SUMMARY

The Mishti (or Mishti Khel) are a Pashtun clan, or sub-tribe, of the Orakzai tribal family, mainly inhabiting the area around Mishti Khel town in the Orakzai agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in north-western Pakistan. The Mishti are one of the so-called Hamsaya clans, i.e. historically they are not Orakzai proper, but rather immigrants that put themselves under the protection of a local tribal leader, a so called malik. Currently, however, the Mishti are, in nearly all respects (language, customs, traditions, religion etc.), identical to other Orakzai tribes. Furthermore, the Mishti are mainly followers of a conservative form of Sunni Islam, combined with the traditional Pashtunwali honour code.

The areas inhabited by the Mishti have been confronted by fairly high levels of violence, especially after 2001, as Taliban militants infiltrated and found save-havens in the area. This led to an overall decrease in overall security, as the government lost authority and could no longer offer essential services as it was using all its resources trying to fight the Taliban. Additionally, as the fundamentalist ideology of the Taliban permeated tribal culture, inter-tribal fights and sectarian violence ignited.

Leadership of the Mishti tribe is exerted along traditional lines, with land-owners, religious figures and elders (maliks) taking decisions while meeting in traditional assemblies of various size, known as jergas or jirgas. The Mishti tribe can also convene a traditional tribal army, a so called ‘lashkar’, in order to protect the tribe or fight rivals.

The Mishti tribe has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organised violence.