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Haji Mirzali Khan حاجي میرزاعلي خان | |
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| Born | c. 1897 |
| Died | 16 April 1960(1960-04-16) (aged 62–63) |
| Resting place | Gurwek, North Waziristan, Pakistan |
| Known for |
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| Parent | Sheikh Arsala Khan |
HajiMirzali Khan Wazir (Pashto:حاجي میرزاعلي خان وزیر), commonly known as theFaqir of Ipi (فقير ايپي), was a tribal chief and adversary to theBritish Raj fromNorth Waziristan in what is nowKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[1][2]
After performing hisHajj pilgrimage in 1923, Mirzali Khan settled in Ipi, a village located nearMirali in north Waziristan, from where he started a campaign ofguerrilla warfare against the British Empire. In 1938, he shifted from Ipi toGurwek, a remote village in north Waziristan on the border withAfghanistan, where he propagated idea of an independent state,Pashtunistan, and continued his raids against the British, using bases in Afghanistan.[3] He had the support ofNazi Germany in his warfare against British Raj.[4][5]
On 21 June 1947, the Faqir of Ipi, along with his allies including the Khudai Khidmatgars and members of the Provincial Assembly, declared theBannu Resolution which demanded that the Pashtuns should be given a third choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan.[6] TheBritish government refused to comply with this demand.[7][8]
After theindependence of Pakistan in August 1947, Afghanistan and India financially sponsored the Pashtunistan movement under the leadership of the Faqir of Ipi.[9] He started the guerilla warfare against the new nation's government.[10] However, he couldn't succeed and his resistance diminished in the early 1950s.[11]
Mirzali Khan was born around 1897 at Shankai Kirta, a village nearKhajuri in theTochi Valley of North Waziristan, present day Pakistan, to Sheikh Arslan Khan Wazir.[12]
He was aPashtun from the Torikhel branch of theUtmanzai Wazir tribe.[13] His father died when he was twelve. He studied until fourth grade at a government school and later pursued religious studies atBannu.[citation needed]
He built a mosque and a house at Spalga, further south in North Waziristan agency in 1922.[citation needed] He went to performHajj atMecca and later moved to Ipi in mid 1920s.[citation needed] He became a religious figure among the locals and was called "Haji Sahab" and was known for the introduction of bothSharia andQanun law to Waziristan and for the introduction of the formal administration of justice and fairness in Ipi.[citation needed]
In 1933, the Faqir of Ipi went toAfghanistan to fight against theMohammadzai Afghan King atKhost to support the restoration of KingAmanullah Khan. In 1944, the Faqir of Ipi joined his fellowLoya Paktia tribesmen again to support the restoration of Amanullah Khan in theAfghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947.[14] Until his death, the Faqir of Ipi remained involved in Afghan politics.[11]
In March 1936, a British Indian court ruled against the marriage of Islam Bibi, née Ram Kori, a Hindu girl who converted to Islam, atJandikhel,Bannu, after the girl's family filed case of abduction and forced conversion. The ruling was based on the fact that the girl was a minor and was asked to make her decision of conversion and marriage after she reaches the age of majority, until then she was asked to live with a third party.[15] The verdict enraged the Pashtuns, and further mobilized the Faqir of Ipi for a guerrilla campaign against the British Empire.
TheDawar maliks and mullahs left the Tochi for the Khaisor Valley to the south to rouse the TorikhelWazirs. A month after the incident, the Faqir of Ipi called a tribaljirga (Pashtun council) in the village of Ipi near Mirali to declare war against the British Empire.[citation needed]
Faqir's decision to declare war against the British was endorsed by the local Pashtun tribes, who mustered two large lashkars 10,000 strong to battle the British.[citation needed] Many Pashtun women also took part in Ipi's guerilla campaigns, not only actively participated in the campaign but also singinglandai (a short folk-song sung by Pashtun women) to inspire the Pashtun fighters.[citation needed]
Widespread lawlessness erupted as the Pashtuns blocked roads, overran outposts and ambushed convoys. In November 1936, the British Indian government sent two columns to the Khaisor river valley to rout Ipi's guerillas, but suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat.[16]
Soon after the Khaisor campaign a general uprising broke out throughout Waziristan. Asuccessful British campaign suppressed the uprising, leading to the realization of the futility of confronting the British directly especially with their advantage of air power. Ipi and his militants switched to guerrilla warfare. Squadrons of the two air forces (RAF andRIAF) launched numerous sorties against Ipi's forces, including dropping Jerrycan petrol bombs on crop fields and strafing herds of cattle.
In 1937, the British sent over 40,000 British-Indian troops, mostlySikhs from thePunjab, to defeat Ipi's guerillas.This was in response to an ambush by Pashtun Waziristani tribesmen in which they had killed over 50 British Indian soldiers.However, the operation failed and by December, the troops were sent back to theircantonments.
In 1939, the British Indian government claimed that the war capacity of the Faqir of Ipi's forces was enhanced by support fromNazi Germany andItaly, alleging that the Italian diplomatPietro Quaroni drove the Italian policy for involvement in Waziristan, although the British were unable find any concrete evidence for Quaroni's involvement.[16]
The British eventually suppressed the agitation by imposing fines and by demolishing the houses of their leaders, including that of the Faqir of Ipi.However, the pyrrhic nature of their victory and the subsequent withdrawal of the troops was credited by the Pashtuns (Wazir tribe) to be a manifestation of the Faqir of Ipi's miraculous powers.
He succeeded in inducing a semblance of tribal unity (something which was noted by the British Indian government) among various sections of Pashtuns including theKhattaks, Wazirs, Dawar,Mahsuds andBettanis.[citation needed] He cemented his position as religious leader by declaring aJihad against the British.[citation needed]
This move also helped rally support from Pashtun tribesmen across the border. In 1946, the British again attempted to decisively defeat Ipi's movement, but this effort was unsuccessful.
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 of India or Pakistan.[6]
However, the British government refused to comply with the demand of the Bannu Resolution and only the options for Pakistan and India were given.[7][8]
Faqir of Ipi refused to recognise the partition of India and launched an armedrebellion against Pakistan which was suppressed by Pakistani airforce, decline and the general lack of interest by local people.
Later on, the Faqir of Ipi, while addressing a gathering atRazmak, said that theGovernment of Afghanistan had misled him and deceived him in the name of Islam.[17] He instructed his supporters that if the Government of Afghanistan made any future plan against Pakistan in his name, they should never support it.[17]
As a result, Afghanistan was compelled to issue an open warning to the Faqir of Ipi and told him to refrain from any anti-Pakistan activities.[17]
The Faqir of Ipi died at night on April 16, 1960. Long suffering fromasthma, during his last days, he was too sick to walk a few steps. People from far away often used to come and see him and ask for his blessing.[citation needed] His funeral prayers or Namaz-I-Janaza was held atGurwek led by Maulavi Pir Rehman. Thousands of people came for his Namaz-I-Janaza.[citation needed] He was buried at Gurwek.
Faqir Aipee Road, a main artery connecting I.J.P. Road to the Kashmir Highway inIslamabad, is named after the Faqir of Ipi.[18]
Engert letter to State Department, 15 July 1944, says that the rebel leader Abdurrahman, was next in importance to the faqir of Ipi.
The road is named after Pakhtun leader Mirza Ali Khan of Fata, who lived from 1897 to 1960, and was known as the Faqir of Aipee.
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