The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): Origins, Objectives and Key Commanders (Part three)


Hakimullah Mehsud

Although Baitullah’s death had a massive impact on the TTP’s practical capabilities, it did not change their objectives – the most dangerous of which is to challenge and fight the Pakistani government for as long as it supports Washington’s war in Afghanistan and until Shari'ah Law is established in Pakistan. 

In August, 2009, the shura (council) of the TTP met at a secret location to elect a new amir (leader). Allegedly, there was a gunfight during the meeting in which Hakimullah Mehsud was injured after the contender for the title of amir, Wali-ur-Rehman opened fire on him . Al-Qaeda and Mullah Omar intervened in the matter by instructing the TTP: “you must follow the path of a great leader… and save your bullets for your true enemies ”. Whatever occurred during that meeting remains a mystery; the only thing certain was that Hakimullah Mehsud was then elected as the new amir and Wali-ur-Rehman became the chief commander officer in South Waziristan. 

Hakimullah was born in 1980 in Kotkai village in South Waziristan. He is also known as Jamshed and Zulfikar Mehsud. Incidentally, he studied at the same madressah as Baitullah although the latter was senior to him and he also dropped out without completing his studies. From a very young age, Hakimullah was eccentric, adventurous, brave and indifferent to the plight of those around him. He is described by those who have met him as a man who would rather kill a man than talk to him . He was also, interestingly, a member of Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman’s JUI-F party.

Syed Shoaib Hasan of the BBC describes his meeting with Hakimullah Mehsud: “When we met on that autumn day in 2007, he took us for a drive.  To demonstrate his skill with the vehicle, he drove like a man possessed, maneuvering around razor sharp bends at impossible speeds.  He finished the demonstration by braking inches short of a several hundred foot drop.  While the rest of us sat in stunned silence, he just laughed chillingly and stuck the car in reverse to smoothly continue the journey”.

In accordance with his reckless and adventurous nature, he began his tenure or career as amir by launching a brazen attack on the Pakistani army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi. Only days before that, he had attacked the World Food Program offices in Islamabad and a crowded market in Peshawar. Two days after the attack on the GHQ, on October 12th, he attacked a market in Shangla in Swat, which had earlier been declared free of militants. More attacks followed on Pakistan’s police and intelligence agencies across Punjab. 

Hakimullah Mehsud proved that he was, in fact, far more adventurous than his media-shy and restrained predecessor. However, his blatant attacks only helped firm the resolve of the Pakistanis to get rid of him. Even his conservative sympathizers began to wonder whether or not Hakimullah was an Indian or American agent in disguise, although such claims lack the necessary evidence to be considered seriously.

By 19th June, 2009, Pakistan gathered 45,000 soldiers in Waziristan and launched operation Raj-e-Nijat (the path to salvation). After putting up pockets of resistance, Hakimullah’s men retreated into North Wazirstan and Orakzai, having suffered more than 600 casualties. The Pakistani army moved in and secured South Waziristan, despite the fact that various areas were booby-trapped with deadly IEDs. However, the operation failed to capture any of the key TTP commanders, who were now busy regrouping in the other agencies of FATA. Furthermore, the displacement of the TTP failed to curtail the organization’s ability to devastate Pakistani cities with their suicide-bombing campaign as Peshawar continued to be bomb every second day even during November, 2009 and the regional ISI office in Lahore was also attacked. In addition to that, TTP gunmen also attacked a packed mosque in Parade Lane in Islamabad, where mostly military personell and their families go to pray. Out of the 36 casualties, 17 were children and 2 were serving generals .

Hakimullah once again made headlines in December, 2009, when he appeared in the farewell video of Abu Mulal al-Balawi, who later went into Afghanistan and carried out a suicide attack in Khost, killing seven CIA operatives and a Jordanian agent with him . However, in a Predator Drone attack in January, 2010, on Shaktoi, South Waziristan, Hakimullah Mehsud was believed to have been killed. In another strange twist, in an audio message released on the 16th of January, Hakimullah confirmed that he was alive although doubts are cast over the date of its recording. To date, no one knows whether or not he is alive although intelligence sources indicate that he is alive, while he could very well be seriously injured.