ISLAMABAD: Hakimullah Mehsud, the most wanted fugitive ameer of the TTP, first shot to prominence in August 2007 after taking hostage 300 security forces personnel in South Waziristan, thus compelling the Musharraf regime to release 25 terrorists who were being tried on terrorism charges.
Shortly after being elevated as TTP ameer following Baitullah Mehsud’s death in a US drone attack on August 6, 2009, Hakimullah had established his authority as the new terror king of Pakistan by targeting the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army on October 10, 2009 in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
The unique fidayeen attack had belied the official claims of having broken the back of the Pakistani Taliban, especially after Baitullah’s death.
Baitullah’s death, along with his wife, in the US missile strike on the night of August 5-6 in his father-in-law Maulana Ikramuddin’s house in Zangara village near Ladha town in South Waziristan was certainly the biggest loss for the TTP since its formation in December 2007.
As the founder and the head of TTP until his death, Baitullah alone appeared capable of holding it together. Following his death, the TTP predictably faced strife in its ranks as disputes arose over his successor. This was understandable because strong leaders such as Baitullah hold an iron grip over the affairs of the people under their command and seldom allow someone among their followers to be groomed as successors. However, the brief power struggle finally came to an end with the August 27, 2009 selection of Hakimullah as the new TTP ameer.
Soon after assuming TTP’s command, Hakimullah had let loose a reign of terror across Pakistan, especially targeting the security forces. Stepping into Baitullah’s shoes was not easy for Hakimullah because Baitullah had almost become a mythical personality among his followers due the importance that the US and its allies gave to him and his TTP. Yet, five simultaneous terror attacks in a single day on October 10, 2009 in three different cities of Pakistan - Kohat, Lahore and Peshawar - including the audacious assault on the GHQ building which killed 24 people, including a serving Brigadier and Colonel, and the October 15, 2009 multiple terrorist attacks in Lahore targeting three different places, proved once against that the TTP was fully alive even after the death of Baitullah Mehsud.
Initially serving the founding ameer of the TTP Baitullah Mehsud as a bodyguard and then becoming his trusted driver, Hakimullah soon gained fame in the Taliban circles for his expertise in combat – someone who knew a lot about weapons and machines and can drive even an armoured-plated Humvee that his men had captured during a raid on a convoy of American vehicles in the Khyber Agency of Fata. Before being elevated as TTP ameer after Baitullah’s death in a drone attack, Hakimullah Mehsud, also nicknamed as Guddu, was often compared in TTP circles with another jehadi commander, Nek Mohammad, who is referred to in Fata areas as the founder of the Pakistani Taliban movement. Nek too was killed in a US drone attack in June 2004 when a precision-guided missile hit his hideout in the Dhok village of Wana, the capital of South Waziristan.
Hakimullah was famous in the TTP circles for his cruelty and was well known as a rash strutting fighter who has led dozens of major terrorist operations not only against the Pakistani security forces but also against the Nato supply trucks which were destined for the Nato troops stationed in Afghanistan, hence catapulting him to fame among the ranks of the Pakistani Taliban. Despite his comparatively young age, the battle-hardened Hakimullah was elected new TTP chief due to a unique combination of characteristics - his proximity with Baitullah, extraordinary military skills, personal charisma and proven leadership abilities.
Hakimullah actually shot to fame in 2007 under the name Zulfiqar Mehsud following several ruthless commando raids carried out by the TTP fighters under his command against the Pakistani security forces in South Waziristan. But his biggest success came on August 2007 when his men captured 300 soldiers of the Pakistan Army in South
Waziristan. The bizarre abduction added to Hakimullah’s stature and helped him get closer to Baitullah. Soon afterwards, Baitullah’s military might multiplied [on 12 December 2007] when a council of 40 senior Pakistani Taliban leaders commanding a pooled force of almost 50,000 gathered in Peshawar and decided to come together under a single banner of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Baitullah Mehsud was appointed the TTP ameer, Maulana Hafiz Gul Bahadur from North Waziristan the senior vice chief and Maulana Faqeer Mohammad from the Bajaur Agency was appointed the third in command.
Baitullah soon rewarded Hakimullah by elevating him from an ordinary commander to the chief operational commander for three important tribal regions - Khyber, Kurram and Orakzai Agencies. Yet one key factor that led to his elevation was the fact that Hakimullah commanded almost 8,000 fighters in the three tribal agencies located in the West of Peshawar. Born in the Kotkai village of Sarwaki subdivision in South Waziristan Agency in 1980 as Jamshed Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud belonged to the Eshangai branch of Mehsud tribe.
Incidentally Hakimullah and his mentor both had been studying at a Deobandi religious seminary in Hangu district of the NWFP, although Baitullah had been quite senior to him. But Hakimullah dropped out a few years later without graduating as a Mullah. Later on, Hakimullah joined hands with his fellow tribesmen to become a fighter, initially serving Baitullah as a bodyguard and then becoming his trusted driver, before being elevated as the TTP ameer. Since then, Hakimullah’s star was constantly on the rise, before finally being killed on November 1, 2013.
