Taliban issues three-day ultimatum to Pak MPs to resign

Islamabad, May 14 (ANI): The Taliban has given members of parliament representing Pakistan's Malakand Division three days to resign, or else their families will be kidnapped.

"All national and provincial parliament members from the Malakand Division must resign within three days, otherwise, we will arrest all their families, and we will destroy all their buildings," Taliban spokesperson Muslim Khan told CNN

In a separate directive, Muslim Khan urged Pakistan's Islamist political parties to publicly show support for Taliban militants.

"All these parties must help the Taliban. They must give a press conference to show the people that we need Sharia in the Malakand Division," The Nation quoted him, as saying.

Recently, the Jamaat-i-Islami has spoken out against the military's offensive in the Swat Valley.

The gray-bearded Khan, in an earlier phone interview with CNN, had revealed that he had spent four years in the United States working as a painter in Boston.

On Wednesday, Khan denied reports that Taliban militants had carried out a campaign of violence and intimidation in the region for the past two years.

"We are killing the people who are only no good for society, like thieves and people who are making problem for the poor people, like people who are working for army," he said.

Several refugees have described how insurgents kidnapped and killed their critics, beheaded government informers and blew up girls' schools.

Earlier, Khan claimed that only 12 Taliban fighters had been killed in the on-going military operation in the region, and government's claims of killing Taliban in large numbers were unsubstantiated.

"Mingora, the main town of Swat Valley, is still under Taliban control, and our fighters are battling with security forces at every point," Khan had said. (ANI)