Hakimullah Mehsud: Pakistan forces on alert after death

A spokesman told the BBC all security
measures were now being taken.
Pakistan media say Mehsud's funeral has
taken place at an unknown location in the
tribal area of North Waziristan.
A Pakistan government minister said the
drone strike had destroyed attempts to
hold peace talks with the militants.
Mehsud was killed along with four other
people - including two of his bodyguards -
when four missiles struck their vehicle in
the north-western region of North
Waziristan, a senior Taliban official told the
BBC.
The Taliban's ruling council met on
Saturday to choose a new leader.
Unconfirmed reports say regional
commander Khan Said Sajna has been
elected to the top job.
As well as Mehsud, the previous Pakistan
Taliban leader was killed in a drone strike,
in 2009.
Talks 'sabotaged'
Neither the Pakistani nor US governments
have officially confirmed or denied the
reports of the strike and Mehsud's death.
However, Pakistan's security forces have
been put on high alert. Militants have in
the past carried out retaliatory attacks after
the killings of other Taliban commanders.
Caitlin Hayden, a spokesperson for the US
president's National Security Council,
would not comment on any US government
involvement or confirm the death but said,
if true, it would be a serious loss for the
group.
Several previous claims of Mehsud's death,
made by US and Pakistani intelligence
sources, have proven untrue.
Without commenting on Mehsud's death,
the Pakistan government said it strongly
condemned the drone attack as a violation
of Pakistan's sovereignty.
It took place a day before the a delegation
had been due to fly to North Waziristan to
meet Mehsud and other senior militants.
But Interior Minister Chaudry Nisar Ali
Khan said the strike had destroyed the
government's attempts to hold peace talks.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had
pledged to talk with the Taliban to try to
end its campaign of violence, which has left
thousands dead in bombings and
shootings across the country.
Potential successors
Some Pakistani media reports say Mehsud's
funeral took place on Saturday , but the
details are unclear.
A report in Pakistan's Express Tribune said
Mehsud had already been buried - in an
unknown location in North Waziristan. The
report cannot be independently confirmed.
Taliban commanders are also expected to
meet on Saturday to debate Mehsud's
successor.
There are conflicting reports in Pakistani
media about who will become the next TTP
chief, with some sources naming Mehsud's
cousin, Qari Walayat Mehsud, and others
reporting militant commander Khan Said
Sajna as the chosen successor. Mullah
Fazlullah is another candidate.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says
that Khan Said Sajna may be favoured.
Sajna heads one of the more influential
groups that favours dialogue with the
Islamabad government, he says.
Our correspondent says that the influential
Punjabi Taliban may also have a say.
Although they cannot dominate the
Mehsud-led TTP, he says the Punjabi force
plays an important role in supplying highly
trained and ideologically motivated fighters.
Mehsud's death is seen as another setback
for the militant group after the recent
capture of a senior commander by US
forces in Afghanistan.
Mehsud, who led the insurgency from
North Waziristan, had a $5m (£3.1m) FBI
bounty on his head and was thought to be
responsible for the deaths of thousands of
people.
He came to prominence in 2007 as a
commander under the militant group's
founder Baitullah Mehsud, with the capture
of 300 Pakistani soldiers adding to his
prestige among the militants.
His second-in-command, Waliur Rehman,
was killed in a similar drone strike in May.
But BBC diplomatic correspondent James
Robbins says that, however weakened the
Taliban may be by this loss, they will fight
on under a new leader.
In a rare interview with the BBC two
weeks ago, Mehsud said he was open to
"serious talks" with the government but
said he had not yet been approached.
Mehsud denied carrying out recent deadly
attacks in public places, saying his targets
were "America and its friends".
He had loose control over more than 30
militant groups in Pakistan's tribal areas.