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Pakistan Taliban spokesman named | |
(about 8 hours later) | |
A new chief spokesman for Taliban militants in Pakistan has been named following the capture on Monday of Maulvi Omar, Taliban officials say. | |
Spokesman Muslim Khan is to replace Maulvi Omar, who was arrested while travelling near the Afghan border. | |
Meanwhile a senior Taliban commander says he has taken over leadership of the Pakistani Taliban umbrella organisation on a temporary basis. | |
Maulvi Faqeer told the BBC he was now acting chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban. | |
He said he was just replacing Baitullah Mehsud for a short time because he was sick. Mr Mehsud was reported to have died in an American drone attack earlier this month. | |
But under questioning on Tuesday, Maulvi Omar confirmed that that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud had been killed, the Pakistani authorities say. | |
Intense pressure | |
A Taliban official said Muslim Khan had been appointed with immediate effect. | |
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says his nomination appears to be an effort by the Taliban to create more of a unified structure in Pakistan. | |
Mr Khan is from the Swat valley, where militants have been under intense pressure recently because of advances by the Pakistani army. | |
Our correspondent says there has been tension in recent weeks between Taliban groups who have borne the brunt of the military's offensive in Swat and elsewhere in the north-west, and militants in North and South Waziristan who have so far not been seriously affected by the fighting. | |
The announcement of Muslim Khan's appointment was made by Maulana Faqir Mohammed, the head of the Taliban in Bajaur, another area that has seen heavy fighting. | |
Pakistani intelligence officials have been questioning Maulvi Omar since he was arrested on Monday in Mohmand tribal area while travelling to South Waziristan. | |
Footage reportedly showing Maulvi Omar being arrested | |
Observers say that while Maulvi Omar was never a military commander, as a senior and trusted associate of Baitullah Mehsud, he would have been able to tell his interrogators much about Taliban plans and strategy. | |
Mr Omar was the second prominent Taliban figure to be arrested in 24 hours. | Mr Omar was the second prominent Taliban figure to be arrested in 24 hours. |
Qari Saifullah, a commander affiliated to Harkat Jihad-e-Islami, was detained while being treated at a private hospital in Islamabad, officials said, reportedly after being wounded in a missile strike. | Qari Saifullah, a commander affiliated to Harkat Jihad-e-Islami, was detained while being treated at a private hospital in Islamabad, officials said, reportedly after being wounded in a missile strike. |
Both men are still being questioned about their possible roles in militant attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, police said. | Both men are still being questioned about their possible roles in militant attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, police said. |
Mr Omar was the official spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) - an umbrella organisation of regional and tribal-based Pakistani militant groups - and is said to have been a senior aide of Baitullah Mehsud. | |
Correspondents say his arrest is significant because he had been acting as a liaison between the various Taliban groups and was a key figure in Taliban propaganda campaigns. | |
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