| Waziristan rebellion (1948–1954) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of thePashtunistan conflict andPakistan-Afghanistan skirmishes | |||||||
.jpg) North (purple) and South (blue) Waziristan and surrounding Federally Administered Tribal Areas and provinces | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
.svg) WaziristanSupported by:  Afghanistan |  Pakistan | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Faqir of Ipi Mehar Dil  [2][3] | Liaqat Ali Khan Ayub Khan Leslie William | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 40,000+[5] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Low | ||||||
Waziristan rebellion was a rebellion by thePashtun leaderFaqir of Ipi to secede fromPakistan and establish a separatePashtun state ofPashtunistan.
British East India Company defeated the Sikhs during theSecond Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, and incorporated small parts of the region into theProvince of Punjab. While Peshawar was the site of a small revolt against the British during theMutiny of 1857, local Pashtun tribes throughout the region generally remained neutral or supportive of the British as they detested the Sikhs.[6]
In 1837,Lord Palmerston andJohn Hobhouse, fearing the instability ofAfghanistan, theSindh, and the increasing power of theSikh kingdom to the northwest, raised the spectre of a possible Russian invasion ofBritish India through Afghanistan. The British tended to misunderstand the foreign policy of the Emperor Nicholas I as anti-British and intent upon an expansionary policy in Asia.[7] The main goal of Nicholas's foreign policy was not the conquest of Asia, but rather upholding thestatus quo in Europe, especially by co-operating with Prussia andAustria, and in isolating France, asLouis Philippe I, the King of the French was a man whom Nicholas hated as a "usurper".[8]
Therefore, instead of fixating on the oriental other, the East India Company played up the threat of the Russian bear".[9] British fears of a Persian and Afghan invasion of India took one step closer to becoming a reality when negotiations between the Afghans and Russians broke down in 1838. TheQajar dynasty of Persia, with Russian support, attempted theSiege of Herat.[10] Herat, in Afghanistan, is a city that had historically belonged to Persia; the Qajar shahs had long desired to take it back. It is located in a plain so fertile that it is known as the "Granary of Central Asia"; whoever controls Herat and the surrounding countryside also controls the largest source of grain in all of Central Asia.[11]
On 1 October 1838, Lord Auckland issued the Simla Declaration attacking Dost Mohammed Khan for making "an unprovoked attack" on the empire of "our ancient ally, MaharajaRanjeet Singh", going on to declare that Shuja Shah was "popular throughout Afghanistan" and would enter his former realm "surrounded by his own troops and be supported against foreign interference and factious opposition by the British Army".[12] The British denied that they were invading Afghanistan, claiming they were merely supporting its "legitimate" Shuja government "against foreign interference and factious opposition."[13] Shuja Shah by 1838 was barely remembered by most of his former subjects and those that did viewed him as a cruel, tyrannical ruler who, as the British were soon to learn, had almost no popular support in Afghanistan.[12]
This ultimately resulted in theFirst Anglo-Afghan War which resulted in the Emirate of Afghanistan emerging victor and caused heavy losses to the British and British East India Company causedretreat from Kabul.[14]
After tension between Russia and Britain in Europe ended with the June 1878Congress of Berlin, Russia turned its attention to Central Asia. That same summer, Russia sent an uninvited diplomatic mission to Kabul.Sher Ali Khan, theAmir of Afghanistan, tried unsuccessfully to keep them out. Russian envoys arrived in Kabul on 22 July 1878, and on 14 August, the British demanded that Sher Ali accept a British mission too.[15] The Amir not only refused to receive a British mission underNeville Bowles Chamberlain, but threatened to stop it if it were dispatched.Lord Lytton, theviceroy of India, ordered a diplomatic mission to set out for Kabul in September 1878 but the mission was turned back as it approached the eastern entrance of theKhyber Pass, triggering the Second Anglo–Afghan War.[16]
With British forces occupyingKabul, Sher Ali's son and successor, Yaqub Khan, signed theTreaty of Gandamak on 26 May 1879. According to this agreement and in return for an annual subsidy and vague assurances of assistance in case of foreign aggression, Yaqub relinquished control of Afghan foreign affairs to Britain. British representatives were installed in Kabul and other locations, and their control was extended to theKhyber andMichni passes, and Afghanistan ceded variousNorth-West Frontier Provinceareas andQuetta to Britain which included the strategic fort ofJamrud. Yaqub Khan also renounced all rights to interfering in the internal affairs of theAfridi tribe. In return, Yaqub Khan who only received an annual subsidy of 600,000 rupees, with the British pledging to withdraw all forces from Afghanistan excludingKandahar.[17][18] Ayub Khan, who had been serving as governor of Herat, rose in revolt, defeated a British detachment at theBattle of Maiwand in July 1880 and besieged Kandahar. Roberts then led the main British force from Kabul and decisively defeated Ayub Khan on 1 September at theBattle of Kandahar, bringing his rebellion to an end.[19] Despite this, no further trouble resulted between Afghanistan and British India during Rahman's period of rule. The Russians kept well out of Afghan internal affairs, with the exception of thePanjdeh incident three years later, resolved by arbitration and negotiation after an initial British ultimatum.[20]
The British cededKandahar toAfghanistan.[21] The Districts ofQuetta,Pishin,Sibi,Harnai & Thal Chotiali ceded toBritish India[22] The war resulted in a British victory[23]
In 1893,Mortimer Durand was dispatched to Kabul by British India to sign an agreement with Rahman for fixing the limits of their respectivespheres of influence as well as improving diplomatic relations and trade. On November 12, 1893, theDurand Line Agreement was reached. This led to the creation of a newNorth-West Frontier Province.
Several princely states within the boundaries of the region were allowed to maintain their autonomy under the terms of maintaining friendly ties with the British. As the British war effort duringWorld War One demanded the reallocation of resources from British India to the European war fronts, some tribesmen from Afghanistan crossed the Durand Line in 1917 to attack British posts in an attempt to gain territory and weaken the legitimacy of the border. The validity of the Durand Line, however, was re-affirmed in 1919 by the Afghan government with the signing of theTreaty of Rawalpindi,[24] which ended theThird Anglo-Afghan War.
The prelude to the 1919–1920 campaign was an incursion by theMahsud Tribe in the summer of 1917 while British forces were otherwise engaged fighting in theFirst World War. The British Forces eventually restored calm, however, in 1919 the Waziris took advantage of unrest in British India following theThird Anglo-Afghan War to launch more raids against British garrisons. It has been asserted that one of the reasons for these raids was that a rumour had been spread amongst the Wazirs and the Mahsuds, that Britain was going to give control of Waziristan to Afghanistan as part of the peace settlement following the Third Anglo-Afghan War. Buoyed by this prospect and sensing British weakness, the tribes were encouraged to launch a series of large scale raids in the administered areas. By November 1919, they had killed over 200 people and wounded a further 200.[25]
The Mahsuds took heavy casualties during the fighting at Ahnai Tangi and it was these casualties, as well as the destruction of their villages a month later by bombers of theRoyal Air Force, that temporarily subdued the Mahsuds. When the Wana Wazirs rose up in November 1920, they appealed for help from the Mahsuds, but still recovering from their earlier defeat, no support was forthcoming and the Wazir opposition faded away. On 22 December 1920, Wana was re-occupied.[26]
TheWaziristan Campaign was a road construction effort and military campaign conducted from 21 December 1921 to 31 March 1924 byBritish andIndian forces inWaziristan (in what is now Pakistan).[27] These operations were part of the new Forward Policy, which sought to reduce and eventually eliminate tribal uprisings and tribal raids into settled districts by stationing regular troops inside Waziristan, which would then be capable of swiftly responding to Waziri rebellions.[27] The rebel tribes attempted to harass the British troops, but were unsuccessful in stopping the British road construction efforts. Hugh Beattie provided a detailed account of the conflict in chapter 7 ofEmpire and Tribe in the Afghan Frontier Region: Custom, Conflict and British Strategy in Waziristan until 1947.[28]
The defence of theNorth-West Frontier Province was an important task forBritish India. In the 1920s, the British were engaged in a continuing effort to defendBritish Indian Army bases against raids from NativePashtun tribesmen in the province. In July 1924, the British mounted operations against several of the Mahsud tribes in southern Waziristan and by October most tribes had ceased their activities. Only theAbdur Rahman Khel tribe and three other supporting tribes continued to attack army posts.[29]
On 1 May 1925, after just over 50 days of bombing, the tribal leaders sought peace to end the bombing, bringing the short campaign to a close.[30] Only two British lives and one aircraft were lost during the campaign; Mahsud casualties are not known.[30][29] Pink's War was the first air action of the RAF carried out independently of the British Army or Royal Navy.
In 1919–1920, the British had fought acampaign against the Wazir tribes. Minor skirmishes had continued into 1921, but after the establishment of a permanent garrison atRazmak there had been a period of relative peace in the region.[26] Throughout 1921–1924 the British undertook a road construction effort in the region that led to further conflict during the1921–1924 campaign.[28] In 1936, trouble again flared up in Waziristan in the form of a political and religious agitation by Mirzali Khan. For some time, there had been growing unrest in the region, fueled by a perception of a weakening of British resolve to govern following a number of constitutional changes in India; however, following a trial of a Muslim student on a charge of abducting a Hindu girl, Mirzali Khan began spreading anti-British sentiment in earnest, claiming that the government was interfering in a religious matter.[31]
In late November 1936, in order to reassert the perception of control over the region, with the approval of the Tori Khelmaliks, the
government of India decided to move troops through theKhaisora Valley. This would be achieved by marching a column from the garrison atRazmak to the east, to join up at the village of Bichhe Kashkai with a column from theBannu Brigade, which would advance from the south fromMirali.[32] By this stage ofBritish rule in India there were strict rules governing such expeditions on theNorth West Frontier, and as the purpose of the expedition was only as a demonstration to the tribesmen of government resolve, the decision was made that no offensive action was to be taken unless troops were fired upon.[32]
The Razmak column,[33] known asRazcol, began the march without incident, but after three days came under fire while traversing a narrow valley about 10 miles (16 km) short of Bichhe Kashkai. Intense fighting ensued as the column had to fight its way through to the village, while the two Indian battalions that made upTocol from Mirali ran into even tougher opposition and were delayed until the following day. The supply situation was desperate and casualties numbered around 100, so it was decided to withdraw both columns back to Mirali. This was achieved, but the picquets and rearguard were heavily engaged on numerous occasions before they arrived.[34]
While the British attempted to stamp out the insurrection by drawing the tribesmen into decisive engagement, Mirzali Khan remained at large (and indeed was never caught), and on the main, the tribesmen managed to avoid being drawn into battle using guerrilla tactics of ambush in order to keep the initiative. In doing so, they inflicted considerable casualties upon the British and Indian troops. An example of this occurred in April 1937, when a convoy from Wanna was ambushed in theShahur Tangidefile. Using captured mountain guns and modern rifles, the vehicles were destroyed and the exits blocked, and in the ensuing battle seven officers and 45 men were killed, while another 47 were wounded.[35] The tribesmen did not have everything their way, however, as the British began quartering the troubled areas and destroying hostile villages with both air[36] and ground forces. These forces included fivebatteries of mechanised field artillery, twocompanies ofMk II andMk IIb Light Tanks and sixsquadrons of aircraft includingHawker Harts,Westland Wapitis andHawker Audaxs.[37]
By December 1937, the Mirzali Khan's support began to wane and following this, the decision was made to withdraw most of the additional brigades that had been brought up to bolster the garrisons at Razmak, Bannu and Wanna as it was decided that their presence would only serve to inflame the situation.[38] After 1939, the North West Frontier quieted down, and remained reasonably peaceful. Apart from the occasional raid on a village or attack on a garrison, things would remain this way until the end of British rule in 1947 whenanother rebellion was launched against the state of Pakistan.[39]
DuringBritish rule in India in 1893,Mortimer Durand drew theDurand Line, fixing the limits of the spheres of influence between theEmirate of Afghanistan andBritish India during theGreat Game and leaving about half of historical Pashtun territory under British colonial rule; after thepartition of India, the Durand Line now forms the internationally recognized border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.[40]
In 1946, theLabour government in Britain, exhausted by recent events such asWorld War II and numerous riots, realized that it had neither
the mandate at home, the support internationally, nor the reliability of theBritish Indian Army for continuing to control an increasingly restlessBritish India. The reliability of thenative forces for continuing their control over an increasingly rebellious India diminished, and so the government decided to end the British rule of the Indian Subcontinent.[41]: 167, 203 [42][43][44] In 1946, theIndian National Congress, being asecular party,demanded a single state.[45][46] The All India Muslim League, who disagreed with the idea of single state, stressed the idea of a separate Pakistan as an alternative.[47][48] On 14 August 1947, the new Dominion of Pakistan became independent and Muhammad Ali Jinnah was sworn in as its firstgovernor general in Karachi.[49] Independence was marked with widespread celebration, but the atmosphere remained heated given the communal riots prevalent during independence in 1947.
In the frontier tribal zone, the element of decolonization raised more concerns than it answered, as it did in many other parts of the subcontinent. The tribal zone was technically attributed to Pakistan due to vague assurances, but it was unclear who would be in charge of the area's defense as well as its future political and economic growth. Some Pashtun chiefs, like Ghaffar Khan in the NWFP and the Faqir of Ipi in the tribal region, continued to oppose partition and Pakistan even though major jirgas eventually backed Pakistan.[50]
On 21 June 1947, the Faqir of Ipi,Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and otherKhudai Khidmatgars held a jirga in Bannu during which they declared theBannu Resolution, demanding that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state ofPashtunistan composing all Pashtun majority territories of British India, instead of being made to join the new dominions ofIndia orPakistan.[51] September 2, 1947,To foster tribal support for an independent Pashtunistan, the Faqir of Ipi and other rising leaders of the movement, like Malik Wali Khan of the Afridi tribesmen, organized a number of jirgas, the majority of which were held in Afghanistan but also on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line. According to reports, the jirgas highlighted the pressing need of tribal collaboration and unity against Pakistan.[52]
The Pashtun and Baluch lands were included in Pakistan, Afghanistan strongly objected to UN without giving the locals a chance to exercise their right to self-determination. The Durrani monarchy expressed its opposition to Pakistan's UN admittance and assert irredentist claims to the Pashto-speaking regions of Pakistan's NWFP and Balochistan provinces. A 'Pakhtunistan' flag was flown in Kabul alongside the national flag of Afghanistan on September 2, 1947.[53][52]
However, the British government refused to comply with the demand of theBannu Resolution and only the options forPakistan andIndia were given.[54][55]
TheFaqir of Ipi rejected the creation ofPakistan after thepartition of British India, considering Pakistan to have only come into existence at the insistence of the British.[56] In 1948, theFaqir of Ipi took control ofNorth Waziristan'sDatta Khel area and declared the establishment of an independentPashtunistan, forming ties with regional leaders including PrinceMohammad Daoud Khan and other leaders.[57][58]
During a reconnaissance 700 tribesmen were bombed by Two Pakistani jets, would return fire to those who had attacked them. Afghan media caught attention of the skirmish, which painted the meeting as a callous assault on Pashtun women and children, possibly without doing so. Remarkably, though, the tribesmen scattered rather than escalating into a more serious conflict.[59]
In June 1949 aPakistan Air Force warplane inadvertentlybombed the Afghan village of Mughalgai on theWaziristan border with Afghanistan while chasing thePashtunistan separatists who attacked Pakistani border posts from Afghanistan. This attack killed 23 people and further fuelled Afghan support for Pashtunistan.[60][61]
On 29 May 1949, theFaqir of Ipi called a tribal jirga in his headquarters ofGurwek and askedPakistan to acceptPashtunistan as an independent state. He published a Pashto-language newspaper,Ghāzī, from Gurwek to promote his ideas.[62]Afghanistan also provided financial support to thePashtunistan movement under the leadership of theFaqir of Ipi.[62] Faqir also established a rifle factory inGurwek with the material support provided by the government ofAfghanistan.[62]
In January 1950, a Pashtunloya jirga inRazmak symbolically appointed the Faqir of Ipi as the first president of the "National Assembly forPashtunistan".[62]
TheTochi Scouts captured 31 people belonging to the force of Faqir of Ipi. The communique further states that under the direction of the Political Agent for North Waziristan, Mr Hamzoni Daurs, the house of a man was razed to the ground by the scouts, which was used to facilitate Faqir of Ipi and his gang. The khassadar posts which were damaged by Faqir of Ipi's forces were apprehended; six of them were disguised as women.[4]
A group of die-hard persons from the military andGilgit scouts were recruited and trained, to form a new directorate of theISI. Their main task was to counter the influence of theFaqir of Ipi and to delay any Afghan incursion until the main force of thePakistan Army arrives. Until November 1954, the CAD was mostly aimed to counter insurgency in Waziristan.
In 1953–1954, thePAF'sNo. 14 Squadron led an operation from Miran Shah airbase and heavily bombarded theFaqir of Ipi's compound inGurwek.[62][66]
In July 1949, The Afghan Government atTirah in Pakistan along the border sponsored a "Pakhtoonistan Government", Haji Mirza Ali Khan (Fakir of lpi) led the Movement. The Pakistan Prime Minister,Liaquat Ali Khan termed the movement as entirely a of the imagination of certain individuals in Afghanistan. The Afghan Parliament incited the tribesmen to revolt in the name of "Pakhtoonistan", They declared that "They do not recognize the imaginary Durand or any line". The Afghan media intensified their propaganda against Pakistan.[67]
The boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan was violated by Afghan officers, soldiers and tribesmen. The Afghan government would also incite Pashtuns in Pakistan through radio-broad casts. One radio transmission announced
Pashtun brethren wake up, eradicate your personal enmity and rally round the red banner of Pashtunistan. Beware the nefarious designs of the enemies who are determined to shackle you in perpetual slavery. Unsheathe your swords and end the hold of Durand Line.[68]
According to Indian observers, people suspected as Pakistani agents were arrested on the Afghan side of the border, and when an attempt uponPrime Minister Mahmud's life was made by law-breakers, Pakistan was instantly blamed by Afghans.[69] With the rise of disputes and tensions, Pakistan responded with economic sanctions upon Afghanistan; the import of petrol into Afghanistan though Pakistan was halted which affected all of Afghanistan, including the people and even the government that relied on Pakistani trade routes. These sanctions worsened the economic situation in Afghanistan, and in return the Afghans threatened Pakistan that they would turn for help to theSoviets.[69][70]
The dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan caused Pakistani officials to harbour suspicions aboutIndia, that it might be supporting Afghanistan and its demand for an autonomous or semi-autonomous Pashtunistan.[71] Prem Krishen, the deputy secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs India quoted:
From the political angle, our Ambassador's recommendation is that we should help Afghanistan generally as far as possible, and we should do what we can, without taking any direct steps, to prevent Pakistan annexing the tribal belt. Secretary- General's view, expressed in connection with the recent Afghan request for support over the Pathanistan issue, was that "we should limit ourselves to diplomatic backing of Afghanistan's stand and to substantial economic, even military aid, in the form of equipment, facilities for training, etc., so as to convince her of the sincerity of our friendship.[72]
According to Author Elisabeth Leake, violent tribesmen in Afghanistan and the Pashtunistan movement was backed by prominent Indian authorities which gave aid to the movement.[71] The support for tribal autonomy by India was based on the strong relationships between Congress leaders and theKhudai Khidmatgars in many ways, such asAbdul Ghaffar Khan, who was known to be close to the Congress leadership. When the UN Security Council was debating the Kashmir issue, Indian officials understood that going to great lengths to back Afghanistan directly would be an unwise move from a political and diplomatic point of view.[71] It was also reported that Ghaffar had been issuing messages to the Fakir of Ipi with the help of Afghan authorities to cause unrest in Waziristan.[73]Douglas Gracey also assessed that Afghanistan was being encouraged by India to cause unrest in Waziristan by supplying financial aid to the movement.[73]
James W. Spain - an American diplomat - stated that both India and Afghanistan provided financial aid to Pashtunistan movement, and Indian authorities even made an attempt at a direct payment to Faqir of ipi.[74]C. L. Sulzberger stated that the Faqir of Ipi had indeed received payments amounting to 600,000rupees from India.[74]
After sometime, theFaqir of Ipi's relations with the government ofAfghanistan deteriorated and he became aloof.[75] By this time, his movement had also started losing popular support. ThePashtun tribesmen were no longer willing to fight after the departure of British as the Faqir's reasoning of wagingjihad against a foreign power was no longer considered valid.[75]
According to Elisabeth Leake, Dawn reported on a jirga of Utmanzai tribal leaders in Waziristan who decried the Faqir of Ipi, declaring:
We tribesmen have cooperated with you the Faqir of Ipi in the past when you launched a Jihad against the imperialist encroachments of the British alien rulers. But today the Pakistan Government is our own Government. Your activities against Pakistan are, therefore, un-Islamic in concept and character and fraught with serious dangers to the unity and solidarity of the tribal people.[52]
Although he himself never surrendered until his death, his movement diminished after 1954 when hiscommander-in-chief surrendered to thePakistani authorities.[2][3]
British forces were victorious and Sher Ali was deposed
By the end of 1945, he and the Commander-in-chief,General Auckinleck were advising that there was a real threat in 1946 of large scale anti-British disorder amounting to even a well-organised rising aiming to expel the British by paralysing the administration.
...it was clear to Attlee that everything depended on the spirit and reliability of the Indian Army:"Provided that they do their duty, armed insurrection in India would not be an insoluble problem. If, however, the Indian Army was to go the other way, the picture would be very different.
...Thus,Wavell concluded, if the army and the police "failed" Britain would be forced to go. In theory, it might be possible to revive and reinvigorate the services, and rule for another fifteen to twenty years, but:It is a fallacy to suppose that the solution lies in trying to maintain the status quo. We have no longer the resources, nor the necessary prestige or confidence in ourselves.
India had always been a minority interest in British public life; no great body of public opinion now emerged to argue that war-weary and impoverished Britain should send troops and money to hold it against its will in an empire of doubtful value. By late 1946 both Prime Minister andSecretary of State for India recognised that neither international opinion nor their own voters would stand for any reassertion of theraj, even if there had been the men, money, and administrative machinery with which to do so
With a war weary army and people and a ravaged economy, Britain would have had to retreat; the Labour victory only quickened the process somewhat.
The Indian National Congress and the nationalists of Bengal firmly opposed the partition.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Prior to the partition of India in 1947 into two separate nation-states, a group of Western-educated Indian Muslims who constituted the Muslim League, the pivotal Muslim political organization in undivided India, ardently advocated the logical of creating a separate homeland for Indian Muslims.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| Domestic | |
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