.JPG)
Waziristan (Pashto,Ormuri,Urdu:وزیرستان,lit. 'land of theWazir') is a mountainous region of thePakistani province ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts:North Waziristan,Lower South Waziristan District, andUpper South Waziristan District. The entire Waziristan region covers around 11,585square kilometres (4,500 sq mi) and is mainly populated by theBurki,Mehsud, The Wolves, & Wazir Pashtun tribe,[1] who speak theWaziri dialect of thePashto language.
The name "Waziristan" is associated with the ancestor of the Pashtun tribes,Mehsud (The Wolves), named Wazir. Both tribes descended from him and are predominantly settled in the Waziristan region.
.jpg)
Waziristan lies between theKurram River and theGomal River. It borders theKurram Agency in the north,Bannu in the northeast,Tank in the east,Dera Ismail Khan in the southeast,Sherani andMusakhel districts ofBalochistan in the south andKhost,Paktia, andPaktika provinces ofAfghanistan in the west.
Waziristan is divided into two districts,North Waziristan andSouth Waziristan. According to the 2017 census report, the population ofNorth Waziristan was 543,254[2] while that ofSouth Waziristan was 674,065.[3] The two parts have quite distinct characteristics, though both are inhabited by the Wazir and Mahsud (or Maseed The Real wolves) tribes. They have a reputation as formidable warriors.[4]
The British entered Waziristan in 1894, when the boundary withAfghanistan, known as theDurand Line was determined.[5] They divided Waziristan into two agencies, North Waziristan and South Waziristan; they also introduced a regular system of land record and revenue administration for the most fertile part of the Tochi valley. After the British military operations, a Political Agent for South Waziristan was permanently appointed with its headquarters atWanna; another was appointed for North Waziristan with headquarters atMiranshah.
.svg)
In the rugged and remote region of Waziristan onBritish India's northwest border withAfghanistan, mountain tribes of Muslim fighters rebelled against the British Indian Army in numerous operations. The Waziristan Revolt of 1919–1920 was sparked by theAfghan invasion of British India in 1919. Though the British made peace with theAfghans, theWaziri andMahsud tribesmen gave the imperial (almost entirely Indian) forces a very difficult fight. Some of the tribesmen were veterans of the British-organised local militias that were irregular elements of the British Indian Army, and used some modernLee–Enfield rifles against the British Indian forces sent into Waziristan. One aspect of this conflict was the effective use of air power against the Waziris and Mahsuds. This is similar to Royal Air Force tactics in suppressing the Arab Revolt inIraq in 1920 and 1921.
In 1935–36, aHindu-Muslim clash occurred over a Hindu girl ofBannu, who was abducted and forced to convert to Islam.[6] The tribesmen rallied around Mirzali Khan, a Tori Khel Wazir, who was later given the title of "theFaqir of Ipi" by the British.Jihad was declared against the British. Mirzali Khan, with his hugelashkar (force), started a guerrilla warfare against the British forces in Waziristan.
In 1938, Mirzali Khan shifted from Ipi toGurwek, a remote village on the Durand Line, where he declared an independent state and continued the raids against the British forces. In June 1947, Mirzali Khan, along with his allies, including theKhudai Khidmatgars and members of the Provincial Assembly, declared theBannu Resolution. The resolution demanded 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 Pakistan. However, the British Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution.[7][8] After the creation of Pakistan in August 1947, Mirzali Khan and his followers refused to recognise Pakistan, and launched acampaign against Pakistan. They continued their guerilla warfare against the new nation's government.[9] He didn't surrender to the government of Pakistan throughout his life but his movement diminished after 1954 when hisCommander-in-chief surrendered to thePakistani authorities.[10] Towards the end of his life, he expressed regret and said that Afghanistan deceived and used him for its political gains in the name ofIslam. He also instructed his supporters that they should never help Afghanistan against Pakistan with any plots made against Pakistan.[citation needed]
In the early stage of theU.S. invasion of Afghanistan, when theTaliban started fleeing into Pakistan, the local leaders, orMaliks, began a campaign among their locals to host the foreigners. Since then, around 200 Maliks have been assassinated by the local Taliban throughtargeted killings.[citation needed]
To end theWaziristan war, Pakistan signed theWaziristan Accord with chieftains from the self-styled Islamic Emirate of Waziristan on 5 September 2006. TheIslamic militants in Waziristan are said to have close affiliations with theTaliban.[11] Waziristan is often mentioned as a haven foral-Qaeda fighters. There is speculation that some al-Qaeda leaders have found refuge in the area controlled by the Emirate, which is a staging ground for militant operations inAfghanistan.[12]
On 4 June 2007, theNational Security Council of Pakistan met to decide the fate of Waziristan and take up a number of political and administrative issues to control the "Talibanization" of the area. The meeting was chaired by PresidentPervez Musharraf and attended by the Chief Ministers and Governors of all four provinces. They discussed the deteriorating law and order situation and the threat posed to state security. The government decided to take a number of actions to stop the "Talibanization" and to crush the armed militancy in the Tribal regions and the NWFP.
Due to the ongoing military operations against the Taliban, nearly 100,000 people have already fled to Afghanistan's Khost province to seek shelter. The UN and other aid agencies are helping more than 470,000 people who have been displaced from Pakistan's North Waziristan region due to the ongoing military operations.[13]
The Ministry of the Interior has played a large part in the information gathering for the operations against the militants and their institutions. The Ministry of the Interior has prepared a list of militant commanders operating in the region and they have also prepared a list of seminaries for monitoring. (Waziristan is a tribal area, and in any tribal area of Pakistan, nobody can deploy police. There are other options like frontier corps (militia) and Khasadar (local tribesmen force).) The government is also trying to strengthen law enforcement in the area by providing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police with weapons, bullet-proof jackets, and night-vision devices. The paramilitary Frontier Corps is to be provided with artillery andAPCs. State agencies are actively exploring methods to disrupt unauthorized FM radio channels through jamming techniques.[14]
The USdrone strikes programme has been responsible for numerous bombings in Waziristan, carried out with the approval of the Pakistani government.[15]
The Wazir tribes are divided into clans governed by male village elders who meet in a tribaljirga. Socially and religiously, Waziristan is an extremely conservative area. Women are carefully guarded, and every household must be headed by a male figure. Tribal cohesiveness is also kept strong by means of the so-calledCollective Responsibility Acts in theFrontier Crimes Regulations, which has since been repealed following the merger of FATA to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in May 2018.[16][17]
Taliban presence in the area has been an issue of international concern in thewar on terrorism particularly since the2001 invasion of Afghanistan.[18] In 2014, about 929,859 people were reported to beinternally displaced from Waziristan as a result ofOperation Zarb-e-Azb, a military offensive conducted by thePakistan Armed Forces along thePakistan – Afghanistan border.[19][20]
North Waziristan's capital isMiranshah. The area is mostly inhabited by the Dawar Tribe and theUtmanzai branch of the Darwesh Khel Waziris, who are related toAhmedzai Waziris of South Waziristan, who live in fortified mountain villages, including Razmak, Datta Khel, Spin wam, Dosali, Shawa and Shawal. The Dawars (also known as Daurr or Daur), who live in the main Tochi Valley, farm in the valleys below in villages including Miranshah, Hamzoni, Darpakhel, Muhammadkhel, Boya, Degan, Banda, Ngharkali, Palangzai, Mirali, Edak, Hurmaz, Mussaki, Hassukhel, Ziraki, Tapi, Issori, Haiderkhel and Khaddi irrigated by the river Tochi. They are related to theBanuchis who live in the neighboringBannu District.
The South Waziristan was a district with its district headquarters atWanna. South Waziristan, comprising about 6,500 square kilometres (2,500 sq mi), previously was the most volatile agency of Pakistan. Up until 2021 it was not under the direct administration of the government of Pakistan, South Waziristan was previously and indirectly governed by a political agent, who has been either an outsider or a Waziri—a system inherited from theBritish Raj. From January 2021 to April 2022, South Waziristan served as a district of the adjacent KPK province. In south Waziristan Agency, there are three tribes, Ahmadzai Wazir,Mahsud Wazir andBurki. Burki and Urmarh are the same tribe. In 2022,Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa led byPTI decided to divideSouth Waziristan District into two districts,Lower South Waziristan District, andUpper South Waziristan District.
On 4 June 2007, theNational Security Council of Pakistan met to decide the fate of Waziristan and take up a number of political and administrative decisions to control "Talibanization" of the area. The meeting was chaired by president Pervez Musharraf and it was attended by the Chief Ministers and Governors of all four provinces. They discussed the deteriorating law and order situation and the threat posed to state security.[21]
The government decided to take a number of actions to stop the "Talibanization" and crush the armed militancy in the Tribal regions andKhyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The NSC of Pakistan has decided the following actions will be taken to achieve the goals:
The ministry of interior has played a large part in the information gathering for the operations against militants and their institutions. The Ministry of Interior has prepared a list of militant commanders operating in the region and they have also prepared a list of seminaries for monitoring.
The government is also trying to strengthen the law enforcement in the area by providing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police with weapons, bulletproof jackets and night-vision devices. The paramilitary Frontier Corps will be provided with artillery and APC's. The state agencies are also working on studying ways to block FM frequencies of illegal FM radio channels.[14]
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
