Mullah Nazir’s death: New Taliban chief named in South Waziristan

Shura of Mullah Nazir Group appoints Salahuddin Ayubi as former warlord’s successor.

DI KHAN:

The vacuum left by the death of prominent Taliban warlord Mullah Nazir in US drone strike in South Waziristan on Wednesday has been filled by Bahwal Khan, better known in the area as Salahuddin Ayubi.

The Shura of Mullah Nazir Group agreed to and appointed Ayubi as Nazir’s successor in the presence of thousands of tribal people soon after the latter’s funeral on Thursday in Azam Warsak, about 10km from Wana’s Rustom Bazaar, South Waziristan. Ayubi vowed that “he will lead further the mission of Mullah Nazir.”

Belonging to the same Kaka Khel tribe as Nazir, the 35-year-old hails from Speen village in Wana. He remained a long-time collogue and close confidant of the deceased Taliban warlord, as they both participated in the Afghan struggle against the US-led Nato coalition. Ayubi was also a strong ally of Nazir in the fight against Uzbek militants in Wana in 2007, driving them out of the area.

Educated at a religious seminary in Speen village, Ayubi worked in the transport business and used to drive a double-cabin pick-up between Wana and Dera Ismail Khan, before opening a teashop in Kari Wam area of F R Jandolla.

But since 2007, he became an active member of the Taliban and remained mostly with Nazir. Now he has vowed to follow his predecessor’s example. But it could be difficult for him to maintain Nazir’s peace policy with the government, the Ahmadzai Wazir Tribe and with other Taliban groups in the region, as he is said to be short-tempered.



Since 2007, Nazir was able to keep intact his own Taliban outfit with the focus on the Afghan Jihad. Coupled with the policy of not interfering in the affairs of the public enabled him to enjoy the support of the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe of Wana, making him the only Taliban leader backed by a tribe in Fata.

In addition, he kept intact the 2007 peace agreement with the government till his death and also avoided a confrontation with the Mehsud tribe.

However, later developments such as the internal displacement of Mehsud tribesmen after the suicide attack on Nazir on November 28, 2012, had not only put the seasoned Taliban leader in a quandary as to how to deal with the government and the Taliban, but it also enhanced difficulties for his successor over the same matter.

Nazir’s death and the elevation of Ayubi will not put the peace process in Wana in danger, but it has the possibility to alter relations with the government, and in a larger context, the American strategy in the region. This is because it depends on how the landscape will change with Ayubi living under the influence of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, chief of his own Taliban faction in North.

The continued drone attacks have also raised anger and suspicion among the Taliban, which could lead to Ayubi developing differences with the government, as they suspect the involvement of the government in the strikes.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2013.