Pakistan Gearing Up To Go After Mehsud
This story was filed by CBS News' Farhan Bokhari, reporting from Islamabad.
A day after U.S. national security adviser James Jones arrived in Pakistan for talks with civilian and military officials, analysts said the Pakistan' military's advance into Waziristan was the strongest push by the country since it joined the U.S.-led war against Islamic militants.
Senior government leaders say they have significant public backing on in their campaign in Waziristan, which comes less than two months after the military was ordered to launch a full scale offensive against the Taliban in the northern Swat Valley.
"We have had unprecedented public support in these operations. Pakistanis were just too tired of the Taliban and wanted their elimination," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told CBS News. "You can see that across this country there is public opinion speaking out strongly against Taliban-ization," he added.
Malik said the military offensive in Swat "is now in its final stages. We have taken control of large parts of the area. Basically, we are now just doing a clean up operation."
However, government officials and Western diplomats warn it is now vital for the campaign against the Taliban to succeed in targeting Baitullah Mehsud, the Waziristan-based Taliban militant who heads the Paksitani branch of the extremist group.
He has been connected to a number of terrorist attacks including last year's suicide bombing at the Mariott hotel in Islamabad, the recent bombing of the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar, and possibly even the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
On Wednesday, after a U.S. drone attack in Waziristan, Pakistani officials confirmed the death of one of Mehsud's key aides, who was responsible for planning suicide attacks by his followers.
That killing followed the death earlier this week of Qari Zainuddin, the main militant rival to Mehsud.
Zainuddin was killed when he was attacked by one of his assistants — believed to have turned against him at the behest of Mehsud. Zainuddin had emerged as a principal challenger to Mehsud and had publicly denounced the use of suicide attacks.
"Baitullah Mehsud is suffering from recent hits against his network. But as long as he is alive and well, there is always the chance that he will order another suicide attack against a key target somewhere in Pakistan," said a senior Pakistani security official in Islamabad.
"It is just not possible to be sure that Mehsud-led militancy is over until he is dead and his network of militants dismantled," added the official, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.
Western diplomats said it was important for Pakistan to destroy Mehsud's network of followers, including those who may potentially head into Afghanistan this summer to fight against U.S. and coalition forces.
Malik said the military was already prepared to target Mehsud, "as soon as we can get to him."
"The militants are surrounded and we are not going to spare anyone," he added.