Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan has been in the spotlight since 9/11. This tiny piece of land is crucial to all: a determinant of the military outcome in Afghanistan for international community; a strategic space for its hostile ally, Pakistan, for its ambitions in Afghanistan and beyond; a home to al-Qaeda, a special place in its mythology. Prospects of international and regional peace hinge on the situation in FATA; understanding its people and their ground reality has, thus, been more important than ever.

Based on extensive ground research in FATA, Taliban and...