JOIN USThe Supreme Court Saturday ordered the law enforcement agencies to take infiltration of the militants in Karachi seriously, a day after Pakistani Taliban threatened to attack leaders of a political group in the southern port city.
Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said Friday that the militants have decided to target the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in its Karachi stronghold as the group has been critical of the Taliban's policies, Xinhua reported citing media reports.
Karachi, the country's commercial center, is in the grip of target killings. The MQM says that the Taliban have also sneaked into the city and are involved in terror activities.
The Supreme Court, while hearing the case of the deteriorating law and order situation in Karachi, ordered the provincial government to take the issue of the presence of the Taliban in the city seriously.
The apex court also ordered the government in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, to take immediate action against all armed groups in the city.
Representatives of the trader community, who are worried about the poor law and order situation in Karachi, welcomed the Supreme Court's order and appealed to the government to implement the order.
The court observed that the police and other law enforcement agencies have failed to provide security to citizens and asked the authorities to take immediate steps to protect citizens from targeted killings.
The provincial police chief has stated that about 7,000 Taliban members have infiltrated into Karachi.