Islamabad, Aug 11 - Pakistan Tuesday again asked the Taliban to prove that its leader Baitullah Mehsud was alive, with Interior Minister Rehman Malik saying the government had 'credible and substantial' information that he had been eliminated.

'We have credible and substantial evidence about the death of Baitullah Mehsud,' Malik told reporters at Parliament House.

He also termed the militant leader's deputy Hakimullah Mehsud 'insignificant' adding: 'Baitullah is the main issue. Now the TTP (Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan) should prove he is alive.'

If Hakimullah Mehsud claimed to have met with Baitullah Mehsud, he could have videotaped the meeting and provided it to the media as proof, the minister maintained.

He also noted that Azam Tariq, the new spokesperson of the TTP, 'has also confirmed Baitullah's death'.

'They, (TTP) have made contradicting statements over the issue. First they claimed that Baitullah is alive. Then they said he is ill. Now they are saying he is serious. Tomorrow, they would say he is dead,' Malik added.

Malik said he had received information from different sources about the infighting in Taliban groups over the succession of Baitullah Mehsud and the vast funds at his command.

Malik replied in the negative when asked whether US intelligence agencies had shared video footage of the drone attack on Baitullah Mehsud last week in which he is supposed to have died.

On Monday, the minister had said the attack on Mehsud was conducted in the intervening night of Aug 5 and 6, and 'was a successful one'.