Taliban threatens Pak's main electrical company in heat-stricken Karachi

Islamabad: A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban has warned it will target the country's main electrical company if it does not end power outages in the country's south - where an intense heat wave has killed 860 people in the past week.

Mohammad Khurasani, in a statement released Friday, expressed grief over the heat-related deaths in the southern port city of Karachi. The chronic power cuts in the midst of a record heat wave have also caused public protests in Karachi.

Khurasani's group, known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, has been fighting to overthrow the Pakistani government and install their own harsh brand of Islamic law.

Temperatures in the south began to drop on Thursday, fueling hopes that the worst of the heat wave has passed.