Khan Syed Mehsud Alias Sajna replaces Hakimullah Mehsud as new TTP chief

[Areesh]

He seriously needs a hair cut and a shower. Just saying.

 

[faisal6309]

Now they have another leader and so the cycle continues...

Until they are all dead

 

[qamar1990]

Lets get this clear , I do not support the United States of America , to me the interests of my country and the state itself is supreme . So this isn't illogical that I question my people more and the so called supposed friends since the independence like Washington D.C. less . I do not consider the US as a friend of my country , just that I praise it for killing TTP top brass in areas ( only this specific drone strikes thing ) , where my own army has been unable to do so . This is becoming a joke now in this country , people are so grief stricken and sad over the death of a terrorists leader that they are condemning the death of him , not the drone strike or the sovereignty issues now . Just tune in to some Pakistani channels even on the Internet if you can , you will see how the dead TTP chief is being portrayed as a symbol of peace , a statesman and a great leader . As for " blind and living under a rock " , I have more idea of whats happening on the ground here since well I am here . Though the timing is interesting , only a person who's optimistic to the point of foolishness will believe that peace can be achieved through talks with these " psychopaths " . How much peace have we had since the process itself started after the All Parties Conference decision ? We have had three blasts in Peshawar alone right after PTI's Khan and PMLN's Sharif bend over backwards to negotiate a deal with these animals . Cmon , tell me who's blind ? Who's blind enough to try to forgive and forget and try to talk at all costs with the murderers of 64,000 of my countrymen ? I am open minded as always , just prove that the foreign elements are doing everything and no Pakistani is involved in these acts of terror as the popular theory goes , hell even the Afghan Taliban have declared the terrorists as a " brave and courageous martyr " . Maybe , there's some foreign support which doesn't appear to be from the Americans * seeing their actions * but what should I say about my people ?  


Oscar , do you believe that the army is on board with the civilian Govt on this " peace " process even though they have more and better experience of such talks and the outcomes ? Maybe , its just lip service and half hearted support for the APC's decision since the chosen leaders have decided it ?

well its good that you finally believe there is foreign support, i don't believe america is funding these pigs but i do believe the us government doesn't that there to be peace.

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

He seriously needs a hair cut and a shower. Just saying.

Your expecting too much from a pig.

 

[livingdead]

mehsud looked effeminate, like the guy who sang aye to aye..
this one got the proper terroristy look ... should change his name though

 

[Secur]

Depends on the current leadership.. they are definitely more experienced and better than the Musharraf cadre. However, if they are coordinating better with CENTCOM and the Sharifas are now on damage control for them.. it is a bad thing. What I have repeatedly been asking/stating is that despite the benefits of this strike; the timing of it rather sours the whole advantage it might have given after say failed talks or 4 months ago. Here , the groups may be in disarray but are probably more bloodthirsty now and there is going to be a more hostile APC to any idea of military operation.

Well , if they are , as you say more experienced and better than the Musharraf's cadre , then I take it as the most plausible assessment of the whole thing . This sort of attack wouldn't have been possible without serious effort and solid HUMINT from ISI itself to the U.S. , there are reports about an insider planting a chip to locate the dead Mehsud's vehicle . I never believed from the start that the military has ever been serious with peace talks with these terrorists , that has been all to pacify the overwhelming majority of confused people and their chosen representatives who still think after several disastrous deals in the tribal areas and specially Swat recently that " they can come to a common ground " and somehow there can be peace with the " psychopaths " . The bald men have to oblige , the real power brokers still do not sit in Isloo or Lahore . Do you think that anything acceptable to the people or the Govt would have come out of negotiations ? Anything at all ? Even whilst we waited for " talks to start " , there was some intense terrorism in the country and the Taliban though not taking the due credit for some of them , still supported and justified it saying that it has been done by a subgroup of theirs . So , why not kill the HVT when we have had the chance ? These sort of targets do not come easily or everyday . As for the " failed talks " things , think a little more on the attitudes , statements and actions of political parties . Oscar , they are really bending over backwards to the terrorists and want the talks to succeed " at all costs " , even if it means going against the constitutions from what I gather from their behavior , even if it means vacating the F.A.T.A. for the Taliban and thousand other groups . You see the politicians , the Mullahs and overwhelming majority of people on T.V. condemning the death of a " symbol of peace " and justifying the Taliban cause even and Imran Khan giving statements in defense of terrorists ? Should we then wait for the talks to start , the propaganda to flourish further and helplessly see as the terrorist make a mockery of our country and its laws with their ridiculous demands ? Even if the strike was carried out after lets say four months , what was going to change ? You are assuming that the political parties and the common populace would have changed its stance , doesn't fit well in my equation . We aren't a nation that learns from its mistakes and blunders , monsieur . Whatever the APC's next decision is going to be , trust me , it cant be worse than the last one .

well its good that you finally believe there is foreign support, i don't believe america is funding these pigs but i do believe the us government doesn't that there to be peace.

I believe and so does the Pakistani Govt , that there is extensive foreign support to Baloch insurgency but this phenomenon is different , ideologically motivated fortified by a twisted interpretation of religion and doesn't really need financial or weapons support from outside to keep the bloodshed going , they have their own mechanism of funding their acts of terror through various criminal activities inside the country not to mention their supporters/sympathizers , that is why except for the Afghan Taliban , I do not believe they are taking help from any other country specially from those , they consider " infidels " and which is why I used " maybe " or " even if " . U.S. like any other country plays for its national interests and so should we but unfortunately , it appears that we aren't . There's a report on self sustainability of Taliban and other terrorist groups in the North West , a well researched and detailed article , check it out .

 

[Secur]

@Oscar

Just saw this editorial in the Nation - contrary to what the media portraying the grief stricken and saddened to the core nation and its politicians are saying .

The reaction to the news from key political figures of the country give the confounding impression that a peace-loving, patriotic Pakistani has been killed, and not a terrorist responsible for the murder of government officials, army personnel and thousands of innocent civilians.

The fact is that the TTP is not a unified force which can act as a guarantor for several militant factions active in the country. There is a huge difference between controlling, and being affiliated. For the sake of argument, even if it is agreed that TTP is really in control, then what exactly happened in the case of All-Saints Church and Qissa Khwani bazaar blasts? The TTP distanced itself from the attacks, but at the same time supported them and declared the horrors "just". And, as far the concerns for the security situation go, the leadership is reminded that in case they haven’t noticed, Pakistan is already in a state of war. Just because it can get much worse doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good and peaceful right now. People are being killed every day. No one is safe. Even if an arrangement is miraculously reached as a result of negotiations, it would be nothing more than a temporary lull, until the TTP break their word again. It would be the height of naïveté for Choudhary Nisar to assume that his pure intentions would be reciprocated by the TTP, because this time they are facing him and not someone else across the negotiating table. To learn from history, if that is not too much trouble, it is advisable to recall the Swat episode. Deal reached; stabbed in the back; and ultimately the last resort of a military operation was employed to clean out the area. The drone strike on Hakimullah Mehsud may also indicate that the relationship between Pakistani and American intelligence agencies is on the mend. It is highly likely that the fruitful result was achieved with the involvement of Pakistan’s co-operation in intelligence. However, it is likely and security experts warn that there may be a surge of attacks by the militants to avenge the demise of their chief. It appears that we are inching closer to the logical conclusion.

The peace talks were bound to fail. A military operation has long been whispered as the only logical conclusion – whether Choudhary Nisar admits it or not, he knows it has been discussed as the likely end. The only thing that has changed, is that the drone that killed Hakimullah Mehsud, makes that military operation all the more urgently necessary. If we continue to appease, and pander, and obfusate - as Imran Khan and Choudhary Nisar are clearly in favour of doing - we will be missing a golden opportunity to take decisive action against a group that has killed thousands, and will kill more. Agreed that the journey has been accelerated due to this incident, but the destination remains unchanged. The state cannot be a sitting duck anymore. It should seize the opportunity to attack the enemy while it is without effective leadership. Let the formidable military of Pakistan take action and take the fight to them, to those who are gearing up to launch a series of attacks on us. An enemy of the state and its people was killed on Friday. The rest of his colleagues must surrender, or meet the same fate.

 

[Solomon2]

the last ttp pig that died in a drone strike wanted to talk peace with pakistan, and that too with info from inside ttp according to reports...now this piece of shit hakimullah got roasted just weeks after expressing the desire to hold talks with government.

@Secur, qamar1990 and I usually disagree, and everyone knows I've defended drone strikes many times, but I think there's an important point here: if you kill the generals, you also kill the people who can exercise the authority to surrender their forces to you.

By contrast, the Israelis killed a lot of henchmen but let Arafat remain alive because he was the one who could wield sufficient authority to bring the Arabs to the negotiating table. The U.S. Civil War ended not with the assassination of the rebel leader but with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee, who specifically directed his men to disband and not become irregular guerrilla forces. Several times during the crusades Muslim leaders were careful not to attack certain crusader leaders so as to negotiate settlements that let the "Franks" depart on easy terms while the Muslims retained the advantage. (Saladin even sent Richard the Lion-hearted his personal physician.) There are numerous other examples.

I don't know what Hakimullah was up to but I think it would have been better if his hand - and Pakistan's - could have been revealed through parley. The current approach isn't just cowardly but bloody-minded and unforgiving. You don't have to like the Mehsuds but their grunts may deserve better; you can appeal to them that your vision - your deal - is better than the TTP.

Otherwise, you're creating a lot of desperate and violent men. Even if you defeat the TTP by knocking out their command structure the remnants will likely remain as roaming gangs of bandits for years to come. 

@Oscar
The fact is that the TTP is not a unified force which can act as a guarantor for several militant factions active in the country. There is a huge difference between controlling, and being affiliated.

Surrender of Hakimullah's forces would set a precedent to encourage the collapse of other factions.

The peace talks were bound to fail.

Why not let them fail, then? The country would be stronger for it, yes?

The only thing that has changed, is that the drone that killed Hakimullah Mehsud, makes that military operation all the more urgently necessary.

It's going to be unnecessarily bloody, which will make Pakistani leaders hesitate more, which will lead to more unnecessary deaths - unless some sort of attractive offer is made to the rank-and-file of the TTP.

 

[Areesh]

@Oscar

Just saw this editorial in the Nation - contrary to what the media portraying the grief stricken and saddened to the core nation and its politicians are saying .

The reaction to the news from key political figures of the country give the confounding impression that a peace-loving, patriotic Pakistani has been killed, and not a terrorist responsible for the murder of government officials, army personnel and thousands of innocent civilians.

The fact is that the TTP is not a unified force which can act as a guarantor for several militant factions active in the country. There is a huge difference between controlling, and being affiliated. For the sake of argument, even if it is agreed that TTP is really in control, then what exactly happened in the case of All-Saints Church and Qissa Khwani bazaar blasts? The TTP distanced itself from the attacks, but at the same time supported them and declared the horrors "just". And, as far the concerns for the security situation go, the leadership is reminded that in case they haven’t noticed, Pakistan is already in a state of war. Just because it can get much worse doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good and peaceful right now. People are being killed every day. No one is safe. Even if an arrangement is miraculously reached as a result of negotiations, it would be nothing more than a temporary lull, until the TTP break their word again. It would be the height of naïveté for Choudhary Nisar to assume that his pure intentions would be reciprocated by the TTP, because this time they are facing him and not someone else across the negotiating table. To learn from history, if that is not too much trouble, it is advisable to recall the Swat episode. Deal reached; stabbed in the back; and ultimately the last resort of a military operation was employed to clean out the area. The drone strike on Hakimullah Mehsud may also indicate that the relationship between Pakistani and American intelligence agencies is on the mend. It is highly likely that the fruitful result was achieved with the involvement of Pakistan’s co-operation in intelligence. However, it is likely and security experts warn that there may be a surge of attacks by the militants to avenge the demise of their chief. It appears that we are inching closer to the logical conclusion.

The peace talks were bound to fail. A military operation has long been whispered as the only logical conclusion – whether Choudhary Nisar admits it or not, he knows it has been discussed as the likely end. The only thing that has changed, is that the drone that killed Hakimullah Mehsud, makes that military operation all the more urgently necessary. If we continue to appease, and pander, and obfusate - as Imran Khan and Choudhary Nisar are clearly in favour of doing - we will be missing a golden opportunity to take decisive action against a group that has killed thousands, and will kill more. Agreed that the journey has been accelerated due to this incident, but the destination remains unchanged. The state cannot be a sitting duck anymore. It should seize the opportunity to attack the enemy while it is without effective leadership. Let the formidable military of Pakistan take action and take the fight to them, to those who are gearing up to launch a series of attacks on us. An enemy of the state and its people was killed on Friday. The rest of his colleagues must surrender, or meet the same fate.

Brilliant article by The Nation. Just nailed it.

 

[Secur]

@Solomon2

What does the " Samson options " say ? What happens when the state/an entity is desperate for something - maybe as important as its survival ? What does it do ? The same terrorists were making a mockery - a literal joke of the country , its armed forces and the constitutions by their ridiculous demands and the political parties and the confused nation watched silently - some even going to the extent of praising them . What did you expect the high command to do ? " O my God , Let me die with the Philistines " perhaps , then on a not-so-serious note then ?

Also read the thing I posted from a Pakistani newspaper . Second paragraph . Since there exist no central authority more clearly seen by the recent " disagreement " in the selection of the new terrorist leader , the notion of " anything going worse than now " doesn't carry much weight . Yes , he could wield some sort of authority on his immediate group * allied with thousands others * but that is it , he couldn't go against the " bloodshed for the sake of it " ideology .

 

[Solomon2]

What I have repeatedly been asking/stating is that despite the benefits of this strike; the timing of it rather sours the whole advantage it might have given after say failed talks or 4 months ago. Here , the groups may be in disarray but are probably more bloodthirsty now and there is going to be a more hostile APC to any idea of military operation.

If not "more bloodthirsty" than likely more desperate.

Come on, why can't Pakistan's leadership offer the TTP men a political solution? Maybe it doesn't even have to be a negotiated one, perhaps just something to give them substantial hope that they can remain alive and healthy if they stop fighting.

 

[Secur]

Surrender of Hakimullah's forces would set a precedent to encourage the collapse of other factions.

He wouldn't have surrendered , never . You are expecting " rationality " from " psychopaths " . 

Come on, why can't Pakistan's leadership offer the TTP men a political solution? Maybe it doesn't even have to be a negotiated one, perhaps just something to give them substantial hope that they can remain alive and healthy if they stop fighting.

What sort of a political solution ? A stake in the political setup ? A gift of some areas - F.A.T.A comes to mind ? Just what ? Cant continue parallel existence much longer .

 

[BATMAN]

i can't believe that a jr think tank is as delusional as you.
who heck chooses these rankings on this forum?

When you believe there baseless blames, you win US visa and US aid but when you counter their blames you are confused.
Before they were blaming us individuals and now when they are loosing arguments to facts, they are blaming the whole nation.
Asif Ali Zardair has left many crying orphans, in coming days they will cry even more.
In response to the confused nation lable.

 

[Solomon2]

@Solomon2

What does the " Samson options " say ? What happens when the state/an entity is desperate for something - maybe as important as its survival ? What does it do ?

Think of Pakistan's leaders. Do they fight for survival or power and prestige? if they win personal achievement by cutting off an arm or leg or brain of Pakistan, they don't have a problem with that (Z.A.B., Zia) and if worst comes to worst they figure they can escape the deluge: to Dubai, Riyadh, London, the U.S. - and maybe return when the weather clears up (B. Bhutto, N. Sharif).

The same terrorists were making a mockery - a literal joke of the country , its armed forces and the constitutions by their ridiculous demands and the political parties and the confused nation watched silently - some even going to the extent of praising them . What did you expect the high command to do ?

To be brave and decisive. To face the fact that once they declare themselves opposed to the terrorists they indeed might not survive another week without assassination - but that they should do so nonetheless. 

He wouldn't have surrendered , never . You are expecting " rationality " from " psychopaths " .

No. I'm expecting that "the little people" and his grunts will realize they're psychopaths.

What sort of a political solution ?

Who should get amnesty? What good, if anything, will the state of Pakistan offer the people of Wazirstan in exchange for opposing the TTP and giving up their tribal independence?

 

[Secur]

Think of Pakistan's leaders. Do they fight for survival or power and prestige? if they win personal achievement by cutting off an arm or leg or brain of Pakistan, they don't have a problem with that (Z.A.B., Zia) and if worst comes to worst they figure they can escape the deluge: to Dubai, Riyadh, London, the U.S. - and maybe return when the weather clears up (B. Bhutto, N. Sharif).

To be brave and decisive. To face the fact that once they declare themselves opposed to the terrorists they indeed might not survive another week without assassination - but that they should do so nonetheless.

I think the answer is obvious and you already know it , why teach/remind me of my country's history ? The " Armed Forces of Pakistan " or the " high command " is already faced with a lot of blames and public/political pressure and cant go on the offensive openly , you need the nation to be united which it unfortunately isn't . They are divided on the issue . Some think that it is wise to talk to Taliban , some think they are right and justified in their cause , some are of the view that are foreign agents and should be killed , some consider them different than Afghan Taliban , some want an all-out army operation and the overwhelming majority is confused what to do with them . This isn't the ideal time to strike for the army . The democratic Govt has suspended all army operations and going against it , would cause a massive fallout . Hence the use of drone and letting the others do the " damage control " for them . You expect what you shouldn't , they will not . If they were capable of , they would have done that by now , wouldn't they have ? 64,000 Pakistanis have died , how much is enough ?

The terrorists aren't ready to talk on the Govt's terms as you assume there , they believe that they are in position of power and the appeasement by the political parties has further emboldened them . Pakistan offered the tribals much more than the stone agers could provide , they never accepted it though . 

When you believe there baseless blames, you win US visa and US aid but when you counter their blames you are confused.
Before they were blaming us individuals and now when they are loosing arguments to facts, they are blaming the nation

Decide who's your enemy first until then , you are confused as a nation . Even the Sri-Lankans knew of the common enemy but the Pakistanis do not , majority considers the religious terrorists as righteous and justified with a whole province always ready to submit themselves to Taliban rule . See and acknowledge the extremism that exists in our country and provides money and manpower for the terrorist activities before blaming others for everything . There's no denial of foreign enemies but what about our countrymen . Ready made terrorists fighting against the infidel Pakistan Army or challenging the writ of the state ? Ai'nt gonna solve anything for you , this way .