Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said, "Taliban have declared a unilateral ceasefire for 10 days as a goodwill gesture. Our fighters will not attack security personnel and government installations." However, he added that the militants would hold their positions and defend themselves if attacked. The deal has drawn much criticism both at home and abroad. So what lies behind the deal? Will it bring lasting peace to Swat?

America prepares for a summer of rage

The U.S. Army is to invest $6 million in riot equipment, a fact that has furthered fears that troops will be used inside the U.S. in order to quell any civil unrest resulting from the ongoing economic crisis. The U.S. Army Contracting Agency, based at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, has a post on the Federal Business Opportunities website, requesting the equipment and has received several notices of interest from potential vendors. The request titled "84-RIOT EQUIPMENT" outlines the need for hard polyethylene Shin and Chest Guards, shock absorbing Forearm Protectors, Interior leg brace supports as well as knee and ankle protectors. The request for riot gear comes amidst urban warfare training drills taking place across the US. Earlier this month, 150 U.S. troops from the U.S. Special Operations Command whizzed around the streets of New Orleans in military helicopters and even dropped bombs in what officials described as a "training event". No less than 2,200 U.S. Marines were also involved in urban operations training in Richmond, VIrginia, throughout January, drills that involved landing troops in populated areas, allowing military pilots to "familiarize themselves with the area." Recently, Northcom revealed that one of the duties of at least 20,000 active duty troops that are being placed inside the United States would be dealing with "civil unrest and crowd control".

Britain engaged in ‘civil war' in Afghanistan

According to the Uk's Daily Mail, the British Armed Forces are increasingly fighting British Muslims with Midlands and Yorkshire accents on the battlefields of Afghanistan. Intelligence reports show that rising numbers of home-grown jihadists have joined the Taliban so they can kill British soldiers. Senior military sources say UK troops are engaged in a 'surreal mini-civil war' in the dusty badlands of Helmand Province. The paper states that MI5 has estimated that up to 4,000 British Muslims had travelled to Pakistan and Afghanistan for military training, with 'dozens' switching to the front-line. Whether Muslims from Britain are engaged in fighting the British armed forces or not, one thing is for certain that Britain has lost the battle of ideas with its Muslim populace.

Bashir implores Mubarak to delay ICC ruling

With only a week before an international court decides whether to issue an arrest warrant against the president of Sudan by charging him with crimes against humanity, Omar al Bashir has been looking for a little help from a fellow American agent. During a trip to Cairo on Sunday, Mr Bashir asked Egypt to do whatever it could to "delay or halt" the International Criminal Court from issuing the warrant - a decision the ICC has said it will announce next Wednesday. After the meetings, Egypt's ambassador to Sudan said the visit "sent a message to all parties that Egypt was standing beside Sudan", according to Egypt's official Middle East News Agency.

The butcher Karimov embraces America to spill more Muslim blood in Afghanistan

On 25/2/09 AFP reported that Uzbekistan has reached an agreement with NATO allowing the alliance to send non-military supplies through the Central Asian nation en route to Afghanistan. "Uzbekistan has agreed to allow non-military, I underline, non-military cargo to be transited through Uzbek territory to Afghanistan, in accordance with existing Uzbek legislation," Karimov said. "We have never been, nor will we ever be against the transit of humanitarian cargo through our air corridor," he added. Disguising NATO supplies as humanitarian could not be further from the truth, and the whole world is aware of Karimov's humanitarian credentials, when in 2005 he brutally slaughtered the Muslims of Andijon. This time Karimov has announced his intentions to spill more Muslim blood in Afghanistan and has given America life-line, as it faces mounting losses in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's collusion with America runs deep

The New York Times reported that over 70 American military advisers and technical specialists are secretly working in Pakistan to help its military units conduct operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in western tribal areas. The advisers mostly include US Army Special Forces soldiers. Overseen by the US Central Command and Special Operations Command, the advisers provide the Pakistani army with training and intelligence, the report said. But they do not get involved in combat operations. The advisers form part of a secret task force that was started last summer with the support of the Pakistani government and military, the report said. The cooperation has never been publicly acknowledged, but is beginning to pay dividends, the paper noted. According to The Times, a new Pakistani commando unit within the Frontier Corps has used information from the Central Intelligence Agency and other sources to kill or capture as many as 60 militants in the past seven months, including at least five high-ranking rebel commanders. Previously, the US media revealed that American drones were using Pakistani air bases to carry out air raids in FATA, and the majority of supplies to NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan passed through Pakistan.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Wilayah Pakistan held a book launching ceremony of its manifesto in Lahore.  The title of the booklet is ‘Pakistan, Khilafah "Caliphate" and the unification of the Muslim world'.  Speaking at the occasion the spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir Pakistan, Mr. Naveed Butt said that for the past fifty years Hizb ut-Tahrir

Hizb ut-Tahrir in Bangladesh organized a seminar today at the national press club on the subject ‘Context: South Asian Taskforce, Transit, TIFA - Islam's Foreign Policy Model'. Deputy Spokesman Kazi Murshedul Haque chaired the seminar while Chief Coordinator and Official Spokesman of the party Mohiuddin Ahmed delivered the main speech.