Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud has threatened suicide attacks against PPP Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto, saying his bombers are waiting in the wings to “welcome” her when she returns, FATA Senator Saleh Shah told Daily Times on Thursday. Shah is a close friend of Mehsud and is currently trying to broker a deal between the Mehsuds and the government to secure the release of around 250 abducted soldiers. “My men will welcome Bhutto on her return. We don’t accept President General Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto because they only protect the US interest and see things through its glasses. They’re only acceptable if they wear the Pakistani glasses,” Shah quoted Baitullah as saying. He said that Mehsud, who killed three soldiers out of the hostages and has threatened more executions, had a following of 35,000 highly trained and organised fighters, including a ‘suicide squad’.
Shah said he was not optimistic about succeeding in negotiations for the release of the hostage soldiers. He said Baitullah had asked the government to release 30 of his men, but that was difficult because some of them were being tried in courts. “When I tell Mehsud that his men are in legal custody, he asks what bars Gen Musharraf from going above the law and releasing his men when the president can violate the law and the constitution for his re-election,” Saleh said.