Hakimullah Mehsud`s death brings little joy in Pakistan

Islamabad: The Pakistani Taliban leader killed in a recent US drone strike was behind hotel bombings, assaults on political rallies, beheadings of policemen and suicide attacks on soldiers. But his death elicited little joy in the country where he wreaked most of his havoc and instead stirred widespread anger and suspicion. At the time of Friday`s strike targeting Hakimullah Mehsud, the Pakistani government was engaged in efforts to negotiate a peace deal with militants. Frustrated at years of military campaigns that have failed to end the bloodshed, many Pakistanis had high hopes for this latest peace effort and blame the US for fouling it up. Mehsud "should have been given the chance to negotiate, and now the consequences have to be borne by Pakistan, not the US," said Syed Ahmed, a small business owner in the southern port city of Karachi. For years, Pakistan has been fighting militants in the tribal areas that border neighbouring Afghanistan, with thousands of civilians and security forces dying in bombings and shootings at the hands of militants. Mehsud, who had a reputation as an especially ruthless warrior, was the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, as it calls itself. The TTP is an umbrella group encompassing militant organizations across the tribal areas. It has called for the overthrow of the Pakistani government, the implementation of hard-line Islamic law and an end to cooperation with the Americans in Afghanistan.