Mahsud

This article is about the Pakistani tribe. For the Taliban militant, see Baitullah Mehsud.

Mahsud (Pashto: مهسود، محسود، مسعود، مسید, also spelled Masood, Mahsood, Masud or Maseed (in Pashto) is a Pashtun tribe in Waziristan, Pashtunistan, a region of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Mahsud (Masood) tribe lives in the very centre of Waziristan, surrounded on three sides by the Darwesh Khel Waziris, and being shut off by the Bhittanis on the east from the Derajat and Bannu districts. Two Pashtun tribes, Ahmadzai Wazir and Mahsud, inhabit and dominate South Waziristan. Within the heart of Mahsud(Masood) territory in South Waziristan lies the influential Burki (also known as Barak/Baraki/Urmar) tribe's stronghold of Kaniguram. The Burki are considered by other tribes/khels of South Waziristan to be close brethren of the Mahsud due to marital and other ties and the fact that the Burki have lived in & controlled Kaniguram for over a thousand years.Some of mahsouds(Masoods) stay in afghanistan.they are leaving and reside in loogar, wardak, Ghazni, Kundoz, Baghlan and other provinces.

The Mahsud(Masood) usually pronounce their name "Maseed" -- although to some ears this sounds more like "Mahsit." They are divided into three great clans or subtribes, namely Manzai, Bahlolzai, and Shaman Khel. Mahsuds (Masoods) usually call them Dre Maseed, meaning the Three Mahsuds. Each tribe has his own Khan. Gee Khan Langerkhel is one of the most prominent leaders of the Mahsud tribe.

In the words of Sir Olaf Caroe, who acted as the former governor of the British Indian Frontier, "The Mahsud tribe are a people who can never even think of submitting to a foreign power." From 1860 to 1937, the English forces repeatedly attacked Mahsud positions, but never got a foothold in the area.

History

In 1850, Lewat's tribesmen the Great Baromi's (Shabi Khel) defeated 3,000 British troops with only 300 fighters, using guerrilla tactics by attacking the British in the valley of Bobar (Waziristan) from all sides with outdated rifles and swords. This attack demoralized the British and made them fearful of the Mehsuds. Survivors of this attack reported that the sight of the Mehsud tribesmen charging at them (with loud roars and wearing long hair & beards) affected them mentally.

In 1860, three thousand Mahsud(Masood) tribesmen attacked the British regiment base in Tank (present South Waziristan). The British struggled to defeat them.

In 1897, Mujahed tribesmen again stood up against the British all the way from Chitral to Quetta, and the British experienced difficulty when engaging them. It was during this time that the name of Mullah Powindah emerged. Powindah comes from the Pashto language, meaning "nomad."

Day after day, Mullah Powindah grew more popular and famous. He emerged as a legendary figure among the people of the region and beyond. There even was a time the British considered him to be the sole leader of the Waziristan country. His followers would sporadically kill individual English officers. However, the British were not be able to capture the attackers, who would return to their mountain hideouts. All attempts to stop these attacks were unsuccessful.

In 1907, the Wazir and Mahsud(Masood) tribesmen were blocked from entry into any government-controlled territory. Economic sanctions were imposed, blocking even basic amenities, such as food and medicine. The English commander of that time blockaded the areas of Makin and Kaniguram. Various areas were searched to arrest Mullah Powindah without success. The English thought that the tribesmen were receiving weapons from the Indian Ocean near Balochistan and responded by creating check posts, but no weapons were confiscated.

Mullah Powindah died in 1913. It could be said that he was the crownless emperor of one of the most fiercesome of the Pashtun Tribes, the Mahsuds. Upon his death, his son Shah Fazal Din was given leadership and his son-in-law, Mulla Abdul Hakeem, was appointed his adviser.

When the First World War started in 1915, the English were concerned that they would be engaged in battle on more than one front. This was a threat to their safety and economy, so they decided to close those fronts of lesser significance. They abandoned their ‘Forward Policy’ for the time being and sent a message of friendship and peace to the tribes. The tribes did not trust the British, and rejected these peace proposals. Instead, the Mahsuds assembled a militia to attack the British.

By this time, the British had established an air force in the subcontinent, which was used to harass the tribesmen, and as a result the tribe's hatred of the British increased. Due to their sufferings, they were bent upon taking revenge, and hence their morale increased. A series of attacks were made by the Mahsuds, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. The attack on the Marhatta Regiment resulted in the deaths of hundreds of sepoys and five British Officers. In the attack on the Punjab Regiment, the Mahsud warriors slaughtered everyone. The aerial bombardments had inflicted significant losses on the tribesmen, but they were content that they were also doing well and had killed around 250 of the enemy forces.

After the end of the First World War, the British returned to Waziristan. This time, they built roads and forts throughout the land. The sophistication and constant patrols of the British air force helped create a secure atmosphere for their ground troops. With this sense of security, the British Army constructed a road from Jandola to Ladha. At Razmak, they constructed a cantonment for their army officers and soldiers.

By 1922-23, all the British forces had moved from Wana to Razmak. They had constructed an airport there, and instead of flying all the way from India, their aircraft would fly from Razmak Airport and bomb the countryside. Because of this, the countryside of Makin was totally devastated. The Mahsuds deemed it appropriate at this time to agree to a ceasefire because this new British tactic was inflicting wide-scale losses on their side. The ceasefire, they imagined, would also enable them to devise a strategy for countering the latest British advances.

In 1925, the Royal Air Force successfully put down a Mahsud rebellion by strafing the tribes' mountain strongholds. The action, which came to be known as Pink's War led to the tribal leaders seeking peace terms.

Recent history

Historically, the Wazirs and Mahsuds have always looked toward Afghanistan as their real home, and throughout the British Colonial period, they supported Afghan kings in their wars against the British. On many occasions the Afghan throne was saved with the help of the Mahsud, Burki/Baraki and Wazirs from Wazirstan. Of those who fought during this time, most came back to their homeland, but those who stayed were given high ranks of office, such as Faiz Muhammad Mahsud, who was granted a title the equivalent of prime minister during the 1970s. Today the majority of Mahsuds are still in Logar Province, with the title of Waziri, but by caste, they are Mahsuds. The majority of these are Manzai with a sub-caste of Dramankel, Faridi, etc. When the Soviet-Afghan War started, some of these families came back to Wazirstan but could not stay there, so they moved to cities like Peshawar and Karachi.

They are poor but brave… and although turbulent and difficult to deal with, still have a great love of their country and cherish their independence, possessing qualities that we admire ourselves, and which deserve consideration and respect.

Mahsud are very good marksmen and have the reputation of trustworthiness. Mahsud is the most independent of all the tribes. Even their own maliks have a very limited control over them. However, Mahsuds have been increasingly integrated with the Pakistani society since independence. - John Ayde describes the Mahsud

Since independence, many social, economic and demographic changes have occurred in Waziristan. A large number of Mahsuds have joined mainstream Pakistani society. When the Hindu traders of Tank left after the Partition of India in 1947, most of their shops were taken over by Mahsuds. Now Mahsuds are employed in the militia and regular army, state bureaucracy, and involved in business all around the country. Many of them are now living far away from their native lands.

Immediately after independence, Mahsuds raised a tribal lashkar which entered Kashmir. They quickly reached the outskirts of Srinagar defeating the Maharaja’s troops. However as they were not a regular disciplined force, they gave much time to raping women and pillaging in Baramulla. This gave the Maharaja of Kashmir enough time to sign an accord and request for Indian troops. As a result the Mehsuds were then quickly driven back all the way to Muzzafarabad.

Kashmir War Interview with Lashkar Commander Lt Col. (R) Gaideen Khan Abdullai Mahsud (2005)

Kursheed Anwar Commander of the Muslim League National Guards was placed in charge of the Lashkars for Kashmir by Abdul Qayum Khan. Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan was in charge of operations in Kashmir. There was a clear understanding with the Lashkar that when they captured Srinagar they would be allowed to loot the treasury and the palace in lieu of payment. This was the accepted mode of warfare of not only for Tribal Pathans but all unpaid armies in the world since time immemorial. In 1929 when the British against usurper in Kabul launched Nadir Shah he was allowed to recruit Wazir tribe from FATA. The Wazir tribes were allowed to loot the king's palace in Kabul in lieu of payment for their efforts. In case of Kashmir jihad in 1947 the Pakistan government was not responsible for their death or injury and only supplied some ammunition and rudimentary transport. Food and accommodation was also arranged by the Lashkar. This was called 'living off the land'. Despite all the drawbacks the Lashkars brushed aside the Dogra forces within the first week.

The Lashkar was launched from Muzaffarabad on October 23, 1947. When the Lashkar reached Baramulla and captured the town (October 26) after a stiff action they realized that they were now fighting the Indian regular army and hence knew that Indian reinforcements had reached the Valley. The Indian Commanding Officer was killed and one person from the Lashkar took off his jacket and wore it. Anwar addressed the Lashkar at Baramullah and told them that there was a change of plan and the treasury and the palace was not to be looted. The leaders of various Lashkars had earlier pleaded with him not to say this and matter could be resolved once they captured Srinagar. The Lashkars were enraged and showed their displeasure with Lashkar leaders, which was embarrassing for the leaders. Nevertheless some elements reached outskirts of Srinagar on October 29. Here Commander Gadeen Khan and his small group faced determined resistance. They overran opposition after a firefight but realized that they were now facing Indian armoured cars, artillery, air force and regular Indian ground troops. The Lashkar had no anti tank or anti air craft weapons. Small bands of the Lashkar when opposed by full Indian army in the open in sight of Srinagar did not stand a chance. The Lashkar started to disperse very rapidly. Of the 5000 tribesmen only 25 remained with Commander Gadeen Khan the rest went on a looting spree in the Valley and then headed home. The few remaining Pathans fought a rearguard action till some units of Pakistan army and volunteers arrived and stabilized the position at Chakoti.

According to Gen Akbar Khan (1970) by November 5 the Lashkar had retreated to Uri 65 miles from Srinagar and small parties were pulling out of Kashmir altogether. The retreating Lashkar mainly of Mahsud from South Waziristan and Afridi from Tirah were met by Gen Akbar Khan at Uri and was bombarded with questions such as:

“Who was I? I told them. Had the Pakistan Government sent me? No. Were any troops coming to help? No. Had I brought any weapons or ammunition? No. Did Pakistan want Kashmir or not? Yes.”

The Pathan 'volunteers' came at the call of Pir of Wana South Waziristan (As Syed Yousuf Mehmood Faizullah Al-Gilani Baghdadi (born 1905, died 1976), Pir Ghulam Dastgir (Sultan ul Asr Hazrat Sultan Ghulam Dastgir Al-Qadiri descendant of Hazrat Sultan Bahu, born :1919 Died: 1986) and Malik Akhya Jan Wazir(Izzatullah, Shaikh. Kashmir-Plebiscite: Part 1. Iqbal Company Ltd. Lahore). The people of FATA were encouraged to join the Lashkar by the Chief Minister of NWFP Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan despite objections from the NWFP Governor Sir George Cunningham (Hussain, Ijaz. Kashmir dispute: an international law perspective. National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Islamabad. 1998). Sulemankhel tribesmen from Afghanistan also joined the fight as part of jihad (Khan, Sardar M Ibrahim. The Kashmir saga. Ripon Printing Press, Lahore. 1965). Sardar Mohammad Abdul Qayyum Khan called these 'volunteers' as Mujahideen/Tribal Volunteers (The Kashmir case. Published by Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, Rawalpindi. 1970). Sheikh Izzatullah called the Pathans as 'raiders' working for Army of Liberation. Gen Akbar Khan also refers to them as 'raiders' . For the Indian side the Pathan Lashkar were invaders/raiders (Khalifa, Abdul Mannan. Kashmir story. ABKO, Lahore. 1970).

In the first wave of attack on the road to Srinagar the Lashkar had an incentive i.e. to loot the Rajgarh palace and the treasury in Srinagar. However there were people amongst the Lashkar who opted to stay on and fight without material reward. Later the Lashkar rallied back for the Pando action and took valuable territory without material reward. I do hope we now have a balanced view of the contribution of people of Waziristan and other parts of FATA who put their life on line for Pakistan. Again the Taliban were launched into Afghanistan from FATA during the Russian occupation. A lot of people of FATA lost their lives in this action.

The home of the Mahsud is inhospitable mountainous terrain on the border of Afghanistan(Bara Pakhtonkwa) and Pakistan. This location has given them the flexibility to maintain some independence from central authorities of both countries. Like all other tribes, the Mahsud cherish their independence and are fully conscious of their reputation of ‘honour’ and ‘bravery’. They use these qualities to convey their ethnic superiority. Mahsud efforts to resist any penetration of their enclave was due to their intense independent spirit which almost borders on anarchy. In this, the Mahsud effort was inspired by a deep-seated instinct which drove the tribe at all costs to resist subjection and to preserve their own peculiar way of life. Every Mahsud considers himself as an equal to other Mahsud. The sentiment was expressed by a Mahsud leader Jaggar, who told Evelyn Howell, "Let it be field: Blow us all up with cannon, or make all eighteen thousand of us Nawabs," thus suggesting that all Mahsud were equal.

Gradual change has occurred in Waziristan due to increased interaction of tribes with the government and the settled districts adjoining their land. The most significant experiment of the British was the raising of Militias (later called Scouts) from the area. It gave the tribesman an alternative to a life of tending the fields. The system has all the incentives that a tribesman might enjoy. He is clothed, fed and given cash. He is given a good rifle, a prized possession, and he lives in his own hills with opportunities to use his rifle. In the last fifty years, the region has seen a dramatic change in which the tribal society is increasingly attached to the settled area both economically and socially. This has limited some of the independence which the tribesman’s forefathers enjoyed. If they choose to challenge the central authority, they would suffer more than their forefathers. On the other hand, the government's authority to punish the whole tribe is also restricted to some extent due to increased integration of tribesmen into settled districts. In modern times, a more imaginative policy is needed to handle this delicate situation.

They fight for the love of fighting, and though at the moment they are contented and peaceful, they say openly that they must soon relieve the monotony by having a rising. -Wife of Viceroy Lord Minto after the visit to the frontier tribes.

Transport and business

The Mahsud along with the neighboring Wazir have come to dominate the transport industry of Pakistan. They have earned a reputation for assuring the safe arrival of shipments, often through long and perilously dangerous routes (e.g., Karakorum highway) to their point of destination. Due to the inhospitability and limited resources of their native regions, many Mahsuds have established colonies throughout Pashtonistan, particularly in the urban centres of Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot, Islamabad/Rawalpindi ,Bannu, Kabul, Lugar, Helmand, Wardak, Baghlan, Ghazni, and other cities. Many Mahsud have established themselves as successful businessman, which has helped them to improve conditions for their families and relatives living in Waziristan.

Education

The literacy rate in the region (FATA) has gradually been improving since it joined with to Pakistan, and Mahsuds encourage their children to attend government-run local schools, with many going into professions such as medicine, dentistry, anthropology, and military service. Schools throughout Pakistan have several seats reserved for Pakistanis living in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and this has helped many inhabitants living in peripheral and distant regions of the country to have access to federal facilities. The Mahsud also have reserved federal seats in order for them to improve their literacy rate and better integrate them into Pakistan's mainstream.Now a days this tribe is showing great progress eduacation wise with many PhD scholars working in different fields.Some of them are Hamidullah Mahsud, Salah ud Din Mahsud (salah underscore mahsud at the rate of yahoo dot com)and Syed Badshah Mahsud.These three are in process of PhD in Chemistry.Another Lal Badshah Mahsud his carrying out is PhD studies in Botany.Mahsud tribe is proud of these PhD scholars.

Famous Mahsuds

• Mullah Powindah Masood
• Col (R) Hashim Khan Mahsud - Saleemi Khel (Chief Khan of Dre Maseed)( Ex. Captian of British Army)
• chief of maliks haji jalandar khan mehsud abdullai
• Bojur Abdurrehman Khel or Meyajee Lala
• malik haji nawaz khan mehsud abdull
• Mehardil Kaka of Malkhel Tribe (the chief of the Alizai subtribe who attacked Jawaharlal Nehru in Razmak in 1946)
• Malik Mir Badsha Khan Mahsud( Khan Bahadur of Dre Maseed).
• Sayid Alam Khan Mahsud – Saleemi Khel (Ex. Chief Secretary Baluchistan)
• General(R)Alam Jan Mahsud
• Risaldar Gul Rakhman Mahsud Nazar Khel
• Malik Saeed Khan Mahsud (Ex-State Minister for Water & Power)
• Mir Saheb khan Masoud (Afghan Army Brigadier)
• DIG Police Rehmat Khan Mahsud - Saleemi Khel
• Malik Inayatullah Mahsud(Malik of Manzai tribe)
• Malik Masood Ahmad Abdullai.
• Brig(R)Qayyum Sher Mahsud Ex-Minister
• Commander Abdullah Mehsud - Saleemi Khel (Ex.Prisoner of Guantanamo Bay)
• Baitullah Mehsud
• Hakimullah Masoud

• Faizullah Mahsud (Interior Minister of Afghnistan during Nadir Shah era)
• Alam Khan Mahsud (famous poet and writer of various books including;Da Sahar Baang)
• Ali Khan Mahsood(Writer)
• Nazeer Sahaar(Masood), writer, poet and Journalist.
• Salah ud Din Mahsud (famous PhD scholar of the tribe in Chemistry belongs to Malakshai sub-tribe His email address is salah underscore mahsud at the rate of yahoo dot com
• Muntazer Mahsood (Poet)
• Malik Abdul Qayyum Khan (ex-State Minister for SAFRON, Pakistan)
• Malik Sakhi Jan (ex-MNA and Senator)

References

DIG telecommunication of Police sala udin Mahsood