Mission against Mehsud will continue, vows assassinated rival leader’s successor

August 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Observers believe that the power struggle in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) could erupt again following the announcement of its new chief after the banned outfit admitted, after weeks of denial, that Baitullah Mehsud had indeed been killed in US drone strike earlier this month. The TTP may have announced the name of its new leader, but observers believe the infighting would continue in the banned outfit.

August 25th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Interior Advisor Rehman Malik has rejected reports about Hakeemullah Mehsud being appointed as the new chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In an interview with the state television, Malik said reports about Hakeemullah taking over the TTP's command were merely 'speculations'.

August 22nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A 42-member tribal gathering Saturday appointed Hakimullah Mehsud as the new head of the Pakistani Taliban though the group insists its previous head Baitullah Mehsud is still alive. Talking to BBC from an unknown location, acting TTP head Moulvi Faqir Muhammad categorically refuted reports that Baitullah Mehsud had been killed in a US drone attack last week.

August 22nd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has declared Hakeemullah Mehsud as the successor to Baitullah Mehsud. TTP spokesman Maulvi Faqir Muhammad announced Hakeemullah's appointment while claiming that Baitullah was alive, the News reports.

August 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's Adviser on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik, has challenged the Taliban to prove that its leaders are still alive, in the wake of reports that Baitullah Mehsud and Hakimullah Mehsud have been killed. Malik is reported to have told the BBC that "physical evidence" showed that Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud had been killed in a US missile attack on Wednesday and added that intelligence reports have suggested that a potential successor was later killed in a shootout.

August 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - * Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas has said that information gleaned from multiple sources have confirmed the death of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA missile strike last Wednesday. Claims and counterclaims about whether Mehsud is alive or dead have swirled since the Wednesday drone strike in South Waziristan.

July 29th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Interior Advisor Rehman Malik has rebuked media reports that the government has entered into 'secret negotiations' with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud. Malik denied that any negotiations with Mehsud were underway.

July 15th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan government may have announced an all out war against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan,but it has so far failed to bring the important Taliban leader Jalaluddin Haqqani on its side as part of its strategy to isolate the warlord, the BBC reports. While Pakistan Air Force's fighter jets continue to pound suspected hideouts of the Taliban in South Waziristan, every step to garner support of Haqqani, a key Afghan leader, has failed.

June 30th, 2009 LAHORE - In a bid to make its 'Get Baitullah' mission successful, the Pakistan Army is paying heed to lessons learnt by the British military some 70 year ago in Waziristan. When the British went to war against Waziristan tribesmen more than 70 years ago, the ensuing guerrilla conflict lasted more than a decade.

June 25th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan military is preparing new 'operational plans' against the Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. Sources privy to the military said that the plan against the Taliban chief had to be 'readjusted' after the death of Mehsud's rival commander Qari Zainuddin.

June 25th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud will be killed whenever the security forces find him. Mehsud was involved in the murder of several innocent people, Rehman said.

June 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - No militant organization has taken responsibility for the murder of former close aide of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud, Qari Zainuddin, yet, but its is believed that the TTP chief has ordered his associates to kill Zainuddin. Zainuddin, who parted ways with the TTP chief, had recently termed Mehsud as 'unIslamic' which obviously infuriated him, The Daily Times reports.

June 20th, 2009 PESHAWAR - In yet another incident which proves that fissures in the Taliban are getting wider, the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud has rejected the calls of the Taliban's supreme leader Mullah Muhammad Omar Akhund for halting terror strikes in Pakistan. According to sources, Akhund had asked Mehsud to stop the terror acts in Pakistan and focus more on activities against the US led allied forces in Afghanistan.

June 19th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - A militant leader who broke away with Pakistan's Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud has accused him of killing former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a media report said Friday. Haji Turkistan Baetani, former right-hand man of Mehsud, claimed that Mehsud had planned the assassination of Bhutto.

June 18th, 2009 LAHORE - In what may be seen as a probable fissure in the Taliban's leadership, a commander of the outlawed organization, Qari Zainudin Mehsud, has blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud for all the terror strikes in Pakistan. Mehsud said he was not in favour of carrying out attacks inside Pakistan, as it was against Islam.