Peshawar, Apr. 30 : The Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Mohammad has offered to hold talks with the government to establish peace in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Addressing a jirga in Maidan region of Lower Dir, Mohammad asked the government to suspend the military offensive being carried out in the region by the Pakistan Army immediately.

Peshawar, Apr. 29 : Following the Taliban's threat to the media to not to promote `anti-Taliban coverage' in the Swat Valley, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has expressed concerns about the safety of media professionals in the region.

In a statement issued by the RSF, the organization said that Taliban threats were unacceptable, and seriously endangered the safety of the journalists working in the region.

Peshawar, Apr. 29 : The Taliban has taken hostage at least 71 security personnel in the Pir Baba area of Buner district in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

According to The News, the station house officer (SHO) of the Pir Baba police station along with his cops and 50 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel have been held captive by the armed gunmen.

Peshawar, Apr. 29 : The Swat chapter of the Taliban has warned the media not to promote `anti-Taliban coverage'.

Pamphlets warning media houses were found scattered at the office premises of several TV channels and newspapers reporting on developments in the region.

Peshawar, Apr 28: More than 30,000 people in Lower Dir have been displaced by a Pakistani military offensive to flush out Taliban militants.

Thousands of terrified women and children left the area after troops and helicopter gunships launched Operation Black Thunder

“Up to 30,000 people have left Maidan in Lower Dir district over the past few days,” Iftikhar Hussain, the NWFP Information Minister, told reporters here.

“We are making arrangements for them in Peshawar, Nowshera and Timargarah districts,” he said.

Peshawar, Apr 28 : Exactly 56 percent of the respondents polled have described Afghanistan's Taliban as "Islamic heroes fighting western occupation."

In a survey conducted by Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) with the help of the British High Commission in Islamabad, a paltry 12.1 percent called them "a terrorist group", the Daily Times reports.

Over 54 percent respondents said they were "dissatisfied with life" in FATA in general.