Baitullah Mehsud

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Baitullah Mahsud (Urdu: بیت اللہ محسود ) is a leading tribal militia leader in Waziristan, who, while he is sympathetic to both the Taliban and Al Qaeda, is primarily tribally oriented.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Role within the Waziri tribe

The Waziris are a Pashtun tribe whose home spans the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. The Mahsud are one of the four sub-tribes of the Waziri.

Mehsud entered into a ceasefire with Pakistani authorities on February 8, 2005.[3][4][5] Mehsud was offered $20 million USD for his cooperation in the ceasefire.[6] Some Taliban leaders had claimed they needed the money because they owed al Qaeda money, and couldn't disengage from hostilities unless the debt was repaid. Mehsud however told Pakistani authorities that they should use his share of the pay-out to "compensate families who had suffered during the military operation".

Preliminary investigations concerning the September 2007 bombings in Rawalpindi note that Mehsud is the primary suspect behind the attacks.[7] A December 18, 2005 report stated that Baitullah Mehsud, Abdullah Mehsud and Yaldeshev were the subject of a man-hunt.[8] Authorities said they believed that the militants were short of ammunition and would be captured soon.

A March 10, 2006 report asserts that Mehsud collects a kind of tax in Waziristan.[9] The report quotes an official in the Northwest Frontier Constabulary:

Baitullah's lashkar (army) is very organised. He has divided it into various units and assigned particular tasks to each unit. One of the units been tasked to kill people who are pro-government and pro-US and support the US occupation of Afghanistan. The last person to be killed was Malik Arsallah Khan, chief of the Khuniakhel Wazir tribe, who was killed on February 22 in Wana (in South Waziristan).

The Ariana Afghanistan WorldWide Broadcasting reported on June 23, 2006 that the Waziri tribes allied with the Taliban were negotiating another ceasefire with Pakistani forces.[10] The article said Baitullah Mehsud "has been chosen to continue to be the head of militants from Mehsud tribe." His growing influence in South Waziristan have led some to label him as "South Waziristan's Unofficial Amir".[11]

In February 2008, Mehsud announced that he had agreed to another ceasefire with the government of Pakistan. The Pakistani military has officially claimed that military operations against Mehsud are continuing. The The New York Times, however, reports that anonymous high-level officials in the Pakistani government confirmed the deal.[12]

[edit] Benazir Bhutto assassination

On December 28, 2007 the Pakistan government claimed that it had strong evidence regarding Baitullah Mehsud as the man behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007.[13] The Pakistani government released a transcript it asserted was from a conversation between Baitullah Mehsud and Maulvi Sahib (literally "Mr. Cleric").[14][15][16] According to the transcript Maulvi Sahib claimed credit for the attack, Baitullah Mehsud asked who carried it out, and was told, "There were Saeed, the second was Badarwala Bilal and Ikramullah was also there."

The translation released from Agence France Presse differed slightly from the translation from the Associated Press.[14][15][16] According to the transcripts Baitullah Mehsud says he is at, "Anwar Shah's house", in Makeen or Makin. The Agence France Presse transcript identifies Makeen as a town in South Waziristan. Subsequently, both Agence France Presse and NDTV released an official denial by Mehsud's spokesman in which he said that Mehsud had no involvement in the attack, that the transcript was "a drama", that it would have been "impossible" for militants to penetrate the security cordon around Bhutto, and that her death was a "tragedy" which had left Mehsud "shocked".[17] Mehsud's spokesman was quoted as saying: "I strongly deny it. Tribal people have their own customs. We don't strike women."[18]

In an address to the nation on January 2, 2008, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said that he believed Maulana Fazlullah and Baitullah Mehsud were prime suspects in the assassination of Bhutto.

In its January 18, 2008 edition, The Washington Post reported that the CIA has concluded that Mehsud was behind the Bhutto assassination. "Offering the most definitive public assessment by a U.S. intelligence official, [Michael V.] Hayden said Bhutto was killed by fighters allied with Mehsud, a tribal leader in northwestern Pakistan, with support from al-Qaeda's terrorist network."[19]

[edit] Relationship with Abdullah Mehsud

Abdullah Mehsud a Taliban leader who was among the first captives set free from Guantanamo is sometimes described as Baitullah's brother.[20] Other sources merely assert that they were clansmen, or associates.[21][22][23] Islam Online reports that Baitullah suspected that Abdullah was a double agent.[24]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Daan Van Der Schriek. "Recent Developments in Waziristan", Jamestown Foundation, March 11, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  2. ^ Masood, Salman. "Blast Kills Surgeon General of Pakistani Army", New York Times, 26 February 2008. Retrieved on 2008-02-26. 
  3. ^ Iqbal Khattak. "Baitullah Mehsud gets ready to surrender", Daily Times, January 30, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  4. ^ Iqbal Khattak. "Baitullah Mehsud and 35 others get government amnesty", Daily Times, February 8, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  5. ^ Shamim Shahid. "Baitullah, supporters lay down arms", The Nation, February 8, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  6. ^ Ismail Khan. "Pakistan paid militants to surrender: Money used to ‘‘repay’’ Al-Qaida debt", The Tribune, February 9, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  7. ^ Azaz Syed. "Baitullah Mehsud behind attacks in Rawalpindi", September 6, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.  mirror
  8. ^ Qudssia Akhlaque. "Hunt launched for key ultras", The Tribune, December 18, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  9. ^ Mohammad Shehzad. "Why is the Pakistan army scared of this man?", rediff, March 10, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  10. ^ "Forces, militants heading for truce", Ariana Afghanistan WorldWide Broadcasting, June 23, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  11. ^ Sohail Abdul Nasir. "Baitullah Mehsud: South Waziristan's Unofficial Amir", Jamestown Foundation, July 5, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-12-19. 
  12. ^ Gall, Carlotta; Ismail Khan. "In Pakistan, Doubts Over the Fight in Tribal Areas", The New York Times, 2008-02-12. Retrieved on 2008-02-12. 
  13. ^ Gale, Carlotta. "Bhutto Buried as Government Orders Virtual Lockdown", The New York Times, 2007-12-28. Retrieved on 2007-12-28. 
  14. ^ a b "Transcript of Alleged al-Qaida Intercept", Associated Press, December 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  15. ^ a b "Transcript: Alleged Al Qaeda Conversation Regarding Bhutto Killing", Fox News, December 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  16. ^ a b "Pakistan releases al-Qaeda call text", NDTV, December 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  17. ^ "Mehsud denies killing Bhutto: Al-Qaida", NDTV, December 29, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-29. 
  18. ^ "Al Qaeda militant did not strike Bhutto: spokesman", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2007-12-29. Retrieved on 2007-12-31. 
  19. ^ "CIA Places Blame for Bhutto Assassination", Washington Post, January 18, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  20. ^ "Former Guantanamo inmate blows himself up in Pakistan", Dawn (newspaper), July 24, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. "During Mehsud's time on the run, his brother Baitullah had taken over from him as one of the top Taliban commanders in Pakistan's tribal regions." 
  21. ^ "Pakistan tribal leaders threaten to resume attacks against government", The News, July 29, 2005. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. "Baitullah Mehsud, who abandoned his more well-known colleague Abdullah Mehsud to cut a peace deal with the government some months ago in return for amnesty, has warned of "terrible attacks" against the government if he and his men..." 
  22. ^ Bill Roggio. "Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid", Longwar Journal, July 24, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. "Abdullah Mehsud, born Noor Alam, was a member of the Mehsud clan in South Waziristan, and was a clansman of Baitullah Mehsud, the most powerful commander in the tribal agency." 
  23. ^ Saleem Shahid. "Cornered militant blows himself up", Dawn (newspaper), July 25, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. "Security was beefed up in Zhob and on Balochistan’s border with Waziristan after the killing of Abdullah Mehsud, the most important Taliban commander in the country after Baitullah Mehsud." 
  24. ^ Aamir Latif. "Pakistan's Most Wanted", Islam Online, Tuesday January 29, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-03-03. 

[edit] External links

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