A meeting of the Pakistani Taliban's Shura (Council) on Saturday named Khan Said Sajna Aka Khalid as the next chief of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militant organisation, a day after a US drone strike killed its former leader Hakimullah Mehsud in North Waziristan. But a meeting of Taliban in Afghanistan province of Nuristan has vehemently opposed his leadership.
Most of the members of the council were present in the meeting which was held at an undisclosed location in NWA though all members could not attend it. According to reports, out of 60 members attending the Shura, 43 members voted in favour of 'Sajna' whereas 17 others voted against him, militant sources told media outlets, who added that Said's election was not confirmed by splinter groups of the militant organisation.
Said, who is 36, is believed to be involved in the attack on a Naval base in Karachi and is also credited with masterminding a 2012 jailbreak in which the Taliban freed 400 inmates from Bannu jail. "Sajna has no basic education, conventional or religious, but he is battle-hardened and has experience of fighting in Afghanistan," an official had said earlier.
The council was considering four names for the post which included Khan Said, Umar Khalid Khurasani, Mullah Fazlullah and Ghalib Mehsud. The South Waziristan Taliban chief, Khan Said Sajna alias Khalid, was tipped to succeed Hakimullah Mehsud as TTP chief. Chief of Mohmand Taliban Umar Khalid Khurasani was also a strong contender for the slot as he was the only surviving senior Taliban commander who had directly commanded operations under Hakimullah. Mullah Fazlullah, chief of the Swat Taliban, was another senior commander but he was unlikely to replace the assassinated TTP chief for not belonging to the Mehsud clan.
According to reports, another meeting of Taliban was held in Afghanistan's Nuristan province where name of Hafiz Saeed Khan was proposed as new Amir. The meeting was reportedly arranged by Afghan intelligence agency. Another report from Miranshah said differences have surfaced in the ranks of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) over the appointment of new chief.
According to reports, two separate meetings of the TTP were underway. The meeting of the Majlis-e-Shura (Central Advisory Committee) which is being held in North Waziristan has agreed on appointing Khan Said alias Sajna as the new chief but the second meeting held in Nuristan has opposed the appointment of Khan Said alias Sajna.