Islamabad:
After weeks of denial, the Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday acknowledged for the first time that their chief Baitullah Mehsud has died of wounds sustained in a US drone strike in the country's lawless tribal belt.
Top militant commanders Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman confirmed that the Taliban leader is dead. The 35-year-old died of injuries sustained in the US missile attack in South Waziristan earlier this month, they said.
Hakimullah has been named as the successor to Mehsud, who was Pakistan's most feared militant and accused of masterminding scores of bombings and suicide attacks.
Rehman said Hakimullah had his support as leader and denied reports of differences between the two commanders.
Mehsud was critically injured in the drone attack but died only on Sunday, Hakimullah claimed.
Pakistani and US officials have been saying for the past few weeks that they are certain Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack on his father-in-law's home in South Waziristan on August 5.
However, the Taliban had repeatedly denied reports of Mehsud's death despite announcing the appointment of Hakimullah as their new leader a few days ago.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Tuesday said reports about Hakimullah's appointment as the new chief of the
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan were "speculation" as rival militant
commanders were engaged in infighting over choosing Mehsud's successor.
"If (commander) Hakimullah Mehsud has become the chief terrorist then he should come forward and say that he has
become the chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan," Malik told the state-run television.
"It is all speculation till he himself comes forward and says that he has become the chief of TTP," he said.
"Our information is that they have not been able to appoint someone despite the lapse of so many days since (Mehsud's) death because now they are fighting among themselves," he said.
Malik had even claimed earlier that Hakimullah and Rehman were involved in a shootout and that one of them was reportedly killed.
Analysts have said the Taliban's earlier denials that Mehsud was dead were an attempt to cover up differences between rival commanders.