 A Mehsud tribesman has said that Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, is diabetic and does not sleep well because of his ailment.
Baitullah is a member of the Shahbikhel, a sub-tribe of the Mehsud, who with the Wazir represent the main tribes in Waziristan. Abdul Karim Mehsud, a lawyer in Peshawar who comes from the same tribe, said he hadnÂ’t seen his clansman for six years, but recalls a simple person, quite religious, but an avowed jihadi driven by desire to liberate Afghanistan, where he had fought. Intelligence officials say heÂ’s been behind a wave of suicide attacks in Pakistani cities since the army stormed the Lal Masjid in July to crush a militant movement.
| Not very good with directions, is he? Lal Masjid isn't in Afghanistan. For that matter, Wazoo's not in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan is properly a problem of the Afghans, not of the Paks. |
But it was when officials named him the prime suspect in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto that MehsudÂ’s notoriety rocketed. According to The Friday Times weekly, Mehsud is financed by Al Qaeda and Afghan and Pakistani businessmen in the United Arab Emirates. |