Mehsud killing is US bid to scuttle talks: Pakistan

The drone strike that killed Mehsud in the North Waziristan tribal area came a day before the government was to send a three-member delegation of clerics to the region with a formal invitation to start peace talks,Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said. It never ended up going.

Khan called the drone attack murder to the peace effort,but hoped the process could continue. He said he warned the US ambassador previously that American drone strikes should not be carried out while Pakistan was trying to hold peace talks and no Taliban leader should be targeted. The government later summoned the US ambassador to complain.

When asked whether he thought the US was trying to deliberately scuttle the peace process,the minister responded: Absolutely. The efforts have been ambushed, the minister said.

He did not say what he felt the US stood to gain but questioned: Why do they want us to be insecure?

Another prominent political leader,Imran Khan,whose party controls the government in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province,threatened to block trucks carrying supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan over the strike. He said he would push the provincial assembly to adopt a resolution to block the supplies and would do the same nationally. Dialogue has been broken with this drone attack, Imran Khan said.

Meanwhile,the Taliban Saturday put on hold a decision to make Khan Syed Mehsud alias Sajna its new chief when several militant commanders opposed the move.

The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) named Shehryar Mehsud as the caretaker chief and its Shura or council will meet again in the next few days to decide on a new leader,Taliban sources said. Sources said the Shura had initially agreed on Sajnas name during a meeting in South Waziristan but later withheld the decision due to opposition from commanders belonging to the Nuristan Shura.

So it was decided to meet again possibly tomorrow to decide a new leader, a source said.

Even as Mehsud and five other militants killed with him in Fridays drone strike were buried at undisclosed locations in North Waziristan,the Taliban vowed to carry out unprecedented retaliatory attacks.

The government beefed up security across Pakistan. All precautions have been taken, Interior Ministry spokesman Omar Hameed Khan told PTI.

Security was increased at all sensitive government and military installations,public places and airports,and more policemen could be seen on the streets.

Afghan Taliban condemn Mehsuds death

Islamabad: The Afghan Taliban Saturday condemned the killing of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud and described his death as a great loss. The Afghan Taliban appealed to Pakistan to prevent any further brutal US drone attacks. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was shocked at the news that Hakimullah Mehsud was martyred in a cowardly US drone attack, the Afghan Taliban said in a statement.