Pakistani intelligence is claiming that Hakeemullah Mehsud, Baitullah Mehsud's successor to lead the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, is dead and that his appointment to lead the Taliban is a ruse to hide infighting:

Pakistani intelligence officials have said Hakeemullah Mehsud is also dead, killed in a shootout with rivals days after Baitullah Mehsud was apparently killed on 5 August. Pakistani officials told news agencies that Maulvi Faqir Mohammed's announcement was a trick to cover up an ongoing power struggle among the movement. "The announcement is real, but the man isn't," Reuters quoted one senior intelligence officer in north-west Pakistan. "The real Hakeemullah is dead."

As we know, Hakeemullah Mehsud has spoken to the media since he was proclaimed dead at the so-called battle-at-the-shura meeting in early August. Waliur Rehman Mehsud, the other Taliban leader that Pakistani intelligence said was killed, also talked to the media. Pakistani intel then countered by saying someone pretended to be Hakeemullah; but the journalist insists he knows he spoke to Hakeemullah.

Putting all of this aside, one question begs an answer: if Pakistani intel knows so much about the inner workings and machinations of the Taliban, how did it miss the shura meeting in Arakzai? Forty-two Taliban commanders or their representatives attended the meeting. The leaders would be traveling with their security details. Shouldn't Pakistani intel have picked up on this, and then targeted the meeting accordingly?