Mullah Nazir was known as one of Pakistan's 'good Taliban' - Telegraph
Mullah Nazir was known as one of Pakistan's 'good Taliban' Most victims of drone attacks live their lives in the shadows, their names publicised only once they are dead by intelligence sources pushing one agenda or another.
11:11AM GMT 03 Jan 2013
Follow Mullah Nazir, killed in the first drone strike of 2013, is different.
Even before his death his name was already well known in South Waziristan where he controlled the main militant faction – as well as further afield where he was known as one of Islamabad's pet "Good Taliban" commanders.
He sent his fighters across the border to battle American and Afghan forces, and avoided taking on the Pakistani military, leaving him at odds with the leadership of the Pakistan Taliban led by Hakimullah Mehsud, based around North Waziristan. As a result, his death could upset the careful balance that the Pakistan military has tried to build in the troubled tribal areas that border Afghanistan.
But he remained a crucial target for the CIA's drone programme much to the irritation of some Pakistani officers.
"The programme is making things very difficult for us. Nazir is the sole remaining major militant leader willing to be an ally," is how one officer described the tension in a recent interview with Reuters.
However, his ambiguous position also reflected the problems in the so called "Good Taliban, Bad Taliban" distinction made in Pakistan.
Imtiaz Gul, an author and expert on the country's tribal belt, said Mullah Nazir was playing a double game, harbouring al-Qaeda operatives despite agreeing peace deals with Islamabad.
"Both Pakistan and the US should be pleased he is gone because he was undermining Pakistan's stated position of disrupting, denying and degrading al Qaeda," he said.
Mullah Nazir was known as one of Pakistan's 'good Taliban' - Telegraph
Mullah Nazir was known as one of Pakistan's 'good Taliban' Most victims of drone attacks live their lives in the shadows, their names publicised only once they are dead by intelligence sources pushing one agenda or another.
11:11AM GMT 03 Jan 2013
Follow Mullah Nazir, killed in the first drone strike of 2013, is different.
Even before his death his name was already well known in South Waziristan where he controlled the main militant faction – as well as further afield where he was known as one of Islamabad's pet "Good Taliban" commanders.
He sent his fighters across the border to battle American and Afghan forces, and avoided taking on the Pakistani military, leaving him at odds with the leadership of the Pakistan Taliban led by Hakimullah Mehsud, based around North Waziristan. As a result, his death could upset the careful ba
lance that the Pakistan military has tried to build in the troubled tribal areas that border Afghanistan.
But he remained a crucial target for the CIA's drone programme much to the irritation of some Pakistani officers.
"The programme is making things very difficult for us. Nazir is the sole remaining major militant leader willing to be an ally," is how one officer described the tension in a recent interview with Reuters.
However, his ambiguous position also reflected the problems in the so called "Good Taliban, Bad Taliban" distinction made in Pakistan.
Imtiaz Gul, an author and expert on the country's tribal belt, said Mullah Nazir was playing a double game, harbouring al-Qaeda operatives despite agreeing peace deals with Islamabad.
"Both Pakistan and the US should be pleased he is gone because he was undermining Pakistan's stated position of disrupting, denying and degrading al Qaeda," he said.