Tribal Leader's Assassination Is A Blow To Pakistani Offensive

Photo: Qari Zainuddin had publicly supported the Pakistani military. Associated Press

From Wall Street Journal:

ISLAMABAD -- A pro-government tribal leader opposed to Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of the Pakistan Taliban, was killed Tuesday, dealing a blow to the Pakistani military's offensive against the militants in the lawless tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

Qari Zainuddin, a leader of a rival faction of the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan, was killed in his house in Dera Ismail Khan when one of his guards opened fire on him, according to local police and his supporters. Police said the assassin escaped. Baz Mohammad, an aide to the tribal leader who was wounded in the shooting, told the Associated Press that a guard barged into a room at Mr. Zainuddin's compound after morning prayers.

"It was definitely Baitullah's man who infiltrated our ranks, and he has done his job," Mr. Mohammad told the AP.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Read more ....

Update: Tribesman who stood up to Pakistan's Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud -- The Guardian

My Comment: This Taliban leader was by no stretch of the imagination an ally of the West .... in fact he had wanted the war against the Pakistani Government to stop so that their resources can then be focused on the war in Afghanistan.

His demise means that the war in Pakistan will continue, and that attempts to rein in Baitullah Meshud by other Taliban elements and Al Qaeda will now be put on the back burner.