Context
A US drone strike killed five Taliban commanders belonging to the Maulvi Nazir faction of the Taliban in South Waziristan on Thursday. According to reports, the five insurgents killed have been identified as Hazrat Omar, Khan Muhammad, Miraj Wazir and Ashfaq Wazir. The identity of the fifth was not revealed. The Nazir group is active in carrying out attacks in Afghanistan against western troops. According to Mansur Khan Mehsud of the FATA Research Centre think tank, “They are a very important group because while they are based in Pakistan they are very active in Afghanistan,”
The Nazir faction has claimed it is not against the Pakistani state, and is considered as ‘Good Taliban’ by the country. The Pakistani military is believed to have provided guarantees to the good Taliban that it would not launch an operation against it, if it does not target the state. US has previously avoided targeting the good Taliban, a position it no longer abides by.
