KARACHI: The spokesperson for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Shahidullah Shahid, has claimed that the recent attack on a church in Peshawar was carried out in accordance with Shariah laws and that neither the proscribed militants organisation nor any of its umbrella groups were behind the blasts, the BBC Urdu website reported.

Talking about the possibility of the involvement any member of the Taliban's umbrella groups's in the Peshawar church bombings, Shahid said that verification was carried out within the militant outfit before he had given a statement in the media denying the group's involvement in the attack.

He added that members of groups under the TTP did not carry out any activities against the guidelines of the militant organisation, which (the guidelines) the militants were well aware of.

Shahid further said that the Pakistani Taliban had given its men a free hand to carry out activities against their enemy.

When asked about the guidelines of the militant group and those behind selection of attack targets, the spokesperson replied that there were no written guidelines and that the central leadership of the Taliban did not make the decisions pertaining to choosing attack targets.

In the interview the Taliban spokesperson also commended Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan's approach and said that the group did not require the opening of any office as they already had a presence in Karachi, Peshawar, Islamabad and other cities.

He further said that the Taliban were still pondering over the issue of holding talks with the government and added that the media had added 'unnecessary hype' to the issue.