Chief Of All India Imam Organisation Imam Ilyasi says RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat is 'Rashtra Pita, Rashtra Rishi' (Father Of The Nation, Sage Of The Nation)
New Age Islam News Bureau
23 September 2022
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and
All India Imam Organization chief Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi
-----
• US Sanctions Iran’s Morality Police, Six Individuals
After Mahsa Amini’s Death
• European Islamophobia Report Raises Alarm Over
Institutionalization Of Islamophobia In Europe
• Israeli PM Lapid Backs Two-State Solution With
Palestinians
• Army, Police Search Operation Ongoing In Pakistan’s
Swat Valley Amid Fears Of Taliban Comeback
India
• Bhagwat, RSS on same page as us on need for
Hindu-Muslim reconciliation: Najeeb Jung
• Maharashtra Appoints Tata Institute Of Social
Sciences To Conduct Study On Socio-Economic Status Of Muslims
• After India, Now The UK Also Has To Wrestle With Hindu-Muslim
Clashes
• Gyanvapi Case: Hindu Petitioners Seek Carbon Dating
Of 'Shivling' In Mosque
• 'Land Jihad' In Delhi: Did AAP Convert Hauz Khas'
Deer Park Into A Muslim Cemetery?
• Hijab Part Of A Student’s Right To Privacy, Supreme
Court Told
• Demand to resume India-Pak bus, train services
before Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary gains strength
--------
North
America
• US: Rights group condemns congressman's attack on
Muslim university officer
• US thanks Türkiye for its support in Russia-Ukraine
prisoner exchange
• Türkiye may reach $100B trade volume with US 'in a
short time': President
--------
Europe
• Palestinians warn British PM Truss against following
Trump, moving UK embassy to al-Quds
• London mayor Sadiq Khan's appeal to Hindus, Muslims
in UK. It's personal for him
• UK deepening links with fellow democracies like
India, Israel, Indonesia, South Africa: Truss
• Western nations concerned by presence of extremist
groups in Afghanistan
• Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of ‘unspeakable
atrocities’ during UN summit
--------
Mideast
• Ahead of Jewish new year, Hamas warns over Israeli
raids on Aqsa Mosque
• Iranian President Warns against NATO Expansion As
Threat to Independent States
• Iran Calls on US to Surrender Trump to Justice over
Assassination of Gen. Soleimani
• Iran Showcases Ballistic Missiles, Radar and Missile
Systems During Military Parades
• Top Commander: Iran, Russia, China to Stage Joint
Naval Drill in Indian Ocean
• Iran president says woman's death that sparked
protests ‘will be investigated’
• Four security personnel among 11 dead in Iran
protests over Mahsa Amini’s death
• Iran’s Guards call for prosecuting those spreading
‘false news’ over woman’s death
-------
Pakistan
• Govt Rejects Criticism On Transgender Bill, Says
Linking It To Homosexuality Is ‘Misconception’
• Transgender law rebellion against Quran: Fazl
• Pakistan's ex-PM Khan apologises to avoid contempt
charges
• Imran Khan lauds PM Modi, slams Nawaz Sharif for
owning billions of properties abroad
• Anti-Ahmadi Hate Speech Used for Electoral Purposes
in Pakistan
• JUI-F calls for early completion of repair work on
CRBC
--------
Arab
World
• US-Backed SDF Thwart ISIS Suicide Attack On Syria’s Al-Hol:
CENTCOM
• Saudi Arabia Celebrates National Day With Arts,
Theatre, Air Shows And Music
• Israel to sell air defence system to UAE: Report
• Saudi youth empowerment critical to Vision 2030,
Princess Reema tells summit
• Saudi Arabia appoints Hala al-Tuwaijri as new head
of Human Rights Commission
• Turkish security forces ‘neutralize’ 3 PKK/YPG
terrorists in northern Syria
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Indonesian Minister Sticks To His Guns On Church
Permit
• Former mosque executive chairman charged for
accepting bribe in the form of shares
• Former Cabinet minister speaks about what it takes
to create a M’sia for all Malaysians
• Don’t compare Najib’s prison treatment with mine,
says Anwar
--------
Africa
• We’ve been vindicated – Islamic group hails Soludo
over ban on mini-skirts
• Ivory Coast’s president calls for release of 46
troops detained in Mali in UN speech
• Floods sweep away 1,500 corpses from cemetery in
northern Nigeria
• Jordan’s Royal Marine Conservation Society launches
‘Clean up the World 2022’ campaign
--------
South
Asia
• US Announces More Than $241m In Humanitarian Aid For
Rohingya Muslims
• Pushback against Afghan refugees continues as Iran
deports over 7,000 migrants in past week
• Backbreaking work for kids in Afghan brick kilns
• US Launches Alliance For Afghan Women’s Economic
Resilience To Empower Afghan Women
• Thousands of Afghan Refugees Forcibly Deported from
Iran
• China calls on US to 'end theft of Syria’s national
resources'
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/imam-ilyasi-rss-bhagwat/d/128016
--------
Chief Of All India Imam Organisation Imam Ilyasi says
RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat is 'Rashtra Pita, Rashtra Rishi' (Father Of The Nation,
Sage Of The Nation)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and
All India Imam Organization chief Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi
-----
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
After meeting RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday,
Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, the chief of All India Imam Organisation said that
Mohan Bhagwat is ‘Rashtra Pita (father of the nation) and a ‘Rashtra Rishi’
(sage of the nation ).
Talking to IANS after the meeting, Ilyasi said: “Mohan
Bhagwat visiting us is a privilege. Bhagwat came to Imam House for a meeting
and he is our Rashtra Pita and Rashtra Rishi. The unity and integrity of the
country should be maintained. We may all worship in a different way, but before
that we all are human. We live in India and are Indians."
“India is on the verge of becoming Vishwa Guru and we
all should strive for it," he said.
When asked if he referred to Bhagwat as ‘Rashtra
Pita’, Ilyasi said, " Absolutely, he is ‘Rashtra Pita’ (father of the
nation)."
Umar Ilyasi’s brother Suhaib Ilyasi said, “Our father
had an old relationship with the Sangh. Mohan Bhagwat had come to the mosque on
the death anniversary of Jameel Ilyasi. It was a family programme and it should
be seen in that context only."
Bhagwat had held discussions with Muslim intellectuals
for strengthening communal harmony, Suhaib Ilyasi said.
The RSS Chief met Imam Umer Ahmed Ilyasi at his office
in a mosque at Kasturba Gandhi (KG) marg in the national capital.
Providing details about the meeting, RSS prachar
pramukh said, “RSS chief meets people from various sections of society. It is a
part of continuous conversation (Samvad) process. "
Bhagwat, who has been trying to reach out to Muslims,
in August too had met Ilyasi. Recently, Bhagwat had held discussions with
Muslim intellectuals for strengthening communal harmony.
In the August 22 meet, Bhagwat had met former Chief
Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi, former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb
Jung, former Aligarh Musilm University vice chancellor L-G (retd) Zameer Uddin
Shah, former MP Shahid Siddiqui and Industrialist and social worker Saeed
Sherwani.
Source: News18
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
US
Sanctions Iran’s Morality Police, Six Individuals After Mahsa Amini’s Death
The United States has accused Iran's morality police
of violence against Iranian women and blamed it for the death of a young woman
being held in custody.
-----
22
September, 2022
The
US on Thursday issued sanctions against Iran’s morality police and six Iranians
after this week’s deadly protests and the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
“Mahsa
Amini was a courageous woman whose death in Morality Police custody was yet
another act of brutality by the Iranian regime’s security forces against its
own people,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said.
She
condemned “this unconscionable act” and called on Tehran to end violence
against women and the ongoing violent crackdown on protesters. “Today’s action
to sanction Iran’s Morality Police and senior Iranian security officials
responsible for this oppression demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s
clear commitment to stand up for human rights, and the rights of women, in Iran
and globally,” Yellen said.
Amini,
a Kurdish-Iranian woman, fell into a coma shortly after being arrested by Iran’s
morality police last week for “improper hijab.” She died on Friday, prompting
protests on social media and on the streets.
At
least 31 civilians have been killed by Iranian security forces during the
latest protests, according Iran Human Rights (IHR).
“The
Iranian government needs to end its systemic persecution of women and allow
peaceful protest. The United States will continue to voice our support for
human rights in Iran and hold those who violate them to account,” Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said after the sanctions were announced.
The
Treasury Department also designated seven senior leaders of Iran’s security
organizations: the Morality Police, Ministry of Intelligence and Security
(MOIS), the Army’s Ground Forces, Basij Resistance Forces, and Law Enforcement
Forces. “These officials oversee organizations that routinely employ violence
to suppress peaceful protesters and members of Iranian civil society, political
dissidents, women’s rights activists, and members of the Iranian Baha’i
community,” the Treasury Department said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
European
Islamophobia Report Raises Alarm Over Institutionalization Of Islamophobia In
Europe
Photo:
aa.com
----
Merve
Berker
22.09.2022
Islamophobia
remains a growing threat across Europe, with several countries enacting
policies that have contributed to the institutionalization of an issue that
should instead be stamped out with urgency, a new report has warned.
According
to the European Islamophobia Report 2021, Islamophobia was “as pressing a
problem” across the continent as it was in previous years.
It
said countries such as the UK and France became “the main spots of anti-Muslim
hatred and Islamophobic incidents.”
“Furthermore,
anti-Muslim campaigns of far-right parties in EU member states dominate the
discrimination against Muslim individuals and communities,” read the report,
which focused on 27 European countries and was prepared with contributions from
35 leading academics and experts in the field.
The
report links the persistence of anti-Muslim racism to “the backdrop of a
general worrisome trend: the decline of liberal democracy in Europe.”
It
warns that major forces within Europe, singling out countries like France, are
still “investing less in the fight against Islamophobia, and more … into
normalizing Islamophobia.”
“The
Islamophobia becoming normalized and institutionalized by liberal democracies
such as Austria, Denmark, and France is alarming,” the report said.
Apart
from Islamophobic incidents across Europe, the report details systemic
discrimination faced by Muslims in all areas of life, from employment to health
care, education and the justice system.
Islamophobia
in numbers
Austria:
As
many as 1,061 anti-Muslim hate crimes were recorded in Austria.
Most
of the cases were online (68%), came from politicians (32%), and were in the
public sphere (25%), the report said.
“The
vast majority of perpetrators were male (76.9%) and the victims were primarily
women (69%),” it added.
Citing
data from another anti-racism watchdog ZARA, the report said 1,977 racist and
anti-Muslim acts were documented, which primarily targeted women.
Belgium:
Women
bore the brunt of Islamophobic and racist attacks in Belgium, according to the
report.
It
said 89% of all cases reported to the Collective for Inclusion and Against
Islamophobia in Belgium pertained to Islamophobia against women.
Finland:
A
total of 852 hate crimes were recorded in 2020.
“Most
of the hate crimes (88.5%) were due to national-ethnic origin (75.8%) and
religion (12.7%),” the report said.
France:
There
were 213 anti-Muslim incidents recorded in France in 2021.
“Among
them, half (109) concern damage to Muslim places of worship, cultural centers,
and cemeteries, and 22% concern attacks on persons,” the report said.
It
said 2021 saw “a higher level of violence in France both in terms of language
(with increasingly hateful and worrying Islamophobic discourses) and approach
(with laws repressing religious, visible, organized and vocal Muslims) — a
violence that highlights the secondary place granted to French Muslims in their
own country.”
Germany:
There
were 732 Islamophobic crimes registered across Germany last year, according to
the report.
These
included 54 cases of attacks on mosques and 43 incidents where individuals were
targeted.
Greece:
The
report said 14 cases of Islamophobic incidents were recorded in Greece in 2021.
“Politics,
religion, media (both printed and online), and the Internet continued to be the
primary four realms playing a significant role in the reproduction of
Islamophobia in the Greek public domain throughout 2021,” read the report.
“Islamophobia
in Greece was expressed primarily by certain political parties and politicians
of the right and extreme right, (self-proclaimed) neo-liberals, figures of the
Orthodox Church of Greece, printed and electronic media, and journalists
including their posts on social media.”
Spain:
Spain
has seen a surge of 41% in hate crimes over the past five years.
“From
these crimes, 678 (37.6%) were racially motivated or xenophobic,” the report
said, citing Spanish Interior Ministry data.
Sweden:
There
were 996 cases based exclusively on religious grounds between 2017 and 2021 in
Sweden, while the overall number of hate crimes over the period stood at
14,710.
“However,
most complaints of religious discrimination were directly related to ethnic
discrimination numbering 4,298 during this period,” the report said.
“Muslim
children are over-represented in statistics published by the Swedish public
health agency, where almost 20% of non-European children, have experienced
abusive treatment due to their ethno-religious background and more than 15%
have experienced discrimination in school.”
Switzerland:
Citing
figures from Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office, the report said 12% of
the population exhibited hostile attitudes toward Muslims, while 34% tend to
strongly believe negative stereotypes about the community.
UK:
There
was “a continuing increase in the overall number of reported cases” in the UK,
with authorities registering a 9% rise from 2020 to 2021.
At
least 45% of all “religiously aggravated” hate crimes involved people of Muslim
faith and background.
The
number of these crimes has increased by 291% in the past 10 years, the report
said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Israeli
PM Lapid Backs Two-State Solution With Palestinians
Prime
Minister of Israel Yair Lapid
----
22
September, 2022
Israeli
Prime Minister Yair Lapid called on Thursday for a two-state solution to
decades of Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reasserted that Israel would do
“whatever it takes” to stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.
His
mention of a two-state solution, the first by an Israeli leader in years at the
United Nations General Assembly, echoed US President Joe Biden's support in
Israel in August for the long-dormant proposal.
“An
agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the
right thing for Israel's security, for Israel's economy and for the future of
our children,” Lapid said.
He
added any agreement would be conditioned on a peaceful Palestinian state that
would not threaten Israel.
Lapid
spoke less than six weeks before a Nov. 1 election that could return to power
the right-wing former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longstanding
opponent of the two-state solution.
Israel
captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza - areas that Palestinians seek
for an independent state - in a 1967 Middle East war. US-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks collapsed in 2014.
In
his speech, Lapid again denounced Iran and voiced Israel's determination to
prevent its longtime foe from gaining a nuclear weapon.
“The
only way to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is to put a credible military
threat on the table,” he said. “We have capabilities and we are not afraid to
use them.”
Widely
believed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear weapons, Israel regards Iran as
an existential threat. Tehran denies trying to develop a nuclear weapon.
Palestinians,
US react
Efforts
to reach a two-state Israeli-Palestinian deal have long been stalled.
Palestinians
and rights groups say Israel has entrenched its control of the occupied
Palestinian territories through its military rule over millions of Palestinians
and persistent settlement construction.
Wasel
Abu Youssef, a senior member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, told
Reuters that Lapid's words “mean nothing.”
“Whoever
wants a two-state solution must implement it on the ground,” he said, by
respecting previously reached agreements, stopping settlement expansion and
recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.
US
Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides called Lapid's speech “courageous” for
supporting the two-state solution.
Lapid
praised efforts by Middle Eastern countries to normalize relations and
cooperate with Israel. He urged Muslim countries, from Indonesia to Saudi
Arabia, to make peace with it.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Army,
Police Search Operation Ongoing In Pakistan’s Swat Valley Amid Fears Of Taliban
Comeback
Army
soldiers and police stand guard on a foot patrol in a secured area of Mingora,
Pakistan, on July 6, 2011. (AFP/File)
-----
September
22, 2022
MINGORA:
Army and police have launched a joint search operation in Pakistan’s
northwestern Swat District against Pakistani Taliban militants, officials with
direct knowledge of the activity said, amid widespread reports the group is
attempting to regain a foothold in the mountainous area they once ruled with an
iron fist.
Insurgents
from the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, took partial control of Swat Valley in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2007, before being ousted two years later in a
major military operation hailed as a telling blow against militant violence.
During
this time, militants unleashed a reign of terror, killing and beheading
politicians, singers, soldiers and opponents. They banned female education and
destroyed nearly 200 schools for girls.
Last
month the Pakistani military denied reports TTP fighters had returned to Swat,
calling the news “grossly exaggerated and misleading.”
But
local elders as well as police and government officials interviewed by Arab
News this week reported the return of up to 300 Taliban militants to the valley
and said localized joint operations by police and the army had been launched to
quell the movement.
Locals’
fears of a Taliban comeback were most visible last week when hundreds of people
took to the streets in Swat Valley to demand peace and protection.
The
protest came just days after a bombing claimed by the TTP killed eight people,
including influential anti-Taliban leader Idrees Khan, in what was the first
major bombing in the area in over a decade.
Taliban
militants last week also kidnapped 10 employees of a telecom company and
demanded Rs100 million ($418,000) for their release, according to a police
report filed with the local counterterrorism department.
Three
police officers in Swat, including one with direct knowledge of the operation,
confirmed that a search operation led by police and military officials to
identify and clear militant hideouts was ongoing.
A
fourth security official said the “situation was fully being monitored,”
without confirming an anti-TTP operation or whether the army was involved.
All
officials declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak publicly
about the activity.
Pakistan’s
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and a spokesperson for his ministry, Ali
Nawaz, did not respond to requests for comment. The Inter-Services Public
Relations, the Pakistani military’s media wing, declined to comment for this
story.
Representatives
of the TTP could not be reached for comment on their tactics in Swat Valley.
“Law
enforcement officials are alert and maintaining necessary vigil and alertness
in the area and law and order is being maintained,” one security official said,
declining to be named.
A
senior police official said at least 300 Taliban militants had been identified
as being present on the Shaur, Peuchar, Kanala and Balasoor mountain tops of
the Swat District’s Matta Tehsil in recent months.
“A
search operation has started, posts have been set up and Special Services
Group’s commandos have arrived,” the official, who had direct knowledge of the
operation, told Arab News.
Barrister
Mohammed Ali Saif, a spokesperson of the KP provincial government, confirmed
the “scattered” presence of Taliban militants in Swat and the launch of a
police operation but did not confirm if the military was involved.
“There
is no specific area with a permanent presence of the TTP. They roam quietly and
they have some local supporters there already,” he said.
“But
wherever there is information of their presence, action is being taken. When
they appear, they are either arrested or are killed. The province takes actions
against them whenever there is a report about their presence or there is
information that they or anyone else is involved in any illegal or terrorist
activity.”
Saif
also said he could not confirm if a full-scale military offensive such as in
the past was being planned, adding that the decision would be taken by the
federal government and the army.
Zahid
Khan, an anti-Taliban leader of the Swat Qaumi Jirga, told Arab News the group
had complained to police four months ago about a growing Taliban presence, but
their concerns were rebuffed.
“They
dismissed us when we inquired from police and local administration about the
return of the Taliban,” Khan told Arab News.
But
the police officer involved in the search operation said militants were being
identified and action would be taken: “We have the capacity to eliminate them.”
Fears
of a Taliban comeback have surfaced while the group has been holding peace
talks with the government. But isolated militant attacks and security raids on
militant hideouts have continued, raising concerns that these talks could break
in the coming months, if not weeks.
A
formal ceasefire between Pakistan and the TTP is still in place.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2167751/world
--------
India
Bhagwat, RSS on same page as us on need for Hindu-Muslim reconciliation: Najeeb Jung
by
Sourav Roy Barman
September
23, 2022
RSS
chief Mohan Bhagwat feels “a complete need for reconciliation” between Hindus
and Muslims is imperative for India to march ahead, former Delhi Lt Governor
Najeeb Jung, who was among the five intellectuals from the Muslim community who
met Bhagwat last month, said on Thursday.
In
an exclusive interview to The Indian Express, Jung said Bhagwat’s visits to
mosques and madrasas in Delhi during the day also reflects that spirit.
He
emphasised that Bhagwat and the RSS’s top leadership are also “on the same page
that this cannot be allowed to continue”, and there should be steps to improve
relations.
He
said: “We came out with these words from the Sarsanghchalak (Bhagwat) that
there is a complete need for reconciliation. He endorses this view…I am
repeating his words that India has to go forward, and that can happen when
there is reconciliation, when all communities go hand in hand. That is the
clear message he gave us — not just a message, those were his words.”
Jung
said he met Bhagwat two years ago as well but was unable to carry forward the
dialogue process on account of the pandemic. So, “we thought this was the right
time to go ahead,” he said. “We had very free and frank discussions on all
kinds of things. Just singling out kaafir — or this, that and the other — will
not be fair; it was a freewheeling discussion. I think he and the senior
hierarchy of the Sangh are on the same page as us — that we need reconciliation
and rapprochement; that this cannot be allowed to continue; and so steps should
be taken to improve relations.”
The
meeting, described as the first of many, took place in the RSS’s makeshift
Delhi office, Udaseen Ashram. Besides Jung, former chief election commissioner
S Y Quraishi, former Aligarh Muslim University vice-chancellor Lt Gen Zameer
Uddin Shah (retd), Rashtriya Lok Dal vice-president Shahid Siddiqui and businessman
Saeed Shervani took part in it.
Asked
if future engagements will be held in a more structured form, Jung replied in
the affirmative. He said they will also meet clerics of all faiths. Jung said
he believes “hardened positions” will not help address matters.
“The
liberals of today will say, why are you talking to RSS? Why do you trust me? I
will say that of course I am going to talk to the RSS, my door is open. And I
will talk to the Right, to the Left, to priests and clerics and academics and
try to convince them that is the only way forward.”
Jung,
who resigned as Delhi L-G in December 2016 after a tenure marked with repeated
clashes with the AAP government, also said that there is no room for
confrontation in the dialogue process.
He
said: “There will be meetings with like-minded and non-like minded people
across the spectrum. Because everyone has a point of view, from their
perspective their point of view is legitimate. So if we feel their point of
view does not carry weight with us, we should convince them or they should
convince us. It is a process of dialogue. It is not a process of confrontation,
or tu tu-mai mai. This is a long haul. The history of poor communal relations
goes back hundreds of years.”
Source:
Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Maharashtra
Appoints Tata Institute Of Social Sciences To Conduct Study On Socio-Economic
Status Of Muslims
Sep
22, 2022
Mumbai
The government has appointed Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to
conduct a study on the socio-economic and educational status of the Muslim
community in 56 Muslim-dominated areas of the state over three months, in an
attempt to uplift the minority community.
“To
understand the social, educational and economic status of the Muslim community,
TISS will study their ratio in literacy, employment, health status, standard of
living, financial assistances from bank or other financial institutions, basic
facilities in the Muslim-dominated areas and benefits taken by the minority
community in various government welfare schemes,” states a government
resolution (GR) issued by the state minority affairs department on Wednesday.
It added that the study, for which the government has approved an expenditure
of ₹33.92 lakh, will identify the reasons and constraints behind bringing the
minority society to the mainstream and make recommendations to overcome the
same.
In
2008, the state government constituted the Mehmood-ur-Rehman Committee to study
the educational, social, and economic backwardness of Muslims and suggest
measures to improve their condition. It was asked to study the findings of
Justice Ranganathan Mishra commission report and Sachchar committee report that
had given the actual status of the community in the country.
In
its report submitted to the chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, Mehmood-ur-Rehman
had recommended an eight per cent reservation to the community in government
jobs and education among other recommendations.
The
seven-member committee, appointed by former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh,
was headed by retired IAS officer Mehmood-ur-Rehman and comprised retired IAS,
IPS officers, as well as professors from institutes such as the TISS.
Islamic
scholar and general secretary, All India Ulema Council, Maulana Mehmood
Dariyabadi said that this is not the first time such a committee was formed. In
the past, the central government and state government too had set up such
committees and their reports were also submitted but nothing happened later.
“It
is an open fact that Muslims are the most backward community in the country. In
2014, the state government had declared reservation to the community in
government jobs and education. The Bombay high court scrapped reservation to
the community in government jobs but allowed it in education. If the state
government is really serious about backwardness of the community they should
bring back reservation in education to the community,” Dariyabadi said.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
After
India, now the UK also has to wrestle with Hindu-Muslim clashes
September
23, 2022
Here
in India, Hindu-Muslim clashes that threaten houses of worship, force shops to
close and inflame passions on social media no longer constitute news. It is
noteworthy, however, when they break out not in Madhya Pradesh but in the
English Midlands.
Police
in the city of Leicester have arrested dozens of people in recent days after
what authorities described as “serious disorder.” Weeks ago, a game of cricket
between India and Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates raised tensions, as such
matches often do. Subsequently, Hindu revivalists marched through a Muslim-dominated
part of Leicester, chanting religious slogans. A Muslim mob surrounded a Hindu
temple and burned its saffron flag. Scuffles between the two groups broke out
across the city.
Almost
40 per cent of Leicester’s residents are of South Asian origin and the city has
often been held up as a successful model of integration. Even now, official
statements and media reports about the violence have taken pains not to
puncture that reputation. Some have blamed “outsiders,” especially from nearby
Birmingham, for the trouble. Police have complained that disinformation spread
through social media fired up the mobs. And many observers have stressed the
pacifying influence of “community leaders.”
There’s
some truth to all those statements. But they miss the larger story, which is
that the sectarian politics of the Indian subcontinent can no longer be
contained within the subcontinent. Such divides are being globalized, spreading
alienation, disinformation, political partisanship, radicalization and violence
in their wake.
Take
social media. Today, political mobilization in South Asia is driven largely by
online content — and, increasingly, by made-to-order misinformation. This is
true for Hindus, Muslims and even Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Indeed, the
subcontinent is making new and innovative advances in hate speech. Bigots are
no longer content to relabel and retweet incendiary videos; they are creating
their own fake content and labeling it as “entertainment.”
Just
last week, a viral video — retweeted by, among others, a spokesman for the
ruling Bharatiya Janata Party — appeared to show a Muslim clergyman abusing a
young woman. The video was in fact created specifically for “educational” —
rabble-rousing — purposes. The scenes it depicted were imaginary, according to
a portentous disclaimer, “because the reality is too bitter to be told or
shown.”
Social
media has also dissolved boundaries between locals and “outsiders.” Technology
makes it easy for angry co-religionists to collaborate and egg each other on,
even if they aren’t physical neighbors. Until a decade ago, for instance, riots
in India were predominantly an urban phenomenon. Then, in 2013, the advent of
social media allowed mobs from different villages to launch a coordinated
attack on Muslims in rural Uttar Pradesh, displacing tens of thousands of them.
The
uneasy peace that has long held in places such as Leicester — negotiated by
local faith leaders and maintained by separating the different communities —
cannot survive this new age. If Leicester has more Hindus than Muslims, then a
provocative march will be organized in a Muslim area. If the Midlands as a
whole have more Muslims than Hindus, then they will in turn combine to
intimidate Leicester’s Hindus. And on and on, to the level of the nation
itself.
Nor
will politics-as-usual solve the problem. Rather than speaking directly to
minority voters, too many British politicians and administrators still rely on
“community leaders” of doubtful opinions and increasingly limited authority.
Why would a young British Asian man listen to his local imam or pandit when he
consumes media from the subcontinent that is full of far more entertaining, and
incendiary, voices?
Besides,
it is too easy for politicians, in the UK as well as India, to exploit these
sectarian divides. Priti Patel, until a few weeks ago the cabinet minister in
charge of law and order, recently described her Tories and the BJP as “sister
parties.” At least one Hindu Labour MP has accused his own party of employing a
“divide and rule” policy in which, he implied, Hindus were at the bottom of the
pile.
The
worst possible outcome would be for Hindus and Muslims in the Midlands and the
wider UK to start voting for different parties based on their religion. Then
adoption of the subcontinent’s divisive politics would be complete.
That
“divide and rule” comment — a reference to how the British supposedly
controlled a diverse and divided subcontinent for two centuries — gets to the
heart of the problem. Over the past fortnight, some in the UK have tried to
examine how the echoes of empire still animate aspects of national identity.
Yet they have failed to see how actual policies in today’s Britain, in what the
state does and does not do, in its acceptance of ghettoized communities and its
dependence on “faith leaders” as interlocutors, eerily reflect how the Raj once
kept the peace half a world away.
Source:
Business Standard
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Gyanvapi
Case: Hindu Petitioners Seek Carbon Dating Of 'Shivling' In Mosque
22
SEP 2022
The
Hindu petitioners on Thursday sought the carbon dating of the 'Shivling'
claimed to have been found inside the Gyanvapi Mosque in Uttar Pradesh's
Varanasi.
Following
the petition seeking carbon dating, the Varanasi District Court asked the
Gyanvapi Mosque management to file its objections to it which will be taken up
in the next hearing of the case on September 29.
Five
Hindu women have filed a petition seeking rights for daily prayers before the
idols on the outer walls of the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi. During the initial
hearing of the case, a Varanasi court —from where the case was later
transferred to District Court— ordered videography survey of the mosque
compound. It was claimed that a 'Shivling' was found close to the
"wazookhana" —a small reservoir used by Muslims to perform ritual
ablutions before offering namaz— in the mosque premises. It is this 'Shivling'
whose carbon dating has now been sought.
Carbon
dating is a scientific process to assign age to an object. It is frequently
used to assign age to archaeological finds.
Appearing
on behalf of petitioner women, advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain placed the demand
for carbon-dating of the "Shivling" before the court. The judge asked
the mosque management to file its objections to the plea and fixed September 29
as the next date of hearing in the matter, district government advocate Rana
Sanjeev Singh said.
The
court did not entertain the mosque management's plea for fixing the next
hearing eight weeks after the last date of hearing in the matter on September
12, he added.
Earlier
on September 12, the court had ruled that the petition of Hindu devotees in the
Gyanvapi Mosque case is maintainable, rejecting the challenge to the petition
by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee. The Muslim petitioners had challeged the
maintainability of the Hindu petitioners' plea, arguing that it was not
maintainable under the Places of Worship Act 1991 which prohibits conversion of
any place of worship and mandates the maintenance of the religious character of
any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
A
total of 15 people had submitted applications in the court to become parties to
the dispute. The judge said the applications of only eight people, who were
present before the court, will be considered, Singh said.
The
Gyanvapi Mosque is located next to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath temple and the
case revived claims that the mosque was built on a portion of the Hindu structure
demolished on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Source:
Outlook India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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'Land
Jihad' in Delhi: Did AAP convert Hauz Khas' Deer Park into a Muslim cemetery?
September
22, 2022
The
iconic and picturesque Deer Park, located in south Delhi’s Hauz Khas area, has
now become the newest reason for a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi
Party (AAP) tussle.
BJP’s
Shailender Singh Monty has accused AAP’s MLA Somnath Bharti of attempting to
grab land in the park allegedly to build a graveyard for Muslims.
Monty
has termed the incident as ‘land jihad, alleging that the AAP MLA is attempting
to convert the Deer Park, spread across 200 hectares, into a graveyard for the
Muslim community, and also alleged that the AAP MLA is trying to open a road
through the forest area to benefit a Muslim realtor.
What’s
behind the ‘grave’ issue? We try to uncover the truth in the matter.
The
‘land grab’ at Deer Park
The
issue first came to light with former counsellor of Municipal Corporation of
Delhi from Safdarjang Enclave area Shailender Singh Monty, accusing AAP’s
Somnath Bharti of misusing the land and declaring it as a graveyard.
He
further alleged that Bharti was trying to exert pressure to transfer it to the
Waqf board.
In
his accusation, Shailender said, “Somnath Bharti first placed a board in the
graveyard inside the park. Later, his men came and cleaned the park. Then, on
10 September, a few people came and buried a body inside the park. Not even a
single person was local. Now Somnath Bharti is pressuring the Delhi Development
Authority (DDA) officers to declare the park as a graveyard.”
Shailender
said that Bharti was committing the land grab in order to benefit his friend, a
builder by the name of Liyaqat Ali. He added that Bharti wanted to now build a
road across the park so that property rates would increase, benefitting his
friend.
On
Wednesday, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta held a rally at Malviya Nagar to
raise awareness about Bharti’s alleged land grab.
At
the demonstration, Gupta demanded the resignation of the AAP MLA. “Land worth
crores of rupees, which is a part of the Deer Park in Hauz Khas, has been
encroached upon for extending a graveyard at the behest of Kejriwal’s close
aide and local MLA Somnath Bharti and the Waqf board. The land actually belongs
to DDA.”
“After
coming to power, the Arvind Kejriwal government is setting new records of
corruption, but the BJP will continue to protest against the
government-protected land mafia,” he said.
Gupta
added that the protest will continue till concrete action is taken against AAP
leaders on the issue of land grabbing.
He
also demanded Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena punish the accused persons involved
in the whole matter.
AAP’s
Bharti hits back
The
Malviya Nagar MLA belonging to the AAP has laughed off the allegations, saying
it was the BJP’s attempt to communalise people for seeking votes ahead of the
MCD polls.
“In
order to get votes in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, they have
started this communal Hindu-Muslim issue. No one came to Somanth Bharti for a
graveyard nor have I taken any step in this case. The matter is not of a
graveyard but corruption by local BJP politicians. They do not work for the
welfare of people but as soon as elections approach, they start raking up
communal issues. My constituency will not let this polarisation formula succeed,”
Bharti said in a video released on his social media handle.
He
added that he would soon be sending a defamation notice to BJP’s Shailender
Singh.
This
is not the first time that the two leaders have been attacking each other. In
2015, the AAP MLA accused Shailendra of building a hotel on DDA land. He
revealed that he had also filed a complaint against him but no actions were
taken.
The
land in question
The
Deer Park, which has led to the two parties fighting, is located in South Delhi
and was named after famous social worker Aditya Nath Jha.
The
Deer Park along with the connected District Park (that houses the Hauz Khas
lake) and adjacent Rose Garden is collectively called the “lungs of Delhi”,
owing to their heavy green cover. The park is a common favourite and a respite
among Delhites looking for a break from the pollution and dust of the city.
Source:
Firstpost
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Hijab
part of a student’s right to privacy, Supreme Court told
Sep
23, 2022
NEW
DELHI: Arguing against the Karnataka government’s decision to enforce uniforms
in a bid to prohibit religion-linked attire, such as hijab, in educational
institutions, the Muslim side on Thursday told the Supreme Court that choice of
appearance and apparel is part of a female student’s inviolable right to
privacy.
In
the hearing that spanned two weeks and ended Thursday, 21 advocates argued for
the Muslim side challenging the basis, intent, rationale and legality of the
state’s February 5 decision, which was upheld by the Karnataka HC, and six in
support of enforcing uniform without religious attire.
An
SC bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia reserved the verdict on
a bunch of 26 pro-hijab pleas. With Gupta set to retire on October 16, the
verdict would be out before that date.
Huzefa
Ahmadi, arguing for the Muslim side, said Thursday, “Banning hijab has resulted
in girls dropping out of schools. If they are prevented from being educated in
government institutions, they will be deprived of their fundamental right.”
As
the hearing on the ban on hijab in some Karnataka educational institutes came
to an end in the Supreme Court on Thursday, Huzefa Ahmadi said, “It was a
puerile decision on the part of the state to issue a circular for strict
enforcement of uniform by succumbing to a few students who wore saffron shawls
to bully hijab-wearing Muslim girls. ”
The
Muslim side engaged 21 lawyers, including senior advocates Dushyant Dave,
Rajeev Dhavan, Devadatt Kamat, Salman Khurshid, Huzefa Ahmadi, Meenakshi Arora
and Sanjay Hegde during the twoweek hearing. They referred to Constituent
Assembly debates on secularism, constitutional provisions relating to freedom
of expression, choice as well as religious practice and Quranic verses to argue
that hijab, even if construed as a non-essential religious practice, was a
matter of choice.
In
contrast, the Karnataka government engaged only three law officers — solicitor
general Tushar Mehta, state advocate general Prabhuling Navadgi and additional
solicitor general K M Nataraj — to argue that the February 5 circular was a
secular direction to educational institutions to enforce the prescribed
uniforms and that it did not talk of hijab at all.
These
three law officers were supported by senior advocates R Venkataramani, D S
Naidu and V Mohana, who appeared for teachers from Karnataka and argued that
educational institutions must not be the stage for exhibiting competing
religious affiliations. An irreligious atmosphere is most conducive for
imparting knowledge, they argued.
On
the concluding day, Dave and Ahmadi said the solicitor general’s reference to
Popular Front of India (PFI) allegedly fuelling the hijab row was not based on
facts and hence cannot be taken on record, especially when the state government
expressly declined to file counter affidavit to the petitions.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Demand
to resume India-Pak bus, train services before Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary
gains strength
Sep
22, 2022
AMRITSAR:
Ahead of the birth anniversary of Sikh’s first master, Guru Nanak Dev, in
November, the demand for resuming the Punjab Aab bus service and Samjhauta
Express rail service between India and Pakistan is gaining strength.
While
demanding the resumption of train and bus services between the two nations,
former president of SAD(D), Paramjit Singh Sarana, asked why the “samjhauta
(agreement)” was broken in the first place. “The bus and train services were a
boon for the people of both the nations, not only for the pilgrims. It was the
most convenient mode of transport for the divided families across the two
countries,” Sarna said, adding SAD(D) would put forward its demand before the
Centre as well as with Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to put
pressure on the Pakistan government for the resumption of these suspended
services ahead of Baba Nanak’s birth anniversary.
Former
president of Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Bishan Singh, too
said they want both the nations to resume the train and bus services so that
not only the pilgrims but the businessmen and the divided families could easily
commute between India and Pakistan as they used to travel before. “There
couldn’t be any better time to make such an announcement than the pious
occasion of the ensuing birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November.”
Notably,
the service of Indian bus “Punj Aab” (named after five rivers in Punjab) and
Pakistan’s “Dosti” (friendship) was suspended after India revoked Article 370
that gave a special status to Jammu and Kashmir, in August 2019. Earlier in
2015, citing security reasons, Pakistan had restricted the movement of
Lahore-Amritsar, Nankana Sahib–Amritsar and Lahore–Delhi bus service up to
Wagah (Pakistan) border only. Similarly, the Samjhauta Express was also
suspended in 2019.
Bishan
opined that Indian sangat should also take up the matter with the government so
that both the services were again resumed giving much reprieve to the common
man who aspires to travel across the border. “The people-to-people contact will
also help to shed differences and clear the misunderstandings,” he said.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
North
America
US:
Rights group condemns congressman's attack on Muslim university officer
22
September 2022
New
York Congressman Lee Zeldin has come under fire from a leading Muslim rights
organisation after attacking the Muslim American official tapped to lead a
probe into a complaint of antisemitism at a university in New York City.
Saly
Abd Alla, a former civil rights director for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations' (CAIR) chapter in Minnesota, was chosen to lead an investigation
into a complaint of antisemitism made by a CUNY Kingsborough Community College
professor.
Abd
Allah is the chief diversity officer at CUNY. After the news that she would be
leading the investigation, Republican Councilperson Inna Vernikov accused her
of being linked to antisemitism and terrorism.
Zeldin,
a Republican from New York and co-chair of the House Republicans' Israel
Caucus, joined the attacks and said both the CUNY employee and CAIR were
"pro-Hamas" and "antisemitic".
"CAIR’s
leadership has a long history of spreading antisemitic conspiracies and
pro-Hamas propaganda," Zeldin said.
CAIR
National and its New York branch responded to Zeldin's statement, saying his
"decision to launch a vile, defamatory and Islamophobic attack against a
Muslim woman because she once worked for our civil rights organization is
shameful".
"Mr.
Zeldin, a poodle for Donald Trump with a history of smearing Muslim women, has
reached a new low and sullied his office."
Zeldin
has a history of attacking Muslim leaders in the US. In 2019, after prominent
American imam Omar Suleiman delivered a prayer at the opening of a session at
the US House of Representatives, Zeldin launched a scathing rebuke of the
speech, followed by a flurry of articles that accused Suleiman of being
"militantly anti-Semitic".
At
the time, Suleiman told MEE that the articles springing up in quick succession
was "clearly part of an attempt to erase Muslim leaders from public life
and also to keep deflecting from the real anti-Semitism of the right".
CUNY
and BDS
Earlier
this year, Vernikov, a Ukrainian-born Jewish Republican representing parts of
Brooklyn, was able to block $50,000 in CUNY's funding after claiming that
professors at its School of Law were engaging in antisemitism following a
decision to support the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
(BDS) movement.
In
a statement, Vernikov claimed CUNY, which enrolled more than 260,000 students
in 2020, was rife with "antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment".
Students
at the university condemned the decision, telling MEE they experienced no such
antisemitism on campus, despite Vernikov's claims. The funding the councilwoman
blocked had been due to go towards providing free legal services to the local
community.
Zeldin
himself introduced a bill in March this year targeting the BDS movement in the
US. The bill, if passed, would bar US citizens and companies from providing
information to foreign countries and international organisations that
"have the effect of furthering" the boycott of Israel.
It
would also bar the US from participating in boycotts, or requests for boycotts,
of "a country which is friendly to the United States".
Source:
Middle East Eye
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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US
thanks Türkiye for its support in Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange
Servet
Gunerigok
22.09.2022
WASHINGTON
The
US thanked Türkiye on Wednesday for its role in a prisoner exchange between
Ukraine and Russia, hours after the Turkish president announced the swap.
"I
would like to thank the Turkish government for helping facilitate the exchange
of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia, building on their leadership on the
grain deal," President Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan
said on Twitter.
His
tweet came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the two nations
had exchanged 200 prisoners as a result of Türkiye's mediation and diplomatic
efforts conducted with the leaders of the two countries.
Erdogan
told reporters in New York City that the prisoner exchange under Türkiye's
mediation was an "important step" towards ending the war between the
two countries.
He
said efforts to establish peace between Russia and Ukraine continue.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Türkiye
may reach $100B trade volume with US 'in a short time': President
Servet
Gunerigok
22.09.2022
NEW
YORK
Türkiye's
trade volume with the US will reach $100 billion "in a short time" if
the current momentum is kept decisively, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
Wednesday.
Speaking
at an investment event hosted by the Türkiye-US Business Council in New York,
President Erdogan said the US and Türkiye are "friendly" and
"strategic" partners and the cooperation between the two nations has
contributed to the peace in certain regions around the world.
Erdogan
said Türkiye’s trade volume with the US increased by nearly 30% in the first
eight months of this year compared to the same period of the previous year and
reached $22 billion.
"If
this momentum is maintained with the right and decisive steps, our trade volume
will reach the goal of $100 billion in a short time," he added.
He
said direct investments from the US in Türkiye reached $14.1 billion and
Turkish companies' investments in the US reached the level of $8.6 billion.
Erdogan
recalled that the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine have disrupted
supply chains mainly in the food and energy sectors and many countries are
struggling with high inflation rates.
He
said Türkiye managed to overcome these challenges in terms of growth, exports
and employment, adding Türkiye's economy recorded 11% growth last year, which
he said was the largest rate among G20 nations.
Despite
the pandemic, Türkiye maintained its balanced growth, and its exports exceeded
$250 billion on an annual basis as of September, said Erdogan.
Between
2003-2021, Türkiye attracted more than $240 billion in foreign direct
investment and $14 billion last year, said the president.
Stating
that Türkiye and the US have mutual trade and investment opportunities in almost
every sector, Erdogan said Türkiye has a key role in diversifying routes and
resources for energy security.
The
president recalled that the US is Türkiye's second largest liquefied natural
gas (LNG) supplier and said Türkiye wants to purchase more LNG "on
favorable terms," adding it is ready for cooperation in the delivery of
American LNG to other nations in the region.
The
president also called for the lifting of US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed
on Türkiye in 2018, which will significantly contribute to joint efforts
between the two nations.
The
president also said that Türkiye hosted more than 500,000 American tourists in
the first seven months of this year.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Europe
Palestinians
warn British PM Truss against following Trump, moving UK embassy to al-Quds
22
September 2022
Palestinians
have expressed outrage over reports that British Prime Minister Liz Truss is
considering relocating the UK embassy in Tel Aviv to the occupied holy city of
al-Quds in a controversial decision that would follow in former US president
Donald Trump’s footsteps.
Some
Palestinians described the move as “a new Balfour Declaration” and said it
proves Britain’s bias in favor of the Israeli regime.
The
Balfour Declaration came in the form of a letter from Britain’s then-foreign
secretary, Arthur Balfour, addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead
of the British Jewish community. It was published on November 2, 1917.
The
declaration was made during World War I (1914-1918) and was included in the
terms of the British Mandate for Palestine after the dissolution of the Ottoman
Empire.
It
is widely seen as the precursor to the 1948 Palestinian Nakba, when Zionist
armed paramilitary groups, who were trained and created to fight side by side
with the British in World War II, forcibly expelled more than 750,000
Palestinians from their homeland.
An
unnamed Palestinian Authority official said the Ramallah-based and
Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over West
Bank areas has not received an official statement from the British government
regarding the relocation of the embassy.
The
official warned that such “dangerous” moves would have a negative impact on the
decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The
official pointed out that the reports about relocating the British embassy from
Tel Aviv to al-Quds emerged shortly after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
and Truss met in New York, where they are attending the 77th United Nations
General Assembly session.
Mustafa
Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative Party, said
the British prime minister belongs to the “pro-Zionist” conservatives and is
known for volte-face on her stances.
Barghouti
stated that Truss and her friends were trying to win the support of the Jewish
community in Britain.
“I
wasn’t surprised because the positions of this British government are against
the interests of Palestinian people,” Barghouti said in an interview with a
local Palestinian radio station.
“But
I don’t think they will succeed in moving the embassy because of the fierce
opposition by the friends of Palestinians in Britain,” he noted.
Hamas,
Islamic Jihad condemnations
Meanwhile,
the Gaza-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance movements condemned the
reports about the relocation of the British embassy to al-Quds.
“The
announcement by the British Prime Minister Liz Truss about her intention to
move her country’s embassy to al-Quds is a flagrant bias toward the occupying
regime,” Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif Qanou said.
He
warned that the move would not give Israel any legitimacy “over one inch of our
land.”
Hazem
Qassem, another Hamas spokesman, warned that moving the British embassy would
be considered a new crime by Britain against Palestinian people.
Islamic
Jihad senior official Mohammed Shalah accused Britain of continuing to display
“arrogance” against Palestinians.
“We
are not surprised by what Britain is doing in light of the ongoing Arab and
Islamic silence,” Shalah said.
“We
blame the Arab and Islamic countries that are supposed to support al-Quds.”
Another
Islamic Jihad official, Tareq Salmi, warned that the controversial British plan
would spark the anger of Arabs and Muslims.
He
denounced the move as a “hideous colonial aggression” against Palestinians,
adding, “Britain is directly responsible for the tragedy of Palestinian
people.”
Trump
sparked controversy by officially recognizing al-Quds as the Israeli ‘capital’
in December 2017, before moving the US embassy there from Tel Aviv in May 2018.
Guatemala
and Paraguay later followed suit, before the latter reversed its decision after
just four months.
Source:
Press TV
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London
mayor Sadiq Khan's appeal to Hindus, Muslims in UK. It's personal for him
Sep
23, 202
London
mayor Sadiq Khan appealed to Hindu and Muslim communities to "not allow
the politics of the sub-continent to spill over" into the UK.
“We
should be eternally on our guard against extremist forces who seek to stoke up
tensions between our communities for their own selfish ends. Everyone in the UK
and around the world should have the right to live in peace and to practice
their religion without fear or threats,” the London mayor said.
The
appeal came after a spate of violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim
communities in the eastern England city of Leicester following an
India-Pakistan cricket match.
Sadiq
Khan urged against letting "current or past tensions, and the wider
politics of the region, be used as a pretext to stir up trouble on our
streets". "British Muslims and British Hindus should always be
allies, not adversaries," he added.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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UK
deepening links with fellow democracies like India, Israel, Indonesia, South
Africa: Truss
Sep
22, 2022
UNITED
NATIONS: The United Kingdom is deepening its links with fellow democracies like
India, Israel, Indonesia and South Africa, British Prime Minister Liz Truss
told world leaders at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
"So,
we are building new partnerships around the world. We are fortifying our deep
security alliances in Europe and beyond through NATO and the Joint
Expeditionary Force,” Truss said on Wednesday.
"We
are deepening our links with fellow democracies like India, Israel, Indonesia
and South Africa," she said, adding that the UK is building new security
ties with its friends in the Indo-Pacific and the Gulf.
She
said the UK has shown leadership on free and fair trade, striking trade
agreements with Australia, New Zealand, Japan and many others, and “we are in
the process" of acceding to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"Rather
than exerting influence through debt, aggression, and taking control of
critical infrastructure and minerals, we are building strategic ties based on mutual
benefit and trust. And we are deepening partnerships like the G7 and the
Commonwealth," she said.
Truss
lamented that authoritarian states are undermining stability and security
around the world.
"Geopolitics
is entering a new era – one that requires those who believe in the founding
principles of the United Nations to stand up and be counted. In the United
Kingdom, we are entering a new era too,” she said.
Mourning
the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, she said the late monarch "was the rock
on which modern Britain was built. And she symbolised the post-war values on
which this organisation was founded."
She
said her country is safeguarding the security of its economy – the supply
chains, the critical minerals, the food, and the technology that drives growth
and protects the health and lives of its people.
"We
won't be strategically dependent on those who seek to weaponise the global
economy. Instead, we are reforming our economy to get Britain moving – and we
want to work with our allies so we can all move forward together,” she said.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Western
nations concerned by presence of extremist groups in Afghanistan
23
September, 2022
Some
western countries expressed grave concern about the presence and operations of
extremist groups in Afghanistan and said the Taliban were not meeting their
counter-terrorism commitments.
Special
envoys and representatives for Afghanistan of the European Union, France,
Germany, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States met last week
and released a joint communiqué on Thursday.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Armenia
accuses Azerbaijan of ‘unspeakable atrocities’ during UN summit
23
September, 2022
Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan used his address before the United Nations
Thursday to accuse Azerbaijan of “unspeakable atrocities” during the latest
clashes between the two rivals, including mutilating the bodies of dead
soldiers.
Fighting
flared up last week between the Caucasus countries, leaving nearly 300 dead in
the worst violence since a war in 2020.
“There
are evidences of cases of torture, mutilation of captured or already dead
servicemen, numerous instances of extra-judicial killings and ill treatment of
Armenian prisoners of war, as well as humiliating treatment of the bodies,” he
told the UN General Assembly.
“The
dead bodies of Armenian female military personnel were mutilated, and then
proudly video recorded with particular cruelty by the Azerbaijani servicemen.”
As
Pashinyan spoke, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who is set to
address the global body this weekend, watched impassively.
Pashinyan
went on: “No doubt, committing such unspeakable atrocities is a direct result
of a decades-long policy of implanting anti-Armenian hatred and animosity in
the Azerbaijani society by the political leadership.”
He
also accused Azerbaijan of shelling civilian facilities and infrastructure deep
inside his country's territory, displacing more than 7,600 people, as well as
leaving three civilians dead and two missing.
“This
was not a border clash. It was a direct, undeniable attack against the
sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Armenia,” he said.
The
speech comes just days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged peace
between the two sides in a meeting where he hosted both countries' top
diplomats.
“Strong,
sustainable diplomatic engagement is the best path for everyone,” Blinken said.
US
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, during a visit Sunday to the Armenian capital
Yerevan, blamed Baku for “illegal” attacks on Armenia, condemning an “assault
on the sovereignty” of the country.
Washington's
ties are deepening with Yerevan whose traditional ally Moscow is distracted
with its invasion of Ukraine.
Russia
has close ties with both former Soviet states. It is obligated to intervene if
Armenia is invaded under a security pact, but did not rush to help despite an
appeal from Yerevan.
Armenia
and Azerbaijan have fought two wars -- in the 1990s and in 2020 -- over the
contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-populated enclave of
Azerbaijan.
A
six-week war in 2020 claimed the lives of more than 6,500 troops from both
sides and ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Ahead
of Jewish new year, Hamas warns over Israeli raids on Aqsa Mosque
22
September 2022
Hamas
has warned of "repercussions" over Israel incursions into Al-Aqsa
Mosque in a warning issued days before the start of the Jewish holidays when
settler raids on the super-sensitive compound mount.
"The
continuation of the Zionist aggression and their brutality against al-Quds and
the holy shrines will be the cause of a major battle," Mahmud Zahar, a
senior member of the Gaza-based resistance movement, said on Thursday.
Pointing
to Palestinian concerns that a long-standing convention by which Israeli Jewish
settlers may visit but not pray in the holy site was being covertly flouted,
Zahar said Israel would be held "fully responsible for the repercussions
of such violations."
The
warning was made after Beyadenu, an Israeli group that encourages the settlers
to visit the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, said it was committed to increasing such
visits on the occasion of the Jewish New Year on September 29.
"We
broke the 50,000 visitor barrier on the Temple Mount" this past year,
Beyadenu said, referring to the Jewish name for the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Tom Nissani, the group's chief executive, said, "The goal is 100,000
visitors next (Jewish) year.”
Earlier
in the day, at least 386 Israeli settlers, escorted by military forces, broke
into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds.
In
what is viewed as a provocation, the Israeli settlers were reported to have
entered the mosque’s courtyards through the Moroccan Gate and performed rituals
and Talmudic prayers.
Such
mass settler break-ins almost always take place at the behest of Tel
Aviv-backed temple groups and under the auspices of the Israeli police in
al-Quds.
The
al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses
both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iranian
President Warns against NATO Expansion As Threat to Independent States
2022-September-22
President
Rayeesi made the remarks in a meeting with a group of American foreign policy
experts on the third day of his trip to New York.
The
Iranian president described NATO's expansionist policies as one of the causes
of insecurity in different parts of the world and stated, "As foreign
policy thinkers, advise politicians and statesmen so that the people of
different parts of the world do not bear the cost of their mistakes".
On
Afghanistan, he noted one of the main reasons for the emphasis of Iran on the
non-interference of outsiders in regional issues is the "current situation
of the Afghan nation after more than 20 years of occupation and intervention by
the United States and NATO forces in this country".
"The
disability of 35,000 children is just one of the results of two decade of
occupation of Afghanistan," Rayeesi added.
"The
largest volume of drug production is in Afghanistan, which was under the
occupation and control of the United States and NATO forces. If Iran does not
stop the drug trafficking, all of Europe and America will become a breeding
ground for drug traffickers," the president noted.
"Iran
itself has gone through the bitter experience of an eight-year war that was
imposed on this country with the support and instigation of the United States
and European countries, and therefore, it uses all its capacities to mediate
and end it as soon as possible," he stressed.
On
the nuclear talks, Iran's president stated that Tehran has not withdrawn from
the existing agreement and has fulfilled all its obligations in the agreement.
"It
was the United States that withdrew from the agreement, and it was the European
countries that did not fulfill their obligations," he continued.
"From
the beginning we declared that we are in favor of negotiations with the aim of
reaching a fair and reasonable agreement and not negotiations for the sake of
negotiations," Rayeesi emphasised.
Pointing
out that no one has described Iran's demands as unreasonable, the Iranian
president said, "The next point is, how long are the safeguard issues
going to be abused as a pressure lever against Iran? How many cases have been
opened in this field and each time it was announced that the claims made in it
were not true?"
"The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has so far emphasised 15 times that
the nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran are peaceful and do not
deviate from the Agency's regulations. Are these reports invalid for Western
countries?" he asked.
In
response to a statement that the IAEA is an independent and non-political
institution, the president noted, "In the same region where Iran is
located, how many other countries have nuclear activities and even activities
related to the production of nuclear weapons? How much of their activities are
under the supervision of the IAEA, and even though they are making nuclear
weapons, neither the IAEA nor some countries in the world are sensitive to
them".
Back
in July, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei
blasted the NATO as dangerous entity that knows no borders and boundaries and
had to be stopped in Ukraine.
He
made the remarks in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tehran.
“War
is a harsh and difficult reality, and the Islamic Republic will in no way be
happy if it entangles ordinary people,” the Leader said.
The
Supreme Leader emphasized that the Western powers are opposed to the existence
of a strong and independent Russia, arguing that the NATO is a dangerous
creature, and if the path before it is left open, it realizes no borders and
boundaries.
“If
NATO’s path had not been blocked in Ukraine, a while later on pretext of the
Crimean Peninsula they would have begun the same war,” he added.
NATO
has undergone several waves of expansion between 1999 and 2020, swallowing up
every former member of the defunct Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, three ex-Soviet
republics and four republics from the former Yugoslavia. The expansion took
place despite former US Secretary of State James Baker's verbal promise to
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 not to expand the alliance “one inch”
East of the territory of the former East Germany following that country’s
annexation by the Federal Republic.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
Calls on US to Surrender Trump to Justice over Assassination of Gen. Soleimani
2022-September-22
“The
leader who descended into the arena of the fight against terrorism was no one
other than the beloved martyr Qassem Soleimani,” the Iranian president said,
addressing the 77th annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in
New York on Wednesday.
Holding
up the picture of Lieut. Gen. Soleimani, Rayeesi noted that Trump had
“effectively managed to sign the document of a savage crime and illegal crime
and immoral crime".
Calling
General Soleimani as Daesh's annihilator, the Iranian president underlined that
the “previous president of the United States of America" should face a
"fair tribunal" for the assassination of the anti-terror icon.
The
proper pursuit of justice in the face of a crime admitted by the American
president about endorsement [of the attack] will not be abandoned. We seek
through a fair tribunal to bring justice those who martyred our beloved General
Soleimani, Rayeesi added.
On
the nuclear issue, Iran's president stated that the ideas put forward by the
country's negotiators in the Vienna negotiations with the world powers
prevented the talks from resulting in failure.
"Iran
has been the main centerpiece of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action)
survival by sticking to its commitments," President Rayeesi continued.
"Had
it not been for the initiatives and flexibility of the Islamic Republic of
Iran, negotiations would have stalled in the early days," he added.
The
Iranian president stressed that Tehran is seeking guarantees from the Americans
because it cannot trust Washington's loyalty to a new nuclear deal.
He
once again reaffirmed that his country was not seeking an atomic weapon, and
emphasized, "The Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking to build or
obtain nuclear weapons and such weapons have no place in our doctrine."
Rayeesi
stated that Washington's maximum pressure policy on Tehran has “suffered an
embarrassing defeat” and punishments imposed on the people of Iran are a form
of weapons of mass destruction.
He
underscored that the United States keeps equating militarism with security, and
noted, “America has pursued its interests at the expense of other countries.”
Here
is the full text of the speech of the Islamic Republic of Iran's President
Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi:
In
the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
Praise
is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and His Peace and Blessings be upon
Muhammad and His Pure Household and His Select Companions
O
Lord, send our greetings to the pure souls of the great prophets,
"Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad", may God's blessings be upon
them, who brought the message of "rationality, justice, spirituality and
morality" to the world and destroyed the foundations of ignorance and
oppression, so that people can build a better world for themselves.
Mr
Chairman
Ladies
and gentlemen
The
basic yardstick for building a better world is justice. All human ideals are
ultimately measured by justice. "Rationality based on revelation"
believes in a broad framework for justice; Justice means negation of injustice.
We are the standard-bearer of justice that negates all levels of oppression, including
"oppression to oneself, God, society, and the universe". The desire
to establish justice is a divine deposit in everyone's existence, and the
accumulation of injustice causes nations to move in the form of popular
revolutions. Although many movements did not reach the maturity of the
revolution and many revolutions deviated from their original path, the success
of some nations, such as the Iranian nation, in continuing the nature of their
revolution, has kept the hope of establishing justice alive in the hearts of
the people of the world. The Iranian Islamic Revolution was the crystallisation
of the movement of the Iranian nation towards justice, which despite various
seditions, has been able to protect the dignity and originality of its ideals.
In the first step, the nation of Iran built the foundation of an advanced
civil-political order based on "rationality emanating from
revelation" in the name of the Islamic Republic, and in the second step,
it seeks to form a "just international order and system". The key
elements in this path are "godliness, awareness, altruism, and
multilateralism".
Ladies
and gentlemen
I
am proud to represent a nation that has a great civilisational heritage. A
nation that has always been free and has thwarted the attempts of hegemons to
enslave its destiny for centuries. A nation that has always considered
oppression as a cause of destruction and throughout its history has also fought
against the captivity of other nations from "Babylonian captivity" to
"Palestinian captivity".
We
believe in a common destiny for humanity and support the universalisation of
justice.
We
wish for others what we like for ourselves and we do not impose on others what
we do not like for ourselves. The Iranian nation believes that justice creates unity,
and oppression creates war. If a country claims justice inside itself, but
abroad, it trains all kinds of terrorists and kills the nations, or forces the
nations to surrender by imposing various pressures, it should be a shame for
humanity, freedom, and justice.
Humanity
is not exclusive to a part of human beings, and human rights are not conceived
except by securing the rights of all human beings. Inspired by religious
beliefs and based on the spirit and text of its constitution, the Islamic
Republic of Iran has one of the most efficient mechanisms in the protection of
human rights, and with the most effective tools, considers the fulfilment of
the violated rights of each person as a human mission, a sovereign
responsibility, and a divine duty delegated to it by the people. The Islamic
Republic considers the double standards of some governments in the field of
human rights as the most important factor in the institutionalisation of human
rights violations, which results in diverse and numerous positions towards an
incident under investigation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the deathly
silence about the killing of dozens of helpless women in a short time in one of
the Western countries. As long as this double standards persists, human rights
will not be safe from repeated violations.
Above
human rights, the rights of nations are easily trampled by oppressive powers.
The right of Canadian indigenous communities whose children were buried in mass
graves in schoolyards instead of school classes; the right to
self-determination of the Palestinian nation, the right to development of
nations under sanctions, the right to life of nations under occupation or
victims of terrorism, the right to life of homeless refugees who keep children
in cages separate from their mothers and fathers; all of them show that the
position of the claimant and the accused in the issue of human rights should
not be changed and that the real violators of human rights do not have the
necessary moral competence to comment on human rights. Iran's unique role in
the destruction of ISIS, which only one of its crimes was enslaving Kurdish,
Yazidi and Christian women, is enough to show that we are in the position of
the claimant and defender of human rights, and the supporters of ISIS are in
the position of the accused.
Distinguished
audience
Now
we have come together in a situation where we are facing an important reality,
that is, "turning and changing the world" and entering a "new
era and order". The old world, the world of "unilateralism",
"domination-seeking", "dominance of capital over morality,
justice and virtue", "developer of poverty, discrimination and
inequality", "use of violence, sanctions and violation of the rights
of nations" and "use of international organisations and institutions
as a tool of pressure on independent countries" and in a word, the world
is unfair in every way. This unfair order has lost its legitimacy in the public
opinion of the world and serious wills have been formed to change it. The
decline of this old order is undeniable. Our region, that is West Asia, from
Afghanistan to Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and proud Iran, is the great museum of
the decline of this old order.
In
addition to that, the growing threat of terrorism and extremism, cultural
decline and the deterioration of political ethics, the unprecedented weakening
of multilateralism and the pathological growth of unilateral illegitimate
actions have created great challenges on the path of comprehensive progress and
human excellence.
We
believe that there is no other option than solidarity and cooperation in the
framework of multilateralism based on justice, and based on the principles and
transcendent human values emanating from the teachings of divine prophets, to
deal with ancient threats and modern global problems.
Distinguished
audience
All
the free nations have these high values, but this series of beliefs is the
reason for all the enmity of the oppressors of the world against us. What we
want is the rights of the Iranian nation and we do not tolerate a relationship
based on oppression. We stand for the rights of our nation. We believe that any
oppressive relationship is detrimental to global peace and security, and the
most important threat to the global community is the "normalisation of oppression".
Achieving global security through any means other than justice will not be
sustainable, and that is what we expect the United Nations to do.
Yes,
it is difficult to implement justice and maybe that is why many self-proclaimed
advocates of peace are running away from justice. Our question to these
governments is that if you do not have the will to implement justice, do you
not have the desire to deal with oppression?
Our
logic is rooted in the Qur'anic culture that said "Do not oppress and do
not be oppressed." The fate of many nations is determined by this phrase.
Those who do not benefit from the "power of logic" resort to
"logic of force". Logic that is based on justice is powerful and
rules hearts. A country that does not have logic, resorts to coups, occupation,
military intervention, army killings, indiscriminate treatment of terrorism and
many other atrocities and injustices. Did resorting to nuclear weapons lead the
world to justice or did it become the basis of domination? The killing of
hundreds of thousands of Iraqi, Yemeni, Syrian, and Afghan children was in the
service of which human cause? Aren't these manifestations of oppression and
injustice in the world?
Indeed,
what did Iran demand other than demanding its legal and just rights, which has
made world powers upset?
Dear
colleagues
Today,
hegemony and the spirit of the Cold War are scourging the world and a new era
of unrest is threatening our world. The desire of the nations of the world to
realise justice has become more intense and their will for progress,
independence and security has become more serious. The fruitfulness of the
doctrine of resistance is a clear manifestation of the determination of nations
to realise justice.
But
on the other hand, unilateralism seeks to hold countries back from their
independent development path. America cannot accept that countries stand on
their own feet, and is naïve o think that militarism is a source of security.
America's
friends are not better off. What is happening in Europe today is a mirror of what
happened in the past decades in West Asia. The nature of the deployment of
troops to West Asia and the expansion of NATO to Eastern Europe are not
different from each other, because in both, the fate of the countries is
defined by the America who pursues its own interests at the expense of others.
Mr
President, dear audience
The
Islamic revolution was the beginning of the movement of the Iranian nation to
reach its rightful position and during this period, it went through various
crises such as coups, domestic terrorism, separatism, war, chaos and sanctions,
none of which alone, could be tolerated by many countries.
More
than 40 years have passed since the then President of Iran, Mohammad Ali Rajai,
placed his foot on this podium, the traces of torture by the US-backed regime
were visible on. After that speech, he was martyred by the American-backed
terrorist group.
Four
decades ago, the nation of Iran, under the leadership of Imam Khomeini (RA),
mastered its own destiny by expelling foreigners from its country, and now the
nations of the region are trying to take control of their own destiny by
following that experience.
The
Iranian nation, which itself has been a victim of terrorism, has today become
the pillar of security in the region and the true vanguard of the fight against
terrorism in the world.
The
Iranian nation has paid a price to achieve its lofty and just goals; Whether it
was when Saddam tore up the Algerian agreement and started a full-scale
military war against us, and when the former American president violated the
nuclear agreement and launched a full-scale economic war and unveiled a new
form of crime against humanity.
Some
time ago, the former president of the United States announced that ISIS (also
known as Daesh or ISIL) was created by the United States; It doesn't matter to
us that ISIS was created by which of the American governments. The problem is
that a government on the other side of the globe decided to redraw the
geography of our region at the cost of shedding the blood of hundreds of
thousands of women and children, but the Islamic Republic stopped this project
and then pushed it back. The commander and hero of this war against terrorism
and the destroyer of ISIS was none other than Lieutenant General Haj Qasem
Soleimani. The one who was martyred in the path of the freedom of the nations
of the region and the former president of the United States printed his name on
the case of this crime.
The
fair trial of the crime to which the former American president has confessed is
a service to humanity; So that the hearts of those who have been hurt by this
oppression can somehow find relief from this oppression that has been done to
the nations of the region. The fair treatment of the crime that the former
president of the United States has confessed to is a service to humanity, so
that from now on, cruelty will be silenced and justice will prevail. We will
follow the implementation of justice and the trial of the commander and
supervisor of the martyrdom of Lt. Gen. Qasem Soleimani through a fair court
until a definitive result is reached.
Ladies
and gentlemen
The
story of the Iranian nation is the story of a nation that has learned to stand
on its own feet and not rely on others; it learned this experience when it
declared impartiality in both world wars, but was occupied militarily in both
times; Or where it resorted to the United States in order to nationalise the
oil industry to save itself from British colonialism, but they staged a coup
against the Iranian government at the time; And since in a multilateral
international agreement that was approved by the UN Security Council, it
promised to lift the sanctions, but it found itself facing the most brutal
system of sanctions.
Dear
audience, ladies and gentlemen
Having
the same attitude and those experiences, the Iranian nation has followed the
policy of persistence and progress. It is because of the same advanced, stable
and rational political and civil order that despite sanctions and threats,
Islamic Iran is today a strong country, with huge scientific and technical
achievements and unparalleled independence in the region and the world. We
believe that today the world needs a "strong Iran".
Today,
while exporting oil and gas, we have created a wide network of electricity and
gas distribution throughout the country; we are leaders in advanced science and
knowledge, including stem cells, space industries, bio and nanotechnology, and
nuclear sciences; Iran's growth in Human development indicators are impressive.
Social welfare infrastructures, including insurance coverage, have been widely
established for Iran's 85 million population, and democracy has been
comprehensively institutionalised in the ruling structure of the Islamic
Republic and has become the basic procedure of the system. While we were
sanctioned during the war, even to buy barbed wire, we have now reached the
point of deterrence by acquiring the technical know-how of the most advanced
military equipment. This is despite the fact that during all this period, we
witnessed the increasing hostility of America against the progress of the
Iranian nation.
People
of the world
Dear
audience,
Mr
President
It
was not our enemies who relieved the pressure, but it was our nation that drove
every enemy out of the field. The Iranian nation, with its effective presence
and comprehensive participation in the political order arising from the Islamic
Revolution, was able to go through the first stage of the Islamic Revolution
with strength and success while adhering to the values and inspiring the
nations, and now in the second stage, "neighbourhood policy" and
"deepening economic multilateralism" is the priority of its foreign
policy agenda.
The
Islamic Republic of Iran wants maximum interaction with all the countries of
the world, especially its neighbouring and friendly countries. War is not the
solution to crises, but the way to solve crises is dialogue and understanding.
As a powerful country in the region, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the will
and ability to help solve crises. In the past year, Iran's economic ties have
been strengthened, and its regional trade has grown significantly, and with the
expansion of sustainable economic cooperation infrastructure, a new chapter of
friendship and mutual trust has emerged. This neighbourhood policy is a policy
that creates security and stability. We have proved that we are friends of our
neighbours during their hardships.
In
all the numerous conversations I have had with regional heads and leaders, one
of the most important common points is that the security of the region must be
provided "endogenously and without external interference" and the way
to achieve this is cooperation, not dividing the world into blocs. The upcoming
era is the era of "stable cooperation, prosperity, stability and brotherhood",
if the fate of the region is determined by the countries of the region.
Occupiers and usurpers will be gone one day and neighbours stay for each other
for good.
Once
upon a time, they created a war between the two nations of Iran and Iraq, but
today, the greatest symbol of brotherhood and cultural event in the world,
namely the Arba'een procession, is held with the unparalleled effort of the
people of Iraq and Iran and other nations of the world to commemorate Imam
Hussein (AS), the progeny of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and glorify him who
sacrificed his life and his family to free people from ignorance and free them
from oppression.
Distinguished
audience
I
would like to draw your attention to one of the sad manifestations of
injustice, which is the source of all crises in the region. Contemporary
history has not seen a nation more oppressed than Palestine and crueller than
the occupying regime in Al-Quds. The Zionist Regime, which has more than
seventy years of apartheid, oppression and murder of women and children in its
dark history, has built the largest prison on earth in Gaza, and the
continuation of settlement construction and the images of the oppressed
Palestinians crying due to the usurpation of their lands, homes and farms, and
the killing of their children, show everyone that seven decades of oppression
and occupation by Israel is not over.
Governments
claiming freedom and democracy must answer why they are running away from the
clear and fair formula of the Islamic Republic to solve the Palestinian issue?
In oppressed Palestine, we believe in the policy of a single Palestine. All the
land of Palestine "from the sea to the river" belongs to the original
inhabitants of this historic and holy land. The solution to the Palestinian
issue is only to refer to the votes of all Palestinians, including Muslims,
Christians and Jews, in the form of holding a comprehensive referendum.
The
occupying regime of Al-Quds, which continues to occupy the territories of other
countries in the region, cannot be a partner in peace and security.
Honourable
audience
Let
me draw your attention to another manifestation of injustice, which is the
West's double-standard position towards Iran's peaceful nuclear activities.
While the basic pillar of global security is "global disarmament",
some powers are trying to make the world forget the main issue of global
disarmament by making Iran's peaceful activities a problem.
As
the representative of the great nation of Iran, I explicitly declare that the
Islamic Republic of Iran is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons and such
weapons have no place in our defence doctrine. This ruling was announced in the
fatwa of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, and for the Iranian
government and people, the religious fatwa of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic
Revolution is more effective than any international supervision.
This
is despite the fact that the self-proclaimed governments have continued to
produce and use nuclear weapons and have gifted these weapons to the Zionist
Regime. Countries that have to be disarmed are rewarded, and countries that
have adhered to their commitments are even deprived of the rights contained in
the NPT. While Iran's peaceful nuclear programme includes only two percent of
the world's nuclear programs, 35 percent of inspections are of our facilities.
Now,
I would like to ask the audience to carefully pay attention to a few points:
The
Islamic Republic accepted an agreement in 2015 in good faith and with a solid
intention and fulfilled all its commitments in the first place, but the result
was America breaking its promise and imposing sanctions which, according to
their own admission, were the most unprecedented sanctions in history.
Sanctions are a punishment for seeking justice and independence of the Iranian
nation. Sanction is a weapon of mass murder, and accompanying or remaining
silent towards it is aiding and abetting oppression.
It
was America that left the agreement, not Iran. The International Atomic Energy
Agency stated 15 times in its reports that Iran has fully adhered to the
provisions of the agreement.
At
the same time, Iran has paid the cost of complying with its obligations, but
due to the violation of the promise of the American side and the non-compliance
of the European side, Iran has not enjoyed the benefits of this agreement.
Based
on the capacities seen in the agreement, we took legal measures so that the
violating party returns to its obligations. By adhering to its obligations,
Iran has been the main axis of the JCPOA's survival, and if it were not for the
initiatives and flexibility of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the negotiations
would have stopped in the first days.
Iran's
negotiation logic based on a fair analysis of developments is only one
sentence: "adherence to commitments". Reassuring assurances are not
just about preparing for a contingency. We are talking about an experience. We
have before us the experience of America's withdrawal from the JCPOA and the
delay of the current American government in returning to its commitments for
more than a year and a half. Today, when the American government is talking
about its intention to return to its obligations, another voice is heard from
inside that country, which questions the commitment of the United States. With
that experience and this perspective, can we act with tolerance in the
important issue of ensuring the stability of the agreement?
Of
course, the Islamic Republic, with its vast facilities and wide connections
with the world, has neutralised the effects of sanctions one after another and
created new opportunities. According to the official admission of the US
government, the policy of maximum pressure against Iran has failed shamefully.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran
Showcases Ballistic Missiles, Radar and Missile Systems During Military Parades
2022-September-22
On
Thursday, the Iranian Armed Forces held military parades across the country and
in the Persian Gulf waters to mark the Sacred Defense Week. Forces from the
Iranian Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Police, Border
Guards, and Basij are participating in the parades.
During
the parade in Tehran, the Iranian Armed Forces unveiled a surface-to-surface
ballistic missile, Rezvan, for the first time.
Rezvan
is a liquid-fuel single-stage missile with a detachable warhead that has a
range of up to 1,400 kilometers. It can be launched from a variety of fixed and
mobile platforms.
IRGC
Commander Major General Hossein Salami introduced the Rezvan Missile as the one
capable of entering the atmosphere with a speed that is eight times higher than
the speed of sound.
He
noted it is a precision-guided and state-of-the-art missile with a medium
ballistic range.
During
the parades, a missile system, dubbed Khaybar Shekan, was also put on display.
The
missile, which has been previously unveiled, has a range of 1,450 kilometers
and enjoys high agility. It is capable of striking its designated targets with
pinpoint accuracy.
Khaybar
Shekan is reportedly among third-generation long-range missiles indigenously
developed and manufactured by military experts at the IRGC’s Aerospace
Division.
It
uses solid propellants and is said to be capable of penetrating into missile
shields with high maneuverability during its landing stage.
The
armed forces also showcased another strategic product, a radar system dubbed
Quds.
Aerospace
Force of the IRGC has also unveiled for the first time a sample of its missiles
dubbed “Sevvom-e Khordad”- in Persian means the third day of the third month of
the Iranian calendar year- with air defense system and 200-km range.
Sevvom-e
Khordad air defense system is capable of countering different types of air
targets including helicopters, fighters, drones and cruise missiles.
Military
officials say the military power of Iran is strong, extraordinary and deterrent
despite enemy sanctions and pressures, and hail the country's defense sector
for its remarkable developments in the recent decades. They stress the Iranian
Armed Forces’ deterrent power dissuades the United States and Israel from
implementing its threats against the country.
The
Islamic Republic’s military doctrine holds that the country’s armed capability
solely serves defensive purposes.
Iranian
military experts and technicians have in recent years made substantial headway
in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces
self-sufficient in the weaponry sphere.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Top
Commander: Iran, Russia, China to Stage Joint Naval Drill in Indian Ocean
2022-September-22
Speaking
on the sidelines of nationwide military parades, Major General Baqeri stated
Iran, Russia and China plan to hold joint naval drills within the next three
months.
The
military official told reporters that the maneuver would be held in the north
of the Indian Ocean.
The
top general noted that Pakistan, Oman and a number of other countries would
probably take part in the drills.
In
January, Iran, China and Russia held the '2022 Marine Security Belt' joint
drills in the North Indian Ocean. The joint naval drill was participated by
naval and airborne forces the Iranian Navy, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps
(IRGC) Navy, and vessels from China and Russia.
Commander
of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has underlined that the joint
drill was aimed at enhancing regional security.
"The
recent naval drills by Russia, Iran an China set a new model for ensuring
safety and security of maritime in international waters," Rear Admiral
Irani underscored.
He
reiterated that the continuous and effective presence of Iran's Navy in the
world's water zones is very significant to promote sustainable maritime
security.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Iran
president says woman's death that sparked protests ‘will be investigated’
22
September, 2022
Iranian
President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday said the death of a young woman that
sparked protests in the Islamic republic needed to be investigated, but accused
Western powers of hypocrisy for raising concerns.
At
a news conference in New York where he attended the UN General Assembly, the
clerical leader repeated a coroner's conclusion that 22-year-old Mahsa Amini
was not beaten, a finding rejected by protesters.
“But
I don't want to rush to a conclusion,” Raisi said.
“If
there is a party at fault, it certainly must be investigated. I contacted the
family of the deceased at the very first opportunity and I assured them personally
that we will continue steadfastly to investigate the incident,” he said.
Protesters,
many of them women, say Amini died in the custody of morality police who
enforce the clerical state's dress code on women.
Hours
after Washington imposed sanctions on the police unit, Raisi accused the West
of “double standards,” pointing to killings by police in the United States and
offering statistics on the deaths of women in Britain.
“Why
not call for the exact same thing for those who lose their lives at the hands
of law enforcement and other agents throughout the West -- Europe, North
America, the United States of America?” he said.
“Those
who suffer unjust beatings, why are there no investigations that follow up on
them?”
Raisi
did not reply to a question on the curbs on the internet inside Iran, where at
least 17 people have died in unrest since Amini's death last week, but said he
accepted peaceful protests.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Four
security personnel among 11 dead in Iran protests over Mahsa Amini’s death
22
September, 2022
Eleven
people, four of them security personnel, have been killed in growing protests
over the death of a young woman in morality police custody, Iranian news
agencies reported Thursday.
Three
militiamen were stabbed or shot dead after they had been “mobilized to deal
with rioters,” in Mashhad in the northeast, Qazvin in the center and Tabriz in
the northwest, the reports said.
A
fourth member of the security forces was killed in the southern city of Shiraz,
they said, adding that a protester had also been stabbed to death in Qazvin.
Iranian
officials had previously confirmed the deaths of six demonstrators.
Four
died in Kurdistan, the home province of Mahsa Amini, the young woman whose
death last week triggered the protests, and two in Kermanshah, another province
with a large Kurdish community.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran’s
Guards call for prosecuting those spreading ‘false news’ over woman’s death
22
September, 2022
Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards called on the judiciary on Thursday to prosecute “those
who spread false news and rumors” about a young woman whose death in police
custody has triggered nationwide protests.
Protesters
in Tehran and other Iranian cities torched police stations and vehicles earlier
on Thursday as public outrage over the death showed no signs of easing, with
reports of security forces coming under attack.
Mahsa
Amini, 22, died last week after being arrested in Tehran for wearing
“unsuitable attire.” She fell into a coma while in detention. The authorities
have said they would launch an investigation into the cause of her death.
In
a statement, the Guards expressed sympathy with the family and relatives of
Amini.
“We
have requested the judiciary to identify those who spread false news and rumors
on social media as well as on the street and who endanger the psychological
safety of society and to deal with them decisively,” the Guards, who have
cracked down on protests in the past, said.
Pro-government
protests are planned for Friday, Iranian media said.
“The
will of the Iranian people is this: do not spare the criminals,” said an
editorial in the influential hardline Kayhan newspaper.
The
protests over Amini’s death are the biggest in the Islamic Republic since 2019.
Most have been concentrated in Iran’s Kurdish-populated northwest but have
spread to the capital and at least 50 cities and towns nationwide, with police
using force to disperse protesters.
A
member of an Iranian pro-government paramilitary organization, the Basij, was
stabbed to death in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Wednesday, two
semi-official Iranian news agencies reported on Thursday.
The
Tasnim and Fars news agencies reports of the stabbing appeared on Telegram as
both their websites were not functioning on Thursday. There was no official
confirmation of the death.
Tasnim
also said another member of the Basij was killed on Wednesday in the city of
Qazvin as a result of a gunshot wound inflicted by “rioters and gangs,”
bringing the total reported number of security force members killed in the
unrest to four.
In
the northeast, protesters shouted “We will die, we will die but we’ll get Iran
back” near a police station which was set on fire, a video posted on Twitter
account 1500tasvir showed.
The
account focuses on protests in Iran and has around 100,000 followers.
Reuters
could not verify the footage.
Another
police station was set ablaze in Tehran as the unrest spread from Kurdistan,
the home province of Amini and where she was buried on Saturday.
Personal
freedoms
Amini’s
death has reignited anger over issues including restrictions on personal
freedoms in Iran - including strict dress codes for women - and an economy
reeling from sanctions.
Iran’s
clerical rulers fear a revival of the 2019 protests that erupted over gasoline
price rises, the bloodiest in the Islamic Republic’s history. Reuters reported
1,500 were killed.
Protesters
this week also expressed anger at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. “Mojtaba, may
you die and not become Supreme Leader,” a crowd was seen chanting in Tehran,
referring to Khamenei’s son, who some believe could succeed his father at the
top of Iran’s political establishment.
Reuters
could not verify the video.
Reports
by Kurdish rights group Hengaw, which Reuters could not verify, said the death
toll in Kurdish areas had climbed to 15.
Iranian
officials have denied that security forces have killed protesters, suggesting
they may have been shot by armed dissidents.
With
no sign of the protests easing, authorities restricted access to the internet,
according to accounts from Hengaw, residents, and internet shutdown observatory
NetBlocks.
Women
have played a prominent role in the protests, waving and burning their veils,
with some cutting their hair in public.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Pakistan
Govt
rejects criticism on transgender bill, says linking it to homosexuality is
‘misconception’
September
22, 2022
Minister
for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday rejected criticism over the Transgender
Persons (Protection of Right) Act, saying that “some friends” had created a
misconception that the law had opened doors for homosexuality and was repugnant
to Islamic injunctions.
The
National Assembly had enacted the Transgender Persons (Protection of Right) Act
in 2018 to provide legal recognition to transgender persons and ensure that
discrimination against transgender persons in various walks of life shall be
punishable.
The
law was made after the Supreme Court held on Sept 25, 2012, that eunuchs were
entitled to all the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and enjoyed by other
members of society.
However,
recently the bill was opposed by some sections of society. At a press
conference on Wednesday, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that it was
against Islamic injunctions.
“Our
team is busy preparing a draft which will be tabled in the assembly soon. No
law that is against the spirit of Quran and Sunnah will be allowed to be passed
as the parliament has no right to pass any bill that runs counter to the Quran
and Sunnah,” he added.
At
a press conference alongside Adviser to PM for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
Qamar Zaman Kaira today, Tarar clarified that the bill was passed by the Senate
and National Assembly in the presence of religious and political leaders.
“Whenever
a law is passed, there is always a chance of weakness or misuse [of it]. Here
too, complaints started coming after two years on a provision that there was a
possibility that sections 3 and 4 could be misused.”
The
minister elaborated that according to the aforementioned sections, after
reaching the age of 18 years, transgender persons could “declare their genders”
on their identity cards.
“Like
when we fill our forms it is written there whether you are a male or female […]
God has protected us from those disabilities […] so they had the right […] a
section was made for them […] transgender he or she which is male or female
transgender.”
Later
on, Azam said an amendment was introduced. “JI Senator Mushtaq Khan said that
this provision where transgender applicants were given an option to mention
their gender […] it should be amended and made conditional after opinion from
the medical board.”
This
matter, he went on, was under discussion in the parliament. However, soon
after, two petitions were filed in the Federal Shariah Court, the minister
said. “The prime responsibility of the shariah court is to see whether a law is
against the shariah and the principles of Islam.”
Tarar
revealed that the government had submitted its responses on the pleas as well.
But,
he said that “some friends” twisted this matter and claimed that the law was
encouraging homosexuality. “It is also being perceived that entire law is
completely negative.”
Subsequently,
Tarar outlined the provisions of the law, starting off with the definition of a
transgender person and contending that the law “nowhere says that any person
can be a transgender themselves”.
“The
first two provisions are being read in isolation when the matter of
registration came up.”
There
were also two provisions regarding recognition and identity. But, the matter
will only be changed after the verdict of the shariah court, he said.
Apart
from that, Tarar stated the law talks about discrimination, sexual harassment,
the right to inheritance, the right to education, the right to health, and the
right to employment for transgender persons.
“The
reason for interacting with you today is that this is not about those
arguments, this is about Constitution, law, shariah and human rights.
“We
request you to spread this message further. And I expect the Pakistani people
to [understand] that these people [transgender persons] are Pakistanis, they
are a part of the society […] we can at least look at them in the society in a
way which doesn’t violate their rights,” the minister added.
Meanwhile,
PPP’s Kaira said that the law was not new and had been passed in 2018. “There
is no need to create hue and cry over it. These days social media has become a
platform for fake news and it is being used to create polarisation in the
country.”
He
said that the categorisation of gender in the law was “if anything, a way
forward”.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1711427
--------
Transgender
law rebellion against Quran: Fazl
September
23, 2022
RAHIMYAR
KHAN: Condemning the Transgender Protection Act, President Pakistan Democratic
Movement Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said it is a rebellion against the Quran and
the Sunnah. During the visit to the free medical camp for the flood victims,
Fazl said Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam has been assisting the flood victims in every
possible way since the beginning. Setting up a free relief camp for the flood
victims is a welcome initiative and serving the suffering humanity is a great
act of worship, he said.
Source:
The News Pakistan
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/993848-transgender-law-rebellion-against-quran-fazl
--------
Pakistan's
ex-PM Khan apologises to avoid contempt charges
Sep
22, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan apologized in court on Thursday
over his outburst against a female judge during a rally last month that was
seen as a threat to the judiciary and judges in general.
The
apology, an option envisaged under the Pakistani legal system, may allow Khan
to stay out of jail and avoid contempt charges. Khan, who was ousted in a
no-confidence vote in April, has been campaigning for early elections and
claims he was toppled under a U.S. conspiracy.
The
development came just days after Pakistani police were ordered by a judge to
drop terrorism charges against Khan in a separate case over threats to the same
judge and also to police.
The
legal cases followed a speech Khan gave in the capital, Islamabad, during which
he vowed to bring a lawsuit against the Islamabad police chief and a judge for
allowing police to question Shahbaz Gill, chief of staff at Khan's
Tehreek-e-Insaf political party.
Khan
made the controversial remarks after being told that Gill had allegedly been
tortured by police following his arrest on charges of inciting troops to
mutiny.
During
the August rally, Khan at one point directed his comments against Judge Zeba
Chaudhry, saying: "You also get ready for it, we will also take action
against you."
Khan,
a former cricket star turned politician who became premier in 2018, is
currently on bail, which shields him from arrest in several cases.
"I
am ready to apologize ... if the court thinks that I have crossed a line,"
Khan said as he appeared before the Islamabad High Court on Thursday.
"I
assure the court that this won't happen again in the future," he added.
Chief
Justice Athar Minallah said Khan's gesture was appreciated but that the former
prime minister needs to submit his apology in writing before Oct. 3, at which
point Minallah would review the text and decide whether to drop the contempt
case.
Khan's
lawyer, Faisal Chaudhry, who is not related to Judge Chaudhry, later told
reporters that Khan's apology would be submitted in writing to the court
shortly.
Dozens
of Khan's supporters had gathered outside the court building to cheer him on
and hundreds of police were deployed to prevent violence and to keep the crowd
from pushing its way into the court Thursday.
Since
his ouster, Khan has alleged - without providing evidence - that Pakistan's
powerful military took part in an alleged U.S. plot to oust him. Washington,
and the government of Khan's successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, have
denied the allegation. Sharif has also rejected Khan's demand, saying elections
will be held on time next year.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Imran
Khan lauds PM Modi, slams Nawaz Sharif for owning billions of properties abroad
Sep
22, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan has once again lauded India's Prime
Minister Narendra Modi while comparing with Pakistan Muslim League (N) supremo
Nawaz Sharif on the issue of corruption.
In
a video that went viral on the internet, former PM Khan was seen talking about
the properties that Nawaz Sharif owns outside Pakistan (foreign countries).
He
then made a scathing attack on Nawaz, saying, "no other leader except
Nawaz in the world has properties worth billions."
"Tell
me about one country whose Premier or leader has a billions worth of properties
outside the country. Even in our neighbouring country, how many properties does
PM Modi has outside India?" he said while addressing to the public
gathering.
"No
one can imagine how many assets and properties Nawaz possesses abroad,"
Imran Khan added.
This
is not the first time when Imran Khan praised India. Earlier also, he was seen
praising India's foreign policy.
Imran
Khan praised India for buying the discounted oil from Russia and said that his
government was also working on the same thing with the help of an independent
foreign policy and slammed Pakistan Muslim League (N)-led government for
"running around like a headless chicken with the economy in a
tailspin".
"Despite
being part of the Quad, India sustained pressure from the US and bought
discounted Russian oil to provide relief to the masses. This is what our govt
was working to achieve with the help of an independent foreign policy,"
Imran Khan tweeted while retweeting a piece of information about the reduction
of petrol and diesel prices in India.
Earlier,
in April also, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief lauded India as
"khuddar quam" (very self-respecting people) and said that no
superpower can dictate terms to the neighbouring country, admitting that both
New Delhi and Islamabad do not share a good relationship.
"Indians
are khuddar quam (very self-respecting people). No superpower can dictate terms
to India," he said on Friday during his national address on the eve of a
controversial no-confidence vote that looks certain to dismiss him.
Imran
Khan said both India and Pakistan got their independence together but Islamabad
is being used as tissue paper.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Anti-Ahmadi
Hate Speech Used for Electoral Purposes in Pakistan
09/23/2022
by
Massimo Introvigne
In
April this year, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power by
a no-confidence vote, after the opposition managed to persuade some of his own
party’s members to defect and vote against him. He did not take it graciously,
and immediately started to plan his comeback. In July, his party won a record
majority in the provincial elections in Punjab. One of its members, Pervaiz
Elahi, was elected Chief Minister, after a maneuver by the government to deny
his victory was defeated by the Supreme Court.
General
political elections are expected in 2023, but by-elections in 13 constituencies
were scheduled for this month, although they have been postponed due to the
devastating floods that hit the country. According to most polls, Khan is
expected to win. He is conducting a campaign accusing the United States of
having conspired to destroy him because of his pro-Chinese attitudes, although
the present government appears to be equally favorable to Beijing.
The
Ahmadis are a persecuted religious minority founded within Islam by Mirza
Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908). Conservative Muslims accuse Ahmad of having
considered himself a “prophet,” in breach of the Islamic doctrine of the
Finality of Prophethood, which maintains that there can be no prophet after
Muhammad.
The
Ahmadi formula for Ahmad, “at the same time a prophet and a follower of the
Holy Prophet [ Muhammad],” is not enough to establish their orthodoxy in the
eyes of Muslim clerics. For them, the Ahmadis deny the Finality of Prophethood
and are non-Muslim heretics. They are severely persecuted in Pakistan through
specific laws that make them second class citizens, prevented from voting and
holding office. Their places of worship and cemeteries are attacked, and their
devotees routinely killed by thugs who can count on the leniency of Pakistani
courts.
In
the present heated political situation, the Ahmadi issue is being used for
courting the vote of radical Islamic movements, a powerful political
constituency that is vehemently anti-Ahmadi. On September 14, Mian Javed Latif,
a Federal Minister in the present anti-Imran-Khan government and a leader of
the party Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) called a press conference where he
exposed Imran Khan as pro-Ahmadi. Latif told the media that Imran “betrayed the
basic principles of Islam” by promising Western governments that Ahmadis “will
be given religious freedom,” which is anathema to Latif’s party.
The
ousted Prime Minister’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), answered through
another press conference where Noorul Haq Qadri, who had been the Minister of
Religious Affairs in the government of Imran Khan, accused Latif and the
government of “using religion to instill and spread hatred,” and hailed Imran’s
unimpeachable Islamic credentials. Latif’s party retaliated by accusing Imran
of “blasphemy,” a crime punished with the death penalty in Pakistan.
Whatever
Imran may or may not have promised to Western leaders, the accusation that he
made life better for Ahmadis is false. In 2021, The Diplomat assessed Imran’s
attitude to freedom of religion and religious minorities. It concluded that the
PTI Prime Minister had, if anything, “aggravated the problem.” In 2019, when
Islamic fundamentalists started accusing Imran of being soft on the Ahmadis,
his Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Swati said in television that “both
I and Imran Khan send Lanat (curses) on Ahmadis.”
There
was no improvement for the situation of Ahmadis under Imran, nor are there
signs that his position is changing. His newly elected Punjab Chief Minister
Pervaiz Elahi has already enacted new anti-Ahmadi regulations.
Source:
Bitter Winter
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://bitterwinter.org/anti-ahmadi-hate-speech-for-electoral-purposes/
--------
JUI-F
calls for early completion of repair work on CRBC
September
23, 2022
Jamiat
Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) parliamentary leader Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly
Lutfur Rehman has asked the authorities concerned to complete repair and
restoration work of Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) at the earliest in order to
ensure water availability for timely irrigation of lands.
He
expressed these views while chairing a meeting which was attended by members of
the Chamber of Agriculture Union and officials of the Irrigation and CRBC
departments here at Shorkot area. During the meeting the farmers’ delegation
headed by Haji Abdul Rasheed Dhap apprised the meeting about the problems being
faced by growers and presented suggestions pertaining to ongoing restoration
and repair work of the CRBC which was breached at several points due to recent
flooding.
Source:
Pak Observer
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://pakobserver.net/jui-f-calls-for-early-completion-of-repair-work-on-crbc/
--------
Arab
World
US-backed
SDF thwart ISIS suicide attack on Syria’s al-Hol: CENTCOM
22
September, 2022
The
US military announced Thursday that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) they
back foiled an ISIS suicide bombing on the al-Hol camp.
“At
approximately 12:25 am on Sept. 20th, seven ISIS fighters in two vehicles
headed in the direction of the Internally Displaced Persons camp at al-Hol were
interdicted by US partnered Syrian Democratic Forces,” United States Central
Command communications director Col. Joe Buccino said.
After
one of the cars exploded prematurely, around 12 miles northeast of al-Hol,
which CENTCOM said was the intended target, SDF forces arrived within minutes
and surrounded the second vehicle.
Two
ISIS militants got out of the car wearing suicide vests, and one detonated his
vest. SDF fighters shot and killed the second man.
According
to Buccino, their vehicle was rigged with at least 50 kilograms of explosives.
No
SDF fighters were killed or wounded, and one ISIS fighter was taken into SDF
custody. Four ISIS fighters were killed.
“By
taking immediate action, and showing disregard for their own safety, the Syrian
Democratic Forces demonstrated their professionalism and commitment to creating
and maintaining a safe and prosperous region for the people who make it their
home,” Buccino said. “The response of our partnered forces highlights not only
dedication to their people, but also their tenacity and commitment to the
enduring defeat of ISIS.”
Earlier
this month, CENTCOM chief Gen. Erik Kurilla became the first US official to
enter the camp and speak with detainees.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Saudi
Arabia Celebrates National Day With Arts, Theatre, Air Shows And Music
September
22, 2022
The
marking of Saudi Arabia’s 92nd National Day comes at a momentous time in the
nation’s history because of its remarkable journey of transformation and
development.
Citizens
and residents alike will be celebrating over the course of the week to come,
with events paying homage to the Kingdom’s heritage, art and culture.
Riyadh
Riyadh
is set to celebrate Saudi National Day with a range of events and activities
including music, theater and a specially designed Cirque du Soleil show.
In
preparation, the capital city’s main roads have been bedecked with hundreds of
green national flags.
The
sky will light up with fireworks in front of Al-Thaghr Plaza on Sept. 23 from 9
p.m.
The
Royal Saudi Air Force will have an acrobatics display with jets and civilian
aircraft that can be viewed from Um Ajlan Park on Sept. 22 and 23 from 4 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m.
The
Royal Guard will conduct a parade at Riyadh Front to the tune of the national
anthem played by a military band, ahead of a procession of classic cars on
Sept. 23 from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Admission
is free to the fireworks display, airshow and Royal Guard parade.
In
addition, Jump Saudi will host a two-day showjumping competition. Tickets are
SR57.50 ($15.30) and can be obtained online through Riyadh Platinum or Enjoy
Saudi via the General Entertainment Authority website. The event will take
place on Sept. 22 and 23 from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
This
year, the national circus is presenting a specially designed Cirque du Soleil
show entitled “The Wealth of a Nation” at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman
University theater from Sept. 21 to 24 from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight.
Arab
musicians Ahlam and Abady Al-Johar will perform on Sept. 23 at Abo Baker Salim
stage from 9 p.m. to 12 midnight.
The
Ministry of Interior is organizing its own festivities under the slogan “The
Pride of The Nation” at Riyadh Front from Sept. 21 to 24. The event will also
feature a live orchestra and 12 interactive pavilions.
A
festival will be held at the Diplomatic Quarter’s Grassy Park from Sept. 21 to
24, which will include heritage shows, handicrafts displays, a dancing
fountain, action games for children and food stalls.
The
AMC-2 theater auditorium is set to feature a live 90-minute stand-up comedy
show on Sept. 22 from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with three international acts
alongside a Saudi performer.
Jeddah
The
General Entertainment Authority has organized several events for Jeddah’s
citizens and residents to mark the country’s 92nd National Day celebrations,
including fireworks, air and marine military shows, music concerts, and
interactive festivals.
The
city’s coastline will be lit up with a massive, seven-minute fireworks show on
Sept. 23 at the Jeddah Season carpark area, which is expected to be seen from
any location in the city. This show will coincide with 17 other similar
displays around the country.
For
three days, from Sept. 18 to 20, Jeddah residents can enjoy an airshow near the
Hilton Hotel on the corniche, beginning from 4:30 p.m. This will also be the
location for a marine show on Sept. 23.
Jeddawis
can also enjoy a military parade at 5 p.m. on national day organized by the
Ministry of Interior at the Jeddah Art Promenade. The venue will also see
fireworks displays from 9 p.m. on Sept. 22, 23 and 24.
In
addition, the Jeddah Art Promenade area will feature a light-and-sound display
on Sept. 23. There will also be a Saudi folklore show from 6 p.m. to midnight
on Sept. 22, 23 and 24. Moreover, there will be “Layali Watan” events and
activities held over the same period.
In
addition, the Jeddah Art Promenade will feature a Mosaic Wall with various
pieces of art on Sept. 22, 23 and 24, showcasing the history of the Kingdom.
The
promenade will also have a National Day Corner, with a Photography Kiosk and an
exclusive show for children on Sept. 22, 23 and 24.
The
venue will have several music concerts, with Saud Sanan performing on Thursday
Sept. 23, female singer Dukhuon on the same day, and Ahmed Ashour on Sept. 24.
Egyptian
singer Angham and her compatriot Ahmed Saad will perform at Benchmark Theatre
on King’s Road at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 24. According to the Ticketing
Box Office website, all VVIP tickets have been sold.
There
will also be festivals held from 5 p.m. to midnight at the city’s Prince Majed
Park, from Sept. 21 to 24.
Eastern
Province
The
Eastern Province has a series of fun events for all ages to celebrate the
Kingdom’s 92nd National Day including live performances, fireworks, and marine
and air shows.
King
Abdullah Park in Dammam is set to host a four-day celebration from Sept. 21 to
24 from 5 p.m. to midnight, featuring a variety of festivities including
folkloric dances and fountain shows.
During
the celebrations, performers will roam through the park dressed in traditional
attire. There will be several action games and giveaways for families. The
event is free and open to children of all ages.
Families
are encouraged to dress up in traditional attire for the events throughout the
week.
Dammam
will host the annual fireworks show that will be visible from the corniche on
Sept. 23 from 9 p.m. Admission is free and open to all ages.
Eighteen
cities across the Kingdom will feature fireworks displays simultaneously with
Dammam including Riyadh, Jeddah, Abha, Tabuk and Al-Ahsa.
Nearby
Alkhobar will also be hosting a marine show led by the Royal Naval Forces. The
show will take place on Sept. 23 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the corniche.
Following
the marine show, the corniche seafront will hold an airshow from Sept. 25 to 26
from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
In
addition, King Abdullah Cultural Center in Jubail will hold live concerts
featuring some of the most popular regional performers including Moudi
Alshamrani, Sultan Khalifa, Shamma Hamdan and Khadijah Moath, from Sept. 21 to
24.
Children
will not be allowed to attend the concerts. Tickets are available on the Enjoy
Saudi website.
Southern
and Northern regions
The
southern and northern regions of the Kingdom are preparing to celebrate the 92nd
National Day on Sept. 23 with various shows and concerts including “A Homeland
Salute” by the Royal Saudi Air Force.
On
Sept. 23 from 9 p.m., a massive five-minute fireworks display will be held
across several cities.
In
Jouf, north of the Kingdom, Sakaka’s residents will be able to gather at King
Abdullah Cultural Center to watch the show.
In
the Northern Borders region, spectators in Arar can see it at the city’s Water
Tower Park.
In
the southwest, it can be enjoyed in Al-Nahdah district in Najran, while in Abha
in Asir they can do so at Sama Abha Park.
The
activities include air and marine shows.
The
Royal Saudi Air Force will perform for 10 days with Typhoon, F-15, Tornado, and
F-15C fighter jets across 14 cities. The show is titled “A Homeland Salute,” to
celebrate the country’s achievements under its leadership.
In
Abha, the airshow will be held at Abha Airport Park on Sept. 22 and 23 at 5:30
p.m.
Various
festivals with folklore dances, games and handicrafts will be held at several
public parks from Sept. 21 to 24 from 5 p.m. to midnight.
People
in the north can celebrate at Al-Nakheel Park in Sakaka, and in Al-Refa
District in Arar.
Those
commemorating the day in the south can participate at Sama Abha Park in Abha,
and Aba Al-Rashash Park in Najran.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2167871/saudi-arabia
--------
Israel
to sell air defence system to UAE: Report
22
September, 2022
Israel
has agreed to sell an advanced air defense system to the UAE, two sources
familiar with the matter said, in the first such known deal between them since
they forged ties in 2020.
Israel
and the US-allied UAE share an ultimate fear, that Iran obtains a nuclear
weapon, an ambition Tehran denies.
Israel
approved a UAE request in the middle of the summer and would supply the Gulf
state with Rafael-made SPYDER mobile interceptors, two sources said, declining
to provide further details due to the sensitive nature of the deal.
A
third source said the UAE had acquired Israeli technology capable of combating
drone attacks like those that struck Abu Dhabi earlier this year.
Israel's
defense ministry and SPYDER manufacturer Rafael declined to comment. The UAE's
foreign ministry did not comment.
It
was not immediately clear how many interceptors, which are fitted to vehicles
and can defend against short to long-range threats, would be supplied, or if
any had so far been shipped.
Asked
if Israel was providing the UAE with air defense systems, parliament Foreign
Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Ram Ben-Barak told Israeli radio on
Sept. 20 there was broad cooperation with the UAE, but declined further
comment.
Rafael
says SPYDER can defend large areas from threats such as drones, cruise
missiles, attack aircraft, helicopters, and bombers, including from low
altitude.
President
Isaac Herzog, visiting the UAE in January when an intercepted strike took
place, said Israel supported the UAE's security needs. And last week Prime
Minister Yair Lapid said he was horrified by the attacks and Israel stood by
and with the UAE.
Most
of the strikes were claimed by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia, who the UAE has
been fighting in the war in Yemen as part of the Arab Coalition seeking to
restore the ousted government.
Anwar
Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told reporters in July that
the UAE would consider anything that protects the country from drones and
missiles as long as it was defensive and not targeting a third country.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Saudi
youth empowerment critical to Vision 2030, Princess Reema tells summit
23
September, 2022
Saudi
Arabia’s ambassador to the US has said supporting the empowerment of the
Kingdom’s young generation is critical to ensure the continuation of the work
of Vision 2030.
Princess
Reema bint Bandar, spoke during the PRIORITY Summit, held in the US state of
New York, on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General
Assembly, in which she stressed the importance in investing in the nation's
youth.
“We
Saudis are an emerging nation; 75 percent of our population are under the age
of 35,” she said in her address, adding that the Kingdom has implemented
strategies to build stronger job growth in the private sector, create
entrepreneurship, sustainable development and renewable energy, and build a
world-leading digital infrastructure.
She
also said that as for the social level, the Kingdom has more women's
empowerment, equity and cultural inclusion.
Princess
Reema stated that the success of Saudi’s youth tomorrow “depends on our success
today,” adding that the Kingdom has a strong belief in its young generation.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Saudi
Arabia appoints Hala al-Tuwaijri as new head of Human Rights Commission
22
September, 2022
Saudi
Arabia has appointed Hala al-Tuwaijri as the new head of its Human Rights
Commission with the rank of a minister according to a royal decree, the
official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.
Prior
to her appointment, al-Tuwaijri was the secretary general of the Family Affairs
Council.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Turkish
security forces ‘neutralize’ 3 PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria
Merve
Berker
22.09.2022
Turkish
security forces “neutralized” three PKK/YPG terrorists in northern Syria, the
National Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
The
terrorists, who opened harassing fire on Turkish soldiers, were targeted in the
Operation Euphrates Shield zone, the ministry said in a statement.
Turkish
authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question
surrendered or were killed or captured.
Since
2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across
its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and
enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive
Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
Indonesian
minister sticks to his guns on church permit
September
22, 2022
Indonesia's
minister of religion affairs remains defiant after a Muslim group sued him for
calling a city in Banten province intolerant for not allowing the construction
of a church.
Minister
Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said he felt no guilt about his recent statement related to
the denial of a building permit to the Batak Society Christian Church (HKBP)
Maranatha for constructing a church at Geram village in Cilegon city.
“What
article [did I violate]? If I forbid people [to build houses of worship], it
will become a problem,” he told reporters on Sept. 21.
Al-Khairiya,
a Muslim organization based in Cilegon filed a lawsuit on Sept. 16 against the
minister, who is a member of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia's largest moderate
Islamic organization.
Ahmad
Munji, general secretary of Al-Khairiya said the lawsuit was filed in response
to Quomas' statement on a widely-circulated video “in which he called Cilegon
city as intolerant because of refusing permission to the HKBP Maranatha
church.”
The
group also sued the church’s leaders and its construction committee for its
public outbursts that made headlines on Sept. 7.
A
Muslim group calling themselves the Committee of Local Wisdom Savior staged a
protest against the church in Cilegon city.
The
church was founded in 1999 and has 3,903 members who usually go to another
church located about 40 kilometers away from the village for Sunday services.
Reverend
Hotman T.M. Marbun from the church said the concerned authorities had refused
to give approval despite the church building committee abiding by a 2006 joint
ministerial decree that regulates the places of worship.
The
case prompted Quomas to summon the mayor and his deputy and ask them not to
discuss the issue.
Petrus
Selestinus, a Catholic and chairman of a lawyers' group set up to defend the
state secular ideology of Pancasila hopes that Minister Quomas will continue to
stand above the constitution in dealing with this issue.
"Don't
let the tyranny of minorities rule this nation. I think it's time for the rules
that discriminate to be abolished if we really are a Pancasila state," he
told UCA News.
In
Cilegon city there are no other houses of worship as the local people used the
Serang district head’s 1975 decree providing for the closure of Christian
places of worship in the area as an excuse.
According
to the city’s Central Statistics Agency, there are 382 mosques and 287 other
Muslim prayer rooms in the city and no houses of worship for other religions,
although there are thousands of people of other religions, including 6,740
Christians, and 1,743 Catholics.
Source:
UCA News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/indonesian-minister-sticks-to-his-guns-on-church-permit/98858
--------
Former
mosque executive chairman charged for accepting bribe in the form of shares
Koh
Wan Ting
23
Sep 2022
SINGAPORE:
A former executive chairman in the management boards of two mosques was charged
on Friday (Sep 23) with accepting bribes in exchange for providing advice on
the price of quotes for works at the mosques.
Abdul
Rahim Mawasi, 55, was the mosque executive chairman of the mosque management
boards of Darul Aman Mosque at Jalan Eunos and Sallim Mattar Mosque at the
MacPherson area at the time of the alleged offences around November 2019, his
charge sheet states.
The
Singaporean allegedly obtained gratification in the form of shares belonging to
travel firm, Amal Travel & Tour, from Mohd Mustaqim Kam @ Kam Hock Beng,
the director of Zeal-Con Engineering, a construction-related firm.
The
shares were allegedly a reward to Abdul Rahim for providing advice to Mustaqim
on the price of Zeal-Con's quotes to the two mosques for works to be carried
out.
Likewise,
Mustaqim, a 64-year-old Singaporean, was also charged on Friday with one count
of giving the bribe to Abdul Rahim.
Each
man was handed one count of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
They will return to court for a pre-trial conference on Oct 21.
Source:
Channel News Asia
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Former
Cabinet minister speaks about what it takes to create a M’sia for all
Malaysians
Elly
Fazaniza
23-09-
2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: Many Malaysians will remember Tan Sri Leo Moggie Irok as one of the
longest-serving federal Cabinet ministers. His almost three decade Cabinet
career began as the first Energy, Telecommunications and Posts minister in
1978, under third prime minister Tun Hussein Onn.
He
was also the secretary-general of the Sarawak National Party.
“I’ve
never aimed nor dreamt of being a politician. I never thought much of ambition,
and only wanted to live an honest and productive life,” he told theSun during
an interview at his favourite restaurant in Bangsar.
Among
historians, he was known as a rising star after his appointment to the Sarawak
Cabinet as minister for Local Government in 1976. He still keeps abreast with
the social happenings and developments in his hometown in Kanowit.
He
said even after 59 years since the formation of Malaysia, there is still a need
to increase understanding of the cultural ties between the different
communities in Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
He
cited the issue of religious practices in Sarawak and Sabah.
“The
people practise whatever religion they believe in. They may be Muslims,
Christians, Buddhists or practise traditional beliefs. Freedom of religion is
well-recognised and practised there.
“From
the perspective of Sarawakians, we sometimes feel that a greater appreciation
of our multireligious society is necessary. We get the impression that in the peninsula,
Islam is given greater importance over other beliefs, but the fact is that
people should respect and appreciate our differences in terms of religion,
culture and opinions.
“While
there is nothing wrong with speaking about one’s religion, one must not
belittle other religions in the process,” he added.
“There
was less emphasis on religion during my time in the Cabinet. One of the main
concerns for people like me is the increasing Arabisation of Malaysian society.
I use this phrase in a considered way because I don’t think, from the
Sarawakian perspective, it was meant to be like this.
“Malaysia
was meant to be multiracial and diverse in its richness. Now, one senses the
increasing pressure of religious fervour and moral policing which, to those
like me, can only be described as ‘uncomfortable’.”
Leo
advocates a review of the education system, which he says needs to present a
more balanced view of the different cultures in Malaysia.
“It’s
important to have an overall review of how our school system is operating. The
issue of multiculturalism is increasingly more difficult to manage.”
He
added that among comments made by politicians and leaders in Sarawak and Sabah
was a call for more autonomy.
“(This
means) allowing them to have a greater say in managing their states. This is a
reaction to the over-dominance of a particular school of thought, where one
religion and even racism seems to be increasing in Peninsular Malaysia,” he
said, adding that it is time for the two states to be given more authority over
their affairs.
Leo
lauded the fact that Sarawak has made moves to allow English to be used as an
official language in schools and among civil servants.
“It’s
an excellent move that will make Sarawakians more competitive internationally.
Sarawakians should be able to decide what is in their best interest,” he said,
adding that Sabah and Sarawak are equal partners with the peninsular and not
mere states in the Federation.
“When
people in Sabah and Sarawak talk of MA63, part of it is a call to recognise what
was provided for within the agreement, as some provisions may have been
overtaken by changes through amendments to various laws since 1963. People are
concerned over this.”
In
conjunction with Malaysia Day, Leo called for more open discussions to define national
unity and a Malaysia that includes the cultures, traditions and beliefs of all
Malaysians.
Source:
The Sun Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Don’t
compare Najib’s prison treatment with mine, says Anwar
'Ainin
Wan Salleh
September
22, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has rubbished claims that he was given
VIP treatment in prison and cautioned critics against comparing his
incarceration with that of former prime minister Najib Razak.
He
said Najib’s supporters had claimed that Najib was entitled to be transferred
to the Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital (HRC) because Anwar was given the same
treatment while serving his sentence.
Anwar
said he was only sent to a rehabilitation centre after serving more than 10
years in solitary confinement and that too on the advice of medical specialists
after he had a major shoulder surgery.
“So,
don’t ever compare (Najib’s experience) to Anwar’s experience. If he wants to
be treated the same way, then he must serve 10 years first, then be brought to
the rehabilitation centre,” he said at a press conference at the Foreign
Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) in Bangkok.
Anwar
also said when he was jailed, he had to sleep on the cement floor for weeks
before doctors advised that he should be given a bed due to his back condition.
The
PKR president, however, said if the doctors could explain Najib’s condition and
that he was truly unwell, then he would not make an issue out of Najib’s
transfer to the rehabilitation hospital.
Anwar
was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption in April 1999, and another
nine years in August 2000 for sodomy. He later served three years jail time for
sodomy before receiving a royal pardon in 2018.
Yesterday,
the prisons department said Najib had been transferred to HRC on Sept 19 for
treatment and observation.
It
said Najib was transferred to HRC after being referred by the Kuala Lumpur
Hospital (HKL), and that he would be sent back to Kajang prison to continue
serving his sentence after getting clearance from the specialists at HRC or
HKL.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Africa
We’ve
been vindicated – Islamic group hails Soludo over ban on mini-skirts
September
22, 2022
By
Don Silas
Muslim
Rights Concern (MURIC) has hailed Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State over
a ban on the use of mini-skirts by school girls in public and private schools.
DAILY
POST reports that as schools resumed last Tuesday, the Anambra State government
said it has banned the wearing of short skirts by female students in schools.
The
State commissioner for education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh said the ban was for
both public and private schools in the State.
Reacting
to the development, MURIC argued that the ban is in consonance with the clamour
for hijab by Muslim groups in Nigeria.
This
was contained in a statement issued by the director of the human rights group,
Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Thursday.
The
statement reads: “The governor of Anambra State, Dr. Charles Soludo announced a
ban on the use of miniskirts by school girls in public and private schools on
Monday, 19th September 2022. We fully endorse this gesture. It is
forward-looking, dynamic and patriotic.
“This
is one of the ways of knowing genuine statesmen as opposed to ordinary
politicians whose eyes are only on the next election. Statesmen think of the
nation, whereas politicians think of the next election. Charles Soludo has
elected the former and acted in the interest of the girl-child, morality and
discipline.
“This
is worthy of emulation by other state governors. There is no gainsaying the
fact that the present school uniforms are inviting and provocative. They
constitute a danger to school girls. We must protect the innocent girl-child
from the prying eyes of sexually pervasive men.
“The
problem with our society and many parts of the world today is the
contradictions in our lives. In one fell swoop, we claim that we detest rape,
yet we encourage indecent dressing in the form of body hugs, front and back
cleavages and hot pants. Women now dress to kill, yet we expect the victims to
just die without lifting a finger. How realistic is this?
“The
world is still battling HIV and AIDS, yet we encourage the use of short and
seductive skirts by school girls. Cleaners who work in school environments now
pick more condoms on school premises than on pieces of paper, and we think we
are doing the right thing.
“This
is where the beauty of Islam lies. It has identified a major societal problem
and recommended an effective solution for it. Islamic organisations in Nigeria
who have been canvassing for the use of hijab in schools have been vindicated
by Soludo’s eagle-eyed leadership. Soludo may not have been Nostradamus, the
man who saw tomorrow, but he is sharp enough to see where the danger lies and
bold enough to make a pronouncement on it. That is proactive leadership.
“Those
who are still asking why Muslims are affirmative on the hijab question should
ask Soludo what he saw in Anambra girls wearing short skirts to school. We have
been vindicated.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Ivory
Coast’s president calls for release of 46 troops detained in Mali in UN speech
James
Tasamba
22.09.2022
KIGALI,
Rwanda
Ivory
Coast’s president called Wednesday for the “immediate” release of 46 troops
from his country who were arrested in Mali in July while addressing the UN
General Assembly in New York City.
The
soldiers were “unjustly arrested” as they are part of Ivory Coast’s logistical
contingent to support its troops deployed under the United Nations
Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), said
Alassane Ouattara.
“My
country encourages the Malian authorities to focus their efforts on the fight
against terrorism,” he added.
On
July 10, Mali's transitional government arrested 49 Ivorian soldiers upon their
arrival in the capital Bamako, accusing them of possessing weapons and
ammunition of war “without a mission order” and considering them “mercenaries”
to be prosecuted.
The
military junta released three female soldiers in the group.
Last
weekend, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the 46 soldiers are not
mercenaries.
In
July, the government said no Ivorian soldiers in the contingent were in
possession of weapons and ammunition of war as alleged by the Malian
authorities.
Mali’s
junta leader Col. Assimi Goita has indicated that freeing the remaining troops
would be tied to the extradition of Malians being sought on international
warrants in Ivory Coast, a condition dismissed by Abidjan as “unacceptable
blackmail.”
An
extraordinary session of leaders of the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) is due Thursday in New York to discuss the crisis among other
issues on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Ouattara,
however, reiterated Ivory Coast’s support for UN peacekeeping operations.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Floods
sweep away 1,500 corpses from cemetery in northern Nigeria
Ibrahim
Garba Shuaibu
22.09.2022
KANO,
Nigeria
Around
1,500 corpses have been swept away by floods from a cemetery in northern
Nigeria, an official said Wednesday.
The
governor of Niger state, Abubakar Sani Bello, confirmed the news, saying a
nearby river was littered with corpses.
The
floods followed days of rains in the area and other neighborhoods and affected
the 60-year-old cemetery in the town of Mariga.
According
to Bello, the incident occurred as a result of the River Mariga overflowing its
banks and washing away some of the graves in the area.
Bello
confirmed that the cemetery is located near a river and that the activities of
illegal miners exposed it to this disaster.
He
said rescue workers have been deployed in the town to recover the bodies and
rebury them at safer locations.
"It's
true there was flooding that washed away some parts of the cemetery, and part
of the area is also used by illegal miners for digging pits which contributed
to the washing away of the graves,” he added.
Aliyu
Muhammad, a resident of Mariga, told Anadolu Agency by phone that they
recovered over 650 corpses and reburied them.
"It’s
a terrible situation here in Mariga, but the bodies of (some of) the dead have
been recovered and we were able to relocate them to a safer graveyard.
"The
situation affected almost 2,000 graves in this community, and most of those
washed away were buried in the last three to four months," he added.
The
Director General of the State Emergency Management Agency, Ahmed Inga Ibrahim,
confirmed that the decomposed bodies have been reclothed and buried.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Jordan’s
Royal Marine Conservation Society launches ‘Clean up the World 2022’ campaign
September
22, 2022
AQABA:
The Royal Marine Conservation Society of Jordan launched the “Clean up the
World 2022” campaign in Aqaba on Wednesday, Petra News Agency reported.
The
campaign is a social action program aimed at combating the global solid waste
problem. Running in 130 countries it offers opportunities for people to
contribute toward the conservation of the environment.
Its
debut in Jordan attracted more than 700 volunteers from local businesses and
institutions.
During
the opening ceremony, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner
Nayef Bakheet said the campaign’s main objective was to foster a culture of
environmental cleanliness, particularly in the marine environment, which attracts
tens of thousands of tourists and diving enthusiasts to the Red Sea city.
Aqaba
Governor Khaled Hajjaj said the campaign served to raise community awareness
about reducing plastic waste that ends up in the sea.
“Organizing
such initiatives is critical to having sustainable and pollution-free
environmental resources in order to preserve tourist and archaeological sites,
as well as marine natural heritage,” Mohammad Tawaha, director of the
conservation society, said.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2167856/middle-east
--------
South
Asia
US
announces more than $241m in humanitarian aid for Rohingya Muslims
September
23, 2022
WASHINGTON
- The United States on Thursday announced more than US$170 million (S$241
million) in additional humanitarian assistance for Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims,
including those outside the country such as in Bangladesh, Secretary of State
Antony Blinken said.
"With
this new funding, our total assistance in response to the Rohingya Refugee
Crisis has reached nearly US$1.9 billion since August 2017, when over 740,000
Rohingya were forced to flee to safety in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh," Mr
Blinken said in a statement.
The
assistance comes about a month after the United Nations refugee agency said the
funding to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh was "well short of
needs".
More
than a million Rohingya are living in squalid camps in southern Bangladesh
comprising the world's largest refugee settlement, with little prospect of
returning to Myanmar, where they are mostly denied citizenship and other
rights.
The
new round of US humanitarian assistance includes more than US$93 million
through the State Department and more than US$77 million through the US Agency
for International Development, Mr Blinken said.
About
US$138 million was allocated specifically for programmes in Bangladesh, Mr
Blinken said, adding that the US was working with the government of Bangladesh
and with Rohingya Muslims towards finding solutions to the crisis.
The
vast majority of Rohingya Muslims fled Mynamar to neighbouring Bangladesh
during a military crackdown in 2017 that the UN has said that it was carried
out with genocidal intent.
In
his statement on Thursday, Mr Blinken said many of the Rohinya refugees were
"survivors of a campaign of genocide and crimes against humanity and
ethnic cleansing".
Source:
Straits Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Pushback
against Afghan refugees continues as Iran deports over 7,000 migrants in past
week
Sep
23, 2022
KABUL:
As Afghanistan continue to remain under the grip of a humanitarian crisis, more
than 7,000 Afghan refugees have been deported by Iran in the past week, the
Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said on Thursday.
Earlier,
Iran's Ambassador to Kabul, Bahadur Aminian, said that around 3,000 Afghans per
day are entering Iran illegally and the same amount is travelling to Iran with
visas and legal documents.
"Most
of those who go to Iran through illegal means face the risks of human
trafficking and a lack of services," Aminian said.
According
to Khaama Press, before the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, around 3.4
million refugees were living in Iran, of which roughly 2 million lacked the
proper documentation to do so, according to the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR).
For
the past five years, Afghanistan's situation has been a peculiar one in the
region with a steady increase of forcibly displaced people every year. Last
year, Afghanistan's situation deteriorated dramatically with a 12 per cent
increase of forcibly displaced persons by the end of the year compared to
end-2020.
In
Afghanistan, the number of internally displaced persons has been increasing
rapidly in the past 5 years. Globally, Afghanistan remains the 6th largest IDP
country and the largest IDP population in Asia and the Pacific region at 3.5
million -- a 20 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
By
the end of 2021, there were 7,77,000 newly displaced Afghans during the year
due to the deterioration in conflict and insecurity in Afghanistan. 58 per cent
of the IDP population in Afghanistan are children under 18 and 21 per cent are
women.
The
UNHCR report has argued that durable solutions for Afghans include voluntary
repatriation, resettlement to a third country, local integration,
naturalization and return to the place of origin prior to displacement.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Backbreaking
work for kids in Afghan brick kilns
Sep
22, 2022
KABUL:
Nabila works 10 hours or more a day, doing the heavy, dirty labor of packing
mud into molds and hauling wheelbarrows full of bricks. At 12 years old, she's
been working in brick factories half her life now, and she's probably the
oldest of all her co-workers.
Already
high, the number of children put to work in Afghanistan is growing, fueled by
the collapse of the economy after the Taliban took over the country and the
world cut off financial aid just over a year ago.
A
recent survey by Save the Children estimated that half of Afghanistan's
families have put children to work to keep food on the table as livelihoods
crumbled.
Nowhere
is it clearer than in the many brick factories on the highway north out of the
capital, Kabul. Conditions in the furnaces are tough even for adults. But in
almost all of them, children as young as four or five labor alongside their
families from early in the morning until dark in the heat of summer.
Children
do every step of the brickmaking process. They haul cannisters of water, carry
the wooden brick molds full of mud to put in the sun to dry. They load and push
wheelbarrows full of dried bricks to the kiln for firing, then push back
wheelbarrows full of fired bricks. Everywhere they are lifting, stacking,
sorting bricks. They pick through the smoldering charcoal that's been burned in
the kiln for pieces that can still be used, inhaling the soot and singeing
their fingers.
The
kids work with a determination and a grim sense of responsibility beyond their
years, born out of knowing little else but their families' need. When asked
about toys or play, they smile and shrug. Only a few have been to school.
Nabila,
the 12-year-old, has been working in brick factories since she was five or six.
Like many other brick workers, her family works part of the year at a kiln near
Kabul, the other part at one outside Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border.
A
few years ago, she got to go to school a little in Jalalabad. She'd like to go
back to school but can't - her family needs her work to survive, she said with
a soft smile.
"We
can't think about anything else but work," she said.
Mohabbat,
a 9-year-old boy, stopped for a moment with a pained expression as he carried a
load of charcoal. "My back hurts," he said.
Asked
what he wished for, he first asked, "What is a wish?"
Once
it was explained, he was quiet a moment, thinking. "I wish to go to school
and eat good food," he said, then added: "I wish to work well so that
we can have a house."
The
landscape around the factories is bleak and barren, with the kilns' smokestacks
pumping out black, sooty smoke. Families live in dilapidated mud houses next to
furnaces, each with a corner where they make their bricks. For most, a day's
meal is bread soaked in tea.
Rahim
has three children working with him at a brick kiln, ranging in age from 5 to
12. The kids had been in school, and Rahim, who goes by one name, said he had
long resisted putting them to work. But even before the Taliban came to power,
as the war went on and the economy worsened, he said he had no choice.
"There's
no other way," he said. "How can they study when we don't have bread
to eat? Survival is more important."
Workers
get the equivalent of $4 for every 1,000 bricks they make. One adult working
alone can't do that amount in a day, but if the children help, they can make
1,500 bricks a day, workers said.
According
to surveys by Save the Children, the percentage of families saying they had a
child working outside the home grew from 18% to 22% from December to June. That
would suggest more than 1 million children nationwide were working. Another 22%
of the children said they were asked to work on the family business or farm.
The
surveys covered more than 1,400 children and more than 1,400 caregivers in
seven provinces. They also pointed to the swift collapse in Afghans'
livelihoods. In June, 77% of the surveyed families reported they had lost half
their income or more compared to a year ago, up from 61% in December.
On
one recent day at one of the kilns, a light rain started, and at first the kids
were cheerful, thinking it would be a refreshing drizzle in the heat. Then the
wind kicked up. A blast of dust hit them, coating their faces. The air turned
yellow with dust. Some of the children couldn't open their eyes, but they kept
working. The rain opened up into a downpour.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
Launches Alliance For Afghan Women’s Economic Resilience To Empower Afghan
Women
By
Arif Ahmadi
22
Sep 2022
KABUL,
Afghanistan – The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched the alliance
for Afghan Women’s Economic Resilience (AWER) on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly, said the US Department of State in a press release Tuesday.
Earlier
this week, the UN General Assembly was attended by Afghan women entrepreneurs,
business leaders and civil society members, as well as representatives of the
US and other foreign governments, including US special envoy for Afghanistan
Thomas West and US special envoy for Afghanistan Women and Human Rights Rina
Amiri.
The
alliance aims to empower Afghan women’s in various areas – including
entrepreneurship, employment, and educational opportunities – in Afghanistan
and the third countries.
“AWER
is a new public-private partnership between the Department of State and Boston
University that aims to catalyze business, philanthropic, and civil society
commitments to advance Afghan women’s entrepreneurship, employment, and
educational opportunities in Afghanistan and third countries,” the press
release wrote.
This
came at a time thousands of Afghan women are being deprived of their basic
rights, including rights to education, employment in government sectors, and
freedom of free will since the beginning of the Taliban takeover in August last
year.
“Now
I don’t want to sugarcoat it (the alliance),” Blinken said at the event. “This
is going to be hard, given the severe restraint imposed by the Taliban. But we
are determined to safely deliver this support to women in Afghanistan.”
Secretary
Blinken highlighted AWER’s first initiative, the Million Women Mentors
Initiative for Afghan Women and Girls (MWMA), which aims to accelerate private
sector and civil society commitments to mentor one million women and girls over
the next five years.
“He
noted Deloitte’s commitment to work with the Alliance’s first member Pod in
mentoring 2,000 Afghan women under MWMA as an example of how AWER aims to
foster economic opportunity for Afghan women and girls,” according to the
release.
This
announcement follows $1.5 million in additional Department of State funding for
this effort, including funds from the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund
that supports the economic security of women and girls globally, to advance
Afghan women’s access to business incubation and partnership with the private
sector.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/us-launches-awer-to-empower-afghan-women/
--------
Thousands
of Afghan Refugees Forcibly Deported from Iran
By
Saqalain Eqbal
22
Sep 2022
The
Taliban Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said that more than 7,000 Afghan
refugees had been forcibly deported from Iran over the past week.
Calling
for more aid, the Foreign Minister of Iran in a conversation with his New
Zealand counterpart previously stated that the number of Afghan refugees in
Iran totals 4.5 million.
The
Iranian ambassador in Kabul, the Afghan capital also stated that as many as
6,000 Afghans enter Iran through the borders.
Before
the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, 3.4 million refugees were living in
Iran, of which roughly 2 million lacked the proper documentation to do so,
according to information provided by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
International
organizations have also reported that since the Taliban took control of
Afghanistan, both the number of people migrating to Iran and the number of
people being forcibly deported from Iran have rocketed.
According
to a Wall Street Journal article, the Iranian government deports between 2,500
and 4,000 Afghans per day, totaling millions of Afghans this year.
Approximately
500,000 Afghans were trafficked into Iran between August 2021, when the Taliban
retook control of the country, and December 5 of that same year, according to
UN statistics.
About
360,000 of them were forcibly expelled, facing mistreatment by the Iranian
authorities, while 126,000 of them returned home as voluntarily.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/thousands-of-afghan-refugees-forcibly-deported-from-iran-67485/
--------
China
calls on US to 'end theft of Syria’s national resources'
22
September 202
China
has called on the United States to stop plundering Syria’s national resources
and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Arab country.
“We
call on the United States to respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity, unilaterally lift sanctions, and end the theft of Syria’s national
resources,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a news
briefing.
Wang
said “this is not the first time that the United States military has stolen oil
from Syria and they seem to be becoming more and more uncontrollable.”
The
Chinese spokesman also said the US government has a duty to investigate
robberies committed by intervening military forces, as well as to compensate
for the damages caused.
The
Syrian Oil Ministry said recently that the United States and its proxy militant
groups pillaged over 80 percent of Syria’s daily crude production in the first
half of 2022. According to the ministry’s data, the Syrian oil sector has lost
“about 105 billion dollars since the beginning of the conflict until the middle
of this year” as a result of the US oil theft campaign.
In
August, a leading Chinese newspaper censured the continued plundering of the
Syrian oil by the US occupation forces across the Arab country, saying that the
looting is a “disgrace and a shame to Washington.”
China
Daily made the assertion in an article published on August 13, following
reports that a convoy consisting of more than 100 US military tankers had
carried thousands of liters of crude oil from the northeastern Syrian province
of Hasakah to the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
The
US military has stationed forces and equipment in northeastern Syria, with the
Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at preventing the oilfields in
the area from falling into the hands of Daesh Takfiri terrorists. Damascus,
however, maintains the deployment is meant to plunder the country's rich
mineral resources.
Former
US President Donald Trump admitted on more than one occasion that American
forces were in the Arab country for its oil.
In
infamous comments made in 2019, Trump said, “We’re keeping [Syria’s] oil. We
have the oil. The oil is secure. We left troops behind only for the oil.”
Several
countries, including Russia and China, have condemned US actions in plundering
the Syrian resources and have called on Washington to stop its continued
looting of the war-torn country’s natural resources.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/09/22/689666/China-US-Syria-oil
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