Peshawar, Feb. 22 : Carrying on their operation to flush out militants from the region, Pakistan's security forces claimed to have killed 25 militants in the tribal district of Bajaur, after an intense night-long battle.

"Our forces have destroyed some important hideouts of militants and killed some 25 insurgents, including a commander Faizullah," The Nation quoted a security official, as saying.

Security forces targeted suspected hideouts of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda using helicopter gunships and heavy artillery in the fresh assault which was initiated of Friday.

Peshawar, Feb. 21 : Slain Geo TV journalist Musa Khan Khel's brother, Isa Khan Khel, who is also a journalist, has vowed to continue in the profession.

Khel, who reports for an English daily from Mingora, said he will continue to fight for the people of Swat and work for the establishment of peace in the region which was his brother's mission.

"I will not leave Swat and its people in this hour of trial. I will be the last newsman to quit the valley. He (Musa) trained me as a reporter. I will continue to work as a journalist to fulfill his mission of restoring peace," The News quoted Khel, as saying.

Peshawar, Feb. 18 : The inking of the so called `peace deal' between the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government and Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) would see several of the captured Talibani operatives walk free due to a `give and take' policy being the cornerstone of the whole deal.

Peshawar, Feb. 17 : Three people were killed and eight others injured in a car bomb explosion in the North West Frontier Province''s suburban town of Bazidkhel, which is located just outside Peshawar.

News reports quoted officials as saying that the car exploded outside the guest house of Fahimur Rehman.

''We have cordoned off the entire area and started rescue work. The injured have been taken to a local hospital,'' police officials said.

Rehman managed to escape unhurt as the blast damaged two outer walls of Rehman''s house and two neighbouring homes.

Peshawar, Feb. 17 : Pakistani critics of the NWFP Government-Pakistan Taliban deal to introduce a new sharia law in the Swat Valley, have claimed that this a dangerous concession to extremist insurgents who have terrified inhabitants of the valley for months.

According to a report in the Washington Post, the bombing of girls'' schools, beheading of policemen, whipping criminals in public squares and assassinating Awami National Party activists is not acceptable to many of these critics.

Peshawar, Feb. 16 : A new `sharia' law has been signed between the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government and Tahrik-e-Nifaz Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) in Pakistan.

"An agreement has been signed between the government of NWFP and Maulana Sufi Mohammed. All laws against sharia will be abolished and sharia will be enforced under this justice system," The News quoted NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain, as saying.

The new agreement would be covering the troubled areas of Swat Valley, and Malakand district of NWFP also.