KHAR, Aug 5: Highly-motivated ‘boys and girls’ are eager to mount suicide attacks all over the country, including Karachi, targeting high-profile government functionaries, according to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Anayat Kalley, some eight kilometres from the agency headquarters of the Bajaur Agency, the Tehrik’s deputy chief Maulana Faqir Mohammad and spokesman Maulvi Omar said that a ‘Fidayeen Squad’, comprising 10- to 20-year-old boys and girls, was ready to carry out the attacks if the government did not immediately stop the operation in Swat and did not reverse its decision to launch military operation in other tribal areas.

Maulvi Omar said the Tehrik’s chief, Baitullah Mehsud, had held consultations with key Taliban commanders and they were of the opinion that the only way to effectively counter the government’s aggressive plans was to launch massive attacks.

He said a plan had been finalised and the Tehrik had decided to launch suicide attacks in Peshawar, Mardan, Dir and other districts.

The spokesman said Taliban had set up ‘modern anti-aircraft and missile systems’ on their ‘checkposts’ along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to avert any threat of incursion by Nato and Afghan National Army into tribal areas.

He said arrangements had been made to effectively wage a “Jihad against the infidels”.

Asking MQM chief Altaf Hussain to “wind up his group’s activities”, Maulvi Omar said Karachi would soon fall into the hands of Taliban who were awaiting Baithullah’s orders to launch action in the city.

The Taliban spokesman said the Tehrik had responded “positively to the government’s peace overtures”, but both the federal and the NWFP governments had “failed to meet their commitments”. According to him, the present government was pursuing the policies of Pervez Musharraf and trying to complete the “unfinished American agenda”.