Former Taliban commander Mullah Nazir's associate shot dead in South Waziristan

A former associate of slain Taliban commander Mullah Nazir was killed, and another man was injured in a shooting in South Waziristan on Saturday, Wana Circle Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Asghar Ali Shah said.

On Saturday evening, unidentified armed men opened fire near a cemetery in Dogg, Wana tehsil, targeting a vehicle carrying Muhammad Khalid and Noor Ghulam, police and rescue officials said. Khalid was killed while Ghulam was injured.

According to police and rescue officials, the two men were travelling home to Dogg from Rustom Bazaar in Wana when armed men opened fire on their vehicle near the cemetery, injuring both.

DSP Shah said, "Khalid was critically injured in the attack. He was given medical treatment and was being taken to Dera Ismail Khan for further treatment when he died from his injuries en route".

Noor Ghulam was taken to the District Headquarters Hospital in Wana, where he was receiving treatment, according to the hospital's medical superintendent.

Police sources said, "Khalid had previously been affiliated with the Mullah Nazir group and had worked as one of his associates".

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Police said an initial report had been registered and an investigation launched. Investigators were examining various aspects of the incident, and efforts were under way to identify and arrest those involved in the attack.

Mullah Nazir was considered an influential Taliban commander in South Waziristan and belonged to the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe. According to various reports, he reached a peace agreement with the government in 2007, while his group also carried out operations against Uzbek and other foreign terrorists in areas inhabited by the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe.

Relations between the Mullah Nazir group and the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remained strained. Mullah Nazir was also accused of opposing attacks against the government and security forces in areas under his influence.

In November 2012, Mullah Nazir was targeted in a suicide attack in Rustom Bazaar in Wana and was injured.

On January 3, 2013, Mullah Nazir and several of his associates were killed in a US drone strike near Sarkanda in Birmal tehsil of Lower South Waziristan. Following his death, various reports said Bahawal Khan had been appointed the group's new leader or commander.

Police said it was too early to say whether Khalid's former association with the Mullah Nazir group was linked to Saturday's attack. All possibilities, including this aspect, were being investigated.

Local sources said the security situation in Lower South Waziristan had deteriorated over the past 18 months, with terrorist activity increasing in the area. They claimed that incidents attributed to the outlawed TTP and Tehreek-i-Taliban Gul Bahadur had also increased.

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Residents said a rise in bomb blasts, targeted killings, kidnappings for ransom, extortion, killings of civilians and attacks on police and security forces had caused serious concern among the local population.

Deteriorating security situation

Over the past year and a half, the law-and-order situation in South Waziristan Lower has deteriorated markedly. The district has witnessed a rise in bomb blasts, targeted killings, kidnappings for ransom, assaults on civilians, and attacks on police and security forces, creating an atmosphere of fear and insecurity.

The incidents have heightened concerns over the deteriorating security situation in the district, where residents say militant activity and targeted violence have increased over the past year and a half.

In August, two tribal elders, Haji Gul and Malik Badshah, were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the Zarmilan area of Toi Khulla tehsil. Earlier in the month, Mufti Jana Mir Masti Khel, a prominent religious scholar and former aide to Aman Lashkar commander Nazir, was killed in a bomb attack at a supermarket in Wana's busy Rustom Bazaar. Three days earlier, Maulana Muhammad Ismail, a religious leader affiliated with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, was shot dead in Azam Waraik Bazaar in Barmal tehsil.

A police constable, Saifullah Khan, was also killed in an ambush in Bannu on August 17 while returning home after duty at a police post.

The attacks have also targeted members of prominent tribal families. In June, brothers Naveed Wazir and Moeenuddin Wazir, sons of tribal elder Malik Jamil Wazir, were shot dead near Kari Kot Bazaar in Wana. In May, Malik Tariq Wazir, chief of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe, was among three people killed in an IED blast in Rustam Bazaar.

Malik Jamil Wazir's family had previously been targeted in September 2024, when a remote-controlled bomb attack on his vehicle near Kari Kot Bazaar killed his son Shamsuddin Wazir and wounded him and several others.

Residents and local tribes have repeatedly called on the government and security forces to strengthen security and take concrete measures to restore lasting peace in the district.