Government slaps ban on Taliban but group terms move meaningless

Islamabad: The government yesterday declared the Taliban a banned outfit after it claimed responsibility for one of the country's worst-ever terrorist attacks.

The Interior Ministry announced the ban 24 hours after rejecting a Taliban ceasefire offer in Bajaur tribal region, a rumoured hiding place for Osama Bin Laden where an army offensive has reportedly killed hundreds in recent weeks.

Another 200,000 people are said to have have fled their homes in the region.

"This organisation is a terrorist organisation and unleashed mayhem against the public," said ministry chief Rehman Malik, adding that those offering financial aid, handing out propaganda or providing any other type of support would be deemed liable under the ban.

Anyone found aiding a proscribed organisation like the Taliban - which will have its bank accounts and assets frozen - can be jailed for up to 10 years under anti-terrorism laws.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella group of militants active along the rugged Afghan border, has claimed responsibility for a wave of suicide bombings that have killed hundreds since the fragile civilian government took power some five months ago.

Civilian toll

The deadliest attack, a spectacular twin suicide bombing at an ordnance factory just 35 kilometres from the capital, left 67 dead on Thursday, almost all of them civilians.

"I think at the moment they definitely have the upper hand, and we need to do something better," Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, which has the largest bloc in Parliament, told the British Broadcasting Corporation shortly before the ban was announced.

The militants, meanwhile, called the ban "meaningless".

"We are neither registered nor do we have any bank accounts," said Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has threatened to step up its campaign of violence nationwide unless the military ends its operations in Bajaur. "We are slaves to no one."

Meanwhile, eight people were killed in a pre-dawn rocket-and-bomb strike yesterday on the home of provincial lawmaker Waqar Ahmad Khan in Swat, police and the politician said. His brother, two nephews and five guards were killed.