So it’s official. On Tuesday, Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, two top Taliban commanders, finally confirmed the death of Baitullah Mehsud, thus laying the seemingly endless he said-(s)he said statements to rest. The Wall Street Journal cited “reporters who said they recognized the leaders’ voices,” noting Mehsud died of injuries inflicted from an earlier U.S. drone strike this past Sunday.
So what about Hakimullah’s past phone call to news agencies, claiming Baitullah was alive? Oh, that. According to him, he wasn’t technically lying. Baitullah Mehsud wasn’t dead after the purported U.S. drone strike – he was just in a coma. Hakimullah was quoted by media outlets saying, “He was wounded. He got the wounds in a drone strike and he was martyred two days ago.” Waliur Rehman conveniently echoed the same statement.
In all likelihood, Baitullah Mehsud probably died on August 5 in the U.S. drone strike, a story affirmed by another senior TTP commander who spoke to The News from an undisclosed location. However, the Taliban leadership may have been biding time until a new successor could be named. The aforementioned commander told The News, “We did not want to confirm his death earlier as it could have disheartened our people present everywhere in the country…The Taliban from Afghanistan played a key role in resolving differences among various TTP commanders. They continued their talks with the Mehsud Taliban Shura and then negotiated with each and every commander.”
According to the unnamed commander, Hakimullah Mehsud “had been unanimously made the TTP chief by its Shura, while Maulana Waliur Rehman was named leader of the Mehsud Taliban in South Waziristan.” The joint statement by Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman seemed therefore intended to demonstrate Taliban unity in the face of rumors suggesting otherwise. In fact, of the many unconfirmed reports that surfaced in the past few weeks, one story reported that Hakimullah and Waliur had killed each other in a shootout for Baitullah’s succession, an allegation Hakimullah himself lay to rest by speaking to reporters. On Tuesday, Waliur Rehman asserted, “Our presence together shows that we do not have any differences.”
So out with the old Mehsud, in with the new…Mehsud. As analysts and pundits spar over what all this means for the Taliban leadership and the military offensive, let’s take a moment to learn more about Mehsud V.2. Here’s what we know:
- His real name is Zulfiqar Mehsud. Hakimullah is his nom de guerre. Kind of like a stage name. Like Cher.
- According to the BBC’s Syed Shoaib Hasan, he was born in the Kotkai region, near the town of Jandola in South Waziristan. His only schooling was at a small village madrassa in Hangu district, reportedly the same school Baitullah Mehsud dropped out from.
- At 28 years old, he was known as Baitullah’s most “ferocious” deputy, handling both a Kalashnikov and a Toyota pick-up with legendary skill. The BBC’s correspondent once took a drive with him and noted, “To demonstrate his skill with the vehicle, he drove like a man possessed, manoeuvring around razor sharp bends at impossible speeds. He finished the demonstration by braking inches short of a several hundred foot drop.” So if this new career doesn’t pan out, I hear Fast & the Furious IV [3-D] may need stunt drivers.
- His first press conference was held in November 2008 in Orakzai Agency, [he became Baitullah’s chief spokesman in October 2007]. A GEO TV reporter described meeting him, “Hakimullah is a lively man. He told us he could give us two gifts. One was the Humvee military vehicle that his fighters had captured during a recent raid in Khyber Agency on an Afghanistan-bound supply convoy for Nato forces. The other was a jeep that his men had snatched from UN employees in Khyber Agency.” Charming.
- He was the militant commander for three tribal agencies – Khyber, Kurram, and Orakzai. He reportedly masterminded the campaign against NATO convoys in Khyber and Peshawar, and claimed responsibility for the June 9 bombing of the Peshawar Pearl-Continental Hotel.
Hakimullah may have come to power on the coattails of a Taliban power struggle, exposing rifts that should be further exploited by the Pakistani military, but he is not new to the Taliban structure, and he is certainly not unfamiliar with Baitullah’s agenda. Although his ability to command the TTP could be moot if the organization has been permanently damaged, we should not take this appointment lightly.
hey nice piece!”kind of a like a stage name. like cher” HAHAHAHAHAHHA..love that..
So a new Mehsud is in charge and he seems like a reasonably charismatic guy. He’s pretty young and seems rash according to some of the stories here and others I’ve read. In any case, if anyone recalls after Nek Mohammad’s death, another charismatic leader of the Waziri Taliban, many people underestimated Baitullah Mehsud’s capacity to lead. But soon enough he became a highly revered leader within the ranks of the Taliban. This was in large part because the government let the Taliban grow and let Mehsud establish a strong base for his leadership. The Pakistan government should not make the same mistake by underestimating this leader, but at the same time the realities are different. The gov is already involved in a full fledged assault against the Taliban. and if they rest now then Hakimullah will have the same chance to establish his base and power like Mehsud did. It is vital that the government tries to keep the Taliban in the same disarray that the B. Mehsud death brought on. Despite their reassurances the Taliban IS a fractious organization and even Hakimullah is not safe in his place as leader at the moment. Let’s see if the government keeps their eye on the ball this time. 5-6 years of ignoring the Taliban is really what made Baitullah what he is today. Oh yes, and all the funding he received.
Dawn had a pretty good commentary on Hakimullah yesterday actually. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/03-hakimullah-a-fiercely-ambitious-militant-ss-01
And the funding is an interesting issue, MSB – I’ve been meaning to do a more devoted piece to the issue of funding, esp. because as much as we do counterinsurgency, these guys can just keep going if money keeps being funneled in. How can we counter that?
This reads like a movie story, if only it were not so tragic. What’s up with these idiots who kill people and get killed in the end ?
28 and Commander of the Taliban. Eat your heart out, Federer
LOL!!
This story reads as a wonderful novel. Could be a major movie soon. 🙂
Great post Kalsoom! Haha!
I am a bit miffed as to the US trying to take the credit, with their ”our drones got him” claim. I mean, I thought the Pak military crackdown got the bugger? I’m feeling a little disillusioned and let-down now!
Meh! I’ll let them off. As long as they don’t go around gloating and justifying why drones will continue to be needed.
Aah well, one Mehsud down, one to go.
Thanks guys!
There are a lot of Mehsuds to knock out – even after they get rid of Hakimullah, another one will probably pop up. Maybe the next operation should be called “Bowling for Mehsuds.”
>>>>>>>>>>> What’s up with these idiots who kill people and get killed in the end ?
Good question. Why exactly did Pakistan train and send such idiots into Kashmir? Takes an idiot to train another?
Great piece! lol ! I still think his nose is annoying! 😛
The bio taliban’s new leader could be more exhaustive than that of any mainstream leader in Pakistan.
the world seems to know so much about the taliban leadership..second, third, fourth in command, right hand man, media man etc. But when it comes to locating them…these same characters become elusive!
I agree – it’s also eternally interesting how reporters can easily reach these people for statements, press conferences, and yet we can’t find them!
Missile 6 o clock!!!!!
Let the paranoia start for these buggers now!!! let them guess which way those missiles are going to come from! HA
http://www.iwwwrite.blogspot.com
K,
Your writing has become so witty! I’m a regular reader of your blog and when I saw the headline of your latest post I was like oh great…here we go again…yet another post on Batty and his never ending death.
Still. I thought I’d skim through it. Ended up reading the whole thing and chuckling a few times.
This my friend is why you have 157,592 hits. Keep up the good work.
Ps. I was thinking that maybe you you should do a survey on what Ramzan means to Pakistanis and what’s on their minds during this Ramzan in particular. Would be an interesting read.
Pps. I know a lot of people that give Zakat during Ramzan. A list of recommended organizations would be of great help to your readers.
Thanks Giggles. Will try to get to that piece soon, preferably while Ramzan is still going on!
Wery vitty ;).
I especially liked the Fast n’ Furious bit. I bet we have enough yahoos in the Northern Areas to have their Jeeps take part in such a competition.
Let’s see what happens with TTP. They’re hurting for sure but I hope they don’t take the low ground and start on their suicide bombings just to show that they’re still a force to be reckoned with.
I read the dawn article too,makes him to be some sort of a hero,glorifying him almost.
Amazing what one can do at such a young age,amazing that such potential is there but not channeled in the right direction.