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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan: Taliban leader's fate in doubt |
| 2009-08-11 |
| By Syed Saleem Shahzad - As speculation continues about the fate of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud it is worth recalling what happened when Pakistani militant Abdullah Mehsud faked his own death. In 2005 Abdullah Mehsud, then the Taliban commander of South Waziristan, abducted two Chinese engineers working on the Gomal Zam Dam in North West Frontier Province. His Al-Qaeda patrons, including some top Pakistani militants advised him that given Pakistan's friendship with China, the army would have to mount a major operation and in the subsequent rescue attempt, one of the hostages was killed. The militants and the Pakistani army agreed that Abdullah Mehsud, who was injured in the security operation, would be declared dead. Several of his comrades issued statements to the media that that he was buried in Shawal in the North Waziristan. Abdullah Mehsud kept a low profile for several months and then resumed his activities, before committing suicide last year when Pakistani security forces surrounded him in Baluchistan. The ongoing controversy about Baitullah Mehsud raises the same questions even though the Pakistani government has pledged to provide DNA evidence that he was killed with his wife in a US drone attack on his father-in-law's house in South Waziristan on Wednesday. Pakistan's federal minister for interior affairs Rehman Malik on Monday insisted that Baitullah Mehsud was killed in the attack on the night of August 5. Journalists in the tribal areas strongly believe that Baitullah Mehsud was killed. His rival Haji Turkestan appears to be the source, backed by some local witnesses. But a high profile and well-connected Taliban source whose name cannot be revealed insists that the man widely considered responsible for the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto is still alive. The chief of the Taliban in Wana, South Waziristan, also contradicted reports of his demise. Baitullah's umbrella Tehrik-i-Taliban group has brought together around 5,000 fighters, who together with Al-Qaeda militants keep the army engaged in an elaborate game of hide and seek. The US predator drones, which can fire lethal missiles on precise targets, have killed scores of militants including high ranking Al-Qaeda militants. Baitullah tried to strike a deal with Pakistani security forces in 2005 and has at times been branded a spy for the US and Britain. He was also called an agent for India's Research and Analysis Wing intelligence agency. As US drones stepped up their attacks and the army advanced against him,Baitullah may simply have decided to disappear. Al-Qaeda used this tactic with Osama Bin Laden when the US invested heavily in Pakistan and Afghanistan to capture him after he fled Afghanistan in 2001. In 2005, several special forces operations were closing in on him and then he completely disappeared, fuelling fresh speculation about whether he was dead or alive. A similar tactic was adopted by Rashid Rauf, a dual British and Pakistani citizen arrested in Pakistan in relation to a trans-Atlantic aircraft plot in August 2006. He fled to North Waziristan and despite reports of his death in a drone attack in November 2008, Adnkronos International (AKI) understands he is alive and well. Despite official claims that Baitullah Mehsud was killed with his wife and bodyguards, no-one is yet certain whether this charismatic and ruthless leader is dead or alive. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 With Christmas coming up, Taliban Transformers would be a big seller. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2009-08-11 10:07 |
| #1 Must be pretty schmart to be able to fake Helfires, to say nothing about disassembling himself. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-08-11 07:33 |