Publication

This report examines the tension in the Federally Administered Northern Areas in Pakistan. It argues that an institutional void has developed, leaving room for religious organizations with extremist tendencies to expand their influence. It further states that the Northern Areas have become a training-ground for Sunni militants, a development that has ignited hostility with the region’s Shia majority. The paper concludes by proposing to extend the autonomy to the Federally Administered Northern Areas and suggests implementing the Pakistani Supreme Court's recommendations that widen the constitutional rights to the region’s people, particularly access to an independent judiciary system.