Baitullah Mehsud - Bait Ullah Mehsud Dead
Author: Sunny Pakistani security officials announced that Baitullah Mehsud along with his wife and bodyguards was killed on 5 August 2009 in a CIA drone attack in the Zangar area of South Waziristan although Interior Minister Rehman Malik delayed giving official confirmation and asked for patience and an announcement by ISPR or other agencies. Kafayat Ullah, a Taliban source, also announced the death of the militant in the strike,as did his deputy Faqir Mohammed.Major General Athar Abbas, ISPR spokesman, and Robert Gibbs of the White House said his death could not be confirmed, and Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud denied it, saying Mehsud is in good health. Hakimullah Mehsud would later be shot and killed in a feud on who the successor is to Baitullah Mehsud.[11] The CIA drone war, to include this attack, has been executed by their elite Special Activities Division. This war has killed dozens of Taliban and al-Qa'ida operatives in Pakistan.
Syed Saleem Shahzad, writing in the Asia Times, described Baitullah Mehsud as a physically small man, with diabetes.
Background
Early life
Baitullah Mehsud was born in the early 1970s in Landi Dhok village in the Bannu District of the NWFP, which lies some distance from the Mehsud tribe's base in the South Waziristan Agency. He hailed from the Broomikhel side of the Shabikhel sub-tribe of the Mehsud and was one of five brothers. He avoided media attention and refused to be photographed in adherence with his religious beliefs. He never finished formal schooling although he has received some instruction in a madrassa.
As a young madrassa student, Baitullah would often travel into Afghanistan to assist the Taliban in its implementation of Sharia.
He emerged as a major tribal leader soon after the 2004 death of Nek Mohammad. In a ceremony attended by five leading Taliban commanders, including Mullah Dadullah, Baitullah was appointed Mullah Omar's governor of the Mehsud area.
2005 ceasefire agreement
Mehsud entered into a ceasefire with Pakistani authorities on 8 February 2005. During the meeting at Sara rogha, the Pakistani military agreed to withdraw its troops from areas under Baitullah's control. The removal did not include the paramilitary Frontier Corps, consisting mostly of fellow Pashtuns. In exchange, Baitalluh's followers would not attack government officials, impede development projects or allow foreign militants to operate within their territory.[15] Mehsud was offered US$20 million for his cooperation in the ceasefire. He declined the money and told Pakistani authorities that they should use the pay-out to "compensate families who had suffered during the military operation". The ceasefire agreement ended in July 2005 when after accusing the government of reneging on the deal, Baitullah resumed attacks on security forces.
2006-2007
By 2006, Baitullah Mehsud's growing influence in South Waziristan led terrorism analysts to label him as "South Waziristan's Unofficial Amir".
An official in the Northwest Frontier Constabulary described his army:
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 or who 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 22 February in Wana (in South Waziristan).[
In June 2006 Taliban-aligned Waziri tribes began negotiating another ceasefire with Pakistani forces.
In a January 2007 interview with the BBC Urdu Service, Baitullah extolled the virtues of jihad against foreigners and advocated taking the fight to the U.S. and to Britain.
After the siege of Lal Masjid in July Baitullah turned his forces against the Pakistani state.
In December 2007, Mehsud was declared the first leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
2008 ceasefire
In February 2008, Mehsud announced that he had agreed to another ceasefire with the government of Pakistan although the Pakistani military claimed that operations against Mehsud's forces continued. The New York Times, however, reported that anonymous high-level officials in the Pakistani government confirmed the deal. In April Baitullah circulated a pamphlet that ordered his followers to not undertake any attacks inside Pakistan due to ongoing peace talks.
In July 2008, Baitullah issued a statement that threatened to take action against the government if NWFP leaders did not step down within five days. The NWFP parliamentary leaders promptly refused.
Rumors of death in September 2008
Various news media sources reported the death of Baitullah Mehsud on 30 September 2008 at the age of 34 due to kidney failure.[29][30][31][dead link] Many of his close associates, including his aide, his doctor and a Taliban spokesman, vehemently denied the rumors. According to the spokesman, Mehsud was "fit and well." Mehsud's doctor also said he had spoken with him after the rumors of his death. The rumors proved to be false.
Leadership dispute
On 27 March 2009, Pakistan's Daily Times reported that Baitullah Mehsud's group was engaged in a dispute with a group lead by Qari Zainuddin Mehsud for control of South Waziristan. Both groups had distributed pamphlets leveling accusations against the other groups' leader. Qari Zainuddin stated that Baitullah's group was not practicing jihad because Islam forbids suicide attacks. Baitullah's pamphlet claimed that Qari Zainuddin was a government puppet and a traitor to Islam and to the Mehsud tribe.[33] Qari Zainuddin was reported to have the support of Maulvi Nazir, a senior Taliban leader, and to have allied with the Bhittani tribe. The Daily Times described Qari Zainuddin as the "self-appointed successor of Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud."
The rivalry culminated on 23 June 2009, when a gunman shot and killed Zainuddin in Dera Ismail Khan. The gunman had served as one of his bodyguards and after the incident was suspected to be Baitullah's agent.
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. Other sources merely assert that they were clansmen, or associates. Islam Online reports that Baitullah suspected that Abdullah was a double agent.
Bounties
On 28 June 2009 the Pakistani government announced a reward of Rs.50,000,000 for information that leads to the capture, dead or alive, of Baitullah. The bounty coincided with a previous offer from the United States, who offered $5,000,000.
Reports of the deaths of Baitullah and his wife in 2009
On 5 August 2009 two missiles from a suspected U.S. drone struck the home of Baitullah's father-in-law, Malik Ikramuddin Mehsud, and killed the militant's second wife. Two others died in the blast and four children suffered injuries at the compound, where more than 40 people were present at about 1 a.m. local time.[42] Reuters, citing a Waziristan security official, reported that the other two deceased were militants. Reports emerging a few days later suggested that Baitullah could be one of the dead.[44] Taliban commander Kifayat Ullah in a phone call to Associated Press confirmed that Mehsud had died in the drone attack. The militants were holding a "shura" council in South Waziristan to choose his succesor.
Confirmation About Death
He was announced dead on 6th August 2009 by Pakistani media based on an unofficial interview with Shah Mehmood Qureshi. A day after two of his faithful men Maulana Meraj and Hakim Ullah Mehsud officially denied such news and called them "Rumors" just to break down the Taliban's speed of Jehad. Hakim Ullah Mehsud added that the meeting of Talibans in Dir or in surroundings are just as usual to take worth of their abilities and to discuss other plans which he called here "War Game Plans." Hakim Ullah's statements were not backed up by Baitullah's lieutanants however, and reports indicated on 08 August 2009 that Hakim Ullah Mehsud was subsequently killed in internecine clashes with Talebani commander Wali-ur-Rehman following tribal shura council. Baitullah had married the daughter of Ikramuddin, a cleric, in November 2008. U.S. missile strikes targeting Mehsud territory in South Waziristan became more common after June 2009 when Pakistan, who has been publicly critical of the missile strikes, declared a military offensive against him.
However spokesman of Tahreek-e-Taliban and close relative of Baitullah Mehsud has denied the reports of killing of Baitullah Mehsud and claimed that he is alive and remained leading Tahreek, a videotape will be release soon as a proof of statement. Hakeemullah said Baitullah gone into hiding as a part of strategy and he is not in contact with anyone after drone attack.
Since the confirmation of his death, multiple news agencies showed unseen photos of him.
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