Fourth Anniversary Of The Surgical Strikes Carried Out In Response To The Deadly Attack On An Army Camp In Jammu And Kashmir’s Uri
New Age Islam News Bureau
28 September 2020
The surgical strike was carried out under the leadership of PM Modi, defence minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.(HT File Photo)
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• Facing ISIS, Last Embattled Sikhs, Hindus Leave
Afghanistan; Canadian Legislators Request That They Be Brought To Safety in
Canada
• Uyghur Muslims Used As Slaves by China: World Uyghur
Congress
• Sudan Needs ‘Deep’ Debate Before Any Israel Deal,
Says PM Hamdok
• US Military Use Secretive Assassination Drone
Missiles in Syria
• Protesters in London Condemn US Meddling In Iraq
• Syria Invites Sanction-Beset Nations to Unite
Against 'Suffocating' Bans
• IRGC Commander: Iran Turns Sanctions into
Opportunity
India
• Fourth Anniversary of the Surgical Strikes Carried
out in Response to the Deadly Attack On • An Army Camp In Jammu And Kashmir’s
Uri
• Two terrorists killed in an encounter in Jammu and
Kashmir’s Awantipora
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South Asia
• Facing ISIS, Last Embattled Sikhs, Hindus Leave
Afghanistan; Canadian Legislators Request That They Be Brought To Safety in
Canada
• Bangladesh: World Must Step Up To Solve Rohingya Issue
• 500,000 Afghan Immigrants ‘Returned To Country’ Since
the Beginning of This Year
• US-Taliban Agreement Gives Identity to Intra-Afghan
Talks: Taliban
• Afghan-Taliban Peace Delegation Contact Group Meets
Again
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Southeast Asia
• Uyghur Muslims Used As Slaves by China: World Uyghur
Congress
• Zahid’s corruption trial postponed as Umno president
still under Covid-19 quarantine
• Sabah governor asks for time to decide between Bung
Moktar and Hajiji for CM’s post
• Perikatan refutes Anwar’s claims of majority
parliamentary support
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Africa
• Sudan Needs ‘Deep’ Debate Before Any Israel Deal,
Says PM Hamdok
• Sudan rebuffs US offer of terror list removal as
condition for normalization with Israel
• Daesh-linked militants ambush convoy of Nigeria
governor, kill 30
• Libyans need to turn foreign interference into
foreign assistance: UN envoy
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North America
• US Military Use Secretive Assassination Drone
Missiles in Syria
• US reportedly says it is shutting down Baghdad
embassy
• US Deep State, Democrats, Cindy McCain setting up
circumstances for civil war
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Europe
• Protesters in London Condemn US Meddling In Iraq
• France’s Macron accuses Lebanon leaders of betrayal
over government failure
• Azerbaijan denies Armenian ambassador claims that
Turkey sent 4,000 Syrian fighters
• Azerbaijani army takes control of occupied high
grounds
• US to try to end violence between Armenia,
Azerbaijan
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Arab World
• Syria Invites Sanction-Beset Nations to Unite
Against 'Suffocating' Bans
• Saudi Arabia officially boycotts Turkish products:
Report
• Lebanon Says Nine ISIS-Linked Suspects Killed In
Hunt for ‘Terrorists’
• Two Lebanese soldiers killed by ‘terrorists’ says
army
• Egypt rocked by demos as protesters demand Sisi's
resignation
• Lebanon forces kill nine Daesh suspects in hunt for
terrorists
• SDF militants shoot dead two young men in Syria’s
Raqqah
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Mideast
• IRGC Commander: Iran Turns Sanctions into
Opportunity
• Yemen War: Journos Gather ‘War Crime’ Evidence At
Scene Of Saudi-Led Airstrike
• West Bank city hosts Palestinian demo against
Israel-Arab deals
• Israel cannot understand language of normalization:
Fatah leader
• Iran Asks Iraqi Gov’t to Pursue US Assassination of
General Soleimani Seriously
• Olympics should say Iran is ‘no longer welcome’
after Afkari execution: US official
• After escaping prison in Iran, persecuted Christian
leader speaks out
• UAE writer barred from traveling for rejecting normalization
with Israel
• UN: Yemen’s warring sides agree to swap more than
1,000 prisoners
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Pakistan
• Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan Fears ‘National Disaster’
If Karachi Not Given Rights
• Hasty International Withdrawal from Afghanistan
Would Be Unwise: Pakistan PM Imran Khan
• Pakistan Opposition Parties To Boycott Meeting On
Gilgit Baltistan Polls
• In Pakistan’s eyes Turkey leads Islamic world
• Protesters hurl abuses outside Nawaz residence
• Protest after Lahore CCPO had his personal secretary
‘arrested’
• Varsity status for Peshawar APS likely, SC told
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/fourth-anniversary-surgical-strikes-carried/d/122971
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Fourth Anniversary Of The Surgical Strikes Carried Out In Response To The Deadly Attack On An Army Camp In Jammu And Kashmir’s Uri
Edited by: Amit Chaturvedi
Sep 28, 2020
The surgical strike was carried out under the
leadership of PM Modi, defence minister Manohar Parrikar and National
Security Adviser Ajit Doval.(HT File Photo)
----
The government is celebrating the fourth anniversary of the surgical strikes on Monday. The strikes against the terror groups were carried out in response to the deadly attack on an army camp in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri in September, 2016.
During his monthly radio address Mann Ki Baat on
Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reminded the nation about the strikes.
“Four years ago, around this time, the world witnessed
the courage, bravery and valour of our soldiers during the surgical strike. Our
brave soldiers had just one mission and goal - to protect the glory and honour
of mother India at any cost. They did not care for their lives, at all. They
kept moving on the line of duty and we all witnessed how they returned victoriously.
They made mother India proud,” PM Modi had said.
The strikes were carried out by Indian Army’s special
forces which crossed the Line of Control (LoC) on the night of September 27-28,
2016, and destroyed the terror pads in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). This
was in response to the suicide attack carried out by Pakistan based terrorists
on an army base in Uri north Kashmir’s Baramulla district o September 18 that
year. Nineteen soldiers were killed in the attack.
PM Modi had said that the attackers will not go
“unpunished” and that they will not be forgiven and the sacrifice of 18 jawans
will not go in vain.
The army’s build-up for the strikes began on September
24. The special forces squads set out for the mission armed with night-vision
devices, Tavor 21 and AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades,
shoulder-fired missiles, Heckler and Koch pistols, high explosive grenades and
plastic explosives. The teams were 30-strong each and had specific targets.
Civilians living close to border in Jammu and Kashmir
and Punjab were evacuated started at 10 pm on September 27, before Indian
soldiers went across.
These terror camps were meant to serve as launchpads
to send terrorists into the Indian territory. Sentries at these launchpads were
neutralised by snipers before the troops went in and finished the nearly
five-hour-long operation.
The army had said that Indian soldiers razed six
launchpads to the ground and gunned down 45 terrorists at various locations.
These launchpads were under surveillance for over one week before the
operation.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/surgical-strike-day-how-army-soldiers-destroyed-terror-launchpads/story-BQvXFBImvr5ODkjIfwnhAJ.html
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Facing ISIS, Last Embattled Sikhs, Hindus Leave
Afghanistan; Canadian Legislators Request That They Be Brought To Safety in
Canada
Sep 27, 2020
Afghan Sikh men mourn their beloved ones who were
killed by a lone ISIS terrorist
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KABUL: Afghanistan's dwindling community of Sikhs and
Hindus is shrinking to its lowest levels. With growing threats from the local
Islamic State affiliate, many are choosing to leave the country of their birth
to escape the insecurity and a once-thriving community of as many as 250,000
members now counts fewer than 700.
The community's numbers have been declining for years
because of deep-rooted discrimination in the majority Muslim country. But,
without what they say is adequate protection from the government, the attacks
by the Islamic State group may complete the exodus.
“We are no longer able to stay here,” said a member of
the tiny community, who asked to be identified only by his last name, Hamdard,
out of fear he may be targeted for speaking out. Hamdard said seven relatives
of his, including his sister, nephews, and son-in-law were killed by Islamic
State gunmen in an attack on the Gurdwara in March, which killed 25 Sikhs.
Hamdard said that fleeing his homeland is as difficult
as leaving a mother behind. Still, he joined a group of Sikhs and Hindus who
left Afghanistan last month for India, from where they will eventually move on
to a third country.
Although Sikhism and Hinduism are two distinct
religions with their own holy books and temples, in Afghanistan the communities
are interwoven, having been driven into a kinship by their tiny size, and they
both gather under one roof or a single temple to worship, each following their own
faith.
The community has suffered widespread discrimination
in the conservative Muslim country, with each government “threatening us their
own way,” said Hamdard, whose home was seized by warlords after the US invasion
in 2001, forcing him to live in one of two Sikh temples in the Afghan capital
of Kabul.
Under Taliban rule in the late 1990s, Sikhs and Hindus
were asked to identify themselves by wearing yellow armbands, but after a
global outcry, the rule was not enforced.
Also driving the exodus is the inability to reclaim
Sikh homes, businesses and houses of worship that were illegally seized years
ago.
Hindu temples in Kabul's old city were destroyed
during brutal fighting between rival warlords from 1992-96. The fighting drove
out scores of Hindu and Sikh Afghans.
Aside from the March attack by IS gunmen, a 2018
Islamic State suicide attack in the city of Jalalabad killed 19 people, most of
them Sikhs, including a longtime leader who had nominated himself for the
Afghan parliament.
“Suffering big fatalities for a small community is not
tolerable,” said Charan Singh Khalsa, a leader of the Sikh community living
abroad, who declined to say where he was living out of fear for his safety.
He left Afghanistan after his brother was kidnapped
and killed in an attack by gunmen in Kabul two years ago.
He said the last three years have been the worst
period for all Afghans, but especially so for Sikhs and Hindus.
Community leaders have slammed recent governments for
failing to step up security in the face of the IS threat.
Afghanistan's government in 2010 decided to dedicate a
chair in the national assembly to religious minorities, and there have since
been two Sikh representatives.
But Khalsa called these posts “symbolic”. He
criticized the government for taking too long to grant political representation
powers to the community and for failing to “provide security to our places of
worship.”
A senior Sikh community leader told The Associated
Press that the group is in negotiations with the government over its security
needs and the repairing of the temple after it was destroyed in March's attack.
The community leader spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to discuss the negotiations with the media.
At a press conference last month, President Ashraf
Ghani's spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, said that members of the Afghan Sikh and
Hindu community will return once peace is restored. The president's office did
not respond to a request for comment from the AP, but other Afghan officials
have pledged to assist the community.
“We will use all our facilities to provide security to
the people,” Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said, without elaborating.
“We are committed and responsible for their (Sikhs and Hindus) mental and
personal security.” It is not clear what kind of security measures are being
discussed, nor when they might be seen on the ground.
Until then, the community's flight is accelerating,
with large numbers of Sikhs and Hindus continuing a recent trend of seeking
asylum in India.
In August, a group of 176 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus went
to India on special visas. They were the second batch since March, with the
first 11 members arriving in India in July.
Khalsa said that a group of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in
Canada and European countries has volunteered to sponsor the exodus of those
remaining in Kabul who cannot afford air tickets and temporary accommodation in
a transit country.
Several Canadian legislators have asked the country's
immigration ministry for a special programme for Afghan Sikh and Hindu
refugees, requesting that they be brought to safety in Canada amid the
increasing security threat. For Afghan Sikhs, the thought of being uprooted is
painful, despite the circumstances. “It's hard to leave our birthplace but we
have no other option,” said Hamdard. “Afghanistan does not want us anymore.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/facing-isis-last-embattled-sikhs-hindus-leave-afghanistan/articleshow/78346763.cms
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Uyghur Muslims Used As Slaves By China: World Uyghur
Congress
28th September 2020
Representational image of ethnic Uighurs (File Photo |
AP)
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dolkun Isa, president of World
Uyghur Congress who is in exile in Germany, said that Muslim population of
China is not even allowed fasting in the Holy Ramzan month and is forcefully
fed through community kitchens.
He said the Chinese communist party is denying human
rights to the minority Uyghur Muslims and that Muslims are not allowed to name
their children with religious names. He was speaking at a webinar ‘Uyghur
Muslims and their human rights violation by China,’ organised by the Centre for
Policy and Development Studies.
He said that Uyghurs are being tortured in camps and
are being used as slaves by the Chinese communist regime. Dolkun said the
Communist regime of China is harassing the Uyghur activists who live in exile
in western countries and that it is using Interpol to track and chase down
Uyghur activists who speak against the human rights violation of Chinese
government. He said there is no value for human rights under the Communist
regime and warned that if the world does not block Chinese goods and Chinese
businesses, democracy and human rights will be a thing of the past.
Rushan Abbas, founder and chairperson of Campaign 4
Uyghurs, said that slavery and genocide of Uyghurs and Tibetans are being
practised by the Chinese government.
She said the United States of America has already
started economic blockade against China and called upon the Muslims to be
proactive on the genocide and slavery faced by the minority Uyghur Muslims by
the Chinese communist party and the autocratic government run by it.
Jayadeva Ranade, president of Centre for China
Analysis and Strategy and former National Security Advisory board member said
India has stood its ground against China and added that not only in the LAC but
by banning Chinese products in the country, the Indian government had inflicted
a crushing economic loss to China.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2020/sep/28/uyghur-muslims-used-as-slaves-by-chinaworld-uyghur-congress-2202725.html
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Sudan needs ‘deep’ debate before any Israel deal, says
PM Hamdok
27 September 2020
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has said that
normalizing ties with Israel was a “complicated” issue needing wide debate
within society, media reported Sunday.
Earlier this month, Israel signed US-brokered deals to
normalize ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
The administration of US President Donald Trump wants
Sudan to follow suit, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Khartoum in
August to push a deal.
For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Sudan’s economy is in crisis, partly due to sanctions
imposed because it is on a US blacklist as an alleged state sponsor of
terrorism.
On Saturday, Hamdok was questioned by reporters on the
two issues of lifting US sanctions and normalizing ties with Washington’s ally
Israel.
“We spoke with the US Secretary of State and told him
‘let us separate the two tracks,’” Hamdok said, speaking on the sidelines of an
economic conference in Khartoum.
“We hope for success in this matter,” he added.
Sudan has been technically at war with Israel for
decades.
Hamdok heads the transitional government, which came
to power a year ago after Islamist president Omar al-Bashir was ousted, bringing
together old rivals into a fragile coalition.
Removing Sudan from the US blacklist is a priority for
the government, but while some leaders are in favor of a political deal with
Israel, many oppose.
Any deal with Israel potentially risks undermining
Sudan’s fragile political unity.
“This is an issue that has many other complications,”
Hamdok said. “It requires a deep discussion within our society.”
Sudan has been on the US blacklist since 1993 because
of al-Bashir’s support for extremistss, including Osama bin Laden, who lived in
the country for years in the 1990s before heading to Afghanistan.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the
transitional sovereign council, told Saturday’s conference there was an
“opportunity” for change.
“We have the opportunity ... to remove Sudan from the
state sponsor of terrorism list, and achieve integration within the global
community,” Burhan said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/09/27/Sudan-needs-deep-debate-before-any-Israel-deal-says-PM-Hamdok
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US military use secretive assassination drone missiles
in Syria
27 September 2020
The US military is reportedly using highly secretive
drone missile in Syria that is non-explosive but deploys flying blades to
ensure the killing of intended targets.
Officially designated as the Hellfire AGM-114R9X–
usually shortened to R9X and sometimes known as the “Flying Ginsu” – the deadly
missile has been increasingly deployed for targeted assassinations by the US
Joint Special Operations Command, according to a Friday report by the UK-based
The Guardian daily.
The missile’s warhead uses a combination of the force
of 100pounds (45.36 kilograms) of dense material flying at high speed and six
attached blades which deploy before impact to crush and slice its victims.
It is capable of breaking through armor and hardened
cover, such as the walls of buildings, as well as attacking personnel and other
soft targets in the open, with a sleeve over the main charge that would break
up into a hail of deadly shrapnel when the missile explodes.
According to the New York Times, the latest use of the
missile came on September 14, when it was deployed in northwest Syria to
assassinate an alleged top al-Qaeda commander, identified as Sayaf al-Tunsi.
While the Pentagon did not reveal much about the
targeted assassination drone strike, Maj. Beth Riordan, a spokeswoman for the
US Central Command (CENTCOM), confirmed a military strike near Idlib on
September 14 against an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria without elaborating.
Other American military and counterterrorism
officials, as well as the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said
that the Hellfire missile strike killed al-Tunsi, describing him as a Tunisian
who was “a senior planner of al-Qaeda attacks against the West, including the
United States.”
The daily further cited US military officials as
saying that al-Tunsi’s death would disrupt operations of the al-Qaeda
affiliate, called Hurras al-Din, which branched out of the US-backed al-Nusra
Front terrorist group that sought to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The report came as the American military announced
last week the deployment of Bradley fighting vehicles and more fighter jet
patrols to reinforce the more than 500 US occupation troops in Syria.
According to the report, it was the second time in
three months that American commandos have killed a senior Qaeda leader in
northwest Syria with these specially designed missiles, originally developed
during the administration of former US President Barack Obama when Washington’s
policy of targeted drone assassinations in faraway Muslim countries -- such as
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Yemen -- drew widespread
condemnation for the number of civilian casualties caused by the strikes.
The report further revealed that the US military’s
secretive Joint Special Operations Command, with help from the spy agency CIA,
“is carrying out a shadow war against a different terrorist threat — a small
but virulent al-Qaeda affiliate — that American officials say is plotting
attacks against the West.”
Such operations, it added, are carried out in a corner
of Syria, where the US military maintains no troops on the ground.
According to the Times, American Special Operations
forces also used a R9X missile in June to kill Khaled al-Aruri, “the de facto
leader of the Qaeda branch in Syria.”
American officials further confirmed the use of the
secretive missiles in two earlier instances, one by the CIA in northwest Syria
and another by the Joint Special Operations Command in Yemen.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635094/US-military-assassination-drone-secretive-missile-Syria-
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Protesters in London condemn US meddling in Iraq
28 September 2020
A group of protesters have gathered outside the Iraqi
embassy in London to condemn the United States’ meddling in the Arab country’s
internal affairs.
In the Sunday rally, the protesters denounced the US
interference by chanting “God is the Greatest US is the Great Evil.”
“God is the Greatest
US is the Great Evil”
Outside the Iraqi embassy, protestors denounce
American meddling in Iraqi affairs pic.twitter.com/KwQljKmpGS
— 🇮🇶Iraq
& Middle East Updates (@IraqLiveUpdate) September 27, 2020
The protests come as the US is reportedly evacuating
its staff from the American embassy in Baghdad as part of a plan to close the
embassy.
#BREAKING
Reports of #US embassy staff in leaving #Baghdad and
heading to #Erbil and the decision to close the #US embassy may be issued
tomorrow
— Hawar Ali (@HawarAAli) September 27, 2020
The US has reportedly said it is shutting down its
embassy in Baghdad unless Iraq prevents rocket attacks.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly called
Iraqi President Barham Salih and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on
Sunday.
“What we’re being told is that it is a gradual closure
of the embassy over two to three months,” an Iraqi official was cited as saying
in a Wall Street Journal report.
“The decision to close the embassy in Baghdad is in
President Trump’s hands and is ready. … If our forces withdraw and the embassy
is closed in this way, we will liquidate all those who have been proven to have
been involved in these attacks,” Pompeo said in a phone call with Salih, naming
anti-terror groups of Kata'ib Hezbollah and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, which are part
of Iraq’s pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) or Hashd al-Sha'abi.
An unnamed source told American news website
Al-Monitor that Salih had convened a meeting with leaders of political factions
and told them that he had received a letter of warning from Pompeo.
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel also quoted American
and Iraqi political sources as saying that the threat of sanctions and limits
on dollar transactions, including withholding aid through the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Iraq, had all been raised by the top
US diplomat in his “very tough message” to Salih.
Recently, several rocket attacks have targeted
American military bases in Iraq. A compilation by Iraq analyst Joel Wing says
there have been 25 attacks on convoys carrying supplies to US or coalition
facilities, on the Green Zone where the US Embassy is located, or on the
Baghdad airport so far this month.
Iraqi-US relations have soured since January 3 when a
Trump-authorized US drone struck a convoy at Baghdad airport, assassinating
Iran’s top anti-terror commander General Qassem Soleimani and Hashd al-Sha’abi
deputy chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
Just two days later, Iraqi lawmakers unanimously
passed a bill mandating the expulsion of all foreign troops from Iraq.
Trump then threatened Iraq with sanctions and seizure
of its oil money held in American banks if the country’s leaders followed
through on their pledge to expel US forces.
Nevertheless, Iraqi resistance groups have promised to
take up arms against US forces if Washington fails to comply with the
parliamentary order.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/28/635172/Iraq-protesters-embassy-london
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Syria invites sanction-beset nations to unite against
'suffocating' bans
27 September 2020
At the 75th UN General Assembly, Syria has urged all
the countries that have come under illegal and unilateral US sanctions to
“close ranks” and resist the "suffocating" bans.
"Unilateral coercive measures imposed by some
countries clearly violate international law,” Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem
told the meeting via video-link on Sunday.
“We call on all affected countries and those that
reject such measures to close ranks against them and alleviate their impact on
our peoples,” he said, adding, “This should happen through cooperation,
coordination, and concrete political, economic, and commercial means."
“Political agendas continue to take precedence over
humanitarian agendas. As the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the world, the
unilateral coercive measures imposed on the Syrian people and other peoples are
being renewed instead of lifted," the top diplomat regretted.
Muallem censured the most recent US sanctions against
his country known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.
The sanctions came into effect on June 17 -- six
months after being signed into law by US President Donald Trump -- targeting
individuals and businesses anywhere in the world that operate directly or
indirectly within the sphere of Syria's economy. This includes entities that
help the Arab country produce oil or fight terrorism in any way.
The economic measures have blocked imports of
essential goods, impacting the Syrian people’s access to medical equipment,
food, heating, gas, and electricity, the minister noted.
US seeks to suffocate Syrians 'just like George Floyd'
Muallem named Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba as other
countries that have been similarly targeted by heavy-handed American pressure.
He said US policy on Iran indicated Washington’s
disregard for international law and non-commitment to the obligations that it
has undertaken as part of international agreements, while also calling on
Washington to stop interfering in Caracas' and Havana’s domestic affairs.
He noted that America’s claimed exemptions of
humanitarian items from the sanctions “do not exist on the ground,” comparing
the “suffocating” pressure that was being felt by the sanctioned countries to
the pressure that killed African-American George Floyd.
Floyd died in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white
police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes.
US, Turkey 'main supporters' of terror in Syria
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Syrian foreign minister
said the US and Turkey were the main sponsors of “terrorism” in his country.
The presence of American and Turkish forces on the
Syrian soil amounts to occupation, he said. “Some countries invest in terrorism
to attain their goals,” the official noted.
The US and its allies invaded Syria in 2014 under the
pretext of dislodging Daesh. The coalition sustains its presence, although
Damascus and its allies defeated the Takfiri terrorist outfit in late 2017.
The Turkish military rolled into Syria in 2016 to
allegedly fight off Daesh and Kurdish militants, whom Turkey associates with
anti-Ankara separatists.
Both Washington and Ankara are also widely condemned
for providing military and logistical support to militants since 2011, when the
Arab country found itself in the grips of foreign-backed militancy.
“Damascus spares no effort to force out the occupiers
in line with international law,” Muallem asserted.
Muallem finally regretted that the current
international state of affairs was a departure from the United Nations’
foundational principles of international unity, security, and constructive
cooperation.
This deviation was a consequence of some countries
attempting to illegally impose their wills on others and using the world
organization as an instrument to achieve their own objective, he said.
Muallem said it was high time that Security Council
resolutions-- adopted to enforce the UN principles -- found their way from the
archives to real implementation.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635102/Syria-United-States-sanctions-Iran-United-Nations-General-Assembly-occupation-terrorism-Turkey-Muallem
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IRGC Commander: Iran Turns Sanctions into Opportunity
Sep 27, 2020
“We have managed to create an opportunity from the
sanctions that entails the high-speed scientific and technological progresses
that we are witnessing in the field of defense power,” General Salami said,
addressing the inauguration ceremony of a permanent exhibition of the IRGC
Aerospace Force’s strategic achievements in Tehran on Sunday.
“We never pause and we never stop production of power
and we have achieved the techniques and formula of developing science and
technology to defend our country’s vital interests and values and have found
out the equations of independence,” he added.
The IRGC Aerospace Force inaugurated a permanent
exhibition of its strategic achievements in Tehran on Sunday.
The exhibition dubbed as the National Aerospace Park
was inaugurated in the presence of General Salami, IRGC Aerospace Force
Commander Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh and Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer
Qalibaf.
Different products of the IRGC Aerospace Force in
areas of the missile power, air defense, drones and air and space operations
have been put on display in the exhibition.
Parts of the US-Made MQ-4C Triton (also referred to as
advanced Global Hawk) that was shot down over Iranian waters in the Persian
Gulf last year have been assembled and gone on display at the exhibition.
Late in April, the IRGC successfully launched and
placed Iran’s first military satellite named Nour 1 (Light 1) into the orbit.
The IRGC fired the satellite aboard Qassed satellite
carrier during an operation that was staged in Dasht-e Kavir, Iran’s sprawling
Central desert.
The Launcher Qassed is a three-stage launcher using
compound solid-liquid fuel.
The satellite was placed into the orbit 425km above
Earth’s surface.
The satellite was sent to the space on the anniversary
of the IRGC establishment (April 22, 1979).
Also, in July, the IRGC fired ballistic missiles
buried deep into the ground during the second day of massive 'Great Prophet-14'
drills in the Southern parts of the country.
General Hajizadeh said at the time that Iran is the
first country in the world that has fired camouflaged ballistic missiles buried
deep into the ground during the military drills.
“It was the
first time in the world that ballistic missiles were fired from beneath soil,”
General Hajizadeh told reporters on the sidelines of the second day of massive
'Great Prophet-14' drills in the Southern parts of the country.
He added that the missiles were launched without using
platforms and equipment, noting that the hidden missiles tear up the ground
from where they are buried, fly and hit the target.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990706000785
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India
Two terrorists killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s
Awantipora
Ashiq Hussain |Edited by Arpan Rai
Sep 27, 2020
Two terrorists were killed in a gun battle with
security forces in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Sunday, couple of days
after two so-called Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commanders were shot dead in
Bijbhera, officials said.
The encounter between security forces and terrorists
in Samboora began in the afternoon after officials received inputs about the
presence of terrorists in the area. The identity and the affiliation of the
terrorists killed in the encounter have not been ascertained, officials said.
While searching the area, the security forces were
fired upon by the terrorist which triggered the encounter, officials said. “A
cordon was laid and contact was established with the terrorists which ensued in
a firefight,” an Indian Army spokesperson said.
Kashmir police had tweeted earlier in the evening that
an unidentified terrorist was killed in the encounter. “The operation is going
on and further details will follow,” it had said.
On Friday, the so-called LeT commanders were killed
following a night-long encounter in Sirhama area in Bijbhera. The terrorists
were identified as Adil Ahmad Bhat of Pulwama and Abu Rehan alias Towheed, a
Pakistani national.
A terrorist was killed in an encounter with security
forces on Tuesday in an overnight gunfight in Central Kashmir, officials said.
He was identified as Asif Shah resident of Samboora Pulwama. He was affiliated
with proscribed outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
On September 17, three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists
were killed in an encounter with security forces in Batamaloo area of Srinagar.
According to the police, a woman was also killed in the crossfire during the
gunfight.
Around 181 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and
Kashmir so far this year in around 75 anti-terrorist operations, according to
officials.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/two-terrorists-killed-in-an-encounter-in-jammu-and-kashmir-s-awantipora/story-IaQ0Y1n3xWDg7Oi7D3TyAI.html
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South Asia
Bangladesh: World must step up to solve Rohingya issue
SM Najmus Sakib
27.09.2020
DHAKA, Bangladesh
Speaking at the UN General Assembly Saturday,
Bangladesh’s prime minister reiterated her call for the global community to
actively step up to solve the Rohingya issue and the crisis it has caused in
Bangladesh.
“More than three years have been passed but not a
single Rohingya could be repatriated. The Rohingya crisis was created by
[neighboring] Myanmar and the solution lies in Myanmar,” Sheikh Hasina said in
her virtual speech at the 75th UN General Assembly.
“Bangladesh has a painful experience of genocide,
crimes against humanity on its people, and a struggle for independence, and
such an experience motivated Bangladesh to support the legitimate demands of
the Palestinian people and also motivated it to allow and provide shelter to
over 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals,” she continued,
referring to the Rohingya who crossed the border starting in August 2017,
fleeing a genocidal campaign in Myanmar.
She urged the world community take a more effective
role to find a peaceful solution to the Rohingya crisis.
She described Bangladesh as a peace-loving nation,
highlighting its contributions to the UN peacekeeping missions.
For the sixth time, she said, Bangladesh was the
country providing the most peacekeepers to UN missions.
Hasina expressed hope that a COVID-19 vaccine will
soon be available in the world as a “global public good.”
Hasina also spoke for the rights of the Palestinian
people and reiterated Bangladesh's support for the Palestinians.
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most
persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were
killed in communal violence in 2012.
According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000
Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into
Bangladesh after Myanmar’s forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim
community in August 2017, pushing their number in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/bangladesh-world-must-step-up-to-solve-rohingya-issue/1987671
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500,000 Afghan Immigrants ‘Returned To Country’ Since
the Beginning of This Year
By Mohammad Haroon Alim
27 Sep 2020
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations has announced
that 500,000 refugees from various countries have returned to Afghanistan since
the beginning of this year.
Basit Ansari, a spokesman for the Ministry of
Refugees, said that 480,000 of them had returned to Iran alone.
Ansari added, the problems of Afghan refugees in Iran
have been largely resolved and they are trying to talk to Iranian officials for
finding a solution in the matter.
He said due to resolved issues faced by Afghan
refugees in Iran and Pakistan, the return of refugees from these countries this
year has decreased compared to previous years.
https://www.khaama.com/500-thousand-afghan-immigrants-returned-to-country-989878/
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US-Taliban Agreement Gives Identity to Intra-Afghan
Talks: Taliban
By Mohammad Arif Sheva
28 Sep 2020
DOHA, Qatar – The Contact Groups of both the Afghan
government and the Taliban delegations have gone through a series of intensive
meetings to finalize a procedural rule intended to guide the formal talks, but
failed to make a solid progress in 16 days.
While the Taliban insist to recognize US-Taliban
agreement as a “mother deal” and Hanafi Fiqh as the sole religious reference
for the talks, the Republic team suggested otherwise. But the Taliban disagreed
to the alternatives.
“We entered the talks based on the agreement that was
signed with the Americans—we are sitting with you (republic team) based on that
agreement, otherwise, what is the need for the meeting?” said Mullah Khairullah
Khairkhwa, a member of Taliban’s negotiating team, as TOLOnews quoted.
When questioned about the inclusion of Hanafi and
Jaffari Figh jurisprudence, Khairkhwa said Taliban respect the rights of all
citizens of Afghanistan, but the rights of the Shias of Afghanistan will be
discussed during the talks about the Constitution of Afghanistan, according to
the report.
Talks between the contact groups have been halted for
four days now, and yet there is no confirmed information about when the two
sides will resume talks on the procedural rules.
Apparent Challenges that Freeze the Talks
Taliban seek two demands: first, recognize Hanafi Fiqh
as the sole religious reference for the talks; and second, the US-Taliban
agreement as a “mother deal” for Afghan peace negotiations.
Afghan team proposed alternatives, saying if a
religious issue arises it can be solved based on Hanafi Figh by default,
however, the Shia Personal Status Law must be respected, giving the choice –
based on religious jurisprudence – to other minority groups as well.
While for the second demand, the republic team
recommended four options:
First: The tenets of the US-Taliban agreement could be
accepted as underlying the talks, however, the tenets of the joint declaration
between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, NATO and the US should also be
accepted as applicable, TOLOnews wrote.
Second: Neither the US-Taliban agreement nor the
declarations of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with the US and NATO will
be recognized as having any authority, and the negotiations will move forward
based on the decisions of the consultative Loya Jirga and Jirga’s declarations.
Third: Both sides start talks “based on the national
interest of Afghanistan.” And fourth option: The Quran and Hadith are the main
authority for the talks, replacing all others.
On September 12, the Afghan and Taliban negotiating
teams – including international allies from the United States, Europe and Asia
– attended a “historic” gathering in Qatari capital Doha, marking an opening
ceremony of the Intra-Afghan talks.
Since then, both the Afghan representative and Taliban
team struggle to finalize an agenda that could open doors for the first round
of intra-Afghan talks, determining peace and stability in Afghanistan.
https://www.khaama.com/us-taliban-agreement-gives-identity-to-intra-afghan-talks-taliban-876654/
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Afghan-Taliban Peace Delegation Contact Group Meets
Again
By Mohammad Haroon Alim
28 Sep 2020
Afghan and Taliban contact groups held a meeting in
Doha to discuss and finalize procedural rules for the main agenda of the peace
negotiations.
Nader Nadery, member and spokesman of the Afghan Peace
delegation tweeted yesterday, “Contact groups of both delegations held a
meeting today and discussed to finalize Rules and Procedure. The meeting lasted
almost 4 hrs. These discussions will continue moving forward.”
Contact groups of both delegations held a meeting
today and discussed to finalize Rules and Procedure. The meeting lasted almost
4 hrs. These discussions will continue moving forward.— Nader Nadery
(@N_Nadery) September 27, 2020
Meanwhile, Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the
Taliban’s political office, also wrote on his twitter that contact groups would
continue meetings until the remaining issues were resolved.
There are still differences of opinion between the
contact groups on two key issues.
Some sources in Doha say that the Taliban prefer the
presentation of Hanafi jurisprudence as a basis and rejects Jafari’s
jurisprudence, as well as the Taliban’s insistence on holding Intra-Afghan
talks within the framework of the US-Taliban agreement, which are some of the
issues that have not been resolved yet.
So far, the contact groups have agreed upon 18 issues.
https://www.khaama.com/afghan-taliban-peace-delegation-contact-group-meets-again/
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Southeast Asia
Zahid’s corruption trial postponed as Umno president
still under Covid-19 quarantine
Monday, 28 Sep 2020
BY IDA LIM
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 — Umno president Datuk Seri
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s money laundering and bribery trial will not proceed today
or for the rest of the week as he is under mandatory quarantine pending further
testing for Covid-19.
This is the second time that Zahid’s trial has been
disrupted pending results of his Covid-19 tests following the Umno leader’s
visit to Sabah for the state election campaign there.
Defence lawyer Hamid Mohd Noh explained that his
client was absent in court this morning despite the scheduled resumption of the
trial as Zahid was ordered into mandatory quarantine upon his return from Sabah
on September 26.
“The accused is not able to be present because he is
under a HSO (Home Surveillance Order) served on September 26, 2020 at his
residence by the Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah Hulu Langat,” he told the High Court,
while presenting a copy of the Health Ministry-issued order to the judge.
“If Yang Arif can see, according to this notice, he is
quarantined to stay at home for a period of September 26 until September 28,
that is today. So he is still under quarantine today,” he said.
Hamidi said that Zahid tested negative yesterday via a
rapid test kit during a surprise visit by Health Ministry officers to his house
yesterday, adding that further tests would be done today.
“Today he will be undergoing a mandatory KKM test at
his residence — a RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test
— to determine whether he is negative or positive. I was made to understand the
test can only be carried out at the end of the day,” he said, adding that he
believed it would take around 24 hours for such a test result to be available
as compared to a shorter period if the test was done by a private hospital.
Hamidi then requested for the previously scheduled
trial dates of tomorrow and Wednesday to be taken off, due to several reasons
including the RT-PCR test result for Covid-19 being expected to only be
available tomorrow.
“Coming to trial tomorrow would result in the court
again having another exposure like last time. In order for the client to be
truly free of Covid-19, 14 days of monitoring is required,” he said, reading
from the home surveillance order that Zahid would be required to undergo
monitoring for 14 days from September 26 with daily temperature checks.
Hamidi also noted the need to avoid unnecessarily
exposing the court staff, the prosecution team, and other attendees to possible
Covid-19 infection.
“Third, I was also made to understand there might be
another exposure — I’m not saying there is — on September 19 by the accused to
a second positive case in Sabah.
“The candidate from Pitas by the name of Sufian has
been discovered positive Covid-19 on Friday itself. There are pictures of the
client being taken with him... So now there is now a second possible exposure,”
he said, before saying again it would be best to vacate the trial for this week
to avoid others in the courtroom from having possible exposure to the risk of
Covid-19 infections.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Raja Rozela Raja Toran
then said the prosecution was already prepared for trial this week, but had no
choice but to accept Zahid’s lawyers’ request to postpone the trial.
“I leave it to Your Lordship, we are prepared to
proceed for today and for the next two days, but if the accused person is not
able to come tomorrow. Seeing his quarantine period is only until today, but if
he is put in that position where if he comes in, he might risk everyone here. I
think there’s not much choice,” she said.
High Court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah then granted
Zahid’s lawyers’ request for the trial to not go on this week.
“I think we better err on the side of caution, this is
a health issue. So I vacate the dates and we resume on October 12,” he said.
Zahid’s trial dates were previously scheduled to run
from September 28 (today) until September 30 (Wednesday), as well as from
October 12 to 14 and October 26 to 28; trial dates were also fixed from
November until next March.
In this trial, Zahid ― who is also a former deputy
prime minister and former home minister ― is facing 47 charges, namely 12
counts of criminal breach of trust in relation to charitable foundation Yayasan
Akalbudi’s funds, 27 counts of money-laundering, and eight counts of bribery
charges.
Last week, the afternoon session of Zahid’s Monday
trial as well as the pre-scheduled trial date on Tuesday had to be called off,
due to the need to wait for the results of his Covid-19 test. Zahid was campaigning
in Sabah in the days prior to his Monday trial.
Zahid had last Monday noon taken two Covid-19 tests at
a private hospital with the first test via the antigen rapid test kit returning
negative results within hours, while the results of his second test via the
RT-PCR test would have only been available on Tuesday evening, one of his
lawyers had told the court then.
On Wednesday, Zahid’s lead defence lawyer Hisyam Teh
Poh Teik confirmed that his client’s RT-PCR test results had returned negative.
Links to the three Umno men who tested positive
Today, when asked by reporters, Hamidi said that Zahid
went for Covid-19 tests last week due to Umno supreme council member Datuk Mohd
Razlan Muhammad Rafii having tested positive for Covid-19 while campaigining in
Sipitang, Sabah for the state elections. News of Razlan testing positive and
waiting further test results via a RT-PCR test had surfaced on about the same
day that Zahid had went for his tests last week.
Hamidi told reporters that Zahid’s current quarantine
is due to him having met Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan on around
September 15 or 16. Shahril announced on September 23 that he tested positive
for Covid-19 while also campaigning in Sabah. Shahril’s Twitter posts indicate
that he had been present in Sipitang.
Barisan Nasional’s Pitas candidate Sufian Abd Karim
had in a September 20 Facebook post mentioned an election campaign activity
together with Zahid, and had on September 24 said he was undergoing home
quarantine while awaiting Covid-19 test results and had also indicated that
Shahril had visited Pitas.
On September 26, Sufian said the test results which he
had just received showed that he had tested positive for Covid-19.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/09/28/zahids-corruption-trial-postponed-as-umno-president-still-under-covid-19-qu/1907362
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Sabah governor asks for time to decide between Bung
Moktar and Hajiji for CM’s post
27 Sep 2020
BY JULIA CHAN
KOTA KINABALU, Sept 27 — Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN)
chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin today said that the Yang di-Pertua Negeri
Tun Juhar Mahiruddin has asked for some time to decide on who will be appointed
as the next Sabah chief minister.
Following a meeting with Tun Juhar and three other
party leaders under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), Bung assured that Tun
Juhar will decide “as soon as possible.”
“He asked for time,” he said when asked by reporters
upon his departure from the Istana Negeri.
Earlier, Sabah Perikatan Nasional chief Datuk Hajiji
Noor also told reporters that Juhar will decide who will be appointed chief
minister.
The meeting was also attended by Parti Bersatu Sabah
secretary-general Datuk Jahid Jahim and Parti Solidarity Tanah Airku president
Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan.
There has been a stalemate in discussions for the
position within the winning GRS alliance.
Bung Moktar and Hajiji have both been touted as
possible chief minister candidates, with lengthy negotiations taking place
since the election results were announced past midnight last night.
Perikatan Nasional technically has more seats than
Barisan Nasional in the 73-seat State Assembly.
After the final tally, Umno (BN) has 14 seats, Bersatu
and STAR have 17 seats and Parti Bersatu Sabah has seven.
There are three independent candidates, with two
aligned to Perikatan Nasional.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/09/27/sabah-governor-asks-for-time-to-decide-between-bung-moktar-and-hajiji-for-c/1907197
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Perikatan refutes Anwar’s claims of majority
parliamentary support
23 Sep 2020
BY SOO WERN JUN
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — The Perikatan Nasional (PN)
coalition has refuted claims made by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
that he has the numbers to form a government.
In a joint-statement today all parties under the PN
coalition have voiced their support for Prime Minister and Bersatu president
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“All parties working together under PN namely Barisan
Nasional (BN), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Parti Islam Semalaysia
(PAS), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Sabah United Party (PBS) and Parti
Solidariti Tanah Airku (STAR) today remain steadfast in supporting the
government led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“Thus, the coalition of parties that formed the PN
government refutes the allegations made by PKR president, Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim, that he supposedly has majority support to form a government.
“His statement is nothing more than another repetition
of cheap publicity as has been done many times before,” the statement read.
According to the statement, the parties also
collectively said Anwar’s latest action also highlights his “greed and
power-crazy attitude” which, in turn, completely ignores the importance of the
country’s political and economic stability as well as the safety of the people
who have been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The statement was undersigned by BN secretary-general
Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, PAS
secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan, GPS secretary-general Datuk
Alexander Nanta Linggi, PBS secretary-general Datuk Jahid Jahim and STAR
secretary-general Guan Dee Kohoi.
“We are confident that the people will rise up to
reject such politics and will even be united in supporting PN that is led by
Muhyiddin who has always cared for the welfare of the people,” the statement
continued.
Anwar had earlier today claimed that he has the
support of the majority of Dewan Rakyat to form a government and announced that
he would be holding an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong soon.
The Port Dickson MP also pledged that his will form a
government that is an inclusive administration despite stressing that it would
still be one that is predominantly led by Bumiputera and Malay-Muslim leaders.
He added that former Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PKR
politicians who defected to PN are not part of those who are now backing him to
form a government.
In late February, then PKR deputy president Datuk Seri
Mohamed Azmin Ali led 10 MPs to leave the party to support PN, triggering one
of the country’s worst political crises and shortening the rule of PH, the
coalition he helped put in power.
Azmin is now international trade and industry minister
in the PN government. Others who followed him included now Housing and Local
Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin and Communications and Multimedia Minister
Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
They are now in Muhyiddin’s party Bersatu.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/09/23/perikatan-refutes-anwars-claims-of-majority-parliamentary-support/1905956
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Africa
Sudan rebuffs US offer of terror list removal as
condition for normalization with Israel
27 September 2020
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok says Sudan does not
accept the conditioning of its removal from a US “terrorism list” upon
normalization of relations with the Israeli regime.
"Sudan's name should be removed from the list of
countries that are sponsoring terrorism. Sudan has returned to the
international fold after 30 years outside it. This must happen," Hamdok
said Saturday.
US officials reportedly indicated in talks with a
Sudanese delegation that they wanted Khartoum to follow the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain in establishing ties with Israel in return for
Sudan's removal from the terror list.
Hamdok said Sudan had already told US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo during a visit last month that it was necessary to separate
the two issues.
Sudan was put on the so-called terrorism list in 1993
over allegations that its toppled ruler Omar al-Bashir was supporting
terrorism. Under al-Bashir, Sudan was a staunch foe of the Israeli regime.
Sudan's inclusion on the list has made it difficult
for the transitional government to access urgently needed debt relief. The
country's surging inflation and plummeting currency have been Hamdok's biggest
challenges since he took over last year.
Hamdok said the current transitional government in
Sudan was actively fighting terrorism and terror financing.
He also said that normalizing with Israel was an issue
that needed "a deep discussion of the society."
The current government has postponed any decision
regarding the normalization until after the transitional period ends in the
African country.
However, it was reported this week that Sudan was
ready to join the UAE and Bahrain in normalizing ties with the Israeli regime
in return for over $3 billion in economic aid.
US President Donald Trump brokered the controversial
normalization deals between the two Arab regimes and Israel, which they
formally signed during a ceremony at the White House this month.
Suspicion about possible normalization between Khartoum
and Tel Aviv was raised earlier this year when Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman
of Sudan's transitional military council, met with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda.
Burhan, however, said he had made no promises to
Netanyahu.
Anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian sentiments run high in
Sudanese society.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635107/Sudan-US-Israel-Hamdok-Normalization
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Daesh-linked militants ambush convoy of Nigeria
governor, kill 30
26 September 2020
Daesh-linked terrorists in Nigeria have killed 30
people in an ambush attack on a convoy carrying Borno state Governor Babagana
Umara Zulum near the Lake Chad shore city of Baga.
The assailants used machined guns and grenade
launchers to attack the convoy on Friday, killing policemen, soldiers, members
of a government-backed militia and civilians. The governor escaped the attack
unharmed.
The assault was carried out as the convoy was passing
through a village near the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Activity Drive
Force (MNJTF), a naval coalition force formed by troops from Nigeria, Niger,
Chad and Cameroon.
The governor was traveling to Baga as part of a
preparation and assessment effort to arrange for the return of thousands of
residents driven from the city by the Daesh-linked militants in 2014.
Zulum was evacuated by helicopter to the garrison town
of Monguno, 60 kilometers from the attack site.
The Daesh-affiliated ISWAP group maintains most of its
camps on islands in Lake Chad and the region is known as a bastion for the
takfiris.
The militant group has recently intensified attacks on
military and civilian targets in the region.
The decade-long insurgency in northeast Nigeria has
killed 36,000 people and forced over 2 million from their homes.
Chad forces kill 20 Boko Haram militants, free
hostages
in Chad, troops killed 20 Daesh-linked Boko Haram
terrorists and freed 12 civilians -- including nine children – who were
kidnapped in the Lake Chad region where borders of several countries come
together.
The group, which originated in Nigeria in 2009, has
established bases on islets dotting Lake Chad, a vast swampy expanse on the
border between formerly colonized African nations of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and
Cameroon, all of which remain influenced by their former colonizers,
particularly France.
Earlier this month, Boko Haram militants raided a
village in the restive region and kidnapped a group of civilians.
The Chadian military forces launched a major offensive
against Boko Haram militants in April after nearly 100 soldiers were killed in
an attack on one of their bases.
At the time, Chad’s President Idriss Deby claimed to
have driven out the Daesh-linked terror group, but attacks have continued.
In Chad’s Lake Province alone, more than 360,000
people have fled their homes to escape terror attacks as well as flooding,
according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
More than 36,000 people have been killed since 2009 in
the terror acts waged by Boko Haram in the region, displacing more than two
million more people who still cannot return to their homes.
The United Nations estimates that nearly 7 million
people depend on humanitarian aid to survive in the Lake Chad region.
Militant attacks on rise across Africa amid foreign
meddling
There have been a growing number of attacks by
militant groups in former colonized countries across East and Central Africa
amid the persistent presence of foreign military forces to protect their
interests in the mineral-rich yet very impoverished nations.
Earlier this month, Daesh-linked militants in northern
Mozambique seized two tiny islands in the Indian Ocean, threatening sea traffic
in an area where a multi-billion-dollar offshore gas exploration project by
French energy giant Total is under development.
The seizure of Mecungo and Vamisse islands came a
month after the terrorists occupied the strategic port town of Mocimboa da
Praia, which was used for cargo deliveries for the development of the gas
project.
The entire Sahel region is seeing ever more brazen
attacks by Daesh-linked militants despite the beefing up of national armies and
the deployment of 5,100 French troops.
At least 15 people killed in militia attack in
Ethiopia
An attack by an armed militia left at least 15 people
killed in western Ethiopia on Friday, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission
(EHRC) said in a statement.
The pre-dawn attack, the latest security challenge for
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, follows another one earlier this month
that happened in the same Metakal zone of Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region,
which borders Sudan, where 30 people were killed.
“Civilians are being subjected to repeated attacks
with unmitigated cruelty in Benishangul-Gumuz,” said Daniel Bekele, the head of
the EHRC. “Federal and regional authorities should take the required steps to
enforce the rule of law and bring perpetrators to account.”
The commission did not say who was behind the
attacks.
This marks the latest incident of violence in the
region. In June last year, men in camouflage uniforms killed over 50 people and
injured 23 others in the same area.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/26/635037/Nigeria-Daesh-linked-Boko-Haram-militants-ambush-convoy-state-governor-Lake-Chad
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Libyans need to turn foreign interference into foreign
assistance: UN envoy
26 September 2020
Stephanie Williams, the acting UN envoy to Libya,
stressed on the need to remove foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya and to
push political talks forward, adding that the continuation of the daily entry
of arms into the country was unacceptable.
Williams spoke to Al Arabiya’s UN Bureau Chief Talal
al-Haj in an exclusive interview in which she spoke on the latest efforts to
reach a comprehensive peace agreement between rival warring factions in Libya.
“It is unacceptable the level of military equipment
that is coming in on a daily basis, the continuing inflow of foreign forces and
mercenaries, so the risk of miscalculation militarily on the ground remains,
and the general unsustainability of the situation, the socio economic
particularly situation in the country, this makes the need for us all to move
toward political talks very urgent,” Williams told Al Arabiya.
Williams, the acting special representative of the UN
Secretary General for Libya and deputy special representative of the UN
Secretary General for Libya, also warned on other issues currently being faced
by Libyans, especially during the global coronavirus pandemic.
“On the other hand there are still some troubling
developments that I think we need to keep an eye on, one of course is the fact
that there are still severe electricity and water shortages throughout the
country, you have people going sometimes 18-20 hours even longer per day
without electricity, this during a global pandemic which is hitting Libya quite
hard,” she said.
The United Nations condemned on Saturday clashes
between two armed groups in a residential suburb of the Libyan capital and the
use of heavy weapons.
"Heavy weapons" were used in a
"civilian-populated neighborhood", in clashes that caused
"damage to private properties and put civilians in harm's way", it
said.
Williams condemned the level of foreign intervention
in Libya, adding that it was time for Libyans to push for a turning point in
their country’s political talks.
“What we need is to turn that foreign interference
into foreign assistance and to helping the Libyans who now want to come back
together, who want to go to the dialogue table,” she said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/09/26/Libyans-need-to-turn-foreign-interference-into-foreign-
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North America
US reportedly says it is shutting down Baghdad embassy
27 September 2020
The US has reportedly said it is closing its embassy
in Baghdad unless Iraq prevents rocket attacks.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly called
Iraqi President Barham Salih and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on
Sunday.
“What we’re being told is that it is a gradual closure
of the embassy over two to three months,” an Iraqi official was cited as saying
in a Wall Street Journal report.
A State Department official also took the chance to
point the finger at Iran.
“The Iran-backed groups launching rockets at our
embassy are a danger not only to us but to the government of Iraq, neighboring
diplomatic missions,” the official was cited as saying.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on
Saturday condemned any assaults on diplomatic places, saying such attacks in
Iraq must be stopped.
He touched upon attacks carried out against Iran’s
diplomatic locations and highlighted the necessity of guaranteeing the dignity
and security of Iranian diplomats in Iraq.
The heavily fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, which
hosts foreign diplomatic sites and government buildings, have been frequently
targeted by rockets and explosives in the past few years.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635170/US-says-it-is-shutting-down-embassy-in-Iraq
--------
US Deep State, Democrats, Cindy McCain setting up
circumstances for civil war
27 September 2020
By Mark Dankof
I think it's noteworthy when one looks at Friedman's
comments that Thomas Friedman, Adam Schiff, and Anderson Cooper, CNN are all
Jewish and that gets into the bigger issue on this story.
As a matter of fact, when you start talking about
democracy, any semblance of democracy in this country died on November 22nd,
1963 when the Meyer Lansky Ben-Gurion assassination plot against JFK proved to
be successful. And of course, it is widely known through such publications as
what Lawrence Gaynor has published on this, the UNS review and what Michael
Collins Piper said about this in his book ‘Final Judgment’ that the Israeli
Mossad and Ben-Gurion played a major role in the assassination of JFK in
conjunction with James Jesus Angleton of the anti-Castro Cuban exiles, and that
this is the actual center of this plot, which has led to the demise of the
fortunes of the United States ever since. You'll not hear Friedman, Schiff, or
Anderson Cooper or CNN talking about any of this.
And I wish to mention that simply to contextualize the
case against Donald Trump now.
One does not have to like Donald Trump. One does not
have to like his foreign policy. I certainly don't, but it's the same foreign
policy that you're going to get with Biden and Kamala Harris who are both
committed Zionists.
When you look at the case against Trump, that is
largely a case that is being drummed up by a lot of people with major Zionist
connections. There's a Russia gate which involves the Fusion GPS, which is of
course linked to the Democratic National Committee and to Hillary Clinton, we
have John McCain tied up in that and McCain was carrying this Russia gate steel
dossier to the FBI, with the idea in mind that it would be introduced to the
FISA courts without the source of this information being known to the judges.
Then there's Ukraine gate with the media and Anderson
Cooper, in particular, were attempting to stir that up when all of the evidence
of Ukraine pointed to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden's having
been directly involved in Victoria Nuland’s illegal coup d'etat in that country
in February of 2014, which subsequently resulted in Joe Biden's profiting and
his son profiting in that coup, with a relationship with the Burisma company to
the tune of millions of dollars.
Then the next step that tried to discredit Trump was
COVID-19. And in that particular case, COVID-19 has had a major impact on the
American economy, but we now learned from Ron Paul and from Michael Borris in
the vortex that there have been only 10,000 people who've died in the United
States of COVID-19. Virtually every other COVID-19 death in this country has
occurred with people who are of advanced age, and with two or three very
serious life-threatening medical conditions.
All of this has resulted in a shutdown, of course, that
has impacted the economy in an election year. And this too is a part of the
Democratic plan to get rid of Donald Trump, a democratic party that is
overwhelmingly Zionist and Jewish in orientation.
Fascinatingly enough Trump has given Israel absolutely
everything that they have demanded in regard to their own situation in
Palestine in the occupied territories and at Jerusalem. He is also
illegitimately threatening war with Iran on Netanyahu's behalf. So it's utterly
amazing to me that the Jews have spent this much time in absolute animosity
toward Trump, presumably over issues where he's not on the same page with them.
As far as these mail-in ballots are concerned, Paul
Craig Roberts has told the real story on that. These mail-in ballots are
nothing more than a democratic fraud because everyone knows the Democratic
Party has a very strong relationship with the US Postal Unions and that there
is every bit of circumstantial evidence that will suggest that it will be in
those areas of the country where Trump is known to be running strongly and
Republican areas that will have the most difficulties with these mail-in
ballots and with the security of those mailed-in balance.
Now this gets to the last two issues I'll mention as
quickly as possible: the culture wars. You had a Jewish Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
the leader of the pro-Zionist, pro-LGBTQ pro-abortion on demand faction that
has taken over the Democratic Party and that has hijacked American culture in
the last 50 years.
These latest attempts to try and get at Donald Trump
are because the far left, the Marxist left in the United States, the Jewish
Zionist left in the United States is concerned that our traditional Roman
Catholic by the name of Amy Coney Barrett will in fact be nominated to and be
confirmed by the Senate for a position on the Supreme Court, which will
potentially reverse, some really bad jurisprudence that occurred in this
country with Roe vs. Wade, in January of 1973. And then of course in 2015 with
the Obergefell decision where Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of four Jewish judges
who of course voted to impose gay marriage and all the states in this country
that did not lawfully recognize it up to that point.
This then brings us to the final thing that I'll say
that helps to contextualize where Friedman is coming from and all of this,
along with Adam Schiff, and Anderson Cooper and CNN and all the rest of them.
And that is the whole business of war. Tyler Durden has written a great piece
for Zero Hedge underscoring the fact that John McCain has 100 aides to the late
senator John McCain who has now endorsed Joe Biden. Why? Because as Tyler
Durden points out in Zero Hedge: Joe Biden unbelievably is an even more
dangerous candidate on the issue of war and peace than is Donald Trump.
If that can be believed, and I certainly do believe
that, why is it that Cindy McCain, the widow of late Senator John McCain, who
has never met a war he didn't like? John McCain was heavily connected to the
Zionists, John McCain was involved in supporting the MEK against Iran. John
McCain was involved in supporting ISIS and al-Qaeda against President Assad in
Syria. Why is Cindy McCain endorsing Joe Biden and speaking out so strongly on
his behalf? Because Cindy McCain knows that what Tyler Durden is saying is
true, and that is that the McCain industry, the McCain faction in this country,
and Cindy McCain's Father Jim Hensley was a bag man for the Meyer Lansky
Israeli crime syndicate, the state of Arizona, all of Cindy's money came from
her late father, which came from Meyer Lansky that money is what has financed
John McCain's entire political career up until the time of his death.
This is how tight these connections are and so when we
see Cindy McCain working with Joe Biden, and with Thomas Friedman and Adam
Schiff and Anderson Cooper and so forth and so on, being tied into this whole
business of suggesting that the election will only be rigged if Trump wins then
you can understand why this is something where I do agree with Thomas Friedman
on one point.
If the Democrats and the Deep State and the Cindy
McCain faction of the Republican Party working with Netanyahu and the Deep
State don't get what they want, then they will in fact attempt to delegitimize
the election going even beyond Russia gate, going even beyond the steel dossier,
going even beyond Ukraine gate and the COVID-19 falsification of statistics, to
potentially setting up the circumstances for civil war in this country. A civil
war over the economy, a civil war over foreign policy, a civil war over whether
or not this Jewish elite and Jewish finance elite ought to continue to be
running both the foreign policy of the United States and its domestic culture
as well as the Federal Reserve Board. That's what's involved in this entire
situation.
Trump is virtually giving Israel everything at once.
So it's rather breathtaking to see this amount of overwhelmingly Jewish-Zionist
animosity toward Trump, but I think that gets into a bigger picture that we
don't have time to discuss, except to say that if Thomas Friedman and people of
his ilk want to see a civil war in the United States that the American right
will give them more than they can handle.
Mark Dankof is an American political analyst, pastor,
broadcaster and former US Senate candidate who is based in San Antonio, Texas.
He recorded this article for Press TV website.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635138/US-Biden-Harris-committed-Zionists-Mark-Dankof
--------
Europe
France’s Macron accuses Lebanon leaders of betrayal
over government failure
27 September 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday accused
Lebanon’s leaders of betraying their promises over the failure to form a
government in the wake of the giant blast at the Beirut port in August.
At a rare news conference devoted to Lebanon, Macron
said the political elite were “deciding to betray” their obligations and had
committed “collective treason” by failing to form a government.
Lebanon’s prime minister-designate, Mustapha Adib,
quit on Saturday after trying for almost a month to line up a non-partisan
cabinet, dealing a blow to a French plan aimed at rallying sectarian leaders to
tackle the worst crisis since the nation’s 1975-1990 civil war.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
“They have decided to betray this commitment (to form
a government),” Macron told reporters, declaring he was “ashamed” of the
country’s leaders.
“I see that the Lebanese authorities and political
forces chose to favour their partisan and individual interests to the detriment
of the general interest of the the country,” he added.
He also sent a pointed warning to the Iran-backed Shia
group Hezbollah, which was well represented in the outgoing government and some
analysts accuse of holding up the process.
Hezbollah should “not think it is more powerful than
it is.... It must show that it respects all the Lebanese. And in recent days,
it has clearly shown the opposite,” said Macron.
Macron, who visited Lebanon twice in the wake of the
explosion, had repeatedly urged the Lebanese not to waste any more time in
forming a government.
The August 4 explosion of hundreds of tons of ammonium
nitrate at the Beirut port killed more than 190 people, wounded thousands and
ravaged large parts of the capital.
The disaster sparked new protests over corruption and
mismanagement, prompting the previous cabinet to step down.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/09/27/France-s-Macron-accuses-Lebanon-leaders-of-deciding-to-betray-vow-to-form-new-govt
--------
Azerbaijan denies Armenian ambassador claims that
Turkey sent 4,000 Syrian fighters
28 September 2020
Armenia's ambassador to Russia said on Monday that
Turkey had sent around 4,000 fighters from northern Syria to Azerbaijan amid
fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Interfax news
agency reported.
However, an aide to Azerbaijan's President Ilham
Aliyev denied the claims that were made.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
“Rumors of militants from Syria allegedly being
redeployed to Azerbaijan is another provocation by the Armenian side and
complete nonsense,” said the aide, Khikmet Gadzhiev.
The ambassador said the fighters were taking part in
fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inside Azerbaijan that is run by ethnic
Armenians, the RIA news agency reported.
Armenian and Azeri forces exchanged fierce fire for a
second day on Monday over the region, with both sides accusing each other of
using heavy artillery.
Turkey is a close ally of Azerbaijan.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/09/28/Turkey-sent-4-000-Syrian-fighters-to-Azerbaijan-Armenian-ambassador-in-Russia-
--------
Azerbaijani army takes control of occupied high
grounds
Jeyhun Aliyev
28.09.2020
Azerbaijani army cleared several "advantageous high
grounds" around the Talysh village of the occupying Armenian forces, the
country's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Border clashes broke out early Sunday when the
Armenian forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions,
leading to casualties.
"Units of the Azerbaijan Army, moving from the
high grounds and advantageous positions liberated from the Armenian armed
forces, continue the counter-attack to consolidate the achieved success,"
the ministry said.
The written statement also said that a large number of
Armenian forces have been killed, adding "the enemy" suffered heavy
losses.
"By inflicting rocket-artillery and air strikes
on enemy positions, he was forced to retreat from the frontiers he was trying
to hold," it added.
Relations between the two former Soviet nations have
been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, or
Nagorno-Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.
Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly
resolutions as well as many international organizations demand the withdrawal
of the occupying forces.
The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia
and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict,
but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was declared in 1994.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/azerbaijani-army-takes-control-of-occupied-high-grounds/1987956
--------
US to try to end violence between Armenia, Azerbaijan
Betul Yuruk
28.09.2020
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the US is
looking into what can be done to stop the violence between Armenia and
Azerbaijan over the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Trump told reporters at a White House press conference
that the US has “a lot of good relationships in that area. We will see if we
can stop it.”
Border clashes broke out early Sunday after Armenian
forces targeted Azerbaijani civilian settlements and military positions in the
region, which is also known as Upper Karabakh.
Relations between the two former Soviet nations have
been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military 'occupied' Upper Karabakh, an
internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.
Four UN Security Council and two UN General Assembly
resolutions as well as many international organizations demand the withdrawal
of the occupying forces.
The OSCE Minsk Group – co-chaired by France, Russia
and the US – was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict,
but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.
France, Russia and NATO, among others, have urged an
immediate halt to clashes in the occupied region
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-to-try-to-end-violence-between-armenia-azerbaijan/1987815
--------
Arab World
Saudi Arabia officially boycotts Turkish products:
Report
28 September 2020
Saudi Arabia will officially ban Turkish products this
week after months of pressure it imposed on local businesses not to trade with
Ankara as part of a “secret” embargo, a Turkish media report says.
The Saudi ban, which is to come into force this week,
is aimed at dealing a blow to Turkey’s already crippled economy, the Cumhuriyet
daily reported on Sunday.
"Our customers got used to Turkish products, they
are satisfied. However, they cannot buy our goods anymore. They say send them
to us via a third country,” the report cited a Turkish businessman as
saying.
"Small and medium-sized businesses are very anxious,
especially as exports from southeastern provinces such as Hatay, Gaziantep and
Diyarbakır come to a halt," he said.
Saudi Arabia was already putting pressure on local
businesses not to trade with Turkey and its industries in a bid to boost its
unofficial boycott.
According to a July report by Middle East Eye, citing
information from Turkish officials, the Kingdom has been preventing trucks
carrying fresh fruit and vegetables from crossing the Saudi border.
The Turkish newspaper Dunya also reported that the
Saudi government has contacted individual businesses and ordered them not to
trade with Turkish companies or buy any products made in Turkey. The government
imposes fines on any company which ignores this order.
The Turkish paper had claimed that Saudi Arabia
“cannot officially reveal this policy due to World Trade Organization
sanctions”. However, Cumhuriyet says Riyadh is pressing ahead with making the
ban official this week.
“You cannot even sell Turkish goods from Germany
because they don’t want anything with a ‘made in Turkey’ stamp,” Dunya had
reported.
The Kingdom has also cancelled the employment
contracts of high-ranking Turkish nationals working within the Persian Gulf
country.
Turkey is considering a formal dispute complaint to
the WTO and is seeking compensation if it goes ahead.
Over the past few years, relations between Turkey and
some of the Persian Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates have been particularly strained due to differences in foreign policy
goals and initiatives.
A major row between Ankara and Riyadh is the murder of
exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018, which took place
within the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. While Saudi Arabia has denied official
responsibility for the killing and has blamed it on rogue agents, Turkey has
presented evidence which proves it was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman.
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan was the first to report Khashoggi's murder and has since continued to
press Riyadh for information on the whereabouts of his dismembered body, which
remains missing.
The CIA has concluded in its assessment that the
murder was ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey also begun
to deteriorate over the Qatar rift, with Riyadh leading a blockade on the
Persian Gulf emirate and Ankara sending troops to the small country.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab
Emirates severed ties with Qatar on June 5, 2017, officially accusing Doha of
supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region -- charges which Qatar
strongly denies.
Turkey had initially stayed neutral in the dispute but
soon became more assertive in its support of Doha. On June 7, Turkey's
parliament approved the deployment of troops to a Turkish military base in
Qatar.
Saudi Arabia is also unnerved by Qatar’s support for
the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which Erdogan has promoted for long.
Each year hundreds of thousands of Saudi tourists
visit Turkey, where they spend an average of $500 (450 euros) a day, according
to a 2018 study by Riyadh's King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic
Studies.
That number, however, is in decline and Saudis, who
are also among the top property buyers and investors in Turkey, are being
actively encouraged by the media and social media users to avoid the country as
a tourist destination.
Over the past year, several Saudi outlets have
published articles with titles such as "Don't go to Turkey" and
"Turkey is not safe."
The official warnings from the Saudi embassy in Ankara
have also received widespread coverage on various networks, including Al
Arabiya.
Under Riyadh’s campaign against Ankara, the number of
Saudi tourists to Turkey has decreased while the kingdom has blocked Turkish exports
and excluded Erdogan from a recent Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
summit in Mecca.
A senior Turkish official, speaking anonymously, said
that his country was aware of the Saudi strategy as the kingdom had openly
called for a boycott.
“It is almost public, to the extent that you could see
their activities on Saudi-backed social media and Saudi state media,” he said.
“Tourist arrivals are decreasing, while we are having problems related to
Turkish exports. We are closely following the situation.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/28/635173/saudi-boycott-turkish-products
--------
Lebanon says nine ISIS-linked suspects killed in hunt
for ‘terrorists’
27 September 2020
Lebanese security forces have killed nine suspected
members of ISIS terrorist group in the hunt for “terrorists” linked to several
deadly attacks, including on soldiers, a security source said Sunday.
Saturday’s operation came more than a month after the
army and security forces launched a manhunt for suspects in the August 21 killing
of two municipal policemen and the son of the mayor of the northern village of
Kaftoun.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Police intelligence units raided a house in the
northern region of Wadi Khaled where “suspects linked to the ISIS” extremist
group had been holed up, “killing all the terrorists inside,” the Internal
Security Forces (ISF) said in a statement.
A security source said “at least nine members of the
group were killed.”
But the source said the death toll could rise as more
bodies could be buried under the rubble of the house, part of which was blown
up during the security operation.
The ISF statement said the “terrorist cell” was made
up of more than 15 suspects. It added that three had been arrested in previous
raids.
Following the August murders in Kaftoun, the army and
police launched operations to track down the assailants.
On September 14, the army said four soldiers were
killed while attempting to arrest suspected “terrorist” Khaled al-Tallawi at
his north Lebanon home, though he was eventually shot dead.
Meanwhile, two Lebanese soldiers were killed overnight
in an attack on an army post in the locality of Araman-Miniyeh, also in the
north of the country, the army said Sunday.
“Two soldiers were killed, in addition to one
terrorist,” it said in a statement.
An attacker “riding a motorbike tried to enter the
army post, and army members confronted him, killing him instantly,” it added.
They found grenades and an explosives belt on him, the
last of which it said “he had intended to detonate inside the post.”
Wadi Khaled and the Araman-Miniyeh region are near
second city Tripoli, which has been rocked by violence involving extremists
over the years, including as part of the fallout from the conflict in Syria
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/09/27/Lebanon-says-nine-ISIS-linked-suspects-killed-in-hunt-for-terrorists-
--------
Two Lebanese soldiers killed by ‘terrorists’ says army
27 September 2020
Two members of the Lebanese Security Forces were
killed in an exchange of gunfire with militants in the north of the country
late on Saturday, the army said.
They were killed when militants opened fire on an army
checkpoint in the northwest area of Araman, the army said in a statement. One
militant was killed, while several fled.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
In a separate incident, Lebanese security forces
killed at least six militants during a heavy exchange of fire with an armed
group in northeast Lebanon, close to the Syrian border, security sources said.
Three members of the Lebanese security forces were
wounded in the clash, which began after Lebanese forces raided a house in the
Wadi Khaled area, where the group that was suspected of planning attacks was
holed up, the sources said.
The group included Syrians and Lebanese, the sources
said, adding that the scale of the clash, in which militants fired
rocket-propelled grenades, prompted the Lebanese army to cordon off the area.
The sources said the group included people linked to
the militant, Khaled al-Talawi, who was killed this month in a shootout with
security forces. Four Lebanese soldiers were killed in that clash.
Talawi was described as a former member of ISIS and
leader of a cell behind the killing in August of three people in north Lebanon.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/09/27/Two-Lebanese-soldiers-killed-by-terrorists-says-army
--------
Egypt rocked by demos as protesters demand Sisi's resignation
Sunday, 27 September 2020
Egypt has been the scene of mass protests against the
government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi over the past week, with
demonstrators defying heavy-handed police crackdown across the North African
country and demanding his resignation.
The protests continued across Egyptian cities and
rural areas for the seventh consecutive day on Saturday over corruption and
deteriorating living conditions in the country, with protesters holding
placards and chanting slogans against Sisi’s government.
The demonstrations, which regularly start after noon
prayers, have over the past days drawn thousands of people to the Egyptian
capital of Cairo, and the governorates of Giza, Damietta on the Nile Delta and
Luxor in southern Egypt.
The rallies came a year after a limited protest
movement was launched by Mohamed Ali, a prominent opposition figure and a
former military contractor who accused Sisi’s government of wasting money on
lavish construction projects.
The protests last year sparked a wide-ranging
crackdown by Egypt’s police and security forces, with Amnesty International
saying at least 4,000 people had been arrested during the unrest.
Ali, who is living in exile, called on Egyptians in a
video posted on Facebook last week to take to the streets across the country
again, saying, “This is our chance to liberate our country.”
“Every day, our numbers are rising. There is no
difference between Christian and Muslim … secular or liberal, we are the people
of Egypt,” he added, urging people to participate in the nationwide rallies.
Security services tried to pre-empt the latest wave of
protests by launching a campaign of arrests that included political figures and
high-profile activists.
Local online news outlet Mada Masr reported that at
least 150 people had appeared before the state security prosecutor, including
14 minors, this week.
Several videos were also posted online, purportedly
showing security forces firing live bullets to disperse angry protesters in
Egypt.
Media reports said at least one protester was killed
on Friday after thousands of people defied a police crackdown to demonstrate
against Sisi’s government.
The victim, identified as Sami Wagdy Bashir, 25, was
killed in al-Blida village in the Giza governorate, and three others were also
wounded.
Egyptian nationals also staged anti-Sisi
demonstrations in other cities across the world, including in Milan, Amsterdam
and Sydney. The German city of Munich was also due to host a mass rally on
Sunday.
Egypt declared as unauthorized all demonstrations in
2013 after Sisi, as defense minister, led a military coup and ousted
democratically-elected president Mohamed Morsi.
Egyptian authorities have since imprisoned and
prosecuted thousands of people, intensifying a nationwide crackdown on critical
voices.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635121/Egypt-mass-protests-President-Abdel-Fattah-el-Sisi-resignation
--------
Lebanon forces kill nine Daesh suspects in hunt for
terrorists
27 September 2020
Lebanon says nine people suspected of being members of
the the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group have been killed amid a hunt for
terrorists linked to the recent spate of deadly attacks in the Arab country.
The Internal Security Forces (ISF) said in a statement
Sunday that police intelligence units have raided a house in the northern
border town of Wadi Khaled, where "suspects” linked to Daesh had been
holed up, "killing all the terrorists inside".
An unnamed security source also said "at least
nine members of the group were killed" in the police operation on
Saturday.
The source added that the death toll could rise as
more bodies could be buried under the rubble of the house which was blown up
during the operation.
The ISF further said the "terrorist cell"
was made up of more than 15 suspects, adding that the other suspects had been
arrested in previous raids.
Lebanese security forces, last month, launched a
manhunt for suspects involved in an incident in the northern village of Kaftoun
in August, when unidentified gunmen killed three people.
The two policemen and a civilian were shot after they
stopped a suspicious vehicle on the outskirts of the village for violating a
curfew imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Following the incident, the Lebanese army and police
launched operations to track down the assailants.
In early September, the Lebanese army dismantled a
terror outfit involved in the incident. The commander of the cell was
identified as Khaled Tellawi.
Meanwhile, two Lebanese soldiers were killed overnight
in an attack on an army post in northern Lebanon, the army said Sunday.
The attack took place in Miniyeh, the capital of the
Miniyeh-Danniyeh District in North Governorate of Lebanon.
"Two soldiers were killed, in addition to one
terrorist," the Lebanese army said in a statement.
An attacker "riding a motorbike tried to enter
the army post, and army members confronted him, killing him instantly", it
added.
They found grenades and an explosives belt on him, the
last of which it said "he had intended to detonate inside the post".
Lebanon has often seen the infiltration of Takfiri
elements from neighboring Syria into its territory, where they target the
civilian population or security forces with bombings.
Back in August 2014, members of the Jabhat Fateh
al-Sham Takfiri terrorist group, formerly known as Nusra Front, and Daesh
terrorists overran the town of Arsal, located 124 kilometers northeast of the
capital Beirut, killing a number of Lebanese forces. They also took 30 soldiers
hostage, most of whom have been released.
Since then, Hezbollah resistance fighters and Lebanese
military forces have been defending Lebanon on the country’s northeastern
frontier against foreign-backed terrorist groups from Syria.
The Hezbollah fighters have fended off several Daesh
attacks inside Lebanon. They have been providing assistance to Syrian army
forces to counter the foreign-sponsored terrorism.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635136/Lebanon-police-terrorists-attack-Daesh-suspects
--------
SDF militants shoot dead two young men in Syria’s
Raqqah
27 September 2020
Militants affiliated with the US-backed Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) have fatally shot two young men in Syria’s northern
province of Raqqah.
Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity,
told Syria’s official news agency SANA that the militants stormed the village
of Tarwaziyah, which lies near the M4
international highway that links Syria’s east and west and north of the
provincial capital Raqqah, on Sunday.
Houses were violently ransacked in the raid.
Elsewhere in the western countryside of Raqqah, the
militants rounded up a number of civilians in the town of Jarniyah and took
them away to their own camps to undergo military training.
The SDF extremists had raided homes in the villages of
Sakar, Watifah and Abu Jalal of Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah the
previous day, abducting a number of young men and taking them to an unknown
location.
Security conditions have been deteriorating in the
SDF-controlled areas in Hasakah, Dayr al-Zawr and Raqqah provinces.
Local Syrians complain that the SDF’s constant raids
have generated a state of frustration and instability, severely affecting their
businesses and livelihood.
Residents accuse the US-sponsored militants of
stealing crude oil and refusing to spend money on service sectors.
Local councils affiliated with the SDF also stand
accused of financial corruption.
Turkish forces, allied militants loot houses in
Hasakah
Separately, Turkish military forces and their allied
militants raided the villages of Qatouf and Tal Dhiab in the Ra’s al-Ayn
district of Hasakah province.
SANA said the forces stormed several houses in the
villages.
Ankara has been providing support to militants
operating to topple the Damascus government since early 2011.
Last year, Turkey seized control of the border town of
Ra's al-Ayn after it launched a cross-border invasion of northeastern Syria
with the help of its allied armed groups to push Kurdish militants affiliated
with the People’s Protection Units (YPG) away from border areas.
Ankara views the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization
tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635139/SDF-Syria-Raqqah
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Mideast
Yemen war: Journos gather ‘war crime’ evidence at
scene of Saudi-led airstrike
28 September 2020
A group of journalists have looked for evidence of war
crime at the scene of a recent massacre of civilians, including children,
during a Saudi Arabia-led strike that targeted a civilian home near Yemen’s
border with the kingdom.
The Sky News team that identified itself as the first
journalists to independently investigate the attack, “discovered evidence of a
recent potential war crime in northern Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition, which
is backed by the US and Britain,” the network reported on its website on Monday.
The attack saw a jet reaching the remote village of
Washah before striking the home where only women and children were present at
the time, while refusing to even “touch” any other nearby structure.
“No other home in the area was touched,” the network
cited a relative as saying. A total of nine civilians were killed in the
attack, six of them children.
The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and
rendered the country into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in
an unsuccessful attempt to restore power to Yemen’s former Saudi-allied
officials.
The ammunition used in the bombing against the village
was identified as US-made 500-pound (230-kilogram) GBU-12 Paveway II bomb.
Around this time last year, UK-based rights body Amnesty International likewise
revealed that the same type of ammunition, manufactured by US company Raytheon,
had been used in an airstrike on Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz,
killing six people, including three children.
The bomb that is used for precision strikes has been
regularly dropped on the Arab world’s poorest nation in the course of the
Saudi-led war. This is while the invading coalition claims that it refuses to
deliberately target civilians.
Following the attack on the village, the jet was still
circling for around 15 minutes above the site, the Sky News report said,
pointing to a common practice by the coalition’s warplanes that is apparently
aimed at scaring relief workers and others trying to help away from the places
that have just been attacked.
After the United States, the UK and France rank among
the biggest supporters of the war, likewise providing the invading coalition
with arms as well as logistical and political backing.
Sky News said, “There's already growing controversy
over why Britain is still supporting the campaign.”
The Amnesty has also found the Western trio to be
complicit in the war crimes that have been committed by the coalition against
the Yemeni people.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/28/635181/Yemen-Saudi-Arabia-massacre-war-crime-civilians-investigation
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West Bank city hosts Palestinian demo against
Israel-Arab deals
27 September 2020
Palestinians demonstrate in the West Bank city of
Tubas against Arab-Israeli normalization deals and to show their support to
Palestinian President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas after his party and Hamas
agreed to hold the first Palestinian elections since 2006 within six months.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635128/West-Bank-Palestinian-demo-Israel-deal
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Israel cannot understand language of normalization:
Fatah leader
27 September 2020
Israel does not understand the language of
normalization, says a high-ranking member of the Fatah movement, denouncing the
recent agreements by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to establish
diplomatic ties with the Tel Aviv regime.
“We (Palestinians) do not know how normalization will
serve the Arabs. In time, they will realize they have committed a crime against
Palestine, and normalization is not the language that Israel can comprehend,”
said Secretary General of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub in an
exclusive interview with the London-based and pan-Arab al-Araby al-Jadeed media
outlet.
“Everyone is now looking for a channel of
communication with us, and our unity, steadfastness and struggle will turn the
table on those parties [that embark on normalization with Israel].”
“We will not wave a white flag, and we hope all Arabs
will help the Palestinian nation,” Rajoub said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed
agreements with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan
and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani during an official ceremony
hosted by US President Donald Trump at the White House on September 15.
Palestinians, who seek an independent state in the
occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its
capital view the move as betrayal of the Palestinian cause.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has censured the
deals with Israel, saying they will be fruitless as long as the United States
and the Israeli regime do not recognize the rights of the Palestinian nation
and refuse to resolve the issue of refugees.
Bahrain summons Shia clergyman critical of Israel
normalization
Meanwhile, Bahraini officials have summoned a Shia
Muslim cleric after he criticized the recent normalization deal in a speech.
The Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website
reported that Bahraini security forces had ordered Sheikh Mounir al-Maatouk to
appear for questioning.
Sheikh Maatouk has said the deal was signed against
the will of the Bahraini people, as the nation is known in history to be firmly
supporting the Palestinian cause.
Two young Bahraini activists were also arrested in Abu
Saiba village, and another in the capital Manama, on charges of participation
in protests against the Bahrain-Israel agreement.
Just a few days ago, Abdul Hussein Ahmed Ali , a poet,
was arrested and taken into custody over his opposition to the normalization
deal.
Moreover, UAE officials have banned a prominent
Emirati poetess from travelling abroad over her anti-normalization position.
Veteran poet Dhabiya Khamis wrote in a post published
on her Facebook page that she was prohibited by authorities from leaving Dubai
International Airport to go to Cairo on Saturday.
“I am Emirati writer Dhabiya Khamis. I was banned from
flying today due to an order from Abu Dhabi without specific reason,” she wrote
in the Facebook post.
“Most likely this is because of my publicly announced
position against the Zionists and normalization, and I am fearful for my
freedom and life from threats and arrest,” the 62-year-old added.
Khamis urged human rights organizations to intervene
to hold UAE authorities accountable for “any oppression, arrest, assassination
or liquidation” that she might be subjected to.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635127/Israel-normalization-Fatah
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Iran Asks Iraqi Gov’t to Pursue US Assassination of
General Soleimani Seriously
Sep 27, 2020
“Pursuing the cowardly assassination seriously at the
international bodies is the least expected from the Iraqi government,”
Shamkhani said in Tehran on Sunday.
He described assassination of General Soleimani and
Deputy Commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) Abu Mahdi
al-Muhandis as a clear instance of state terrorism, and said the minimum
punishment for the culprits behind the major crime is rapid withdrawal from the
region, specially from the country in which the crime has been committed.
Elsewhere, Shamkhani referred to the certain Arab
states’ attempts to normalize ties with Israel, and said, “This process is a
big treason and clear violation of the Palestinian people’s rights and will
seriously endanger the existence of the countries which have done the
compromise in addition to spreading insecurity and sowing discord among the
regional states.”
Hussein, for his part, stressed abundant commonalities
and long borders between Iran and Iraq, and said, “(former Iraqi dictator)
Saddam Hussein could not separate the two nations by his 8-year war, which is a
good reason that no foreign side will be able to leave a negative impact on the
good relations between the two countries.”
Lieutenant General Soleimani was assassinated in a US
drone strike on Baghdad International Airport in Iraq on January 3.
The airstrike also martyred al-Muhandis. The two were
martyred in an American airstrike that targeted their vehicle on the road to
the airport.
Five Iranian and five Iraqi military men were martyred
by the missiles fired by the US drone at Baghdad International Airport.
On January 8, the IRGC Aerospace Force started heavy
ballistic missile attacks on US Ein Al-Assad airbase in Southwestern Iraq near
the border with Syria and a US operated airbase in Erbil in retaliation for the
US assassination of General Soleimani.
Ein Al-Assad is an airbase with a 4km runway at 188m
altitude from sea levels, which is the main and the largest US airbase in Iraq.
Early reports said the radar systems and missile defense shields in Ein
Al-Assad failed to operate and intercept the Iranian missiles. Unofficial
reports said the US army's central radar systems at Ein Al-Assad had been
jammed by electronic warfare.
The second IRGC reprisal attack targeted a US military
base near Erbil airport in Iraqi Kurdistan Region in the second leg of
"Martyr Soleimani" reprisal operation.
Iraq said the attacks had not taken any toll from its
army men stationed at these two bases. The US army had blocked entrance into
Ein Al-Assad to everyone, including the Iraqi army.
It was the first direct attack on the US army ever
since world war two.
The IRGC officials said none of the missiles had been
intercepted.
Meantime, Iran announced in late June that it had
issued arrest warrants for 36 officials of the US and other countries who have
been involved in the assassination of the martyred General Soleimani.
"36 individuals who have been involved or ordered
the assassination of Hajj Qassem, including the political and military
officials of the US and other governments, have been identified and arrest
warrants have been issued for them by the judiciary officials and red alerts
have also been issued for them via the Interpol," Prosecutor-General of
Tehran Ali Alqasi Mehr said.
He said that the prosecuted individuals are accused of
murder and terrorist action, adding that US President Donald Trump stands at
the top of the list and will be prosecuted as soon as he stands down presidency
after his term ends.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990706000457
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Olympics should say Iran is ‘no longer welcome’ after
Afkari execution: US official
Lauren Holtmeier
Sep 28, 2020
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should tell
Iran it is “no longer welcome” after the execution of Iranian star wrestler
Navid Afkari, US former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard
Grenell said in a podcast.
Afkari was executed in Iran September 12 and his death
sparked outrage and underscored widespread human rights abuses in Iran.
“I would like to see – because of the systemic human
rights abuses by the Iranian regime – the international community and
specifically the Olympics say ‘you’re no longer welcome in international
competition,’” Grenell, who has also served as US Ambassador to Germany, told
LGBTQ+ news outlet Outsports in a podcast posted on September 21.
The Olympics, scheduled for 2020, has been postponed a
year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Following Afkari’s execution, the IOC issued a
statement saying “The execution of wrestler Navid Afkari in Iran is very sad
news. The IOC is shocked by this announcement today.”
Grenell, who currently serves in the Trump
administration as Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace
Negotiations, noted that human rights abuses in Iran are systemic. Arbitrary
arrests of protesters, abuse, and forced confessions all occur in Iran. Human
Rights Watch, citing rights groups, said that Iran had executed at least 227
people as of November 1 in 2019, compared to 253 in 2017.
“The reality is that we’re dealing with a regime in
Iran that is systematically denying their people basic human rights, whether
it’s the access to the internet or social media or the right to assemble,”
Grenell said.
Afkari was arrested in 2018 during anti-government
protests and was given two death sentences, six and a half years in prison and
74 lashes for the alleged murder of a water company security guard.
His brothers, Vahid and Habib, have each been
sentenced to 54 and 27 years in prison, respectively, Al Arabiya English
previously reported.
Before his execution, Afkari aired a statement in
which the wrestler appeared to confess to killing the security guard, but the
wrestler and his two brothers had released several audio recordings prior to
that, saying they were tortured into making false confessions.
Over the last decade, Iran’s state broadcaster, the
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, has aired at least 355 false
confessions.
Beyond forced confessions and abuse of those detained,
Iranian authorities have brutally repressed protesters. Following widespread
protests last December that broke out after a hike in gas prices, nearly 7,000
people were arrested, and 208 people had reportedly been killed in the
protests, according to figures from Amnesty International.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/09/28/Olympics-should-say-Iran-is-no-longer-welcome-after-Afkari-execution-US-official
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After escaping prison in Iran, persecuted Christian
leader speaks out
27 September 2020
A Christian pastor who recently escaped a 10-year
prison sentence in Iran by fleeing the country said the Iranian government has
criminalized Christianity and considers the religion “fundamentally political.”
“It seems Christianity, or at least Protestantism, is
considered fundamentally political,” Bet-Tamraz said during an interview with
Christian watchdog Article 18 after his successful escape from Iran.
A longtime leader of the Assyrian Pentecostal Church
of Iran, Bet-Tamraz was first arrested in 2014 when 70 Iranian intelligence
agents raided his home. After a six-year long legal battle, he was recently
sentenced to 10 years in prison. He escaped Iran with his wife on August 15.
The 65-year-old pastor said leaving his homeland was
the “most painful” trip of his life, but that he was left with no choice after
being sentenced to 10 years in prison last month.
“You can’t easily leave your homeland, where you grew
up…I didn’t want to leave Iran at all. If they gave me two years, three years
in prison, I would have endured it,” he said.
‘The pain is that you are persecuted for your beliefs’
While Iran is home to nearly 300,000 Christians, they
are not free to worship, observe, practice, or teach their faith.
Bet-Tamraz said Iranian authorities “interfered in the
affairs of the church many times” and that despite the community adhering to
rules imposed upon them by the government, they were still under attack.
“We have always had this pressure, since two days
after the [1979 Islamic] Revolution,” said Bet-Tamraz.
The Iranian authorities “really just don’t want active
Christians to be there,” he added.
The constitution of Iran recognizes Shia Islam as the
official religion of the country. While the government purports to protect
religious minorities - like Christians, Sunni Muslims, Jews, Baha’i’s, and
others – they are frequently subject to harassment, detention, flogging, and
even execution.
“The pain is that you are persecuted for your
beliefs,” said Bet-Tamraz, who spent 65 days in solitary confinement in Iran’s
Evin prison, notorious for its human rights abuse.
His alleged crime was offering Christian worship
services in Persian – the official language of Iran - in addition to Assyrian.
Bet-Tamraz’s church in Tehran was shut down in 2009
and he was later charged with “conducting evangelism” and “illegal house church
activities” – acts that the Iranian regime considers threats to national
security.
“We were told not to use the Persian language … for
years I resisted this very much … this caused them to raid the church and close
it,” Bet-Tamraz said, adding that he continued to hold services in his home
until his arrest in 2014.
According to Bet-Tamraz, the government saw his case
as “completely political and security-related.”
During his sentencing, the judge told Bet-Tamraz that
he “acted against national security” through his Christian practice.
Family punishment
Bet-Tamraz’s immediate family – including his two
children – have also been targeted by the Iranian government for their church
activities.
Bet-Tamraz’s wife Shamiram was sentenced to five years
in prison for allegedly training church leaders and pastors to act as spies.
She now lives with Bet-Tamraz in an undisclosed location outside of Iran.
Their daughter Dabrina escaped Iran nine years ago
after being arrested multiple times and now lives in Europe.
Their son Ramiel was released from an Iranian prison
in March after serving time for organizing and conducting house churches.
Bet-Tamraz said that being separated from people dear
to him in Iran, including his son, is “extremely difficult.”
“We hope to see them again one day,” he said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/09/27/After-escaping-prison-in-Iran-persecuted-Christian-leader-speaks-out
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UAE writer barred from traveling for rejecting
normalization with Israel
28 September 2020
A prominent Emirati writer says she was banned from
traveling out of the United Arab Emirates over her opposition to the country’s
normalization deal with Israel.
Dhabiya Khamis, 62, said in a post on Facebook that
authorities at the Dubai International Airport banned her from boarding a
Cairo-bound flight on Saturday.
"I was banned from flying today due to an order
from Abu Dhabi without specific reason," Khamis wrote.
"Most likely this is because of my publicly
announced position against the Zionists and normalization and I am fearful for
my freedom and life from threats and arrest," she added.
On September 15, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain
signed US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel at the White House — a
move that was condemned by the Palestinian government and people as a betrayal
of their cause.
Khamis, a popular academic and poetess who has
previously worked as a diplomat for the Arab League, described her country’s
decision to normalize relations with Israel as a “sad and catastrophic day”.
Khamis called on human rights organizations to
intervene to hold Emirati authorities accountable for "any oppression,
arrest, assassination or liquidation I am subjected to".
Several international activists have expressed
solidarity with Khamis and urged authorities to ensure her safety.
"Dhabya Khamis: a scholar, poet, and diplomat
from the UAE is fearing for her life. She was banned from travel. She wants the
world to know that she is being punished for her views against Israel and for
her opposition to normalization. Normalization can only be imposed by
despots," Lebanese-American professor and author, Asad Abukhalil, said in
a tweet.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/28/635177/UAE-writer-barred-traveling-normalization
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UN: Yemen’s warring sides agree to swap more than
1,000 prisoners
27 September 2020
The warring sides in Yemen have reached a “milestone”
agreement to swap more than 1,000 prisoners, as part of trust-building steps to
revive stalled UN-brokered peace negotiations, the United Nations says.
The agreement was reached between Yemen’s popular
Houthi Ansarullah movement and Saudi-led militants loyal to Yemen’s
Saudi-allied former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
In a press conference on Sunday, UN Special Envoy for
Yemen Martin Griffiths said he was “personally extremely pleased to be here to
announce that you have reached a very important milestone.”
His remarks came shortly after a ceremony held in the
Swiss village of Glion, where representatives of both sides agreed to release
1,081 prisoners as the largest prisoner swap since the Saudi Arabia invaded
Yemen some five years ago.
The press conference, which was jointly held with the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), came after a nearly 10-day
meeting of the prisoners’ exchange committee held in the Swiss village.
“I urge the parties to move forward immediately with
the release and to spare no effort in building upon this momentum to swiftly
agree to releasing more detainees,” Griffiths added at the presser.
He also congratulated both sides for renewing their
“commitment to the full implementation of the Stockholm agreement”, a 2018
UN-brokered peace deal reached in Sweden to exchange some 15,000 prisoners.
The head of ICRC's Middle East and Near East
operations, Fabrizio Carboni, for his part, urged the two warring sides in
Yemen to provide “security and logistical guarantees” for swift releases,
adding that the ICRC team would interview those released and would give them
medical checks.
The ICRC would also oversee the return of detainees to
their families, Carboni further said.
Earlier on Sunday, Mohammed-Ali al-Houthi, the
chairman of Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Committee, tweeted that “What matters
to us is implementing the prisoners (exchange) and not just signing it.”
Last year, the Houthis, in a unilateral move, released
290 prisoners of war and Saudi Arabia freed 128, while a locally-mediated swap
in Yemen’s southwestern province of Ta’izz saw dozens released.
Back in January 2020, the ICRC, for its part,
facilitated the release of six Saud nationals held by the Houthi fighters.
The new prisoner swap agreement is due to be
implemented within the next two weeks, AFP quoted some unnamed sources as
saying late Saturday.
The deal includes the release of 681 Houthi fighters
and 400 militiamen loyal to Hadi, AFP further quoted an unnamed member of
Hadi’s delegation in Glion talks as saying. The source also said that among
those the Houthis are to release there are 15 Saudi nationals and four
Sudanese.
Griffiths stressed that “our overall aim at the moment
is to bring an agreement on what we call a joint declaration which is a
national ceasefire to end the war in Yemen.”
He also noted that the UN tries to lift the Saudi
all-out siege of Yemeni ports, airports and roads through various measures “so
that people can start to live a little.”
Since March 2015, Riyadh and a coalition of its vassal
states, including the UAE, have waged a devastating war on Yemen in a futile
attempt to reinstall a Saudi-friendly government, led by Hadi.
The invasion also aims to crush the popular Houthi
Ansarullah movement, whose fighters have been of significant help to the Yemeni
army in defending the country against the Saudi invaders.
The Western-backed war, which has been accompanied by
a crippling all-out blockade of Yemen, has killed tens of thousands of people
and afflicted the already-poorest Arabian Peninsula nation with the “world’s
worst humanitarian crisis,” according to the UN.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/09/27/635131/Yemen-UN-prisoner-swap-peace-talks-Hadi-Houthis-Saudi-Arabia
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Pakistan
Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan Fears ‘National Disaster’ If
Karachi Not Given Rights
Imran Ayub
28 Sep 2020
KARACHI: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Sunday announced
a countrywide movement to build momentum for the rights of Karachi and warned
that the existing policies of the federal and provincial governments for the
country’s business capital would cause suffering to the masses and could lead
to a national disaster.
JI chief Senator Sirajul Haq made this announcement at
the party’s big rally titled ‘Huqooq-i-Karachi March’ on Shahrah-i-Quaideen.
“The movement for rights of Karachi is not for and
from the people of this city alone,” said Senator Haq at the end of the rally
to receive a roar from the crowd. “Now the people of Karachi will see that
their voices and slogans would be raised and heard from Badin to Khyber and
Kashmir to Gwadar. We will mark Yaum-i-Yakjehti Karachi (Karachi Solidarity
Day) on October 14 from Karachi to Chitral. This is not going to stop here.”
The march came following a month-long campaign by the
party that demands a range of measures for Karachi and its people especially in
the aftermath of the recent rains that played havoc with the city’s
infrastructure and exposed the performance of the local and provincial
administrations.
‘True’ census of Karachi demanded
Among several other demands, the party strongly
pleaded for a “true consensus of Karachi” saying the actual population of the
metropolis was around 30 million.
Siraj ul Haq vows to turn the JI drive into a
nationwide movement, plans solidarity day on Oct 14
Riding motorbikes, cars, buses and trucks and carrying
placards, banners and party flags, the participants in the rally were calling
for an independent and empowered local government for the city.
“Isn’t it an irony that a city that generates
employment for the people of every district and town of the country is never
owned by rulers,” said Senator Haq. “Isn’t it a tragedy that this city that
deserves to become the world’s centre, is pleading for its due rights from its
very own rulers? From Ayub Khan to the present day, this city has never been
given its due rights and share. But enough is enough. This city has always been
deprived of its true leadership through rigging, violence and conspiracies. Now
we are here to fight the case of this city.”
Earlier, speaking at the rally, JI Karachi chief Hafiz
Naeem ur Rahman stressed the need for an empowered city government for Karachi
and demanded that all civic departments working in the metropolis be placed
under the umbrella of one unified system.
“No city in the world could make progress if its city
government lacked resources,” he said. “Former Karachi nazim Niamatullah Khan
had executed record development works in the city,” he said, adding that after
him, the people of the metropolis were facing water, electricity, transport and
sewerage problems.”
Quota system extension slammed
Hafiz Naeem also condemned the extension of the quota
system for an indefinite period by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)
government calling it the ruling party’s betrayal with the people of Karachi
who chose it for protection of their rights.
“Our party would not stop now. We would expose
individuals who are responsible for the devastation of this city. We will
single out every party and leader who sold out the people of Karachi for their
interests,” he added.
He also warned against any conspiracy to trigger
violence on ethnic lines in the city.
“Let me tell everyone. We will not let a
Mohajir-Sindhi fight for your political interests. If you keep igniting hatred
in the name of ethnicity, you will find us on roads and streets of Karachi to
expose your hidden agenda,” he warned, without naming any leader or entity.
“The people of Karachi don’t want to fight each other
in the name of ethnicity and sects. They are peace-loving people. They have
suffered a lot due to personal agendas of parties and their leaders. The Jamaat
would hold a ‘referendum’ on October 15, 16 and 17 across the city for the
rights of Karachi and to make a verdict against all these forces,” he said.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1582002/ji-fears-national-disaster-if-karachi-not-given-rights
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Hasty international withdrawal from Afghanistan would
be unwise: Pakistan PM Imran Khan
Sep 27, 2020
WASHINGTON DC: The stakeholders involved in the Afghan
peace process should refrain from the temptation for setting
"unrealistic" timelines for an early withdrawal of international
forces from Afghanistan as it would be "unwise" to do so, said
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
In an opinion piece for The Washington Post, Khan said
that all partners in the Afghan peace process should "resist the
temptation" for setting early timelines and guard against those actors who
wish to see instability in Afghanistan for their own geopolitical interest.
"A hasty international withdrawal from
Afghanistan would be unwise. We should also guard against regional spoilers who
are not invested in peace and see instability in Afghanistan as advantageous
for their own geopolitical ends," he wrote in the US daily.
This statement in the backdrop of a meeting between
delegations from the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha (Qatar) on September
12 for the resumption of negotiations, toward a political settlement in
Afghanistan.
Talking about the ongoing talks, Khan said that
intra-Afghan negotiations will require patience and compromise from all sides.
He said that "a bloodless deadlock on the negotiating table is infinitely
better than a bloody stalemate on the battlefield."
His statement comes after the US Special
Representative for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad recently in an interview said
that the Taliban would not agree to a comprehensive ceasefire until there is a
political settlement.
"The [Taliban] will not accept a
ceasefire--comprehensive and permanent--until there is a political settlement.
And that is not unprecedented in similar conflicts elsewhere, I think they can
do a reduction of violence, they have said they will consider it depending on
what the proposal is. The government is supportive of it too," Tolo News
quoted Khalilzad as saying.
Amid continues attack by the Taliban in Afghanistan,
Khalilzad had said that Washington is ready to work with the Afghan government
and the terrorist group.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the High Council for
National Reconciliation, Dr Abdullah Abdullah on Sunday reiterated the Afghan
government's commitment to a "just, durable and dignified peace."
"In a video call with the I.R. of Afghanistan
negotiation team in Doha, we reviewed and assessed the latest progress with
intra-Afghan talks. I reiterated our full commitment to a just, durable, and
dignified peace. I thanked them for their commitment and service on behalf of
the nation," he tweeted.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/hasty-international-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-would-be-unwise-pakistan-pm-imran-khan/articleshow/78345589.cms
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Pakistan opposition parties to boycott meeting on
Gilgit Baltistan polls
Sep 27, 2020
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan opposition parties have decided to
boycott a meeting of the country's parliamentary leaders convened by their
National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Monday to discuss the impending
elections in the military occupied region of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
The decision to discard the meeting was
"officially" announced by Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal
Bhutto-Zardari following reports that Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur
Rehman had talked to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and discussed plans
regarding the newly-formed alliance by the opposition, to oust prime minister
Imran Khan, Dawn reported.
"The Speaker NA and the federal ministers have
nothing to do with the elections in GB. We condemn the interference of the
federal government with elections. My party will only be engaging with the
Election Commission GB on our demands for fair elections," Bhutto-Zardari
tweeted.
Last week, Pakistan President Arif Alvi had announced
that the polls will be conducted on November 15.
This move to change Gilgit Baltistan's status and
turning it into province by giving it representation on all constitutional
bodies is being seen as a "belated response" to India's moves to
nullify Articles 370 and 35A in Jammu and Kashmir, according to the European
Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS).
In response to Pakistan's decision to usurp Gilgit
Baltistan, India had responded strongly saying that "any action by
Pakistan to alter the status of the militarily occupied so-called
'Gilgit-Baltistan' has no legal basis whatsoever and is totally void ab-initio.
Our position has always been clear and consistent. The entire territories of
the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been and are an
integral part of India and would remain so. Pakistan has no locus standi to
comment on India's internal matters".
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-opposition-parties-to-boycott-meeting-on-gilgit-baltistan-polls/articleshow/78345432.cms
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In Pakistan’s eyes Turkey leads Islamic world
By PITAMBER KAUSHIK
SEPTEMBER 26, 2020
It is unlikely for an active Facebook user from South
Asia not to have noticed a very prominent and spontaneous boom of local fan
pages and laudatory groups dedicated to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
this year.
These groups are replete with posts in various
languages hailing him as “the flag-bearer of the ummah,” “my president,” “lion
of Islam” and “leader of the Muslims.” Erdogan has earned great admiration from
vast swaths of young Muslim zealots all over the world, especially in South
Asia.
Google data show that the frequency of searches for
the keyword “Ottoman” in Pakistan rose sharply this year. A sizable portion of
this manifold increment is attributable to the immense popularity of a single
Turkish historical-fiction TV Series titled Dirilis: Ertugrul (“Resurrection:
Ertugrul”) in the country.
Pakistan apparently even beats Turkey itself
hands-down in terms of interest in the series, if search-engine analytics are
anything to go by. To be honest, with more than 12 times as many search
queries, even “beats” is an underwhelming description. Outside of the Arab
world, the show is also quite popular in Central Asia and parts of Africa.
Besides being phenomenal in its own right, it has
piqued the populace’s interest in Turkish culture in general, and prompted
millions to binge on a whole host of Turkish shows, from soaps to historical
docudramas, even those that had completed their runs years earlier.
History, folk legends, and epics alike have captured
the popular interest of Muslims who are disappointed in their leaders. The very
fact that the searches for the country and the actual historical figures follow
in wake of these cinematic adaptations of lores and fictional retellings of
history, evidences toward the virtue of Turkish pop culture have political
potency and serving strategic interests, voluntarily or involuntarily.
The statistics where the show leads people to look up
the country, history and rulers testifies to its influence and its distinctly
captivating and immersive character.
Having seemingly no viable iconic cultural or
political leaders of their own who imbue charisma, confidence and passion, many
Pakistanis look up, or rather back to, historical or even fictional greats.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s failure to position
himself as an assertive, decisive, leading figure and authoritative presence
has led to his popularity dipping to a major low.
It is not that this is exclusively an issue of
idiosyncratic surge interest, as is typical of the entertainment sector
nowadays, or a one-off thing. Accompanying the search term “Ottoman” in its
steep climb, the search topic “Turkey,” as in the country, not the bird, has
exhibited a rapid escalation in Pakistan too. This leads one to wonder if this
is attributable to a sentimental-cultural resonance, which, as further
discussion will elucidate, indeed is the case.
Turkey’s soft power is not limited to narrating
history, it also lies in re-creating and correcting it. For Turkey, history is
very much active, and the fodder and fuel of its political, diplomatic, and
strategic machinery.
In July, the Hagia Sophia museum was re-converted to a
mosque, with many of its mosaics and frescoes set to be concealed, an
unprecedented gesture in the recent history of the republic. The building,
originally a Christian basilica, was converted to a mosque in the wake of the
Fall of Constantinople. The most recent reversion was followed by the
conversion of another historic church, the Kariye Museum, to a mosque. To
Erdogan, such gestures serve as a means of furthering his soft-Islamist
neo-Ottoman agenda.
The message is clear, Turkey is channeling its
imperial past, specifically its martial paragons, to assert its status as a
regional power as well as the ideological and cultural leader of the Muslim
world.
By selectively glorifying its religion-motivated
historical icons and suppressing its secular figures, Turkey has weaponized
popular media, turning them into an insidious, passive but effective propaganda
tool, impressing its selection of what constitutes Turkish identity in a
lasting manner. It has lent credence to its historical claim, nay, entitlement
to being the caliphate and the virtue of its authority over making decisions on
behalf and in favor of the Islamic world.
Pakistan has in effect become culturally orphaned – it
has no overlap of the geographical, the cultural, and the strategic aspects of
its history. While it takes pride in the Islamic invaders of India, such as
Muhammad Ghori, who laid the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate, and Zahiruddin
Babur, the founder of the subcontinent’s most powerful and magnificent empire,
most of their legacy, from their capitals to their monuments and mausolea, lies
in India.
In fact, conspicuous remnants of the rich Mughal
legacy that lie squarely in Pakistan are outnumbered and outshone by those in
India. Meanwhile, Pakistan is reluctant to accept the ancient heritage and
history reflected in its temples, monasteries, and pagan shrines and resorts to
negligence, trivialization, active suppression, desecration, and even
occasional erasure of the many reminders of its Hindu-Buddhist past that
happened to fall on its side after the Partition.
Even Pakistani history textbooks very conveniently
ignore the very existence of the subcontinent’s pre-Islamic history, and
selectively portray the syncretic rule of Mughals as a period of Islamic
supremacy, weeding out mentions of Hindu rulers. The Islamic identity of the rulers
is equated with Pakistani pride and identity, at times explicitly.
While Pakistan identifies with the mighty assailants
who plundered India, making quick work of any resistance, all of them were from
countries that Pakistan is not at the best of terms with, at least not compared
with India. A number of Pakistani ballistic missiles are named after Afghan
invaders, historical figures who it has little claim over, either in origin or
in destination.
Pakistan has also repeatedly failed to acknowledge the
very existence of its pre-Islamic history even in formal education, leaving its
youth in utter historical and cultural ignominy.
With its relations with its Islamic neighbors
Afghanistan and Iran deteriorating and having no distinct cultural glory or
pinnacle of civilizational achievement that it could truly and faithfully call
its own, the Pakistani populace desperately needed something to look up to.
Pakistan could never become an economic power or a
stable democracy in its entire history, and constantly remained dependent on
foreign aid and strategic support. It consistently performs poorly on various
developmental indices. It could neither look forward nor backward, hence it
looked sideways – diagonally, rather.
It first looked up at the Arab world, trying to
identify with it in its bid of pan-Islamism. But the harsh and inherently
discriminatory treatment of Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia, including
multiple executions, soon disillusioned them. Puritan Salafis and Wahhabis
frequently treat Pakistani Muslims condescendingly for their non-Arabic
ethnicity and look down upon them for what they deem to be “pagan influences”
or “infidel tendencies.”
Moreover, the rift and alienation furthered as Saudi
Arabia began to gravitate economically toward India as well as warm up to it
diplomatically.
Pakistan beseeched the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) for support in denouncing Indian atrocities in Kashmir and
its alleged institutionalized discrimination against its Muslim population and
asked Saudi Arabia to lead the effort, a proposal shot down by Riyadh. Pakistan
was also compelled to pay an outstanding loan in the wake of this.
Pakistan had strongly objected to King Abdullah’s
consideration of India being granted observer status in the OIC, citing their
mutual Kashmir dispute, and was extremely dejected upon the Indian foreign
minister being invited as the guest of honor at an OIC meet in March 2019.
The stark contrast in the respective receptions of the
Indian and Pakistani prime ministers in Saudi Arabia also proved disparaging to
Pakistani solidarity with the nation. Saudi Arabia had also pressured Pakistan
to release captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, much to the latter’s
chagrin. The Saudis had also been reluctant in readily providing military aid
and assistance.
Saudi Arabia’s repeated refusal to address the
revocation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution on Kashmir’s status
weakened the threads of goodwill, but Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman outright
declining to entertain a visiting delegation led by Army Chief Qamar Bajwa
proved to be the final nail in the coffin.
The formal threads will likely never snap, but Saudi
Arabia has made it clear that its strategic focus has shifted, aligning with
its economic interests.
Turkey, on the other hand, condemned and opposed India
on multiple occasions in different fora from the time it brought out its new
Citizenship Amendment Act to what it deemed its “anti-Muslim” actions in
Kashmir and in the Delhi agitations, labeling the deaths following the latter
as “massacres” of Muslims.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s liberal
economics, trade willingness, and business deals have enabled him to have his
diplomatic way everywhere but with Turkey and Malaysia, who have challenged
India’s uncontested rise to diplomatic supremacy and unanimous international
favor.
The inclination of the Pakistani people toward Turkey
isn’t without historical precedent. In 1909, an anti-British popular uprising
called the “Khilafat Movement” partially united the Muslims in undivided India
to rally against the British Raj. This agitation was motivated by the
humiliation Turkey had to face at the end of the First World War at the hands
of Britain and the Allied nations.
It was this recognition as the ruler of the Ottoman
Empire as the Khalifa of Muslims worldwide that was largely responsible for
enabling the Muslims of India to identify with the cause of Indian independence
and join the freedom struggle, having previously been alienated out of fear of
unbridled Hindu majoritarianism in the event of the British departure.
Until then, Muslims had remained largely aloof to
organized protests and mass mobilizations, apprehensive of domination by the
numerically superior Hindus in wake of the revocation of the colonial rule.
Although Turkey is still the most secular and
progressive of the Islamic-majority countries in mainland Asia, things are
quickly changing. Religious conservatism is rising and progressive reforms are
slowly being rolled back.
While Turkey remains one of the socially most advanced
nations in the Middle East, democracy is being nibbled at with arbitrary
restrictions on exercise of freedoms by women, the press, and free thinkers.
Turkey is decades ahead of Saudi Arabia in terms of its social independence and
gender equality but as the latter, motivated by globalism, is slowly shedding
off its non-core hard lines, such as permitting women to drive, the former is
inching at a similar pace, in the opposite direction.
Although the rate of Turkey’s march toward Islamic
fundamentals isn’t alarming, its determination, consistency, and surety
certainly are. This inclination toward soft Islamism and moderate regression is
the potential thread uniting Turkey, Pakistan and Malaysia.
Moreover, the majority of Turkey’s population
subscribes to the Hanifi school of Islamic thought, as does Pakistan’s,
strengthening the cultural and ideological resonance, which never materialized
in interactions with the Wahhabi-inclined Saudi Arabia.
There are some seemingly paradoxical observations
here. Saudi Arabia has destroyed a lot of its mosques and Islamic sites and
continues to do so, while Turkey has worked to restore those in its territory.
Wahhabism, the state-sponsored Sunni faith, deems attachment of reverence and
devotion to sites of historic-religious significance as idolatrous leanings
that ultimately lead to Islam’s single greatest sin, shirk, worship of any
entity other than Allah.
Pakistan is a place where, notwithstanding explicit
acknowledgement, deceased saints and mystics are venerated with offerings,
paeans and prayers, in a way that reflects the syncretic Hindu-Muslim history
of the places. Alienation borne out of Wahhabi condescension toward those who
partake in such practices, which it considers grossly impious, is thus natural.
Yet another factor is how Erdogan seems more
accessible as a person and leader, glorifying and romanticizing his country
instead of himself, while the Saudi sheikhs have a cult of their grandiose,
opulent personality, which people of a country with an average income of about
US$500 a day cannot well relate with.
Pakistan has a new inspiration in the form of Turkey,
and it may also seek solace in the fact that many of the invaders it named
elements of its arsenal after, although themselves hailing from Central and
West-Central Asia, had Turkic origins.
https://asiatimes.com/2020/09/in-pakistans-eyes-turkey-leads-islamic-world/
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Protesters hurl abuses outside Nawaz residence
Atika Rehman
28 Sep 2020
LONDON: Exactly a week after former prime minister
Nawaz Sharif made a fiery speech criticising the military’s alleged
interference in political matters, nearly two dozen young men gathered outside
Avenfield House on Sunday evening and yelled slogans against him.
According to footage available with Dawn, over 20
young men in hoods and face masks gathered on Dunraven Street, across from the
PML-N leader’s home, to shout “Go Nawaz Go”.
Many of them held A4 sheets with the words “We stand
with Pak Army” printed on them, as well as one that read “Nawaz Sharif is a
thief”.
Sharif family sources said the protesters hurled
abuses and swear words in Punjabi, and that the Metropolitan Police were
informed about the incident at 4pm. By the time the police vehicle arrived, the
crowd had dispersed, leaving behind their posters. The sources said a complaint
has been lodged with the police. In a statement to Dawn, the police said:
“Police were called at 16.20hrs on 27 September to Dunraven Street to reports
of a group of people protesting in the street. Officers attended and the groups
were dispersed.”
Nawaz had made the speech to the multiparty conference
via video link on September 20 from his son Hussain Nawaz’s office across Hyde
Park. Since the speech and the MPC’s hard-hitting resolution demanding an end
to alleged establishment meddling, Islamabad has seen a charged public debate
about the alleged role of the armed forces in matters of civilian governance.
The post-MPC period has also witnessed a flurry of disclosures and
clarifications in which sources asserted the army is not involved in political
matters.
The opposition party’s supreme leader, who launched
his Twitter account just a day ahead of the MPC, recently posted a statement
barring his party to hold individual, private or delegation-level meetings with
country’s military leadership. The tweet says if necessitated by national
security or constitutional requirements, such meetings in the future will be
approved by the party leadership and will be made public.
The tweet came after director general of the
Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Babar Iftikhar told a private
channel, ARY News, that Mohammad Zubair of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had
met the army and intelligence chiefs ahead of the MPC to discuss the ongoing
cases against the embattled PML-N leadership. Earlier, Railways Minister Sheikh
Rasheed said opposition MNAs met the army and ISI chiefs to discuss the
upcoming polls in Gilgit-Baltistan. These revelations created the impression
that the opposition parties, including the PML-N, have been meeting the army
leadership for backdoor negotiations.
In his tweet, Nawaz said: “Recent events once again
prove how some meetings remain hidden behind seven veils while others are given
the colour of choice through publicising them. This game should now stop.”
He added that he was prohibiting his party members
from meeting representatives of military or associated agencies in order to
fulfill “requisites of Constitution of Pakistan and to remind the armed forces
to comply with their oath”.
The deposed prime minister has been in the UK since
November 2019 after getting bail from the court on medical grounds and securing
permission from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government. His doctors said he is
suffering from complicated cardiac disease and an immune system disorder that
resulted in a dangerously low platelet count.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) earlier this month
dismissed his application seeking exemption from personal appearance in the
hearing of appeals against his conviction in the Al-Azizia and Avenfield
properties references and issued non-bailable arrest warrants for him.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1581960/protesters-hurl-abuses-outside-nawaz-residence
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Protest after Lahore CCPO had his personal secretary
‘arrested’
28 Sep 2020
LAHORE: Capital City Police Officer Umar Sheikh on
Sunday had his personal secretary Abdul Sattar, a BS-16 official, briefly
arrested.
The CCPO got upset with his personal secretary for
minor lapse in official work, called him to his office where he allegedly
abused him and had him ‘arrested’.
An official said Mr Sheikh ordered the Civil Lines
station house officer to take Abdul Sattar to the police station and send him
behind the bars after lodging a case against him for ‘disobeying’ him (the
CCPO). He said as the CCPO left his office, his action sparked panic and strong
resentment in the lower staff.
The protesting employees threatened to take up the
matter on the social media against CCPO’s ‘violent and inhuman’ behaviour
against junior officials, he said. The employees also warned that they would
not resume office till the release of their colleague Abdul Sattar and an
apology by the CCPO.
About the incident, he said, Mr Sheikh had called a
meeting of his select officials including the personal secretary at 2am on
Sunday and ended it after two hours. The employees returned their homes to take
rest, he said, adding that the CCPO again called them in the morning and sought
report of the work assigned to them.
“His personal secretary excused for the slight delay
in completing the work on the pretext of having sleepless night. The reply
irritated the CCPO who vent his anger and ordered his arrest,” the official
said. On being informed about the expected agitation of the lower staff of his
office, Mr Sheikh directed the SHO to release his personal secretary.
Mr Sheikh has been in the headlines since assuming his
charge as the CCPO. He seems to be indiscreet in his remarks and has adopted an
aggressive policy which has sent a wave of panic in the force.
Recently, he ordered arrest of some police employees
while bypassing the departmental procedures. Some of them had submitted written
complaints to the IGP to take notice of the illegal actions of the Lahore
police chief against the junior employees.
The Lahore CCPO declined to comment on the issue.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1582018/protest-after-lahore-ccpo-had-his-personal-secretary-arrested
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Varsity status for Peshawar APS likely, SC told
Nasir Iqbal
28 Sep 2020
ISLAMABAD: It is under active consideration of the
federal government to implement one of the recommendations of the judicial
commission that probed the terrorist attack on Army Public School-Warsak in
Peshawar by upgrading the school and granting it university status, the Supreme
Court was informed.
A three-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar
Ahmed, was apprised during a hearing on Friday that the government was considering
a proposal to upgrade APS Warsak, which came under attack, and named as Shuhada
APS University.
The deadly attack left 147 people, including 132
children, martyred when militants had stormed the army-run school in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa’s capital on Dec 16, 2014.
Report says govt may also include a lesson on Dec 16
attack in curriculum
Taking suo motu notice of grievances of the parents of
the martyred schoolchildren, former chief justice Saqib Nisar had appointed a
judicial commission to probe the terrorist attack and asked Peshawar High Court
Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth on Oct 5, 2018 to nominate a senior judge of the
high court for the commission. Subsequently, Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan
conducted proceedings of the commission and finalised its report that, besides
its findings, also contained some recommendations.
One of the recommendations given by the commission was
upgrading the school as Shuhada APS University.
The federal government informed the SC bench that in
recognition of the sacrifices rendered by the martyred students, it was being
considered that the incident be made part of school curriculum.
In its report, the federal government said the loss of
precious lives during the tragic incident was grave and irreparable, as human
act could not possibly lighten the pain and agony of the bereaved families and
the federal and provincial governments made all-out efforts to arrest,
prosecute and punish the culprits involved in the incident.
Besides, it said, efforts were made to provide best
available medical assistance to the survivors at the state expense.
The federal government stated that it was not
unnatural that despite all actions taken and efforts made by the state
authorities, some members of the bereaved families still had questions and
reservations and they approached the apex court for the redressal of their
grievances.
Referring to the government’s response to the
recommendation of the judicial commission, the federal government said the
federal and provincial governments undertook numerous steps for providing
medical as well as psychological treatment to the injured. They also took
measures for the welfare and provision of education facilities to the families,
besides striving for alleviating their pain and agony through financial
support.
The federal government also awarded 22 shuhada with
Tamgh-i-Shujaat and Sitara-i-Shujaat (civil awards).
As per recommendations of the commission, some
educational institutions have been renamed to pay tribute to the martyrs.
Additionally, several flyovers, parks and roads across the country have been
named after the schoolchildren, according to the federal government report.
The government said that as September 6 was being
observed to honour the martyrs of the country, the APS students were specially
presented tribute on the day, while an annual commemoration ceremony was held
with Quran Khawani at the APS in December.
About the school building, the government said that a
portion of auditorium complex was being utilised as library, while the
remaining portion had already been converted into an examination hall.
The injured students were accommodated as special
cases for admission to the institutions of their choice up to intermediate
level, the federal government told the bench. It said a transparent mechanism
was also devised for the provision of free secondary and higher education for
the siblings of shuhada in the army-run institutions like the cadet/military
colleges.
Also, two seats each in the University of Engineering
and Technology, Peshawar, and Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, had been
reserved as a special quota for the victim families, the bench was informed.
The federal government in its report stated that a
substantial assistance package was provided to the families and both the
central and the provincial governments announced special compensation packages
for the students and staff members. Moreover, the government would also
consider exemption of property tax in accordance with the law for the families
of the victims.
The government report explained that jobs to the next
of kin of staff members in the army-affiliated organisations had been granted
as per qualification and willingness of the individuals/families.
The Supreme Court ordered the federal government to
make the 525-page report public on September 25, one and a half months after
Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan had been asked to get
instructions from the government regarding the judicial commission’s report.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1581980/varsity-status-for-peshawar-aps-likely-sc-told
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