Civil Disputes Leading to Crimes: A Baseline Study of Terrorism-Affected North Western Pakistan

Abstract

The article explores the relationship between civil disputes and private crimes in two districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an area hard hit by terrorism and the ‘War on Terror’. This article investigates if, and why, civil injustice may lead people to resort to violence. We examine criminal cases emanating from civil disputes in two districts of Malakand – Swat and Dir - in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Relying on empirical evidence, we argue that civil injustice can lead to criminality, that is, it is a contributing factor. The article also discusses the legal anthropology of the jirga, an informal dispute resolution mechanism. We find that the jirga has been more successful in resolving criminal cases than civil disputes. We make specific recommendations for civil justice policy makers and hope this study will act as a baseline study for future research in this area.