Hakimullah Mehsud - Dead or Alive?

Know one knows this better than Mehsud himself.

Makes you wonder why?

Hakimullah is[ or was] the commander of the Pakistan Taliban.

More than 2 months back, around 10th Feb 2010, certain news reports claimed that Mehsud was killed in a drone strike.

His death was considered as a significant blow to the Taliban - and was supposed to increase the chances of the Taliban being wiped out from Pakistan.

The newspapers quoted something like below:

Pakistan confirmed yesterday that the Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud has died of wounds sustained in a US drone strike last month. 

The death of Pakistan's most feared militant commander with close links to Al-Qaeda is a serious blow to the Pakistani Taliban and has led to an intense battle over who will succeed him. 

However, news reports floating over the last couple of days indicate that he is very much alive.

To quote the newspapers again:

The Taliban leader in Pakistan, Hakimullah Mehsud, survived an American drone strike in January and is alive and well, a senior official with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency told the Guardian today.

Today the senior intelligence official said he had seen video footage of the missile attack on Mehsud but other intelligence had since confirmed the insurgent leader survived. He declined to elaborate further.

"He is alive," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "He had some wounds but he is basically OK."

What next?

In a world of changing media reports, failed intelligence reports, it is very difficult to assess whether the guy is really dead or alive?

This blog has an interesting perspective on the resurrection of Mehsud. 

One line says it all - Miracles do happen!!