Pakistani Taliban name interim leader following Mehsud’s death
Pakistani demonstrators shout anti-US slogans during a protest in Multan in January 2013, against the drone attacks in Pakistan’s tribal areas. The Pakistan Taliban’s second-in-command, Wali-ur-Rehman, was reportedly killed in a drone strike on May 29, 2013.
The Pakistani Taliban chose an interim leader Sunday as the group continued to mourn the death of Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike.
Mehsud, who had a $5 million US bounty on his head, was killed Friday in the Pakistani militant stronghold of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border.
More from GlobalPost: Pakistani Taliban confirms leader Hakimullah Mehsud killed in drone strike
Earlier reports had suggested that another Taliban militant, Said Khan, known as "Sajna," was also a likely successor to Mehsud. But those reports were denied.
Both men are considered possible permanent successors to Mehsud.
Pakistan's government has protested the drone strike that killed Mehsud, accusing the US of trying to derail peace talks.
It plans to review its relationship with the United States as a result.
More from GlobalPost: Who are the Pakistani Taliban?
"Every aspect of Pakistan's co-operation and relations with Washington will be reviewed following the situation created after Mehsud's killing," Interior Minister Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan told the BBC.
A Pakistani delegation had been due to fly to North Waziristan on Saturday to meet Mehsud to discuss possible peace talks. Those talks were canceled following the drone strike.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to meet with his top security advisers on Monday.
Some politicians have demanded that US military supply lines into Afghanistan be blocked in response.
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