Press Release
During the past few days, 16 activists of Hizb ut-Tahrir were arrested and few amongst them were tortured

Hizb ut-Tahrir's campaign against the military operation in Malakand division is in full swing.  The government is so nervous that just in the past few days, she has arrested 16 activists of Hizb from Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Abbotabad and Peshawar. Moreover, apart from mental torture the government physically tortured Hizb's activist, Hamid Rafiq, who was arrested from Lahore. Government hooligans abducted Hamid Rafiq and confined him to an unknown location where he was physically tortured. Meanwhile the Police proclaimed ignorance of his whereabouts and denied his arrest.  The court sent a Bailiff to recover him which raided a police station but failed to recover him.  Finally the police produced him before the court after keeping him in illegal confinement for two days. 

Similarly, in Peshawar the government arrested five activists of Hizb, Sabtain, Ishaq Shinwary, Omar Zaib and Saqib during a protest rally against Swat operation which was leaving from Qissa Khwani Bazzar. They were booked under the charge of "disturbing the peace" and 16 MPO. Hizb ut-Tahrir  cannot be intimidated or harassed by these childish acts of provocation.  Hizb ut-Tahrir pronounces that Hizb will continue its peaceful struggle to save its Muslim brothers in Swat from oppression without giving any heed to the government response. And we will continue to mobilize the Ummah to root out American presence from the region which is the real cause of instability in Pakistan. We call upon the Ummah that they fulfill their Fard of Amr bil Maruf and Nahi Anil Munkar (enjoining the good and forbidding the evil) and participate in the Hizb rallies organized on 31^st May 2009 so that the American agent rulers may be forced to stop the ongoing operation in Swat.  Furthermore, the people of power should immediately abandon this American war which makes Muslims fight Muslims and provide Nusrah (material support) to Hizb ut-Tahrir in order to establish the Khilafah "Caliphate" which would liberate the Ummah from the current oppression and provide political stability.