Spokesman: Pakistani Taliban chief alive

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Baitullah Mehsud, the Pakistani Taliban chief blamed for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, is alive, a Tehrik-e-Taliban spokesman said.

Mehsud, known to have diabetes and hypertension, was reported as having died from renal failure by several media agencies.

The TTP spokesman said the organization was annoyed about media reports of Meshud's death, Pak News reported Wednesday. The spokesman said Mehsud offered Eid al Fitr prayers at an undisclosed location in Wariristan.

Besides being accused of being behind the slaying of Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister, Mehsud also has been blamed for a large share of the violence in Pakistan's North West Frontier province.