Divided Pakistani Taleban name Hakimullah Mehsud as their new leader

Zahid Hussain in Islamabad

The Pakistani Taleban have announced a successor to their dead leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in an apparent effort to put an end to bitter infighting within the group.

Taleban spokesmen said that Hakimullah Mehsud, 28, a militant commander who is believed to have masterminded the attack in Lahore on the Sri Lanka cricket team this year, was the new leader. He was elected by the group's 42-member governing council.

The Taleban still deny that Mehsud is dead, conceding merely that he is unable to perform his duties because of ill health. US and Pakistani officials believe that he was killed in a missile strike on August 5.

Analysts said that the selection of Mr Hakimullah was an attempt to shore up an organisation reeling from the loss of its leader, who had unified various militant elements under the banner of Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan.

Pakistani intelligence sources said that the election of the young militant known for his erratic behaviour could further accentuate the division in the group which seemed to be already in disarray.

Mr Hakimullah's appointment has not been endorsed by his main rival, Wali Ur Rehman, a spokesman of the TTP who was believed to have been injured in a gunfight in a council meeting called to name the new chief.

Mr Hakimullah is believed to have been behind threats to foreign embassies in Islamabad, and there is a bounty of ten million rupees (£80,000) on his head. His men have been blamed for attacking US and Nato supply convoys travelling through northwestern Pakistan en route to Afghanistan, and he has claimed responsibility for the June 9 bombing of the Pearl Continental hotel in Peshawar and the attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore in March.

Rehman Malik, the Pakistani Interior Minister, said that the Government had received intelligence reports about Mr Hakimullah's appointment "as the chief terrorist" but that there was no official confirmation.

The Taleban have detained four relatives of the slain leader on suspicion of tipping off authorities about his whereabouts. A senior intelligence official said that Ikramamuddin, Mr Mehsud's father-in-law, was among those detained by the militants for questioning.

Mr Mehsud was killed while being treated with an intravenous drip at the house of Ikramamuddin, the father of his second wife, who was also killed in the strike.

Security officials said that their detention could be a part of power struggle within the group. Earlier the Taleban executed a driver for Mr Mehsud and a paramedic on suspicion of spying for the Government.