UPDATE 1-Pakistani Taliban vow to strike during Ramadan

(For a look at what may happen next in Pakistani politics, double click on [ID:nISL272165]) (Adds missile strike kills five paragraphs 2-3, 14-17)

By Kamran Haider

ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Pakistani Taliban will continue attacks during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, rejecting a government announcement it would halt military action in the northwest, a Taliban spokesman said on Sunday.

Violence has surged in Pakistan recently with the military battling al Qaeda- and Taliban-linked fighters in three areas in the northwest, and sporadic missile strikes, attributed to the United States, also aimed at militants.

One of those launched from a suspected U.S. drone hit on Sunday, killing five Uzbek militants and wounding seven of their Pakistani allies, intelligence officials and witnesses said.

Pakistani militants have responded to the military pressure with suicide and remotely detonated bomb attacks on the security forces and civilian targets.

Deteriorating security has coincided with a faltering economy and political upheaval, as the resignation of unpopular President Pervez Musharraf on Aug. 18 was followed a week later by a split in the ruling coalition.

"It's a joke. It isn't a matter of holy or unholy. All months are holy. If they want to end fighting, it should be permanent," Muslim Khan, Taliban spokesman in the Swat Valley, said of the government announcement of the temporary halt in military operations.

"We want enforcement of Sharia laws and will continue our struggle. We haven't got instructions from our top leadership to stop fighting. If they do (order a halt) then we certainly will," he said by telephone.