PESHAWAR: The Pakistani Taliban have claimed the killing of a Sikh lawmaker in the country's northwest.

Militant spokesman Mohammad Khurasani said Saturday that the group had killed Sardar Suran Singh and would continue to attack supporters of the "evil system," referring to the government. He spoke to The Associated Press by phone from an undisclosed location.

Gunmen on a motorcycle killed Singh as he was heading home Friday night. The lawmaker, from the country's Sikh minority, was an advisor to the chief minister for minority affairs in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Pakistani Taliban have carried out scores of attacks over the past decade targeting the government, which it views as un-Islamic, and religious minorities.