Hijab for Muslims like Hindu's 'mangalsutra', Christian's crucifix, Sikh's turban: Congress MP in Lok Sabha
New
Age Islam News Bureau
08
February 2022
A
view of the Lok Sabha. (Photo | PTI)
----------
• Pakistan,Taliban
border dispute: From historical roots to political exploration
• UN
experts: 'Terrorist groups' enjoy freedom in Afghanistan
• Holocaust
Museum in Indonesia highlights stakes in a battle for the soul of Islam
• Iraq
parliament fails to elect new state president over lack of quorum: Lawmakers
• Dozens
of extremist Jewish settlers defile Aqsa Mosque under police guard
• Fresh
protests in Sudan to demand full civilian rule
• US
says Iran nuclear deal ‘in sight’ but urgent need to finalize
• World
must act for starving Afghan youth: England’s children’s commissioner
----------
India
• Muslims
to vote against hate, ‘insecurity’ in India’s crucial state polls
• Hijab
row: Dalit students wear blue scarves in solidarity with Muslim girls
• BJP
executing 'Godse agenda', dividing Hindu-Muslim communities: Mehbooba Mufti
• Cracks
in NDA over Hindutva plank? Muslims not untouchable, says key UP ally
• Row
over Congress leader’s ‘Muslim univ promise’ claim snowballs despite Harish
Rawat’s denial
• Hyderabad:
Faiz-e-Aam Trust inaugurates job oriented training center at mosque
--------
Pakistan
• Implications
of jihad-soft new Pak envoy to the U.S.
• Pakistani
Cleric Urges Scholars to Introduce True Teachings of Islam to World
• Nearly
50 Ahmadi graves desecrated by police in Pakistan’s Punjab: Community member
• Maulana
Fazl flays govt for ‘mortgaging’ State Bank to IMF
• Pakistan’s
relations with Taliban govt in Kabul cordial, says Sh Rashid
• Petition
against PM Imran’s marriage dismissed
• US
expands interview waiver eligibility for Pakistani visa holders
• Afghan
humanitarian crisis to affect Pakistan, warn senators
• Two
Frontier Corps officials injured in bomb blast on Quetta's Sariab Road
--------
South Asia
• Taliban
rejects UN report of foreign terror groups in Afghanistan
• Shia
Clerics Call for Negotiations to Ensure Social Justice
• Avalanche
kills 15 people in eastern Afghanistan
• Former
UK defense chief says US will recognize Taliban sooner or later
• US
State Department offers $10M reward for Kabul Airport bomber
--------
Southeast Asia
• UN
chief expects China to allow credible visit by human rights chief
• Hadi’s
meet with Taliban merely ‘dialogue’ arranged by Qatar, doesn’t imply
recognition, says aide
• Indonesian
diocese bans traditional wedding ritual
--------
Arab World
• Syria:
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham denies it knew of US strike against Islamic State chief
• Iran-backed
Houthis launched missiles from civilian port and airport: Coalition
• Iraq:
clans warn of irregular Shia militia mobilisation
• US
says ‘no wiggle room’ on Lebanon holding May elections
• Lebanon
banks association rejects draft govt financial plan
• Rights
groups plead for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis to free journalists
--------
Mideast
• Iran’s
Top Security Official: No Deal Possible without Removal of All US Maximum
Pressure Sanctions
• Iranian
FM Spokesman: No Different Result Expected for West by Continuing Failed
Policies
• Journalist
dies while covering conflict in Yemen
• Leader’s
Military Aide Stresses Importance of Persian Gulf Region in Global Trade
• Iran
Calls for Broadening of Ties with Armenia
• Iran,
Iraq Continue Investigation into US Assassination of General Soleimani
• Republican
senators vow to thwart any Iran deal if Biden skips Congressional review
• Two
potential successors to Palestinian president named to top posts
• Report:
Israel police used spyware on Netanyahu’s son, aides
• Israelis
using underhanded ways to expand settlement activity in West Bank
• PLO’s
Central Council kicks off 31st session in Ramallah
--------
Africa
• Salako-Oyedele
enjoins Muslims to participate in politics
• Tunisia's
president says decree to dissolve judicial body ready
• Bangladeshis
sentenced to 20 years in jail for torturing migrants in Libya
• 2023
Presidency: Muslim clerics shun Gov Mohammed, prays for Yahaya Bello in Bauchi
• BBC
says Sudan arrested 3 of its journalists amid protests
• Sudan
security forces fire tear gas at anti-coup protestors
• US
‘deeply concerned’ by dissolution of Tunisia judicial watchdog
• Libya's
parliament to appoint new PM, increasing tensions
--------
North America
• US
offers millions of dollars for information on ISIS-K leader, Kabul airport
bombing
• Senior
US diplomat talks Yemen, Lebanon with Saudi officials
--------
Europe
• Macron's
government launches new body to oversee Islam in France
• Conservatives
conspired to 'use my Muslim faith against me', says former UK member of
European Parliament
• UK
must pressure Houthis to free detained Briton: Amnesty International
• Germany
welcomes Turkiye’s mediation efforts between Ukraine, Russia
• Spanish
foreign minister hails growing ties with Turkiye
• Muslim
schoolboy in London forced to stop praying by teacher who saw it as ‘act of
defiance’
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
--------
Hijab
for Muslims like Hindu's 'mangalsutra', Christian's crucifix, Sikh's turban:
Congress MP in Lok Sabha
07th
February 2022
A
view of the Lok Sabha. (Photo | PTI)
-----------
NEW
DELHI: As the controversy over wearing 'hijab' on campus raged in Karnataka,
Congress MP from Kerala TN Prathapan on Monday raised the issue in Lok Sabha,
saying the garment of the Muslim women is like "mangalsutra for Hindus,
the crucifix of the Christians and turbans for the Sikhs".
He
demanded the Union education minister's intervention in the matter.
The
'hijab' (scarf) row in Karnataka intensified as some students sought to defy
the government order mandating uniform style of clothes.
The
matter will now be heard in the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday.
"Girls
are sitting outside classrooms and demanding their fundamental rights. The
hijab is a part of their cultural and religious identity of these girls. It is
like the mangalsutra for Hindus, crucifix for the Christians and turbans for
the Sikhs," Prathapan said during Zero Hour.
He
also said that there is a tendency of some people in this country that if they
see a Sikh with a turban protesting against the government, they will
"call him a Khalistani".
He
said that if they see a person wearing a cross he will be "attacked".
"If
they see a Muslim girl wearing Hijab, they will stop them for getting
education. Where are they taking our India? We cannot lose our diversity. I
request the education minister to interfere in this issue to ensure the
constitutional rights of these girls. That is real Sabka Saath, Sabka
Vikas," he said.
Earlier
in the day, state education minister B C Nagesh said students who insist on
hijab-wearing will not be allowed into the government educational institutions.
Then,
he asked some students protesting on the street outside the college to sit in a
separate room but they were not imparted lessons.
Source:
New Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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Pakistan,Taliban
border dispute: From historical roots to political exploration
February
8, 2022
During
a recent visit of a Pakistani delegation to Afghanistan and meeting with the
Taliban officials, the two sides reportedly agreed to settle their border
disputes.
--------
During
a recent visit of a Pakistani delegation to Afghanistan and meeting with the
Taliban officials, the two sides reportedly agreed to settle their border
disputes.
The
Pakistani delegation was headed by National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf and
during the talks, they reportedly agreed to form a committee to defuse the
border tensions. The delegation also included Mohammed Sadegh, Pakistan's
special envoy to Afghanistan, and representatives from various ministries.
"The
purpose of the Pakistani delegation's two-day visit to Kabul is to discuss with
the Afghan leadership the humanitarian situation in that country and present
Pakistan's recommendations for deepening economic partnership and assisting
Afghanistan in facing the challenges", read a statement published by
Pakistan's ministry 0f information.
During
his visit to Kabul, Moeed Yusuf met with Taliban Foreign Minister Mowlawi Amir
Khan Mottaqi, Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Mowlawi Salam Hanafi, and a number
of other key Taliban members, and the two sides agreed on economic exchanges
and partnership, according to the statement.
The
Pakistani delegation and Taliban officials also agreed to facilitate trade
between the two countries at border crossings and official customs, and to
increase trade volume. The Pakistani delegation promised the Taliban that the
Pakistani government was willing to provide training opportunities for Afghans
in the areas of health, banking, customs, railways, telecommunications, and
aviation.
Pakistan-Taliban
border dispute
In
late December 2021, the Taliban claimed to have prevented Pakistani forces from
fencing off the border with Afghanistan. Footage released from the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Kunar and Nimroz provinces showed the Taliban
trying to block a fencing work of Pakistani troops. Sporadic skirmishes
followed the tensions but no casualties were reported.
As
the tensions unfolded, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, at a
news conference in Islamabad said that the fencing along Pakistan-Afghanistan
border would be completed according to an agreement with the Taliban and it has
already progressed 94 percent.
However,
differences between the two over the border remain. Over a century ago, in
1893, the borders of Pakistan, or East India under the British colonization,
with Afghanistan were drawn by the representatives of British government, but
so far no government or group in Afghanistan has officially recognized this
demarcation.
In
1893, during the reign of Amir Abdul Rahman Khan in Afghanistan, a border
treaty was signed between Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, the representative of
British-occupied India, and Afghanistan.
After
Abdul Rahman's rule, almost all Afghan rulers opposed the demarcation line, and
to this day no government in Afghanistan has officially recognized this border.
During the presidencies of Hamid Karzai and then Ashraf Ghani, according to the
agreements, Pakistan, with the support of the UN and the US and under the
pretext of controlling the borders and countering the movement of terrorists,
fenced most of the border and set up stations for passport checks. Although the
government of Pakistan and the international community, except India, recognize
the Durand Line, Kabul remains far from accepting this border.
According
to Afghan documents, the Durand Line separates much of the country from its
homeland. Afghan leaders believe the line separates Pashtuns and Baluchis who
have family bonds. This 2430-kilometer-long border line also separated Pashtuns
living in the west, namely in Pakistan, from Pashtuns living in the east,
namely Afghanistan. The separation of the Pashtun tribes is a source of
discontentment given their common tribal identity and their intensive contacts
and visits. Until a few years ago, Pashtun tribes were living in the autonomous
regions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but for several years now, the
Pakistani government has effectively toughened, and in some areas cut off,
their communications by building border walls.
The
tribes on both sides of the border, especially the Pashtuns, have had some form
of tribal and autonomous rule for years, but the central government of Pakistan
is trying to cut their power and authority. The construction of border fences
and traffic control in the region effectively enables the Pakistani government
to exert central government power.
The
Taliban, most of whom are from different Pashtun ethnic groups, are also trying
to unite the Pashtun tribes on both sides of the border, ignoring the Durand
Line, so that in the long run, the idea of a Greater Pashtunistan can be
implemented. By removing or ignoring the Durand Line, some 30 million Pakistani
Pashtuns could be added to the Afghan population, which would greatly increase
the ethnic population in Afghanistan, making it easier to rename Afghanistan to
Pashtunistan.
Over
the past hundred years, when the borders of East India and modern Pakistan have
been drawn with Afghanistan, the forces of the two countries have clashed on
the Durand Line under various pretexts, and these events are still not
far-fetched given the region's tribal and geographical location.
Border
disputes from political viewpoint
Over
the past few months that skirmishes took place on the border, the two sides
have insisted on their positions, but one fact cannot be overlooked: both the
Taliban and Pakistan may not be reluctant to portrait themselves involved in
the dispute over Durand Line.
The
dispute paints the Taliban, which came to power a few months ago, of
independent stances and policy. The group is accused of dependence on Pakistani
by its opposition and the border dispute can help it flex its muscles as an
independent actor.
Pakistan
is unwilling to paint the Taliban a group dependent on Islamabad, despite the
undeniable sway over the Taliban leadership. Twenty days after the Taliban took
over the power in Kabul, Pakistan's intelligence chief made a visit to Kabul.
Faiz Hamid was "happy and laughing and feeling accomplished" at
Serena hotel of the Afghan capital. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief
bragged about his meeting with the Taliban leaders to the journalists. But he
was dismissed soon after his return to Pakistan, giving place to General Nadeem
Ahmad Anjum. The ISI chief is one of the most powerful posts in the Pakistani
military structure. He has the word not only in the military affairs but also in
the politics. The ISI has repeatedly been accused by previous Afghan government
and Western officials of massive support to the Taliban and Haqqani Network, an
affiliate of the Taliban with moderate stances. Pakistan has repeatedly
rejected the accusations and the new ISI chief rarely makes public comments on
Afghanistan. So, Pakistan uses the border dispute to demonstrate the Taliban
independent of Islamabad.
With
Durand Line being the separation line of Pakistan Pashtuns from their relatives
in Afghanistan, the best option is keeping the dispute and separation of this
ethnic group in place for a departure from the Greater Pashtunistan idea.
Pakistan's push for border posts, thus, serves its security goal of countering
Pashtun people's secessionism.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
UN
experts: 'Terrorist groups' enjoy freedom in Afghanistan
Feb
8, 2022
UNITED
NATIONS: Al-Qaida's past ties to the recently empowered Taliban have the
potential of making Afghanistan a safe haven for extremists, and “terrorist
groups enjoy greater freedom there than at any time in recent history,” U.N.
experts said in a report circulated Monday.
In
the wide-ranging report, the experts also said extremists linked to both
al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are successfully advancing in Africa,
especially in the turbulent Sahel. And they said the Islamic State continues to
operate “as an entrenched rural insurgency” in Iraq and Syria, where its
so-called caliphate ruled a significant swathe of the two countries from
2014-2017 when it was defeated by Iraqi forces and a U.S.-led coalition.
In
what it called “a bright spot” in Southeast Asia, the panel of experts said
both Indonesia and the Philippines reported “significant gains” in disrupting
Islamic State and al-Qaida-affiliated “terrorism" and “some optimism"
that their operational capability “may be significantly degraded."
The
report to the U.N. Security Council by the panel of experts monitoring sanctions
against al-Qaida and the Islamic State, also known as IS and ISIL, called the
Taliban's return to power on Aug. 15 amid the chaotic final withdrawal of U.S.
and NATO troops after 20 years the most significant event of the last six
months of 2021.
The
Taliban first ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001 and were ousted for harboring
al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden for masterminding the 9/11 terrorist attacks in
the U.S. in 2001. In a February 2020 deal that spelled out the terms of the
U.S. troop withdrawal, the Taliban had promised to fight terrorism and deny
terrorist groups a safe haven in Afghanistan.
But
the panel of experts said “there are no recent signs that the Taliban has taken
steps to limit the activities of foreign terrorist fighters in the country.” On
the contrary, it said, terrorist groups are enjoying “greater freedom,” though
member states “have not reported significant new movements of foreign terrorist
fighters to Afghanistan.”
The
experts noted that al-Qaida released a statement congratulating the Taliban on
its victory on Aug. 31, but since then it has maintained “a strategic silence,
likely an effort not to compromise Taliban efforts to gain international
recognition and legitimacy.”
“Al-Qaida
is also continuing to recover from a series of leadership losses and is
assessed to lack the capability to conduct high-profile attacks overseas, which
remains its long-term goal,” the panel said.
Al-Qaida's
leader, Ayman al-Zawahri was reported alive in January 2021, it said, “but
member states continue to believe that he is in poor health.”
The
experts noted that Amin Muhammad ul-Haq Saam Khan, who coordinated security for
bin Laden, returned to his home in Afghanistan in late August. And they said an
unnamed country reported that bin Laden's son, Abdallah, visited in October for
talks with the Taliban.
As
for the Islamic State group, the panel said while it controls limited territory
in Afghanistan, “it has demonstrated a continuing ability to mount
sophisticated attacks, adding to the complexity of the security situation in
Afghanistan.”
As
an example, it cited the complex attack at Kabul airport on Aug. 27 in which
more than 180 people were killed.
Member
states said the Islamic State's strength in Afghanistan has risen from an
estimated 2,200 to near 4,000 following the release of several thousand
prisoners, according to the panel, which said one country estimated that half
were foreign fighters.
The
experts said the Taliban views ISIL “as its primary kinetic threat,” that seeks
to be the “chief rejectionist force in Afghanistan with a wider regional agenda
threatening neighboring Central and South Asian countries.”
The
report does not cover last week's killing of the leader of the Islamic State,
known as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, in a U.S. raid in northwest Syria.
But
the experts said that like al-Qaida, ISIL's leadership “faces
difficulties." They pointed to al-Qurayshi's failure to show himself in
the last half of 2021 and Iraq's announcement on Oct. 11 that it captured Sami
Jasim Muhammad al-Jaburi, alias Hajji Hamid, who was in charge of ISIL finances
and believed to be the most senior deputy and a possible successor to the ISIL
leader.
In
its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the panel said ISIL continues to
withstand “sustained counter-terror pressure from forces in the region.” It is
estimated to retain between 6,000 and 10,000 fighters and is forming cells and
training operatives to launch attacks, the experts said.
Both
ISIL and al-Qaida continue to make advances in Africa, especially in the Sahel,
where the panel said they have “successfully exploited local grievances and
weak governance to command growing numbers of followers and resources,
notwithstanding internal divisions and rivalries.”
U.N.
member nations remain “deeply concerned” at the success of ISIL and al-Qaida
affiliates in Africa during the last half of 2021, the experts said.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
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Holocaust
Museum in Indonesia highlights stakes in a battle for the soul of Islam
February
5, 2022
By
Dr. James M. Dorsey
Image
source:Modern Diplomacy
--------
Controversy
over the opening of Southeast Asia’s first Holocaust museum highlights
differences in the Muslim world over the limits of religious tolerance and
Muslims’ ability to debate those limits.
The
controversy over the museum in Minahasa, North Sulawesi, home to one of
Indonesia’s two known synagogues, comes as the United States and American
Jewish groups have pressured the world’s largest Muslim-majority democracy to
recognize Israel. Indonesia’s minuscule Jewish community is estimated to number
about one hundred.
US
and Israeli officials believe that recognition of Israel by Indonesia, or one
of Asia’s other largest Muslim-majority countries, would allow Saudi Arabia,
the custodian of Islam’s two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, to follow the
United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in establishing diplomatic relations with the
Jewish state. The two smaller Gulf states established relations with Israel in
2020.
The
controversy over the museum at the Shaar HaShamayim Synagogue also erupted as
autocratic Arab countries sought to rebuild ties to their erstwhile Jewish
communities in a bid to project themselves as beacons of religious moderation
and tolerance.
Crackdowns
on freedom of expression in countries like the UAE and Bahrain have allowed the
two countries to portray an image of near-unanimous public support for their
burgeoning relations with Israel.
However,
the crackdowns have not stopped expressions of anti-Jewish sentiment in
countries like Kuwait.
“Is
this who we have become in a country whose heritage prides itself on
coexistence? What a pity. What a loss for us. How heartbreaking for our
forefathers, a few of whom were Jews who lived here alongside us,” said
Kuwait-based poet and writer Nejoud Al-Yagout.
Ms.
Al-Yagout spoke out after the US embassy in Kuwait was accosted last November
on social media for wishing Jews a happy Hanukkah feast.
By
contrast, the controversy in Indonesia has focused more on the condemnation of
Israeli policy towards the Palestinians than on anti-Jewish sentiment. It
highlighted sharp divisions among Indonesian Muslims in dealing with the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their ability to put their differences on
public display.
The
controversy was fueled by the fact that the Holocaust museum became a reality
because of support from Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the Jewish
victims of the Nazi Holocaust. A Yad Vashem executive participated by video
link in last month’s inauguration of the museum on International Holocaust Day.
Yad
Vashem’s role sparked speculation that the museum was a backdoor to furthering
Israeli-Indonesian relations.
“The
Indonesian government should act decisively and immediately demolish the museum
because it is provocative and its presence is not welcomed among many in this
country,” said Muhyiddin Junaidi, deputy chairman of the advisory board of the
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s top body of Islamic scholars.
Echoing
Mr. Junaidi’s remarks, Sudarnoto Abdul Hakim, the group’s deputy chairman for
foreign affairs, insisted that “Jewish communities and the descendants of
Jewish people everywhere, including in Indonesia and North Sulawesi, should…see
fairly, clearly the brutal acts that have been perpetrated by Israeli Zionists
against the Palestinian people since 1948.”
Mr.
Abdul Hakim suggested that Jewish leaders meet with the Council “to prevent
things that are not desirable… I think this is a good step to resolve the issue
in a persuasive way.”
Mr.
Abdul Hakim’s potentially ominous remarks and Mr. Junaidi’s call for the
museum’s destruction contrasted starkly with statements by Yahya Cholil Staquf,
the newly elected chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest civil
society movement that has an estimated following of up to 90 million people.
A
proponent of humanitarian Islam, Mr. Staquf, joined global leaders in
commemorating the United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day last
month.
“Holocaust
remembrance serves as a memorial and vivid reminder of the cruelty, violence,
and suffering that so many human beings… have, for thousands of years,
inflicted upon others. Today, in remembrance of the Holocaust and its millions
of victims, Nahdlatul Ulama and I wish to raise our voices in a simple,
heartfelt call: Let us choose compassion,’” Mr. Staquf said in a virtual event
co-hosted by the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center founded to honour
one of the world’s foremost hunters of Nazi criminals.
Unlike
the Indonesian council and the US embassy in Kuwait’s detractors, Mr. Staquf
did not shy away from recognizing the genocide against the Jews while at the
same time demanding justice for the Palestinians.
Mr.
Staquf made that clear, not only in his call for compassion but also by
speaking at an event hosted at about the same time by the Palestinian embassy
in Jakarta.
“Palestinian
self-determination is a humanitarian mandate. All parties, including Hamas,
Fatah, and the world community at large, must set aside their subjective
interests and focus upon improving the lives of the Palestinian people. For the
fate of the Palestinians is the fate of humanity,” Mr. Staquf said. He was
referring to the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip as well as the
party that governs the West Bank.
The
divergence in approach between Mr. Satquf and the Indonesian Council spokesmen
is about much more than the Palestinian issue. It is about what the essence of
Islam should be in the 21st century, an Islam that looks backward and nurtures
grievances or an Islam that seeks to reach out, build bridges, and find
solutions.
Source:
Modern Diplomacy
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Iraq
parliament fails to elect new state president over lack of quorum: Lawmakers
07 February,
2022
A
handout picture released by Iraq’s Prime Minister’s Media Office on January 9,
2022 shows Iraqi lawmakers attending the inaugural session of the parliament in
Baghdad, three months after legislative elections. (AFP)
----------
Iraq’s
parliament cancelled the vote for a new head of state on Monday as it lacked
the quorum to hold a session, three lawmakers said, a move that prolongs a
political standoff.
Only
58 members out of 329 were present on Monday, which is less than the necessary
two-thirds quorum needed to choose a new president for the mostly ceremonial
post.
On
Sunday, many lawmakers said they would boycott the proceedings after the
Supreme Court suspended a former foreign minister’s presidential bid over graft
allegations.
The
court said on Sunday that the candidacy of Hoshyar Zebari, a Western-friendly
veteran Iraqi Kurdish statesman, could not proceed until corruption charges
from a separate 2016 stint as finance minister were dealt with.
Zebari
said on Sunday that he respected the court decision and denied the allegations.
“The
majority of the political parties boycotted today’s session due to the lack of
a political agreement over the president post,” Sunni lawmaker Mishaan Jabouri
said.
“Parliament
will not convene until an agreement is in place.”
The
decision was a blow to populist Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who was the
biggest winner in an October election. He had vowed to quickly push through a
government that could exclude Iranian allies.
Sadr,
the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) of which Zebari is a member and an alliance
of Sunni Muslim lawmakers had supported Zebari’s bid for president.
The
corruption allegations resurfaced after Zebari emerged as a strong contender,
and Sadr eventually appeared to withdraw his support, saying in a statement
that any future president must “meet the conditions” to hold office.
Sadr
had campaigned in the election on an anti-corruption platform. Sadr’s Sadrist
Bloc said on Saturday it would boycott Monday’s parliament session.
A
political alliance aligned with Iran said in a statement on Sunday it was
against the holding of the Monday parliamentary session to pick a president.
The
KDP also said on Sunday it would boycott proceedings.
Zebari
who served as foreign minister for more than a decade, was finance minister
when he was sacked by parliament in 2016 over alleged corruption.
Last
week, four parliamentarians filed a petition to the federal court demanding
Zebari’s exclusion from the presidential race, accusing him of financial and
administrative corruption in 2016.
In
its ruling, the court said it had temporarily suspended Zebari’s candidacy
until the case is resolved.
Iraq
normally enters months of political deadlock after each general election as the
political elite jockey for spots in the new government. Iraqis are increasingly
disillusioned with the political process, accusing almost all their politicians
of corruption.
Under
Iraq’s governing system in place since the post-Saddam Hussein constitution was
adopted in 2005, the prime minister is a member of the Shia majority, the
speaker is a Sunni and the largely ceremonial role of president is held by a
Kurd.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Dozens
of extremist Jewish settlers defile Aqsa Mosque under police guard
February
7, 2022
Hordes
of extremist Jewish settlers escorted by police forces desecrated the Aqsa
Mosque in Occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem) on Sunday morning and later in the
afternoon.
According
to local sources, dozens of settlers entered the Mosque in different groups
through its Maghariba Gate and toured its courtyards in the morning.
During
their tours at the Islamic holy site, the settlers received lectures from
rabbis about the alleged temple mount and a number of them provocatively
performed Talmudic prayers.
Meanwhile,
Israeli police and intelligence officers raided on Sunday morning the Charity
Committee of the Islamic Awqaf Administration at the Aqsa Mosque’s Bab al-Rahma
prayer hall and shut it down.
According
to local sources, the officers stormed the office of the Charity Committee that
is located above the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall, ransacked the place and confiscated
files and computers.
Yesterday,
police forces kidnaped director of the Charity Committee Khaled as-Sabah and
his son from their home in Sur Baher town, southeast of al-Quds. They are still
in detention.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Fresh
protests in Sudan to demand full civilian rule
Mohammed
Amin
07.02.2022
KHARTOUM,
Sudan
Fresh
protests erupted against the ruling military in Sudan on Monday, amid calls for
full civilian rule.
Hundreds
of demonstrators marched in the capital Khartoum, waving anti-military banners,
according to an Anadolu Agency reporter on the ground.
Monday’s
rallies were called by the Resistance Committee, a protest group that led
protests against the military, and the Sudanese Professional Association (SPA),
which spearheaded protests against former President Omar al-Bashir.
“We
will continue protesting until we bring down the military coup,” Emad Alhassan,
a protester in Bashdar area of Khartoum, told Anadolu Agency.
“Nearly
80 protesters have been killed and we are ready for more sacrifices until we
establish full civilian rule,” he said.
During
the protest, demonstrators called on fellow protesters in Northern State to
tighten their blockade of roads between Sudan and neighboring Egypt.
Protesters
accuse Egyptian authorities of providing support to the military takeover in
Sudan and have shut the border road linking the two countries since last month.
“The
protests first began over the increase in electricity tariff, but it developed
to include politics and the Egyptian government support to the military coup in
Sudan,” Eman Hassabo, another protester, said.
Sudan’s
military has shared power with civilian groups since al-Bashir’s ouster in
2019, but the situation escalated when the military dismissed Prime Minister
Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government on Oct. 25.
Ever
since, civilian groups have launched almost daily protests against the
military, amid calls for the handover of power to civilians.
On
Friday, the SPA refused to meet UN special representative to Sudan, Volker
Perthes, for talks on resolving the Sudanese crisis, accusing the UN mission of
siding with the military.
The
UN has been pushing for a negotiated solution in Sudan in recent weeks through
holding consultations with various stakeholders in the crisis-hit country.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/fresh-protests-in-sudan-to-demand-full-civilian-rule/2496152
--------
US
says Iran nuclear deal ‘in sight’ but urgent need to finalize
07
February ,2022
The
US said Monday that a deal was possible at Iran nuclear talks in Vienna, but
that an agreement had to be completed urgently as Tehran advances its nuclear
capabilities.
“A
deal that addresses all sides' core concerns is in sight, but if it is not
reached in the coming weeks, Iran's ongoing nuclear advances will make it
impossible for us to return to the JCPOA,” a State Department spokesperson
said, referring to the 2015 framework agreement.
The
talks will resume in Vienna on Tuesday after negotiators in recent weeks have
cited progress in seeking to revive the 2015 accord that was supposed to
prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb, a goal it has always denied
pursuing.
Parties
have been negotiating in Vienna since last year with indirect US participation.
Talks
were most recently halted at the end of last month, and the negotiators
returned to their capitals for consultations.
Former
US president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the pact in 2018 and
reimposed tough economic sanctions on Iran, prompting the Islamic republic to
begin pulling back from its commitments under the deal and step up its nuclear
activities.
Iranian
Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the answers that “the US
brings tomorrow to Vienna will determine when we can reach an agreement.”
“We
have made significant progress in various areas of the Vienna negotiations”
including on guarantees that Iran seeks that a new US administration would not
breach the deal once again, Khatibzadeh told reporters.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
World
must act for starving Afghan youth: England’s children’s commissioner
February
07, 2022
LONDON:
The world must act now to tackle Afghanistan’s growing humanitarian crisis,
England’s children’s commissioner has said.
Responding
to Sky News reports of children being locked up in prisons for “stealing
bicycles,” growing hunger and the sale of young children and organs, Dame
Rachel de Souza echoed calls by politicians to help those in need through a
“pledging conference.”
She
told Sky News: “An international conference is the least we can do. This needs
major action. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see those reports, but we
mustn’t turn away, and I think this is one of those situations where everybody
— all of us — every government, internationally, must act to support those
children.”
She
added: “To think of those children in the middle of winter ... and the stories
about selling young girls, is just awful and we really must act. We can’t in
2022 have children experiencing this.”
Former
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been among the most vocal advocates of a
donor conference to raise $4.4 billion in funds to stave off mass starvation
and death among Afghan children.
He
said the money “must come now or Afghans will conclude the West will never help
them — even in their hour of greatest need.”
Afghanistan
is “now a land all but forgotten — and our eyes have turned away as the
planet’s biggest humanitarian disaster unfolds and people die, many frozen to
death,” he wrote in the Daily Mirror.
“Urgently
needed aid to pay for food, healthcare and girls’ schooling is not flowing in
anything like the amounts needed.”
Mark
Lowcock, a former UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said:
“The vast majority of the population are starving and that is the reason people
resort to these extreme measures.
“It’s
not at all appropriate to enforce a sort of collective punishment on the total
population of the country because you don’t like the regime that those people
haven’t chosen.”
Baroness
Amos, another former UN undersecretary-general, told Sky News that if money is
not urgently sent to the country, 3 million children under 5 “will face acute
malnutrition by March. Of those, a million children will die.”
The
UK Foreign Office last month pledged to release an additional £97 million ($131
million) in promised emergency aid for Afghanistan, which the department said
will provide 2.7 million people with food, health services and water.
But
even with additional funds, millions in Afghanistan will remain in danger of
starvation, impoverished and freezing until a longer-term solution is found.
Billions
of dollars’ worth of Afghan money held in overseas banks or organizations was
frozen when the Taliban seized the country from the Western-backed government.
Late
last month, the World Bank came under pressure from a group of charities,
including Save the Children, to release more than $1.2 billion in Afghan cash
which has been frozen since last year.
Gwen
Hines, head of Save the Children UK, urged the US and UK to push to unblock the
trust fund to support education and health.
“It
becomes a vicious circle with everybody waiting for everybody else. But people
need to get through winter or they will starve,” she said. “Parents are selling
their children. We can’t wait, we have to act now.”
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2020001/world
--------
India
Muslims
to vote against hate, ‘insecurity’ in India’s crucial state polls
Ahmad
Adil
07.02.2022
As
campaigning for provincial elections in India’s politically significant state
of Uttar Pradesh (UP) takes a feverish pitch, Mohammad Islam, 65, a resident of
Nahid Colony in the outskirts of Muzaffarnagar town 90 kilometers (55 miles)
from capital New Delhi, waves to a campaign vehicle that passed through the
main road.
As
Anadolu Agency hit the road to follow the election campaign trail in the most
populated province with a population of 204 million, political leaders of
different political parties were seen going door to door to lure voters. The
Election Commission of India has banned big rallies and gatherings in the wake
of COVID-19.
For
Mohammad Islam, who belongs to the minority Muslim community, which comprises
38 million (19.3% of the population), the elections hold considerable
significance.
"We
were thrown out of our village in 2013 and the fear is still running in our
minds," a frail Islam told Anadolu Agency. He has since then moved to
Nahid Colony, which was constructed by incumbent Muslim legislator Naheed
Hassan for the affected families following a deadly communal riot in the region
in 2013.
"On
Feb 10, I will vote for the party that will end the growing hate against the
Muslims and will help my sons get employment,” he said.
The
state with 403 assembly seats is going to the polls in seven phases. The first
phase will take place on Feb 10 and the last on March 7.
The
sense of insecurity that Islam is referring to is rampant among the minority
community across the province, perpetuated by different acts and incidents. In
2015, 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq, a farm worker, was allegedly lynched in this
region by a mob over rumors that his family had been storing and consuming beef
at home.
Religious
divide
Earlier
in 2013, clashes between the Hindu and Muslim communities in Muzaffarnagar
resulted in at least 62 deaths and left more than 50,000 people displaced,
according to details gathered by different media outlets.
In
2016, ahead of assembly elections that were swept by the ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP), its leaders alleged that Hindu families were being forced
to migrate from the Muslim-dominated town of Kairana.
Since
then the residents feel the religious divide has been further sharpened in the
region.
"We
want a government which will provide development, puts an end to unemployment.
A political dispensation which tends to the injuries and bridges the gap
between majority and minority," said Shahzad Ahmad, 37, a resident of
Karaina town.
Many
in the town believe that since the Hindu nationalist BJP took over power in New
Delhi in 2014, the hostility towards minorities has increased. They refer to
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah’s election gatherings, where he again raked the
issue of the alleged exodus of Hindus.
Local
police which had probed the exodus had punctured this argument in 2016. A spot
verification of 150 addresses of the list had revealed that this migration had
taken place due to the search for better business and job prospects and not due
to Muslims. It also found that many of such migrations had taken place even
eight or 10 years ago.
While
the communal divide is creating unease among Muslims, the issues like
unemployment, economic meltdown find echo across the religious divide.
At
a roadside in dusty down of Kairana, where vehicles associated with different
political parties were moving past blurring songs, Imdad Ahmed, a farmer, said
people may this time vote based on economic issues.
"The
unemployment issue continues to persist. People travel to a neighboring state
for jobs. Condition of roads are bad, there is no transport and even no proper
education institutes as well,” he said.
Karina's
BJP candidate Mriganga Singh, however, said that the region has seen
significant development over the past five years. She said people who had left
the town are returning, and "everybody is feeling safe now”.
Election
fervor
While
the election fervor is visible all across the state, the growing hate against
Muslims is a matter of concern for most in the minority community. The
community members are cautious while speaking to visiting journalists and many
refuse to open up.
In
Deoband town, which hosts South Asia's famous Darul Uloom, a religious seminary
established in 1866, people mentioned rising Islamophobia and hate against
Muslims as main concerns.
Although
the Deoband seminary has officially kept itself away from politics, many
religious scholars near the sprawling marble-coated Masjid Rasheed on the
condition of anonymity said that stereotyping of Muslims and seen through the
prism of hate was a cause for worry.
"Recently
the government announced to deploy an anti-terror police training center near
this place. Instead, they should have announced a university for this area
which would have benefited both the communities. This adds to the fear that
Muslims are not treated well by the government," said Mohammad Ansari, a
resident.
He
said he has decided to vote for the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen
party, the party headed by Asaduddin Owaisi, a member of parliament.
Author
and activist Syed Wajahat Shah told Anadolu Agency that the place famous for
its madrasas lacks industries, and young people are looking for jobs.
"This
place needs to have industries, which could provide jobs, and modern university
to educate our new generation. That should be the focus of politics, not the
hate." he said.
He
said the lack of availability of higher education institutions is one of the
primary factors forcing girls to drop out after passing their high school in
the region.
"Given
the present situation, not all parents are willing to send their daughters to
faraway places for higher education," he said.
Hate
and polarization
"In
the Muslim world particularly in the Middle East, we have seen how the majority
protects the minorities. We don't witness hate towards minorities in those
countries. This time voters will have this on their minds to choose a
government that enables an environment free from hate and polarization,"
said Wajahat.
Even
as the Deoband assembly constituency has a 40% Muslim population, the BJP
candidate in 2017 won the seat after the Muslim votes split between the two
candidates.
Zaheen
Ahmad, who owns a coffee shop cum restaurant in Deoband, pointed out that the
elections would not be limited to issues linked to state-level only.
"Issues
like Citizenship Amendment Act, the National Register of Citizens were brought
by the BJP government. As these issues are being raked up, it was assumed, the government
is not Muslims friendly," he said, adding that such issues have upset the
Muslims.
He,
however, admitted that some schemes of the government meant for the poor have
benefited the Muslims as well.
Some
250 km (155 mi) away from Deoband is another famous city of Aligarh, which
hosts the world-famous Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) a modern educational
institution.
Inside
the campus, many students urge political parties to seek votes based on
providing education and employment rather than spreading hate.
"We
want a government which will build universities so that India moves forward
globally," said Salman Ahmad, who is pursuing a master's program.
"Education,
employment, development should be the core issues in the elections instead of
religion,” he added.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Hijab
row: Dalit students wear blue scarves in solidarity with Muslim girls
7th
February 2022
Several
college students in Karnataka adorned blue scarves around their necks, raising
slogans of “Jai Bhim” in solidarity with Muslim girls in the state who have
been barred from entering their college for wearing hijab.
Muslim
girls of colleges in northern Karnataka were asked to shun their hijab after a group
of male students arrived at the colleges, adorning saffron scarves, in a
protest against girls being allowed to wear headscarves on the college
premises.
Dalit
students from the IDGS government college in Chikmagalur wore blue scarves, on
Monday, in solidarity with the girls who had been denied entry into the college
for wearing headscarves, as a part of their religious obligation.
The
tense situation escalated forcing the college management to intervene as the
groups adorning blue and saffron came face to face, one raising slogans of ‘Jai
Bhim’ and hailing Dr BR Ambedkar, whereas the other raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri
Ram’.
The
Hijab Row
Muslim
girls of colleges in Karnataka were asked to shun their Hijab after a group of
male students arrived at the college, adorning Saffron scarves, in a protest
against Muslim girls being allowed to wear headscarves on the college premises.
Although
the rule book of a college suggested that girls are allowed to wear Hijabs on
the premises of the institution, the management recently prohibited the girls
from covering their heads, following the diktat of the state government.
The
controversy that has been raging since early January, forced the state to call
for a committee to look into the matter and take a call on pre-university
college uniforms across the state.
The
state had directed students, of all colleges, to shun the Hijab until the
report of the high-level committee formed in this regard is submitted.
The
‘saffron fever’ has now spread to a large number of districts in Karnataka,
including Hassan, Chickmanglur and Belagavi. Apart from Kundapura, Hindu
students of PU colleges in Udupi’s Bhandarkar and Byandoor adorned saffron in
protest against girls adorning Hijab.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
BJP
executing 'Godse agenda', dividing Hindu-Muslim communities: Mehbooba Mufti
Feb
7, 2022
SRINAGAR:
Former chief minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba
Mufti on Monday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre and said
that they are executing a 'Godse agenda' of dividing the Hindu and Muslim
communities.
Mufti
also said that the Delimitation Commission's draft is unacceptable to the
party.
Speaking
to media persons here, Mufti said, "The draft is a reflection of the BJP
furthering its divisive agenda, separating Hindus and Muslims. They want to
make it Godse's India."
"It
is unacceptable. A sheer dictatorship is prevailing in the country," she
alleged.
Further,
Mufti said that the issue of the Delimitation Commission's draft will be
discussed in the meeting of PAGD (People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration) on
February 23.
"Delimitation
Commission's proposal has not come as a surprise. It is another onslaught of
democracy in Jammu and Kashmir," she said.
Alleging
that the BJP is trying to "strengthen its constituencies and attempting to
make voters irrelevant", Mufti said, "They want to disempower the
majority communities, be it in Rajouri or Chenab valley. Merging Anantnag
Parliamentary seat with the Jammu regions is an attempt to make voters
irrelevant.
"The
PDP chief wondered how would a Parliamentarian reach Rajouri or Chenab valley
when the road remains closed for six months. While reacting to the arrest of
Journalists in Kashmir, Mufti further alleged that the government is curbing
every dissent in the Valley."
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Cracks
in NDA over Hindutva plank? Muslims not untouchable, says key UP ally
07th
February 2022
NEW
DELHI: Stressing that the Apna Dal (S) stands for social justice, Union
minister Anupriya Patel on Monday dissociated her party from "Hindutva and
all those issues" and said it is ideologically different from the BJP.
Muslim
candidates are not untouchable for her party, the Apna Dal (S) chief told PTI
three days ahead of the first round of the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh elections
beginning on February 10.
"Yes
we are ideologically different from the BJP. People are trying to ask me
questions on Hindutva and all those issues, I dissociate myself from all those
issues and my party doesn't do religious politics. We stand for social justice.
That's our ideology," Patel told PTI.
"We
have always worked for the marginalised sections of society, whether on the
streets or in parliament. And this is our philosophy and our founding
principles and we only stick to it," she added.
The
Apna Dal, which has been BJP's ally in the last three elections in Uttar
Pradesh, the 2014 and 2019 general elections and the 2017 assembly polls -- has
announced its first Muslim candidate this time.
Haider
Ali, the grandson of Congress veteran Begum Noor Bano, was the first candidate
announced by the Apna Dal (S).
He
is contesting against senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan's son Abdullah
Azam Khan from Suar.
"I
don't know why everybody is looking at a candidate from the perspective of
religion. He is a promising youth who is well educated," Patel said.
Her
party doesn't look at candidates from the prism of religion, she added in
response to a question on there not being a single Muslim candidate from the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last time.
Ali
is the first Muslim candidate for the Apna Dal and also for the NDA.
"The
first MLA from my party when the founder of my party Sonelal Patel was alive
was a Muslim who won the Pratapgarh Sadar constituency and his name was Haji
Munnah. Many Muslims have been state presidents of the Apna Dal. So for my
party Muslims are not untouchables and I don't look at candidates in light of
their religion," Patel.
Patel,
who is a minister in the Commerce and Industry ministry, said the Apna Dal (S)
had always been at the forefront on raising issues related to the ideology of
social justice.
It
had raised also raised the matter of other backward classes (OBC) reservations
in NEET examinations with the BJP's top leadership.
She
said the mood in Uttar Pradesh is in favour of the NDA and the BJP-led alliance
will again form government in the state.
"The
mood is very clear. We will be retaining the government in Uttar Pradesh.
People have seen good governance and inclusive growth in Uttar Pradesh. I think
we have been able to fulfill expectations of people in the state to a great
extent."
"People
have witnessed good law and order and inclusive growth in the state and will
support us," Patel said.
Source:
New Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Row
over Congress leader’s ‘Muslim univ promise’ claim snowballs despite Harish
Rawat’s denial
PRITHVIRAJ
SINGH
7
February, 2022
Dehradun:
Uttarakhand Congress vice-president Akil Ahmad has triggered a political row
ahead of the assembly polls involving even the Election Commission (EC), with
his claims that party leader Harish Rawat “promised” him that a Muslim
university would be set up in the state.
While
the Congress party and Rawat himself have categorically denied these claims,
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that the Congress is attempting to
“polarise Muslim voters” in certain assembly segments by promising to build a
university for the community.
Latching
on to Ahmed’s comments earlier this month, state BJP chief Madan Kaushik as well
as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami alleged that Rawat had promised to
establish a Muslim university if his party is voted to power.
“Congress
party has been engaged in Muslim appeasement ever since the independence of
India. Uttarakhand is a Devbhumi and a centre of Char Dham pilgrimage, where
Congress wants to set up a Muslim university while it has opposed Sanskrit
university plan of Karnataka government. People of Uttarakhand will not accept
the divisive politics of the Congress party and reply to them suitably,” Dhami
told reporters on 2 February.
However,
former CM Rawat has denied these charges. “I have never had any such talks with
anyone. No Muslim brother ever demanded this. BJP has a habit of making such
false claims and blaming us…” Rawat had told ThePrint in an interview last
week.
Even
after that, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said at a party meeting
in Haridwar Saturday that “Congress leaders are vehemently going ahead with
Muslim appeasement agenda by advocating for setting up a Muslim university in
the state”.
“No
Muslim university is needed here. Uttarakhand may be a small state, but it’s
very important from the national, cultural and religious perspective…”
Vijayvargiya said.
Even
Prime Minister Narendra Modi didn’t lose the opportunity to attack the
Congress. Addressing a virtual meeting of the party in the assembly
constituencies of Haridwar, Modi said Monday: “Now Congress party is trying to
poison the Uttarakhand with the politics of appeasement. Congress party leaders’
attempt to play the politics of appeasement in the name of university is enough
to open the eyes of the people of Uttarakhand.”
The
battle has reached the EC, with the Congress complaining that the BJP has
tweeted a morphed image depicting Rawat with a beard and a cap, referring to
the alleged promise.
On
the Congress’ complaint that the tweet — allegedly posted from the state BJP’s
official Twitter handle but deleted later — was “insinuating that Rawat is a
Muslim in order to create divisions between communities in the peaceful state
of Uttarakhand”, the EC issued a notice to the BJP Saturday. The BJP reply
claimed that it only praised the ex-CM.
‘Deliberately
crafted ploy by Congress’
The
BJP has alleged that the Muslim university controversy was a “deliberately-crafted
ploy” by the Congress to influence Muslim voters in 10-12 assembly segments in
the Garhwal and Kumaon regions for the 14 February state elections.
Akil
Ahmad, who was denied a Congress ticket from Sahaspur, turned rebel and decided
to contest as an Independent, but announced on 1 February to local media that
he was withdrawing from the contest against the party’s official nominee
Aryendra Sharma after Rawat “promised” him that a Muslim university would be
set up in the state.
Ahmed,
who made this announcement on the last day for withdrawal of nominations, could
have proven to be a major vote cutter for the party in Sahaspur.
The
BJP then used Ahmed’s statement as a stick to beat the Congress, alleging that
it was an attempt by the opposition party to polarise Muslim voters. The party
also asked why the Congress did not condemn Ahmed’s statement.
“Muslim
university issue was deliberately created by Congress. First they allowed their
leader to say it in public to prevent minority votes from splitting among
non-BJP candidates. No Congress leader in Delhi or Uttarakhand has discounted
the statement yet. It’s their hidden agenda. We are telling the people why
Congress did not incorporate its Muslim university plan in its election
manifesto,” BJP’s state spokesperson Suresh Joshi told ThePrint.
“They
can go to any extent in their politics of Muslim appeasement but the BJP will
not take it lying down,” Uttarakhand BJP president Madan Kaushik told ThePrint.
BJP
alleged that the Congress was trying to polarise Dalit voters in the hill
constituencies and Muslims in the plains.
“These
include Kichha, Haldwani, Jaspur, and Kashipur in Kumaon where Muslim voters
are around 15,000-25,000 in number. Congress is also eyeing Dharampur and
Sahaspur in Dehradun and 4-5 assembly constituencies of Haridwar having more
than 20,000 Muslim voters. The Muslim university controversy is all about these
constituencies as parties like AAP, BSP and SP are also in the contest here,”
said Joshi.
‘BJP’s
fabrication’
Asked
about the Congress’ view on the Muslim university controversy, party
spokesperson and media adviser Surendra Agrawal told ThePrint it was the BJP’s
“fabrication, which will not succeed”.
“The
person to whom this is being attributed has himself denied it. He has admitted
to having never met anyone over the university matter. Congress will work only
on the promises made in the manifesto,” he added.
ThePrint
reached Ahmad for a comment via calls but he declined.
Agarwal
further said: “The BJP is already feeling defeated in the constituencies where
it alleges Congress is trying to polarise voters. It has raised the bogey of
Muslim university to polarise votes in constituencies having a substantial size
of Muslim voters, but the people know it all.”
Uttarakhand
Pradesh Congress Committee media in-charge Rajiv Mehrishi told ThePrint this is
“part of the BJP’s divisive politics for which it’s well-known, but this will
not yield the result it desires”.
Rawat’s
comparison with AMU founder
Uttarakhand
BJP’s social media in-charge Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga had tweeted the morphed
photo on 3 February, addressing Rawat as “Harishuddin ji”.
Source:
The Print
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Hyderabad:
Faiz-e-Aam Trust inaugurates job oriented training center at mosque
8th
February 2022
Hyderabad:
Faiz-e-Aam Trust inaugurated “Aisha Afandi Scale Development Center (AASDC)”,
at Masjid Khazana Aab Doodh Bowli on Sunday. During the inauguration, Dr
Maqdoom Mohiuddin who is the president of the Masjid shared his views.
He
said, “As there are plenty of opportunities of employment in the field of
computer-related big and small jobs and this trend will continue in the years
to come by, we must educate our children in the field of computers right from
the very beginning by opening up the computer-related skill development centers
free of cost in and around our cities and villages to educate our students who
are unable to get admission in the private institutes. The world is facing new
challenges in every aspect of life therefore it needs a different approach to
solve them”.
“The
mosques and Madrasa can play an important role in the lives of the
Muslims,” Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, the
Managing Editor of Siasat Daily, said speaking as a Chief Guest at a program
organized by Faize Aam Trust to inaugurate the center. “The modern education of the Imams and
Muezzins can be a harbinger of a new age which can encourage them for trade and
business. This can bring about a paradigm shift in the destiny of the Muslim
community.”
The
AASDC has been established in cooperation with Dr. Syed Abdul Raheem, a
resident of Canada, under the guidance of Faiz-e-Aam trust and named after the
late mother of Dr Abdul Rahim.
“It
is necessary to inculcate the spirit of trade and commerce in Muslim
scholars. In Bhatkal in Karnataka the
Muslim scholars prefer to do their business in addition to their traditional
role as Imams and Muezzins,” Khan said.
Speaking
about women’s employment, Khan said that in Taiwan and other developed countries women
work in manufacturing units of mobile phones, computer chips, and cameras. If such a program is launched in the old
city, the women would be empowered and their economic condition could be
improved..
Khan
advised the Muslim youths to avoid wasting their time and focus on their
future. “I met the Chairman of T-Hub
recently. He said that Muslims are a
wise and dynamic people. They only need
proper guidance. The Muslim scholars can
provide such guidance to the youths.”.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Implications
of jihad-soft new Pak envoy to the U.S.
08th
February 2022
With
the US approving career-diplomat-turned-politician Masood Khan (70) as Pakistan’s
new envoy, the curtain came down on the vetting process by the host nation.
Though Pakistan proposed his name in November last, the Biden administration
took an inordinately long time, leading to speculation. American Congressman
Scott Perry’s letter to Biden seeking to extend the pause on Khan’s approval
citing his soft spot for jihadi terrorists, Pakistan subsequently accusing
India of pressuring the State Department, and the Indian foreign office’s
riposte had built up the whole drama.
Khan’s
positions mirror his country’s powerful military, such as demanding the release
of Pakistani neuroscientist Afiya Siddiqui, jailed in the US for 86 years for
plotting the mass murder of American soldiers in Afghanistan in 2010. With a
hostage taker at a Jewish centre in Texas making the same demand recently, the
jihadist echo couldn’t be missed. She is also known as ‘lady al-Qaeda’, and
over 50 people have been killed so far globally in attempts to free Siddiqui or
avenge the arrest.
Khan’s
appointment comes at a time when redrawing of constituencies to facilitate
elections in Jammu and Kashmir is about to be wrapped up. A delimitation panel
has proposed bunching of 18 Assembly seats in each parliamentary constituency
while treating the Union territory as one unit instead of the existing
watertight Jammu and Srinagar compartments. One fallout is that the Anantnag
parliamentary seat will have Assembly seats from both South Kashmir as well as
Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region. National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah
has already trashed the proposals.
Source:
New Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistani
Cleric Urges Scholars to Introduce True Teachings of Islam to World
February
07, 2022
Special
Representative to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Religious Harmony Hafiz Tahir
Mahmood Ashrafi said the Muslim World League, Ulema-Mashaykh (scholars and
clerics) and the Pakistani government have unanimous stance regarding
interfaith dialogue and Islamophobia.
He
was talking to media in Islamabad after the virtual meeting of the Central
Supreme Council of Muslim World League.
He
lauded the way Secretary General of Muslim World League, Abdul Kareem Al-Issa,
has interpreted Muslim scholars regarding interfaith dialogue and extremism.
Tahir
Ashrafi said that 'Mecca Declaration' and 'Paigham-e-Pakistan’ document are
messages of peace, brotherhood and affection and representation of Islamic
teachings.
Source:
IQNA
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Nearly
50 Ahmadi graves desecrated by police in Pakistan’s Punjab: Community member
February
7, 2022
Nearly
50 graves belonging to the Ahmadis have been allegedly desecrated by police and
Muslim clerics for using Islamic symbols on gravestones at a cemetery in
Pakistan’s Punjab province, a member of an organisation representing the
minority community said on Monday.
Jamaat
Ahmadiya Punjab spokesperson Aamir Mahmood said that a group of people in
Premkot, district Hafizabad, some 110 kms from Lahore, approached the police
complaining that the Islamic verses are inscribed on the tombstones of a number
of graves in the Ahmadis graveyard.
The
group threatened that the Ahmadis cannot display Islamic verses/symbols on
their homes or graves, he said.
“On
Sunday, police along with local clerics and lawyers reached the Ahmadi
graveyard and demolished the tombstones of 45 graves inscribed with Islamic
verses,” Mahmood told PTI.
The
enraged extremists also warned the Ahmadis living in the area to remove Islamic
verses displayed on their houses otherwise they will demolish them too, he
added.
On
the other hand, police said the tombstones from Ahmadi graves have been removed
on the application of a group of lawyers and warned Ahmadis not to use the same
in the future.
Advocate
Amir Nazir, Mehr Asif, Ali Raza and others also filed an application for
registration of FIR against the members of Ahmadi community of the area under
blasphemy laws for writing Islamic verses on the tombstones. The police,
however, did not entertain the request.
“The
persecution carried out against the Ahmadi community in Pakistan is not only
limited to those who are alive, but the Ahmadis that have passed away are also
not safe in their graves. Police action against the Ahmadi community in
Pakistan is an act of violation of basic human rights,” Mahmood said.
There
had been a number of such incidents in different parts of Pakistan in which the
graves of the Ahmadi community members were desecrated by religious zealots in
the past.
Pakistan’s
Parliament in 1974 declared the Ahmadi community as non-Muslims. A decade
later, they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. They are banned from
preaching and from travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage.
Source:
Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://indianexpress.com/article/world/ahmadi-graves-desecrated-police-pakistan-7761423/
--------
Maulana
Fazl flays govt for ‘mortgaging’ State Bank to IMF
Muhammad
Irfan Mughal
February
8, 2022
DERA
ISMAIL KHAN: Chief of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Monday criticised Prime
Minister Imran Khan-led federal government for ‘mortgaging’ the State Bank of
Pakistan to the International Monetary Fund for loan.
“The
State Bank of Pakistan is not answerable to Pakistan [after debt agreement with
the IMF],” Mr Fazl told a public meeting at the GPO Chowk here.
The
PDM leader claimed that the SBP hadn’t lent a single rupee to the federal
government since 2019.
He
criticised the government over ‘poor’ economic policies and said more and more
taxes were being imposed on the people, who were already struggling to pay for
food, medicines and utilities.
Complains
taxes being imposed when people struggling to pay for food, utilities
Mr
Fazl said electricity had got so expensive that it was unaffordable for the
common man.
“The
government is fulfilling the global agenda but we will not allow it to turn us
into a slave nation,” he said.
The
PDM chief said the Federal Bureau of Revenue and the Punjab governor were
confirming the destruction of national economy by the ‘illegitimate, selected
and fake’ prime minister.
He
claimed that when his party was part of the government, the country’s growth
rate was 5.5 per cent and was set to cross the six per cent mark, but it had
gone below zero since the PTI had come to power.
Mr
Fazl said no one had the right to steal the people’s mandate and that the fake
representative of DI Khan (Ali Amin Gandapur) had been exposed.
He
said Prime Minister Imran Khan complained that the new US president didn’t call
him after assuming the office, while the Indian prime minister also didn’t take
his telephonic call.
“During
the recent visit to China, the country’s leadership didn’t meet our selected
and illegitimate prime minister in person and preferred a meeting via video
link,” he claimed.
The
PDM chief said though he was not part of the National Assembly, the Chinese
leadership met me in person.
He
said Prime Minister Imran Khan ‘disgraced’ the Pakistani nation by begging
other nations.
Mr
Fazl said the Afghan Taliban defeated the US on their soil proving that it no
longer had the right to be called a superpower.
He
said the development of backward areas was part of his party’s election
manifesto but the ruling PTI was insulting the people by inaugurating
development projects ahead of elections for votes.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1673944/maulana-fazl-flays-govt-for-mortgaging-state-bank-to-imf
--------
Pakistan’s
relations with Taliban govt in Kabul cordial, says Sh Rashid
February
07, 2022
ISLAMABAD -
Downplaying the opposition’s resolve to oust the PTI government,
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Sunday said they can try all they want
but they will not succeed.
Commenting
on the meeting between leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday last at a lunch in PML-N President
Shehbaz Sharif’s Model Town residence in Lahore, he said these very parties,
which often indulged in blame game against each other, were now going to unite
against the government only for their self-interests. “They do not have any
sympathy for the masses,” he added.
Addressing
a press conference here, the Interior Minister said the opposition is dying on
its own. He said the long marches by the opposition will fail. “These people
say they will send our government home, but they will surely fail,” he added.
If they want to bring a no-trust vote against PM Imran Khan they are more than
welcome to do so, he said, adding that they can all join hands against the
government but they will still fail.
Wondering
over the brand of politics practiced by the opposition parties, the minister
said earlier they were talking about resigning from the assemblies en masse,
then there was a talk of marching on Islamabad. “I think they are going to
create a lot of problems for themselves,” Sh Rashid warned, adding if those who
had laundered the country’s money abroad wanted to come to Islamabad, they were
most welcome. “We are not afraid of them,” he stated. He dared the opposition
to throw the government out of the power corridors if they had the capability
to do so.
The
minister was of the view that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana
Fazlur Rehman should bear in mind that both PPP and PML-N had ditched him as he
was not invited to Saturday’s lunch in Lahore. He said Fazl used to say that he
will remove Imran Khan from the government ‘like a fly out of milk’, but now
it’s the PPP and the PML-N that removed him in this manner from the Saturday’s
meeting in Lahore. Maulana Fazl can try all he wants but the PPP and PML-N will
not resign from the assemblies, Rashid claimed. He further said that the long
march will not succeed either.
Sh
Rashid said he had asked the opposition to change the date for their protest
but now “I want them to come”. “These people are trying to foment instability,”
he alleged. These money launderers have put Pakistan in crisis, he added. He
said he had never called former president Asif Ali Zardari as Mr. 10 percent or
Bilawal ‘selected’.
Speaking
about the security operation in Balochistan, Sh Rashid said the state will go
after anyone who would pick arms against it. The security forces killed 20
militants in the three-day-long operation and nine army personnel got martyred
as a result of the operation, he added. The minister said the attackers had
received help from India, adding that the government will talk to anyone but
not to those who would attack the state installations.
She
Rashid expressed ignorance about any talks taking place between Pakistan and
the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He said he would go to Balochistan after
the cabinet’s meeting to pay tributes to those personnel of the law-enforcement
agencies who had laid their lives while fighting the terrorists. He further
said that Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban government in Afghanistan were
cordial, and it was the government’s desire that the situation in the country
improved further.
Source:
Nation Pakistan
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Petition
against PM Imran’s marriage dismissed
Malik
Asad
February
8, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) on Monday dismissed a petition seeking a decree
against the marriage of Prime Minister Imran Khan on the basis of 10 questions
related to Islamic laws and constitutional provisions.
A
three-member FSC bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Noor Meskanzai,
Justice Dr Syed Mohammad Anwer and Justice Khadim Hussain M. Shaikh declared
the petition as non-maintainable with an observation that the petition was “not
filed in accordance with the Federal Shariat Court (Procedure) Rules 1981”.
The
court order also mentioned the 10 questions asked by the petitioner, including
“whether Holy Quran empowers wife to seek dissolution of marriage from her
husband, whether the Muslim wife who is a mother of children can seek Khula
from her husband for a second marriage, whether Holy Quran acknowledges her as
mother of leftover children, and whether Nikkah after Khula is in accordance
with the constitutional provisions”.
Shariat
court terms petitioner’s questions ‘absurd, derogatory and absolutely
irrelevant’
The
court noted that the petitioner cited only one verse of Surah Taha to support
his contention. “This verse has no link whatsoever with the dissolution of
marriage on the basis of Khula”, which was supposed to be the main issue
highlighted in the petition, the court observed.
Regarding
the questionnaire, the bench was of the opinion that they were contrary to the
prevalent procedure and even otherwise most of the questions were irrelevant
and got nothing to do with FSC business.
Some
questions were “absurd, derogatory and absolutely irrelevant”, while two
questions that were related to Nikkah were “ambiguous, inconceivable and not
understandable, rather [they] were not supposed to be framed at all,” the court
remarked.
The
bench, however, was of the opinion that in order to seek any relief, “the
petitioner may file a separate petition by challenging the corresponding
provisions incorporated in Nikkahnama if so advised”.
In
its order, the court stated that the petitioner was required to have shown
either collectively or individually any corresponding law or provision of the
law enacted and enforced that ran contrary to the injunctions of Holy Quran or
Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
Regarding
Section 10 of the Family Courts Act related to Khula, the bench observed
that this had already been decided by the court and “is a past and closed
chapter”. However, it suggested: “The petitioner may become party in the appeal
pending before the Shariat Appellate Bench of Supreme Court, if so advised.”
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1673872/petition-against-pm-imrans-marriage-dismissed
--------
US
expands interview waiver eligibility for Pakistani visa holders
February
8, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The United States Mission to Pakistan has announced the expansion of interview
waiver eligibility for Pakistani citizens renewing B1/B2 tourism and business
visas at the US embassy in Islamabad and the US consulate general in Karachi.
“Pakistani
citizens of ages 60 and older whose B1/B2 visas are valid or have expired
within the last 48 months are eligible to participate,” the US embassy said in
a press release issued on Monday.
This
procedural change would improve customer service and enable more efficient
processing for renewals of tourism and business visas for qualified and
eligible Pakistani citizens, it said.
The
B1/B2 visa is a temporary, non-immigrant visa that allows the holder to travel
to the United States for business or tourism. An individual on this visa is not
permitted to accept employment or work in the United States.
Potentially
eligible applicants with scheduled appointments were contacted directly and
informed of the option to submit their applications through the new procedure.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1673858/us-expands-interview-waiver-eligibility-for-pakistani-visa-holders
--------
Afghan
humanitarian crisis to affect Pakistan, warn senators
Iftikhar
A. Khan
February
8, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Senators from both sides of the aisle have warned that a humanitarian crisis is
brewing in Afghanistan that could have serious ramifications for Pakistan’s
national security.
Speaking
on a motion seeking to discuss the rapidly developing humanitarian crisis in
Afghanistan and Pakistan’s role in averting it, moved by Senator Mushtaq Ahmad
of the Jamaat-i-Islami on Monday, the senators called for urgent steps to
alleviate the sufferings of the Afghan people.
Former
Senate chairman and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Mian Raza Rabbani in
his speech noted that Pakistan would be affected the most by a humanitarian
crisis in Afghanistan and it would have an impact on the country’s national
security.
Opposition
members criticise govt over recent terror attacks
About
the implementation on decisions taken at a recently held conference of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), he said he would not hold the
government responsible as the OIC had a history of paying mere lip-service to
all issues facing the Islamic countries. He pointed out that the OIC continues
to play the role of a silent spectator on the Kashmir issue.
He
said the Muslim Ummah should have taken a joint position on blatant human
rights violations involving systematic genocide of Muslims in India-held Jammu
and Kashmir. But, he added, they are rather supporting the Washington-New
Delhi-Tel Aviv nexus.
Mr
Rabbani also referred to the commitments made by the Afghan Taliban that
terrorism would not be exported to Pakistan, and raised questions over the
talks held with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) without taking parliament
into confidence. He said the so-called ceasefire reached with the TTP had
repeatedly been violated by the other side.
Mr
Rabbani said the interior minister had at a recent presser acknowledged the
role of the TTP in collusion with militants in Balochistan. But, he added, in
the same breath the minister indicated that the government was ready for talks
with the banned organisation.
PPP’s
parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman said that the recent terror
attacks in the country were of a grave nature. “What is shocking is that the
interior ministry claims that the TTP was responsible for these attacks, but
still the government is trying to hold talks with it at different levels,” she
added.
Ms
Rehman said that Pakistan was not alone responsible for averting a humanitarian
crisis in Afghanistan, adding that the international community must play it due
role in this regard.
According
to her, there is no clarity in the country’s current foreign policy on the
issues of Afghanistan and the banned militant groups. It is very painful that
the current government wants to give amnesty to a banned group which is
responsible for the killing of thousands of Pakistanis, including former prime
minister Benazir Bhutto, other political leaders and innocent children, she
added.
She
said the government must hold the Afghan Taliban accountable for the use of
their country’s soil for conducting attacks inside Pakistan.
Senator
Mushtaq Ahmed of the Jamaat-i-Islami said that the US and its allies were
responsible for the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. He said a large number
of Afghans, including children, were facing hunger in the war-torn country. He
urged the government to provide health facilities to Afghan nationals at the
border and visa facility to patients and members of divided families.
Leader
of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem defended the government’s desire for dialogue
with the TTP, saying that talks should always be an option before a war, during
it and even after it.
He
said a precondition for initiating a dialogue process with the TTP is that its
members would surrender before the law. And, he added, any dialogue with the
TTP would be held within the ambit of the Constitution.
Talking
about the recent incidents of terrorism in the country, he said that whenever
there is a high-profile visit of China, the enemy tries to disturb the security
situation in the country to create an impression that there is no peace here.
He
criticised the performance of the previous government, alleging that they had
no clear policy on the country’s important issues. He claimed that the Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf had after coming into power given the country what he called
its first-ever national security policy.
He
said Pakistan was playing the role of a responsible and peace-loving nation in
mitigating the sufferings of the people of Afghanistan by making serious
efforts for averting a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1673869/afghan-humanitarian-crisis-to-affect-pakistan-warn-senators
--------
Two
Frontier Corps officials injured in bomb blast on Quetta's Sariab Road
Ghalib
Nihad
February
7, 2022
Two
Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were injured in an explosion on Quetta's Sariab
Road on Monday, an FC spokesperson said.
The
personnel were on routine patrol in a village when the bomb — fitted in a
motorcycle on the side of the road — was detonated remotely as they approached
the site, the spokesperson said.
The
injured officials have been shifted to the FC hospital, he added.
A
large number of security personnel along with a bomb disposal squad reached the
site immediately after the explosion, he said, adding that the area was
cordoned off and a search operation was initiated.
There
has been an uptick in violence in Balochistan with several attacks and
explosions reported since the start of the year.
At
least 13 terrorists were killed and seven security personnel, including an
officer, martyred during armed attacks on two security forces' camps in the
province's Naushki and Panjgur districts last week.
Balochistan
Home Minister Mir Zia Langove had said at the time that several threats had
been issued in February. "We had threats from Daesh and so-called
nationalists," he had said.
Last
month, 17 people, including two policemen had been injured in a grenade attack
in Dera Allahyar town of Jaffarabad district.
Prior
to that, three Levies Force personnel along with a Bugti clan elder were
martyred and eight others injured in twin bomb blasts in Sui area of Dera
Bugti.
Sheikh
Rashid alludes to rise in attacks
Over
the weekend, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid — while making an apparent
reference to the recent rise in terrorism incidents and attacks on security
forces — said that incidents that had taken place over the past week could
further increase.
"I
do not want to comment on the talks here. The Taliban have intervened but the
incidents that occurred in the past week could increase. They could rise
[further]," he said while addressing a ceremony held in Rawalpindi on
Saturday.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South Asia
Taliban
rejects UN report of foreign terror groups in Afghanistan
Feb
8, 2022
KABUL:
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has rejected a UN report which claimed
that the presence of foreign have increased in the war-torn nation after the
collapse of the former administration in August last year.
In
a statement on Monday, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry said: "The Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan strongly rejects the recent report by the UNSC Monitoring
Team asserting an increase of foreign groups in Afghanistan. The Islamic
Emirate deems such reports lacking evidence, documents and addresses neither in
the interest of Afghanistan, the region or the world."
The
Ministry further said that the Taliban regime has implemented its commitments
laid out in the 2020 Doha Agreement and "does not allow anyone to threaten
any country from Afghanistan's territory", TOLO News reported.
It
added that the Taliban government will play a positive role towards security in
Afghanistan, the region and the world.
The
report by the UN Security Council Monitoring Team said that there were "no
recent signs that the Taliban has taken steps to limit the activities of
foreign terrorist fighters in the country".
"On
the contrary, terrorist groups enjoy greater freedom there than at any time in
recent history. However, Member States have not reported significant new
movements of foreign terrorist fighters to Afghanistan," it said.
The
report also questioned the Taliban's commitment under the Doha Agreement to
preventing "international terrorist" threats from having a foothold
in Afghanistan and expressed concerns that foreign groups might find safe haven
in Afghanistan.
According
to the report, slain Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's son visited Afghanistan
late last year.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Shia
Clerics Call for Negotiations to Ensure Social Justice
Feb
8, 2022
Shia
religious scholars called on the Islamic Emirate to ensure social and public
justice via negotiations.
The
scholars made remarks at a gathering in western Kabul on Monday.
“Social
justice should be ensured on several sides prior to anything else, in both the
economic and political arena,” said Mohammad Juma Mubligh, a scholar.
“Only
talks, engagements, and understandings are the solutions. The women will also
be ensured of their rights. The Shia community of Afghanistan will also feel
everywhere in the country that it is provided with social justice. That is when
the Islamic Emirate will endure,” said Mohammad Raheem Wafayi, a scholar.
Speaking
at the gathering, Jafar Mahdawi, the leader of Hezb-e-Milat and a former member
of the lower house of the parliament, said the people will stand against those
who seek war and bloodshed in the country. However, Mahdawi didn’t name any
certain group or individual.
“Any
movement aiming for war and bloodshed in Afghanistan will not be welcomed by the
people of Afghanistan, who will stand against it. It (the nation) will not
allow Afghanistan to go back to the misery and bloodshed of decades ago,” he
said.
Source:
Tolo News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-176623
--------
Avalanche
kills 15 people in eastern Afghanistan
07
Feb 2022
Provincial
officials in the eastern Kunar province said that an avalanche has so far killed
15 people and that rescue operations are still underway.
Bakhtar
News agency-Afghanistan news agency- quoting the local authorities said that
the avalanche occurred on Sunday morning, February 6 in Goriga area of the
Dangam district of the province along the Durand Line.
Local
residents have said that 15 people have so far been confirmed dead while five
others are still trapped under the snow.
As
per the authorities, all the victims are those who illegally wanted to cross
the line into Pakistan.
Source:
Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/avalanche-kills-15-people-in-eastern-afghanistan-87685/
--------
Former
UK defense chief says US will recognize Taliban sooner or later
08
Feb 2022
United
Kingdom’s former chief of defense David Richards warned that it was time to
accept that the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan has been lost and that
the United States must start working with the new leadership for the sake of
the Afghan people.
David
Richards has also acknowledged that there are elements inside the Taliban that
the UK can work with them.
Speaking
in BBC’s Panorama episode, the former UK defense chief said that the Taliban
are now leaders of Afghanistan and they are responsible for 40 million people.
“I
think the West is going to end up recognizing the Taliban government. If that’s
the case, then we’d better get on with it quicker, sooner rather than later.
There’s a great phrase to be magnanimous in victory. I think this is an
occasion for us to be magnanimous in defeat”. Said Richards.
Source:
Khaama Press
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--------
US
State Department offers $10M reward for Kabul Airport bomber
08
Feb 2022
The
United States Department of State on Monday, February 7, 2022, announced a $10
million prize each for intelligence information about Sanaullah Ghafari and
anyone involved in Kabul Airport deadly attack that killed 13 US service
members and over 170 Afghan civilians.
US
officials believe that Sanaullah Ghafari who was appointed as leader of ISIS-K
in June 2020, was responsible for the heinous attack because he was responsible
for all the strategic attacks of the terror group.
As
per the report of Sky News, Sanaullah Ghafari was categorized as a specially
designated global terrorist by State Department last year.
This
comes days after the Pentagon concluded its investigation of the attack and
said that the attack was carried out by a sole bomber and that the firings of
US and British Forces were warning firings that harmed no one.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/us-state-department-offers-10m-reward-for-kabul-airport-bomber-897685/
--------
Southeast Asia
UN
chief expects China to allow credible visit by human rights chief
February
6, 2022
UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has told the Chinese leadership that he
expects Beijing to allow the world body's human rights chief to make a credible
visit to China, including Xinjiang where the country is facing serious rights
violations against Uygur Muslims.
Guterres,
who was in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics,
met Chinese President Xi Jinping and State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang
Yi on the margins of the games.
China
had said last month that UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet is welcome to
visit Xinjiang, where Beijing faces serious human rights allegations against
Uygur Muslims, after the Winter Olympic Games to promote cooperation and not an
investigation based on the presumption of guilt.
A
readout issued here on Saturday after Guterres' meetings with the top Chinese
authorities said: The Secretary-General also expressed his expectation that the
contacts between the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the
Chinese authorities will allow for a credible visit of the High Commissioner to
China, including Xinjiang.
Guterres
and the Chinese authorities also discussed regional issues, with particular
emphasis on Afghanistan.
The
readout said that facing the dramatic challenges of the pandemic, climate
change and the multiplication of conflicts, the Secretary-General underscored
the importance of unity and solidarity in a multilateral framework bridging
geopolitical divides.
Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian had said that an invitation to the UN
human rights chief was extended a long time ago and the two sides have been
maintaining communication.
"China
welcomes Madam Bachelet to visit China, including Xinjiang, Zhao had said.
Our
position is consistent and clear. The purpose of the visit is to promote
exchange and cooperation, not investigation based on the presumption of guilt.
We oppose anyone using this for political manipulation to pressure China, Zhao
had said.
China
launched a diplomatic offensive to mobilise world leaders to attend the
February 4 opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics as the US, the European
Union and several western countries announced a boycott of the event by their
diplomats to highlight the allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang,
including the incarceration of over a million Uygur Muslims in camps.
China
defends the camps, describing them as re-education centres aimed at
de-radicalising sections of the Uyghur Muslim population from extremism and
separatism campaign carried out by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM).
Indian
diplomats did not attend Friday's opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter
Olympics.
China
fielded Qi Fabao, the regimental commander of the People's Liberation Army
(PLA), who was injured during the June 2020 border skirmish with Indian
soldiers in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, as a torchbearer for the Games
Torch Relay.
Following
this, India on Thursday announced that its charg d'affaires in the Indian
embassy in Beijing will not attend the opening or closing ceremony of the 2022
Winter Olympics over China honouring a military commander involved in the
Galwan Valley clashes as its torchbearer for the mega sporting event.
The
Human Rights Watch has said that the 2022 Beijing Games was officially launched
against the backdrop of Chinese government crimes against humanity targeting
Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic communities.
Source:
Business Standard
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Hadi’s
meet with Taliban merely ‘dialogue’ arranged by Qatar, doesn’t imply
recognition, says aide
08
Feb 2022
BY
SYED JAYMAL ZAHIID
KUALA
LUMPUR, Feb 8 ― An aide from Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s office insisted
today that a recent meeting between the special envoy to the Middle East and
the Taliban government was merely a “dialogue” with the Islamist organisation
facilitated by the Qatari government.
Hadi’s
officer Syahir Sulaiman wrote in a statement that Hadi had “conveyed Malaysia’s
official stance” at the meeting with Taliban delegates in Doha, Qatar, on
February 4, and denied that the meeting symbolises Putrajaya recognising the
Taliban government.
“Regarding
the recognition, the special envoy conveyed Malaysia’s official stance that
remains the same as stated by the foreign minister,” Syahir wrote.
The
meeting with Taliban delegates and the decision to donate US$100,000
(RM410,000) to the United Nations for humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan had been
coordinated together with the foreign affairs ministry, the Malaysian Embassy
and its Qatari counterparts, Syahir said.
Foreign
Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah said last month that the
Malaysian government is taking “a cautious approach”, and will wait for cue
from international bodies like the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
before deciding whether or not it would establish diplomatic ties with the
group.
In
turn, Hadi’s reported pledge to give economic and humanitarian aid had been
criticised by the Opposition.
One
of them was Amanah deputy president Datuk Salahuddin Ayub who described the
pledge as premature, and questioned if it had the Cabinet’s approval.
Syahir
said the “dialogue session” was requested by Hadi’s office, claiming it had
been working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian
embassy.
Both
the ministry and the embassy have not indicated its involvement in the meeting
so far.
The
criticism came in response to a statement by the Taliban's permanent
representative to the United Nations, Mohammed Suhail Shaheen, who asserted
Malaysia’s willingness to provide economic and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
The
Taliban swept back into power without much resistance in August last year after
Washington ordered its remaining troops to leave the conflict-riddled country,
causing the collapse of the pro-West Afghanistan government and marked the end
of yet another humiliating episode of US foreign policy.
Source:
Malay Mail
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Indonesian
diocese bans traditional wedding ritual
February
08, 2022
An
Indonesian diocese has banned Catholics from carrying out a traditional
marriage-related ritual of animal sacrifice, saying it is contrary to the
Catholic faith and has no basis in the socio-cultural life of the community.
Bishop
Dominikus Saku of Atambua in East Nusa Tenggara province announced the ban
against the hel keta ceremony which is usually practiced by Dawan indigenous
people from West Timor.
The
ban was announced in a Feb. 5 circular addressed to Catholics in the diocese.
The
ceremony is usually performed by the Dawan people when someone marries into
another indigenous group.
It
involves the slaughter of a sacrificial animal such as a chicken or a pig,
which is claimed to be a symbol of purification for the couple from the past
sins of their ancestors.
Bishop
Saku said in his letter that the ceremony was against the Catholic faith and
was superstition and mystical practice that had no basis in socio-cultural
life. He also said it harmed kinship and human relations and added to the heavy
economic burden on families and society.
"If
the hel keta ritual is practiced, both by the couple who are getting married
and by the family carrying it out, then the wedding blessing in the Church will
be cancelled," he said.
"I
ask that parish priests, administrators, assistants and all pastoral agencies
pay attention to this and announce it to all people in their respective service
areas to be known and implemented," he said.
The
ban has been widely discussed and has sparked mixed reactions, with some
accepting it, and others opposing it.
Sevan
Ambanu, a Dawan community member said he was surprised that the diocese
“suddenly made new rules to eliminate customs that have been passed down from
generation to generation.”
"Has
this been discussed with the traditional elders of the Dawan community? Or is
this a one-sided decision?” he said.
He
said the ceremony does not need to be eliminated but only needs to consider
things that really don't need to be done so that it doesn't burden people
economically.
“The
decision of any authority must have a solid basis of legitimacy. Culture has an
anthropological value, so it becomes very strange if the Church authority
determines a culture is based on socio-cultural life or not," said
Fransiskus Solanus Afeanpah, another Dawan community member.
Source:
UCA News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesian-diocese-bans-traditional-wedding-ritual/96029
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Arab World
Syria:
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham denies it knew of US strike against Islamic State chief
7
February 2022
The
Syrian armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has denied it knew the head of
Islamic State (IS), who died during a US raid last week, lived in an area under
its control.
Abu
Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi blew himself up on Thursday during the nighttime
raid on his house in Syria's northwest region of Idlib, which is mostly
controlled by HTS.
A
coalition of fighters, including some factions formerly aligned with al-Qaeda,
HTS is a rival to IS.
"We
were not aware of such an operation before it happened," the group said in
a statement on Sunday, adding that it was also unaware of "the identity of
the residents" of the house that was targeted by US special forces.
"We
condemn this [US] operation," HTS added, saying it would continue to
"fight against vices and crime".
Local
sources told Middle East Eye that a HTS fighter had been killed by US special
forces during the raid and another member wounded.
The
men had approached the scene of the attack with their weapons to see what was
going on and were attacked by the US special forces who thought they were from
IS, they said.
US
officials said Qurayshi lived on the third floor of the house it raided above
an “unwitting family” that was not associated with IS.
The
officials said the IS leader blew himself up, killing members of his own
family, during the operation in Idlib's Atmeh, about 2km from the Turkish
border.
Operations
against IS
HTS
occasionally carries out operations against IS-affiliated cells in the region -
Syria's last main rebel bastion - according to the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights.
The
UK-based activist group, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria,
said HTS had fought fighters affiliated to IS in recent months.
Source:
Middle East Eye
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Iran-backed
Houthis launched missiles from civilian port and airport: Coalition
08
February ,2022
The
Iran-backed Houthi militia launched four ballistic missiles at the northern
town of Harad in Yemen from the civilian port Hodeidah and Sanaa International
Airport, the Arab Coalition announced on Monday.
Fighting
in the town has intensified as military forces from Yemen’s
internationally-recognized government push to retake it from the Houthis.
“The
military use of Hodeidah port and Sanaa airport threatens regional and
international security,” an Arab Coalition spokesperson said in a statement
carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Yemen’s
army backed by the coalition air force is fighting a battle in the town where
Houthi leaders are besieged, Yemeni military sources told the Okaz newspaper.
Government
forces have called on the Houthis in Harad to surrender peacefully, but they
have refused, according to Okaz.
The
Houthis gained control of Hodeidah port, one of the country’s most
strategically important, in November.
In
January, the United Arab Emirates-flagged ship Rwabee was seized by the Houthis
off Hodeidah.
The
United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeida Agreement (UNMHA) soon afterwards
expressed “great concern” over claims that the Houthis were militarizing the
port, stating that the port was vital for the impoverished country and
demanding an inspection.
The
Arab Coalition has in recent months stepped up air strikes on Sanaa airport,
which it says harbors missile and drone launch sites.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Iraq:
clans warn of irregular Shia militia mobilisation
February
7, 2022
An
Iraqi clan leader in Anbar Province has issued a warning that Shia militias
belonging to the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) have gathered on the eastern
border of the province. In his warning, Ahmed Abu Risha stressed the readiness
of Anbar's clans to defend themselves.
Video
footage circulated on social media yesterday showed what were alleged to be
"heavily armed forces" belonging to the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades
faction heading towards Anbar.
"This
mobilisation is unjustified and unacceptable," said Abu Risha. "It
seems that [the militias] are hiding something."
He
added that the PMF are in place without coordination with the security services
in Anbar or the operations command. "We see that there is an intention to
repeat incidents such as kidnapping innocent people. The Anbar clans are
committed to allow no action that affects the security of the province and will
not stand idly by in the face of any suspicious move."
Source:
Middle East Monitor
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220207-iraq-clans-warn-of-irregular-shia-militia-mobilisation/
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US
says ‘no wiggle room’ on Lebanon holding May elections
07
February ,2022
Lebanon’s
upcoming parliamentary polls must be held on time, US Ambassador Dorothy Shea
told Reuters, amid widespread concern that powerful parties may seek to
postpone the May vote that could see them lose some power in the legislature.
“The
international community is unanimous that the elections must be held on time in
a fair and transparent manner,” Shea told Reuters. “There’s no wiggle room.”
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
UN Security Council last week “underlined the importance of holding free, fair,
transparent and inclusive elections as scheduled on 15 May 2022.”
The
May polls come amid a crushing financial crisis in Lebanon seen as the biggest
threat to the country’s stability since its 1975-90 Civil War.
They
would be the first elections for the 128-member legislature following protests
in October 2019 - attended at-times by hundreds of thousands of people in the
small country of 6 million - against political elites widely seen as
responsible for decades of corruption and mismanagement.
Most
major parties and government officials have said they are committed to holding
the May polls.
However,
analysts say some parties, including allies of the powerful Iran-backed
Hezbollah group who together with it have a slim parliamentary majority, could
face setbacks at the ballot box.
Karim
Emile Bitar, director of the Institute of Political science at Beirut’s Saint
Joseph University, said House Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement and President
Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement stood to lose the most and could push for
postponement.
Both
are key Hezbollah allies and both have been weakened since 2019, he said.
“Seeing
that its two major allies are weakened could also incite Hezbollah to work for
a postponement of the elections if there is a threat of losing its
parliamentary majority,” Bitar said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Lebanon
banks association rejects draft govt financial plan
07
February ,2022
Lebanon’s
banking association on Monday rejected a draft government plan for tackling the
country’s financial crisis that proposes a haircut and partial bank bail-in on
savers, saying it would cause a long loss of confidence in the financial
sector.
A
draft of the plan to plug a huge hole in the financial system, seen by Reuters
last month, foresees returning just $25 billion out of a total $104 billion in
hard currency deposits to savers in US dollars.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Most
of what’s left would be converted to Lebanese pounds at several exchange rates,
including one that would wipe out 75 percent of the value of some deposits. It
estimates losses in the financial sector at $69 billion and sets a 15-year
timeframe for paying back all depositors.
“This
hypothetical draft plan indicates it can eliminate the so-called “losses” in
order to balance the books. This approach... is a liquidation approach and will
lead to a persistent loss of confidence for generations to come,” the
Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) said in a written statement to Reuters.
The
ABL’s approval is not required in order for the government to adopt and begin
implementing the plan, but experts say support from the banking sector could
contribute to solving the crisis. The ABL said it had no role in drafting the
plan and had not seen an official version.
“If
true, this reported approach in addressing the losses occurred in the financial
sector is not acceptable at all, and will definitely not reverse the spiral
downhill of the economy,” it said.
Bail-in
The
ABL said it would not endorse a plan that would lead to a “nominal haircut on
customers’ deposits” or totally wipe out shareholder equity, but was open to
shouldering some losses from Eurobonds restructuring and private sector loans.
Lebanon’s
banks have been a major lender to government for decades, helping to finance a
wasteful and corrupt state that went into financial meltdown in 2019.
The
collapse has resulted in depositors largely being shut out of their savings and
the local currency losing more than 90 percent of its value.
Lebanon’s
government began talks with the IMF in January as part of efforts to secure a
bailout seen as crucial to begin charting a path out of the crisis. A viable
financial plan is key to that process. A previous plan drawn up under a
government in 2020 was shot down by banks, the central bank and powerful
political parties, ending IMF talks at the time.
An
IMF spokesperson said last week they could not comment on reports that the fund
had rejected aspects of the government’s plan during the talks that began in
January.
A
Lebanese official source told Reuters the IMF had asked Lebanese officials to
“work on parts of the plan.”
As
part of efforts to plug the $69 billion hole in the financial system, the draft
plan envisions a bail-in of large depositors to the tune of $12 billion,
equivalent to 72 percent of shares in the banking sector, thereby reducing
shareholders and creditors to less than a third.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Rights
groups plead for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis to free journalists
07 February
,2022
Media
rights groups on Monday urged Yemen’s Houthi militants to free four journalists
sentenced to death for “espionage” in the war-torn country.
The
four, Abdul Khaleq Amran, Tawfiq al-Mansouri, Harith Hamid, and Akram al-Walidi
were arrested in June 2015 in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital Sanaa.
The
Iran-backed Houthis seized Sanaa from the internationally recognized government
in 2014, sparking a civil war that has devastated the already impoverished
country.
In
April 2020, a Houthi court sentenced the four journalists to death on charges
of “treason and spying for foreign states,” a verdict condemned at the time by
Yemen’s government.
“Their
arrest was motivated by their reporting on human rights violations committed by
Houthi forces,” the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the
Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate (YJS) said in a joint statement.
The
two organizations said they were “launching an emergency call... to put
pressure on the Houthi authorities to release our colleagues and save their
lives.”
The
Brussels-based IFJ, which represents journalists and unions from more than 140
countries, said the four had suffered “physical and psychological torture” as
well as the “denial of the right to be visited and the right to have access to
medical care.”
At
the time of their trial, Amnesty International criticized their sentencing on
“trumped-up charges,” while Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called the verdict
“totally unacceptable.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Iran’s
Top Security Official: No Deal Possible without Removal of All US Maximum
Pressure Sanctions
2022-February-7
"The
agenda for the Iranian negotiators to continue the eighth round of Vienna Talks
has been carefully defined. An agreement in which the sanctions that form the
maximum pressure are not lifted will condition the country's economy and cannot
be the basis of a good deal," Shamkhani wrote on his twitter page.
Late
in November last year, the participants in the Vienna talks aimed to remove
sanctions against Tehran and revive Iran's deal with world powers, officially
known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), resumed the talks for
the first time under Iran’s new President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi. Since then,
Iran has repeatedly emphasized that it seeks a “good agreement” in the Austrian
capital.
The
talks were launched last April over US President Joe Biden’s pledge to rejoin
the JCPOA and rescind Trump’s “failed maximum pressure” campaign.
Over
a year into his presidency, Biden has failed to re-enter the 2015 deal.
Instead, he has kept Trump’s sanctions in place while adding new ones as well.
The
US quit the deal in 2018 and returned the sanctions that the accord had lifted.
Now, the talks are examining the potential of fresh removal of the sanctions.
Reports
said on Friday that the Biden administration has restored a nuclear cooperation
sanctions waiver to Iran, a senior State Department official said.
The
waiver, which was rescinded by the Trump administration in May 2020, had
allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to carry out non-proliferation
work at Iranian nuclear sites.
The
move came as Iran has been requesting removal of economic sanctions.
Shamkhani
reacted to the news on Saturday by saying that Iran has the right to a peaceful
nuclear program.
“Iran’s
legal right to continue research and development and to maintain its peaceful
nuclear capabilities and achievements, along with its security against supported
evils, cannot be restricted by any agreement,” he tweeted.
Iranian
senior analyst Seyed Mostafa Khoshcheshm also discredited the US move,
describing it as a deceitful measure aimed at prioritizing nuclear debates over
economic sanctions in the Vienna talks.
In
a reply tweet to a post left by the Russian representative at the Vienna
negotiations, Mikhail Ulyanov who had welcomed the US waivers as a step
forward, Khoshcheshm said the US continues its game against Iran and its recent
move shouldn't be interpreted as softening tone.
Iranian
Government Spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi said last week that his country does
not accept lifting of the US embargos just on paper and all of them should be
removed in practice.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iranian
FM Spokesman: No Different Result Expected for West by Continuing Failed
Policies
2022-February-7
“Regretfully,
43 years after the Islamic Revolution, some Western states, the United States
in particular, still refuse to accept the fact that the rights and interests of
Iranian nation should be respected. By insisting on the failed policies of the
past four decades, they should not expect different results,” Khatibzadeh said
in a statement at the start of his weekly press conference in Tehran on Monday
on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic
Revolution in Iran.
The
full text of Khatibzadeh’s statement is as follows:
This
week our nation is celebrating the victory of a revolution – led by Grand
Ayatollah Imam Khomeini – that was the triumph of the will and self-belief of
our people, who, against all odds, overthrew a tyrannical foreign-backed
regime.
43
years ago, a decades-long national struggle for self-determination; for a
modern (but nationally decided) system of governance; and for an independent
foreign policy, came into fruition in the form of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In
an era that was characterized by fierce rivalry between two superpowers, their
respective ideologies, and their spheres of influence, the Islamic Revolution
of the Iranian nation presented a new model – a third way, best encapsulated in
the historic and ever-lasting mottos of the Revolution: Independence, freedom
and Islamic Republic & Neither East, Nor West .
Inside
the country, for the first time in our history, our people were able to attain
a right to determine their destiny in a system that created a delicate and
meaningful synthesis of our national identity and Islamic values. Also, in the
international arena, the Islamic Revolution was a voice of reason,
independence, and rejection of foreign interference and dominance. And from the
outset, the newly born Islamic Republic stood with the oppressed people,
whether they were under occupation in Palestine or under an apartheid regime in
South Africa.
More
than four decades on, those values continue to guide us. As a result of that
and thanks to the resilience of our nation, today the Islamic Republic as a
mature system is in its most powerful state ever, and has become an
indispensable and responsible actor, a force of good, and an anchor of
stability in the region and beyond.
To
reach here, Iranian nation has paved a long way, full of obstacles and
barriers, mostly manufactured and set up by those foreign powers who have been
refusing to come along with and grasp the new realities of the NEW Iran. From
imposing a deadly war, to launching unending campaigns of economic terrorism,
sabotage, and psychological warfare, those powers who were opposed to our
revolution, our independence, and our self-reliance, did all they could to stop
our popular movement. But the will and resilience of the great And proud nation
of Iran was and is, stronger than their schemes. Despite all hardships and ups
and downs, grassroots support remains the main source of the power of the
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Journalist
dies while covering conflict in Yemen
Safiye
Karabacak
07.02.2022
ADEN,
Yemen
A
journalist was killed late Sunday while covering clashes between Yemeni
government forces and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in northwestern Yemen.
Mervan
Yusuf died while on duty in Harad district in Hajjah governorate, Yemen's
Deputy Minister of Information Abdul Basit al-Qaidi said on Twitter.
Al-Qaidi
conveyed his condolences to Yusuf's family.
The
Houthis have yet to comment on the incident.
The
Yemeni army announced Saturday that Harad district was surrounded by army
forces as part of the clashes with the Houthis.
Controlled
by the Houthis, Harad is one of the most strategic districts in Yemen due to
its location.
The
district is also home to a vital land port operated by Saudi Arabia.
A
Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis since 2015, one year after
the Iran-aligned rebels overran much of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/journalist-dies-while-covering-conflict-in-yemen/2495725
--------
Leader’s
Military Aide Stresses Importance of Persian Gulf Region in Global Trade
2022-February-7
General
Rahim Safavi made the remarks on the sidelines of his visit to Bandar Abbas and
Abu Musa economic infrastructures in Southern Iran.
He
said that the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz will become the rivalry
focal point in the future.
General
Rahim Safavi added that the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz are exemplary in
terms of importance.
He
said Iran should put on its agenda taking marine strategy in economic,
defensive and security dimensions.
He
described the Persian Gulf region as heart of Islam, saying it is incomparable
with any region in terms of culture and civilization.
The
security of the Persian Gulf which is the lifeline of the world energy supplies
has been safeguarded by the Iranian Armed Forces in the past decades.
In
September, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani
lauded the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Army naval forces for
their efforts to establish security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
“We
owe the strategic security of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman and the
critical waterways of the country to the defense preparations of the Navy of
the Army and the IRGC,” General Ashtiani said in a meeting with IRGC Navy
Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri.
"Today,
maritime trade and economic and commercial activities at sea enjoy
security," he added.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
Calls for Broadening of Ties with Armenia
2022-February-7
"The
Islamic Republic of Iran was one of the first countries that recognized the
independence of the Republic of Armenia and established official diplomatic
relations with this country," Amir Abdollahian said in his message.
The
Iranian foreign minister reiterated that over past year, the amicable relations
between the two countries of Iran and Armenia expanded and strengthened in
various fields and legal pillars of cooperation have been strengthened with the
signing and sealing of several documents.
Amir
Abdollahian also emphasized the willingness of Iran bilateral relations with
the Republic of Armenia.
In
a relevant development in early January, Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim
Rayeesi in a phone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
underlined Tehran’s support for the neighboring country’s territorial integrity
and sovereignty.
During
the phone talks, the two sides discussed development of economic exchanges and
cooperation between Tehran and Yerevan.
“The
principled policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is to protect the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of countries,” Rayeesi said.
“In
doing so, Tehran supports the sovereignty of Armenia over all its territories
and means of transportation passing through the country.”
He
extended his congratulations on the birthday anniversary of Jesus Christ (PBUH)
and the beginning of the Christian New Year, and stressed the necessity of
constant interaction and dialogue between the two countries at different levels
and among neighbors.
“The
sensitivity of the situation in the Caucasus region requires the countries of
the region to discuss regional and bilateral issues on a regular basis,”
Rayeesi added.
He
underscored that Tehran welcomes progress in the process of talks between the
Republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and said, “We hope that other issues
between the two countries will be resolved peacefully within the framework of
international principles and law, and that we will see more peace, stability
and security in the region.”
Pashinyan,
for his part, reaffirmed his country’s resolve to expand multilateral relations
with Iran and said, “We are determined to increase economic relations and
interactions with Iran in all fields and to make the Iran-Armenia joint economic
cooperation commission more active than before.”
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14001118000853/Iran-Calls-fr-Bradening-f-Ties-wih-Armenia
--------
Iran,
Iraq Continue Investigation into US Assassination of General Soleimani
2022-February-7
Deputy
Head of Iran’s Judiciary for international affairs and secretary general of the
country's High Council for Human Rights Kazzem Qaribabadi said on Sunday that
the third round of negotiations between the joint committee of the Islamic
Republic of Iran and the Republic of Iraq regarding the investigation of the
terrorist attack against General Soleimani will be held in Baghdad in the
coming days.
He
added that the third round of negotiations will begin on Tuesday (February 8,
2022) and will continue for two days in Baghdad, Iraq.
Iran
announced in January that 127 suspects are on the list of the country’s
Judiciary to be prosecuted for involvement and cooperation in assassination of
General Soleimani.
Iranian
Judiciary Spokesman Zabihollah Khodayian said the country has sent 11 letters
of request to 9 countries asking for measures against the 127 culprits.
He
also said Iran and Iraq have signed a memorandum of understanding in this
regard adding that two neighbors have formed working groups which will soon
hold their third joint meeting.
Khodayian
expressed the hope that with cooperation from the vice president for legal
affairs and the department for international affairs of the Judiciary, the
assassination of General Soleimani will be followed up on more seriously
internationally.
Former
Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force Lieutenant
General Qassem Soleimani, his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the
second-in-command of Iraq’s PMU, and ten of their deputies were martyred by an
armed drone strike as their convoy left Baghdad International Airport on
January 3, 2020. The attack was ordered by then US President Donald Trump.
To
date, Iran’s chief civilian prosecutor has indicted tens of individuals in
connection with the assassination, among them former president Trump, the head
of US Central Command General Kenneth McKenzie Jr., and former US Secretaries
of State and Defense Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper.
The
file remains open to the further addition of individuals that Tehran determines
to have played a role in the killing.
Both
commanders were highly popular because of their key role in fighting against
the ISIL terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.
Back
in January 2020, two days after the assassination, the Iraqi parliament passed
a law requiring the Iraqi government to end the presence of the US-led foreign
forces in the Arab country.
Last
year, Baghdad and Washington reached an agreement on ending the presence of all
US combat troops in Iraq by the end of 2021.
The
US military declared the end of its combat mission in Iraq this month, but
resistance forces remain bent on expelling all American forces, including those
who have stayed in the country on the pretext of training Iraqi forces or
playing an advisory role.
Since
the assassination, Iraqi resistance forces have ramped up pressure on the US
military to leave their country, targeting American bases and forces on
numerous occasions, at one point pushing the Americans to ask them to “just
leave us alone”.
Iran
and Iraq in a joint statement in December underlined their determination to
identify, prosecute and punish the culprits behind the assassination of General
Soleimani and al-Muhandis.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Republican
senators vow to thwart any Iran deal if Biden skips Congressional review
08
February ,2022
A
group of 33 Republican senators warned US President Joe Biden on Monday that
they would work to thwart implementation of any new Iran nuclear agreement if
his government did not allow Congress to review and vote on its terms.
Led
by Senator Ted Cruz, a long-time opponent of the 2015 nuclear deal, the
senators told Biden in a letter dated Monday that they would use “the full
range of options and leverage available” to ensure that his government adhered
to US laws governing any new accord with Iran.
Indirect
talks in Vienna between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015
agreement are due to resume on Tuesday. Talk of a possible agreement has driven
oil prices lower, with markets anticipating that the possible removal of
sanctions on Iranian oil sales could boost global supplies.
The
Biden administration has been trying to revive the deal, which lifted sanctions
against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities, a deal
from which former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018.
Iran
later breached many of the deal’s nuclear restrictions and kept pushing well
beyond them.
Cruz
and other senior Republican senators told Biden that implementation of any new
deal would be “severely, if not terminally hampered” if he did not meet
statutory obligations aimed at ensuring congressional oversight over revisions
or changes to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.
They
provided no details about their plans, but Republicans have used various
tactics to slow down other legislation or put holds on Biden’s nominees,
including many for ambassador posts.
Democrats
control the 50-50 Senate only by virtue of a tie-breaking vote that can be cast
by Vice President Kamala Harris, but they could lose control of the Senate and
the House of Representatives in mid-term elections later this year.
The
senators said any nuclear agreement with Iran was of “such grativity for US
national security” that it would by definition be a treaty requiring the advice
and consent of two-thirds of the Senate, they argued.
Any
deal that fell short of Senate-ratified treaty would “likely be torn up in the
early days of the next presidential administration,” they added, anticipating a
Republican victory in the 2024 presidential race.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Two
potential successors to Palestinian president named to top posts
07
February ,2022
Two
potential successors to 86-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were
named on Monday to top posts in the Palestine Liberation Organization at a
meeting boycotted by his hardline rivals.
Official
Palestinian news agency WAFA said the PLO's 141-member Central Council
appointed Hussein Al-Sheikh, 61, an Abbas confidant who serves as key liaison
with Israel and the US, to the PLO's Executive Committee.
He
is likely to replace the late Saeb Erekat as the committee's secretary-general.
The
council, meeting for the first time in nearly four years, picked Rawhi Fattouh,
73, another Abbas aide, to head the PLO's highest decision-making body, the
National Council.
Both
men were nominated by the Western-backed Abbas and his Fatah party and are
widely seen in the Palestinian territories as possible successors. They are not
expected to promote any shift in policies over the handling of the conflict
with Israel.
The
Hamas and hardline movements turned down an invitation to attend the council's two-day
session, which began on Sunday, saying Abbas had to institute power-sharing
reforms first.
“These
appointments are void, illegal and lack (national) consensus. It is nothing but
a redeployment of (Abbas's) team,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in Gaza.
Abbas
heads the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule
in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. His main rival, Hamas, runs the Gaza Strip,
also a hardline stronghold.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Report:
Israel police used spyware on Netanyahu’s son, aides
07
February ,2022
Israeli
police allegedly used spyware on the phones of former Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s son and members of his inner circle, a local newspaper reported
Monday.
Calcalist
has published a series of recent reports alleging that police used
sophisticated spyware against protesters and other Israeli citizens, prompting
condemnation from across the political spectrum.
The
allegations could also undermine Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, after
reports that police used spyware to surveil a key witness.
Israeli
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the allegations, if true, are “very
serious.”
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Public
Security Minister Omer Barlev announced the formation of a government
commission of inquiry, to be led by a retired judge, that will “investigate in
depth the violation of civil rights and privacy in the years in question.”
He
said the alleged violations appear to have been carried out under former
officials in previous governments.
Calcalist
says the police used spyware against a phone registered to Netanyahu’s son,
Avner, as well as two communications advisors and the wife of another defendant
in one of three corruption cases against the former leader.
They
are among several prominent figures to have been targeted with spyware,
including business leaders, former directors of cabinet ministries and mayors,
Calcalist reported. It said the organizers of demonstrations on behalf of
disabled people and Israel’s Ethiopian minority were also targeted.
Calcalist
said police used the powerful Pegasus software developed by the Israeli firm
NSO Group, which is mired in controversy after its spyware was linked to
eavesdropping on journalists, activists and politicians in several countries.
The
newspaper said police used the spyware to gather intelligence before any
investigation had been opened — and without judicial warrants. It’s not clear
whether Netanyahu’s inner circle was targeted in connection with his ongoing
corruption trial or for other reasons. A spokesman for the Netanyahu family did
not respond to a request for comment.
Bennett,
who replaced Netanyahu as prime minister last June, said Pegasus and other
products “are important tools in the fight against terrorism and severe crime,
but they were not intended to be used in phishing campaigns targeting the
Israeli public or officials — which is why we need to understand exactly what
happened,” he said in a statement.
The
cabinet met Monday to approve Gali Baharav-Miara as the country’s new attorney
general. She replaces Avichai Mandelblit, who was handpicked by Netanyahu but
presided over his indictment, and whose six-year term ended last week.
“Given
the erosion of public confidence in law enforcement, there is an important
opportunity here to maintain what needs to be maintained and to correct what
needs to be corrected,” Bennett said.
Netanyahu
is in the midst of a lengthy corruption trial over charges of fraud, breach of
trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. His historic 12-year rule
came to an end last year when a narrow coalition government was sworn in after
four elections in less than two years.
Netanyahu
has long accused law enforcement of unfairly targeting him, and his lawyers
have demanded answers. Even Netanyahu’s political opponents have expressed
outrage.
The
witness whose phone was reportedly hacked, Shlomo Filber, is expected to
testify in the coming days and Netanyahu’s lawyers are expected to request a
delay to his testimony.
Calcalist
reported that police also used spyware on Dudu Mizrahi, the CEO of Israel’s
Bezeq telecom firm, to assess the credibility of his testimony in one of the
cases.
It
remains unclear whether any of the evidence allegedly gathered was used against
Netanyahu.
Police
Commissioner Kobi Shabtai said he supported an independent investigation to
“restore public trust in the Israel police on the one hand, and regulate the
use of technology by the Israel police on the other.”
The
police say they are already cooperating with the investigation by the attorney
general’s office.
State
prosecutors have meanwhile told Netanyahu’s lawyers that they are “thoroughly
examining” the reports, according to internal communications seen by The
Associated Press.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Israelis
using underhanded ways to expand settlement activity in West Bank
Salam
AbuSharar
07.02.2022
NABLUS,
Palestine
Since
early last May, the people of the village of Beita southeast of Nablus have
been protesting every Friday near the top of Jabal Sbeih, one of the highest
mountains in the area.
The
protests were in response to the activity of Jewish settlers at the top of the
mountain, where they came with caravans as an initial step to building a
settlement.
The
village has lost 10 people and more than 5,000 Palestinians have been injured
by live and rubber bullets in addition to tear gas since the beginning of the
protests.
According
to Mousa Hamayil, a grassroots activist, after a month, the settlers left the
caravans at the top of the mountain -- a dangerous sign for Palestinians, as it
leaves open the possibility that the settlers will return, particularly since
they are trying to legalize their outpost.
The
people of Beita gathered documents through an Israeli military association
demonstrating their ownership of the land and submitted them to the Supreme Court
to challenge any attempt by settlers to legalize their presence on Jabal Sbeih.
“Keeping
the caravans (on the mountain) has convinced us that their departure is
temporary and that they are waiting for the moment to take control of the
mountain,” Hamayil told Anadolu Agency.
The
Israeli settler activity has received a green light from their right-wing
government that works to enhance the settlement movement in West Bank lands
under the protection of the Israeli army.
“For
us, whatever they try to do, we will continue our struggle on the land and in
the courts until regaining the mountain. Last Friday during the protest,
thousands of our people were there. The clashes were the most violent in four
months,” he added.
In
2017, the Knesset, or Israeli parliament, passed the Settlement Law, which
triggered a constitutional debate in Israeli political circles.
The
law was dealing with more than 4,000 settler homes in roughly 97 outposts that
were built without official authorization from the government in the West Bank
to legalize them retroactively.
These
homes were built on privately-owned Palestinian lands, and the law suggested
giving them alternative land or financial compensation.
International
law considers the settlements in the West Bank illegal, but right-wing parties
give endless support to settlers to settle on Palestinian lands there.
Those
who are opposed to the law, alleged that many Israeli politicians appealed the
decision at the Supreme Court until it cancelled the decision in 2020.
Although
the decision was revoked, the Israeli authorities still give full support to
the settlers and the settlements are expending in the occupied West Bank.
According
to Khalil Tafakji, a Palestinian map expert, around 126 outposts are in the
West Bank and part of them locate within the structural schemes of big
settlements, while others are outside the schemes as caravans or pastoral
settlements.
He
said these settlements are protected by the army but are not officially
approved by the government.
“The
legalization of the settlements will happen eventually by providing them with
electricity, supporting the building process and expanding their activity. They
consider that these settlements have a national priority, especially after
their approval by the government officially,” Tafakji told Anadolu Agency.
Tafakji
said the government will give the approval for these outposts even after years
of their foundation, "this approval has many signs, largely seen in giving
them security protection, electricity and other services.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
PLO’s
Central Council kicks off 31st session in Ramallah
Zehra
Nur Düz
07.02.2022
The
Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) kicked off its
31st session Sunday in the West Bank city of Ramallah under the shadow of a
boycott by some Palestinian factions.
The
two-day Central Council meeting, held under the title "Developing and
activating the PLO, protecting the national project and popular
resistance," will discuss Israeli settlement activity, especially in
occupied Jerusalem, as well as the deadlocked peace process and other political
and domestic issues, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The
council is scheduled to elect members of the PLO’s Executive Committee to
succeed those who have died or resigned and a new head of the National Council
to replace Salim al-Zanoun, who recently submitted his resignation.
“We
will not accept the continuation of the Israeli occupation and its colonial
practices that perpetuate apartheid and settler terrorism," said
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking at the opening session of the
meeting.
"In
the face of the Israeli occupation authority's undermining of the two-state
solution, options remain open, and the entire existing situation must be
reviewed in order to preserve the interests of our people and our cause.”
Underlining
that it is impossible to continue implementing agreements unilaterally, Abbas
said “contacts with the Israeli side are not a substitute for a political
solution based on international legitimacy."
Commenting
on rights group Amnesty International's recent report which described Israel as
an apartheid state for the way it treats Palestinians, Abbas said it is an
“important step” towards the reality of the Israeli crimes against the
Palestinian people.
He
reiterated their call for convening an international peace conference and
providing an international protection mechanism for the Palestinians.
Abbas
also called for “expanding the scope of peaceful popular resistance” in defense
of Palestinian identity and existence.
He
also urged Palestinian factions to put an immediate end to their internal
divisions.
Some
Palestinian factions including the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, the Palestinian National Initiative (Al-Mubadara), the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and the Vanguard for the
Popular Liberation War (As-Sa'iqa) have boycotted the meetings, arguing that
they were held unilaterally without a national consensus.
The
Palestinian resistance group Hamas criticized the meeting in a statement
Friday.
“There
is no legitimacy for any meeting that is held unilaterally, far from national
consensus and the majority of the powers and factions and major influential
Palestinian components are absent from it,” it said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Africa
Salako-Oyedele
enjoins Muslims to participate in politics
By
Shakirah Adunola
08
February 2022
Ogun
State Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, has urged Muslim faithful to
actively involve in the political affairs of the country rather than remaining
passive and blaming politicians for the country’s policies.
She
said it was wrong for Muslims to sit on the fence to criticise and lament about
the situation in the country when they could be active participants in the
political affairs of the country.
The
deputy governor gave the charge yesterday, during the inaugural launch of
Magodo Phase II Muslim Association in Lagos State.
Salako-Oyedele
urged the association to lift people out of poverty by investing more in
education.
She
said: “I want the association to take people out of poverty and not just
feeding them once a week. If you feed somebody once a week, what will they do
for the remaining six days of the week? Do they just go to other associations
and beg for food?
“We
have to standardise Islamiyah so that Muslim children can have good Islamic
education, while we also make sure they get the best Western education.”
Source:
Guardian Nigeria
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://guardian.ng/news/salako-oyedele-enjoins-muslims-to-participate-in-politics/
--------
Tunisia's
president says decree to dissolve judicial body ready
Alaa
Hammoudi
08.02.2022
TUNIS,
Tunisia
Tunisian
President Kais Saied said Monday that a draft decree to dissolve the Supreme
Judicial Council is ready, stressing the necessity to take such a move.
Saied
said while receiving his Prime Minister Najla Bouden that resorting to the
council's dissolution became necessary and that he will review the dissolution proposal
to make some amendments if needed.
He
also said the move to dissolve the council is to eliminate corruption within
the judiciary and to punish criminals whom he said are protected by the
judiciary.
The
council is an independent constitutional body whose tasks include ensuring the
independence of the judiciary, holding judges accountable, and granting them
professional promotions.
On
Sunday, the council issued a statement announcing its rejection of Saied’s
decision, saying the move was illegal and unconstitutional.
Various
judicial bodies and political parties also rejected the decision.
Tension
has marred Saied’s relations with the council, with the Tunisian leader
criticizing the judiciary over delays in issuing rulings in cases of corruption
and terrorism.
Last
July, Saied dismissed the government, suspended parliament and assumed
executive authority amid mounting public anger over economic stagnation and
political paralysis.
While
Saied insists that his "exceptional measures" were meant to
"save" the country, critics have accused him of orchestrating a coup.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Bangladeshis
sentenced to 20 years in jail for torturing migrants in Libya
February
07, 2022
ROME:
A court in Sicily has sentenced two Bangladeshi men to 20 years in prison for
detaining and torturing migrants in a camp in Libya.
Palermo
Prosecutor Gery Ferrara, who coordinated the police investigation, said some of
the victims accused defendants Pazurl Sohel and Harun Md of holding them
captive and beating them for months.
The
Bangladeshi pair reached Italy on May 28, 2020, in one of many migrant boat
landings in Sicily.
They
were reportedly identified by migrants who had been in the Libyan camp, and
were arrested on July 6 that year.
Some
of the victims provided prosecutors with videos filmed on their phones as
evidence of the torture they suffered.
Investigators
also found photos on Facebook of the defendants with AK47 rifles. Migrants said
those weapons were used to repeatedly hit them.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2019926/world
--------
2023
Presidency: Muslim clerics shun Gov Mohammed, prays for Yahaya Bello in Bauchi
February
7, 2022
By
Hafsat Abdulhamid
Despite
the rumoured presidential ambition of Bauchi State Governor, Bala Abdulkadir
Mohammed, about 500 Muslim clerics drawn from the 20 local government areas of
the state have chosen to pray for Kogi State Governor’s ambition.
The
clerics converged in Bauchi, to offer special prayers for Governor Yahaya Bello
to emerge as Nigeria’s next President in 2023.
The
clerics, mostly Imams and Qur’anic school teachers, offered special prayers to
Allah to accept their demand and lift Yahaya Bello from his present position to
the nation’s plum seat at Aso Rock.
Speaking
with journalists shortly after the special prayer session, one of the clerics,
Ustas Mubarak Mato Baba Karami, said the session was important as Nigeria was
in dire need of a youthful leader who would take the country to unprecedented
heights.
He
said they were confident that the Kogi helmsman was competent enough to get
Nigeria out of the woods and salvage the country from the multifarious
problems, including insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, unemployment and other
socioeconomic problems confronting it.
According
to Karami, who led his colleagues from Bauchi Local Government Area to the
prayer session, Governor Bello’s youthfulness moved them to offer prayers for
him to become the next president of the country.
“We
were moved by the youthfulness of Yahaya Bello aspiring for the nation’s
much-coveted seat in the efforts to fix the country.
“Well-meaning
and patriotic citizens have for decades been yearning for positive change. We
are, however, lucky now to have a youth who can positively steer the ship of
the Nigerian state to the advantage of every citizen.
“Our
ardent hope and confidence is Bello’s commitment and zeal to take the bull by
the horn to aspire for the plum seat which is a commendable courage worthy of
emulation by every youth worth his or her salt,” Karami told journalists.
Another
participant, Imam Sulaiman Abdullahi Azare, expressed confidence that the
prayers would not go in futility, adding that their supplications would not
only meet their demand but also pave the way for peaceful co-existence among
the diverse people of Nigeria.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
BBC
says Sudan arrested 3 of its journalists amid protests
08
February ,2022
The
BBC said authorities in Sudan arrested three of its journalists in the capital
Monday as thousands of Sudanese took to the streets across the country in the
latest anti-coup protests in the African nation.
The
news outlet said in a report that the journalists working with its Arabic
service were taken to an unknown location in Khartoum. The report said the BBC
was working with authorities to ensure their prompt release.
There
was no immediate comment from authorities.
Thousands
of Sudanese marched in the streets of Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman,
according to the pro-democracy movement.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Security
forces fired live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the
protesters, especially around the presidential palace in Khartoum, activist
Nazim Sirag said.
Social
media swarmed with images showing tear gas clouding rallies in Khartoum and
protesters hurling stones and throwing back empty gas canisters at security
forces.
Sirag
said at least 12 protesters were inured and taken to hospitals for treatment.
There were no deaths reported.
Protests
also took place elsewhere in the country, including the eastern city of Port
Sudan.
Monday’s
demonstration was the latest in a series of relentless protests since the
military on Oct. 25 ousted the civilian-led government of Prime Minister
Abdalla Hamdok, who was reinstated a month later under heavy international
pressure.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Sudan
security forces fire tear gas at anti-coup protestors
07
February ,2022
Sudanese
security forces fired tear gas Monday at thousands of demonstrators calling for
civilian rule and justice for protesters killed since last year’s coup,
witnesses and an AFP correspondent said.
The
tear gas was fired as demonstrators were heading toward the presidential palace
in the capital Khartoum, in the latest rally against the October coup led by
army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the correspondent said.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Mass
protests have been regular in Sudan since the coup which derailed the country’s
rocky transition to civilian rule following the 2019 ouster of autocratic
president Omar al-Bashir.
At
least 79 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the crackdown on
anti-coup demonstrations, according to an independent group of medics.
Monday’s
protests took place despite heavy security presence in Khartoum and its
neighboring cities of Omdurman and Khartoum North.
It
came only two days after thousands of pro-military demonstrators rallied
against recent UN talks that aimed to help Sudan resolve the political crisis
since the coup.
On
Monday, anti-coup protesters in the city of Wad Madani, south of Khartoum, were
seen waving the Sudanese flags and carrying posters of people killed in the
crackdown.
“No,
no to military rule” and “blood for blood,” they chanted, according to
witnesses.
Hundreds
also gathered in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, residents there said.
In
Khartoum, some protesters also called for the dissolution of the powerful
paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by
Burhan’s
deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, an AFP correspondent said.
“The
Janjaweed should be dissolved,” the protesters chanted, in reference to the RSF
which grew out of the Janjaweed militias accused by rights groups of atrocities
in Darfur.
Sudan,
which was already in the grip of a dire economic crisis before the coup, has
seen vital foreign aid cut as part of the international community’s
condemnation of the takeover.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
‘deeply concerned’ by dissolution of Tunisia judicial watchdog
08
February ,2022
The
US said Monday it was “deeply concerned” by Tunisian President Kais Saied's
decision to dissolve the country's top legal watchdog, the Supreme Judicial
Council, and to block access to its headquarters.
“An
independent judiciary is a core element of an effective and transparent
democracy,” said State Department Spokesman Ned Price. “It is essential that
the Government of Tunisia holds its commitments to respect the independence of
the judiciary, as stipulated in the Constitution.”
Saied
dissolved the body on Sunday, months after sacking the government and seizing
wide-reaching powers in Tunisia.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
And
on Monday, Tunisian police blocked all roads to the Council's headquarters in
the capital Tunis, in a move its chief Youssef Bouzakher slammed as illegal.
Washington
urged urgent political reform in Tunisia that promotes “the inclusion of
diverse voices representing political parties, civil society and unions,
particularly in the ongoing national consultations, and that ensures the
continued respect for Tunisia's human rights,” Price said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Libya's
parliament to appoint new PM, increasing tensions
07
February ,2022
Libya’s
parliament said Monday it will name a new prime minister this week to head the
transitional government, a move that will likely lead to parallel
administrations in the already chaotic nation.
Two
candidates — former Interior Minister Fathi Bashaga and Minister-Counsellor
Khalid al-Baibas — have submitted their bids to replace Prime Minister Abdul
Hamid Dbeibah. They appeared in a parliamentary session Monday in the eastern
city of Tobruk to present their plans.
Parliament
Speaker Aguila Saleh said a vote to name one of them as prime minister will
take place Thursday, following consultations with the High Council of State, an
advisory body based in the capital of Tripoli.
The
effort to replace Dbeibah stems from Libya’s failure to hold its first
presidential election during his watch. It has been a major blow to
international efforts to end a decade of chaos in the oil-rich Mediterranean
nation.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Originally
scheduled for Dec. 24, the presidential vote was postponed over disputes
between rival factions on laws governing the elections and controversial
presidential hopefuls. Lawmakers have argued that the mandate of Dbeibah’s
government ended on Dec. 24.
Dbeibah
has repeatedly said he and his government will remain in power until “real
elections” take place. He has accused Saleh, the speaker, of fueling the
division in the country.
The
prime minister, who hails from the powerful western city of Misrata, also urged
the crafting of a new constitution before heading to elections.
Saleh,
the influential speaker, said lawmakers adopted a roadmap to hold the
presidential election within 14 months after agreeing on constitutional
amendments.
He
said a parliamentary committee will hold consultations with the High Council of
State to craft the needed amendments within a week. Libya is governed by a
constitutional declaration since the 2011 Arab Spring uprising.
Khaled
al-Mashri, head of the council, said members have agreed with the parliament to
adopt a defined roadmap for elections even as a new government is appointed.
“We
approved the parliament’s demand to change the government, but it is necessary
to determine the constitutional path for the elections first," he told a
news conference Sunday in Tripoli.
The
parliament’s move to appoint a new government is a setback to the UN mission in
the country, which advocates for rescheduling the presidential vote as early as
June.
UN
deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said Monday negotiations were ongoing with
Libyan parties to try to avoid a return to “the sort of discord and disarray
that has marked the past decade.”
“We
do implore the Libyan parties to take a look back at what the last years have
brought and see in that, that there’s really no future to that approach,” he
said when asked about concerns that Libya could return to rival political
authorities.
The
move also increases concerns that the country could once again slide into armed
conflict. Western governments have urged that the current government remain in
place until the vote is held to avoid chaos and confusion.
Armed
groups in western Libya have already announced their objection to changing the
government. They called for local and international parties to help agree on a
roadmap with a specific timeframe to make changes to the constitution, achieve
national reconciliation and unify the military.
Dbeibah,
a powerful businessman from Misrata, was appointed prime minister in February
last year as part of a UN-brokered, Western-backed political process. His
government’s main task was to steer the deeply divided country toward national
reconciliation and lead it through elections.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
North America
US
offers millions of dollars for information on ISIS-K leader, Kabul airport
bombing
07
February ,2022
The
US is offering up to $10 million for any information on the whereabouts of
ISIS-K leader Sanuallah Ghafari, the State Department announced on Monday.
Ghafari
is said to have been appointed by ISIS to lead its regional affiliate in June
2020. “Ghafari is responsible for approving all ISIS-K operations throughout
Afghanistan and arranging funding to conduct operations,” the State Department
said in a statement.
He
was designated by the US as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in November
2021.
Meanwhile,
the US also offered millions of dollars in rewards for any information leading
to the arrest of those responsible for the August 2021 blast at Kabul airport,
which killed 13 US service members and over 170 Afghans during the chaotic withdrawal
ordered by President Joe Biden.
Last
August, the attack claimed by ISIS-K wounded another 150 people, including US
service members.
A
Pentagon review released last week said that there was one individual and one
blast.
Also,
last week, the top US military general for the Middle East voiced concerns over
ISIS-K and the threat it poses to Afghanistan and the region.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Senior
US diplomat talks Yemen, Lebanon with Saudi officials
07
February ,2022
The
top US diplomat for the Middle East met with Saudi officials in Riyadh Monday
to discuss regional stability, including the situations in Yemen and Lebanon.
Acting
US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Yael Lempert held meetings with
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir and Hodaal-Helaissi of the Saudi Shura Council.
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the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Prince
Faisal and Lempert discussed bilateral ties and ways to strengthen relations
between Washington and Riyadh, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The
pair also spoke about the continued Houthi attacks on civilians and the
Iran-backed group’s persistence in blocking a political solution to the
yearslong war in Yemen, the SPA said.
For
her part, Lempert “reaffirmed support for Saudi defense of its territory.”
With
al-Jubeir, talks focused on Lebanon, “and cooperation to strengthen
multilateral efforts for a peaceful, diplomatic solution to the conflict in
Yemen,” the State Department said.
Lempert
and Helaissi discussed how recent advances had changed the lives of Saudi women,
including major increases in women’s participation in the workforce.
The
US diplomat also met with GCC Secretary-General Nayef Al-Hajraf to review
“security cooperation and efforts to build a more peaceful, stable, prosperous
future for all countries in the Gulf region.”
Lempert
is on a tour of countries in the region, which have seen her make stops in
Jordan and Saudi Arabia. She’s also set to visit Kuwait and Bahrain before
returning to Washington.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Europe
Macron's
government launches new body to oversee Islam in France
07/02/2022
PARIS—
The
French government has introduced a new body to oversee the practice of Islam in
France, part of President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to prevent extremism but
also to impress the electorate weeks before the presidential vote.
The
leadership of the Forum of Islam in France will be made up of imams and lay
people to help guide the largest Muslim community in western Europe. All of its
members will be hand-picked by the government and women will make up at least a
quarter of them.
With
France bloodied by past Islamic extremist attacks and having hundreds of
citizens who went to fight with extremists in Syria in past years, few disagree
that radicalisation is a danger. But critics also see the efforts as a
political ploy to lure right-wing voters to Macron's centrist party ahead of
France's April 10 presidential election.
Supporters
say it will keep the country, and its 5 million Muslims, safe and ensure that
Muslim practices in France adhere to the country’s cherished value of
secularism in public life.
Yet
critics, including many Muslims who consider the religion a part of their
French identity, say the government’s latest initiative is another step in
institutionalised discrimination that holds the whole community responsible for
violent attacks of a few and serves as another barrier in their public lives.
It
replaces the French Council of Muslim Faith, a group set up in 2003 by former
President Nicolas Sarkozy, then interior minister. The Council served as an
interlocutor between the government and religious leaders.
“We
must turn the page," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said at the forum's
inaugural meeting Saturday at The Economic, Social and Environmental Council in
Paris. “We are restarting relations between the state and the faith ... (based
on) a new form of dialogue that will be more open, more inclusive and more
representative of Islam's diversity in France.”
Islam
is the second religion in France, with no single leader and multiple strains
represented, from moderate to Salafist with a puritanical interpretation of the
religion to outright radical upstarts.
Macron's
project includes measures like training imams in France instead of bringing
them in from Turkey, Morocco or Algeria — a plan many in the Muslim community
approve of. It also breaks the centralised leadership of imams.
“A
single representative of the Muslim faith, who is a master of all trades, no
longer exists,” Darmanin said. Women and men “who draw their legitimacy from
their work and expertise in a field” will engage in the dialogue with the
state, he explained.
Muslims
are divided over the project. Some believers visiting the Grand Mosque of Paris
for Friday prayers cautiously welcomed the idea, while others worry it's going
too far in trying to control their faith, or say that the government has
singled out Islamic institutions but would not dare suggest such changes to
Christian ones.
Hamoud
ben Bouzid, a 51-year-old Parisian, was optimistic about Macron’s plan and his
effort to include different voices from the Muslim community to show to the
wider society its diversity. Members of the leadership “don’t speak for every
Muslim citizen” of France, he said.
“We
live in a secular country, so why not expand the forum and give voice to many
more Muslims in France?” Ben Bouzid said. “I would like Muslims to be heard as
citizens in this country, not as Muslims. As full citizens.”
Source:
The Arab Weekly
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://thearabweekly.com/macrons-government-launches-new-body-oversee-islam-france
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Conservatives
conspired to 'use my Muslim faith against me', says former UK member of
European Parliament
07
February, 2022
UK
Conservative politicians conspired to "use my Muslim faith against
me", a former British Tory Member of the European Parliament (MEP) has
claimed.
Sajjad
Karim, who served as an MEP for 15 years, told The Independent that in 2013 he
overheard two Conservative MPs - one of whom is now a minister in Boris
Johnson's government - of allegedly engaging in an Islamophobic conversation
about him.
The
51-year-old accused the UK’s governing party of failing to properly investigate
his claims, which were first aired publicly over two years ago.
"I
think it's demonstrative of a lack of real, genuine seriousness in the
[Conservative] party to actually treat Islamophobia as a serious issue,"
said Karim.
"It's
seen more as a nuisance that in some way has got to be dealt with."
Karim
told the British newspaper that he was contacted by the chairman's office and
invited to make a complaint after he went public with the allegations in
September 2019. However, he was never called for questioning as part of the
Tories' investigation into discrimination complaints carried out by Professor
Swaran Singh.
This
inquiry, published in May 2021, concluded there was no evidence of
institutionalised Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.
Karim's
accusations follow controversial claims by Tory MP Nusrat Ghani who alleged
last month that her faith was raised by a government whip as a reason why she
was sacked as a minister in 2020.
"I
don’t know Nus Ghani’s case, or situation…all I know is in my case the
discussion was about how my religious and cultural background could be
engineered politically and used against me," said Karim.
A
Conservative Party spokesperson told the Independent that it was
"committed to holding an investigation during the 2019 leadership race
following accusations of discrimination within the party".
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/tories-tried-use-my-muslim-faith-against-me-ex-mep
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UK
must pressure Houthis to free detained Briton: Amnesty International
February
07, 2022
LONDON:
Rights group Amnesty International has urged the UK government to apply more
pressure on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia to free a British man who has
been detained without charge for almost five years.
Luke
Symons, 29, from Wales, has been held by the Houthis in the capital Sanaa since
his arrest at a security checkpoint in the southwestern city of Taiz on April
4, 2017.
His
family said he has been accused by the Houthis of spying for the British
government but has yet to be formally charged with an offense.
His
family added that Symons was tortured to make him “confess” to being a spy, and
as a result of beatings his arm was broken.
Amnesty
said he is being held in solitary confinement, and during his last phone call
with family last week he said his detention conditions were having a serious
detrimental impact on his physical and mental health.
His
wife, a Yemeni national, expressed similar concern for his welfare after
visiting him in jail last month.
Sacha
Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s CEO, said: “Luke has already endured
almost five grueling years behind bars, and it’s long overdue that the
government properly engaged with his family and exerted sustained pressure on
the Houthis to get him out of jail and back home to Cardiff.”
His
local MP Kevin Brennan raised the issue in Parliament last month, saying Symons
“is a young man from an ordinary Cardiff family with ties to Yemen because of
Cardiff’s seafaring past. He is the innocent victim of the conflict who has
been held without charge or trial for almost five years.”
Brennan
added: “As he approaches his 30th birthday, I call for his captors to release
him on humanitarian grounds so that he can be with his wife and child. I also
call for the UK government to begin a new initiative to help secure his release
before his mental and physical health deteriorate any further.”
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2019906/world
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Germany
welcomes Turkiye’s mediation efforts between Ukraine, Russia
Ayhan
Simsek
07.02.2022
BERLIN
Germany
on Monday welcomed Turkiye’s efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis
between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking
at a news conference in Berlin, Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger
said Germany has been in close contact with its European and NATO partners on
the latest developments.
“We
certainly welcome every effort (by our partners) to resolve the current
conflict,” he said, responding to a question about Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to facilitate talks between Ukraine and Russia.
“Turkiye
is a NATO partner, and we are also in coordination with our partners within
NATO,” Burger added.
Following
his visit to Kyiv on Thursday, President Erdogan said that he offered to host a
summit of Russian and Ukrainian leaders in Turkiye, in order to de-escalate
tensions and find a diplomatic solution to the current crisis.
Russia
recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that
the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet
neighbor.
Moscow
has denied it is preparing to invade and said its troops are there for
exercises.
Kremlin
also issued a list of security demands from the West, including a rolling back
of troop deployment to some ex-Soviet states, and guarantees that Ukraine and
Georgia will not join NATO.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Spanish
foreign minister hails growing ties with Turkiye
Senhan
Bolelli
07.02.2022
MADRID
Spain's
foreign minister said on Monday that bilateral ties with Turkiye continued to
grow as their economic and social relations scaled up over the past two
decades.
Speaking
at a press conference in the capital Madrid, Jose Manuel Albares referred to a
bilateral summit held in December in which the two sides emphasized their
"comprehensive partnership."
This
summit was not a sudden step forward, but a continuation of the relations
already in place, said Albares.
The
minister underlined that both countries shared a variety of similarities as
they were part of the common region of the Mediterranean, while also being NATO
allies and co-founders of the UN Alliance of Civilizations.
He
further noted that the interest of Spanish companies towards Turkiye has grown
and that Spanish investments there had increased over ten-fold over the past
two decades, while their peoples had gotten closer in the process.
Crisis
between Russia and Ukraine
Albares
underlined the need for de-escalation on the Ukraine-Russia border and the
continuation of dialogue, stressing that military conflict could be avoided.
He
also said that the EU had been built as a means of conflict resolution to
prevent war and military escalation, which would be a huge step back for
Europe.
Russia
recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that
the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet
neighbor.
Moscow
has denied it is preparing to invade and said its troops are there for
exercises.
The
Kremlin also issued a list of security demands from the West, including a
rolling back of troop deployment to some ex-Soviet states, and guarantees that
Ukraine and Georgia will not join NATO.
Last
month, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that allies are ready to
meet with Russia to address issues raised by Moscow, but also underlined that
NATO "will not compromise on the fundamental principles on which
Euro-Atlantic security rests."
Ties
with Morocco
Albares
also commented on Spanish-Moroccan relations, which have been hit by the issue
of Western Sahara separatism and irregular migration.
He
said Morocco was a strategic partner of not only Spain but also the EU, and
that their cooperation prevented the arrival of scores of irregular migrants to
Ceuta and Melilla during Christmas.
The
foreign minister further noted that Spain, the EU, and Morocco had common
interests and that all sides could gain through their strategic partnership.
The
high-level dialogue between Spain and Morocco still continues despite Rabat
withdrawing its ambassador from Madrid on May 18, 2021, according to the
minister.
This
spat between the two Mediterranean neighbors has been marked by historically
high diplomatic tensions.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/spanish-foreign-minister-hails-growing-ties-with-turkiye/2496245
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Muslim
schoolboy in London forced to stop praying by teacher who saw it as ‘act of
defiance’
February
07, 2022
LONDON:
A Muslim schoolboy in London who was physically stopped by a teacher from
praying was told it was an “act of defiance.”
Thaher
Tarawneh, 12, had been forced to pray outside because his school’s prayer room
was closed.
He
and his friends were praying in the playground of the recently opened Ark Soane
Academy when they were interrupted and aggressively told to “stop at once.”
Tarawneh
continued to pray while his friends fled the scene. At that point, a member of
staff allegedly grabbed him around the waist and removed his blazer from the
floor, which he was using as a prayer mat.
He
was then sent home for the afternoon and forced to sign a statement that he
said was not a true reflection of events.
His
father told MyLondon: “We try to educate our children to have certain beliefs,
and it should not be up to any member of staff to try to challenge them.
“It
is my understanding that the other children ran away because they were
terrified of this staff member shouting.”
He
added: “Thaher knows to not stop his prayer unless there is something urgent.
So for this member of staff to interrupt that and then proceed to manhandle my
son, it’s not acceptable.”
Tarawneh’s
parents asked to see CCTV footage of the incident, but say their request was
denied upon arrival at the school.
They
have filed a formal complaint with the school and with Ealing Council. The
school has confirmed a formal investigation is underway.
Tarawneh’s
parents are considering removing him from the school, saying he may be “being
discriminated against because of his religion.”
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2020026/world
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hijab-muslims-hindu-christian-lok-sabha/d/126329