The banned terrorist outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Sunday appointed Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani as an interim leader to head the group temporarily after the death of TTP supremo Hakeemullah Mehsud in a US drone strike, media reported.
According to the reports, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that a permanent replacement had not been chosen yet.
“Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani, the head of the supreme shura, has been appointed as temporary head of the TTP,” Shahid told foreign media, adding that prayers for Mehsud were still going on.
Mehsud, who had a $5 million bounty on his head, was killed along with four cadres in North Waziristan on Friday.
The killing of Mehsud sparked a furious reaction from the Pakistani government, which accused Washington of sabotaging fledgling efforts towards peace negotiations with the TTP.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said a group of clerics had been ready to go and meet the TTP to initiate talks, which have been supported by all major political parties.
Shahid refused to say there was no chance of the talks going ahead, but accused the government of kowtowing to Washington and cutting a deal to “sell” the terrorists. “Nobody in history has ever negotiated with slaves,” he said.
“Time will tell whether we take revenge of his martyrdom or not,” he said.
While in the past, the TTP has responded to its leaders being killed with deadly violence.
