South Waziristan — Wikipedia

The The Gazis dut Ddd (in English South Waziristan , in Ourdou: سويلي وزيرستان) is a district of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. He is part of the Waziristan region, northern Waziristan forming the other subdivision of this region. Its capital is Wana.

Before 2018, southern Waziristan was an agency in the tribal regions before the latter merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The population mainly made up of Pachtounes tribes has nearly 700,000 inhabitants in 2017. The area is almost exclusively rural and underdeveloped.

Border with Afghanistan and Northern Waziristan, it is a strategic region in the fight against the Taliban, and the Pakistani army led a vast offensive there in 2009 as part of the Islamist insurrection in Pakistan.

Waziristan was under the domination of several powers during history, notably the Timourid Empire and then the Mughal Empire. Assimilated in 1858 to the British Raj, Waziristan is a particularly strategic tribal region by its border with Afghanistan, especially within the framework of the Anglo-Afghan wars.

The area is rebellious with regard to the colonial power, and the British lead a military campaign in 1919-1920 to end the revolt. In 1947, Waziristan was integrated into Pakistan following the partition of India ^{[ first ]} .

Like the rest of the tribal regions, southern waziristan is difficult to control by Pakistani power and nourishes a feeling of distrust of the authorities. The legal regime in place leaves an autonomy on the one hand to tribal assemblies which dominate the region, but the inhabitants are deprived of many rights which the other Pakistanis benefits and the area is directly administered by the central power.

This legal regime is officially abolished in May 2018 And southern Waziristan is integrated into the neighboring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, becoming a district. This decision long requested by the population is welcomed while the inhabitants hope for the development of the region and access to basic public services.

The southern waziristan is a sparsely populated region, mainly occupied by tribes and is often seen as an undocumented area in Pakistan. It is the stronghold of the Taliban movement of Pakistan (TTP), which uses this area as a rear base to carry out attacks in the country. In 2009, the Taliban in this region were estimated at 10,000 ^{[ 2 ]} .

The October 17, 2009 , the Pakistani army is launching an offensive in the region aimed at regaining control and dislodging the Taliban. Operation Rah-E-Nijat mobilizes around 28,000 soldiers. To carry out this attack, the Pakistani government goes through non-aggression agreements with various tribes ^{[ 3 ]} .

The December 12, 2009 , Prime Minister Youssouf Raza Gilani announces the end of the offensive ^{[Ref. necessary]} , before declaring that military operations would continue ^{[ 4 ]} . After several months of war, army troops seem to have regained total control of southern Waziristan, the bulk of the Taliban troops having fled to the neighboring tribal regions, notably the northern waziristan ^{[ 5 ]} .

The Pakistani government then tries to completely pacify the region, discovering weapons stocks and putting out of harm to harm the last Taliban present in the region. The Pakistani army estimates that it will take between 6 months and a year to completely pacify the region ^{[ 6 ]} .

Tribe men in Baddar.

During the 1998 census, the agency’s population was estimated at 429,841 people, including less than 2% urban ^{[ 7 ]} . The following census conducted in 2017 points a population of 679,185 inhabitants, an annual growth of 2.4%, equivalent to the national average but a little lower than the provincial averages of 2.9% ^{[ 7 ]} .

The population of the district is mainly of Pachtoune ethnicity and the most spoken language is the Pachto, up to 96.6% in 2017 ^{[ 8 ]} , as for most of the province. The population gathers in tribes, the most important of which has given its name to the region: the wazirs, but we also find the Mehsuds to the north ^{[ first ]} .

More than 99% of the inhabitants of the district are Muslims in 2017. There are only 217 Christians and 106 Ahmadis ^{[ 9 ]} .

Only 29% of children in the district are educated in 2007 and the literacy rate barely exceeds 20%, and mainly presents a strong gender inequality: 32% for men against 4% for women ^{[ ten ]} .

According to the 2017 census, literacy increases at 34%, 50% for men and 17% for women ^{[ 11 ]} . This year, only 48% of children aged 10 to 14 are educated, including 62% of boys and only 34% of girls ^{[ twelfth ]} .

Detailed map of the southern Waziristan.

The district is divided into eight Tehsils as well as 97 Union Councils ^{[ 13 ]} .

Villageois and herd of animals near Baddar.

The southern Waziristan is poor, very remote, little endowed with public infrastructure and services. The population suffers in particular from malnutrition, diseases and lack of access to water. The main livelihood of the inhabitants is agriculture and breeding while peasants mainly have small areas, often less than two hectares. In southern Waziristan, almost 57%of households receive money from family members working elsewhere in the country (43%) or abroad (14%) in 2007 ^{[ ten ]} .

Following the integration of the district into the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018, the population hopes for an increase in public investments. In 2019, the government announced a ten -year plan to develop infrastructure, in particular with the aim of allowing access to the telephone network ^{[ 15 ]} .

Following the 2018 electoral reform, the district is represented by the constituencies n ^O 49 and 50 in the National Assembly. When it was integrated into the tribal regions before 2018, the candidates for the elections were prohibited from presenting themselves under the label of a political party under the effect of the regime derogating from ordinary law then in force.

During the 2018 legislative elections, the district does not yet have a district at the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, despite its recent integration into the latter province. In addition, an independent candidate also a member of the Pashtun Tahafuz movement and one of the Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-Emal win the seats at stake during this ballot while the participation is very low.

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