[4][5][6] He is thought by U.S. military analysts to have commanded up to 5,000 fighters[4] and to have been behind numerous attacks in Pakistan[5] including the assassination of Benazir Bhutto which he and others have denied.
Pakistani security officials initially announced that Baitullah Mehsud and his wife were killed on 5 August 2009 in a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency drone attack in the Zangar area of South Waziristan.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik delayed giving official confirmation and asked for patience and an announcement by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) or other agencies.
[9] Major General Athar Abbas, ISPR spokesman, and Robert Gibbs of the White House said his death could not be confirmed,[10][11] U.S. National Security Adviser James L. Jones also claimed that there was "pretty conclusive" evidence that proved Baitullah Mehsud had been killed and that he was 90% sure of it.
[13] Syed Saleem Shahzad, writing in the Asia Times, described Baitullah Mehsud as a physically small man, with diabetes.
[14] Baitullah Mehsud was born in 1970 in the Landi Dhok village in the Bannu District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, which lies some distance from the Mehsud tribe's base in the South Waziristan Agency, his native village there being Dwatoi in the Ladha Subdivision, his father having moved to Bannu for work.
In exchange, Baitullah's followers would not attack government officials, impede development projects or allow foreign militants to operate within their territory.
[28] The ceasefire agreement ended in July 2005 when after accusing the government of reneging on the deal, Baitullah resumed attacks on security forces.
[32] In a January 2007 interview with the BBC Urdu Service, Baitullah extolled the virtues of jihad against foreigners and advocated taking the fight to the U.S. and to Britain.
[29] In April Baitullah circulated a pamphlet that ordered his followers not to undertake any attacks inside Pakistan due to ongoing peace talks.
[35] In July 2008, Baitullah issued a statement that threatened to take action against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government if it did not step down within five days.
[37] Various news media sources reported the death of Baitullah Mehsud on 30 September 2008 at the age of 34 due to kidney failure.
[43][44] In February 2009, senior Taliban leaders Baitullah Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir put aside their differences in an effort to refocus against a common enemy.
This alliance proved to be a major blow to BaitUllah Mehsud and his allies, limiting their influence in the bordering regions of his strong base South Waziristan, that is, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan.
Qari Zainuddin Mehsud and Turkestan Bhittani groups were involved in many illegal activities in those regions, such as kidnappings, extortion and killings.
Baitullah's pamphlet claimed that the slain Abdullah had been a government puppet and Qari Zainuddin was a traitor to Islam and to the Mehsud tribe.
[63] The Pakistani government released a transcript it asserted was from a conversation between Baitullah Mehsud and Maulvi Sahib (literally "Mr.
"[68] In an address to the nation on 2 January 2008, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said that he believed Maulana Fazlullah and Baitullah Mehsud were prime suspects in the assassination of Bhutto.
"Offering the most definitive public assessment by a U.S. intelligence official, Michael V. Hayden said Bhutto was killed by fighters allied with Mehsud, a tribal leader in northwestern Pakistan, with support from al-Qaeda's terrorist network.
"[70] In telephone interviews with news media Mehsud claimed responsibility for 30 March 2009 attack on the police training academy in Lahore.
[71][72] He told the BBC that the attack was in retaliation for continued missile strikes from American drones for which the Pakistani government shared responsibility.
[71] Although the FBI later completely refuted that he had any involvement in the incident, Mehsud claimed responsibility for the shooting in Binghamton, New York, on Friday 13 April 2009.