US paid insufficient attention to Mehsud

* US envoy says likely to announce help for Pakistan to overcome power crisis


* Says army to secure Swat before attacking Mehsud





ISLAMABAD: US special envoy Richard Holbrooke on Thursday branded Baitullah Mehsud one of the most "odious and dangerous people" in the region, and said although the US had been slow in recognising his importance, the TTP chief's elimination was "without a doubt" of strategic importance to Washington.




"I think Baitullah Mehsud is one of the most dangerous and odious people in the entire region and the US paid insufficient attention to him until very recently," Holbrooke told journalists before leaving for Afghanistan at the end of two days of talks with the Pakistani leadership.




Power crisis: Holbrooke hailed the return home of several thousand internally displaced persons - who are facing a number of issues, the power crisis one of them, in resuming normal lives - and said he hoped to announce help for Pakistan to overcome the power crisis when he returned next month.




But he said, "Northern Swat is still insecure. And the [Taliban] leadership...has not been captured. So there's a long way to go here."




The envoy said Pakistan was likely securing Swat before launching an all-out offensive against Baitullah. He described securing valleys as the first priority. "I think they've got their hands full in Swat and Buner," said Holbrooke, adding that this was the likely reason the army was delaying an all-out assault against Baitullah in South Waziristan.




"They've got to make sure when the refugees come back that they have security, so maybe they're delaying the offensive," he said, adding that he did not know the timing or nature of the looming action against Baitullah.




The envoy said the US was working to avoid mistakes that allowed Taliban vanquished in Afghanistan to escape into Pakistan and mastermind a deadly insurgency. "We'll continue to come back very regularly to improve coordination. That was not (the case) in 2002 and that was a grievous mistake," he said.




He spoke of the heavy US financial assistance for the Pakistani government, the military and IDPs. agencies