By IANS,
Islamabad : The Taliban aims to take over Pakistan in the name of Islam, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain warned Friday.
Speaking to noted Islamic scholar Tahirul Qadri on the phone from London, where he lives in exile, Hussain accused the Taliban of carrying out suicide attacks against those who opposed their agenda, Geo TV reported.
The MQM chief also said the Taliban’s activities were tarnishing Islam’s image across the world.
Agreeing with Hussain, Qadri said Islam was a religion of peace and tranquility.
He also lauded the move by MQM members of the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament for walking out Monday even as it passed by a majority the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation imposing Sharia laws in Swat and six other districts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).
The Sharia laws were imposed as part of a controversial peace deal with the Taliban to lay down their arms.
Hussain’s remarks came on the day a radical Taliban-linked cleric said the day was not far when Sharia laws would be enforced across Pakistan.
“I tell you that you should be ready to make sacrifices for Islam. The day is not far away when Islam will be enforced in the whole of the country,” Maulana Abdul Aziz of the Lal Masjid here said while addressing the congregation after Friday prayers.
“What we have seen in Swat and the tribal areas is the result of the sacrifices at the Lal Masjid,” Aziz, who was released on bail Thursday, maintained.
Aziz had been arrested while trying to escape disguised as a burqa-clad woman shortly before the security forces stormed the mosque in July 2007 to end a standoff with his armed pupils.
More than 100 people, including around a dozen security personnel, were killed in the assault.
Twenty-seven cases were registered against Aziz after his arrest. He had earlier secured bail in 25 cases, while one was dropped.