An Oct 4, 2009 photo showing former TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud (L) with his commander Waliur Rehman (R) in South Waziristan. PHOTO: AFP
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was shocked at the news that Hakimullah Mehsud was martyred in a cowardly US drone attack,” the Afghan Taliban said in a formal reaction to the incident.
“The Emirate strongly condemns the American terrorist attack and consider the martyrdom of Mulla Hakimullah Mehsud as a great loss and convey condolences to his family members, relatives and Taliban friends,” a statement issued by the Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said.
The Pashto language statement was emailed to The Express Tribune.
The statement said the United States cannot achieve its goals through the “martyrdom of the Mujahideen.”
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls upon the government of Pakistan and the people to double their efforts to stop such brutal American strikes,” the Taliban spokesperson said.
He said the helpless people of Afghanistan and Pakistan are suffering from the American attacks and people of the two neighbouring countries must show the courage to take the right decisions regarding their future.
TTP faction confirms Mehsud’s death
A faction of the Pakistani Taliban on Saturday confirmed the death of their chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone attack in North Waziristan tribal region on Friday.
Azam Tariq, spokesperson for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in South Waziristan tribal area, said the senior Taliban leaders are involved in consultations to appoint a new chief.
“We will formally make an announcement of the new chief in a couple of days,” Tariq told journalists via phone from an undisclosed location.
He did not confirm reports that the TTP council has appointed Khan Syed alias Sajna as its new chief and insisted that meeting is still in progress somewhere in North Waziristan.
The Taliban leader criticized the government and alleged that on one hand it is talking about peace talks with the Taliban and on the other it has failed to stop the US drone strikes.
“The government will face serious consequences for their double standards,” Tariq warned.
He said talks could not be held with the government when Taliban leaders were being targeted in American drone strikes.
Sajna is the head of the TTP South Waziristan chapter and had served as deputy to the former TTP deputy Waliur Rehman Mehsud, who was also killed in a drone strike on May 29.
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Why are the "good" Taliban sympathizing with the "bad" Taliban.......unless they are one and the same?!
Why do we forget this harsh and bitter reality,id est,neither US nor Pakistani leadership pays the price and faces the music of the killing of the any Taliban's leaders but common man and innocent nation most especially importantly Pakistani pays the price and face the music?????
@Sara Khan:
No the hypocrisy is among our Pakistani majority population, who are in awe and willing to surrender to criminal extremist terrorists, lying to us on one hand that they are 'foreign agents' and then in the same breath call them 'religious brothers'. Innocent Pakistanis have been betrayed by such irrational twisted mindsets.
Peshawar and all other places were already under threat from TTP. During all this time of having talks, they bombed a church, killed our soldiers, including a high-ranking officer, bombed a market place killing off an entire extended family, massacred Hazaras again, etc. And you hung all your hopes and salvation on a man who proudly admitted to murdering all of our people. Incredible shame for such a nation. Sane citizens, particularly minorities, are aware of the increased risk and tensions, but don't act like as if you cared earlier and there was ever going to peace for us by letting Mehsud and the rest of these extremists roam around freely.
@jamshed kharian-pak:
No negotiation with these people only drones.
An email, right. May be I can write a different email and send it to Ttribune. What quality journalism.
“. Hakimullah Mehsud was martyred in a cowardly US drone attack…”
Drones are not brave enough to commit suicide yet. Only brave Talibans blow themselves in the mosques and kill hundreds of innocent Muslims.
@Raza Khan..Who is that source sir ......Zaid Hamid ???
Your friend imran khan is very hurt... Please give him a call to console him. And do tell him that you guys are terrorists - even if u come for talks, the demands that you will make - no democratic government will be able to agree to that! That you are used to your way or Ak47!! This is not a cricket match... Here people get killed!!!
There is no such thing as a good or bad Taliban, as Hamid Gul/Zaid Hamid would have us think. As I wrote above, the Afghan Taliban will turn their gun towards Pakistan very soon. The Afghan Taliban and TTP must be defeated.
@jamshed kharian-pak: Respect Islamic values like the ones we see currently in most Muslim majority countries? Rampant corruption? Misogyny? Rape? Sectarian violence? Racism? Extremism? Utter lack of tolerance? Child marriages/forced marriages? Terrorism?? Which one of these atrocities is following any Islamic tenets? Implementing Islam hasn't worked, doesn't work and will never work. Muslims have proven time and time again they aren't capable of it so why fight for "Islamic" values? Dissing the west has become a favorite past time for the blind leading the blind. Adopting the good points of the west and following a more secular approach will not make true believers any less true; it'll simply give all humans a platform to follow their beliefs and not shove them down each others throat. I don't need the government or a piece of paper telling me what my beliefs are or what I should follow. Cheers.
How long are Pakistanis going to delude themselves by associating Pakistani non state actors with intelligence agencies of neighboring countries when these assets were spawned by Akhtar Abdur Rahman and his Operation Cyclone, which called for the burning of Kabul and a proxy war.
When you play with fire you have to be prepared to become engulfed in an inferno.
@jamshed kharian-pak:
So your idea of Islamic Land is kill innocent people? Keep women uneducated? If you rape a women, she must have four witnesses of your heinous crime otherwise people like your interpretation of religion will go free to rape more!
It is this ideology and people u who are followers of this ideology are needed to be reformed, educated to accept the real values and teaching of Islam. If they do not learn and reform then they should be eliminated like this so called Taliban Leader.
A message to our moaning politicians, IK too. The incumbent was not exactly a national hero. In plain words he was an anti state terrorist responsible for killing thousands of innocent Pakistanis and security officials. Let's not make a political mileage out of this issue. America just did what the government and security forces couldn't and leave it at that.
i glade USA did there job.kill all TTP.
Very soon, the Afghan Taliban will work with their ideological brethren (TTP) to avenge the death of their Pashtun brothers in FATA at the hands of the Pakistan military.
So much for those who think Afghan Taliban are any different from TTP.
The biggest murderer ever of the people of Pakistan is killed....Good job Uncle Sam....please catch the remaining guys with drones as well....
@Nadir: Cause they are one and the same...it's high time the authorities in Pak tell the truth to their own people.....perhaps one day.
Afghan taliban are Mujaheddin fighting for Islam........
Hakimullah Mehsud was the head of Pakistani Taliban who was responsible for the deaths innocent Pakistanis his death will atleast slow down Talibans spreading terrorism in Pakistan but my question is why Pakistan letting these American drones into your aerospace and putting freedom of Pakistan I people in jeopardy. ..if Pakistan really wants to cleanse this taliban and terrorism they should do it themselves...or these Americans spies and drones are never gonna leave your land or skies alone
A "brave"murderer of 50,000 of his co-citizens.
According to Zaid Hamid, the Afghan Taliban are the true Mujahids . They cannot support Hakimullah who was a RAW agent! :-))
Open your eyes dear Pakistanis, there is no good and bad Taliban. They are one and the same. Whoever kill, we must appreciate the act. Our leadership is misleading us.
@zahid try telling that to afghan talib and u will have urself killed
Killing innocent women and children in markets in not cowardly.
Theres about 20 different Zabihullah Mujahid's
kill the newly appointed TTP Chief also.and whom the terrorists are calling cowered?what about their killing of innocents?
Why are true mujahideen fighting foreign forces in Afghanistan condemning the death of CIA puppet TTP killed by the CIA?
". Hakimullah Mehsud was martyred in a cowardly US drone attack..."
If you focus on the word cowardly, you'd almost realize in the hypocrisy of Taliban and their modus operandi, cowardice i.e.