Qari Zain
Encyclopedia
Qari Zainuddin Mehsud commonly known as Qari Zain, was a citizen of Pakistan
, a member of the Mehsud tribe, and a leader of a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
(TTP) faction in South Waziristan
, one of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas
. Pakistan's Daily Times described him as the "self-appointed successor of Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud
" although he feuded with Baitullah Mehsud
over leadership of the Pakistani Taliban. In the months before his assassination, the Pakistani government
unofficially supported Zainuddin as a counter to Baitullah.
sub-clan of the Mehsud tribe, was born in Shaho Deeba village of South Waziristan's Sarokai subdivision. He received education from the Jami’a Speen Mosque, the Darul Uloom Faizoo in Lakki Marwat
and also in the seminary of Maulana Taqi Usmani in Korangi
, Karachi
. After his education, he traveled in support of the Taliban to Afghanistan.
Zainuddin joined Abdullah Mehsud, his cousin, after Abdullah attempted to assert his leadership of the Pakistani Taliban in the wake of Nek Muhammad Wazir
's death in 2004. After Abdullah and later his brother Masudur Rahman were killed, Qari Zain assumed leadership of the Abdullah Mehsud faction.
Senior Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir
, whose relationship with Baitullah had deteriorated over the issue of sheltering Uzbek miltants
, offered his support to Zainuddin. After Nazir and Baitullah, along with Hafiz Gul Bahadur
, pledged in February 2009 to set aside their differences to focus efforts upon NATO forces in Afghanistan, Qari Zain's forces allied with a group led by Turkestan Bhittani
, an older Taliban figure who had unofficially aligned with the government in its fight against Baitullah.
In March 2009 the two competing factions distributed pamphlets that leveled accusations against the other groups' leader.
Zainuddin's pamphlet, distributed on March 16, stated:
In response Baitullah Mehsud called Abdullah Mehsud (and indirectly Zainuddin as Abdullah's successor) a "puppet of the government", and said: "Zainuddin and his comrades are cruel robbers and have rebelled against Islam and the [Mehsud] nation."
In a June 2009 interview with Geo News, Qari Zainuddin Mehsud said that "Islam cannot spread with the use of force but with invitation," and added that he was against suicide attacks inside Pakistan. He also distanced himself from the TTP by denouncing the organization and reaffirmed his commitment to the cause of Tehrik-e-Taliban Afghanistan. "We are Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan, and we have nothing to do with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan." Zainuddin and Turkestan Bhittani held a jirga
with about a hundred Mehsud tribal elders to rally against Baitullah Mehsud.
Just six days before Qari Zainuddin's death he said in interview with Geo TV,“Islam does not allow carrying out activities within Pakistan and this is the main cause that led to the difference with Baitullah Mehsud.”He said scholars like Maulana Hasan Jan declared suicide attacks as un-Islamic. The declaration led to the killing of Maulan Hasan by Baitullah.He said “Islam cannot spread with the use of force but with invitation,” Qari Zain observed he also clarified, “We are Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan and we have nothing to do with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,”.
by bodyguard Gulbadin Mehsud, who escaped after the attack. According to Baz Mohammad, who was also wounded and was one of Zainuddin's aides, the gunman attacked immediately following morning prayers. Zainuddin was pronounced dead at the hospital from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Mohammad placed blame for the attack upon Baitullah Mehsud.
At the funeral, Turkestan Bhittani vowed to continue the fight against Baitullah Mehsud. After the ceremony Zainuddin's brother Misabhuddin was appointed the new leader of the Abdullah Mehsud group. Misabhuddin told BBC News
that he would not rest until Baitullah's death and that he would continue the "jihad against American and its allies in Afghanistan."
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, a member of the Mehsud tribe, and a leader of a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan , alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organization of various Islamist militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas along the Afghan border in Pakistan. Most, but not all, Pakistani Taliban groups coalesce under the TTP...
(TTP) faction in South Waziristan
South Waziristan
South Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
, one of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
. Pakistan's Daily Times described him as the "self-appointed successor of Taliban commander Abdullah Mehsud
Abdullah Mehsud
Abdullah Mehsud was a member of the Mahsud tribe in South Waziristan, and a Pashtun militant commander who killed himself with a hand grenade after security forces raided his dwelling in Zhob, Balochistan, Pakistan....
" although he feuded with Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
over leadership of the Pakistani Taliban. In the months before his assassination, the Pakistani government
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan is a federal parliamentary system, with an indirectly-elected President as the Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Pakistani Armed Forces, and an indirectly-elected Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The President’s appointment and term are...
unofficially supported Zainuddin as a counter to Baitullah.
Life
Qari Zainuddin, a member of the Shaman KhelShaman Khel
Shaman Khel is one of the Mehsud subtribes. They live in three different places in South Waziristan. Ladha, Sararogha and Sarwekay.-Sub-Castes:Shaman Khel are divided by four sub-castes:* Chiyar Khel*Khali Khel* Bodinzai*Galishai...
sub-clan of the Mehsud tribe, was born in Shaho Deeba village of South Waziristan's Sarokai subdivision. He received education from the Jami’a Speen Mosque, the Darul Uloom Faizoo in Lakki Marwat
Lakki Marwat
Lakki Marwat or Lakki is the headquarters of Lakki Marwat District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 32°41 25N 70°50'5E and has an altitude of 255 metres , the town is administratively divided into 2 union councils.-History:In 1844 Fateh Khan Tiwana, the revenue collector...
and also in the seminary of Maulana Taqi Usmani in Korangi
Korangi
Korangi is one of the neighborhoods of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.Korangi Town is a town in the eastern parts of Karachi, Pakistan, south of the Malir River...
, Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. After his education, he traveled in support of the Taliban to Afghanistan.
Zainuddin joined Abdullah Mehsud, his cousin, after Abdullah attempted to assert his leadership of the Pakistani Taliban in the wake of Nek Muhammad Wazir
Nek Muhammad Wazir
Nek Muhammad Wazir was a charismatic Pashtun military leader.He was killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan, FATA, Pakistan in June, 2004...
's death in 2004. After Abdullah and later his brother Masudur Rahman were killed, Qari Zain assumed leadership of the Abdullah Mehsud faction.
Rivalry within Pakistani Taliban
After Nek Muhammad's death, Abdullah Mehsud and Baitullah Mehsud both vied for dominance of the Pakistani Taliban. When Abdullah died in a raid by Pakistani security forces and later his successor perished in a bomb explosion, Qari Zain and other members of Abdullah's faction suspected that Baitullah played a role in the attacks. The rivalry continued after Zainuddin obtained leadership of Abdullah's group.Senior Taliban leader Maulvi Nazir
Maulvi Nazir
Maulvi Nazir is a leading militant of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan.Nazir's operations are based around Wana.He is opposed to foreign influence, particularly Uzbek and American, in Waziristan...
, whose relationship with Baitullah had deteriorated over the issue of sheltering Uzbek miltants
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
, offered his support to Zainuddin. After Nazir and Baitullah, along with Hafiz Gul Bahadur
Hafiz Gul Bahadur
Hafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
, pledged in February 2009 to set aside their differences to focus efforts upon NATO forces in Afghanistan, Qari Zain's forces allied with a group led by Turkestan Bhittani
Turkestan Bhittani
Turkestan Bhittani is the militant leader of a pro-government Taliban faction based in the town of Tank in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. He is notable for his opposition to Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan...
, an older Taliban figure who had unofficially aligned with the government in its fight against Baitullah.
In March 2009 the two competing factions distributed pamphlets that leveled accusations against the other groups' leader.
Zainuddin's pamphlet, distributed on March 16, stated:
|
In response Baitullah Mehsud called Abdullah Mehsud (and indirectly Zainuddin as Abdullah's successor) a "puppet of the government", and said: "Zainuddin and his comrades are cruel robbers and have rebelled against Islam and the [Mehsud] nation."
In a June 2009 interview with Geo News, Qari Zainuddin Mehsud said that "Islam cannot spread with the use of force but with invitation," and added that he was against suicide attacks inside Pakistan. He also distanced himself from the TTP by denouncing the organization and reaffirmed his commitment to the cause of Tehrik-e-Taliban Afghanistan. "We are Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan, and we have nothing to do with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan." Zainuddin and Turkestan Bhittani held a jirga
Jirga
A jirga is a tribal assembly of elders which takes decisions by consensus, particularly among the Pashtun people but also in other ethnic groups near them; they are most common in Afghanistan and among the Pashtuns in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan...
with about a hundred Mehsud tribal elders to rally against Baitullah Mehsud.
Personal Rivalry with Baitullah
The rivalry between Qari Zain and Baitullah also had a personal aspect in addition to their respective differences over preferred methods and goals. Baitullah had killed several of Zainuddin's family members, including his father.Just six days before Qari Zainuddin's death he said in interview with Geo TV,“Islam does not allow carrying out activities within Pakistan and this is the main cause that led to the difference with Baitullah Mehsud.”He said scholars like Maulana Hasan Jan declared suicide attacks as un-Islamic. The declaration led to the killing of Maulan Hasan by Baitullah.He said “Islam cannot spread with the use of force but with invitation,” Qari Zain observed he also clarified, “We are Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan and we have nothing to do with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,”.
Assassination
On June 23, 2009 Qari Zainuddin Mehsud was killed in Dera Ismail KhanDera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan is a city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is situated on the west bank of the Indus River, west of Lahore and northwest of Multan. The city is the capital of the district and tehsil of the same name. In Pakistan, its name is often abbreviated to D. I...
by bodyguard Gulbadin Mehsud, who escaped after the attack. According to Baz Mohammad, who was also wounded and was one of Zainuddin's aides, the gunman attacked immediately following morning prayers. Zainuddin was pronounced dead at the hospital from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Mohammad placed blame for the attack upon Baitullah Mehsud.
At the funeral, Turkestan Bhittani vowed to continue the fight against Baitullah Mehsud. After the ceremony Zainuddin's brother Misabhuddin was appointed the new leader of the Abdullah Mehsud group. Misabhuddin told BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
that he would not rest until Baitullah's death and that he would continue the "jihad against American and its allies in Afghanistan."