Islamabad, August 25: Reports about the appointment of a new chief of the Tehrike-e-Taliban Pakistan to replace Baitullah Mehsud are “speculation” as rebel commanders are still fighting among themselves on the issue, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Tuesday.
“If (commander) Hakeemullah Mehsud has become the chief terrorist then he should come forward and say that he has become the chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan,” Malik told state-run television.
“It is all speculation till he himself comes forward and says that he has become the chief of TTP,” he said. The Taliban had lost the sympathy of the Pakistani people and were now fighting among themselves over choosing a successor to Mehsud, Malik said.
There is no safe haven for the Taliban and the military operation against them will continue, he added.
“Our information is that they have not been able to appoint someone despite the lapse of so many days since (Mehsud’s) death because now they are fighting among themselves,” he said.
The Pakistan government says it is certain that Mehsud was killed with his wife and several guards in a US drone attack in South Waziristan on August 5. The Taliban have denied the claim, saying Mehsud is alive but ailing.
The Pakistani Taliban’s deputy chief, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, recently told reporters that Hakimullah Mehsud had been appointed the new chief by a 42-member shura or council. However, there has been no word from Hakimullah himself.
—Agencies