Ipi, Waziristan

Ipi ايپي آی پي‎
Village
Ipi Show map of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ipi Show map of Pakistan
Coordinates: 32°57′15″N70°17′58″E / 32.95417°N 70.29944°E / 32.95417; 70.29944
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District	North Waziristan
Tehsil	Mir Ali
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)

Ipi is a village in the North Waziristan District of Bannu Division in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The village attained prominence as the operational base of Mirza Ali Khan, a prominent insurgent leader who orchestrated sustained resistance against the British Empire ^[1] from Ipi. ^[2] Over time, Khan came to be widely recognised as the Faqir of Ipi ^[3] — a term first used by the British ^[4] , who often applied the term faqir to denote ascetic or religious figures throughout South Asia. ^[5]

History

In 1923 Mirza Ali Khan, who later became known as the Faqir of Ipi, settled in the village of Ipi. Khan had performed the Haj to Mecca that year before settling in the village where he began to gain a reputation as a holy man among the Daurs. The village of Ipi was near to a British military road that linked Bannu with Razmak and in 1936 Khan managed to rouse the Daurs into rebellion against the British. ^[6]

Location

The village is located at 32°57'15N 70°17'58E ^[7] and is situated north of the Tochi River between Mir Ali and Thall in North Waziristan, ^[8] it lies 3km east of the town of Mir Ali. ^[9]

Militancy

The village has seen occasionally seen violence and attacks by militants as well as action by the Pakistan army. In October 2007 during Battle of Mirali, two planes bombed the village of Ipi, the army claiming it was targeting militant hideouts. ^[9] In February 2021, two women working with an NGO called Sabawon were killed by suspected Taliban militants, ^[10] the previous month a young doctor who was en route from Mirali to Peshawar was shot dead by firing from the village. ^[11]

References

1. Stewart, Jules (2007-02-22). Savage Border: The Story of the North-West Frontier. The History Press. ISBN   9780752496078.
2. Hauner, Milan (1981). "One Man against the Empire: The Faqir of Ipi and the British in Central Asia on the Eve of and during the Second World War". Journal of Contemporary History. 16 (1). SAGE Publications: 59–82. JSTOR   260619.
3. "The formidable Faqir". The News on Sunday. Jang Media Group. 7 February 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
4. "The Invasion of Waziristan and its Aftermath". Religious Studies Blog. The Open University. 17 February 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
5. "Fakir". Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
6. Hauner, Milan (1981). "One Man against the Empire: The Faqir of Ipi and the British in Central Asia on the Eve of and during the Second World War". Journal of Contemporary History. 16 (1). SAGE Publications: 183–212. JSTOR   260623 . Retrieved 15 November 2025.
7. "Ipi, Pakistan Page". Falling Rain Genomics. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
8. "North West Frontier Revolt of 1936–37". GlobalSecurity.org. GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
9. "50 killed as jets pound village: People fleeing troubled Mirali". Dawn. Dawn Media Group. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
10. "Mourning the sisters killed as they taught handicrafts". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 28 February 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2025.
11. "Young doctor shot dead in N. Waziristan". Dawn. Dawn Media Group. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2025.