(CNN) -- The death of Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud will not delay peace talks between Pakistan's government and the militant group, Information Minister Pervez Rasheed said Saturday.
Mehsud -- once charged by the United States for his alleged involvement in a deadly 2009 attack on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan -- was killed in a drone strike in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, senior U.S. and Pakistani officials told CNN.
Mehsud was buried, though the body was unrecognizable, Taliban sources said. The organization was scheduled to meet Saturday to pick a new leader, the sources said.
Rasheed condemned the use of drones in Pakistan. "Drones are used for killing but they will not let the peace process be killed with it," the minister told reporters.
Mehsud -- once charged by the United States for his alleged involvement in a deadly 2009 attack on a U.S. military base in Afghanistan -- was killed in a drone strike in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, senior U.S. and Pakistani officials told CNN.
Mehsud was buried, though the body was unrecognizable, Taliban sources said. The organization was scheduled to meet Saturday to pick a new leader, the sources said.
Rasheed condemned the use of drones in Pakistan. "Drones are used for killing but they will not let the peace process be killed with it," the minister told reporters.