Baitullah Mehsud

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Baitullah Mehsud (* early / mid-1970s in Landidog , Pakistan ; † 5. August 2009 in South Waziristan ) was an Islamist tribal leader in Pakistan's Waziristan . After the founding of the Pakistani Taliban movement Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007, he established himself as its leader. He was accused of being responsible for the attack on the Pakistani opposition politician Benazir Bhutto . He was an important figure in the conflict in northwest Pakistan .

Life

Mehsud was born in Landidog in southern Waziristan. The date of birth is unknown, but is likely to be in the early / mid-1970s. He was a member of one of the four sub-tribes of the Wasiris, who belong to the Pashtuns and live in the Afghan- Pakistani border area. Abdullah Mehsud, a Taliban leader temporarily imprisoned in Guantanamo , is sometimes viewed as his brother. Baitullah Mehsud is said to have had little or no school education and also received no training in religious matters. When he was around 20 years old, he went to Afghanistan to support the Taliban. Mehsud, who was married, was considered to be the actual ruler of Wasiristan, in which he allowed the Sharia to be strictly applied. He negotiated a ceasefire with Pakistani authorities on February 8, 2005. Mehsud is said to have been promised $ 20 million in consideration if he agreed. Some Taliban leaders are said to have tried to claim this for themselves. However, Mehsud reportedly replied to the authorities that they should use the money to help victims of the previous military operation. According to a report dating from 2006, Mehsud is said to have collected some kind of tax in Vaziristan.

Preliminary investigations see Mehsud as the mastermind behind the bombings in Rawalpindi in September 2007. Mehsud was also held responsible for the attack on the former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007. The Pakistani government released a recording of a conversation between Maulvi Sahib and Baitullah Mehsud in which the former asked for financial support in connection with the attack. In a message to the nation on January 2, 2008, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf named Mehsud as one of the prime suspects in his view. On January 18, 2008, the Washington Post reported that the CIA also suspected Mehsud of commissioning the murder.

In February 2008, Mehsud announced that he had signed a ceasefire with the Pakistani authorities. However, the Pakistani military spoke of a continuation of the fighting. The New York Times reported that senior military personnel would sign the ceasefire. A spokesman for Mehsud denied any connection to the attack and said that Mehsud was shocked by it. The US offered a $ 50,000 reward for the capture of Mehsud.

On August 7, 2009, Taliban spokesmen announced the death of Baitullah Mehsud, after US spokesmen had previously suggested his death. He was killed along with his wife, brother-in-law and seven bodyguards in a US drone attack in Waziristan, Pakistan on August 5, 2009. As his successor, Mehsud's deputy Hakimullah Mehsud , who was not related to his predecessor , forcibly prevailed .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.faz.de:Pakistani Taliban chief killed
  2. ↑ a b www.spiegel.de:Taliban in Pakistan report death of their leader
  3. ↑ a b Hasnain Kazim and Yassin Musharbash: Al-Qaeda is fighting for more influence with the Taliban. In: Spiegel Online . October 18, 2009, accessed May 25, 2011 .
  4. ↑ Syed Saleem Shahzad : From Insurrection to War. New Taliban groups have emerged in Pakistan. You have changed the balance of power in Afghanistan. (No longer available online.) In: Le Monde diplomatique . October 10, 2008, archived from the original on July 14, 2012 ; Retrieved May 25, 2011 (from the French by Edgar Peinelt; Le Monde diplomatique No. 8705 of October 10, 2008, pages 8-9).
  5. ↑ Barbara Elias: Know Thine Enemy. Why the Taliban Cannot Be Flipped. (No longer available online.) In: Foreign Affairs. Council on Foreign Relations , November 2, 2009, archived from the original November 7, 2009 ; accessed on May 25, 2011 (English).
personal data
SURNAME Mehsud, Baitullah
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Pakistani tribal leader
DATE OF BIRTH 20th century
PLACE OF BIRTH Landidog
DATE OF DEATH August 5, 2009
Place of death Waziristan