Noor Islam Dawar ( ps, نور اسلام داوړ; ur, نور اسلام داوڑ) was a
Pashtun
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
human rights activist
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...
from
North Waziristan
North Waziristan District ( ps, شمالي وزیرستان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanist ...
,
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. He was an activist in the
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM; ps, پښتون ژغورنې غورځنګ ''Paṣtūn Zhghōrənē Ghōrźang''; ur, , lit=Pashtun Protection Movement) is a social movement for Pashtun human rights based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ...
(PTM), as well as the chairman of a civil society organization, Youth of Waziristan (YOW).
On 27 August 2021, when Noor Islam was on his way home from
Mirali
Mir Ali or Mirali ( ps, ) is a town in North Waziristan District, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Mirali is located in the Tochi Valley, about east of Miramshah (capital of North Waziristan), west of Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a ...
Bazaar, he was assassinated in a
targeted killing
Targeted killing is a form of murder or assassination carried out by governments outside a judicial procedure or a battlefield.
Since the late 20th century, the legal status of targeted killing has become a subject of contention within and betw ...
.
Soon after, several other YOW activists were also murdered in North Waziristan, including Mussawer Dawar on 22 March 2022,
and Waqar Ahmad Dawar, Hemad Durrani, Asadullah Shah, and Sunaid Ahmad Dawar on 19 June 2022.
The police registered
first information report
__NOTOC__
A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...
s (FIRs) against "unknown" assailants.
Political activism
Following the
Pakistan Armed Forces
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...
'
Operation Zarb-e-Azb
Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Pashto/ ur, ALA-LC: ) was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Eas ...
against militants in June 2014, which forced many residents of North Waziristan to
flee their homes and settle at
IDP camps Camps may refer to:
People
*Ramón Camps (1927–1994), Argentine general
*Gabriel Camps (1927–2002), French historian
*Luís Espinal Camps (1932–1980), Spanish missionary to Bolivia
*Victoria Camps (b. 1941), Spanish philosopher and professor ...
in
Bannu
Bannu ( ps, بنو, translit=banū ; ur, , translit=bannū̃, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe ...
and other districts, Noor Islam campaigned for the return of the refugees to their homes and organized several protest gatherings against human rights violations in the region. He founded the Youth of Waziristan (YOW), an organization that protests against insecurity, targeted killings, and lack of basic amenities in
Waziristan
Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...
.
During one of the protest sit-ins at Mirali Chowk (now known as Shaheed Noor Islam Chowk after himself), Noor Islam and his friends were picked up by the Pakistani security agencies for a few days, and were forced to end the protest. After he was released, he was found to have several torture marks on his body and multiple fractures to his head.
He was also an activist in the
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM; ps, پښتون ژغورنې غورځنګ ''Paṣtūn Zhghōrənē Ghōrźang''; ur, , lit=Pashtun Protection Movement) is a social movement for Pashtun human rights based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ...
(PTM), and participated in its protests and gatherings.
Assassination
On the evening of 27 August 2021 at around 6 p.m. (
PST,
UTC+05:00),
when he was on his way home from
Mirali
Mir Ali or Mirali ( ps, ) is a town in North Waziristan District, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Mirali is located in the Tochi Valley, about east of Miramshah (capital of North Waziristan), west of Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a ...
Bazaar, Noor Islam was attacked by gunmen in the Inzerabad area of Hasukhel, Mirali in North Waziristan.
He was shot four times, after which he was rushed to Mirali Hospital for emergency treatment, where he succumbed to his wounds.
The gunmen, who were riding a Fielder car and a motorcycle, escaped the site after the attack.
Responsibility
No one claimed responsibility for the murder, nor did the government charge or arrest anyone. The North Waziristan police chief, Shafiullah Gandapur, said that a case had been registered against "unknown individuals" and that an investigation about the targeted killing was under way.
Funeral
His funeral was held at his native village, Mulagan, on 28 August 2021.
Reactions
The murder caused widespread panic among the locals, who demanded the government of Pakistan improve the law and order situation in the area.
On 30 August, the
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
The Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM; ps, پښتون ژغورنې غورځنګ ''Paṣtūn Zhghōrənē Ghōrźang''; ur, , lit=Pashtun Protection Movement) is a social movement for Pashtun human rights based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ...
and members of the Youth of Waziristan protested against the killing in Mirali, and demanded the government to punish the murderers.
Manzoor Pashteen
Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen (Pashto: منظور احمد پښتين, Urdu: منظور احمد پشتین) is a Pakistani Pashtun human rights activist from South Waziristan. He is the chairman of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
("Pashtun Protection ...
, the leader of PTM, told the protest rally that they wanted peace but their comrades were being killed because of it.
Mohsin Dawar
Mohsin Javed Dawar ( ps, ) is a Pakistani politician who is the chairman of the National Democratic Movement (NDM). He has been a member of the National Assembly since August 2018. He is the co-founder of a human rights movement, Pashtun Tahafu ...
, another leader of PTM and the chairman of the
National Democratic Movement, said that "Noor Islam was the first person to protest against targeted killings in the area, but unfortunately he was himself killed."
In an opinion article for ''
The Diplomat
''The Diplomat'' is an international online news magazine covering politics, society, and culture in the Indo-Pacific region. It is based in Washington, D.C.
It was originally an Australian bi-monthly print magazine, founded by Minh Bui Jones ...
'', Mohsin wrote that Noor Islam became "the first active political worker with a profile to match to be killed in a targeted attack since Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the 2014 government military offensive against militant outfits."
Assassinations of other YOW activists
On 22 March 2022, Mussawer Dawar, who was the spokesperson of the Youth of Waziristan (YOW) and a candidate of the
Awami National Party
The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ګوند; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its curr ...
(ANP) for a general council seat in the local body election in
Haider Khel,
Mirali Tehsil, was killed by gunmen who were riding a motorcycle outside his office in Mirali Bazaar. The attackers escaped after the murder.
On 19 June 2022, Waqar Ahmad Dawar, who was the general secretary of the YOW and a schoolteacher, and three other YOW activists – Hemad Durrani (the senior vice president of the YOW and a
Rescue 1122 employee), Asadullah Shah (a government servant in the health department and district president of
Al-Khidmat Foundation), and Sunaid Ahmad Dawar (a university student and worker of the
National Democratic Movement) – were sprayed with bullets when gunmen on two motorcycles attacked their moving car in Haider Khel. The incident took place in the afternoon when the four friends were returning to their homes after having lunch with their friend in Haider Khel. All four victims were rushed to the nearby hospital in Mirali where they were pronounced dead on arrival. The gunmen escaped after the shooting, and no one claimed responsibility for the attack.
Jahanzeb Khan,
deputy superintendent of police (DSP) in Mirali, told the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
that "the four companions were riding in a car when suddenly the attackers on motorcycles came and opened fire on the car from both sides." When asked if the
(Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP) were behind the attack, Jahanzeb Khan said other extremist organizations were more likely to be involved.
(JI), and other political parties protested against the murders in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including North Waziristan,
.
, but no media covered the four slain youths. Pashteen lamented that no Pakistani court or judge questioned the killing of these educated peace activists.