The newly appointed leader of the Taliban in Pakistan is being called more dangerous than Osama bin Laden by analysts there. His movement was created last month when 26 Pakistani militant groups joined forces to fight for an Islamic regime there, tribal sources say.Baitullah Meshud, also known as the emir of South Waziristan, is described by Pakistani authorities as a brutal but able leader who commands thousands of followers. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf blames him for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, as well as a spate of recent attacks here that have left more than 400 dead. NATO authorities in Afghanistan have offered a $50,000 reward for his capture.
"I think he is now a much bigger threat than bin Laden and al Zawahri in this part of the world," said ABC News consultant Rahimullah Yusufzai. "He seems to have a large reservoir of suicide bombers, and he is a bigger threat in this region, in Pakistan and certain border provinces of Afghanistan than even the al Qaeda leadership," said Yusufzai.
Like Mullah Omar, who leads the Afghan Taliban, Meshud refuses to be photographed. He lives on the run, according to Pakistani authorities who are tracking him, and never sleeps in the same bed twice. "We know he is training suicide bombers. We know he is indoctrinating suicide bombers," Musharraf told foreign journalists last week.
Meshud was appointed the supreme leader of the newly created Taliban Movement of Pakistan, dedicated to creating an Islamic regime there, according to tribal sources. Delegates from 26 militant groups held a secret meeting last month in the volatile region of South Waziristan where the CIA believes al Qaeda is regrouping. The group's first priority will be to fight the Pakistani Army in the northern Swat Valley and in Waziristan, tribal sources say. "This group has decided they will collectively respond to any military operation by Pakistani authorities," said Yusufzai. Ultimately, they want to establish an Islamic regime in Pakistan that would emulate the former Taliban government in neighboring Afghanistan.
Western officials in Pakistan are concerned by how sophisticated Pakistan's militants have become in recent months. They have successfully targeted Pakistani army bases, a special forces compound and buses carrying employees of the country's intelligence services. Western diplomats fear that a unified Taliban will present yet another potent threat to the already fragile security situation there. "It's not just that they are carrying out regular attacks," says a Western official. "It is that they are able to target the Pakistan military so effectively."