Wali-ur-Rehman

Wali-ur-Rehman (Wali Ur-Rehman Mehsud) (c. 1970 in Bannu – 29 May 2013) was a senior Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander based in South Waziristan. Wali-ur-Rehman was formerly a spokesman for Baitullah Mehsud, the late leader of the TTP.

Wali-ur-Rehman's family hails from the Mal Khel branch of the Mehsud tribe in South Waziristan. In 1996, he finished studies at the Jamia Islamia Imdadia madrassa in Faisalabad and returned to South Waziristan to teach in a madrassa in Kani Guram. He was affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party prior to joining the Taliban in 2004.

Following Baitullah Mehsud's death in a missile attack launched from a Predator drone, a shura convened to choose his successor to lead the Pakistani Taliban. Wali-ur-Rehman was considered a contender for leadership. On 9 August 2009, it was rumored that a heated exchange at the shura escalated to open gunfire, and Wali-ur-Rehman allegedly shot Hakimullah Mehsud, another leadership contender. Rehman called a Reuters reporter to deny that there was fighting or a shura. He and Hakimullah later telephoned the BBC to confirm the death of Baitullah Mehsud.

On 2 November 2009, Pakistani authorities offered a Rs50 million ($600,000) reward for information that leads to the capture or killing of Wali-ur-Rehman. They offered the same reward for similar information regarding Hakimullah Mehsud and Qari Hussain and smaller rewards for 16 other TTP militants. On 1 September 2010, the United States added him and Hakimullah Mehsud to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists and the TTP to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. On 26 August 2011, an interview with him was aired on Al-Arabiya TV, in which he threatened to "wreak vengeance" on the U.S. and NATO (especially France and Britain) with "an attack greater than 9/11."

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