Here’s a link to my latest blog post at ForeignPolicy.com’s Af-Pak Channel. It’s on the Pakistan Army’s upcoming ground operations in South Waziristan.

Hakimullah Mehsud has told BBC Urdu that Baitullah Mehsud died two days ago. The BBC also spoke with Wali-ur-Rehman Mehsud, who denied claims of rifts in the TTP. The report also states that Wali-ur-Rehman has been made TTP commander in the Mehsud areas of Waziristan. So, we have a power sharing arrangement in which Hakimullah [...]

Check out my blog at ForeignPolicy.com’s Af-Pak Channel on the ‘selection’ of Hakimullah Mehsud as Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan chief and the organization’s internal divisions.

 BBC Urdu.com’s Rifatullah Orakzai reports that Maulvi Faqir Muhammad has announced that he is the “acting” amir of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).  Faqir, who spoke with the BBC via phone from an undisclosed location, claimed that Baitullah Mehsud is still alive.  He also added that the TTP-Swat spokesman, Muslim Khan, has replaced the recently [...]

Almost two weeks after the killing of Baitullah Mehsud, Pakistan continues to have an upper hand over the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).  But Rawalpindi-Islamabad’s gains over the TTP are unconsolidated.  The Pakistani Taliban network can rejuvenate itself.  Pakistan needs to sustain its vigilance against the militants, while at the same time not drag itself into [...]

The nation of Pakistan begins its greatest test in decades as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared war against takfiri terrorists in the Malakand Division in a national address this evening. Gilani called on Pakistanis to unite behind their army and government in a war to “completely eliminate” militants who have reaped havoc and death [...]

Christine Fair, Foreign Affairs Roundtable, “What’s the Problem With Pakistan?” “Having visited the Indian mission in Zahedan, Iran, I can assure you they are not issuing visas as the main activity! Moreover, India has run operations from its mission in Mazar (through which it supported the Northern Alliance) and is likely doing so from the [...]

GEO News reports that Baitullah Mehsud, the amir of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan is dead, apparently due to natural causes. Mehsud had been sick in recent days and reportedly slipped into a coma. Pakistan’s commemorate Eid ul-Fitr today (Wednesday), marking the end of the month of Ramadan. The passing of this murderous terrorist, if true, [...]

Baitullah Mehsud, leader of the Taliban Movement of Pakistan, has called on the Taliban to stop their militant activities against the Pakistani government. His announcement states that those who violate the accord will be hung upside down in bazaars. This indicates that Islamabad has possibly concluded a deal with the tribal elders of the Mehsuds, [...]

Maulvi Omar, the spokesperson for the Baitullah Mehsud-led Tehreek-e Taliban-e Pakistan (Taliban Movement of Pakistan) tells BBC Urdu that his organization will abide by its pre-election ceasefire commitment and would not derail the process. He told Reuters, “Neither do we support the process of the election nor do we have any opposition to it and [...]