He was a follower of the Pir Naqib of Charbagh, which makes him a Barelvi, and quite different from the Taliban.
ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to Nadir Hassan’s article “The Faqir of Ipi and the Taliban” (April 20). The writer states that Mirza Ali Khan’s version of Islam would be disdained as distinctly “Taliban-ian” today.
That is not entirely true as he was a follower of the Pir Naqib of Charbagh, which makes him a Barelvi, and quite different from the Taliban. Furthermore, for all the actions he took, he first built a consensus for them through jirgas, whereas the Taliban believe in imposing their version of Islam on people.
While Mirza Ali Khan’s movement died with his death, the Taliban change their figurehead every few years. The appeal of Khan’s message mostly remained confined to the people of Waziristan, whereas the Taliban has people from all over the world within their ranks.
Imran Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2012.
