A commander loyal to slain Taliban leader Abdullah Mehsud said on Thursday that Baitullah Mehsud -- chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- is "misusing Islam to prolong his terror reign", and branded the TTP chief's activities 'militancy'. The commander -- Qari Zainuddin Mehsud -- is little known, and only a few have previously heard his name. According to pamphlets written in Urdu and distributed in Tank city on Thursday, Zainuddin Mehsud -- chief of the Abdullah Mehsud group -- has also charged Baitullah with the killings of 'jihadi leaders'.
Qari Zainuddin parted ways with Baitullah following Abdullah's killing in July 2007 in Balochistan's Zhob district, and both sides killed each other's men. The sources claimed the TTP was suffering from internal bickering that had been made public by the distribution of the pamphlets. "All that Baitullah is doing in the name of Islam is not Islamic ... this is militancy," the pamphlets read. The pamphlets also urge clerics to speak out against Baitullah.