The Wazirs or Waziris (Pashto: وزير) are an ethnic Afghan Karlani Pashtun tribe found mainly in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. The Utmanzai Wazir are settled in the North Waziristan and Bannu Subdivision Wazir and the Ahmadzai Wazir are in the South Waziristan, and in Domel, Bannu.[1][2][3] Those subgroups are in turn divided further, for example into Utmanzai tribes such as the Baka Khel and Jani Khel.[4] The Wazirs speak the Waziristani dialect of Pashto which is similar to the neighboring Banuchi and Dawari dialect but still distinct.
وزیر | |
---|---|
Languages | |
Pashto | |
Religion | |
100% Sunni | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Bannuzais · Khattaks · Zadrans · Afridis · Mangals · Mehsuds and other Karlani Pashtun tribes |
The common ancestor of the Ahmadzai and Utmanzai is believed by them to be the eponymous Wazir, who is also ancestor to the Mehsud tribe that has since taken a distinct and divergent path. Through Wazir, the tribes trace their origins to Karlani and thence to the founder of the Pashtun lineage, Qais Abdur Rashid.[5] Some western ethnologists consider them of being mix of Arachosian or Tatar ethnicity.[1]
Although the Utmanzai and Mehsud tribes have a traditional rivalry and live in geographically distinct regions,[6] the Ahmadzai and Mehsud communities co-exist peacefully and many head men are connected by marriage.[1]
Notable members
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Tribe: Ahmadzai Wazir" (PDF). Naval Postgraduate School.
- ^ Hasnat, Syed Farooq (2011). Pakistan. ABC-CLIO. p. 164. ISBN 9780313346972.
- ^ Gul, Imtiaz (2010). The Most Dangerous Place: Pakistan's Lawless Frontier. Penguin UK. p. 44. ISBN 9780141962986.
- ^ Scott, Ian (1999). Judd, Denis (ed.). A British Tale of Indian and Foreign Service: The Memoirs of Sir Ian Scott. The Radcliffe Press. p. 71. ISBN 9781860643804.
- ^ Ahmed, Akbar (2013). The Thistle and the Drone: How America's War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 9780815723790.
- ^ "Tribe: Utmanzai Wazir aka Utmanzai" (PDF). Naval Postgraduate School.
Further reading
edit- Arjomand, Said Amir, ed. (1984). From Nationalism to Revolutionary Islam. SUNY Press. ISBN 9780873958707.