Baitullah Mehsud

Baitullah Mahsud (Urdu: بیت اللہ محسود born ca. 1974) is a leading tribal militia leader in Waziristan, Pakistan. He is primarily tribally oriented but also sympathetic to Al Qaeda and is the leader of the Pakistani Taliban umbrella group, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, formed in December 2007.cite news
url=http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369400
title=Recent Developments in Waziristan
publisher=Jamestown Foundation
author=Daan Van Der Schriek
date=March 11 2005
accessdate=2007-12-29] cite news
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/world/asia/26pstan.html
title=Blast Kills Surgeon General of Pakistani Army
publisher=New York Times
author=Masood, Salman
date=26 February 2008
accessdate=2008-02-26] [Abbas, Hassan. " [http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/17868/profile_of_tehrikitaliban_pakistan.html A Profile of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan] ". "CTC Sentinel" 1 (2): 1–4. January 2008.]

CNN and various other media sources reported the death of Baithullah Mehsud on September 30, 2008. His "death", at the age of 34, was reportedly due to kidney failure preceded by a short sickness. [http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/30/taliban.official.dead/index.html] These rumors have been vehemently denied by many of his close associates, including his aide, his doctor and a Taliban spokesman. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7646244.stm]

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. cite news
url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-1-2005_pg7_1
title=Baitullah Mehsud gets ready to surrender
publisher=Daily Times
author=Iqbal Khattak
date=January 30 2005
accessdate=2007-12-29] cite news
url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-2-2005_pg1_9
title=Baitullah Mehsud and 35 others get government amnesty
publisher=Daily Times
author=Iqbal Khattak
date=February 8 2005
accessdate=2007-12-29] cite news
url=http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/feb-2005/8/index11.php
title=Baitullah, supporters lay down arms
publisher=The Nation
author=Shamim Shahid
date=February 8 2005
accessdate=2007-12-29] Mehsud was offered US$20 million for his cooperation in the ceasefire. cite news
url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050210/world.htm#3
title=Pakistan paid militants to surrender: Money used to ‘‘repay’’ Al-Qaida debt
publisher=The Tribune
author=Ismail Khan
date=February 9 2005
accessdate=2007-12-29] 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.cite news
url=http://www.dailyindia.com/show/171638.php/Baitullah-Mehsud-behind-attacks-in-Rawalpindi
title=Baitullah Mehsud behind attacks in Rawalpindi
publisherr=Daily India
author=Azaz Syed
date=September 6 2007
accessdate=2007-12-29 [http://server.kbri-islamabad.go.id/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1848&Itemid=46 mirror] ] A December 18 2005 report stated that Baitullah Mehsud, Abdullah Mehsud and Yaldeshev were the subject of a man-hunt. cite news
url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041219/world.htm#4
title=Hunt launched for key ultras
publisher=The Tribune
author=Qudssia Akhlaque
date=December 18 2004
accessdate=2007-12-29] 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. cite news
url=http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/mar/10pspec.htm
title=Why is the Pakistan army scared of this man?
publisher=rediff
author=Mohammad Shehzad
date=March 10 2006
accessdate=2007-12-29] 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. cite news
url=http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/6DDF90D0DD0E8CA287257196003CC781?OpenDocument
title=Forces, militants heading for truce
publisher=Ariana Afghanistan WorldWide Broadcasting
date=June 23 2006
accessdate=2007-12-29] 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". [cite news
url=http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370054
title=Baitullah Mehsud: South Waziristan's Unofficial Amir
publisher=Jamestown Foundation
author=Sohail Abdul Nasir
date=July 5, 2006
accessdate=2007-12-19]

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.cite news
url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/world/asia/12pakistan.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th
title=In Pakistan, Doubts Over the Fight in Tribal Areas
publisher=The New York Times
author=Gall, Carlotta
coauthors=Ismail Khan
date=2008-02-12
accessdate=2008-02-12] On 4th of August, 2008 Pakistani official blamed the CIA that it did not act at all when provided with information on Baitullah Mehsud's location..cite news
url=http://www.jang.com.pk
title=USA,Afghanistan and India should not support terrorism in Pakistan
publisher=The Daily Jang, Lahore, Pakistan
author=Khan, Kamran
date=2008-08-05
accessdate=2008-08-05]

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. [cite news |first=Carlotta |last=Gale |title=Bhutto Buried as Government Orders Virtual Lockdown |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/world/asia/29pakistan.html?bl&ex=1198990800&en=58edfbbbcd63636f&ei=5087%0A |publisher=The New York Times |date=2007-12-28 |accessdate=2007-12-28] The Pakistani government released a transcript it asserted was from a conversation between Baitullah Mehsud and Maulvi Sahib (literally "Mr. Cleric").cite news
url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcpfmEQrKz6_LhZw4I4eLNon9q9QD8TQJQH00
title=Transcript of Alleged al-Qaida Intercept
publisher=Associated Press
date=December 28 2007
accessdate=2007-12-29] cite news
url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318787,00.html
title=Transcript: Alleged Al Qaeda Conversation Regarding Bhutto Killing
publisher=Fox News
date=December 28 2007
accessdate=2007-12-29] cite news
url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070037142&ch=12/29/2007%209:57:00%20AM
title=Pakistan releases al-Qaeda call text
publisher=NDTV
date=December 28 2007
accessdate=2007-12-29] 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.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".cite news
url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070037176&ch=12/29/2007%201:32:00%20PM
title=Mehsud denies killing Bhutto: Al-Qaida
publisher=NDTV
date=December 29 2007
accessdate=2007-12-29] Mehsud's spokesman was quoted as saying: "I strongly deny it. Tribal people have their own customs. We don't strike women." [cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/29/2128806.htm|title=Al Qaeda militant did not strike Bhutto: spokesman|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2007-12-29|accessdate=2007-12-31]

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."cite news
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011703252.html
title=CIA Places Blame for Bhutto Assassination
publisher="Washington Post"
date=January 18 2008
accessdate=2008-01-19]

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.cite news
url=http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/24/welcome.htm
title=Former Guantanamo inmate blows himself up in Pakistan
publisher=Dawn (newspaper)
date=July 24, 2007
accessdate=2008-03-03
quote=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.] Other sources merely assert that they were clansmen, or associates.cite news
url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=10BA83FB28D8CD68&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM
title=Pakistan tribal leaders threaten to resume attacks against government
publisher=The News
date=July 29, 2005
accessdate=2008-03-03
quote=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...] cite news
url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/07/pakistani_taliban_co.php
title=Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud killed during raid
publisher=Longwar Journal
author=Bill Roggio
date=July 24, 2007
accessdate=2008-03-03
quote=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.] cite news
url=http://www.dawn.com/2007/07/25/top2.htm
title=Cornered militant blows himself up
publisher=Dawn (newspaper)
author=Saleem Shahid
date=July 25, 2007
accessdate=2008-03-03
quote=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.] "Islam Online" reports that Baitullah suspected that Abdullah was a double agent.cite news
url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199280012324&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout
title=Pakistan's Most Wanted
publisher=Islam Online
author=Aamir Latif
date=Tuesday January 29, 2008
accessdate=2008-03-03
quote=]

Rumors of death

According to breaking news of ARY One World TV of Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud died on October 01, 2008. He is estimated to have died at around midnight time. The television says the reports of the death of Mr. Mehsud are yet to be confirmed. Mr. Mehsud has been in ill health for several months and has been suffering from high blood pressure and kidney disease. The Tehrik-e-Taliban has denied the death of Baitullah Mehsud. [cite news|url=http://www.geo.tv/10-1-2008/26018.htm|title=Baitullah Mehsud dies : Geo Tv|publisher="Geo Television"|date=2008-10-01|accessdate=2008-10-01] According to a spokesman, Mehsud was "fit and well." Baitullah Mehsud was also reportedly sighted touring tribal areas in South Waziristan 2 days after his "reported death."http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/C1C10EA14F8BF5AA652574D80032610A?OpenDocument] Mehsud's doctor also confirmed to have spoken with him after rumors of his death. [cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Top Pakistan militant 'not dead'
work =
pages =
language = English
publisher = BBC News
date = 2008-10-01
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7646244.stm
accessdate = 2008-10-01]

However, it has also been reported journalists in the area believe that Mehsud did die and that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan have not been willing to confirm his death until a successor has been named. [http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=139062]

ee also

*Faqir Mohammed
*Mahsud

References

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7163626.stm BBC Profile - Baitullah Mehsud] BBC News 28 December 2007
* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/1107/1901_war_room_baitullah_mehsud_1.html Who is Baitullah Mehsud? Part 1] and [http://www.crimelibrary.com/news/original/1107/2001_war_room_baitullah_mehsud_1.html Part 2] (c) 2007
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011703252.html CIA Places Blame for Bhutto Assassination] Washington Post January 18 2008
* [http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199280012324&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout Pakistan's Most Wanted] IslamOnline.net, January 29, 2008
* [http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-04-24-voa34.cfm Militant Orders His Fighters to Stop Attacks in Pakistan] VOA 24 April 2008