Abstract

The felling of revenge is the prime source of radicalization and specially when someone asks or is told to take avenge of his beloved one. This thought leads us to certain degree of radicalization which leads to Humiliation-Revenge process. In this research we will try to explain the main causes of radicalization and how it impacts the people of ex-FATA, Pakistan. This research will explain that it is not only religion that promotes terrorism in this region, but the ultimate desire for revenge that is one of the most important codes of Pashtunwali (Pashtun code of life). It is the tradition that when some kills the beloved member of the family the rest of the family will avenge his beloved one. This code of Pashtunwali is the driving factor behind this extremism in this region. It is this feeling which made the people radicalized toward extremism.The purpose of this paper is to give an understanding of the damages occurred as a result of drone attack in ex-FATA and its relation with the radicalization of the people of ex-FATA. It also tries to explain that to what extent these affected and radicalized people in ex-FATA can be used as source of recruitment by the militant and terrorist groups. The paper is descriptive, analytical and explanatory. It is a library based research where mostly secondary data have been used and only a few telephonic interviews have been conducted with those who were deeply affected by the drone attacks. Certain global and Pakistani media reports have also been considered in detail. The terrorist experts and certain other political analysts’ commentaries have also been taken as a source for drawing an impartial conclusion out of it. The findings show that the desire for revenge is the ultimate cause of radicalization and support for militant organizations in ex-FATA.

Key words: extremism, ex-FATA