Waziristan facts for kids

Location of North and South Waziristan (green) inside Pakistan.

Waziristan (Pashto and Urdu: وزیرستان, "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering about 11,585 km² (4,473 sq mi). It is part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which is not part of any of the country's four provinces.

Legal status

Though declared by the rebels as a "state" or "emirate", there are questions whether the region being should be called such. Those who support that the region is a state point to the facts that the federal government has little to no power in the region and that the area is ruled mostly by tribal elders. The Taliban are reported to control most of the region with its own style of Sharia rule, which the Pakistan government has been unable to stop. Such bold show of autonomy has led one writer in the Wall Street Journal to remark that Waziristan was a "state within a state."

Images for kids

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  North (purple) and South (blue) Waziristan and surrounding Federally Administered Tribal Areas and provinces

See also

In Spanish: Waziristán para niños