthening national and local institutions and promoting good 448 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) governance (Tschirgi & De Coning, 2018). In this regard, governance can be defined as the way a society or state organizes its political, economic, and administrative affairs; that is, to make and execute decisions, resolve conflicts, and secure legal rights and obligations. The state plays a role in establishing regulations, granting institutions authority, and creating an enabling environment that can easily nurture people in political, economic, and legislative matters (Asghar, 2013). In this regard, this research has found that the efforts of governments at the national and provincial levels, as well as those of the international community, are ineffective in building sustainable peace. The majority of respondents in this study believed there was an urgent need for local government or local government bodies to participate in the post-conflict peacebuilding process. It gives them the power to handle fragility with ease, violence with a fight, and the possibility of conflict recurrence. The participants thought that numerous reforms and developments were introduced in theory to make governance, particularly local governance, more effective. Nevertheless, in real life, the productivity and validity of the government machine, political leadership, and governance are quite deplorable. On this score, one of the members and leaders of a village-based peace committee indicated that: Good governance and honest leaders are linked to the development of lasting peace in the study area, but we do not have honest political leaders. We have the worst, ineffective governmental organizations and political officials who are representatives of the people but are unable to take practical action to solve the problems and address the causes of the people’s dissatisfaction (LE2 Male). Similarly, a local journalist explained the same issue in his words: The elected leaders in the region normally hold key government offices and are more aware of the issues locals face than non-locals. However, they tend to be ineffective in the mediation between the people and the government. Many politicians fail to relay the people's immediate needs to the relevant authorities, thereby preventing the delivery of immediate solutions. Therefore, government agencies disregard the need to consult these politicians on socio-political, economic, and continuous peacebuilding and development projects before presenting any policies (MP1 Male). Moreover, in this study, it was identified that the political representatives of the study area are ineffective and incapable of making decisions. They are dictated by government institutions and officials, mainly by their pre-designed, planned interests, rather than those of the masses. The issue many respondents brought to the fore was that, in situations where peacebuilding activities are taking place in the district of Swat, there is little consultation with political leaders, and their opinions are not taken into account. In this way, the majority of peacebuilding initiatives fail to achieve their objectives and end up producing partial or weak peace. To elucidate the same problem, the opinions of many participants are presented, as captured during both individual and group interviews. Nonetheless, most of the extractions from the detailed views are presented and discussed in this study to gain more insight into the phenomenon. In keeping with the perceptions of most of the respondents in a focus group discussion, a decent member of the civil society gave his perception: 449 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) The problem of fragility after the end of a conflict and the failure of peacebuilding practices falls on the state and its governmental apparatus. This implies that the absence of a legitimate government and its proper functioning does not help the study society achieve success in peacebuilding. I believe this is one of the reasons the resurgence of militants is so easy in the territory (CS2 Male). He further associated governance and peacebuilding and said: Having lived in this region, I have met some local politicians who are mostly driven by personal interests and engage in corrupt activities. These politicians are busy during election season gathering information about the community, but once in power, they are likely to forget their constituents’ needs and concerns. During the Swat crisis, many politicians fled the region, while the people remained to protect themselves. When the situation has stabilized, not many politicians would be keen on solving cases such as missing persons, target killings, and extortion that are still rife in the area (CS2 Male). Moreover, it was observed that in the region, the role of local politicians in post-conflict and conflict peacebuilding is scarcely mentioned by people. Instead, they refer to the militants or the military in this respect. Nevertheless, regarding the roles of various parties and their usefulness in a post-conflict situation, people tend to blame the politicians who are least interested in solving the problems that frequently become obstacles to the continuation of peace and the causes of new conflicts. This was the argument of numerous respondents during their interviews and FGDs. A participant and a professor remarked that many of the region’s political representatives are not concerned with the well-being of the people or the peace of the area; they always think about enriching themselves and obtaining money and power. This mentality contributes nothing to the region but exacerbates the region’s already existing socio-economic issues and activates the factor of violence, which influences well-being and the current peace process. Similarly, one local journalist explained that the political leaders lack seriousness and interest in addressing people’s frustrations, violence, and social injustice, and that these were the primary factors behind militancy in Swat. One of the female student participants expressed a similar opinion: Insecurity and uncertainty stem from poor governance, as witnessed in this region. In over a decade of warfare, threats are leveled by insurgents, who are usually wellreported, against the ruling powers, state institutions, and their so-called established peace. The insecurity of people continues to be felt because they witness, in daily occurrences, the targeted assassination of members of peace committees and other individuals in other parts of the region (AP5 Female). The controlling forces portray the Swat scenario as peaceful, satisfactory, and efficient. Nevertheless, they do not fulfill political promises or provide ordinary people with security, free and affordable education, health care, and jobs. The emphasis in most peacebuilding projects has been on rebuilding the governing structure by guaranteeing the rule of law, political participation, the independence of the judiciary, service delivery, the promotion of local governance, and the fight against corruption. Nevertheless, none of them have achieved the 450 Journal for Current Sign Online ISSN (3006-1504) Print ISSN (3006-1490) desired outcomes due to inefficient, superficial rule structures and the disingenuous actions of the region’s political rulers. In relation to this matter, the majority of participants reported similar yet varied opinions regarding the reactions of local people towards the government and its pillars. A political representative of the local area said amongst them: The government machinery has yet to allocate and implement a large budget for reconstruction and peacebuilding efforts in the Swat Valley. However, many individuals of Swat are happy that at least they get a break from the atrocities of the militants (PR1 Male). It was established that politicians do not enter politics to make governance effective —that is, to make political, economic, and administrative policies in the best interests of the people and the government. Instead, most of them join this profession primarily to acquire power and abuse other individuals, especially the less fortunate in society, and secondly, when they are not successful in other areas in life. Moreover, the political leadership fails to give marginalized and vulnerable groups in the society they serve a chance after peacebuilding activities, as many participants noted. A resident and one of these participants, who was formerly a village counselor, had a few words on the government about them having to intervene in resolving the local disputes and controversies, in his words, The citizens of this region, as we are, see that governments cannot solve local conflicts or the socio-economic problems of daily life. This dismal failure and poor national, provincial, and local governance contribute to increased deprivation of people and to the injustice practiced across the entire society (CM2 Male). This can also be attributed to the fact that the central and provincial governing bodies are least interested in decentralizing power and empowering local bodies at the district and tehsil levels, particularly in the Swat Valley, where there is conflict and violence. As revealed by the various reactions of interviewees across the tehsils and regions that comprise Swat, the government structures and politicians are significant in the peace-building process. Nonetheless, this position is largely determined by some socio-economic issues. Such issues and politicians are not interested in resolving them, and they do not offer a platform for developing lasting peace in the studied area. By so doing, placing less emphasis on local issues creates a distance between the community, the state, and the government machinery, thereby causing violence and preventing peace-building from continuing. The conclusions of this paper bear some similarity to the study’s extractions (Foulds, 2013), which affirm that, since there is no state and government legitimacy, a poor relationship between the state and society, and, most crucially, access to basic services hurts the peacebuilding process in a society affected by conflicts. Equally, this paper’s results confirm Banik’s (2008) findings that, in fragile societies in the aftermath of conflicts, ineffective governance cannot guarantee the rule of law and the security of the population, thereby degrading the peace and development agenda toward the desired objective.