Hakimullah Mehsud is the New Pakistani Taliban Leader

Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, who had been missing since the US missile attack on his father-in-law’s house, is dead after all. There was of course a reason for the three week long period of uncertainty surrounding his death.

The thirteen Taliban groups with an estimated 100,000 fighters, whom Baitullah Mehsud had welded into a much feared fighting force during the last three years, needed time to agree on a successor. Traditionally in the areas bordering onto Afghanistan a new tribal chief or Taliban leader is chosen at an assembly or shura.

Fear of new US missile strikes

Owing to the acute threat of more US missile strikes the assembly was delayed and only took place last week, according to intelligence reports. Hakimullah Mehsud was elected unanimously as the leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban by Baitullah’s followers. Like Baitullah Hakimullah is a member of the Mehsud tribe, and apparently a distant relative. There is however little reliable and cross-checked information available about him.

Shedding some light on Hakimullah’s background, Shams-ul-Qamar Mohmand, a journalist and an expert on the tribal areas in Peshawar, says: “His previous name was Zulfiqar. He was a spokesman of Baitullah Mehsud three years ago. After that, when Baitullah founded the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, Hakimullah became the organiser and commander of the Orakzai agency, Khyber and Kurram agency. It seems half of tribal areas were under the command of Hakimullah Mehsud.”

For this reason, he is not unknown to Pakistani and Western intelligence agencies.

Determined and unscrupulous

Last October the Taliban commander who likes to travel in a Humvee military vehicle captured from US forces in Afghanistan, held a first press conference for Pakistani journalists. They found themselves face-to-face with a man they believed to be about 30 years old and the commander of a substantial group of Taliban-fighters from South Waziristan. He left a determined and unscrupulous impression.

Hakimullah threatened openly to assassinate top Pakistani politicians and to launch attacks on the NATO supply convoys which pass through Peshawar on their way to Afghanistan. He also claimed responsibility for the beheading of twelve alleged US spies who he believed had identified and marked out targets for drone attacks.

Since then Hakimullah is believed to have ordered numerous suicide bombings. His men are considered to be responsible for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December 2007 and for the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in September 2008. Moreover, he is believed to be the driving force behind the Taliban offensive towards Islamabad just a few months ago.

“Hundred of his followers obey him,” says Shams-ul-Qamar Mohmand. “He attacked several army convoys, resisted military operations especially in South Waziristan and Khyber agency.”

Revenge on USA

In his first statement as Taliban leader, Hakimullah announced that he would soon seek to avenge Baitullah’s death. Analysts fear that he may be planning attacks on US soil or even in Europe. Attacks of this kind would strengthen his position as Taliban leader.

This might be necessary seeing as unconfirmed reports suggest that some Taliban groups would have preferred to see his rival and a former deputy to Baitullah, Wali Ur Rehman, as the successor to their slain leader. This means that the new head of the Taliban is under pressure to chalk up some quick successes, something that could make him particularly unpredictable and dangerous, according to experts in Pakistan.

Author: Grahame Lucas
Editor: Disha Uppal