Taliban video of Bannu jailbreak sold in Pakistani markets

According to the International News Network, the Pakistani Taliban are selling a video of the Bannu jailbreak that freed 384 prisoners, including Adnan Rasheed, one of the would-be assassins of former President Pervez Musharraf [emphasis below is mine]:

Taliban have released the video of Bannu jail attack in which leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Hakeemullah Mehsud is briefing his fighters’ squad.

Tape also contains messages of Adnan Rasheed who was allegedly involved in plotting the murder of former president Parvez Musharraf.

A 34 minutes video is being sold openly in various areas of North Waziristan and South Waziristan in which Hakeemullah Mehsud is briefing his warrior’s team through map containing different routes leading towards Bannu jail and also briefing the inside situation of the jail.

The video tape shows some 150 fighters including Hakeemullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman gathered at one place and form a strategy to assault the jail and attacked the jail with heavy weaponry without facing any hurdle from police side. Other scenes after the attack are also present in the tape having top militants who managed to escape from the jail.

Clearly the top leaders of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan can gather with 150 fighters to plot and execute operations without fear of attack, despite Pakistan’s military offensives in the tribal areas and the US drones hovering over North and South Waziristan.

Additionally, it has been reported numerous times in the past that Hakeemullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman have been at odds with each other and even came to blows at the so-called “battle at the shura,” where the two supposedly shot it out over who would succeed Baitullah Mehsud. The report was of course false, and was debunked when the two appeared together in a video.

The rumors that the top two Pakistani Taliban leaders remain at odds and ready to kill each other persist, and will continue to do so, despite the release of videos such as the one described above.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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5 Comments

  • Simurgh says:

    For anyone with knowledge of the geography and map of the region, where do you think these TTP people go when the Pak military marches in on them ? 2) Shahzad Saleem was killed because he talked about ISI “negotiating” the price of return of Mullah Baradar to the Americans ! Now it doesnt require a Ph.D in rocket science to figure out that shananigans being played out by both Pak ruling elites and their complicity to the occupational forces of Afghanistan now does it?
    The theatre is gone long enough !

  • Villiger says:

    Reality TV, Paqistani style. Great show Paqistan. what a bunch of wimps your army is and so many of you love them?!! Think again and wake up!

  • Villiger says:

    Another thought: The PAQ army is only adept when it comes to killing the Balochis.
    It is downright revolting what is going on there. Even the Pak Supreme Court has taken note of it and is trying to shake things up. Note that’s why i said Pak not PAQ referring to the Court. At least somebody is trying to maintain a semblance of a State. The Supreme Court should also take some action action terrorists starting with the urbane LeT and Hafeez Saeed. But of course it is the corrupt Govt and establishment that are refusing to put the ‘evidence’ together.
    Like the Arab Spring, the only hope is in you, the younger generation in Pakistan for it is your elders who have failed miserably and shamelessly.
    Back to Balochistan, you can read on and on in the current news:
    http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012%5C05%5C16%5Cstory_16-5-2012_pg3_3
    http://tribune.com.pk/story/378561/missing-persons-ig-fc-and-ig-police-balochistan-arrive-at-sc/
    http://dawn.com/2012/05/15/sc-grills-frontier-corps-in-missing-baloch-case/

    Let me ask the obvious question, already raised by Bill, how on earth did the drones miss this one–or was it a very cloudy day?

  • Villiger says:

    Sorry to go town (pun intended) on this thread, but I’ll tell you Hakee and Kayani, brothers-in-arms, what i’m going to be watching:
    http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/story/2012-05-15/the-dictator-sacha-baron-cohen-anna-faris-ben-kingsley/54980688/1
    Go on Sacha, the sequel can be named The Establishment–there’s enough material out there to do a satire on the joke called Paqistan.

  • mike merlo says:

    Each week, sometimes every other day, brings new information on how dysfunctional Pakistan is. Since The Partition of 1947 Pakistan has constantly careened on the edge of a full on melt down. Yet somehow by virtue of it’s collection of irrational flawed behavior’s critical mass is never reached by any one group. To bad Pakistan has nuclear weapons or else the entertainment factor would be so much easier to enjoy.

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