A US drone strike on Wednesday killed the number two in the Pakistani Taliban, Wali-ur-Rehman, near Miranshah in the tribal North Waziristan Agency.
Wali-ur-Rehman was poised to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said it did not have “confirmed reports” of Wali-ur-Rehman’s killing.
This was the first American drone strike in Pakistan after the May 11 polls, in which the use of drones was a major issue. In a statement Wednesday, the Pakistan foreign office expressed serious concern over the strike, saying these were counter-productive and led to the loss of innocent civilian lives.
Prime Minister-elect Nawaz Sharif said earlier in May that drone strikes were a “challenge” to Pakistan’s sovereignty. “We will sit with our American friends and talk to them,” he said.
Wednesday’s drone strike killed seven people, Pakis-tani security officials said. “This is a huge blow to militants,” one of them said.