Taliban head Mehsud 'may be dead'

US and Pakistani officials have said they are checking reports that the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, has been killed.

He is said to have died in a missile attack on the home of a relative.

A US official said there was "reason to believe reports of his death may be true, but it cannot be confirmed".

Family members have already confirmed that one of Mehsud's wives was killed when a US drone attacked her father's home in South Waziristan on Wednesday.

Previous reports of his death have proved to be unfounded.

South Waziristan is a stronghold of Mehsud, who has been blamed by Pakistan for a series of suicide bomb attacks in the country...

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I wonder if he has nine lives...

Apparently there are persistent rumours now of his demise.

One does question though if this may be a simple wya to take some heat off his head? Afterall, why would a dead man be hunted?

Inshallah this will leave the region more peaceful.

Inna lillah wa inna ilaihi raaji'oon - From God we come and to Him we return << remembering that more often may cause some people to be less wreckless here on earth.

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

ok, there seems to be much murkiness aroudn this - some claiming him to be dead, others not so.

Pakistan Taliban chief 'not dead'

A close associate of Pakistan's most wanted man, Baitullah Mehsud, who was reportedly killed in a US drone attack, has told the BBC he is alive.

Commander Hakimullah Mehsud said reports of the Taliban leader's death were "ridiculous".

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"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

wednesday wrote:
Apparently, it may take British troops 40 YEARS to train the afghan forces...

But at that point it will be time for all the people they've trained to retire!

What am I not getting?

Don't just do something! Stand there.

It is a simple formula.

Time to milk the central asian states of their resources + time to prepare to milk them = 40 years

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Pakistan Taliban name new chief

Pakistan's Taliban movement has named a new leader, its deputy head Maulvi Faqir Mohammed has told the BBC.

He said Hakimullah Mehsud, a close associate of ex-leader Baitullah Mehsud, had been unanimously appointed at a meeting in northern Pakistan.

Pakistani and US officials believe Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in early August.

However the Taliban continue to insist that he is still alive, despite their decision to appoint a new leader.

...

Some believe he could be an even bigger threat to Pakistan, and to foreign troops across the border in Afghanistan, she adds.

Read more @

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Hate them and those that egg them on. You will still find many Muslims who will defend them simply because they say that they are fighting for islam, trying to implement shariah law, innit.

They are not being "provoked" - some really do believe that what they are doing is jihad.

As someone who has never been a fan of zardari, I must say that he did the right thing in taking them on (or was forced into when capitulation did not work).

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

That is not the Taliban story, but the FATA (and much of the NWFP) story AFAIK.

(I am sure I have only fulfilled 20% of the accronym quota that the average sentence in the pakistani newspapers is required to carry...)

(They did it the British style)

No idea what that means. Intellegently? through subterfuge? cash injections?

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

Go back far enough and there were different rulers of the place... times change and some traditions need to be lost with the change.

Law and order is king.

I hear that another district next to Swat (Buner?) demanded "shariah law" in the 90's. The government granted their wish. Right now, that was the hardest region for the Taliban to conquer as the people realised the false dreams they were sold.

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.

yup

"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.