Feared tribal leader prime suspect

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – The man named by Pakistani officials as the chief organizer of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination is a widely feared tribal commander at the vanguard of efforts by extremist groups to draw Pakistan deeper into their insurgent campaign.

Baitullah Mehsud, based in the lawless border region of South Waziristan, is believed to lead an army of thousands of followers who over the past year have been looking increasingly to the east in Pakistan for their targets, rather than west to Afghanistan.

If Mehsud was behind Bhutto’s killing, it would be his most audacious attack to date. But he is believed to be responsible for many other high-profile attacks in Pakistan, including an operation earlier this year in which his men captured more than 150 army soldiers and held them for weeks.

Pakistani officials revealed Friday that they had intercepted a phone call in which Mehsud congratulated his men for assassinating Bhutto. That allegation was disputed Saturday, as a purported spokesman for Mehsud denied any link between the insurgent leader and Bhutto’s death.

“It’s baseless,” Maulvi Omar, who claims to be the spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, told local journalists in the Waziristan region. “Benazir’s killing is a political issue.”

Bhutto’s supporters have said much the same, arguing that elements of the government are responsible for the attack and that pinning the blame on Mehsud is an attempt to provide cover for the true culprits.

But security experts in Pakistan’s restive northwest said Mehsud had the motive and the means to order the strike.

“Baitullah Mehsud is capable of doing such things. He has a lot of trained suicide bombers who can carry out such attacks with precision,” said Mahmood Shah, a retired brigadier general and former head of security in the tribal areas.

Bhutto had been outspoken about the need for Pakistan to confront Islamic extremism, warning in dire terms that groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaida pose an existential threat to the nation.

The military has allegedly made several unsuccessful efforts to kill or capture Mehsud. In 2005, the government cut a peace deal with Mehsud – one that locals in South Waziristan say only made him stronger. Mehsud backed out of the deal.

“This deal with the government made Mehsud the uncrowned king of Waziristan,” said Noor Mohammad Wazir, a resident of Wana, the main town of South Waziristan. “Now he is running the whole show, and Pakistani troops are just spectators.”