The military has confirmed that it is investigating reports that Hakimullah Mehsud has died in Orakzai as a consequence of wounds inflicted during a recent drone strike. Determining the truth behind these rumours is hard given the inaccessibility of the areas hit by conflict. But what can safely be said is that evidence is emerging that the Taliban are more split than before. It is said that even when Hakimullah was alive, there was no longer any single locus of power; that the Afghan Taliban had in some cases stepped in to patch over rifts. The death, or incapacitation, of the ruthless young man who had taken over from the late Baitullah Mehsud will take this process further.

But it is important to remember that terrorist violence does not end with the Taliban. More and more splinter groups, inspired by them, have crept up. It is believed that they may be behind at least some of the attacks that have taken place recently – notably those that took place outside NWFP. At a time when their mentors in the TTP have been weakened, it is important to go after these groups. So far no effort has been made to target outfits based in southern Punjab. Now may be the right time to do so. The splits we see within the ranks of the Taliban need to be exploited. If we fail to do so now, these groups may get a chance to re-group and alter the structure of their organisations, making it all the harder to effectively defeat them in the future and end the militancy which has caused irreparable damage to our country so far.