SUMMARY

The Lashkar of Salarzai tribe is a tribal militia operating in the relatively remote Bajaur Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the north-western parts of of Pakistan. The militia was started and organized by the leaders (maliks) of the Salarzai tribe, one of the three main sub-tribes (clans) of the larger Tarkani tribe.

Living in the rugged highlands near the Pakistani-Afghan border, the Salarzai is ethnically Pashtun, following a conservative form of Sunni Islam and upholding the traditional, Pashtunwali honour code. Due to a number of factors, including the remoteness of the area and the more limited contact with the exterior, Salarzai tribal leaders (maliks) are stronger and wield much more influence within the populace than leaders of other tribes.

A lashkar is a traditional (typically non-permanent) militia called upon by leaders of a tribe, usually either for defensive purposes or in order to settle a feud with a rival tribe. Reports indicate that the Salarzai lashkar had been created in order to protect the authority of the maliks against the aggression of various fundamentalist Islamic militants, such as those belonging to TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan: Taleban Movement of Pakistan). Leadership of the lashkar is decentralized, remaining, typically, with the maliks and village elders that summoned it.

The Lashkar of Salarzai is described as well-organized and well-controlled (a fact attributable to the strength of the tribal leaders), but relatively weakly armed, having access to fewer resources than the militant insurgent groups it fights. Further, as the tribe fights the Taleban and is pro-government in orientation, it has elicited support from the Pakistani security forces, under various forms, including air strikes.

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