Nek Muhammad Wazir
Encyclopedia
Nek Muhammad Wazir (AKA Nek Mohammed) was a charismatic Pashtun
military leader.
He was killed in a US drone
strike in South Waziristan
, FATA
, Pakistan
in June, 2004. Muhammad is considered the "first casualty of the US drone campaign
inside Pakistan."
tribe.
According to Dawn, his father:
Nek's father, Nawaz Khan, was a member of the tribal elite and owned property in the village of Kalosha, South Waziristan, close to the Afghanistan border: Nek Muhammad was his second child. Muhammad was expelled from one madrassa for poor discipline.
He received his early education at an Islamic school run by Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam leader Maulana Noor Mohammed.
Nek studied for five years at the Jamia Darul Uloom Waziristan. According to one of his teachers he was a strong-willed student:
He was later admitted to a college run by Pashtun nationalists, the Pakhtunkho Awami Party, but did not complete his studies, choosing instead to start a shop in the main bazaar of Wana.
activities in Afghanistan
. When he was approximately 18 years of age, Muhammad joined the Mujahideen, recruited by his friend Mohammad Gul
. He and Gul served with the forces of Saifullah Mansoor of Shah-i Kot. He, along with Mansoor, likely would have transferred his allegiance to the Taliban in 1995 or 1996. He rose rapidly in the ranks, becoming a sub-commander of a Waziri Taliban unit, and fighting in battles against Northern Alliance forces in Bagram
, Bamyan and Panjshir
. He reportedly ultimately led a force of 3,000 Taliban at one time.
During this period he reportedly met al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden
at the Rash Khor training camp, south of Kabul. He also met bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri
, and reportedly also became friends-in-arms with Taliban minister Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
, tahir yaldashev, and Chinese separatist leader Hasan Mohsin. After the Taliban regime fell in late 2001, Muhammad returned to Wana, and from there reportedly facilitated the escape of many other Taliban and foreign fighters from Afghanistan.
literature and videos for indoctrination purposes. He reportedly became quite wealthy at this time, owning over 40 vehicles by December, 2003.
Some members of this group were also recruited into Jundullah, a militant anti-government organization. Jundullah members Attaur Rehman and Abu Musab al-Balochi (al-Baloshi) would later be implicated in the attempted assassination of a senior military official in Karachi
. Jundullah's media studio, Ummat, was allegedly connected with Al-Qaeda's media front organization, the Al-Sahab Foundation, and Jundullah itself with Al-Qaeda leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
. Ummat also produced anti-Western and anti-government videos.
In April 2004, Muhammed, as leader of anti-government militant forces in South Waziristan fighting in the "Waziristan War", accepted an offer of a cease-fire and amnesty with Pakistani forces. The ceasefire lasted only briefly before conflict resumed, however.
and other conflicts.
When he was killed the Voice of America
called Mohammad an "al Qaida facilitator".
Only a day after the famous Shakai agreement with Pakistan's military in April 2004, in a long interview with the Voice of America
Pashto Correspondent Mukhtar Ahmad, Nek Mohammad disclosed that he would never abandon his jihad against the US and other allied forces in Afghanistan. A few miles away from Wana, in this face-to-face radio interview, Mohammad vowed to continue his support for Al-Qaeda and Taliban, and that no peace agreement with the Pakistani government can compel him to force the Al-Qaeda fighters and other foreign militants to leave the Pakistan's tribal area.
Despite Nek Mohammad's hatred for the US and Western media, he often appeared on their Pashto channels. He had stated on several occasions that VOA and Radio Azadi were the mouthpieces of US government, and that its broadcasters and reporters are the 'paid agents' or 'spies' for the USA.
On June 18, 2004, after signing the Shakai Peace deal, he was killed in a missile attack. The Pakistani army said it was responsible for Muhammad's death, but PBS Frontline reported in 2006 that he had actually been killed along with four other suspected militants by a missile from an American Predator UAV
, allegedly as they sat eating dinner.
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
military leader.
He was killed in a US drone
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
strike in South Waziristan
South Waziristan
South Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
, FATA
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in June, 2004. Muhammad is considered the "first casualty of the US drone campaign
Drone attacks in Pakistan
The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones . These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants...
inside Pakistan."
Early life
Nek Muhammad belonged to the Yargul Khai subclan of the AhmadzaiAhmadzai
Aḥmadzai is a Pashtun tribe. There are many separate and distinct clans, sub-clans, tribal fractions, large families etc. that trace their ancestry to different Aḥmads.-Afghanistan:...
tribe.
According to Dawn, his father:
Nek's father, Nawaz Khan, was a member of the tribal elite and owned property in the village of Kalosha, South Waziristan, close to the Afghanistan border: Nek Muhammad was his second child. Muhammad was expelled from one madrassa for poor discipline.
He received his early education at an Islamic school run by Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam leader Maulana Noor Mohammed.
Nek studied for five years at the Jamia Darul Uloom Waziristan. According to one of his teachers he was a strong-willed student:
He was later admitted to a college run by Pashtun nationalists, the Pakhtunkho Awami Party, but did not complete his studies, choosing instead to start a shop in the main bazaar of Wana.
Role in Afghanistan
Wana at the time was also a significant supply and training base for MujahideenMujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
activities in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. When he was approximately 18 years of age, Muhammad joined the Mujahideen, recruited by his friend Mohammad Gul
Mohammad Gul
Mohammad Gul is an Afghan who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.His Guantanamo Internment Serial Number was 457....
. He and Gul served with the forces of Saifullah Mansoor of Shah-i Kot. He, along with Mansoor, likely would have transferred his allegiance to the Taliban in 1995 or 1996. He rose rapidly in the ranks, becoming a sub-commander of a Waziri Taliban unit, and fighting in battles against Northern Alliance forces in Bagram
Bagram
Bagram , founded as Alexandria on the Caucasus and known in medieval times as Kapisa, is a small town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir...
, Bamyan and Panjshir
Panjshir Province
Panjshir is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Containing the Panjshir Valley, in April 2004 it was created from parts of Parwan Province, which now lies along its southwestern border. Panjshir's population is about 139,000 and covers an area of 3,610 square kilometers...
. He reportedly ultimately led a force of 3,000 Taliban at one time.
During this period he reportedly met al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
leader Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
at the Rash Khor training camp, south of Kabul. He also met bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
, and reportedly also became friends-in-arms with Taliban minister Mullah Nazir, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
, tahir yaldashev, and Chinese separatist leader Hasan Mohsin. After the Taliban regime fell in late 2001, Muhammad returned to Wana, and from there reportedly facilitated the escape of many other Taliban and foreign fighters from Afghanistan.
Return to Waziristan
Muhammad formed a new organization called Jaishul al-Qiba al-Jihadi al-Siri al-Alami. This group allegedly ran training camps in South Waziristan for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, and produced anti-WesternAnti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, or governments in the western world. In many cases the United States, Israël and the United Kingdom are the subject of discussion or hostility...
literature and videos for indoctrination purposes. He reportedly became quite wealthy at this time, owning over 40 vehicles by December, 2003.
Some members of this group were also recruited into Jundullah, a militant anti-government organization. Jundullah members Attaur Rehman and Abu Musab al-Balochi (al-Baloshi) would later be implicated in the attempted assassination of a senior military official in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. Jundullah's media studio, Ummat, was allegedly connected with Al-Qaeda's media front organization, the Al-Sahab Foundation, and Jundullah itself with Al-Qaeda leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a Kuwait-born militant in U.S. custody in Guantánamo Bay for alleged acts of terrorism, including mass murder of civilians....
. Ummat also produced anti-Western and anti-government videos.
In April 2004, Muhammed, as leader of anti-government militant forces in South Waziristan fighting in the "Waziristan War", accepted an offer of a cease-fire and amnesty with Pakistani forces. The ceasefire lasted only briefly before conflict resumed, however.
Death
At the time of his death Mohammad was accused of having provided a safe haven for Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, and also to fighters from ChechnyaChechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
and other conflicts.
When he was killed the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
called Mohammad an "al Qaida facilitator".
Only a day after the famous Shakai agreement with Pakistan's military in April 2004, in a long interview with the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
Pashto Correspondent Mukhtar Ahmad, Nek Mohammad disclosed that he would never abandon his jihad against the US and other allied forces in Afghanistan. A few miles away from Wana, in this face-to-face radio interview, Mohammad vowed to continue his support for Al-Qaeda and Taliban, and that no peace agreement with the Pakistani government can compel him to force the Al-Qaeda fighters and other foreign militants to leave the Pakistan's tribal area.
Despite Nek Mohammad's hatred for the US and Western media, he often appeared on their Pashto channels. He had stated on several occasions that VOA and Radio Azadi were the mouthpieces of US government, and that its broadcasters and reporters are the 'paid agents' or 'spies' for the USA.
On June 18, 2004, after signing the Shakai Peace deal, he was killed in a missile attack. The Pakistani army said it was responsible for Muhammad's death, but PBS Frontline reported in 2006 that he had actually been killed along with four other suspected militants by a missile from an American Predator UAV
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
, allegedly as they sat eating dinner.