Rediff.com's Vikash Nanjappa writes on the 'death' of Ilyas Kashmiri.

Two weeks ago, it had been widely reported that Ilyas Kashmiri had been killed in a drone attack. But barring the Harkat-ul-Jihadi, no other agency including the US were able to confirm the news. And that's the way it has remained.

Indian agencies when contacted say that there are three aspects to the news relating to Ilyas Kashmiri.

• Following the David Headley revealations at theChicago court, the heat was on Kashmiri.
• Then, the US made it clear that after the death of Osama Bin Laden, the man most wanted on their list was Kashmiri. The US had also gone to the extent of telling Pakistan to act against Kashmiri.
• Once this directive was given to Pakistan, the ISI found itself in an extremely difficult situation since it could not afford the death of another high profile terrorist after Laden. The death of Kashmiri at the hands of US forces would have meant retaliation from terrorists.
• So, according to Indian agencies the death of Kashmiri appears to be a rumour either floated by the ISI or Kashmiri himself.