Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud is alive.
Over a year after US and Pakistani authorities claimed to have killed Mehsud in a drone strike in North Waziristan, the Pakistan Taliban chief made an appearance in a video footage showing the killing of former Inter-Services Intelligence officer Colonel Sultan Ameer Tarar, commonly known as Colonel Imam on Saturday.
The footage laid to rest speculations on whether Mehsud was alive and in control of the Tehrik-i-Taliban.
In the latest video, a Taliban fighter was shown firing at Colonel Imam in the presence of Mehsud.
"The release of Colonel Imam's killing video might be big news, but the emergence of Mehsud should be a big matter of concern for both US and Pakistan," Taliban expert Rasool Dawar told rediff.com.
Col Imam's body was found in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan on Sunday. According to locals, a white car dropped the body along the road on Saturday night in Karamkot village.
Colonel Imam and another former ISI official, Squadron Leader (retired) Khalid Khawaja, had gone to North Waziristan along with a British TV journalist, Asad Qureshi, to make a documentary on the Taliban and victims of US drone strikes when they were abducted in March 2010.
Later, an unknown militant organisation, Asian Tigers, had claimed responsibility for the abduction and accused Khawaja of spying for the Central Intelligence Agency. He was subsequently shot dead on April 30 near Mir Ali town.
Journalist Qureshi and his driver Rustam Khan were released several months later, reportedly after his family paid ransom to his abductors. They were in the custody of militants affiliated with the TTP.
The abductors had reportedly demanded fifty million rupees and the release of some jailed militants in lieu of Colonel Imam's release.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud is alive.