Pakistani Taliban denies reports its leader died

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan — The Pakistani Taliban on Monday denied reports that its leader died from injuries sustained in a U.S. drone strike in mid-January, saying they would try to provide proof he is alive in the next few days

The denial came a day after a state television report of Hakimullah Mehsud’s death set off a flurry of speculation and prompted the government to announce it was investigating. The state TV report apparently was based on witnesses who said they had attended his funeral last week.

The Pakistani Taliban issued similar denials after former leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a U.S. drone strike in August, only admitting his death after the group chose Hakimullah Mehsud as his successor almost three weeks later.

Hakimullah Mehsud’s death would inflict major damage against an al Qaeda ally already under pressure from U.S. and Pakistani attacks but would be unlikely to deal a killer blow to an organization blamed for scores of bloody bombings.

A close aide to Mehsud called the report of the militant chief’s death “government propaganda” and said he was “doing well.”

“We will try in a day or two to give you proof that he is alive,” the senior Taliban commander told the Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of government retribution.

Verifying developments in the tribal area where Mehsud is reported to have died is difficult. The Pakistani army and the United States are believed to have a network of informants there, but many places are under effective militant control. There are few independent journalists working there.

The New York Times and The Washington Post quoted anonymous U.S. officials as saying Sunday they were more than 90 percent certain Mehsud had died. The Long War Journal, a U.S. Web site that closely monitors the American missile campaign in the northwest, quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying there was no indication he had been killed.

The Pakistani army launched a major operation in the Pakistani Taliban’s main stronghold of South Waziristan in mid-October that retook the area but failed to kill many of the movement’s leaders.

Pakistan’s army chief said Monday the offensive had cleared the area of militants, but he did not refer to the reports of Mehsud’s death in a rare briefing for foreign journalists.

Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said his army was at full “stretch,” suggesting no new operations would be launched any time soon, and offered to help the United States to train the Afghan army, an apparent gesture of friendship in an often tense relationship. The United States is eager for Islamabad to pursue militants on Pakistani soil, where Washington says they plot assaults on American troops across the border in Afghanistan.

Taliban commanders Waliur Rehman and Qari Hussein are seen as the two most likely successors to replace Mehsud, if he was killed. Hussein is known as the group’s chief trainer of suicide bombers. Rehman was the commander in South Waziristan. In remarks to the media, they have shown themselves to be just as committed to war against the Pakistani state and the United States as Mehsud.

While considered distinct organizations, the Pakistan Taliban is allied closely with the Taliban across the border in Afghanistan, where U.S. and NATO troops are being killed by insurgents in greater numbers than ever before. Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, also believed to be hiding out in Pakistan’s northwest, is a supporter.

Mehsud’s importance for the United States was highlighted last month when he appeared in a video beside the Jordanian man who killed seven CIA employees in a suicide bombing at a remote base in Afghanistan. The bomber, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, said he carried out the attack in retribution for the death of former Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah.

Hakimullah has been reported dead at least twice before, once in an alleged power struggle following the death of Baitullah. If the Taliban do not acknowledge is leader’s death, DNA testing likely will be needed to confirm it.

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