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Fighting erupts between Taliban rivals-Pakistan govt
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 08 - 08 - 2009

The Pakistani government has
received reports that shooting broke out between two rivals for
the leadership of the Pakistani Taliban, and one of them may
have been killed, the interior minister said on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Pakistani news channels were carrying unconfirmed reports
that Hakimullah Mehsud, one of the movement's most powerful
commanders, had been killed at a shura, or council meeting, held
to decide who would succeed slain leader Baitullah Mehsud.
"The infighting was between Wali-ur-Rehman and Hakimullah
Mehsud," Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Reuters. "We have
information that one of them has been killed. Who was killed we
will be able to say later after confirming."
Western governments with troops in Afghanistan are watching
to see if any new Pakistani Taliban leader would shift focus
from fighting the Pakistani government and put the movement's
weight behind the Afghan insurgency led by Mullah Mohammad Omar.
An intelligence officer in South Waziristan said he had
reports that Hakimullah Mehsud died in the shooting after heated
exchanges between the rivals at the meeting held around 4:30
p.m.(1030 GMT).
"According to reports Wali-ur-Rehman fired and killed
Hakimullah Mehsud," the official said.
State-run Pakistan Television (PTV) said there were reports
that both leaders might have been killed in a shoot-out.
The shura was called in Taliban-controlled territory in
Waziristan, a northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Earlier in the day Hakimullah Mehsud had telephoned
journalists to deny that Baitullah Mehsud had been killed in a
missile strike by U.S. drone aircraft on Wednesday.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on
Friday the government was "pretty certain" that Mehsud perished
in the missile blitz on Wednesday that also killed his second
wife, a brother, seven bodyguards and destroyed his car.
Some analysts had anticipated that the Pakistani Taliban's
leadership would be split over who should become the next chief
and the denial aimed to buy time until a new leader was chosen.
Hakimullah, who controls fighters in the Orakzai, Kurram and
Khyber tribal regions, is regarded as one of the leading
contenders to replace Baitullah Mehsud, who had a $5 million
U.S. bounty on his head.
Wali-ur-Rehman is another shura member and a former
spokesman for Baitullah.
Qureshi had anticipated the death of Mehsud would leave a
void in the Taliban movement that could lead to divisions.
"With him gone, I think there is going to be an internal
struggle and disarray in their ranks, I think it will set in
demobilisation. It is a great success for the forces that are
fighting extremism and terrorism in Pakistan," Qureshi told BBC
radio late on Friday.


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