Washington: The killing of Pakistani
Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a CIA drone attack is "a
very big deal" for the terror-stricken region, a top US envoy
has said, even as he described the "thrashing around" for
succession for leadership among militants as "good news".
US Special Representative for Pakistan and
Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke has said yesterday that, "the
end of Baitullah Mehsud, as we all know, is a very big deal."
Holbrook said that it is difficult to know "how it`s
going to play out. But we know that the reports you`ve been
reading in the press, the disarray among his people, of other
factions maneuvering -- al Qaeda has to decide what to do as
Baitullah Mehsud was sort of like an independent subsidiary of
al Qaeda focused on Pakistan, but some of the other groups in
the area were focused on Afghanistan," he said.
"Everyone is thrashing around. There are unconfirmed
reports of a shoot-out during a leadership meeting. This is
very good news for all of us. Equally important, the Pakistani
people are converging on a consensus on the importance of
this. I think this will pave the way for redoubled efforts,"
Holbrooke said.
"If Afghanistan is fertile recruiting territory for
the Taliban, it gives Al Qaeda more of a terrain from which to
operate and unless the Taliban were to renounce explicitly al
Qaeda, they are basically fighting in support of one another
as they (Taliban and Al Qaeda) are allies," he said.
The Obama Administration will support the
reintegration into Afghan society of any people fighting with
the Taliban who renounce al Qaeda and lay down their weapons
and reintegrate peacefully, he said.
Pentagon had said yesterday there is a 90 percent
certainty that Mehsud is dead and it is operating under the
presumption that the top militant is no more and is no longer
a threat to the people of the region.
Pentagon spokesman Jeoff Morrell said the Taliban has
not been able to provide any evidence contrary to this
viewpoint.
"We are operating under the assumption-- and it`s not
just an assumption. Obviously, we have intelligence that would
lead us to believe that there is a 90 per cent certainty that
he is no longer living," Morrell told reporters yesterday
"There is a 90 per cent certainty at this point that,
indeed, Baitullah Mehsud has met his demise," he said.
When referred to the statements coming from Taliban
leaders that Mehsud is alive, Morrell had said yesterday: "If
they really wanted to convince anybody that Baitullah Mehsud
was still alive, they would probably do as many people do,
which is offer some sort of proof of life, but I don`t think
that they`ve been -- they are in a position to do so."
Bureau Report
