Waziristan rebellion (1948-1954)

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Waziristan rebellion (1948-1954)
Part of the Pashtunistan conflict and Pakistan-Afghanistan skirmishes
Location
Waziristan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Result Pakistani victory[1][2]
Territorial
changes		 Datta Khel area of Waziristan recaptured by Pakistan
Belligerents

Faqir of Ipi's forces

Supported by
Afghanistan[1][2]		 Pakistan Pakistan
Units involved
Pashtun tribe forces

link = Pakistan Air Force

Strength
Unknown 40000+[3]
Casualties and losses
Military Compound destroyed None

Waziristan rebellion was a rebellion by the Pashtun leader Faqir of Ipi to secede from Pakistan and establish a separate Pashtun state of Pashtunistan.

Background[edit]

On 21 June 1947, the Faqir of Ipi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and other Khudai Khidmatgars held a jirga in Bannu during which they declared the Bannu Resolution, demanding that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan composing all Pashtun majority territories of British India, instead of being made to join the new dominions of India or Pakistan.[4]

However, the British government refused to comply with the demand of the Bannu Resolution and only the options for Pakistan and India were given.[5][6]

Rebellion[edit]

The Faqir of Ipi rejected the creation of Pakistan after the partition of British India, considering Pakistan to have only come into existence at the insistence of the British.[citation needed]

In 1948, the Faqir of Ipi took control of North Waziristan's Datta Khel area and declared the establishment of an independent Pashtunistan, forming ties with regional leaders including Prince Mohammed Daoud Khan.[citation needed]

Mughalgai raid[edit]

Main article: 1949 Mughalgai raid

In June 1949 a Pakistan Air Force warplane inadvertently bombed the Afghan village of Mughalgai on the Waziristan border with Afghanistan while chasing the Pashtunistan separatists who attacked Pakistani border posts from Afghanistan,this attack killed 23 people and further fuelled Afghan support for Pashtunistan.[7][8]

Gurwek Jirga[edit]

On 29 May 1949, the Faqir of Ipi called a tribal jirga in his headquarters of Gurwek and asked Pakistan to accept Pashtunistan as an independent state. He published a Pashto-language newspaper, Ghāzī, from Gurwek to promote his ideas.[9]Afghanistan also provided financial support to the Pashtunistan movement under the leadership of the Faqir of Ipi.[10] Faqir also established a rifle factory in Gurwek with the material support provided by the government of Afghanistan.[11]

In January 1950, a Pashtun loya jirga in Razmak symbolically appointed the Faqir of Ipi as the first president of the "National Assembly for Pashtunistan".[12]

1953-54 Gurwek bombing campaign[edit]

In 1953–1954, the PAF's No. 14 Squadron led an operation from Miramshah airbase and heavily bombarded the Faqir of Ipi's compound in Gurwek.[13][14]

Decline[edit]

After sometime, the Faqir of Ipi relations with the government of Afghanistan deteriorated and he became aloof.[15] By this time, his movement had also started losing popular support. The Pashtun tribesmen were no longer willing to fight after the departure of British as the Faqir's reasoning of waging jihad against a foreign power was no longer considered valid.[15]

Although he himself never surrendered until his death, his movement diminished after 1954 when his Commander-in-chief Mehar Dil Khan Khattak surrendered to the Pakistani authorities.[16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Sultan M Hali. "Breaking the myths of Pakistan ruining Afghanistan". defence.pk. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-25.
  2. ^ a b Kaur 1985, p. 108-109.
  3. ^ "faqir of ipi remembered on 115th anniversary". 17 April 2016.
  4. ^ "past in perspective". 24 August 2019.
  5. ^ Marwat, Fazal-ur-Rahim Khan (1993). "North west frontier and rebellion".
  6. ^ Johnson, Thomas H.; Zellen, Barry (22 January 2014). Stanford University. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-8921-9.
  7. ^ "history of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations". 30 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Facts about the Durand line" (PDF).
  9. ^ "faqir of ipi remembered on 115th anniversary". 17 April 2016.
  10. ^ "faqir of ipi remembered on 115th anniversary". 17 April 2016.
  11. ^ "faqir of ipi remembered on 115th anniversary". 17 April 2016.
  12. ^ "faqir of ipi remembered on 115th anniversary". 17 April 2016.
  13. ^ Mohammad Hussain Hunarmal (14 February 2021). "The formidable Faqir". The News International.
  14. ^ Rahim Nasar (16 April 2020). "Remembering the Faqir of Ipi". Asia Times.
  15. ^ a b Mohammad Hussain Hunarmal. "The formidable Faqir". The News. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Past in Perspective". The Nation. 2019-08-24. Retrieved 2020-04-24.

Sources[edit]

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