Pakistan’s military appears to be preparing for a new tribal-area offensive against the Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, US officials and experts say. “I can’t point to anything in the past that equates to that,” an official said, adding that General Ashfaq Kayani appeared to have brought greater focus to operations since taking over as army chief in November from President Pervez Musharraf. “Baitullah has gone and got himself so visible. He wants to kind of consolidate all of the FATA underneath his control, and because he’s sticking out so far, the Pakistanis are going to hammer him down,” said a US defence official. It was not clear whether Pakistan would attempt to capture or kill Mehsud, US experts said. But the military is constrained from launching an all-out offensive that could risk a backlash from tribes in the region.