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| Pakistani Taliban Gather to Select Successor to Leader Killed in U.S. Drone Strike | Pakistani Taliban Gather to Select Successor to Leader Killed in U.S. Drone Strike |
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| LONDON — Pakistani Taliban commanders met on Saturday to choose a successor to Hakimullah Mehsud, their leader who was killed Friday in an American drone strike, as mainstream political leaders stepped up their criticism of the United States and vowed to press ahead with peace talks. | LONDON — Pakistani Taliban commanders met on Saturday to choose a successor to Hakimullah Mehsud, their leader who was killed Friday in an American drone strike, as mainstream political leaders stepped up their criticism of the United States and vowed to press ahead with peace talks. |
| Pakistani officials said the Taliban shura, or governing council, started to gather at a mosque in Miram Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, on Friday night. Early Saturday, the Taliban buried Mr. Mehsud, who had a $5 million United States bounty on his head, and six others in Danday Darpakhel, the village where they were killed. | Pakistani officials said the Taliban shura, or governing council, started to gather at a mosque in Miram Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, on Friday night. Early Saturday, the Taliban buried Mr. Mehsud, who had a $5 million United States bounty on his head, and six others in Danday Darpakhel, the village where they were killed. |
| Officials said Mr. Mehsud’s body was damaged beyond recognition, after several missiles hit the vehicle in which he was traveling as it entered a compound in the village on Friday. | Officials said Mr. Mehsud’s body was damaged beyond recognition, after several missiles hit the vehicle in which he was traveling as it entered a compound in the village on Friday. |
| Four candidates are thought to be in the running to replace Mr. Mehsud, in an opaque process rived with tribal rivalry and personality-driven tensions. The favorite, Pakistani officials and militants said, is Khan Said, a commander who had been a rival to Mr. Mehsud, and was thought to have the support of powerful factions, including the Haqqani network. | Four candidates are thought to be in the running to replace Mr. Mehsud, in an opaque process rived with tribal rivalry and personality-driven tensions. The favorite, Pakistani officials and militants said, is Khan Said, a commander who had been a rival to Mr. Mehsud, and was thought to have the support of powerful factions, including the Haqqani network. |
| Speaking by telephone, a Taliban spokesman, Azam Tariq, said a winner would be decided “within a few days.” | Speaking by telephone, a Taliban spokesman, Azam Tariq, said a winner would be decided “within a few days.” |
| Mr. Mehsud’s death represented another success against the Pakistani Taliban for the C.I.A., which killed his deputy, Wali ur-Rehman, in May. To the Obama administration, the killing of a high-profile enemy offered a welcome diversion from a growing debate in the United States over civilian casualties from drone strikes. | Mr. Mehsud’s death represented another success against the Pakistani Taliban for the C.I.A., which killed his deputy, Wali ur-Rehman, in May. To the Obama administration, the killing of a high-profile enemy offered a welcome diversion from a growing debate in the United States over civilian casualties from drone strikes. |
| In a show of defiance, tribesmen opened fire with AK-47’s and other small arms on American drones hovering over Miram Shah. Members of Mr. Mehsud’s tribe fired into the air in ethnic Pashtun areas of the port city of Karachi, where some prepared to leave for North Waziristan to offer condolences to the Taliban. | In a show of defiance, tribesmen opened fire with AK-47’s and other small arms on American drones hovering over Miram Shah. Members of Mr. Mehsud’s tribe fired into the air in ethnic Pashtun areas of the port city of Karachi, where some prepared to leave for North Waziristan to offer condolences to the Taliban. |
| Despite the technological prowess and laser-guided precision of American drones, their political effects can be messy and unpredictable, as has become evident yet again in Pakistan. | Despite the technological prowess and laser-guided precision of American drones, their political effects can be messy and unpredictable, as has become evident yet again in Pakistan. |
| Senior ministers and opposition politicians united in condemning the drone strike, which they called an American effort to doom putative peace talks with the Taliban, with some advocating that Pakistan should cut American military supply lines into Afghanistan in response. | Senior ministers and opposition politicians united in condemning the drone strike, which they called an American effort to doom putative peace talks with the Taliban, with some advocating that Pakistan should cut American military supply lines into Afghanistan in response. |
| The interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, said the American ambassador had been summoned to protest the strike. “It is the murder of peace in this region,” he said. | The interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, said the American ambassador had been summoned to protest the strike. “It is the murder of peace in this region,” he said. |
| Imran Khan, the former cricket star whose party runs Khyber Paktunkhwa Province, said his party would vote Monday to cut NATO military supply lines into Afghanistan that run through the province. He described Mr. Mehsud as being ready to talk peace, and he painted the drone strike that killed him as a defining moment for the country’s political parties. “The nation is asking who does not want peace in the country,” he said at a news conference in Lahore. | |
| In Waziristan, tribesmen also criticized the Obama administration for killing Mr. Mehsud when he was on the verge of talks. “The drones have destroyed everything,” Jamaluddin Khan, a teacher, said by phone. | In Waziristan, tribesmen also criticized the Obama administration for killing Mr. Mehsud when he was on the verge of talks. “The drones have destroyed everything,” Jamaluddin Khan, a teacher, said by phone. |
| Others lamented that in death, Mr. Mehsud — a flamboyant figure with a reputation for both joking and ruthless violence — would be transformed into a hero. “One thing is clear: anyone who is killed in a drone strike becomes a true Muslim holy warrior, no matter how sinful he is,” said a tribal elder, speaking on condition of anonymity. | Others lamented that in death, Mr. Mehsud — a flamboyant figure with a reputation for both joking and ruthless violence — would be transformed into a hero. “One thing is clear: anyone who is killed in a drone strike becomes a true Muslim holy warrior, no matter how sinful he is,” said a tribal elder, speaking on condition of anonymity. |
| Few people dared voice public support for Mr. Mehsud’s death, with the main exception being retired military officials, which highlighted an apparent divide between military and civilian thinking over the virtues of peace negotiations. | Few people dared voice public support for Mr. Mehsud’s death, with the main exception being retired military officials, which highlighted an apparent divide between military and civilian thinking over the virtues of peace negotiations. |
| The military has bitter experience of talks with the Taliban, having entered into several controversial agreements from 2005 to 2007 that eventually crumbled and which ultimately only gave the militants time to consolidate their strength. | The military has bitter experience of talks with the Taliban, having entered into several controversial agreements from 2005 to 2007 that eventually crumbled and which ultimately only gave the militants time to consolidate their strength. |
| The political winds are being driven by Mr. Khan, who has long advocated peace talks with the Taliban, a position now held by most major parties, including the government. | The political winds are being driven by Mr. Khan, who has long advocated peace talks with the Taliban, a position now held by most major parties, including the government. |
| The government had intended to send a small delegation of clerics to North Waziristan on Saturday to meet with the Taliban leadership. The meeting was hastily called off after the strike. | The government had intended to send a small delegation of clerics to North Waziristan on Saturday to meet with the Taliban leadership. The meeting was hastily called off after the strike. |
| If it seemed odd that Pakistanis were equivocating over the demise of a figure who spent his career orchestrating attacks that killed thousands of Pakistanis, the answer came from a complex mix of politics and psychology. Anti-Americanism is rife in Pakistan, and the drones are widely despised across the country — with the exception, paradoxically, of some corners of the tribal belt, where some tribesmen quietly say they support any measure to oust militants from their area. | If it seemed odd that Pakistanis were equivocating over the demise of a figure who spent his career orchestrating attacks that killed thousands of Pakistanis, the answer came from a complex mix of politics and psychology. Anti-Americanism is rife in Pakistan, and the drones are widely despised across the country — with the exception, paradoxically, of some corners of the tribal belt, where some tribesmen quietly say they support any measure to oust militants from their area. |
| “It shows how society has become radicalized,” said Omar R. Quraishi, an editor at The Express Tribune newspaper. “People keep asking why the Americans are violating our sovereignty. They don’t seem to realize that, in the tribal regions, the state has lost all control.” | “It shows how society has become radicalized,” said Omar R. Quraishi, an editor at The Express Tribune newspaper. “People keep asking why the Americans are violating our sovereignty. They don’t seem to realize that, in the tribal regions, the state has lost all control.” |
Declan Walsh reported from London; Ismail Khan from Peshawar, Pakistan; and Salman Masood from Islamabad, Pakistan. Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud contributed reporting from Islamabad, and Zia ur-Rehman from Karachi, Pakistan. | Declan Walsh reported from London; Ismail Khan from Peshawar, Pakistan; and Salman Masood from Islamabad, Pakistan. Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud contributed reporting from Islamabad, and Zia ur-Rehman from Karachi, Pakistan. |