A conflicting report about Mehsud

Kafayatullah, an aide to Baitullah Mehsud, confirmed to Dawn yesterday that the Taliban commander was dead. But now another Mehsud aide claims he's still alive.

A senior commander in the Pakistani Taliban has dismissed as "ridiculous" reports that the group's leader was killed in a US missile attack in South Waziristan.

Hakimullah told reporters by telephone on Saturday that Baitullah Mehsud, who has a $5m bounty on his head, was in good health and would soon appear in the media to prove that he was alive.

Hakimullah has no evidence that Mehsud is still alive -- though there's also no hard evidence that he's dead. Dawn doesn't seem to believe Hakimullah's claim: The top story on the newspaper's Web site is headlined, simply, Baitullah Mehsud is dead.

Al-Sharq Al-Awsat speculates that Hakimullah's claim could be a "tactical maneuver" to delay the selection of a new Taliban leader. Hakimullah is believed to be one of the contenders for that job.