Nek Muhammad Wazir

Nek Muhammad Wazir (1975-2004) (Urdu: نیک محمد وزیر) (AKA Nek Mohammed) was a charismatic Pashtun military leader. He was killed in an airstrike by American forces in South Waziristan, FATA, Pakistan.

Nek Muhammad belonged to the Yargul Khai subclan of the Ahmed Zai Wazir tribe. He received his early education at an Islamic school run by Jamiat-i-Ulema-i-Islam leader Maulana Noor Mohammed. 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 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.

Wana at the time was also a significant supply and training base for Mujahideen 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 in Kargha, and fighting in battles against Northern Alliance forces in Bagram, Bamyan and Pansher. 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 Yaldevish, and Chinese separatist leader Hasan Mohsin. After the Taliban regime fell in late 2002, Muhammad returned to Wana, and from there reportedly facilitated the escape of many other Taliban and foreign fighters from Afghanistan.

Muhammad formed a new Pashtun 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-Western 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 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.

The Pakistani army continues to insist it was responsible for Muhammad's death, but PBS Frontline reported earlier in the year he had been killed by a missile from an American Predator UAV.

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• Nek Muhammad Wazir