Pakistani Taliban Factions Complicate U.S.-Afghan Negotiations

A suspected U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle strike in Pakistan's tribal region Jan. 3 killed a key Taliban leader who had been helping Islamabad combat hostile Taliban factions. The top warlord of the Ahmadzai Waziri tribe, Maulvi Nazir, and several of his close associates died when missiles struck the house where they were meeting in Angoor Adda, South Waziristan. Nazir's death comes a little over a month after anti-Pakistan rival Taliban forces attempted to assassinate him.

Maulvi Nazir's reported death is a setback for Islamabad's efforts against Taliban rebels and could give Pakistan's main Taliban rebel group, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the opportunity to come back in South Waziristan. A U.S. strike killing Nazir could push his group or other larger Taliban factions, such as that of Hafiz Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan, to align with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. The result could be a much more potent insurgency against the Pakistani state, weakening it to the point that it could become unable to play a meaningful role in negotiations about Afghanistan's future.