Islamabad:
Soon after Taliban sources were quoted on Monday as confirming the death of their leader Hakimullah Mehsud, came a denial from the outfit's spokesman Azam Tariq, who said Mehsud was alive and well.
Taliban sources had been quoted as saying that the Pakistan Taliban chief, who had been injured in a US Drone attack on January 13, had died on his way to Karachi. Mehsud, 28, was being taken for treatment to Karachi from South Waziristan.
However, Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq brushed aside the report saying Mehsud was all right and doing well.
US intelligence had said a few days ago that the US believed Mehsud had died following the missile attack.
Media reports had also indicated that he was dead, with Pakistan media indicating that Mehsud's body had been buried. The Pakistan Army had said it was investigating reports of Mehsud's death.
If Mehsud is indeed dead, then this is a major blow for the Taliban. Mehsud carried a bounty of US $590,000 on his head and had taken over leadership of the Pakistani Taliban soon after former leader Baitullah Mehsud's death in a similar Drone attack in August last year. The outfit is yet to come to terms with Baitullah's death.
Hakimullah had taken responsibility for a wave of attacks inside Pakistan, including the bombing of the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar last June and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore March that year. He was also was suspected in the attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan late last year.
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Pakistan Taliban chief Mehsud dead: Media reports