Haji Mirzali Khan Wazir (Pashto: حاجي میرزاعلي خان وزیر), commonly known as the Faqir of Ipi (فقير ايپي), was a tribal chief and adversary to the British Raj from North Waziristan in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
[1][2] After performing his Hajj pilgrimage in 1923, Mirzali Khan settled in Ipi, a village located near Mirali in north Waziristan, from where he started a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the British Empire.
[4][5] On 21 June 1947, the Faqir of Ipi, along with his allies including the Khudai Khidmatgars and members of the Provincial Assembly, declared the Bannu Resolution which demanded that the Pashtuns should be given a third choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan.
[7][8] After the independence of Pakistan in August 1947, Afghanistan and India financially sponsored the Pashtunistan movement under the leadership of the Faqir of Ipi.
In 1944, the Faqir of Ipi joined his fellow Loya Paktia tribesmen again to support the restoration of Amanullah Khan in the Afghan tribal revolts of 1944–1947.
In November 1936, the British Indian government sent two columns to the Khaisor river valley to rout Ipi's guerillas, but suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat.
In 1939, the British Indian government claimed that the war capacity of the Faqir of Ipi's forces was enhanced by support from Nazi Germany and Italy, alleging that the Italian diplomat Pietro Quaroni drove the Italian policy for involvement in Waziristan, although the British were unable find any concrete evidence for Quaroni's involvement.
He succeeded in inducing a semblance of tribal unity (something which was noted by the British Indian government) among various sections of Pashtuns including the Khattaks, Wazirs, Dawar, Mahsuds and Bettanis.
On 21 June 1947, the Faqir of Ipi, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, and other Khudai Khidmatgars held a jirga in Bannu during which they declared the Bannu Resolution, demanding that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan composing all Pashtun majority territories of British India, instead of being made to join the new dominions of India or Pakistan.
[7][8] Faqir of Ipi refused to recognise the partition of India and launched an armed rebellion against Pakistan which was suppressed by Pakistani airforce, decline and the general lack of interest by local people.