Taliban leader dead

Baitullah Mehsud, who was born into the Mehsud clan of South Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan, first rose to prominence in 2003 and 2004.

At that time, he commanded just 20 to 25 fighters but he was overshadowed by another leader from his clan - Abdullah Mehsud, who was believed to be his brother.

"Abdullah Mehsud was a returnee from the Guantanamo Bay and had also fought in Afghanistan. Therefore, he had a certain aura about him," explained retired Brigadier Mehmood Shah, the former security chief of Pakistan's troubled northwest.

"Baitullah was young and much more dedicated towards the Taliban ideology. He was much more sincere in his work," he added.

Baitullah Mehsud's rise to the top

Shah added that Baitullah Mehsud wanted to meet him in Laddah in South Waziristan in 2004 but he refused because he did not consider him to be important enough."I told him to see the assistant political agent," he said.

When Abdullah Mehsud started targetting the Pakistani government and foreigners, Baitullah held back. He apparently opposed Abdullah's decision to kidnap two Chinese engineers in 2004.

"Due to his recklessness, Abdullah Mehsud became anti-government and sidelined," explained Shah. "Whereas Baitullah started recruiting more and more people as his fighters. Finally, he was the one who concluded an agreement with the government in 2005. Abdullah Mehsud was excluded from this agreement and was subsequently killed by the army."

Shrewd negotiator

Baitullah Mehsud became an undisputed leader in the area and in the end he followed the same course as Abdullah.

However, he was shrewder in his dealings with the government: He forged agreements with the authorities when he was weak and dictated terms to them when he was strong.

He had been blamed for a wave of attacks in Pakistan in recent years, including the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007 and the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in 2008. He always denied any involvement in Bhutto's death.

Number One al-Qaeda man

Analysts think that Mehsud started developing close ties with al-Qaeda about a year ago. "He was considered as the number one al-Qaeda man in Pakistan," said Brigadier Shah. "But the US government was not convinced - it did not target the area where Baitullah Mehsud was at first. It is only six months ago that the Americans became more convinced that he appeared to be heading the al-Qaeda efforts against the Pakistan government."

Experts believe that Baitullah Mehsud's successor will need a considerable amount of time to establish his authority over the thousands of Taliban members in northwest Pakistan.

Author: Pukhraj Choudhury
Editor: Grahame Lucas