Islamabad: Pakistani Taliban have executed
Baitullah Mehsud's father-in-law and three of his relatives on
suspicion of tipping off authorities of the slain commander's
whereabouts, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said in Islamabad on Sunday.
Some of Baitullah's relatives, who were in Taliban
detention, have been killed by the militants on spying
charges; Malik was quoted as saying by the Geo news.
Those who were detained by Taliban included Baitullah's
father-in-law Ikramuddin, his son, one of his brothers and a
nephew, he said citing unnamed sources.
Malik said this information was received from the same
sources who earlier confirmed Baitullah's death.
Pakistani and US officials have expressed certainty
that Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud was
killed in a missile strike on his father-in-law's house, where
he was hiding on the night on August 5 in south Waziristan.
But Baitullah's close aides have denied his death,
claiming that their leader was seriously injured and was in
hiding. At the same time, the militant group has also
announced appointment of Baitullah's cousin Hakimullah Mehsud
as the new chief of the outfit.
Dawn News yesterday quoted intelligence officials as
saying that these close relatives of the slain leader were
being questioned on suspicion that they had passed on
information about Mehsud's whereabouts, which had helped in
passing his coordinates to the Predator drones.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, August 23, 2009, 18:09