Waziristan. The land of Bin Laden.

A history
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Location of North and South Waziristan (green) inside Pakistan (white)
North (purple) and South (lue) Waziristan and surrounding Federally !dministered
"rial !reasand pro#inces
Waziristan (Pashto$ %&'()*+,, -land of the Wazir-) is a mountainous region in the North
Waziristan and South Waziristanagencies, F. /annu, and the western part of "ank in
northwestern Pakistan, and the 0anikhel, 1uruz and /armal districts of
eastern !fghanistan2 Waziristan co#ers some 34,555 s6uare kilometres (4,755 s6 mi)2
"he area is mostly populated y ethnicPashtuns2 8t is named after the Wazir trie2
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"he
language spoken in the #alley is Pashto, predominantly the Wazirwola dialect2 ;ost of
the region forms the southern part of Pakistan<s Federally !dministered "rial !reas2
Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar etween the "ochi
.i#er to the north and the 1omal .i#er to the south2 /annu, "ank and F. =8 >han lie
immediately to the east, >urram ?alley lies to the northeast,
while Paktia, >hostand Paktika lie to the west and north2 "he region was an
independent trial territory until 37@A, remaining outside the /ritish Bmpire2 "rial
raiding into /ritishCruled territory was a constant prolem for the /ritish,
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eliciting
fre6uent puniti#e eEpeditions etween 37F5 and 3@G42 "he region ecame part of
Pakistan in 3@GH2
For administrati#e purposes, Waziristan was di#ided into two -agencies-, North
Waziristan and South Waziristan, with an estimated populations (as of 3@@7) of AF3,DGF
and GD@,7G3 respecti#ely2 "he two parts ha#e 6uite distinct characteristics, though oth
tries are sugroups of the Wazir "rie and speak a common Wazirwola language2 "hey
ha#e a reputation as formidale warriors,
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and are known for their fre6uent lood
feuds2
9citation needed:
"he Wazir tries are di#ided into suCtries go#erned y male #illage elders who meet
in a trial Iirga2 Socially and religiously, Waziristan is an eEtremely conser#ati#e area2
Women are carefully guarded, and e#ery household must e headed y a male figure2
"rial cohesi#eness is also kept strong y means of the soCcalled Jollecti#e
.esponsiility !cts in the Frontier Jrimes .egulations2
"alian presence in the area has een an issue of international concern in the War on
"errorism particularly since the D553 in#asion of !fghanistan, ut has a history ack to
the later 3@th Jentury2
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Contents
3 North Waziristan
D South Waziristan
A Kistory
o A23 Waziristan .e#olt (3@3@L3@D5)
o A2D Waziristan .e#olt (3@AFL3@A@)
o A2A "alian presence and the War on "error
G See also
4 .eferences
F Further reading
H BEternal links
North Waziristan9edit:
Main article: North Waziristan
North Waziristan<s =istrict capital is ;iranshah, also known as ;iramshah, or
;irumshah in the local dialect2
"he area is mostly inhaited y the =arwesh >hel (etter known as Mtmanzai Waziris,
who are related to !hmedzai Waziris of South Waziristan), a su clan of the Wazir trie
(from which the region deri#es its name), who li#e in fortified mountain #illages,
including .azmak, =atta >hel, Spin wam, =osali, Shawa, Shawal and the =awars (also
known as =aurr or =aur), who farm in the #alleys elow in #illages including
;iranshah, =arpa >hel, !mzoni, !li >hel, ;irali, Bdak, Kurmaz,mussaki, Kassu >hel,
Niraki, "api, 8ssori, Kaider >hel, >haddi and !rakot2
North Waziristan shares an open order
9citation needed:
with >host, a pro#ince
of !fghanistan2
South Waziristan
"he South Waziristan<s !gency has its district head6uarters at Wana2
South Waziristan, comprising aout F,455 s6uare kilometres (D,455 s6 mi), is the most
#olatile agency of Pakistan2 Not under the direct administration of the go#ernment of
Pakistan, South Waziristan is indirectly go#erned y a political agent, who has een
either an outsider or a WaziriOa system inherited from the /ritish .aI2
8n south Waziristan !gency, there are three tries, Wazir, ;aseed and /urki2
Kistory
Waziristan Revolt (19191920)
! flag used y a resistance mo#ement in Waziristan against the /ritish during the
3@A5s, with the "akirwritten on it
8n the rugged and remote region of Waziristan on /ritish 8ndia<s northwest order
with !fghanistan, mountain tries of ;uslim fighters ga#e the /ritish 8ndian !rmy a
difficult time in numerous operations from 37F5 onwards2
"he Waziristan .e#olt of 3@3@L3@D5 was sparked y the !fghan in#asion of /ritish
8ndia in 3@3@2 "hough the /ritish made peace with the!fghans,
the Waziri and ;ahsud triesmen ga#e the imperial (almost entirely 8ndian) forces a
#ery difficult fight2 Some of the triesmen were #eterans of the /ritishCorganised local
militias that were irregular elements of the 8ndian !rmy (Pakistan did not eEist at this
time), and used some modern LeeCBnfield rifles against the 8ndian forces sent into
Waziristan2 Pne aspect of this conflict was the effecti#e use of air power against the
Waziris and ;ahsuds2 "his is similar to .oyal !ir Force tactics in suppressing the !ra
.e#olt in 8ra6 in 3@D5 and 3@D32
Waziristan Revolt (19!199)
8n 3@AF, troule again flared up in Waziristan in the form of a political and religious
agitator known as the Fakir of 8pi2
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"roule flared up again in 3@A7LA@, although to a
much lesser eEtent2 !fter 3@A@, the North West Frontier 6uietened down until the end of
/ritish rule and the creation of Pakistan in 3@GH2
Tali"an #resen$e and the War on Terror
8n the early stage of the M2S2 in#asion of !fghanistan, when the "alian started fleeing
into Pakistan, the local leaders, or ;aliks, egan a campaign among their locals to oust
the foreigners2 Since then, around D55 ;aliks ha#e een assassinated y local "alian
through targeted killings2
Pn 0une G, D55H, the National Security Jouncil of Pakistan met to decide the fate of
Waziristan and take up a numer of political and administrati#e issues in order to
control the -"alianization- of the area2 "he meeting was chaired y President Per#ez
;usharraf and attended y the Jhief ;inisters and 1o#ernors of all four pro#inces2
"hey discussed the deteriorating law and order situation and the threat posed to state
security2
"he go#ernment decided to take a numer of actions to stop the -"alianization- and to
crush the armed militancy in the "rial regions and the NWFP2
The %&C of 'a(istan has de$ided the follo)in* a$tions )ill "e ta(en to a$hieve the
*oals+
=eployment of unmanned reconnaissance planes
Strengthening lawCenforcement agencies with ad#anced e6uipment
=eployment of more troops to Waziristan
Pperations against militants on a fastCtrack asis
Focused operations against militant commanders
!ction against madrassahs preaching militancy
!ppointment of regional coordinators
Fresh .ecruitments of police officers in NWFP
"he ministry of interior has played a large part in the information gathering for the
operations against the militants and their institutions2 "he ;inistry of the 8nterior has
prepared a list of militant commanders operating in the region and they ha#e also
prepared a list of seminaries for monitoring2 (Waziristan is a trial area, and in any
trial area of Pakistan, no ody can deploy police2 "here are other options like frontier
corps (militia) and khasadar (local triesmen force)2) "he go#ernment is also trying to
strengthen law enforcement in the area y pro#iding the NWFP Police with weapons,
ulletCproof Iackets, and nightC#ision de#ices2 "he paramilitary Frontier Jorps is to e
pro#ided with artillery and !PJs2 "he state agencies are also studying ways to Iam
illegal F; radio channels2
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8n =ecemer D557, the Pakistan !rmy 3Gth 8nfantry =i#ision, which was ased in and
operating in Waziristan, was mo#ed and redeployed to the 8ndian order amidst rising
tensions etween the two countries in the aftermath of the No#emer D557 ;umai
attacks2

.eferences9edit:
32 ,-.# -#/ Tribe: Ahmadzai Wazir2 Na#al Postgraduate School2
D2 ,-.# -#/ Lawson, !lastair (D557C5GCD3)2 -Why /ritons walked warily
in Waziristan-2 BBC News2 //J2 .etrie#ed D557C5GCD32
A2 ,-.# -#/ -! powerful trial chief has warned militants linked with alC
Qaeda to lea#e a Pakistani order district after the death of eight
memers of his clan supporting peace efforts in the trouled
region2 ;aula#i Nazir, who dro#e out hundreds of Mzek fighters in a
loody attle last year, said his armed followers would attack those loyal
to an alCQaeda linchpin in South Waziristan2 ;r Nazir, who represents
the influential Wazir trie, lamed /aitullah ;ehsud222- (!ustralian
News Network), 0an 7, D557 (onCline)
G2 ,-.# -#/ /eattie, Kugh (D53GC5DC5G)2 -"he "alian$ past and present-2
.adicalisation.esearch2org2 .etrie#ed D53GC5DC542
42 ,-.# -#/ "he Fakir of 8pi was a "ori >hel Wazir, whose full name was
;irza !li >hanKaIi Sharaam mahsud machil2
F2 ,-.# -#/ >han, 8smail (D55H)2 -Plan ready to cur militancy in Fata,
settled areas-2 Newsweek international edition2 www2=awn2com2
.etrie#ed D55HC5FCDH2
Attri"-tion
"his article incorporates teEt from a pulication now in the pulic
domain$ Jhisholm, Kugh, ed2 (3@33)2 -Waziristan-2 Encyclopdia
Britannica (33th ed2)2 Jamridge Mni#ersity Press2
Further reading9edit:
FRrstenerg, >ai (D53D) Waziristan: Soltions !or a Trobled "e#ion in
Spotlight South !sia, No2 3, 8SSN D3@4CDH7H (http$SSwww2apsa2infoSwpC
contentSuploadsSD53DS35SSS!C32pdf)
.oe, !ndrew ;2 Wa#in# War in Waziristan: The British Str##le in the $and o!
Bin $aden% &'()*&)(+ (Lawrence$ Mni#ersity Press of >ansas, D535) A3A pages
,perations in Waziristan &)&)*&)-., Jompiled y the 1eneral Staff, !rmy
Kead6uarters, 8ndia, 3@DA (.eprinted y Na#al T ;ilitary Press and 8mperial
War ;useum, 8S/N 3C7GAGDCHHACH)