<p> A day after reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack in North Waziristan, the militant group has said he is alive and the speculation about his death was a ruse to locate his whereabouts.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Unnamed Pakistani security and intelligence officials were quoted by a section of the media yesterday as saying that Mehsud had died in a drone attack in Dattakhel area in North Waziristan Agency on January 12.<br /><br />The region has witnessed numerous drone strikes.Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told reporters in the country's northwest that reports of Mehsud's death were false.<br /><br />"There is no truth in reports about his death. However, he is a human being and can die any time. He is a mujahid and we wish him martyrdom," he said.<br /><br />Two unnamed senior Taliban commanders and close aides of Mehsud told The News daily that the Taliban chief was alive.<br /><br />They said reports about his death were part of a "plan to provoke Hakimullah to surface and approach the media".<br />Other Taliban sources in North Waziristan told the paper that the January 12 drone attack had killed nine people. The sources said a majority of those killed were Turkmen.<br /><br />"As far as I know, most of the victims of the January 12 attack were foreigners. There was nothing for Hakimullah to do in a remote area like Dattakhel," a source was quoted as saying.<br /><br />Unnamed Pakistani security officials were quoted by The Express Tribune as saying that they were not "100 per cent sure" that Mehsud was killed and were probing the matter.<br /><br />Mehsud became Pakistani Taliban chief after his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a drone strike in August 2009. Some analysts noted that Ehsan's denial was not as strong as the one issued by the Taliban in 2010 following reports of Mehsud's death in a drone strike.<br /><br />Ehsan insisted that Mehsud was alive and leading his fighters. He said this was not the first time that "baseless reports" had been circulated about Mehsud's death.<br />The Taliban's jihad is not linked with Mehsud and it would not stop after his death, Ehsan said.<br /><br />The Taliban have "many lions" and one lion would replace another to continue the "noble mission" of jihad, Ehsan said.<br /><br />Media reports had said yesterday that Pakistani security agencies had intercepted conversations between militants in the tribal areas in which they talked about Mehsud’s death in a drone strike.<br /><br />The militants were overheard in about a half a dozen intercepts discussing whether Mehsud was killed in North Waziristan on January 12.<br /><br />Some militants confirmed Mehsud was dead and one criticised others for talking about the issue over the radio, the reports said.<br /><br />Following reports that he had been killed in a drone strike in Shaktoi area of South Waziristan in January 2010, Mehsud had issued two audio messages to show that he was still alive.<br /><br />Reports of Mehsud's death have come against the backdrop of secret talks between Pakistani security agencies and Taliban factions.<br /><br />Publicly, the military has denied holding any talks with the militants but senior Taliban leaders have said that parleys were taking place. <br /></p>
<p> A day after reports that Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone attack in North Waziristan, the militant group has said he is alive and the speculation about his death was a ruse to locate his whereabouts.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Unnamed Pakistani security and intelligence officials were quoted by a section of the media yesterday as saying that Mehsud had died in a drone attack in Dattakhel area in North Waziristan Agency on January 12.<br /><br />The region has witnessed numerous drone strikes.Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told reporters in the country's northwest that reports of Mehsud's death were false.<br /><br />"There is no truth in reports about his death. However, he is a human being and can die any time. He is a mujahid and we wish him martyrdom," he said.<br /><br />Two unnamed senior Taliban commanders and close aides of Mehsud told The News daily that the Taliban chief was alive.<br /><br />They said reports about his death were part of a "plan to provoke Hakimullah to surface and approach the media".<br />Other Taliban sources in North Waziristan told the paper that the January 12 drone attack had killed nine people. The sources said a majority of those killed were Turkmen.<br /><br />"As far as I know, most of the victims of the January 12 attack were foreigners. There was nothing for Hakimullah to do in a remote area like Dattakhel," a source was quoted as saying.<br /><br />Unnamed Pakistani security officials were quoted by The Express Tribune as saying that they were not "100 per cent sure" that Mehsud was killed and were probing the matter.<br /><br />Mehsud became Pakistani Taliban chief after his predecessor, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a drone strike in August 2009. Some analysts noted that Ehsan's denial was not as strong as the one issued by the Taliban in 2010 following reports of Mehsud's death in a drone strike.<br /><br />Ehsan insisted that Mehsud was alive and leading his fighters. He said this was not the first time that "baseless reports" had been circulated about Mehsud's death.<br />The Taliban's jihad is not linked with Mehsud and it would not stop after his death, Ehsan said.<br /><br />The Taliban have "many lions" and one lion would replace another to continue the "noble mission" of jihad, Ehsan said.<br /><br />Media reports had said yesterday that Pakistani security agencies had intercepted conversations between militants in the tribal areas in which they talked about Mehsud’s death in a drone strike.<br /><br />The militants were overheard in about a half a dozen intercepts discussing whether Mehsud was killed in North Waziristan on January 12.<br /><br />Some militants confirmed Mehsud was dead and one criticised others for talking about the issue over the radio, the reports said.<br /><br />Following reports that he had been killed in a drone strike in Shaktoi area of South Waziristan in January 2010, Mehsud had issued two audio messages to show that he was still alive.<br /><br />Reports of Mehsud's death have come against the backdrop of secret talks between Pakistani security agencies and Taliban factions.<br /><br />Publicly, the military has denied holding any talks with the militants but senior Taliban leaders have said that parleys were taking place. <br /></p>