This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ilamxan (talk | contribs) at 14:11, 6 January 2025 (←Created page with ' The '''2007 Waziristan clashes''' were a conflict between Pashtun elements of the Pakistani Taliban and Uzbek jihadists of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. ==History== After the War in Afghanistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, predominantly composed of Uzbeks, became entrenched in Waziristan, namely South Waziristan. The Uzbeks invoked the hosp...'). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 14:11, 6 January 2025 by Ilamxan (talk | contribs) (←Created page with ' The '''2007 Waziristan clashes''' were a conflict between Pashtun elements of the Pakistani Taliban and Uzbek jihadists of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. ==History== After the War in Afghanistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, predominantly composed of Uzbeks, became entrenched in Waziristan, namely South Waziristan. The Uzbeks invoked the hosp...')(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The 2007 Waziristan clashes were a conflict between Pashtun elements of the Pakistani Taliban and Uzbek jihadists of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
History
After the War in Afghanistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, predominantly composed of Uzbeks, became entrenched in Waziristan, namely South Waziristan. The Uzbeks invoked the hospitality law of the Pashtunwali and were hosted by the TTP, mainly the Baitullah Mehsud branch. Many Uzbeks later married local women, acquired property, and engaged in economic activity. Tensions later rose between Uzbeks and the local Pashtuns, who complained about the Uzbeks becoming increasing dominant and trying to enforce their Sharia.
The Uzbeks in the Wanna region were hosted by Maulvi Omar, an Ahmadzai Wazir and ally of Baitullah Mehsud. In early 2007, Mullah Nazir, another Ahmadzai Wazir, overthrew Maulvi Omar as the leader of the Taliban in the Wanna region. The Uzbeks fought against Mullah Nazir, and lost between fifty and one hundred fighters. Mullah Nazir was supported by the Afghan Taliban, who used South Waziristan as a rear base for their fight in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban did not want problems with Pakistan, at least not until the fight in Afghanistan was over. They also opposed the activities of Baitullah Mehsud. The locals of Waziristan were also increasingly angered with Baitullah Mehsud. While Baitullah Mehsud attacked Pakistan, Mullah Nazir preferred to focus on fighting American troops in Afghanistan.
In 2006, Mullah Omar endorsed Mullah Nazir as the emir of South Waziristan. Mullah Nazir specialised in cross-border attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. He had been targeted by American drones and suffered a leg wound in one attack. Mullah Nazir also had close ties with al-Qaeda. Mullah Nazir had always opposed the presence of the IMU in Waziristan and had quarrelled with two other TTP leaders, brothers Haji Sharif and Haji Omar, over the Uzbeks. In March 2007, Mullah Nazir ordered the expulsion of Uzbeks from all Waziri territory. Mullah Nazir was joined by the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe, and his Taliban faction. By April 2007, Mullah Nazir expelled about 2,000 Uzbeks from Wanna and killed over 250. Baitullah Mehsud offered the fleeing Uzbeks temporary shelter in the Mehsud areas of South Waziristan. This had further angered Mullah Nazir, who desperately wanted the Uzbeks out. Sirajuddin Haqqani had ordered Baitullah Mehsud to give the Uzbeks temporary refuge as they had nowhere else to go. In September 2009, eleven fighters of Mullah Nazir were killed in the Mehsud territory of Sararogha, as they were returning to Wanna. The tensions had escalated to the point that they strained relations between the Mehsuds and the Ahmadzai. In 2009, Mullah Nazir, Baitullah Mehsud, and Hafiz Gul Bahadur, united to form Shura Ittihad ul-Mujahideen, although the union had broken down due to the tensions, and Mullah Nazir was again considered the Taliban commander of Wanna after a power struggle.Cite error: A <ref>
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The TTP groups of two brothers, Haji Sharif and Haji Omar, had fought on behalf of the Uzbeks against Mullah Nazir. Haji Omar supported the Uzbeks and was involved in the killing of tribal elders in Wanna. After the Uzbeks were expelled, Haji Sharif and Haji Omar were quickly defeated by Mullah Nazir, and were exiled to Miranshah. In September 2007, Haji Sharif began having disputes with the Uzbeks over the targeting of locals in Wana, and reconciled with Mullah Nazir, and came back to Wana where he stopped targeting tribal elders. Haji Omar was killed in December 2009 by an American airstrike. Noor Islam, the third brother, and the "sworn enemy" of Mullah Nazir, took refuge with Beitullah Mahsud after the clashes. Abbas Wazir, a cousin of Haji Omar and Haji Sharif, had fought alongside Mullah Nazir against the Uzbeks.Cite error: A <ref>
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(see the help page). The Afghan Taliban was involved in mediating between Mullah Nazir and Pakistan.
References
- Conflict, Crime, and the State in Postcommunist Eurasia, 2014, pp. 77-78
- German Jihad: On the Internationalization of Islamist Terrorism, Guido Steinberg, 2013, pp. 193
- Ordering Violence: Explaining Armed Group-State Relations from Conflict to Cooperation, Paul Staniland, 2021, pp. 194
- Jihadism in Pakistan: Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and the Local Militants, Antonio Giustozzi, 2023, pp. 67-68
- Hassan Abbas (14 May 2007). "South Waziristan's Maulvi Nazir: The New Face of the Taliban". Vol. 5, no. 9. The Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 27 March 2009.
- Shahzad, Syed Saleem (5 May 2011). "Taliban and al-Qaeda: Friends in arms". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 7 May 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- Jihadism in Pakistan: Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and the Local Militants, Antonio Giustozzi, 2023, pp. 67-68