Emerging candidate: ‘Change of guard for Pakistani Taliban on the cards’
Military officials claim moderate deputy leader Waliur Rehman is poised to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud.
WANA:
Pakistan’s Taliban, one of the world’s most feared militant groups, are preparing for a leadership change.
The change of leadership could mean less violence against Pakistan but more attacks against US-led forces in Afghanistan, Pakistani military sources said.
Hakimullah Mehsud, a ruthless commander who has led the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the last three years, has lost operational control of the movement and the trust of his fighters, said a senior Pakistan Army official based in the South Waziristan tribal region, the group’s stronghold.
The organisation’s more moderate deputy leader, Waliur Rehman, 40, is poised to succeed Mehsud, whose extreme violence has alienated enough of his fighters to significantly weaken him, the military sources told Reuters.
“Rehman is fast emerging as a consensus candidate to formally replace Hakimullah,” said the army official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. “Now we may see the brutal commander replaced by a more pragmatic one for whom reconciliation has become a priority.”
Reuters interviewed several senior Pakistan military officials as well as tribal elders and locals during a three-day trip with the army in South Waziristan last week, getting rare access to an area that has been a virtual no-go zone for journalists since an army offensive was launched in October 2009.
Three senior military officials said informers in the Pakistan Taliban told them Mehsud was no longer steering the group. Pakistan Taliban commanders did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the possible leadership change.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2012.
Pakistan’s Taliban, one of the world’s most feared militant groups, are preparing for a leadership change.
The change of leadership could mean less violence against Pakistan but more attacks against US-led forces in Afghanistan, Pakistani military sources said.
Hakimullah Mehsud, a ruthless commander who has led the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the last three years, has lost operational control of the movement and the trust of his fighters, said a senior Pakistan Army official based in the South Waziristan tribal region, the group’s stronghold.
The organisation’s more moderate deputy leader, Waliur Rehman, 40, is poised to succeed Mehsud, whose extreme violence has alienated enough of his fighters to significantly weaken him, the military sources told Reuters.
“Rehman is fast emerging as a consensus candidate to formally replace Hakimullah,” said the army official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. “Now we may see the brutal commander replaced by a more pragmatic one for whom reconciliation has become a priority.”
Reuters interviewed several senior Pakistan military officials as well as tribal elders and locals during a three-day trip with the army in South Waziristan last week, getting rare access to an area that has been a virtual no-go zone for journalists since an army offensive was launched in October 2009.
Three senior military officials said informers in the Pakistan Taliban told them Mehsud was no longer steering the group. Pakistan Taliban commanders did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the possible leadership change.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2012.