Baitullah Mehsud, the man who claimed accountability for the harass on a police preparation academy in Manawan (on the outskirts of Lahore) on March 30, is a veteran of the anti-Soviet ‘jihad’ of the 1980s, and has emerge to become the top Taliban leader in Pakistan. He claims to enjoy a ‘good relationship’ with the Afghan Taliban’s top most chief Mullah Omar. In adding together to in a straight line controlling sizeable militias who have wage overt war with Pakistani security forces in Waziristan, Baitullah has also been responsible for a number of radical attacks in the rest of the country, including the assassination of former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto. However, despite all of his exploits, he remains elusive and masked in mystery. According to Jane’s cleverness Guide, Baitullah Mehsud was born for a moment during the 1970’s in the village of Landi Dhok in NWFP’s Bannu region. Though Bannu is far from the customary Mehsud stranglehold of southern Waziristan, it remains ferociously independent, and its residents carry on to display the uniqueness which helped the tribe remain one of the few that might never be conquered by the British during their colonization of the subcontinent.
Despite deteriorating to register on any major cleverness agency’s radar screen until recently, his standing for bravery made for a stable rise through the Taliban’s ranks. Paradoxically, Baitullah was among the selected few Pakistanis who complete it to the Time’s 2009 list of the world’s most powerful people. However, his so called ‘mystery’ has been improved by his refusal to let himself be photographed in current years, citing spiritual beliefs, even though he has had no issues with his press conferences being photographed as long as his face remains hidden.
Baitullah Mehsud play a leading role in a vicious movement against the military operation in Waziristan throughout 2004, during which he working many of the strategy evolved during his time in Afghanistan, counting beheading local policemen, guerrilla warfare and using the rugged terrain to hide troops and supplies.
At that time, Baitullah was operational in close association with Tahir Yuldashev, cofounder of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and Abdullah Mehsud, a former Guantanamo prisoner who is also said to be Baitullah’s brother but it remains unconfirmed. Another report by Dawn claimed that one of Abdullah’s brothers was a serving major in the Pakistan army, throughout the Waziristan operation which failed in rounding up this top rank of militants. Abdullah Mehsud committed suicide in 2007 after security forces raided his hideout in Balochistan.
The Pakistan Army, decrepit by a long campaign against militants in the region, to finish offered a cease-fire concord to him in February 2005. The agreement cede manage of vast tracts of land to Baitullah Mehsud and saw the army approving to man obtainable forts in the region only with paramilitary Frontier Corpsmen in go back for a vow to end sanctuary for foreign fighters and ending resistance to development projects.
However, according to the New York Times, Baitullah took this as a chance to re-arm his men and merge his grip on power in the region. This seems to be borne out by the fact that when the peace treaty collapsed in August 2007, Baitullah’s tribal armies were even stronger than before. After claiming that the army had dishonored the terms of the ceasefire, his forces launched attacks which seized more than 200 soldiers on August 30, 2007, who were later exchange for 25 militants in November the same year.
On December 14, 2007, he was chosen to lead the TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan), an sun umbrella group aimed at uniting the largest militant factions operating in the tribal agencies and NWFP. He was also answerable for exacerbating the violence during the Red Mosque operation, which saw army officers attack a seminary in the heart of Islamabad.
In February 2008, Baitullah supposedly announced another ceasefire union with the Pakistani government; however, the Pakistani military officially claims operations against him have not stopped. At the time, Carlotta Gall of the New York Times and Ismail Khan of Dawn report that high-level officials in the Pakistani government confirmed the deal with him.
In July 2008, Baitullah threatened to take action next to the NWFP government if its official did not step down within five days. The warning was met with absolute scorn on the government's part. Only a month later, rumours of his death from kidney failure spread, but were later clarified by his doctor. He continues to live.
Days before the Manawan attack near Lahore, on March 26, the United States government offered a $5 million reward for in sequence on Baitullah Mehsud, telling him as a key al-Qaeda facilitator intending to attack the United States. In the light of recent developments, analyst are debating whether or not the Pakistan army is truly committed to root out Baitullah and his ilk, or whether they fancy to use these militants as an supplementary line of defence against a likely Indian invasion and for acquiring a ‘strategic depth’ of sorts in the region. However, it remains to be seen if the newest attack in Manawan will spark a change in attitudes towards the TTP and their brethren.
Despite deteriorating to register on any major cleverness agency’s radar screen until recently, his standing for bravery made for a stable rise through the Taliban’s ranks. Paradoxically, Baitullah was among the selected few Pakistanis who complete it to the Time’s 2009 list of the world’s most powerful people. However, his so called ‘mystery’ has been improved by his refusal to let himself be photographed in current years, citing spiritual beliefs, even though he has had no issues with his press conferences being photographed as long as his face remains hidden.
Baitullah Mehsud play a leading role in a vicious movement against the military operation in Waziristan throughout 2004, during which he working many of the strategy evolved during his time in Afghanistan, counting beheading local policemen, guerrilla warfare and using the rugged terrain to hide troops and supplies.
At that time, Baitullah was operational in close association with Tahir Yuldashev, cofounder of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and Abdullah Mehsud, a former Guantanamo prisoner who is also said to be Baitullah’s brother but it remains unconfirmed. Another report by Dawn claimed that one of Abdullah’s brothers was a serving major in the Pakistan army, throughout the Waziristan operation which failed in rounding up this top rank of militants. Abdullah Mehsud committed suicide in 2007 after security forces raided his hideout in Balochistan.
The Pakistan Army, decrepit by a long campaign against militants in the region, to finish offered a cease-fire concord to him in February 2005. The agreement cede manage of vast tracts of land to Baitullah Mehsud and saw the army approving to man obtainable forts in the region only with paramilitary Frontier Corpsmen in go back for a vow to end sanctuary for foreign fighters and ending resistance to development projects.
However, according to the New York Times, Baitullah took this as a chance to re-arm his men and merge his grip on power in the region. This seems to be borne out by the fact that when the peace treaty collapsed in August 2007, Baitullah’s tribal armies were even stronger than before. After claiming that the army had dishonored the terms of the ceasefire, his forces launched attacks which seized more than 200 soldiers on August 30, 2007, who were later exchange for 25 militants in November the same year.
On December 14, 2007, he was chosen to lead the TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan), an sun umbrella group aimed at uniting the largest militant factions operating in the tribal agencies and NWFP. He was also answerable for exacerbating the violence during the Red Mosque operation, which saw army officers attack a seminary in the heart of Islamabad.
In February 2008, Baitullah supposedly announced another ceasefire union with the Pakistani government; however, the Pakistani military officially claims operations against him have not stopped. At the time, Carlotta Gall of the New York Times and Ismail Khan of Dawn report that high-level officials in the Pakistani government confirmed the deal with him.
In July 2008, Baitullah threatened to take action next to the NWFP government if its official did not step down within five days. The warning was met with absolute scorn on the government's part. Only a month later, rumours of his death from kidney failure spread, but were later clarified by his doctor. He continues to live.
Days before the Manawan attack near Lahore, on March 26, the United States government offered a $5 million reward for in sequence on Baitullah Mehsud, telling him as a key al-Qaeda facilitator intending to attack the United States. In the light of recent developments, analyst are debating whether or not the Pakistan army is truly committed to root out Baitullah and his ilk, or whether they fancy to use these militants as an supplementary line of defence against a likely Indian invasion and for acquiring a ‘strategic depth’ of sorts in the region. However, it remains to be seen if the newest attack in Manawan will spark a change in attitudes towards the TTP and their brethren.
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