Former ISI official denies Pak claims that Mehsud is dead

A former Inter-Services Intelligence official, considered to have close links with militant groups, has dismissed the Pakistan government's claim that Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud had been killed in a US drone attack.

A former Inter-Services Intelligence official, considered to have close links with militant groups, has dismissed the Pakistan government's claim that Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud had been killed in a US drone attack.

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"Two of my acquaintances were with Hakimullah Mehsud on March 9 while Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Pakistan Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas had claimed he was dead early last month," former ISI official Khalid Khawaja, who now heads a rights group, told PTI.

"I challenge the government to deny my claim and then I will disclose the names of those who were with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief on March 9," Khawaja claimed.

Pakistani and US officials have said they had credible information that Hakimullah Mehsud died after being seriously injured in a US drone attack in January.