The Pakistani government yesterday demanded that Taliban commanders release a video to substantiate their claim that notorious warlord Baitullah Mehsud survived a US drone attack.
Hakimullah Mehsud, a top Taliban commander and deputy to Baitullah Mehsud, on Monday insisted that the warlord was alive and also denied reports of a deadly shooting between contenders for his succession.
“When Hakimullah can talk to Baitullah, he can also bring his video tape to contradict my claims that the Taliban chieftain is dead,” Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters outside parliament.
Although Pakistani and US officials believe Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack in South Waziristan with his wife last Wednesday, confusion has reigned and both governments have stopped short of confirming his death.
Hakimullah said Baitullah was “a bit sick.”
“Amir sahib [Baitullah] is alive. He is healthy and he will come before the media soon. There is no succession,” he said.
Pakistan's outspoken interior minister said Mehsud's wife and guards were definitely killed in the drone attack.
“We have credible information that Mehsud is dead but we do not have confirmation in terms of material evidence,” Malik said.
Baitullah Mehsud, branded by Washington “a key al-Qaeda facilitator” with a US$5 million price on his head, narrowly escaped previous attacks.
He heads Pakistan's most-wanted list, having been accused of masterminding the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, whose husband is now president.
US officials also stuck to their belief that Mehsud was killed last week amid reports a CIA drone fired missiles at him as he was getting a leg massage on the roof of his father-in-law's house.
A US counterterrorism official said on Monday “there are strong indications [Mehsud] is dead” following a missile attack launched from unmanned aircraft.
“No one is expecting him home for dinner tonight,” the official said.
On Wednesday night, US surveillance in Pakistan spied a man on the roof of Mehsud's father-in-law's home in South Waziristan.
The description was of a “short, stocky man who was following the physical description” of Mehsud, CNN said, citing the intelligence official.
A woman was massaging the man's leg and the CIA knew Mehsud had diabetes, experienced pain in his legs, and often sought relief in that way, the report said.
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