Pakistan's Taliban faction lashed out at the government on Wednesday for referring to "credible reports" that their leader had died after a US missile attack.
US officials increasingly believe that Hakimullah Mehsud died after a US missile attack last month, part of a covert American drone campaign against top Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group for the Taliban in Pakistan, has denied his death, but appeared Wednesday to hold off on the idea of releasing another message proving he is alive, after an audio recording last month.
"Hakimullah Mehsud is safe and alive. The government and our enemies are waging a propaganda campaign," TTP spokesman Azam Tariq told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location.
"Our shura (leadership) has decided not to release his video immediately. They don't want the government to locate his whereabouts. We want to keep his presence a secret. We will release a video when we consider it necessary."
Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who has been criticised for making incorrect statements about the Taliban in the past, again confirmed the existence of reports that Mehsud and the TTP's chief trainer of suicide bombers was dead.
"Hakimullah Mehsud has met his fate. There are similar reports about Qari Hussain also. Our agencies are investigating," Malik told reporters in the northwestern city of Peshawar, reiterating long-held Pakistani positions.
"There are reports from credible sources, but I cannot confirm," the minister added.
The TTP has been behind a dramatic increase in bloodshed since Mehsud assumed the leadership after founder Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US missile attack last August.
Killing Hakimullah Mehsud would be a coup for the United States, which stepped up its drone campaign after the warlord appeared in a video last month with an Al-Qaeda operative.
Analysts have warned that even if Mehsud's death is confirmed, his demise could magnify the dangers should Al-Qaeda try to exploit a leadership vacuum.
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