Wanna, Pakistan Explained

Wanna
Other Name:Wana
Pushpin Map:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa#Pakistan
Pushpin Label Position:right
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Pakistan
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:South Waziristan
Subdivision Type3:Tehsil
Subdivision Name3:Wana
Elevation M:1,387
Area Code Type:Calling code
Timezone1:PST
Utc Offset1:+5

Wāṇa or Wanna (Pushto; Pashto: واڼه, Wāṇə in Pushto; Pashto pronounced as /ˈwɑɳə/; Urdu: {{nq|وانا) is the largest town in the South Waziristan District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is the summer headquarters for the agency's administration, Tank located in the neighbouring Tank District being the winter headquarters.[1]

Wanna is also one of the three subdivisions of South Waziristan along with Ladha and Sarwakai. The subdivision of Wanna is further divided into three tehsils: Wanna, Barmal, and Toi Khwla.[2]

History

Colonial history

During the British Empire, beginning in the late 19th century, the British established a cantonment on the Wanna Plain which was used as a headquarters by the British forces in South Waziristan till the partition of India in 1947. During their rule, the Pashtun tribes of Waziristan - part of the Karlanri Tribal Confederation - gave the British much headache. In fact, the British, known then as the 'foreigners', had to deal with a full-fledged insurgency in Waziristan in the 1930s. At one point during the 1930s, the British had up to 18,000 troops in and around Waziristan, with Wanna being used as the forward headquarters and airbase.

Post-Independence

During 1989, the city underwent a striking increase in Malaria with a village Azam Warsak suffering the most.[3]

Wanna in the War on Terror

Wanna has been involved in the War on Terror due to the Al-Qaeda members affiliated with the Taliban-aligned Ahmadzai Waziris of the Wanna Plain. The Pakistan Armed forces have been conducted several armed operations against these Al-Qaeda members since August 2003 off and on with limited success. Perhaps the town's most violent incident in the War on Terror was the Battle of Wanna which took place in March 2004 and included fighters from the Pakistani Army against Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. More than 100 armed personnel were killed during the week of the fighting.

Ethnic background of inhabitants

Inhabitants of Wanna are Muslim Pashtuns, primarily Ahmedzai Waziris from the Wazir tribe but other Pashtun tribes such as Mahsud and Bettani also live in the surroundings of Wanna.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.fata.gov.pk/subpages/swa.php Historical and Administrative Profile of the South Waziristan Agency
  2. https://fata.gov.pk/Global-fac.php?iId=343&fid=36&pId=305&mId=119 FATA - Official Web Portal: About South Waziristan: Geography
  3. Book: Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 74. 4th. 1996. 417. 2486890. The increase in prevalence from May to September was most striking among the local Pakistani population in Azam Warsak(from 3.2% to 45.6%; significant, P>0.001).. Bouma. M. J.. Parvez. S. D.. Nesbit. R.. Winkler. A. M.. 4. 8823964.