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Girl’s education has long been a topic of debate in Pakistan, with lowest enrolment rates among Pashtun populations in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). This qualitative paper investigates the barriers to girls’ education in the erstwhile South Waziristan with an emphasis on Tehsil Makeen. The perspectives of many stakeholders belonging to South Waziristan with varied backgrounds are gathered through in-depth qualitative open-ended questionnaires. The interviewees include parents of the girls, teachers / head mistresses, social workers, schoolage girls, and personnel of education department. The interviewees cited Pashtunwali (Pashtun Code of Conduct), poverty, lack of educational institutions, lack of female teachers, accessibility issue, and lack of government interest and will. While conducting this research, liberal feminist theory is applied as theoretical framework. In this paper, we find out that Pashtunwali, poverty, lack of educational institutions, lack of female teachers, accessibility to schools, and lack of government interest are the major hurdles in girl’s education. The paper also offers certain suggestions to the government to overcome the barriers that hinder the girls from acquiring education in South Waziristan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last two decades, much have been written on Balochistan and the Baloch ethnonational movement but none examined the rise and fall of the Baloch national movement and the internal divisions amongst the contending Baloch tribes and the covert roles played by different actors of the time. Thus, this paper aims to fill this gap and it critically evaluate the rise and fall of Baloch nationalism during the British era, 1839 to 1947-48. It discusses the advent of the British to Balochistan and their policies towards the Khanate of Kalat. The paper also recounts the internal division between the various and contending Baloch tribes as well as the covert role played by the members of the ruling family of Kalat, the Kalat administration, and the Baloch Sardars. The main argument of this research revolves around the conundrum of internal division amongst the contending Baloch tribes and the dual role played by the Khan (the ruler of Kalat) that weakens the Khanate of Kalat, which ultimately incorporated into the Pakistani federation in 1948. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, Balochistan connected the pre-partitioned India with Middle East and Central Asia through MakranCoast and Bolan Pass, respectively. Alexander the Great and his army marched through the coastal area of Makran as a shortest route to return back home from India. The Arabs under Mohammad Bin Qasim marched along the coastline of Makran in early 8th Century to invade Sindh. The expansionist Tsarist Russian Empire desired to make inroads into the Indian subcontinent through the Kalat State during the Great Game. Owing to the strategic Bolan Pass and Makran coastline, the British Empire colonized the Kalat State and other Baloch princely states after the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42). The competing European powers during the First and Second World Warshad their strategic footprints in Balochistan. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was believed to be an expansionist attempt to access the warm waters of the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean via Balochistan. In early 21st Century, the seismic shifts in global politics after 9/11 and the quests for geopolitical and geo-economic domination once again brought Balochistaninto the spotlight of power politics. This research paper analyses the history, geopolitics and ethnic conflict of Balochistan by applying a qualitative method based on explanatory, descriptive and analytical approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to critically investigate the role of the British in the state of Kalat (Kalat Confederacy) and the merger of the later into the Pakistani federation. The paper has three sections. Firstly, it examines the establishment of Kalat Confederacy. Secondly, it investigates the arrival of the British to Kalat and its relationship with it (Kalat) until 1947. Thirdly, it critically discusses the fall of Kalat and its integration into the Pakistani federation. The merger of Kalat to Pakistan is interpreted differently by several historians and researchers. However, none of them examine the role of the British and the Baloch tribal chiefs vis-à-vis the merger of Kalat into the state of Pakistan. Therefore, this research is an attempt to investigate the role of the British in Kalat’s affairs and its final merger into the Pakistani federation. The paper argues that the clandestine role played by the Baloch sardars and the members of the ruling family is responsible for giving space to the British and its eventual fall and amalgamation into the Pakistani federation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between socioeconomic deprivation fanaticism and terrorism in Pakistan using Waziristan as a case study. It claims that major cause of radicalization was the weak and meagre socio-economic conditions including the negligence of the region by the successive governments since the creation of Pakistan. The research concludes that poverty and socioeconomic backwardness has serious implications in causing radicalism and resultantly it foments terrorism in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will present a critical review of the Baloch and Balochistan showing that how the Baloch have evolved to become a nation, and Balochistan from being a hinterland in Iranian plateau to a province of Pakistani federation. The paper will discuss the origin of the Baloch and examine the various theories about the origin of the Baloch nation and argue that neither the primordialist nor the modernist theories of nationhood can explain the Baloch nation. In fact, it is the ethno-symbolists that offer the best understanding of the Baloch as a nation. The Baloch nation is heterogeneous in its composition, being an admixture of various ethnic, racial, and linguistic groups over a long period of time. Baloch nationalism, however, is best understandable via the modernist theories of nationalism. The paper will contend that the Baloch nation is neither ancient nor modern because it emerged as a nation before the era of enlightenment and the French revolution. The paper will elaborate the modern Baloch nation, the birth of 'Baloch Confederacy' in its historical perspective, from the arrival of the British in 1839 to the fall of the State of Kalat into the Pakistani federation in 1948. The paper will finally provide a brief but robust analysis on the emergence, evolution and dynamics of contemporary Baloch nationalism vis-à-vis the federation of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely accepted that the use of advance agriculture technology increases the yields and/or agriculture output. While the dominance of technology in the agriculture sector, the factors affecting the adoption and management of the various agriculture technologies cannot be ignored. Pakistan, like other developing economies, largely depends on agriculture. Therefore, it is quite surprising that like other developing countries, Pakistan is still struggling to access the modern advance agriculture technology of the 21st century. This paper deals with the questions vital to identify the factors affecting the use of appropriate and available agricultural technologies in Peach farming. Peach farming is the largest in terms of cropland use and the production in District Swat amongst other districts in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, in terms of productivity and yield, it is found significantly low concerning identified potential. An objective analysis is conducted to identify the available technologies and factors that affect the extent of usage in the sample farm households and communities. The collected data with the help of questionnaire was analyzed with frequency distribution, percentages and mean values. Empirically, aprobit model is used to determine the influence of different factors on the adoption of new technologies. It is revealed that the main factors that affect the level of the adaptation new technologies are the lack of information about new technologies and lack of credit services. The probit model indicated that there are significant links between lack of information, lack of credit funds, the high cost of fertilizers, lack of improved verities and adoption of appropriate technologies. Government intervention is highly needed to facilitate the access to technology and ensure the availability of inputs for the adoption of technology. The results and recommendations are indicative to take the appropriate measure for the development of peach farming and adoption of advance technology in the agriculture that could have taken to improve the yield and produce at its maximum potential for the benefit of masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the history of the Baloch ethno-national conflict within the Pakistani federation and its evolving trends over the time. It further examines the strategies of the state in resolving the conflict within the federation of Pakistan. This paper also deliberates whether the ongoing conflict(2002 to date) is about power sharing, self-determination, complete independence, or the failure of the state to address the Baloch problem within the parameters of federation. The paper is qualitative in nature which investigated and analysed different facts and events that displayed flaws in the Pakistani federation which has been unsuccessful to bridge the political differences of the Baloch within the federal structure of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]