Islamabad: Militant commander Maulvi Faqir Muhammad on Wednesday declared himself as the head of the Pakistani Taliban, saying he was temporarily replacing Baitullah Mehsud, whom Washington and Islamabad have said was almost certainly killed in a drone attack, as the latter is "seriously ill".
Maulvi Faqir, the commander of Taliban fighters in Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan, contacted journalists on phone and declared himself as the new chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
He denied reports of Mehsud's death, saying he is "alive but seriously ill" and that is why he had gone into hiding. He claimed that there would be no impact on the Taliban movement even if Mehsud is martyred.
Maulvi Faqir said no meeting of the 42-member Taliban council known as a shura has yet been convened to elect a new head and reports about the meeting were baseless.
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