The Many Deaths of Hakimullah Mehsud

They say cats have nine lives. It’s not clear how many Tehreek-e Taliban (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud has, but it’s at the very least more than four.

Hoping to stem reports of his death, Hakimullah met at an undisclosed location with members of the press, and a video clip showing the healthy-looking militant was broadcast around the nation.

Over the weekend US officials declared of the reclusive TTP leader “we’re pretty clear that we think he’s dead.” If that sounds familiar you’re not alone, Hakimullah was also declared killed in early September, and twice in August.

The first of Hakimullah’s many deaths occurred in early August, when he and fellow TTP commander Wali Rehnman reportedly killed one another. Rehman came forward almost immediately and insisted the fight never happened, Hakimullah did the same days later.

The persistent rumors of Hakimullah’s death seemed to center around a conspiracy theory involving his somewhat similar looking brother Kalimullah, who supposedly had been making public appearances in Hakimullah’s place. Kalimullah was reportedly killed last week in a US drone attack.