Gurwek

Gurwek
Town
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
AgencyNorth Waziristan
Time zoneUTC+5 (PKT)

Gūrwēk (Urdu: گورویک, Pashto: ګوروېک) is a town in North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, on the border with Afghanistan. Gurwek is located about 46 km (29 mi) southwest of Miramshah, the capital of North Waziristan.[1]

Gurwek is famous for being the site from where Mirzali Khan (Faqir of Ipi) led his guerrilla warfare, first against the British Empire, and later against the newly created government of Pakistan.[2] It was in this town that Mirzali Khan symbolically declared his independent state of Pashtunistan.[3]

On May 11, 2010, at least 24 "suspected militants" were killed in Gurwek and Datta Khel from two drone strikes in Pakistan, in which the US fired up to 18 missiles.[4][5] In 2014, about 929,859 people were internally displaced from North Waziristan as a result of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, a military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces along the Durand Line,[6][7] which is the international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan

  1. ^ US drone attacks kill 21 in Pakistan. Hindustan Times. May 11, 2010.
  2. ^ The Faqir of Ipi of North Waziristan. The Express Tribune. November 15, 2010.
  3. ^ The legendary guerilla Faqir of Ipi unremembered on his 115th anniversary. The Express Tribune. April 18, 2016.
  4. ^ "US drone 'kills 24 suspected militants' in Pakistan". BBC. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  5. ^ "US missiles kill at least 24 in North Waziristan". Dawn. 11 May 2010. Archived from the original on 16 May 2010.
  6. ^ North Waziristan IDPs figure reaches 800,000. Dawn. July 8, 2014.
  7. ^ "Air raids flatten 5 militant hideouts". The Express Tribune. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.