The army has now narrowed down its search — instead of going after the ‘Taliban’, they are hunting for The Man — Baitullah Mehsud, who has led and fed the extremists on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line. On June 17, The News quoted army spokesman Ather Abbas as he announced launching a special operation to nail Mehsud: “The government has, in principle, decided to launch ‘Rah-e-Nijat’ operation against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan.” This was followed by another welcome announcement in Daily Times on June 19: “The military offensive in Swat is nearly over and the government has achieved its targets, said defence minister Ahmad Mukhtar... Internally displaced persons (IDPs) would be able to return home by June 20. He said the next decisive battle would be against Baitullah Mehsud.” Dawn added to the discourse on Mehsud quoting Mukhtar: “He said after clearing Swat, the military would go after militants in South Waziristan. Mehsud wanted to create chaos in the country... We have a huge network of informers who are after him and the moment his whereabouts are known the forces are going to hit him’, he added.” These IDPs in question have celebrity sympathisers in Beverly Hills too. Daily Times reported on June 19: “Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated $1 million to the UN refugee agency to help IDPs from Swat... Jolie has worked as UNHCR goodwill ambassador for eight years and visited Pakistan thrice in that period.”

... contd.