On 21 June 1947, Mirzali Khan, along with his allies including the Khudai Khidmatgars and members of the Provincial Assembly, declared the Bannu Resolution. The resolution demanded that the Pashtuns be given a third choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan, composing all Pashtun majority territories of British India, instead of being made to join only either India or Pakistan. The British refused to comply with the demand of this resolution, and no other group in British India was granted a third option. After the creation of Pakistan in August 1947, Mirzali Khan and his followers refused to recognise Pakistani rule and launched a compaign against the Pakistani state with support from Afghanistan.They continued their guerilla warfare against the new nation’s government. In January 1950, a Pashtun loya jirga was held in Razmak, Waziristan, which symbolically announced the creation of Pashtunistan as an independent nation and appointed Mirzali Khan as the first president of the National Assembly for Pashtunistan. In that capacity, Mirzali Khan demanded the withdrawal of the Pakistan Armed Forces from Pashtun majority territories. He didn't surrender to the government of Pakistan throughout his life, until his death in 1960 in Gurwek.
Battles
Battle against the Bannu Brigade in Khaisora
In 1936, a British Indian court ruled against the marriage of a Hindu-converted Muslim girl at Bannu, after the girl's family filed case of abduction and forced conversion. The ruling was based on the fact that the girl was a minor and was asked to make her decision of conversion and marriage after she reaches the age of majority, till then she was asked to live with a third party. The verdict 'enraged' the Muslims - especially the Dawar tribesmen, Mirzali Khan's kinsmen, the Dawar Maliks and mullahs left the Tochi far the Khaisora Valley to the south to rouse the Torikhel Waziris. The enraged tribesmen mustered two large lashkars 10,000 strong and battled the Bannu Brigade, with heavy casualties on both sides. Widespread lawlessness erupted as tribesmen blocked roads, overran outposts and ambushed convoys. The British retaliated by sending two columns converging in the Khaisora river valley. They suppressed the agitation by imposing fines and by destroying the houses of the ringleaders, including that of Mirzali Khan. However, the pyrrhic nature of the victory and the subsequent withdrawal of the troops was credited by the Wazirs to be a manifestation of Mirzali Khan's miraculous powers. He succeeded in inducing a semblance of tribal unity, as the British noticed with dismay, among various sections of Tori Khel Wazirs, the Mahsuds and the Bhittannis. He cemented his position as religious leader by declaring a Jihad against the British. This move also helped rally support from Pashtun tribesman across the border.
Battle against the Bannu Brigade in Khaisora
In 1936, a British Indian court ruled against the marriage of a Hindu-converted Muslim girl at Bannu, after the girl's family filed case of abduction and forced conversion. The ruling was based on the fact that the girl was a minor and was asked to make her decision of conversion and marriage after she reaches the age of majority, till then she was asked to live with a third party. The verdict 'enraged' the Muslims - especially the Dawar tribesmen, Mirzali Khan's kinsmen, the Dawar Maliks and mullahs left the Tochi far the Khaisora Valley to the south to rouse the Torikhel Waziris. The enraged tribesmen mustered two large lashkars 10,000 strong and battled the Bannu Brigade, with heavy casualties on both sides. Widespread lawlessness erupted as tribesmen blocked roads, overran outposts and ambushed convoys. The British retaliated by sending two columns converging in the Khaisora river valley. They suppressed the agitation by imposing fines and by destroying the houses of the ringleaders, including that of Mirzali Khan. However, the pyrrhic nature of the victory and the subsequent withdrawal of the troops was credited by the Wazirs to be a manifestation of Mirzali Khan's miraculous powers. He succeeded in inducing a semblance of tribal unity, as the British noticed with dismay, among various sections of Tori Khel Wazirs, the Mahsuds and the Bhittannis. He cemented his position as religious leader by declaring a Jihad against the British. This move also helped rally support from Pashtun tribesman across the border.
Quagmire
Soon after the Khaisora campaign a general uprising broke out throughout Waziristan campaign, realising the futility of confronting the British Army directly especially with their advantage of air power, tribesmen switched to guerrilla warfare. Squadrons of the two air forces (RAF and RIAF) tried many tactics including scorched earth retaliation involving the burning of standing crops with jerry can petrol bombs and the killing of cattle with strafing attacks.
Both of Mirzali Khan's sons, Gulzar Ali and Mir Zaman, were killed fighting British forces.
Death
Mirzali Khan died at night on April 16, 1960. A long term sufferer of asthma during his last days, he became so sick that it was not possible for him to walk for a few steps. People from far away often used to come and see him and ask for his blessing.[citation needed] His funeral prayers or Namaz-I-Janaza was held at Gurwek led by Maulavi Pir Rehman. Thousands of people came for his Namaz-I-Janaza. He was buried at Gurwek. Faqir Aipee Road, a main artery connecting I.J.P. Road to the Kashmir Highway in the federal capital of Pakistan, Islamabad; is named after him.
Mirzali Khan died at night on April 16, 1960. A long term sufferer of asthma during his last days, he became so sick that it was not possible for him to walk for a few steps. People from far away often used to come and see him and ask for his blessing.[citation needed] His funeral prayers or Namaz-I-Janaza was held at Gurwek led by Maulavi Pir Rehman. Thousands of people came for his Namaz-I-Janaza. He was buried at Gurwek. Faqir Aipee Road, a main artery connecting I.J.P. Road to the Kashmir Highway in the federal capital of Pakistan, Islamabad; is named after him.
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