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Deadly drones: Hakimullah Mehsud is dead – again
US media says TTP chief killed in Jan 12 drone attack; Pakistani officials refuse to confirm or deny.
Hakimullah Mehsud was reportedly killed in a drone strike on Thursday. PHOTO: AFP
PESHAWAR: If one is to believe the American media, Hakimullah Mehsud, the young, ferocious chief of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is dead – again.
Hakimullah ‘might have been killed’ in a drone strike that took place on January 12 in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan Agency that had targeted a vehicle, killing six people, according to the US media.
Pakistani officials aren’t sure about Hakimullah’s death – but TTP says he’s alive.
It’s not the first time Hakimullah has been reported dead. In 2010, Pakistani and US officials had claimed that the TTP chief was killed in a drone strike in Waziristan. But a few days later TTP released a video showing Hakimullah alive.
About the Jan 12 drone strike, Pakistani intelligence officials said they had intercepted militant radio communications indicating that Hakimullah may have been killed.
“It is not yet 100 per cent sure that Hakimullah was killed but we are investigating the matter,” the officials told The Express Tribune.
However, the newly appointed TTP spokesperson for South Waziristan, Asimullah Asim, denied the reported death of his group’s chief, claiming that Hakimullah was not in the area where the drone strike had hit.
“Our Ameer (chief) is very much alive and in full contact with his men,” he told The Express Tribune by phone from somewhere in the tribal belt.
However, a resident of the area where the drone strike had occurred said that Hakimullah was present in the region at the time of the drone strike.
Reports of Hakimullah’s death come at a time when ‘secret talks’ between Pakistani security agencies and TTP factions had entered a decisive phase.
Publicly, the military denies having any talks with the militants.
Senior TTP leaders have also confirmed that covert talks with the military establishment were taking place.
Asimullah Asim, however, denied any peace dialogue with Pakistani security officials. Sources say the government is not talking to Hakimullah and his diehard followers.
Security officials confirmed that the military was rigorously chasing Hakimullah and his group into the Shawal Valley on the border between South and North Waziristan.
(With additional input from agencies)
Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2012.
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Reader Comments (57)
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Hopefully this is true. He needs to answer for all the innocents he has killed.
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Thank you DRONE.
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Good riddance – Kudos to the American’s.
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Long live Drones. Thank you United States of America.
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Could this be the surprise ISI was talking about? anyways if this is true than…GOD BLESS THE ISI.
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Do you really believe he was killed in this drone strike?! I don’t think so.Recommend
he died yet again? guess he has seven lives
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The only good use of savage drone attacks
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Roflcopter
You’re clutching at straws. First you call the drones the terrorists and now you’re trying to spin it in favor of the ISI.
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Not again.he has been killed 2 times before already so how come this particular strike killed him? there is no evidence.Just a breaking news on the screens and we tend to believe everything.
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Jiye America… Jiye Drone Attacks… :p
Thank you you America.
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either hakimullah mehsud is a common name in FATA
or else this is the second time this person is dying in a drone attack. last time in feb 2010..check this out (CNN)
arent these rumour attacks even more frequent and deadly than the drone attacks?
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Is this anathor gross violation of soveriginity ?
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@Arjun, Drones can be used for terror (which they are mostly) or to take out legitimate targets like this one. In this case they’ve taken out a legitimate target and all credit goes to ISI who likely provided the intelligence. Nice try though
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@Babloo, how could it be if the strike was authorized by Pakistan?
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@Concerned
“he died yet again? guess he has seven lives”
I think you are confusing Beitullah mehsud with Hakimulla. This guy never died before.
This is a gud news.
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Well Pakistani people, how glad you are all of a foreign strike in your country. Shame on all of US. Do you believe that all these suicide attacks and terrorist attacks are carried out by TTP?? Not at all, the same people do suicide attacks on your soil blaming Taliban and then the carry out attacks in FATA killing innocent people…
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Allahu Akbar!
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@Bhindian, exactly.
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Let us wait and see if the news comes out to be correct.
At the moment is seemed that the news of killing of TTP Chief Hakimullah Mehsud is spread to continue the drone attacks on Pakistan.
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The drone attacks will continue in the future. USA USA USA :)
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Another Slap
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Hope the monster died a slow, painful death..The Americans do have their use after all….
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@RoflCopter, lol wannabe me
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Americans keep on saying this they had killed commanders and leaders but after few days we see videos of those dead people.It’s very strange.lol
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Its about time!
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pakistanis are supposed to criticize USA? Next is hafiz sayeed and Dawood Ibrahim.
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good job drones.. keep bombing untill all terrorist gets killed in pakistan
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Hurray!! finally the Drone-ophobes can shut their pie-holes
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Hope he dead, which will be extremely devastating for TTP. If he is alive, he will appear on a video soon. Anyway, he destined to go to the darkest place in Hell, Inshallah.
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Drones ZindabadRecommend
Just another way to justify drones. They said he was killed before
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@zalim singh, hahaha nothing wrong with dreaming
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@Roflcopter:
ET should remove all the wannabes from posting
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This cannot be true. It is a lie. Drones only kill innocent people.
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Good riddance … BRAVO !!!!!!!!!!!!!
For once the drone did a good job ….
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If he is really killed, then its “Deja Vu”.Its should be clear that USA uses TTP’s terrorists leaders to attack Pakistani Military & civilians and when they are no longer useful, USA kills them with drone strikes to justify drone strikes in Pakistan. Thats what happened to TTP’s terrorist leader Baitullah Mehsood(Hakim’s predecessor). Strange as it sounds, only Americans seem to know the exact location of these TTP terrorist leaders, who only fight against Pakistan. Americans never seem to be able to locate Afghan Taliban leadership.
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another Mehsud would be waiting in the line to head the organization … TTP has got more suicide bombers than US drones. You keep chanting for Drones, We keep you wet in your own blood, after-all there must be some liquid to wash away people’s sin … God Bless TTP
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@Zalim singh:
in your dreams
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A Good news …,,……..,,,,.
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Where is Imran Khan now? What are his reactions to this?
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@Straight Fire: May Allah show you the right path. May Allah destroy these savages from medieval times further. The are bigger enemies of Islam than all Jews, Christians or even Hindus combined. No one has brought our great religion as much disrepute as TTP.
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I thought this Guy was dead in last year attack :p
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With US focus shifting rapidly to Asia-Pacific, the weight of US efforts in Afghanistan also need to re-orientate itself accordingly. For this to happen, a semblance of normalcy-a mix of real and shaped state of affairs- in Afghanistan must be projected. The episode of alleged killing of Mehsud may also be viewed in latter’s context.
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after 5 years, he will be found in a house in abbotabad…and shot in the eye…and then drowned in the middle of the ocean…
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@Shamy:
You must have recommended urself ur own comment
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He has seven lives like a cat, please confirm- but nevertheless great news!
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Thank you America! A murderous thug bought to justice. The man responsible for the cold-blooded murder of FC soldiers. God bless America.
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Typical propaganda from the slave Pakistani government and the US-backed Pakistani Army. We all know that 95% of these drone attack only kill innocent men, women and children.
To justify the use of these drones, these tyrants spread such blatant lies in media to cover their crimes against humanity.
And It’s always unconfirmed rumors from unknown, unreliable sources. This is what the seventh time he has been killed now? They have already killed roughly 50 civilians on such strike on him already on basis false information.
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Good news.
Khas kam, jahan pak.
This TTP farce has not only killed our soldiers but also the civilians of Pakistan. They should be annihilated at any cost
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Between drone and Hakimullah i choose drone
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How many times he will die?
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@Shafqat Ali:
Please post some references to support your statement “We all know that 95% of these drone attack only kill innocent men, women and children”! Otherwise we may all think that you are just making up those statistics!
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Wait now… wasn’t TTP supposed to be funded by Indians and Americans? If so, why would they kill their own ‘asset’? I see so many Pakistanis praising the Americans. Am I the only one noticing the irony here?
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Hope he stays where he is … for the sake of peace in Pakistan
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I hope this news is TRUE
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Only some few symbolic days after usa cilling many Pakistan soldier …
Where is the pride and independence of the Pakistan people ?
The 51st state of usa.
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