ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, blamed for masterminding the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, has died after a protracted illness, according to media reports.
Mehsud, believed to be 36 years old, had been suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure for almost a year and had reportedly lapsed into a coma a few days ago. News about his death broke early this morning.
TV channels quoted official sources and local residents in the troubled Waziristan tribal region as saying that Mehsud had died at about 1 am. CNN quoted Pakistani military officials as confirming that Mehsud had died.
Mehsud had lapsed into a coma some time back but had made a recovery. After becoming very ill late last month, Mehsud again went into a coma about two days ago when his kidneys stopped functioning.
However, some newspapers and Dawn News channel reported that Taliban spokesmen had denied the news of Mehsud's death.
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf had blamed Mehsud for masterminding the December 27, 2007 assassination of former premier Bhutto. Mehsud had denied involvement in the assassination through a spokesman.
In a rare interview with Al Jazeera last year, Mehsud had said his ultimate aim was to attack New York and London. Like his idol Mullah Omar, Mehsud did not like being photographed and usually kept his face covered while speaking to the media.
In January, Spanish police said a group of Pakistanis allegedly dispatched by Mehsud arrested in Barcelona was planning suicide attacks in Spain and elsewhere in Europe.
Mehsud, a member of the Mehsud tribe who once worked as a physical instructor in a school, commanded thousands of Taliban fighters in South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
He made a dramatic rise from being a little-known entity in South Waziristan to head a full-fledged Taliban movement. In December last year, the ethnic Pashtun guerrilla commander forged a united front of smaller Taliban groups in Pakistan's tribal areas that was named the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The Pakistani Taliban has close links to the Al Qaida. Several Al Qaida laders have been killed in recent missile strikes by US drones on Pakistani Taliban hideouts and bases in the tribal areas.
