South Waziristan District (Urdu: ضلع جنوبی محسود وزیرستان) was a district in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, before splitting into the Lower South Waziristan District and the Upper South Waziristan District on 13 April 2022. South Waziristan was in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's southwest. The Gomal River to the south and the Tochi River to the north separated it from the other river. The Mahsud tribe, led by Mulla Powinda, who assumed the name Badshah-i-Taliban, launched an attack at Wana in 1894, which prompted the British to launch an expedition against the tribes during the cold season of 1894-1895. As a result, the agency of South Waziristan was established, with its headquarters located in Wanna.
The Wazir tribe ruled South Waziristan, while the Mahsud tribe ruled North Waziristan. Both of these tribes are subgroups of the Waziri tribe, after whom the region is named "Waziristan," and share a common Waziristani dialect. South Waziristan was the largest agency in the former FATA region; it became a district in 2018 when FATA was merged into the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was established in 1895 and covered 6,619 km2. It was bordered by the North Waziristan district to the north, Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts to the northeast, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts to the east, Zhob District of Balochistan to the south and by Afghanistan to the west.
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History
Before 500 B.C., the Persian Achaemenid Empire annexed the region as part of a far-flung satrapy. It was close to Harappa and the Indus Valley civilization. The Macedonians under Alexander the Great marched on the area around 330 B.C., the later Greco-Bactrians establishing an independent Indo-Greek Kingdom following a split with the Seleucid Empire to the west. It was then ruled by the Mauryans. Before the Indo-Parthians of Arsacid ancestry ruled under Gondophares until about AD, the Saka arrived around 97 B.C. 75. At least some Kushan, Ephthalite, Kidarite, and Sassanian Persian rule existed for the next few centuries A.D., with the last one falling under the control of the Arab Rashidun Caliphate, which introduced Islam to the East Iranian borderlands in the seventh century. The Saffarid dynasty, led by Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, expanded Islam further east into the Khyber hinterlands. Ghaznavid, Ghorid, and Babar ruled the region over the following centuries. Later, Pashtoon tribes in and around the Hindu-Kush fought British India northwest of the Punjab. From then onward, the region remained under British Indian Empire rule after the 1893 Durand Line agreement, until the state of Pakistan was created.
Since the Sikhs took control of the Frontier, the Deputy Commissioner of Dera, Ismail Khan, and Bannu controlled all political matters in Waziristan until 1895. After the Amir of Afghanistan signed a treaty in November 1893 reneging on all claims to these territories, the British did not take control of these areas. A Political Agent for South Waziristan was appointed permanently, with headquarters in Wanna, following an attack on the Delimitation Commission Escort in 1894, and another was appointed for the Tochi area (North Waziristan), with headquarters in Miramshah. The post of Resident in Waziristan was created in 1908. The resident, who was directly accountable to the Chief Commissioner of North Western Frontier Province, was the Political Agent in North Waziristan's subordinate. In 1900, a local militia was established in place of the regular armed forces as the Indian government moved into settled districts. However, the Political Agent and Militia Commandant at Sarwakai was murdered in 1904 as a result of large-scale disturbances. Later, a plot to murder all the British officers, seize the Wanna fort; and hand it over to Mullah Powindah, the self-styled king of Waziristan, was discovered. On the same night, the Political Agent and the Commandant disarmed and fired all of the Militia's Mahsuds. They were re-enlisted a few months later, but in 1906, they were disbanded once more. In 1925 the Royal Air Force pacified Mahsud tribesmen by means of the Pink's War bombing campaign.
Even though he was based in Gurwek, North Waziristan, Mirzali Khan (Faqir of Ipi) had many followers from South Waziristan in the 20th century.
Geography
Map of agencies and frontier regions in northwest Pakistan's FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa *Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, and South Waziristan Most of the district is made up of rough and complicated hills and ridges. There are no regular alignments of the mountains. The land rises gradually from south and east to north and west. The dominating range is the Preghal in the west along the border with Afghanistan. It is the highest peak which is 3,515 metres high. Zarmelan, Wanna, Shakki, Zalai, Spin and Tiarza are the main plains of the district.
Direction of water courses, in general, are from west to south i.e. from the watersheds of Sulaiman Mountains to the Indus. Gomal of Luni and Tank Zam are the district's two main rivers. Khaisora, Shaktu, Siplatoi, Toi Khwla, Shuza, Shinkai, and Shahur are all significant rivulets. The remaining are mountain streams that can become dangerous and impassable when it rains a lot, as it often does in July and August. In the Barmal District of Afghanistan, the Gomal River splits into two branches on the eastern slopes of the western Sulaiman range, not far from where the Tochi River gets its name. At Dwa Toi, south of Razmak, the Tauda China and Baddar Toi meet to form the Tank Zam.
Climate
The district has hot summers and very cold winters. In winter, temperatures go below freezing point in places of high altitude. May marks the beginning of summer, which lasts until September. June is generally the warmest month when the mean maximum temperature rises slightly over 30 degrees Celsius. The winter starts in October and continues until April. December, January and February are the coldest months. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures for this period are 10 and −2 degrees Celsius, respectively. Despite being outside the monsoon zone, the district receives some precipitation at higher elevations. South Waziristan District has an arid climate, receiving minimal precipitation. Due to its high altitude, the western portion, which borders Afghanistan, receives more rain than the eastern portion, which touches Tank and D.I.Khan districts. A small area in the southeastern corner receives less than 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation annually, while the majority of the district receives a mean annual rainfall of 6 inches.
Demographics
Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1972 307,514 —
1981 309,454 +0.07%
1998 429,841 +1.95%
2017 675,215 +2.41%
2023 888,675 +4.68%
Sources:
As of the 2023 census, South Waziristan District has 178,636 households and a population of 888,675. The sex ratio in the district is 107.08 males to 100 females, and the literacy rate is 31.96%—42.63 percent for males and 20.38 percent for females. 295,611 (33.26% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. All of the people live in rural areas. In the 2023 census, 1,694 (0.19%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.[ 13] Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 97.99% of the population. 1.85% speak other languages, possibly Ormuri.
The two main tribes of the district are the Ahmadzai Wazir and the Mahsud. The other significant tribal populations are the Ormur (Burki or Baraki), Dotani, Sulaimankhel, Ghilji, Khomia and Taji. Some Bettani tribal people live in a strip on the south-east border, while the Ghilji are mainly settled in the south-west corner. Toi Khwla and Gulkuch are home to the majority of the Dotani and Sulaimankhel tribes.
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