The War Against Civilians Victims of the “War on Terror” in Afghanistan and Pakistan

This book provides a critical analysis of how the “war on terror” affected the civilian population in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This “forgotten war,” which started in 2001 with the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, has seen more than 212,000 people killed in war-related incidents. Whilst most of the news media shifted their attention to other conflict zones, this war rages on. Badalic has amassed a vast amount of data on the civilian victims of war from both sides of the Durand line, the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He conducted interviews in Peshawar, Quetta, Islamabad, Kabul, Jalalabad, and many other cities and villages from 2008 to 2017. His data is mostly drawn from those extensive conversations held with civilian victims of war, Afghan and Pakistani officials, human-rights activists and members of the insurgency.

The book is divided into three parts. The first examines the impact the US-led coalition, Afghan security forces and paramilitary groups had on civilians, with methods of combat such as drone strikes and kill-or-capture missions. The second part focuses on civilian victims of abuses of power by Pakistani security forces, including arbitrary detentions and forced disappearances. In the final part, Badalic explores the impact of unlawful practices used by the armed insurgency – the Afghan Taliban. Overall, the book seeks to tell the story of the civilian victims of the “War on Terror".

1. Introduction: Creating A Reign Of Terror.- 2. Inherently Imprecise Killings: Civilian Victims In U.S. Drone Strikes In Afghanistan And Pakistan.- 3. Death Comes At Night: Civilian Victims In U.S. Kill-Or-Capture Missions In Afghanistan.- 4. The War On Due Process: Civilian Victims Of The U.S. Arbitrary Detention Program In Afghanistan.- 5. Systemic Torture, The New Normal: Civilian Victims Of “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” In Afghan Detention Facilities. - 6. In Militias We Trust: Civilian Victims Of Targeted Killings By Pro-Government Armed Groups In Afghanistan.- 7. The “White Detainees”: Civilian Victims Of Arbitrary Detentions In Pakistan.- 8. The “Disappeared”: Civilian Victims Of Enforced Disappearances In Pakistan.- 9. Death Sentences On Twitter: Civilian Victims Of Secret Military Courts In Pakistan.- 10. The Reverse Exodus: The Forced Repatriation Of Afghan Refugees In Pakistan.- 11. Eliminating “Pernicious Individuals”: Civilian Victims Of The Afghan Taliban’s Targeted Killing Program.- 12. Executions, Amputations, And Lashings: Civilian Victims Of The Afghan Taliban’s Parallel Justice System.- 13. Taking “Civilian Criminals” As Hostages: Civilian Victims Of Abductions By The Afghan Taliban.

Vasja Badalic is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, Slovenia. His primary fields of research are contemporary imperialism and migration. He has published many peer-reviewed articles in academic journals and monographs, including in Drones & Unmanned Aerial Systems (2016).