Civil Society Organizations and Peace-Building in Pakistan: A Case Study of Role of Paiman Alumni Trust in Identity Conflicts

Abstract

The insecurity created by the intra-state ethnic and religious identities has affected negatively the
situation of peace in Pakistan. The state’s responses failed to create harmony because identity
conflicts cannot be resolved with traditional tactics. It created room for Civil Society Organizations
(CSOs). The main aim of this research is to comprehend the role and activism of CSOs in identity
conflicts and complementary aims are to discern their strategy and approaches and analyze the
challenges they face in peace-building. The research is qualitative and analytical which employed
documents, observation, and interviews for addressing the objectives. The Paiman Alumni Trust is
adopted as case for in-depth and contextual study. The analytical framework for the CSOs functions
in peace-building has been developed while taking major inspiration from Paffenholz (2010) and
Orjuela (2008) which has two main themes i.e. protection and culture of peace. It is argued that
CSOs have the capacity and potential to address the issues of protection and a culture of peace. The
financial, structural, and ideological factors are disabling factors for CSOs.