Pakistani Taliban say to target major group in Karachi

Pakistani Taliban said Friday that they would launch attacks on a major political group in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, local media reported. The Mutahida Qaumi Movement or MQM, which enjoys strong support in Karachi, has been critical at the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and had organized a huge rally last month to condemn the Taliban attack on a 14-year-old girl Malala Yousafzai in Swat valley. MQM leaders also claimed that Taliban have now sneaked into Karachi from the northwest and are involved in terrorist and criminal acts there. Taliban, who routinely issue threats to political leaders, have said they will attack the MQM leadership. "We have decided to deal with the brutal, apostate MQM, which has occupied Karachi. We will show no mercy on the group," Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said in a Urdu-language statement. "We have taken the decision to free the oppressed people of Karachi from the hold of the tyrants. We are with every oppressed people," he said. He also announced opposition to the upcoming parliamentary elections and said Taliban will announce their decision once the date for election is announced. "All parties will be categorized in three groups," he said without elaborating. The spokesman also supported the insurgent nationalist groups in Balochistan and Sindh provinces including the Baloch Liberation Army and Sindh Liberation Army, who are routinely target the security forces. He advised the nationalist groups to fight for their rights in line with Islamic principles. He also advised the chief justice of the Supreme Court and other judges of the highest judiciary, who he said are part of the secular system, should work for Islamic system.