Indian Secularism 'Positive', Wearing Hijab Not a Display of Religious Jingoism, Argue Muslim Girls in Karnataka High Court
New Age Islam News Bureau
16 February 2022
Muslim women hold placards while wearing burqa and
hijab in a peaceful protest in support of female Muslim students and against
the Karnataka government, in Hyderabad on February 15. (PTI Photo)
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India
• Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Voices Hijab
Concern Over the “Harassment of Muslim Women”, Delhi Hits Back
• Karnataka Muslim Legislators Seek Action against
Those behind Hijab Row
• 10 'overground workers' of Jaish-e-Mohammed terror
group arrested in J&K: Police
• When SRK expressed his wish to perform Hajj with his
kids
• Saudi, Indian armed forces strengthen ties with key
Delhi visit
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Pakistan
• Altaf Hussain found ‘not guilty’ of encouraging
terrorism in Karachi
• Mian Channu lynching accused to meet same fate as
Sialkot lynch mob, says Ashrafi
• Religious scholars condemn Khanewal lynching
incident
• Pakistan should continue to be placed in FATF Grey
List, says report
• Imran Khan’s ‘naya Pakistan’ pitch becomes ‘gaya
Pakistan’ amid flawed policies
• Pakistan asks UNSC to help stop attacks from
Afghanistan
• Recognition of Taliban government has to be
‘collective effort’: Imran
--------
South
Asia
• Pakistan denies ISI chief meeting Afghan Jihadi
leaders in Turkey
• IRC urges US, Europe to reset their policies towards
Afghanistan before humanitarian crisis kills more Afghans
• 9/11 unrelated to Afghans, we should not compensate
for its victims: protestors in several Afghan provinces
• ‘Imran Khan Fears global pushback if Pakistan
becomes first country to recognise Taliban govt’
• Bangladesh Govt. For Sending More Imam, Muezzin To
Qatar
• Taliban's rise can revive terrorism in Asia and
Africa, India tells UN
• Taliban says they did not allow Pakistan to continue
fencing along Durand Line
--------
Europe
• The Quiet Flight of Muslims from France
• German broadcaster Deutsche Welle fires 2 more Arab
employees
• Russian defence minister visits Syria
• Russia sends 2 fighter jets with hypersonic missiles
to Syria
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Arab
World
• Russia sends hypersonic-armed fighter jets to Syria
for naval drills: Report
• Erdogan calls on UAE’s private sector to invest in
Turkey
• YPG/PKK rocket attack kills 4 civilians in Azaz,
Syria
• UN special envoy for Yemen condemns Houthi attacks
on UAE
• Israel’s PM Bennett concludes historic visit to
Bahrain to deepen ties
--------
Mideast
• Yemen’s Ansarullah Chief: Alliance with US, Israel
Represents ‘Greatest Hazard’ to Muslim World
• Israeli Flag Set on Fire as Bahrainis Protest
Bennett’s Visit, Normalization
• Islamic Jihad: Resistance Not To Remain Silent on
Israeli Crimes in Sheikh Jarrah
• Israel lobbying US on behalf of UAE to re-blacklist
Yemen's Ansarullah
• Israel sends diplomats to Vienna for nuclear talks,
Iran says ‘obstacle to progress’
• Turkey sending senior officials to Israel ahead of
Herzog visit
• Yemen releases footage of drone attacks on targets
deep inside Saudi Arabia, UAE
--------
North
America
• Saudi Cabinet Says Supports US Efforts to Prevent Iran
from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons
• US congressional delegation to travel to Israel,
Germany, UK
• Effect and influence of the Iranian revolution on
global geopolitics
--------
Southeast
Asia
• 14 Muslim Separatists Surrender To Philippine Govt
• Philippine Police Say Foiled Hamas Plot To Target
Israelis
• Lawyer: Woman seeking to have ‘Islam’ removed from
IC not renouncing faith, only reversing unilateral child conversion
• A mother’s appeal: I will even convert to Islam,
just give me back my children
--------
Africa
• Islamic group tackles ASUU over comments on
Pantami’s Professorship
• More than 100 Sudanese detainees start hunger
strike, including politicians
• Gunfire, explosions rock Somalian capital in
militant attacks
• Libyan crisis deepens as Tobruk-based parliament
chooses new premier
• Algeria president announces youth unemployment
benefit
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/indian-secularism-hijab-religious-jingoism-/d/126384
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Indian Secularism 'Positive', Wearing Hijab Not a
Display of Religious Jingoism, Argue Muslim Girls in Karnataka High Court
Muslim women hold placards while wearing burqa and
hijab in a peaceful protest in support of female Muslim students and against
the Karnataka government, in Hyderabad on February 15. (PTI Photo)
-----
FEBRUARY 15, 2022
The Muslim girls who have moved the Karnataka High
Court against a ban on Hijab on Tuesday argued that the Indian brand of
secularism was a ‘positive’ one, unlike that of Turkey, and submitted that
wearing the headscarf was an innocent practice of faith and not a display of
religious jingoism. They contended before a three-judge bench that secularism
in India was not like ‘Turkey secularism’ but a positive one where all
religions are recognised as true.
The girls requested the court to make a leeway to
attend classes with headscarves as the court’s interim order had suspended
their ‘fundamental rights’. Referring to ‘hecklers veto’, senior counsel
Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the Muslim girl students from Udupi
pre-university college, said such practices of denying someone their right on
the ground that they do not like the person was not good.
In this context, he reminded the court that when it passed
the interim order, it had secularism in the mind. Explaining secularism, Kamat
argued, “Our secularism is not Turkey secularism. Ours is a positive secularism
where we recognise all religions as true." Dwelling on Article 25 of the
Indian constitution before the bench, he said it speaks about ‘freedom of
conscience’.
“This (freedom of conscience) has a lot of depth in
that term. The essence of Article 25 is it protects the practice of innocent
faith and not a mere display of religious identity or jingoism," Kamat
told the full bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj
Awasthi, Justice J M Khazi and Justice Krishna M Dixit, constituted to hear the
Hijab row following commotion and violence on campuses as it turned out into a
Hijab versus saffron row. Article 25 deals with “Freedom of conscience and free
profession, practice and propagation of religion." The Muslim girls have
challenged the Karnataka government’s February 5 order which restricted
students from wearing cloths that could disturb peace, harmony and law and
order.
According to the counsel, wearing Rudraksha or putting
a Nama (Tilak or vermillion on the forehead) was similar innocent faith as
people who put it feel protected by the divine and a connect with the creator.
“To counter that (Hijab), if somebody wears a (saffron) shawl, they will have
to show whether it is a display of religious identity alone or is it something
more. If it is sanctioned by Hinduism by our Vedas, Upanishads, our scriptures,
our lordships are duty bound to protect it. If not, then the Article 25 does
not protect," Kamat argued.
The senior lawyer also cited Sunali Pillay case in
South Africa where she had challenged in the court the school’s order
restricting her from wearing a nose ring stating that if they allowed it the
school will become ‘a parade of the horribles’. The school had argued Pillay
can exercise her right outside the institution. However, the Chief Justice did
not agree with the argument and observed that the removal for a short time will
send a symbolic message that Pillay and her religion and culture were not
welcome in the country.
The girl later won the case in the court of law in
that country, Kamat recalled. Citing the South African court judgment, he told
the court that Pillay’s case is not about the uniform but about exemption to
existing uniform.
“The display of religion and culture in public is not
a parade of horribles but a pageant of diversity, which will enrich our schools
and in turn our country", Kamat quoted the portion of judgment in Sunali
Pillay case. Stating that the an innocuous practice of wearing head scarf and
not changing the uniform was a facet of freedom of speech and expression, he
sought an exemption to wear headscarf as it was in line with right to freedom
of speech and expression.
Kamat also questioned the argument of the government
banning clothes that could lead to commotion saying that it was an
impermissible argument. Quoting the Supreme Court verdict in Aruna Roy case, he
explained that the secularism in India is from a Vedic point of view of ‘Sarva
Dharma Samabhava’.
He pleaded before the bench not to continue its
interim order restricting the students from wearing Hijab or saffron scarves as
it “suspends the fundamental rights" of the Muslim girls. Arguing on
behalf of Muslim girls, advocate Ravi Varma Kumar said his clients were
restricted entry on December 28 citing code of conduct of the institution.
According to him, the government has not yet taken a
decision on the uniform dress code. Kumar further said the government order on
February 5 did not speak about Hijab per se. Referring to the Karnataka
Education Act, he said the College Development Committee is a non-existent body
under the said Act.
“It is an extra-legal authority, which is now endowed
with the power to prescribe the uniform," the lawyer argued. The court
adjourned to Wednesday further hearing of the case.
Source: News18
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Pakistan Prime Minister Denounces Lynching Following
Qur’an Burning In Khanewal
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan
----
FEBRUARY 14, 2022
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, announced
Sunday that he had ordered full action be taken against a mob who lynched a
mentally ill man for burning pages of the Qur’an in Khanewal district of Punjab
last week.
The man was arrested for a violation of Pakistan’s
strict anti-blasphemy laws, which penalize defiling a Qur’an with life
imprisonment and penalize the use of derogatory language against the Prophet
Muhammad with death. However, the man had reportedly been known to be mentally
ill for several years, and it is unclear whether Pakistani police would press
charges against him. He was in police custody when a mob of more than 80 people
seized him and lynched him, later delivering his body to his family for a
funeral.
Saying that his government had “zero tolerance for
anyone taking the law into their own hands”, Prime Minister Khan said that mob
lynchings would be prosecuted with the “full severity” of the law and ordered
the Punjab Inspector-General for a full report of the prosecution efforts being
made against the perpetrators.
In accordance with this order, the Punjab police
announced on Twitter that 112 people suspected of involvement in the lynching
had been arrested as of Tuesday, with 31 main suspects scheduled to appear in a
special anti-terrorism court.
Source: Jurist
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Both al-Qaida and ISIS-K Building Support in
Afghanistan, Report Says
Representative Image/ANI
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February 15, 2022
WASHINGTON —
Despite lingering concerns among some officials in
Washington that Afghanistan is on its way to once again becoming a terrorist
haven, recent U.S. defence and intelligence assessments seem to indicate that
at least for now, groups like Islamic State and al-Qaida are not ready to use
the country as a launch pad for attacks against the West.
The appraisal from U.S. Central Command, the Defence
Intelligence Agency and others is part of a just-released report by the Defence
Department Inspector General examining the potential threats emanating from
Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal from the country six months ago.
It runs contrary to concerns voiced since October by
top Pentagon officials, who warned IS-Khorasan could be ready to strike at the
West and at the U.S. in as little as six months, with al-Qaida regenerating the
same capacity in as little as a year.
"Both al-Qaida and ISIS-K have the intent to
conduct external operations," Colin Kahl, Defence Department
undersecretary for policy, told the Senate Armed Services Committee at the
time, using an acronym for Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate.
The new assessments agree the intent is still there,
just that leaders from both terror groups have other priorities.
IS-Khorasan Province, as the IS affiliate is also
known, in particular seems more focused on solidifying its support within
Afghanistan instead of preparing to strike at enemies further afield.
“The DIA assessed that ISIS-K is prioritizing attacks
within Afghanistan over external operations,” the report said, noting a series
of attacks against Taliban security checkpoints, as well as a deadly attack in
November at a military hospital in Kabul that killed at least 25 people and wounded
more than 50.
“ISIS-K’s targeted attacks on critical infrastructure
highlighted the Taliban regime’s inability to provide basic security and worked
to delegitimize the Taliban with the local population,” the report said.
It added that the DIA assessed IS-Khorasan “has
probably exploited anti-Taliban sentiment and governance shortfalls to boost
its recruitment, especially among marginalized populations.”
The report also warned that the group “maintains
connections to fighters from countries across Central and South Asia, probably
making the group a threat to U.S. interests in those countries.”
Intelligence shared by United Nations member states
for a report issued earlier this month warned that IS-Khorasan has almost
doubled in size since the U.S. withdrawal to nearly 4,000 fighters, and that
the group again controls limited territory in the eastern part of the country.
Taliban officials have launched several efforts to
crack down on IS-Khorasan, though a number of analysts have noted the various
operations have met with limited success.
The same U.N. member states warned that al-Qaida,
which has a longer history in Afghanistan, has enjoyed a “significant boost”
since the U.S. withdrawal, noting “some of its closest sympathizers within the
Taliban now occupy senior positions in the new de facto Afghan administration.”
The inspector general report, however, says U.S.
agencies believe the Taliban are still keeping al-Qaida officials somewhat
isolated.
“The Taliban has not permitted al-Qaida members to
play a significant role in its so-called “interim government” and will likely
aim to prevent al-Qaida attacks on the United States as it attempts to gain
international legitimacy," the report states, citing CENTCOM and the DIA.
But U.S. officials also assess that Taliban leaders
are in no rush to sever ties with the terror group, despite their assurances to
Washington as part of the Doha Agreement.
“The Taliban very likely will allow al-Qaida elements
in Afghanistan to maintain a low profile within the country to preserve legacy
relationships and avoid upsetting the most militant Islamic elements within the
Taliban," according to the inspector general report.
U.N. officials estimate the al-Qaida core has several
dozen officials living in Afghanistan, including the group’s leader, Ayman
al-Zawahiri.
Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent, a key affiliate,
is thought to have up to 400 fighters in Afghanistan, some embedded with
Taliban units.
Source: VOA News
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Hundreds Of Massacres Committed In Bosnia: Genocide Researcher
Representative Image/aa.com
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Mustafa Talha Öztürk
16.02.2022
BELGRADE, Serbia
Hundreds of massacres were committed during the
Bosnian War between 1992 and 1995, and people were burned alive, said a
genocide researcher.
Hikmet Karcic provided his assessment to Anadolu
Agency about the massacres and number of dead in the war.
“Many innocent people lost their lives. Visegrad is
among the cities that witnessed these massacres,'' said Karcic.
Karcic pointed out that many of those responsible for
the massacre were not even brought to justice.
In 1992, more than 140 Muslim Bosnians were forcibly
herded into the houses of Adem Omeragic and Meho Alijic in the city of Visegrad
and set on fire, he said.
Speaking about another massacre called the Bijeli
Potok massacre near the city of Zvornik, Karcic said it was one of the most
brutal massacres.
''700 Bosniaks were killed in this massacre. All the
victims were buried in the mass graveyard called 'Crni Vrh,' where some of the
victims of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre were also buried,'' he said.
He added that the perpetrators have still not been
prosecuted.
Karcic said this mass graveyard in Zvornik is the
largest mass grave to be found before the Tomasica cemetery near the city of
Prijedor.
"This shows us that the perpetrators of the
massacres in Zvornik and Srebrenica were the same people. Many massacres have
been committed throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina that have not been the subject
of research until now. Genocides and crimes against humanity were often the
most notable, but hundreds of massacres were committed, the exact number of
which is unknown.”
Karcic said the list of places where massacres were
committed is very big.
''Between 120 and 150 people were killed in the
Karaterm concentration camp. Later, massacres took place in the Gacko and
Nevesinje regions. Dozens of civilians were massacred in the Gorazde region.
Also, massacres were carried out in the villages of Rizvanovici, Hambarine and
Cerokovo near the Sana River,” Karcic said, adding that approximately 200
people were killed and buried in mass graves in the village of Biljani in the
city of Kljuc.
“On Oct. 23, 1993, 38 Bosniak civilians were killed by
Croatian Defense Council forces in Stupni Do district, near the city of Vares.
Again by the same forces, 17 women, five children and many elderly people were
killed in Kiseljak and 11 people were set on fire. The youngest victim killed
here was a 2-year-old girl named Sabina Likic.”
Karcic said the entire village was looted after 58 houses
and a mosque were burned in the same region.
On the morning of April 16, 1993, the military forces
of the Croatian Defense Council made a sudden raid on the village of Ahmici,
where 116 Bosniaks were killed. The youngest victim in Ahmici was a three-month-old
baby.
The Bosnian War began on March 1, 1992 and lasted
until December 14, 1995.
The war lasted for more than three years, more than
100,000 people lost their lives, and around 2 million people were forced to
migrate.
Bosnia and Herzegovina experienced great pains during
its independence war between 1992 and 1995, including the siege of Sarajevo and
the Srebrenica genocide, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.
The siege of the capital Sarajevo began on April 5,
1992. It took 1,425 days in total and a total of 11,541 people in Sarajevo,
1,601 of whom were children, were killed.
More than 50,000 civilians were injured from about
500,000 shells dropped on the city.
An average of 329 mortar shells were fired into the
city every day.
More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were
killed when Bosnian Serb forces attacked Srebrenica in July 1995, despite the
presence of Dutch peacekeeping troops.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Israel’s Bennett Discusses Regional Stability With Bahraini
King
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (L) meets with
King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (R) in Manama, Bahrain on February 15,
2022. ( Israeli Gov't Press Office - Anadolu Agency )
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Zain Khalil AND Ibrahim al-Khazen
15.02.2022
JERUSALEM
Israeli Premier Naftali Bennett discussed bilateral
relations and regional stability with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa
on Tuesday.
King Hamad "reviewed (with Bennett) diverse
aspects of cooperation between both countries and means to enhance them,
particularly in vital sectors of common interest," according to the
Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
The Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said Bennett
discussed with King Hamad ways to build new bridges for a more strong and
stable region.
BNA also quoted Bennett as "voicing happiness
about visiting the Kingdom of Bahrain to continue bolstering bilateral
cooperation."
Earlier, Bennett met Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad
Al-Khalifa and discussed ways to strengthen ties and cooperation between their
countries. He also met Brad Cooper, commander of the US Fifth Fleet stationed
in Bahrain.
BNA said the meeting at the Guddaibiya Palace in the
capital, Manama, reviewed important international and regional issues of common
interest.
The Bahraini crown prince also highlighted his
country's commitment, along with its allies, to regional peace and stability.
Bennett arrived Monday in Bahrain on his first-ever
visit to the Gulf nation.
Bahrain is among four Arab countries that signed
US-sponsored agreements to normalize relations with Israel in 2020.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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India
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Voices Hijab
Concern Over The “Harassment Of Muslim Women”, Delhi Hits Back
16.02.22
India on Tuesday reacted sharply to the Organisation
of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressing concern over the “harassment of Muslim
women” in Karnataka for wearing the hijab and calls for genocide; stating that
the communal mindset of the OIC “does not allow for proper appreciation” of
Indian realities including the “constitutional framework” and “democratic
ethos”.
Responding to media queries for a reaction to the
OIC’s remarks including a call to the international community to take
“necessary measures”, external affairs ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi billed
the OIC general secretariat’s comments as “yet another motivated and misleading
statement” on matters pertaining to India.
“Issues in India are considered and resolved in
accordance with our constitutional framework and mechanisms, as well as
democratic ethos and polity. The communal mindset of the OIC secretariat does
not allow for a proper appreciation of these realities. OIC continues to be
hijacked by vested interests to further their nefarious propaganda against
India. As a result, it has only harmed its own reputation,” Bagchi said.
On Monday, OIC had tweeted that its general
secretariat “expresses deep concern over recent public calls for #genocide of
#Muslims by the ‘#Hindutva’ proponents in #Haridwar in the state of
#Uttarakhand and reported incidents of harassment of #Muslim #women on social
media sites as well as banning of Muslim girl students from wearing #hijab in
the state of #Karnataka”.
Further, it called upon the “international community,
especially the #UN mechanisms and Special Procedures of the #HumanRights
Council, to take necessary measures in this regard”. It also urged India “to
ensure the safety, security & wellbeing of the #Muslim community while
protecting the way of life of its members & to bring the instigators &
perpetrators of acts of violence and hate crimes against them to justice”.
Source: Telegraph India
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Karnataka Muslim Legislators Seek Action Against Those
Behind Hijab Row
February 15, 2022
Bengaluru: A delegation of Muslim legislators, met
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday and demanded merciless action
against organisations or forces behind the Hijab row in the state.
The delegation also sought more grants and allocations
for the minority community in the upcoming state budget.
The delegation consisted of Congress legislators-
Saleem Ahmed, UT Khader, Tanveer Sait, Zameer Ahmed Khan, Nazeer Ahmed, Rahim
Khan, NA Haris, Rizwan Arshad, Kaneez Fatima, among others.
"We have told the Chief Minister that some
organisations, some unseen hands and forces are behind the Hijab row and
merciless action should be taken against them," MLC and KPCC Working
President Saleem Ahmed said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting in Bengaluru,
he said, the Chief Minister pointing that the matter is before the court, noted
that he would discuss it and instruct officials in this regard.
MLC Nazeer Ahmed said, they have brought it to the
notice of the Chief Minister that the court's interim order states that it is
applicable for educational institutions in which uniform has been codified by
its development committees, and despite that students wearing Hijab are not
being allowed to attend classes.
"It is a fault on part of the administration, we
have brought it to the notice of the Chief Minister, and he has said that he
will issue instructions," he said.
MLA and former Education Minister Tanveer Sait said
protection of girls and their academic progress should be the priority of any
government and there should be no differentiation between religion and caste in
this.
Noting that the Supreme Court has said that parents have
the right to choose educational medium and institution for their children, he
said, "we have told the Chief Minister not to allow outside forces to
influence these issues (Hijab issue), let parents and managements of the
institutions sit together and decide. Let such things don't disturb the
progress and harmony in the state."
"The (Hijab) matter is before the court, once the
order comes, whether to accept it or file an appeal can be decided, but let's
not continue the issue and let things go on as it was earlier and status quo be
maintained. We have told this to the Chief Minister," he added.
Further stating that the delegation also urged the
Chief Minister for more grants and allocations in the upcoming budget, Saleem
Ahmed said, they have requested him to give more stress on education and
employment.
Source: ND TV
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10 'overground workers' of Jaish-e-Mohammed terror
group arrested in J&K: Police
Feb 16, 2022
SINGAPORE: China may take advantage of the Ukraine
crisis and do something "provocative" in Asia while Western powers
are focused on defusing tensions with Russia, a US general warned Wednesday.
Russia's deployment of more than 100,000 troops on
Ukraine's border has triggered fears in Washington and other Western capitals
of a looming invasion.
General Kenneth Wilsbach, the head of US Pacific Air
Forces, noted that China had aligned itself with Russia in the crisis, raising
questions about own intentions in Asia.
"From the standpoint of will China see what's
happening in Europe and... try to do something here in the Indo-Pacific --
absolutely yes, that's a concern," Wilsbach said, using an alternative
term for the Asia-Pacific region.
"I do have my concerns that they would want to
take advantage," he added, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the
Singapore Airshow.
"It won't be surprising if they tried something
that may be provocative, and see how the international community reacts."
Wilsbach said that when Beijing expressed support for
Russia in the Ukraine standoff, he held talks with his staff and other
"entities" in the region about its implications.
Based in Hawaii, Wilsbach's command would play a
central role if conflict erupts in the Pacific.
Over the years, Beijing has been blamed for stoking
tensions in the region as it has steadily cemented control of key islands and
atolls in the South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost the entirety of the sea, but
that overlaps with those of Taiwan and four Southeast Asian countries --
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
While the United States and other Western nations have
no claims there, they fear Chinese control would infringe on freedom of
navigation in the strategic waterway.
In recent months, China has also ramped up pressure on
Taiwan -- which it sees as its territory -- by sending fighter jets into the
island's air defence identification zone.
Wilsbach said that when China looks at crises, it
considers whether "this is an opportunity for gain".
Source: Times Of India
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When SRK expressed his wish to perform Hajj with his
kids
15th February 2022
Mumbai: He came, he saw and he conquered! Shah Rukh
Khan aka Badshah of Bollywood is not just a name, it is rather an institution
of talents who is known for his incredible screen presence and stupendous
dialogue delivery. The actor married his ladylove Gauri Khan on October 25,
1991. They have been together for over two decades and the couple are doting
parents to their three children Aryan Khan, Suhana Khan and the youngest AbRam
Khan.
It is quite evident to all that Shah Rukh Khan is
known for enjoying a secular household. He has always been vocal about
secularism.
SRK is a muslim by birth, but he believes in
worshipping and respecting all other religions. In a 2005 documentary — The
Inner and Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan, Khan revealed that his kids are open to
all religions and that they recite Gayatri mantra and offer Namaz with equal
faith and enthusiasm.
What SRK had said about his Hajj plans?
Do you know that SRK has once expressed his desire to
perform Hajj with his kids Suhana and Aryan?
In one of his old interviews with Times of India, Shah
Rukh Khan was asked why he hasn’t gone on the pilgrimage so far. To this, the
DDLJ actor replied and said, “Hajj is definitely on my agenda. I would like to
go there with my son Aryan and daughter Suhana.”
‘I am a Muslim, my wife is a Hindu and my kids are
Hindustan’
SRK has once revealed that any religion is not
discussed at his house, adding that his children write “Indian” in forms where
they need to mention their religion.
During his visit to the sets of Dance Plus 5 that was
aired Saturday night, Shah Rukh said, “Humne koi Hindu-Musalman ki baat hi nahi
ki. Meri biwi Hindu hai, mai Musalman hoon. Aur mere jo bacche hain, wo
Hindustan hain.”
He continued, “Jab wo school gae to school me wo
bharna padta hai ki religion kya hai. To jab meri beti choti thi, usne aa ke
pucha bhi mujhse ek baar, ‘papa hum kaun se religion ke hain?’ Maine usme ye
likha ki hum Indian hi hain yaar, koi religion nahi hai. Aur hona bhi nahi
chahiye. (We have never discussed Hindu-Muslim. My wife is Hindu, I am a Muslim
and our kids are Hindustan. When they went to school, they had to write their
religion. My daughter came to me once and asked ‘what is our religion?’ I
simply wrote in her form that we are Indian, we do not have a religion.
Source: Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/when-srk-expressed-his-wish-to-perform-hajj-with-his-kids-2276191/
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Saudi, Indian armed forces strengthen ties with key
Delhi visit
February 15, 2022
JEDDAH: In a historic first, Royal Saudi Land Forces
commander Lt. Gen. Fahd bin Abdullah Mohammed Al-Mutair arrived in New Delhi on
Monday.
Both Saudi Arabia and India share common security
concerns and strive to be strategic defense partners by being major regional
players.
On Tuesday, India’s Chief of Army Staff Gen. M.M.
Naravane received Lt. Gen. Al-Mutair in the South Block lawns of India’s
Ministry of Defense, where the latter was presented with a customary guard of
honor.
The chiefs, along with their respective delegations,
held discussions to review the present state of military cooperation and issues
of mutual interest.
Al-Mutair also met with officials of the Indian Armed
Forces.
Building on relations following the historic visit of
the chief of the Indian Army in December 2020, both commanders have spoken
regularly to monitor the progress of a mutually agreed-upon roadmap of bilateral
relations.
Defense relations between the two countries have seen
a notable upswing in the last year with a series of high-level interactions and
the first bilateral naval exercise, “Al-Mohed Al-Hindi,” conducted in August
2021 in Jubail, in the Eastern Province.
Despite COVID-19 travel restrictions, officers from
both the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and the Indian Armed Forces are undergoing
training in various military institutes of the two countries.
“This year, we expect more exchanges and training
activities to be conducted between the two friendly countries,” said India’s
Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dr. Ausaf Sayeed.
“New areas of cooperation are being mutually
identified, including intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, artificial
intelligence and cyber security, in addition to conducting the first-ever land
forces exercise in the second half of 2022,” he said.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2025491/world
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Pakistan
Altaf Hussain found ‘not guilty’ of encouraging
terrorism in Karachi
February 15, 2022
LONDON: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader
Altaf Hussain has been found not guilty of encouraging terrorism in Karachi
from London contrary to section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act 2006.
At the Kingston Crown Court, a majority of the jury
(10 out of 12) declared before Mrs Justice May that they had found Altaf
Hussain not to be in violation of the UK’s Anti-Terrorism laws on 22nd August
2016 when he made two speeches from London to his followers in Karachi.
Altaf Hussain had been charged with two counts of
encouraging terrorism contrary to section 1(2) of the Terrorism Act 2006.
These relate to two speeches Hussain made on 22n
August – first in the morning UK Time and second in the afternoon UK Time – in
which he had been alleged by the Crown to have published speeches to crowds
“gathered in Karachi, Pakistan the contents of which were likely to be
understood by some or all of the members of the public to whom they were
published as a direct or indirect encouragement to them to the commission,
preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism and, at the time he published
them, intended them to be so encouraged, or was reckless as to whether they
would be so encouraged”.
The CPS had alleged that Altaf Hussain had asked his
followers to attack the offices of Geo, ARY and Samaa and shut down the
transmission of Geo and other channels for not publishing his pictures, videos
and statements after being banned by the Lahore High Court.
Geo News and Jang newspaper’s names came up during the
proceedings repeatedly as Altaf Hussain mentioned in his speeches that Geo and
other channels should be questioned and held accountable for not airing his
speeches.
The prosecution had alleged that Altaf Hussain urged
violence in his morning speech and asked his followers to bring out DG Rangers
Bilal Akbar from the Rangers HQ and also asked his followers to be prepared for
violent acts.
The prosecution said that the actual violence took
place when Hussain made speech in the afternoon to the hunger strike camp of
his party set outside the Karachi Press Club from where the MQM followers
marched towards offices of television channels and violence took place outside
ARY’s office where one MQM worker died, several people were injured and vehicle
were put on fire.
The prosecution presented Brighton University teacher
Dr Nichola Khan as its main expert witness on Karachi and MQM’s politics. She
told the court that MQM was a victim of the state violence and there was no
doubt that Altaf Hussain’s followers were killed, kidnapped, disappeared and
tortured and that the law enforcement agencies operated with impunity and were
involved in human rights violations.
She also told the court that in turn the MQM was also
involved in violence and maintained a militant wing that was never publicly
owned and accepted by the party leadership.
After the prosecution case was over, the MQM leader
decided not to stand in the witness box for cross-examination by the
prosecution. The prosecution told the jury that Altaf Hussain did not “answer,
apologise, explain” his innocence or give answers to obvious questions because
he doesn’t “doesn’t have an answer”.
Altaf Hussain’s lawyer Rupert Bowers QC had told the
jury that it didn’t make sense that Altaf would stand in the dock over events
which took place six years ago. He stressed to the jury that Altaf didn’t have
anything to hide from the jury and the fact that he apologised on Twitter after
his two speeches clearly demonstrated his regret about what happened following
his speeches. He stressed, however, that Altaf Hussain’s apology should not be
construed as an admission of guilt or wrongdoing.
This was the same stance Altaf Hussain adopted when he
was interviewed by the police in 2019 when arrested before being charged. He
had told the police that he did nothing wrong and stood by the words of his
speech.
Mrs Justice May had given directions to the jury that
while convicting Mr Hussain, the jury has to be completely satisfied that
Hussain published a speech, that his statements were likely to be understood by
a reasonable person hearing them of encouraging terrorism and that Mr Hussain
either intended or was reckless as to whether members of the public would be
encouraged to commit acts of violence after hearing those broadcast speeches.
The judge had directed that the prosecution does not
have to prove that terrorist acts actually occurred. The judge directed that
when considering the act of terrorism, the jury must consider the type of act,
its design and purpose. To convict, the jury must be persuaded that the act was
done to further a religious, political, ideological or racial cause, regardless
of whether the cause was justified or not.
The prosecution’s case was that what Altaf Hussain
asked of his MQM followers were acts of terrorism, designed to influence the
government, and that they were done for a political objective and for that Mr
Hussain encouraged violence and that the “whole tone, content and method used”
in his speeches “was designed to get the crowd to do something”.
The defence lawyer Rupert Bowers QC had told Kingston
Crown Court that Mr Hussain is not a terrorist and should not be convicted of
two counts of encouraging terrorism.
The QC had said the jury has been asked by the
prosecution not to measure Altaf’s case against cultural yardstick of Pakistan
but the yardstick of the law of England and Wales is not same as the yardstick
applies in Pakistani context.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Mian Channu lynching accused to meet same fate as
Sialkot lynch mob, says Ashrafi
February 15, 2022
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Religious
Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi has said that the government will deal with the
accused involved in the Mian Channu lynching in the same manner as it did with
suspects responsible for the Sialkot lynching.
While addressing a press conference on Tuesday,
Ashrafi, who also heads the Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC), said that the prime
minister, Punjab chief minister and the Punjab police chief are actively
involved in the investigations, adding that the police have detained 112
accused, including all prime suspects.
He further said that 10 prime accused have been
identified. “No one will be allowed to take the law into their hand,” he said.
Last week, a mob in Punjab’s Khanewal district
tortured and killed a man accused of desecrating the Holy Quran.
As per details, the local police, in order to prevent
themselves, allegedly allowed the accused to leave the police station in Mian
Chunnu where the mob was present.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Religious scholars condemn Khanewal lynching incident
February 16, 2022
FAISALABAD
- Scholars and religious leaders
have unanimously condemned the Khanewal lynching incident and termed it against
the teachings of Islam and the Holy Quran. They said incident had damaged the
soft image of the nation, and demanded to bring to justice those who were
responsible for the incident.
Delivering a sermon at Gol Masjid Ghulam Muhammad Abad
Faisalabad in the backdrop of recent lynching incident in Talamba, district
Khanewal, Molana Zahid Mehmood Qasmi, Chairman Markezi Ullema Council Pakistan
strongly condemned the incident and that it was very unfortunate which had
damaged the soft image of the country.
He said, “Though we are Muslims, but unfortunately, the people do not
study Quran and Hadith due to which they often act upon wrongs”.
He said that law enforcing departments existed in the
country, but the people had lack of patience and endurance owing to which they
did not hesitate from taking law into hands. He said that law and the
constitution were existing in Pakistan. If anyone commits blasphemy, people
should take them to task through law enforcing departments.
He said that it was not right to take law into hands
when the police, administration and government agencies were present to deal
with matters of all kinds. In their presence, neither Islam nor Qur’an allow
killing and manslaughter rather Qur’an says, “Whoever kills a believer
intentionally, his punishment is Hell”.
In this regard, a unanimous national statement – Paigham-e-Pakistan -
was signed by the scholars and religious leaders of all schools of thought. At
the moment, this statement needs to be promoted at a large scale.
It also needs to be implemented in true letter and
spirit so that no one could dare to take the law into his own hands, he added.
He said that sectarianism, extremism and terrorism,
all these evils were not only detrimental but fatal also for the country. It is
imperative to avoid these evils, he said.
Ulema and sheikhs of all religious groups should come
forward and play their dynamic role in eradicating narrow-mindedness and
extremism from the society, he added.
Dr. Raghib Hussain Naeemi, ex-Member Council of
Islamic Ideology and Mohtamim Jamia Naeemia Lahore also condemned Talamba
Khanewal incident and demanded strict action against those involved in
extra-judicial killing.
He said that Khanewal incident was very tragic in
which the mob after becoming ‘plaintiff and judge’ at their own brutally
tortured and killed a mentally retarded person.
“The incident is very embarrassing for Pakistanis and
we need to learn from the previous incidents of such nature to ascertain that
when it is not permissible for the public to take law into hand and be involved
in killing or punishing anyone in any way. Why the people commit such offenses
and what thing motivates them to do so”, he added.
He said that law enforcing departments should also
concentrate on how to stop the recurrence of such like incidents in future.
The Ulema and Mashaikh as religious leaders must
strongly condemn such incidents and reform and improve the attitude of general
public so that they could avoid from such heinous crimes, he added.
He appealed to the people to desist from doing such
like barbaric acts because now all steps would be taken for punishment of those
who were involved in such extra-judicial incidents. “May Allah Almighty guide
us the right path and bestow us correct and true understanding of the
religion”, he added.
Maulana Yaseen Zafar, General Secretary
Wafaq-ul-Madaris al-Salafia Pakistan and Principal Jamia Salfia Faisalabad,
condemned the Khanewal incident and said that it promoted bad image of the
country at international level.
He said that such incidents introduced a new culture
of lynching in the country. The government and law enforcement agencies should
take appropriate steps to control such incidents in future.
He also demanded deterrent punishment for those who
were involved in Khanewal lynching incident. Allama Arif Wahidi, Vice President
Shia Ulema Council, also condemned the Talamba, Khanewal incident and said that
some elements still existed in Pakistan, who wanted to promote extremism in the
country.
The government should immediately take steps to
control extremism in Pakistan so that Sialkot and Khanewal like incidents could
not occur again, he added. Allama Zia Ullah Shah Bukhari, Amir Muttahida Jamiat
Ahle Hadith Pakistan & Member Council of Islamic Ideology Pakistan,
condemned the incident and said that the mob lynched a mentally retarded man by
taking law into hands which was very condemnable.
The government should take appropriate steps to
control such brutal incidents in future; he said and also appealed to the
general public to understand Islamic teachings before taking any step.
Source: Nation Pakistan
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Pakistan should continue to be placed in FATF Grey
List, says report
February 15, 2022
Pakistan should continue to be in the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) "grey list" on the upcoming Plenary Session
scheduled in Paris from 21 February to 4 March this year, according to a media
report.
Paris-based money-laundering watchdog, FATF placed
Pakistan on the "grey list" in June 2018 for its failure to address
the problem of terrorism financing.
Since then, Pakistan's performance has been under
periodic review. But every time, it is found to be deficient in its efforts,
reported Islam Khabar.
In the last meeting of the FATF in October 2021,
Pakistan was once again retained on the "grey list" because it failed
to prosecute and confiscate the assets of United Nations-designated terrorists.
FATF officials had also noted that Pakistan was still
failing to effectively implement the global FATF standard across several areas,
creating a high risk of money laundering.
Commenting on the action plan devised in 2018 which
focused on terror financing, the FATF President had said that Pakistan was
still assessed to have largely addressed 26 out of 27 items, Islam Khabar
reported.
"Pakistan has taken a number of important steps
but needs to further demonstrate that investigations and prosecutions are being
pursued against the senior leadership of UN-designated terror groups," he
said.
Given this situation, Pakistan will once again present
its case before the FATF when the body holds its Plenary Session in Paris from
21 February to 4 March 2022.
The main effort will be to convince the FATF that it
has delivered on all the high-level commitments it had made, not just in terms
of tightening the domestic laws and regulations but also in terms of
successfully prosecuting and punishing people involved in money laundering and
terror finance.
There is a simple reason for Pakistan being in the
"grey list" that Pakistan's deep state, led by the ISI and the Army,
is at the forefront of carrying out illegal terrorist activities and promoting
terror globally.
The latest emerging news from the UK, which was
published in Dawn on January 28, to know what Pakistan is up to.
Source: Business Standard
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Imran Khan’s ‘naya Pakistan’ pitch becomes ‘gaya
Pakistan’ amid flawed policies
15 February, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], February 15 (ANI): The idea of
“new Pakistan” under Imran Khan-led country’s government seems to have turned
into “Gaya Pakistan” (a Gone Pakistan) as Imran Khan has failed to provide
better policies to Islamabad.
According to Islam Khabar, the flip-flops on Pakistan
policies, dalliance with terrorist groups, a campaign to silence the media,
lack of vision on economic matters and growing stand-off with the military and
the calculated pause on the appointment of ISI chief, made Imran Khan unpopular
among the people of Pakistan.
Apart from it, when Imran Khan began punching beyond
his weight in all kinds of affairs, especially in Afghanistan and other key
international alliances, he began fumbling and faltering rapidly.
The Pakistan Prime Minister was exultant when the
Taliban took over Kabul and refused to heed his government’s advice on crucial
matters, including on anti-Pakistan groups like TTP.
Islam Khabar reported that Imran Khan’s newfound love
for Turkey and China has not done much to help bolster his or his country’s
image.
Within the country, the Prime Minister is fast losing
his poise and popularity. With minorities on the edge of despair and a large
section of the society struggling to make their ends meet, Khan has run out of
new slogans to entice them. His party’s recent losses in the local elections in
Khyber Pakhtunkhawa are a clear signal, according to Islam Khabar.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s joblessness has jumped from 5.8
per cent in 2017-18 to 6.9 per cent in 2018-19, according to the Labour Force
Survey (LFS) published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Source: The Print
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Pakistan asks UNSC to help stop attacks from
Afghanistan
Anwar Iqbal
February 16, 2022
UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has urged the UN Security
Council to hold accountable the “masterminds” who continue to support, finance,
and sponsor cross-border terrorist attacks into its territory.
Pakistan raised the issue of cross-border terrorism
from Afghanistan after India used the UN forum on Monday to accuse Pakistan of
sponsoring terrorism in occupied Kashmir.
The Indian initiative turned the annual meeting of the
UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) in New York into a battle of words between
South Asia’s two nuclear powers. This was the committee’s first briefing since
January when India assumed its chair.
Last week, Pakistani security forces repulsed two
attacks at their camps in Balochistan. At least13 terrorists were killed in the
fight while seven soldiers and an officer embraced martyrdom.
Islamabad raised the issue after Delhi accused it of
sponsoring terrorism in India-held Kashmir
Last month, a similar attack in Kech, Balochistan,
resulted in the martyrdom of 10 soldiers.
Earlier this week, the Inter-Services Public Relations
(ISPR) announced that Pakistan had intercepted communications between those who
conducted the attacks in Balochistan and their handlers in Afghanistan and
India.
Initiating a diplomatic broadside against Pakistan,
Indian representative Rajesh Parihar indirectly blamed Islamabad for
encouraging terrorism in the region. He cited the 2016 Pathankot attack, and
the 2019 Pulwama attack to support his claim.
Using a similar, indirect approach, a Pakistani
representative Umer Siddique urged the UN body to ensure that Afghanistan’s
territory was not used for launching attacks into Pakistan.
The Pakistani representative reminded committee
members that more than once Pakistan shared with the UN Security Council
irrefutable evidence of external (Indian) involvement in terrorist attacks
inside its territory.
“We all know who has been supporting and financing”
terror groups like the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar
(JuA),” Mr Siddique said.
The Pakistani representative also emphasised the need
to separate terrorism from legitimate struggles for basic human rights, such as
the struggle for right of self-determination in Kashmir.
“We must not allow the hijacking of technical bodies
such as this to serve bilateral programmes of hate and aggression,” Mr Siddique
said.
He also called out India for opposing UN initiates to
address the rising number of terrorist attacks at Muslims in India and urged it
not to mainstream Islamophobia.
Mr Siddiqui welcomed the UN Security Council’s
recognition of terrorist threats arising from xenophobia, racism and other
forms of intolerance and called for greater focus on the issue.
He referred to a recent global survey, which
acknowledges Pakistan’s progress in this regard and cites Pakistan as one of
the states which regularly conducts frequent or focused threat risk
assessments.
Pakistan assured the world body that it has taken
concrete steps to assess its terrorism-financing risk since 2019, including
conducting a Terrorist Financing Risk Assessment (TFRA), as well as National
Risk Assessment on money-laundering and terrorism financing.
Pakistan informed the UN committee that it has made
significant progress in countering terrorist financing by amending laws,
improving regulatory frameworks and enhancing inter-agency coordination.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1675317/pakistan-asks-unsc-to-help-stop-attacks-from-afghanistan
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Recognition of Taliban government has to be
‘collective effort’: Imran
February 16, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday said
the government will not recognise the Taliban government unilaterally as the
recognition of the Taliban regime has to be a “collective effort by the
countries in the region”.
In an interview with a French media outlet Le Figaro,
the premier said: “If Pakistan is the first to grant recognition, the
international pressure will become too much for us as we try to turn our
economy around.”
“We could no longer pay our debts. We can only recover
if we have good relations with the international community. To be isolated by
becoming the only state [to recognise the Taliban regime] would be the last
thing we would want,” the newspaper cited the PM as saying.
He said, “as for the conditions for such recognition,
there is an international consensus that there must be an inclusive government
in Afghanistan. There is also the issue of human rights and women’s rights. The
Taliban government has made promises on these two issues. What more is needed
to make the world satisfied? That is the question.”
According to the prime minister, the Taliban
delegation that visited Pakistan in December did not give any “concrete
answers” about their commitment to abide by their promises to ensure basic rights
for women and minorities.
“There were no concrete answers. They gave an
agreement in principle…You can’t force them. There is a limit to what foreign
pressure can do to a government like the Taliban. Afghans should not be
expected to respect women’s rights as Westerners understand them.”
About girls’ education, the Taliban said they needed
time, Imran added.
In a question about the consequences of the Afghan
Taliban return to power and its impact on Pakistan’s national security,
especially in the light of the recent spike in the attacks claimed by the
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Imran said a stable regime in Afghanistan will
weed out terror groups.
“We believe that the more stable the Afghan government
is, the less these groups can operate. That is why we are so concerned about
the stability of Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the Pakistani government
trusted the Afghan Taliban “when they say they will not let militants strike
from their territory”.
“It is in their interest that regional trade develops
from Central Asia through their territory to the Indian Ocean,” PM Imran said,
adding that in the 90s, Pakistani transporters were operating freely in
Afghanistan.
About a UN report on links between al Qaeda and the
Taliban, Imran said: “If terrorists operate from [the] Afghan soil, the Taliban
will suffer. It is in their interest to stop international terrorism.”
In response to a question over the US government’s
plan to strike terror groups in Afghanistan through an air corridor, Imran
said, “we will be partners with the US in peace, not in war.”
Speaking about dialogue with India, Imran said
Pakistan wanted good ties with India but talking to New Delhi without
restoration of Kashmir’s autonomy would be tantamount to betrayal of Kashmiri
people.
“The attitude of the BJP government and the RSS (a
right-wing Hindu fundamentalist group) towards Pakistan and Kashmir is
worrisome. We are dealing with a government that is not rational, whose
ideology is based on hatred of religious minorities and Pakistan. We can’t talk
to them. We are at a dead end.”
About Uighurs’ treatment in China, Imran said,
“Xinjiang is part of China…It is natural that we would raise our voice in
defence of the Kashmiris, especially as one-third of the territory is in
Pakistan. Kashmir is directly a matter of concern for Pakistan” as opposed to
Xinjiang.
Source: Pakistan Today
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South
Asia
Pakistan denies ISI chief meeting Afghan Jihadi
leaders in Turkey
15 Feb 2022
Pakistan’s embassy based in Kabul denied the meeting
of the chief of the country’s spying agency with Afghan Jihadi leaders- Atta
Muhammad Noor, Abdul Rashid Dustom, and Muhammad Muhaqiq- in Turkey.
Diplomats in the embassy dubbed the news as “fake”
adding that no Pakistani official has met with Afghan Jihadi leaders in Turkey.
Earlier, rumors had it that Lieutenant-General Nadeem
Anjum, chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has met with a number of
Afghan Jihadi leaders and has discussed the establishment of an inclusive
government in Afghanistan.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/pakistan-denies-isi-chief-meeting-afghan-jihadi-leaders-in-turkey-76586/
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IRC urges US, Europe to reset their policies towards
Afghanistan before humanitarian crisis kills more Afghans
15 Feb 2022
International Rescue Committee has expressed concern
over the deteriorating humanitarian situation of Afghan people and called on
the US and Europe to reset their policies towards Afghanistan before it kills
more people.
The committee said Afghanistan’s catastrophe is driven
by policies of the international community neither by conflict nor by natural
disaster.
IRC expressed worried about the halt of foreign aid to
Afghanistan and economic sanctions that affected the lives of millions of
people and have led to a situation where people across Afghanistan survive on
humanitarian aid.
IRC Director Afghanistan, Vicki Aken said that
Afghanistan’s current population suffering from the humanitarian crisis is the
largest population on earth.
“Afghan people are forced into a more and more desperate
measure of survival. Mother and their children are sitting in snowfall, begging
for money; parents are forced to sell their daughters into early marriage to
bring cash for their families.” Said Aken.
Source: Khaama Press
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9/11 unrelated to Afghans, we should not compensate
for its victims: protestors in several Afghan provinces
15 Feb 2022
Hundreds of people took to the streets of Kabul on
Tuesday, February 15, 2022, and condemned US president Joe Biden’s decision
over Afghanistan’s funds and asked him to stop enmity with the Afghan people.
Protestors said that 9/11 has no relation with the
Afghan people thus; they should not pay the compensation of the victims of the
attacks.
They asked for the executive order of Joe Biden to be
dissolved as the assets belong to the Afghan people not to any government.
Meanwhile, a similar demonstration was staged by
common people, money exchangers, and investors in Jalalabad city of the eastern
Nangarhar province in which people condemned the US decision.
Source: Khaama Press
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‘Imran Khan fears global pushback if Pakistan becomes
first country to recognise Taliban govt’
15 February, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], February 15 (ANI): Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran Khan is wary of adverse international pressure if Pakistan
becomes the first country in the world to recognise the Taliban’s interim
government in Afghanistan, stating that good ties with the global community are
necessary for Islamabad to recover from financial challenges, a recent media
report said.
“If Pakistan is the first to grant recognition, the
international pressure will become too much for us as we try to turn our
economy around,” said Imran Khan in an interview with French media outlet Le
Figaro.
The Pakistan Prime Minister also conveyed the
country’s inefficiency in paying back loans. “We could no longer pay our debts.
We can only recover if we have good relations with the international
community.”
“To be isolated by becoming the only state [to
recognise the Taliban regime] would be the last thing we would want,” he added.
Imran Khan also referred to the international
perspective over the recognition of the Taliban, saying the countries and
global organisations have sought for an inclusive government in Kabul and
demanded the Taliban to respect human rights and women rights, according to The
Express Tribune.
“As for the conditions for such recognition, there is
an international consensus that there must be an inclusive government in
Afghanistan. There is also the issue of human rights and women’s rights. The
Taliban government has made promises on these two issues. What more is needed
to make the world satisfied? That is the question,” said Pakistan PM.
Imran also conveyed that the new rulers in Kabul did
not give any concrete promises on the issue of women’s rights during a Taliban
delegation’s visit in December. “There were no concrete answers. They gave an
agreement in principle…You can not force them. There is a limit to what foreign
pressure can do to a government like the Taliban. Afghans should not be
expected to respect women’s rights as Westerners understand them.”
The Pakistan Prime Minister also said that the Taliban
have sought more times on the issue of girls education.
Imran also stressed a more stable government in Kabul
when asked about the consequences of the Taliban’s return to power and impact
on Pakistan as TTP scaled up attacks recently, according to The Express
Tribune.
Source: The Print
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Bangladesh Govt. For Sending More Imam, Muezzin To
Qatar
15 Feb 2022
DHAKA, Feb 15, 2022 (BSS) – The government wants to
send more imam and muezzin to Qatar.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Qatar Md Jashim Uddin came up
with the issue during a meeting with Qatar’s Religion Affairs Minister Ghanim
Shaheen Al-Ghanim on Sunday, said a press release here today.
During the meeting Bangladesh Ambassador Md Jashim
Uddin said if Qatar is interested, it can recruit more imam and muezzin from
Bangladesh.
He extended thanks to Qatar’s government for amending
their labour law and taking various welfare measures for migrant workers.
Qatar’s religious affairs minister Ghanim Shaheen
Al-Ghanim praised Bangladeshi imam and muezzin working in Qatar.
Source: BSS News
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https://www.bssnews.net/news-flash/44822
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Taliban's rise can revive terrorism in Asia and
Africa, India tells UN
Feb 15 2022
By Ateet Sharma
New Delhi, Feb 15: The leaders of terrorist
organisations in South Asia region continue to spread hatred against India
through internet platforms and social media and raise funds through fake
charities, crowdfunding and by portraying themselves as humanitarian NGOs and
non-profit organisations, India told the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) of
the United Nations' Security Council on Monday.
The CTC open briefing started with remarks from
Ambassador T S Tirumurti, the Permanent Representative of India to the United
Nations who is also the chief of the Counter-Terrorism Committee.
It was attended by officials from the UN
Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), INTERPOL, the UN
Office on Drugs and Crime and representatives from the Member States of South
and South-East Asia.
India's statement was delivered by Rajesh Parihar,
Counsellor at India's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, who, at the very
outset, reminded the attendees about the 40 brave men of Indian security forces
who were martyred in a dastardly terrorist attack carried out by Pakistan-based
Jaish-e-Mohammad in Pulwama, exactly three years ago on February 14, 2019.
As members deliberated on counter-terrorism approach,
India said that there is an urgent need for the UN Monitoring Team and
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to focus on non-traditional aspects of
terror financing.
"From the past few years, the UN member-States
have been ringing alarm bells about terrorists having access to modern and
emerging technologies such as internet, on mobile devices, social media,
encrypted messaging services and using them to spread hatred, radical
propaganda, fake narratives and carry out recruitment and terror
activities," said the Indian representative.
New Delhi reiterated that the UN-designated terrorist
groups, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harkat-ul-Mujahidin, and Jaish-e-Mohammad, as
well as their aliases and proxies continue to operate in the region targeting
civilians, security forces, places of worship, soft targets and critical infrastructure.
"The growth of extremist ideology in our
neighbouring state is bolstered by their patronage of radical outfits. The
mainstreaming of radicalism and communal ideology by the State has also
provided a fertile environment for the growth of terror infrastructure in the
region," Parihar told the gathering.
Urging the Counter Terrorism Committee, CTED, and the
Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team to pay a "close
attention" to the terrorist threat emerging from Al-Qaida, particularly,
their affiliates, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, India also raised
concerns about the return of Taliban in Afghanistan.
"In South Asia, under the Taliban, Afghanistan
once again is at the risk of becoming a safe haven for Al-Qaida, ISIL and a
number of other UN-designated terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and
Jaish-e-Mohamed," said Parhiar.
He reminded everyone that the 2021 report of the
Taliban Sanctions Committee and other reports have recognised the continuation
of links between Taliban, especially through the Haqqani Network, and Al Qaida
and other terrorist groups in India's neighbourhood.
Tirumurti, in his opening statement, also mentioned
how the Taliban's rise to power in Afghanistan poses a complex security threat
outside the region, "particularly in parts of Africa", where
terrorist groups may try to emulate the Taliban's example.
The CTC head mentioned the linkages between the
Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and terrorist entities proscribed by the Security Council,
such as Lashkar e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, are a further source of
concern.
All of this, he said, raises serious concerns about
Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for Al Qaida and a number of terrorist groups
in the region.
Source: Daiji World
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https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=927010
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Taliban says they did not allow Pakistan to continue
fencing along Durand Line
February 16, 2022
Durand Line has been a bone of contention between
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taliban on Tuesday said that it did not allow the
Pakistani government to continue fencing along the Durand Line.
Taliban’s acting Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqoob
Mujahid said that consultations are currently ongoing among high-ranking
officials within the Islamic Emirate, reported Tolo News.
Earlier, Pakistan’s interior minister Sheikh Rashid
Ahmed said that fencing along the Durand Line was more than 90 per cent
complete and he pledged it would be completed, but the Afghan acting defense
minister in an interview with National Radio and Television of Afghanistan
(RTA), said that so far Pakistan has not been allowed to complete the fencing.
“We have proposed this issue to the Council of
Ministers, as well as to the leadership. Consultations are underway on this
issue, and we will act on any guidance given to us by the leadership. We have
not allowed anyone to fence so far,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents who are living near the Durand
Line areas say they do not consider fencing on the Durand Line acceptable and
they called on the Taliban to take serious actions to prevent fencing the de
facto border with Pakistan, reported Tolo News.
Muhibullah Gharwal is a resident of one of the most
remote villages of Kunar near the Durand Line. He says the fencing along the
line is being done unilaterally and Pakistan should not be allowed to complete
the fencing.
According to residents, Pakistan not only continues to
fence along the line but also regularly attacks their villages with artillery,
which has made life difficult for people living in border villages near the
Durand Line, reported Tolo News.
“Occasionally Pakistani forces launch rocket attacks
on these villages, which has caused many problems for the people of Kunar,”
said Muhibullah Gharwal, resident of Marwah district of Kunar.
“This is an illegal and non-diplomatic act, the
Afghans have never accepted this line and will not accept it,” said Ahmad Khan
Andar, a political analyst.
Source: The Statesman
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Europe
The quiet flight of Muslims from France
February 14, 2022
Written by Norimitsu Onishi and Aida Alami
France’s wounded psyche is the invisible character in
every one of Sabri Louatah’s novels and the hit television series he wrote. He
speaks of his “sensual, physical, visceral love” for the French language and of
his attachment to his hometown in southeastern France, bathed in its distinctive
light. He closely monitors the campaign for the upcoming presidential
elections.
But Louatah does all that from Philadelphia, the city
that he began considering home after the 2015 attacks in France by Islamic
extremists, which killed scores of people and deeply traumatized the country.
As sentiments hardened against all French Muslims, he no longer felt safe
there. One day, he was spat on and called “dirty Arab.”
“It’s really the 2015 attacks that made me leave
because I understood they were not going to forgive us,” said Louatah, 38, the
grandson of Muslim immigrants from Algeria. “When you live in a big Democratic
city on the East Coast, you’re more at peace than in Paris, where you’re deep
in the cauldron.”
Before elections in April, President Emmanuel Macron’s
top three rivals — who are expected to account for nearly 50% of the vote,
according to polls — are all running anti-immigrant campaigns that fan fears of
a nation facing a civilizational threat by invading non-Europeans. The issue is
top of their agenda, even though France’s actual immigration lags behind that
of most other European countries.
The problem barely discussed is emigration. For years,
France has lost highly educated professionals seeking greater dynamism and
opportunity elsewhere. But among them, according to academic researchers, is a
growing number of French Muslims who say that discrimination was a strong push
factor and that they felt compelled to leave by a glass ceiling of prejudice,
nagging questions about their security and a feeling of not belonging.
The outflow has gone unremarked upon by politicians
and the news media even as researchers say it shows France’s failure to provide
a path for advancement for even the most successful of its largest minority
group, a “brain drain” of those who could have served as models of integration.
“These people end up contributing to the economy of
Canada or Britain,” said Olivier Esteves, a professor at the University of
Lille’s center on political science, public law and sociology, which surveyed
900 French Muslim émigrés and conducted in-depth interviews with 130 of them.
“France is really shooting itself in the foot.”
French Muslims, estimated at 10% of the population,
occupy a strangely outsize place in the campaign — even if their actual voices
are seldom heard. It is not only an indication of the lingering wounds
inflicted by the attacks of 2015 and 2016, which killed hundreds, but also of
France’s long struggle over identity issues and its unresolved relationship
with its former colonies.
They are being linked to crime or other social ills
through dog-whistle expressions like “zones of non-France,” used by Valérie
Pécresse, the center-right candidate now tied with the far-right leader, Marine
Le Pen, for second place behind Macron. They are singled out for condemnation
by far-right television pundit and candidate Éric Zemmour, who has said that
employers have the right to deny jobs to Black and Arab people.
The tenor of the race has stoked dread as they watch
it from abroad, say Louatah and others who have left, speaking with a mix of
anger and resignation of their home country, where they still have family and
other strong ties.
The places he and others have settled, including
Britain and the United States, are not paradises free of discrimination for
Muslims or other minority groups, but those interviewed said they nevertheless
felt greater opportunity and acceptance there. It was outside France that, for
the first time, the simple fact that they are French was not questioned, some said.
“It’s only abroad that I’m French,” said Amar Mekrous,
46, who was raised in a Paris suburb by his immigrant parents. “I’m French; I’m
married to a Frenchwoman; I speak French; I live French; I love French food and
culture. But in my own country, I’m not French.”
Finding the suspicion surrounding French Muslims
oppressive after the 2015 attacks, Mekrous settled with his wife and three
children in Leicester, England.
In 2016, he created a Facebook group for French
Muslims in Britain, which now has 2,500 members. Newcomers to Britain surged
before Brexit, he said, adding that they were mostly young families and single
mothers who found it difficult to find jobs in France because they wore the
Muslim veil.
Only recently have academic researchers begun to form
snapshots of French Muslims who have left. They include the research project
into the emigration of French Muslims led by academics affiliated with the
University of Lille, a leading French university, and the National Center for
Scientific Research, the French government’s main research institution.
Separately, researchers at three other universities —
the University of Liège and K.U. Leuven in Belgium, and the University of
Amsterdam in the Netherlands — have been working on a joint project looking at the
emigration of Muslims from France, as well as from Belgium and the Netherlands.
Jérémy Mandin, a French researcher involved in the
study at the University of Liège, said many young French Muslims had been
disillusioned “that they had played by the rules, done everything that was
asked of them, and ultimately been unable to lead a desirable life.”
Elyes Saafi, 37, a marketing executive at the London
operations of StoneX, an American financial firm, grew up in Remiremont, a town
in eastern France, where his parents settled after arriving from Tunisia in the
1970s. His father operated a spinning machine at a textile factory.
Like his own parents, Saafi ended up making a new life
in a new country. In London, he met his wife, Mathilde, who is French, and found
an easygoing diversity unimaginable in France.
“At corporate dinners, there might be a vegetarian
buffet or a halal buffet, but everybody mingles,” he said. “The CEO shows up,
and he has a turban on his head, and he mixes with his employees.”
The Saafis miss France, but they decided not to return
partly because of worries about their 2-year-old son.
“In Britain, I’m not worried about raising an Arab
child,” Mathilde Saafi said.
In 2020, anti-Muslim acts in France rose 52% over the
previous year, according to official complaints gathered by the government’s
National Human Rights Commission. Incidents have risen in the past decade,
rising sharply in 2015. A rare official investigation in 2017 found that young
men perceived as Arab or Black were 20 times more likely to have their
identities checked by police.
In the workplace, job candidates with an Arab name had
a 32% less chance of being called for an interview, according to a government
report released in November.
Despite her degrees in European law and project
management, Myriam Grubo, 31, said she was never able to find a job in France.
After a half-dozen years abroad — first in Geneva at the World Health
Organization and then in Senegal at the Pasteur Institute of Dakar — she is
back in Paris with her parents. She is looking for work — abroad.
“To feel like a stranger in my country is a problem,”
she said, adding that she just “wanted to be left alone” to practice her faith.
Rama Yade, a junior minister for human rights during
the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, said that France’s denial of problems like
police violence had made matters worse. She saw the current backlash in France
against “wokisme” — or supposedly “woke” American ideas on social justice — as
“nothing else but a pretext to no longer fight discrimination.”
When Yade — born in Senegal in a Muslim family — was
appointed a junior government minister in 2007, she believed it would be a
“starting point.” But after an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2017, she
left for the United States.
“My glass ceiling was political,” said Yade, 45, who
is now senior director of Africa at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based
think tank.
To her, the presidential race’s focus on immigration
was the “consecration of 20 years of deterioration” in a political culture
obsessed with national identity. She had quit her political party — for which
Pécresse is now the candidate — because, Yade said, it had become “very hostile
to anything that did not represent a fantasy version of French identity.”
Source: Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://indianexpress.com/article/world/france-muslims-islam-macron-7772937/
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German broadcaster Deutsche Welle fires 2 more Arab
employees
15.02.2022
BERLIN
Two Palestinian journalists were sacked Tuesday from
Germany’s international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, for alleged antisemitic
comments.
The dismissals come one week after the news
organization let go of five Arabic staffers.
The dismissals of Zahi Alawi and Yasser Abu Muailek
came after social media posts from 2014 surfaced that were allegedly
antisemitic, according to reports in German media.
The posts in question referred to Facebook posts by
Alawi and Abu Muailek that condemned the Israeli offensive on the blockaded
Gaza Strip in 2014.
“What the terrorist state of Israel is doing to the
Palestinians is a repeated Holocaust,” Alawi wrote on his Facebook page in July
2014.
Deutsche Welle announced last week that it fired five
journalists from its Arabic service after a two-month investigation into
allegations of antisemitism.
The organization has long been criticized for biased
coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But management at Deutsche Welle has argued that
Germany bears special responsibility for the country, due to Nazi crimes
committed against Jews during World War II.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Russian defence minister visits Syria
Elena Teslova
15.02.2022
MOSCOW
The Russian Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that
its chief, Sergey Shoygu, arrived in Syria to supervise a military drill in the
Mediterranean Sea.
Shoygu visited military objects rented by Russia from
Syria -- Khmeimim Air Base and naval point in Tartus – according to the
ministry.
He also visited the capital, Damascus, and had a
meeting with Bashar al-Assad, at the instruction of Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
"Sergey Shoygu and Bashar Assad discussed
different questions of military and technical cooperation of the countries in
the framework of the joint fight against the leftover of bands of international
terrorists, as well as separate issues of providing humanitarian assistance by
Russia to the population of Syria, suffering from restrictive sanctions of the
US and Western countries," it said.
In January, the Russian Defense Ministry announced a
series of large-scale military drills "in all areas of
responsibility" for the Russian Navy.
The drills will be held in the waters of the seas
adjacent to Russian territory, as well as in "operationally important
areas of the World Ocean," it said in a statement. "Separate
exercises will be held in the waters of the Mediterranean, Northern, Okhotsk
Seas, in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Pacific Ocean.”
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/russian-defense-minister-visits-syria/2503625
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Russia sends 2 fighter jets with hypersonic missiles
to Syria
Elena Teslova
15.02.2022
MOSCOW
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday it
redeployed two fighter jets with hypersonic missiles to Syria.
The Tu-22M3 and MiG-31K aircraft successfully landed
at the Khmeimim Air Base that Russia rents from Syria, the ministry said in a
statement.
The planes will take part in a Russian Navy military
drill in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, it said.
"The crews of the Russian Airspace Forces carried
out a flight from the points of dislocation, covering over 1,500 kilometers
(932 miles). During the drill, the pilots of long-distance aviation will perform
assigned tasks," according to the ministry.
The drill will be held in the waters of the seas
adjacent to Russian territory, as well as in "operationally important
areas of the World Ocean," it said. "Separate exercises will be held
in the waters of the Mediterranean, Northern, Okhotsk Seas, in the northeastern
part of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Pacific Ocean," it said.
More than 140 warships and support vessels, over 60
aircraft, 1,000 units of military equipment and about 10,000 military personnel
will be engaged in the exercises, it added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Arab
World
Russia sends hypersonic-armed fighter jets to Syria
for naval drills: Report
15 February ,2022
Russia has deployed MiG-31K fighter jets with
hypersonic Kinzhal missiles and long-range Tupolev Tu-22M strategic bombers to
its air base in Syria for naval exercises, Interfax news agency reported on
Tuesday, citing the defence ministry.
The aircraft dispatched to Russia's Hmeimim air base
will take part in exercises in the eastern Mediterranean, part of a surge of
Russian military activity amid a standoff with the West over Ukraine and
security in Europe.
Moscow announced on Jan. 20 that its navy would stage
an array of exercises involving all its fleets from the Pacific to the
Atlantic, drawing on 10,000 servicemen, 140 warships and dozens of planes.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Damascus has been a
staunch ally of Moscow since Russia launched an air strike campaign in Syria in
2015. Apart from the Hmeimim air base, Russia also controls the Tartus naval
facility.
Russia sent fighter jets with Kinzhal missiles for the
first time last year after expanding the runway at the base to handle such
aircraft, said Rob Lee, a military analyst at the US-based Foreign Policy
Research Institute.
He said the deployments pointed to Russia's growing
military presence in the Middle East and its ability to operate in different
regions and to project power.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Erdogan calls on UAE’s private sector to invest in
Turkey
15 February ,2022
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged private
companies from the United Arab Emirates to invest in Turkey following a long
period of regional friction.
“Our common goal is to take our bilateral relations to
a much higher level in every domain,” Erdogan said on Tuesday during a
televised news conference in Abu Dhabi.
Turkey and the UAE signed a series of cooperation
agreements ranging from defense industry to trade and economy on Tuesday.
Source: Al Arabiya
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YPG/PKK rocket attack kills 4 civilians in Azaz, Syria
Omer Koparan
15.02.2022
AZAZ, Syria
Four civilians were killed in northwestern Syria due
to a rocket attack by the YPG/PKK terrorist group.
According to initial reports, 12 more people were
injured in the opposition-held town of Azaz, which was the target of rockets
fired from the nearby city of Tal Rifaat.
The injured were transferred to a nearby hospital amid
fears that the number of casualties could rise.
Opposition forces responded to the attack with
artillery fire on the terror group's positions in Tal Rifaat.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/ypg-pkk-rocket-attack-kills-4-civilians-in-azaz-syria/2503544
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UN special envoy for Yemen condemns Houthi attacks on
UAE
February 15, 2022
LONDON: The UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg
echoed the Secretary-General's condemnation of recent Houthi attacks on the UAE
on Tuesday.
Speaking at a Security Council meeting, Grundberg said
that following Houthi attacks on the UAE last month, including a drone attack
in Abu Dhabi that killed three people, “it should be obvious to everyone just
how high the stakes have become.”
He continued: “The Secretary-General has condemned
these attacks and I echo that condemnation.”
He added that Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the
UAE “indicate how this conflict risks spiralling out of control unless serious
efforts are urgently made by the Yemeni parties, the region, and the
international community to end this conflict.”
The Yemen envoy added that ending the war in Yemen is
a choice and is possible despite the challenges.
“There is a way out of this war, allowing the war to continue
is a choice, and so is ending it,” he told the council.
“We all know that ending it will not be easy, but I
firmly believe that it is possible,” he added.
He said that dialogue and compromise are required if
Yemenis are not to be left suffering until parties to the war are tired of
fighting.
“A political process under UN auspices is our best way
forward,” he said.
Grundberg said that he is developing a framework that
will set out his plan to move towards an inclusive political settlement,
including the establishment of a multi-track process.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2025576/middle-east
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Israel’s PM Bennett concludes historic visit to
Bahrain to deepen ties
February 16, 2022
LONDON: Bahrain agreed to step up cooperation with
Israel on Tuesday, hosting a first visit by its leader Naftali Bennett.
The Israeli premier concluded a two-day visit to
Manama, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and several international naval task
forces, in a first by any Israeli leader following the 2020 normalization of
bilateral relations.
Bennett held talks with King Hamad earlier on Tuesday
to discuss strengthening strategic and security relations to address regional
challenges, including nuclear threats, terrorist activity, religious extremism,
poverty and social issues, Bahraini news agency BNA reported.
“The two sides also discussed at length ways to enhance
civil, economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries to secure
peace and achieve prosperity,” BNA said.
King Hamad said Bennett’s visit will be “fruitful and
successful” due to his “determination and leadership toward an integrated joint
effort” to achieve the best interests of both countries.
Bennett described his trip as a chance to forge a
common stand against Iran and its allies including Yemen’s Houthis, whose
attacks on the United Arab Emirates this year jarred the oil-producing region.
“We are trying to form a new regional architecture of
moderate countries (to) provide stability, economic prosperity and to be able
to stand strong against enemies who are fomenting chaos and terror,” Bennett
told reporters.
The two countries agreed to expedite negotiations on
investment protection agreements and jointly work to expedite a tax agreement
that would provide the infrastructure to promote safe trade cooperation, a
joint statement said.
They also agreed to support and encourage trade and
mutual visits of senior officials, and deepen ties between their two peoples
through cultural exchange and educational and academic cooperation.
The two governments agreed on a process of building a
bilateral plan dubbed the “Warm Peace Strategy” that would prioritize several
sectors including food security, water, sustainable energy, trade and
investment.
Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa has
accepted an invitation to visit Israel, the Gulf state’s Foreign Minister
Abdullatif Al Zayani said, adding the trip should happen in “the near future.”
Bennett met with government ministers and members of
Bahrain’s Jewish community on Tuesday. In a town hall with Bahraini civil
servants and journalists, Bennett stressed the need to increase trade and other
links.
“We don’t have enough trade, we don’t have enough
tourism — and that is what this visit is all about,” Bennett said.
“I’m going to be your ambassador there (in Israel). I
want to ‘sell Bahrain’,” he added.
Bennett also met with the US commander Vice Admiral
Brad Cooper, the premier’s office said, stressing the fleet’s role in
maintaining regional stability in the face of threats.
The US Navy is considering adding unmanned Israeli
boats to its joint Middle East operations, a US official said earlier in the
day, a move that could deepen Israel’s military involvement in the Gulf and
further anger Tehran.
Israel is due to become the 29th country to post an
attache to the Fifth Fleet’s Manama headquarters, officials said, adding the
as-yet unnamed envoy would likely be of navy captain or commander rank.
“It’s about keeping the lines of communication open”
bilaterally between Israel and the fleet, a US official said, referring to the
plan to station the envoy in the Gulf kingdom.
Israel has not formally confirmed the appointment.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2025671/middle-east
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Mideast
Yemen’s Ansarullah Chief: Alliance with US, Israel
Represents ‘Greatest Hazard’ to Muslim World
2022-February-15
“The most serious hazard to Muslim nations is
association with their implacable and bitter enemies, namely the United States
and Israel,” Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi said at a ceremony in the capital Sana’a on
Monday evening as he received a group of tribal leaders from the Al-Jubah and
Al-Abdiyah districts of the central Yemeni province of Ma’rib. Presstv
reported.
He said the enemies are trying to strike the Muslim
Ummah (community) from within, adding that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) are playing the leading role in pursuit of the foes’ goals.
“Our main duty is to unite the Ummah and foster
brotherhood among Muslims,” Houthi pointed out.
He made clear that “those who have opted to side with
enemies and joined their ranks have actually committed an act of high treason
against their homelands and nations”.
“Anyone who sides with Saudis and Emiratis has in fact
allied himself with the US and Israel,” the Ansarullah chief noted.
Earlier this month, Houthi warned against forging an
alliance with the United States.
“Anyone who thinks they will be victorious by allying
themselves with the Americans is seriously wrong and their certain destiny is
loss [and defeat],” he was quoted as saying on February 3.
The Ansarullah leader also called the UAE “Americans’
primary tool” in the ongoing Yemen war, stressing that the Abu Dhabi regime has
upped the ante by launching more airstrikes against Yemen under orders from the
US, Britain, and the Israeli regime.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies,
backed by the United States and European powers, launched the war on Yemen in
March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni President
Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah
resistance movement.
The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead
and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and
spread famine and infectious diseases there.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Israeli flag set on fire as Bahrainis protest
Bennett’s visit, normalization
15 February 2022
Bahraini protesters have set the Israeli flag on fire
during fresh protests against a two-day visit by the Tel Aviv regime's prime
minister Naftali Bennett to the tiny Persian Gulf island.
Pictures and footage that emerged from the Tuesday
rallies in the capital Manama and elsewhere across the country showed
protesters setting the flag ablaze, trampling on it, and holding up placards
that read, “Naftali go out.”
The rallies took place amid strict security measures
adopted by the country’s security forces.
The security forces cracked down on the demonstrations
in the eastern Bahraini island of Sitra, arresting a number of the protesters.
The participants in al-Musalla near the capital
chanted slogans against the kingdom’s ruling Al Khalifah regime and demanded an
end to normalization of the country’s relations with the occupying regime.
Bennett’s trip, which started on Monday, marked the
first visit by an Israeli premier since Manama and Tel Aviv established ties
under a 2020 United States-sponsored normalization deal.
Bahrainis had taken to the streets across the country
on Monday to protest the Israeli official’s trip and mark the anniversary of
the country’s 2011 revolution against the island’s ruling regime.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/02/15/676915/Bahrain-protests-Israeli-flag-fire-Naftali-Bennett
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Islamic Jihad: Resistance not to remain silent on
Israeli crimes in Sheikh Jarrah
15 February 2022
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement says it will
not stand idly by as Israeli military forces and Jewish settlers brutalize
Palestinians in the occupied East al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah.
Khaled al-Batsh, a member of the Islamic Jihad's
Politburo, said in an interview with Palestine Alyoum news website on Tuesday
that the resistance group was capable and ready to start a new battle if
necessary in response to the ethnic cleansing taking place in Sheikh Jarrah.
The Islamic Jihad member warned about what is
happening in Sheikh Jarrah, stressing that the resistance group would not
remain silent on what was going on in the occupied East al-Quds neighborhood
and would not stand idly by if the abuses and ethnic cleansing against the women
and men of Palestine continued.
Batsh put emphasis on the unity of Palestinians and
resistance groups against the Israeli occupation forces and said, "If the
enemy wants to transfer the battle to Gaza in order to take legitimacy, the
resistance is capable of moving the battle into the depths of the entity."
Batsh added that, "The resistance will bring down
[Israeli Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett's government, and he will pay the
price for his crimes against Sheikh Jarrah, as happened with the criminal Benjamin
Netanyahu."
Batsh called on the people of the occupied West Bank
and East al-Quds to take urgent action to support the people of Sheikh Jarrah,
prevent the demolition of their homes, and stop the organized ethnic cleansing
taking place in the neighborhood.
Tensions heightened across the Palestinian territories
on Sunday, when Israeli forces and illegal settlers renewed their attacks
against the Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah.
Sheikh Jarrah has been the scene of frequent
crackdowns by Israeli regime forces on the Palestinians protesting against the
threatened expulsion of dozens of families from their homes in favor of Israeli
settler groups.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Israel lobbying US on behalf of UAE to re-blacklist
Yemen's Ansarullah
16 February 2022
At the United Arab Emirates’ behest, Israel has
reportedly been lobbying the administration of US President Joe Biden to
designate Yemen's popular Anasarullah movement as a "terrorist group.”
Former US president Donald Trump added Anasarullah to
the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations during his final
days in office, but his successor, Biden, reversed the decision.
Last year, the US Department of State reversed a
last-minute decision by the ex-administration, which put the Houthis on the US
list of “foreign terrorist groups” and subjected them to sanctions.
Following the escalation in Yemen’s counterattacks
against the UAE last month, Biden said a re-designation of Ansarullah was
“under consideration.”
On Tuesday, an Israeli official told The Times of
Israel that Abu Dhabi has stepped up its lobbying for the blacklisting of the
Yemeni group and enlisted Tel Aviv in the effort.
Israel has told American officials that re-imposing
the designation would curb Iran’s regional influence, the official added.
“We’re not doing this only for the Emiratis. We believe such a step is in
everyone’s interest.”
Additionally, an Israeli source familiar with the
matter said that the US National Security Council has warmed to the idea of
re-designating Ansarullah, while others in the Biden administration remain more
hesitant.
Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, who heads the US
House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was looking "very carefully"
at the re-designation issue and was in conversation with other officials.
However, many rights groups have warned that such a
move could jeopardize humanitarian work in Yemen and endanger the population.
Saudi Arabia launched a devastating war on its
southern neighbor in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allied
states and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western
countries.
The aim was to return to power the former
Riyadh-backed regime and crush the popular Ansarullah movement which has been
running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/02/16/676933/Israel-US-UAE-Ansarullah
--------
Israel sends diplomats to Vienna for nuclear talks,
Iran says ‘obstacle to progress’
15 February ,2022
Israel sent a delegation to Vienna to make its voice
heard regarding the ongoing Iran nuclear talks for the first time, an action
that displeased Tehran
The delegation is headed by Joshua Zarka, the deputy
director general for strategic Affairs at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, according
to the Times of Israel.
Zarka met with Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to
talks on the nuclear pact, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Director General, Rafael Grossi.
Ulyanov tweeted: “Israeli colleagues from the capital
and their Permanent Mission in Vienna visited us today. We discussed
#IAEA-related issues.” Zarka responded by thanking Ulyanov for a “frank and
important discussion.”
Israel’s delegation is also scheduled to meet with US
officials taking part indirectly in the nuclear negotiations, as well as all
parties to the abandoned 2015 nuclear pact - China, France, Germany, and UK,
all except for Iran.
Iran’s Nour News, affiliated with the country’s top
national security body, tweeted a response to Israel’s presence in Vienna
saying: “The unexpected presence of the Zionists in Vienna is undoubtedly an
obstacle to the current sensitive situation.”
It added: “The discussions of the representatives of
the Zionist entity with Grossi and Ulyanov, whatever their purpose, will only
be a step towards the role that this entity plays in its self-destruction.”
Currently, tensions are high over whether or not the
Vienna talks to revive the abandoned nuclear accord would succeed.
As Iran’s long-time foe, Israel strongly opposes the
2015 nuclear deal and doesn’t want the US to return to it under Joe Biden’s
presidency.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Turkey sending senior officials to Israel ahead of
Herzog visit
15 February ,2022
A team of senior officials from Turkey will travel to
Israel ahead of President Isaac Herzog’s planned trip to Ankara, the Turkish
foreign ministry said on Tuesday, as the regional rivals work to repair ties
after years of animosity.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief foreign policy
adviser Ibrahim Kalin and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, will lead a
delegation on February 16-17, the foreign ministry said, adding the officials
would also meet Palestinian authorities.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News
channel online or via the app.
Israel and Turkey expelled ambassadors in 2018 and
relations have remained tense, but Ankara has since worked to mend strained
ties with several regional countries in a charm offensive launched in 2020.
Ankara, which supports a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has condemned Israel’s occupation of the West
Bank and policy towards Palestinians. Israel has called on Turkey to drop
support for the militant Palestinian group Hamas, which runs Gaza.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said Ankara
would not turn back on support for Palestinians for the rapprochement.
Israel’s presidency and foreign ministry said Kalin
and Onal would visit to coordinate Herzog’s planned visit and hold talks with
officials following discussions in Turkey in December.
The delegation was also expected to meet Palestinian
officials including President Mahmoud Abbas, the foreign ministry said.
Herzog will visit Turkey from March 9-10, Turkish
media said on Tuesday.
The two countries are also at odds over policies in
the east Mediterranean, namely over energy resources in the region. While often
engaging in insults and accusations, trade and commercial ties between Turkey and
Israel have remained intact.
Erdogan has said energy cooperation could be discussed
during Herzog’s visit.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Yemen releases footage of drone attacks on targets
deep inside Saudi Arabia, UAE
16 February 2022
Yemen’s Armed Forces have released new footage
depicting their retaliatory drone attacks on targets deep inside Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates.
Yemen’s War Media outlet issued the footage on
Tuesday, hours after the Armed Forces’ spokesman Yahya Sare’e announced its
release.
The exact date of the reprisal counterattacks in the
footage is not clear.
The Yemeni forces have recently escalated their
missile and drone attacks against the Persian Gulf countries, which are
arch-allies in a 2015-present war on the impoverished Arab country.
For more than six years, the Riyadh-led war on the
besieged Arab country, aimed at re-installing the regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansour
Hadi, has spawned the most horrible humanitarian disaster.
The protracted war has killed hundreds of thousands of
Yemeni civilians and turned the largely mountainous country into the scene of
the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The United States, first under Barack Obama and later
under Donald Trump and Joe Biden, has been the Saudi-led coalition’s partner in
the devastating war that has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead and
displaced millions more.
The US and its Western allies, especially the UK, have
backed the horrific war in Yemen by supplying lethal arms to Riyadh and its
allies, chief among them the UAE, as well as logistical and political support.
Despite the global conspiracy to crush the Yemeni
resistance forces, they have only grown stronger, leaving Riyadh and its
allies, most notably the United Arab Emirates, bogged down with losses.
The Yemeni forces have recently staged at least three
major rounds of retaliatory strikes against the UAE in the space of a single
month, and conduct similar counter-raids against Saudi Arabia on an almost
daily basis.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/02/16/676924/Yemen-video-counterstrike-Saudi-Arabia-UAE
--------
North
America
Saudi cabinet says supports US efforts to prevent Iran
from acquiring nuclear weapons
15 February ,2022
Saudi Arabia’s government expressed on Tuesday its support
for “US efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” state news
agency SPA reported.
The government also thanked the US for supporting the
Kingdom defending its territory against attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi
militia, SPA said, citing a statement issued after a cabinet meeting.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US congressional delegation to travel to Israel,
Germany, UK
Servet Gunerigok
15.02.2022
WASHINGTON
A US congressional delegation led by House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi will travel to Israel, Germany and the UK,
her office said Tuesday.
The trip will focus on security, economy and
governance, the office said in a statement.
She said the first stop would be Israel, where they
will meet Israeli leaders and leaders in the civic community to discuss the
prospects for a two-state solution and regional security.
"At the Munich Security Conference, our delegation
will reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the transatlantic partnership,
especially in the face of worldwide challenges to democracy and the rise of
autocratic threats.
"In London, our delegation will deepen our
interparliamentary dialogue on how we can continue to work together to counter
antidemocratic forces and advance our shared values and interests in the global
arena," she added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-congressional-delegation-to-travel-to-israel-germany-uk/2503555
--------
Effect and influence of the Iranian revolution on
global geopolitics
Tuesday, 15 February 202
Iran's Islamic revolution came about mostly in
response to US influence in the country. That is not to say that America was
the greater evil in the league of successive modern super powers.
But this was the power running the show in this
country according to comments by an embittered US diplomat.
The comments were made days after Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini returned to Iran in February 1979 when demonstrators briefly attacked
the US Embassy in Tehran.
As he prepared to leave Iran the US diplomat said:
"We used to run this country. Now we do not even run our own
embassy".
The trends continued to a point where the Iranian
revolution could be called a movement against the American world order.
This is evident in the regional and global
geopolitical change that has come about since the revolution, which was
conceived as a dialogue determined to change Iranian society, politics and
economy,
With the British withdrawal from the Persian Gulf in
1971 Iran had become the cornerstone of America's security architecture for
protecting Western interests in the region.
As both the pivot in the price hike and the sole
regional leader willing to break the Arab oil embargo, the Shah had made
himself equally consequential for energy markets and the global economy,
according to the Brookings Institute.
To both the British and Americans Persia, or Iran, was
literally a geopolitical gold mine; rich in oil, it lay between Russia (the
USSR) and the warm waters of the South leading to India.
And from an East West perspective, Iran still remains
the nexus between Asia and Europe.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, a bipolar
system was formed gradually by which the world was economized by the powers,
the US and the Soviet Union, capitalism versus communism.
It was almost as if no nation could even imagine
independence.
However, some might involve themselves in serving
dependent seeking movements from time to time; their endeavors would merely
result in them going under the influence of the Soviets instead of the
Portuguese.
Many examples of this could be seen at that time in
the world.
Javad Mansouri, Historian
However and from whichever angle you look at it, the
Islamic Revolution of Iran brought immense political loss and shock to the
Anglo Saxon ‘empire’.
What comes as a surprise, however, is how anyone might
have been shocked by the revolution when rumblings of trouble in Iran had been
evident for years, especially in 1978, the year running up to the revolution.
Yet, the then US President, Jimmy Carter, who was
fully aware of the ongoing trouble called Iran an island of stability in a
turbulent corner of the world.
That was in 1978 the year before the revolution and
the final flight of the Shah from Iran.
The Iranian revolution may have come as something of a
surprise since, unlike most revolutions, it occurred when the state was far
from weak by any stretch of the imagination.
The outcome of the revolution was unimaginable for
them.
Reports released by various American entities during
the revolution, both the US Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA, and the State
Department, indicated that things had happened in Iran and developments were
underway, but not as fast as they had surmised.
Some of the reports even conjectured that the Pahlavi
regime would remain in power, at least for the next decade.
This is in effect indicative of the fact that the
American equations had failed to predict the developments in Iran.
Mahdi Fazaeli, Political Analyst
A study published in the CIA's in house journal
concluded that it wasn't insufficient information causing the fiasco of US
policy towards Iran from 1978 to 1979.
In fact, the US had compiled a substantial amount of
accurate information and analyses regarding major events in Iran, particularly
the anti Shah protest marches and riots.
Despite everything America was taken by surprise when
the unrest actually grew into a large scale sweeping revolution, which left US
President Jimmy Carter with a new reality.
Recently declassified information has documented the
Carter administration's efforts to broker a peaceful transition directly with
Imam Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, after the Shah of
Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, had left, did not get him or anyone else very far.
This brings to the fore a lingering question as to
whether Imam Khomeini made use of support by external powers, whether left or
right, to gain power then carry out his own agenda, or whether he had no such
support to begin with.
Neither the Americans nor anyone else expected a
revolution of such epic proportions, at least not so suddenly and not so soon
or to have such nationwide support its founder.
At home, for many an American, the uprising in Iran
intensified the sense of futility surrounding America's role in the world.
The Islamic Revolution has faced the enmity of
superpowers from the very beginning. They built a front against it. When we say
superpowers we mean that the then Soviet Union joined America against us.
While differing on numerous issues, these two
superpowers accompanied each other on confronting the Islamic Republic, the
Islamic Revolution and the system [which] emerged from Imam Khomeini’s efforts.
The European powers and their followers such as the
regional rogue states and others are the same. They built a front against the
Islamic Revolution.
What is the reason for this enmity? We should never
forget this point. The reason for this enmity was simply that the Islamic
system had rejected the norms of the domineering regime.
Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic
Revolution
One of the outstanding features of the nature of the
revolution has been remains fighting arrogance. When the revolution succeeded,
the most formidable US base in the region was crushed. The base the Americans
revered as the paragon of stability.
Based on research by American scholars that have been
released as books, even as early on as in November 1978, almost 100 days before
the victory of the Islamic Revolution, this outcome wasn't unimaginable for
them.
When the Pahlavi regime was toppled and the greatest
US stronghold in one of the world's most sensitive regions, both in terms of
energy supply and geopolitics, American grandeur was hit severely and
Washington was badly struck.
Mahdi Fazaeli, Political Analyst
Against other modern powers, whether before or
parallel to it, America, one could say was a benevolent power, so why did the
Imam think to revolt against the Shah and the American order?
Back in 1964 Imam Khomeini never spoke of a revolution
what he sought was primarily a reform movement. He even advised the Shah,
telling him to stop being a US lackey and practice dignity. He would also
advise the army, he would never support armed resistance.
Every time armed insurgents sought the Imam's advice
on armed conflicts, he would overrule such conflicts outright. I was witness to
many such occasions.
So it is very safe to say that Imam began as a
reformist back in the early 60s. Later on, the Imam sought Islamic vigilance as
an approach.
This might be a term used these days but it is a fact
that the Imam's movement was substantially seeking vigilance by which people
would be awakened towards Islamic matters or national interests and confront
the Shah, with such vigilance.
Hossein Kanani Moghadam, International Anti-Zionism
Association
Carter himself finally acknowledged this, lamenting:
"Iran was not ours to lose in the first place. We don't own Iran, and we
have never had any intention or ability to control the Internal Affairs of
Iran".
What the US was left with was a black swan national
security crisis, with a catastrophic impact on American domestic and foreign
politics, Instead of merely seeking to deter Soviet influence via regional
allies adjacent to the Soviet Union or socialists, greater Russia.
The United States would now have to contend with a
hostile power in this strategically vital region.
At home, for many an American, the upheaval in Iran
intensified the sense of futility surrounding America's role in the world.
This feeling had become prominent since the aftermath
of the Vietnam War.
The New York Times, in an article published in March
1979, questioned how the Shah, a monarch who commanded more tanks than the
British Army, more helicopters than the United States First Cavalry in Vietnam,
could be pressured so neatly out of power?
In effect, we demonstrated the world with a new model
of revolution which is relying on the informed masses. The political,
revolutionary, Shia Islam, which values martyrdom and relying on the leadership
of political and religious Marja, which gave birth to a new source of power in
the world.
Maybe some people still don't understand the power of
these three elements. When joined together, this power has literally dismantled
the basics of the West's ideology both before and after the Islamic Revolution.
Javad Mansouri, Historian
When Iranian sentiments were stirred by uncalled for
US interference during what has come to be known as the 1953 coup, which ousted
the democratically elected oil nationalization era Prime Minister, Dr Mohammad
Mossadegh, to strengthen the position of the Shah.
Declassified documents released in 2017 revealed the
CIA's central role in that coup via Operation Ajax, the UK also plays its part
under Operation Boot.
The Americans replaced the British after the 1953
Iranian coup d’état. Since then, the Iranian people grudgingly remember the
presence of Americans in the country.
More than 40,000 military advisors were in our country
from the US with Americans involved in almost all the key sectors of the
country and actually manipulated them.
Besides, the Shah himself was completely manipulated
by them.
Under the dictatorship, and the conditions created by
the SAVAK in Iran, with all the torture and disregard for human rights, such
things were viewed by the Iranian public as being supported by the USA.
Mahdi Fazaeli, Political Analyst
After Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's attack on the
recently established Islamic republic of Iran in 1980, America's physical
presence in the Middle East or West Asia took on new colors.
It was cause to enter the region in support of Saddam
especially since the war had spread through the Persian Gulf and threatened the
oil pipelines.
Arab monarchies south of the Gulf sided with Saddam in
their fear of an Iran that was both a regional power and now, a revolutionary
regional power with a zest for toppling kings.
Much later with Saddam Hussein's terrible error in
judgment, taking the bait and attacking Kuwait. Since then the US is grip
became enduring in the Middle East.
The string of attacks in this region started in 2001
with Afghanistan.
The main point of interest here is how a capitalist
power such as the US, previously happy to interfere and exploit the country
economically in return for services and even technology, albeit without a user
or service manual, was now having to come in guns blazing.
The string of invasive US military undertakings
appears to have been a struggle by Washington to hold on to its interests
rather than a show of complacent and titled power.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once
said, quite rightly, that nothing is more dangerous than a falling empire.
Perhaps the best example of this in modern times would be the devastating US
wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Iran's revolution appears to have created courage also
in the people throughout the region to revolt where they see fit when facing
dictatorship, i.e. the Arab Spring that was triggered in 2010.
The emergence of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the moral boost
provided to Shia forces in Iraq, the regional Cold War against Saudi Arabia and
Israel, lending an Islamic flavor to the anti imperialist, anti American
sentiment in the Middle East.
This was the most important byproduct of the Iranian
Revolution, according to Mehrzad Boroojerdi, Professor of Political Science at
Syracuse University.
Iran created Hezbollah in Lebanon opening the second
front against Israeli ambitions, which has always been to take over everything
from the Nile to Euphrates.
Recently, Israel has actually been voicing how it
wants the Middle East to break down into small states. It appears that Israel
has forgotten that it is itself an uninvited guest in this region.
The Imam (Ayatollah Khomeini) was an anti-Zionist
figure right from when he said the Zionists were a cancerous tumour. Likewise,
we do see that the anti Zionist resistance forces have performed in the region.
And this is one of the ambitions of Imam that has been achieved as he had
imagined, and today we have the Global Quds Day,... Imam was anti apartheid,
anti racism and his foreign policy approach in dealing with South Africa, the
regional issues and anti USSR when he sent a message to Gorbachev.
All these showed the structural transformation in East
West relations.
Hossein Kanani Moghadam, International Anti-Zionism
Association
As for the impact of various wars on Iran's
extraterritorial influence, interestingly, Saddam's attack on Iran strengthened
the revolution, giving it a firm base to export its message beyond Iranian
borders because the Iranians united in their fight against an external threat.
The irony of the success of US attacks on this region
in the early 2000s, on the other hand, is that the United States invasion of
Iraq and Afghanistan eliminated Iran's two biggest rivals in the region, the
Taliban and Saddam Hussein, and left Iran as the most important player in the
region, which is why the Arabs are so scared. This all started with the
revolution.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has no doubt changed
regional and global politics. Before the fall of communism there was a West
versus East scenario with players lining up on either side to win the support
of either America or the Soviet Union.
But Iran came up with a scenario of neither East nor
West. This appeals to an international audience watching and listening as Iran
went from modernizing to attempting to adopt the simple lifestyle of the
Prophet Muhammad.
Our revolution is a dynamic movement en-route to
materialize its ambitions.
Theoretically, in every revolution various methods are
adopted in order to reach an evolution, one such method is revolution within a
revolution. As you see, the Imam occasionally named certain moves as a
revolution bigger than the first revolution, like the takeover of the US
Embassy.
So this means we are on the path to completion. We can
never say the revolution is fulfilled.
Hossein Kanani Moghadam, International Anti-Zionism
Association
How the early days of the revolution unfolded in Iran
was that initially authority was inherited from Iran's final monarchy by a
coalition of Muslim clerics, as well as leftists, and to a lesser degree,
liberals, and the Islamic Republic that was established in the months following
the revolution has held fast as a clerical system of governance.
Not surprisingly, it's swept in with a message of
independence from foreign interference and oppression for Iranians and the
world. And this appears to have given rise to, as well as inspired, Islamic and
Muslim movements ever since.
After the victory of the revolution we witnessed a
wave of Islamism throughout the globe.
Even in the region the wave is different in various
countries, but both given the existence of the Zionist regime and their agenda,
and given the conditions of the regional regimes in terms of their governance,
the revolution's ambitions, which are human ambitions, are not limited to the
geography of Iran.
As we and many scholars maintain that the French
Revolution was not just a French Revolution, the Islamic revolution was also
not just an Iranian revolution but an Islamic movement whose ambitions may be
welcome anywhere in the world.
Mahdi Fazaeli, Political Analyst
The Iranian revolution can be seen as an anti American
movement, which despite its confrontation with the world's largest military
power, has been able to gradually reach a point where militarily the courage to
confront Iran has vanished.
Also, economically Iran is turning a corner and once
it passes that corner there should be no other special weakness left for the
Americans to exploit in its endeavors against this country.
After the 2009 sedition regarding certain signs within
the country that were transmitted to the Americans, the new US strategy was
maximum pressure, as it felt that the Islamic Republic of Iran had weak points
in this field [sic].
They believe by putting pressure on the weak points,
they would have reached their goals and defeated the Revolution by placing
people before the establishment.
Such economic pressure would end people's resistance,
in which case, they would stand against the revolution and the US goals would
be reached from within the country. This never happened.
Of course, we did witness events which were primarily
caused by a lack of prudence on the part of the previous administration, like
the gas related events and the like. Anyhow, the results pursued by the
Americans wouldn't be realised.
As I told you, the American State Department spokesman
explicitly announced that Washington's maximum pressure policies had failed
terribly and the three goals designed by Trump for the policies had also
failed.
Mahdi Fazaeli, Political Analyst
Looking at the way things are going, Iran's economy
might soon grow by five to 7% or inflation might come down to 20%. So we're at
the source of an economic turning point.
Would you say that the economic war the US has waged
against us is going to pay off for the US henceforth?
Since the year 2000 the Americans have been pursuing a
hybrid war against Iran; there is an intelligence war, physiological war,
economic war, economic terrorism, military war, terrorist groups as well as cultural
and scientific war.
They are working on all fronts, some time the maximum
pressure policies that are introduced by Obama and then Trump and then Biden
only change the severity of the indices of the wars, while some times the
control index is stronger while economic aspect of the war come slower, other
times the economic war becomes stronger and the military war becomes weaker.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
14 Muslim separatists surrender to Philippine govt
Joseph Peter Calleja
February 15, 2022
Fourteen members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom
Fighters (BIFF) separatist group swore allegiance to the Philippine government
on Feb. 14 after having handed
themselves in to authorities in Mindanao following a series of such surrenders
this year.
The formal surrender was attended by senior military
officials at a military camp in Midsayap, Cotabato province.
“They expressed their desire to live peaceful lives.
So, as a sign of their allegiance to the Philippine flag, they surrendered
their AK-47 assault rifles and B40 anti-tank rockets,” army spokesman Major
General Juvymax Uy said on Feb. 15.
He said the rebels had surrendered a few days earlier
in Maguindanao province.
The group included three children who claimed they had
been indoctrinated into fighting for an independent Mindanao state.
“They were aged 14 to 17 years. They know how to
handle firearms because they underwent special training,” Uy added.
The children will be placed under the care of the
Social Welfare Department and will not face prosecution.
The BIFF is a separatist organization that has
continued a long-running insurgency in the southern Philippines to achieve an
independent Muslim state.
The group broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF), which struck a 2012 peace deal with the government under late
President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino in return for greater autonomy in the region.
BIFF fighters, however, together with the Abu Sayyaf
group, remained adamant that they would only accept an independent Muslim state
governed by strict Muslim laws.
Abu Sayaff has been responsible for a series of
kidnappings and beheadings over the years, including those of two Canadian
tourists in 2015.
It has also targeted Catholic priests. In 2007, the
group kidnapped Father Giancarlo Bossi in Zamboanga del Sur province in
Mindanao. He was later released following reports of a ransom being paid. Irish
priest Father Michael Sinnott was abducted in the same province in 2009 and
released a few months later.
Source: UCA News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/14-muslim-separatists-surrender-to-philippine-govt/96116#
--------
Philippine police say foiled Hamas plot to target
Israelis
February 15, 2022
MANILA: Philippine police said on Tuesday they have
uncovered an alleged “terror” plot by Palestinian group Hamas designed “to wage
a proxy war” in the Southeast Asian country.
The Philippine National Police said Hamas attempted to
“establish a foothold in the Philippines” by pledging financial support to
local threat groups and recruiting Filipinos to “carry out terrorist
activities” against Israeli nationals.
“The police intelligence community has uncovered
attempts by a known foreign terrorist organization to wage a proxy war in the
country,” the PNP said in a statement.
In a video message, Brig. Gen. Neil Alinsangan,
director of the PNP’s Intelligence Group unit, identified Fares Al-Shikli, also
known as Bashir Hisham, as the Hamas operative in charge of recruiting
militants in the Philippines.
“Our Filipino source identified the Hamas operative as
‘Bashir’ who was reportedly attempting to establish a foothold in the
Philippines with pledges of financial support to some local threat groups
including militant extremists with links to the international terrorist
organizations,” Alinsangan said.
Filipino authorities further cited the unnamed source
as saying that Al-Shikli is currently residing in Turkey. The alleged Hamas
operative is believed to be responsible for identifying new areas of activity
for Hamas and strengthening the group’s activities globally and was allegedly
involved in developing Hamas military infrastructure in Libya and Sudan.
Alinsangan said the source had met Al-Shikli during
trips to Malaysia between 2016 and 2018, where they “discussed the possibility
of mounting attacks against Israeli nationals” in the Philippines.
“Their meetings in Malaysia…include [discussions] on
recruitment of Filipinos that will be utilized to kill Jews present in the
country, conduct rallies at the Israeli embassy, and spread major propaganda
against Israel,” Alinsangan said.
The source also told the police that Al-Shikli had
introduced theoretical bomb-making training during one of their meetings.
Alinsangan said Hamas had previously attempted to
stage activities in the Philippines, pointing to the 2018 arrest of Iraqi
national Taha Mohammed Al-Jabouri, “a chemist with knowledge of explosives,”
who was accused of having links to the Palestinian organization. However,
Al-Jabouri was arrested due to his expired visa and was later deported from the
Philippines.
Source: Arab News
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of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2025371/world
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Lawyer: Woman seeking to have ‘Islam’ removed from IC
not renouncing faith, only reversing unilateral child conversion
15 Feb 2022
BY KENNETH TEE
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 — A lawyer representing a
Malaysian Chinese woman, who was unilaterally converted to be a Muslim as a
child and wants the court to restore her as a Buddhist, has insisted her case
was not of “renunciation” of Islam.
In the judicial review fixed for full hearing today,
lawyer Shamsher Singh Thind told the High Court that her conversion to Islam by
her father when she was 10 years’ old was “void from the beginning”.
Shamsher said his client, now 42, held on to the
Federal Court’s decision in a case involving Hindu mother M Indira Gandhi’s
successful bid to quash her Muslim convert ex-husband’s unilateral conversion
of their three children to Islam without their knowledge and without her
consent.
The Federal Court decided in that case said the term
“parent” in the Federal Constitution’s Article 12(4) referred to both parents
if they were still alive and capable of giving consent to a child’s religion.
Article 12(4) states that a minor’s religion shall be
decided by his “parent or guardian” in matters involving Article 12(3), namely
religious instruction or religious worship. Article 12(3) holds that "no
person shall be required to receive instruction in or to take part in any
ceremony or act of worship of a religion other than his own".
“She has never recited the Shahadah (the proclamation
of faith to convert to Islam) until today. Therefore, she cannot be considered
a Muslim.
“The requirement under Section 117 of the
Administration of the Religion of Islam (Selangor) enactment is not fulfilled,”
Shamsher said, in referring to the state enactment where it is clearly stated
that both the mother and the father must agree to their children’s conversion.
Senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly, who is
representing the National Registration Department (NRD), told the court that
the government agency had only acted based on evidence produced at the material
time in rejecting the woman’s bid to obtain a new personal identification card
without the word “Islam”.
He argued that the agency’s action consequently could
not be construed as unconstitutional or unlawful based on the circumstances at
that time.
“The NRD had asked her for the Shariah Court order,
but the evidence submitted to the department was merely her statutory
declaration in rejecting the word ‘Islam’ as well as her conversion
certificate.
“We are not the authority or expert to determine the
status of her religion,” he said, adding that the NRD is willing to give the
woman a new MyKad if she can show evidential proof of her renouncing the
religion.
Lawyer Datuk Kamaruzzaman Muhammad Arif, who was
appearing for Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais), affirmed that any
individual wishing to remove “Islam” from their identification card must obtain
a Shariah Court order and present it to the NRD.
“Legally she is a Muslim. This is a renunciation case.
She was given an adult MyKad with the word ‘Islam’ on it when she turned 18
years’ old.
“There was no challenge before and after she became an
adult to question the conversion until she was 42 years old,” he said.
After hearing submissions from parties, High Court
judge Datuk Noorin Badaruddin then fixed March 22 to deliver her decision on
the woman’s legal challenge.
Born in Singapore in 1980 to a Chinese couple both of
the Buddhist faith, the woman said that her father in February 1990 converted
to Islam and in October 1990 registered her with the Selangor Islamic Religious
Department (Jais) as a Muslim when she was aged 10 and that she was then given
a new name.
However, the woman said that her mother had never
become a Muslim, and that her mother had never given permission to the father
to change her religion as a child from Buddhism to Islam. The couple later
divorced in 1993. The woman said the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais)
did not ask her mother’s consent before registering her as a child as a Muslim.
Since turning 18 or becoming an adult in 1998, the
woman said she has been practising Buddhism and is also living with her mother.
The woman said she had never professed or practised
the Islam faith and that she had never uttered the “shahadah” or the Muslim
proclamation of faith when one embraces Islam, while also saying that the NRD
does not have records to show that she had became a Muslim after turning 18.
On August 24, 2020, the woman said she had renounced
the use of her current name and had made a statutory declaration to seek for a
new MyKad to restore her original name and had also sought for the word “Islam”
to be dropped from the replacement identity card.
On August 28, 2020, the woman applied at the NRD’s
Ipoh branch in Perak for the replacement identity card, but an NRD counter
officer refused to accept and process the application unless she produced
orders from the Shariah High Court.
After receiving no response from the NRD to an October
2020 letter of demand seeking for the new identity card, the woman on November
12, 2020 filed for judicial review against the NRD director-general, the
Malaysian government and the Mais.
The Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) had previously
objected to the woman’s application for leave for judicial review, citing three
reasons, including that her challenge was allegedly out of time as it should
have been filed within three months from her October 1990 conversion to Islam.
The AGC had also objected to the woman’s lawsuit by
saying that the civil High Court has no jurisdiction to grant her the court
orders due to the Federal Constitution’s Article 121 (1A), arguing that the
matter is allegedly tantamount to a declaration of someone no longer being a
Muslim that would fall under the Shariah court’s jurisdiction.
Source: Malay Mail
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A mother’s appeal: I will even convert to Islam, just
give me back my children
15 Feb 2022
BY OPALYN MOK
SEBERANG PERAI, Feb 15 — Single mother and chef Loh
Siew Hong said she was desperate to have her children back home, and that she
would even embrace Islam if this was needed.
The 35-year-old said today that she was willing to
convert if this meant she would be reunited with her three children, aged
between 10 and 14.
“All I want is to have my children home with me.
Yesterday, when I met my children, my daughter asked me to convert to Islam and
I told her that I don’t mind, I will become a Muslim as long as they can come
home with me,” she told a press conference held with Tamilar Kural Malaysia
president David Marshel today.
She said her children were already hugging her and
willing to go home with her when she visited them at a children’s home in Kedah
under the care of the Perlis Welfare Department.
Loh said she had entrusted the welfare department with
her children yesterday after meeting them for the first time in three years at
the Kangar district police headquarters.
“I told the welfare officer to contact me if they
needed anything and I will get it for them but I never expected that they would
not allow me to visit them today,” she said.
“I was told to get my Covid-19 tests done with the
results so I prepared everything and was going to visit them when the welfare
officer called me at about 12.40pm today to say that I am not allowed to visit
them due to the increase in Covid-19 cases in the country,” she added in
between tears.
She said the welfare officer told her yesterday she
only needed to take daily RTK antigen tests and show negative results before
being allowed to visit her children so she did what was necessary.
“I only want to see my children so that they can come
home with me soon,” she said.
According to David, his sources claimed that the
welfare department had again shifted the three children to another home in
Arau, Perlis.
“Using the rise in Covid-19 cases as an excuse is
unacceptable because even now, all schools remain open, all kindergartens under
the welfare department remain open, all economic sectors are open and even the
state elections are allowed, so why can’t a mother be allowed to visit her
children?” he asked.
He stressed that Loh has a court order granting her
full custody of her three children, meaning there was no valid reason for the
welfare department to prevent her from visiting her children.
“She only allowed her children to be placed under the
welfare department’s care temporarily pending her habeas corpus application at
the Kuala Lumpur High Court on February 21 for the children to be officially
handed back to her,” he said.
He demanded that the Perlis Welfare Department explain
why Loh was not allowed to visit her children.
“I also want the women, family and community
development minister, Rina Harun, to explain as the welfare department is under
her ministry,” he said.
He said the minister has remained silent over the whole
issue and demanded that the minister do something about this.
He said they will give the Perlis Welfare Department
and the ministry one day to explain why Loh was blocked from visiting her
children.
“If we don’t get an explanation from the department or
ministry, we will lodge more police reports against all the parties involved
and demand for action to be taken including returning the three children to
their mother,” he said.
He said Loh is on unpaid leave and has been living
with a friend in Butterworth since February 10 to find and get her children
back.
“This is not a religious issue at all, this is about a
mother wanting her children back with her,” he stressed.
Source: Malay Mail
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Africa
Islamic group tackles ASUU over comments on Pantami’s
Professorship
February 15, 2022
By Seun Opejobi
The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has tackled the
Academic Staff Union of Nigeria, ASUU, regarding the ministerial appointment of
the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Ibrahim Ali
Pantami.
MURIC’s Director, Ishaq Akintola, said ASUU was yet to
learn its lessons, stressing that the body’s stance on Pantami’s professorship
was the joke of the century.
ASUU had yesterday declared Pantami’s Professorship as
‘illegal.’
The academic body had vowed to sanction its members in
the Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, and the University’s
Vice-Chancellor over the minister’s appointment.
National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke,
said it is impossible to be a Minister and a lecturer at the same time.
Osodeke had said the minister’s promotion would
encourage illegality.
The union gave Pantami the option of quitting his job
as a Minister, saying he is currently not qualified to be treated as a
professor.
Osodeke had disclosed this during a press conference
in Lagos yesterday.
Frowning at ASUU’s stance, MURIC said the academic
body was yet to learn its lesson.
The Islamic organization said ASUU lacked the “locus
standi” to declare an appointment and promotion ratified by the university’s
council illegal.
In a statement he signed, Akintola said: “The Academic
Staff Union of Universities yesterday declared Professor Pantami’s professorial
appointment as illegal. It is the joke of the century.
“It is trespass. ASUU national should know its limits.
Again, is there any section of the ASUU constitution that empowers it to
override appointments made by universities? This is an affront. No more, no
less.”
The Islamic organization wondered when ASUU began to
wade into procedures for “promotion or appointment of the academia in any
Nigerian university?”
“Is ASUU dancing to the gallery by championing the
hate campaign of a section of the country? But will ASUU be able to carry all
its branches along? For instance, will Northern universities see things the way
ASUU national sees them? ASUU national will divide this body again if it
continues this way. Remember that many other universities have formed other
lecturers’ associations because of bullying from the centre.
“One expects ASUU national to have learnt its lesson
by now. There is a world of difference between fighting the collective cause of
all members and fighting your own member or fighting a particular branch. This
is a fight you cannot win. What came out of the conflict between ASUU national
and its UnIlorin branch? Who blinked first? Ilorin dealt with ASUU national and
got away with it.
“It is quite amusing that ASUU national threatened to
sanction those who participated in the process that led to what ASUU called
‘illegal’ appointment. It is an empty threat. Unions are not held together by
the force of threats. They are kept alive by good leadership, tolerance and
sacrifice.
Source: Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://dailypost.ng/2022/02/15/islamic-group-tackles-asuu-over-comments-on-pantamis-professorship/
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More than 100 Sudanese detainees start hunger strike,
including politicians
15 February ,2022
More than 100 Sudanese detainees, including
high-profile politicians, began a hunger strike on Tuesday, allied lawyers and
doctors said.
The detainees are part of the protest movement against
an October 25 army coup that ended a civilian-military power-sharing
arrangement that followed the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat President Omar
al-Bashir in 2019.
The coup prompted mass protests during which 81 people
have been killed, most recently two on Monday, and more than 2,000 injured,
according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors.
“More than 100 unlawful detainees in Soba prison
entered today in an open hunger strike due to their unjustified and illegal
detention,” the Defense Committee for the Unlawfully Detained and Martyrs of
Arbitrary Killings said in a statement.
The group said separately that one suspect in the
killing of a police brigadier-general had been tortured while another was in
solitary confinement. Reuters was trying to reach officials for comment on the
allegation.
Civilian politicians Khalid Omer Yousif and Wagdi
Salih were taking part in the hunger strike, said Abdelqayom Awad, a member of
Yousif’s Sudanese Congress Party.
Along with former Sovereign Council member Mohamed
al-Faki Suleiman who was arrested on Sunday, the men face corruption charges
apparently stemming from their work on a taskforce dismantling the network of
Bashir.
The Sovereign Council was a body of civilian
politicians and military men set up after Bashir’s overthrow to lead a
transition to democracy.
It was dissolved after the October coup, setting back
those plans. Military leaders say the coup was necessary due to political
infighting and for the country’s security, but they say they are still
committed to elections in mid-2023.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Gunfire, explosions rock Somalian capital in militant
attacks
16 February ,2022
Gunfire and explosions went off in Somalia’s capital
Mogadishu in the early hours of Wednesday as al-Shabaab militants attacked
police stations and security check points, the internal security minister said.
Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab, which aims to topple the
central government and impose its severe interpretation of Islamic law, carries
out frequent attacks against the government, including attacking a minibus
carrying election delegates last week.
“The terrorists attacked the suburbs of Mogadishu and
targeted our police stations and check points,” Abdullahi Nor, the minister,
wrote on Twitter.
“Our security defeated the enemy.”
Source: Al Arabiya
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Libyan crisis deepens as Tobruk-based parliament
chooses new premier
Aydoğan Kalabalık
15.02.2022
TRIPOLI, Libya
The crisis in Libya has deepened with the Tobruk-based
House of Representatives (HoR) parliament in the country's east choosing former
Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha as prime minister last Thursday, while current
Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh has vowed to continue in the post.
The failure to hold discussions on the legitimacy of
Libya's Government of National Unity, originally scheduled on Dec. 24, has led
to differences of opinion in the west of the country as well.
Arriving at Tripoli's Mitiga Airport late Thursday,
Bashagha was greeted by a group of supporters. No legal sanctions were imposed
on him and he did not encounter any obstacles.
Dbeibeh on Friday went to Misrata, his and Bashagha’s
hometown located east of Tripoli, and held talks with local administrations and
some military officials there.
Following that, it was announced that a military force
from Misrata would head toward Tripoli on Saturday to bolster the legitimacy of
the state and force the parties to hold presidential and parliamentary
elections.
Later, a written statement from the 21 brigades in
Misrata, reacted to the election of Bashagha as prime minister. The statement
said the HoR parliament acting alone on the political and constitutional
process is unacceptable.
On Saturday, around 200 heavily armed military
vehicles, including two Turkish-made Kirpi, arrived in Tripoli from Misrata in
the evening. A group that introduced themselves as the "Libyan army
support force" in Martyrs' Square condemned the decision of the HoR
parliament to elect Bashagha as the new prime minister.
The group denounced "the state of absurdity that
contradicts the outcomes of the political dialogue forum and wants the country
to enter new transitional stages."
Decisions taken in the House of Representatives in its
last meeting in Tobruk were not "in accordance with fair and transparent
procedures," it said.
It voiced "strong support for parliamentary
elections, the referendum on the constitution, and presidential elections as
soon as possible”.
Evaluation from Libyan streets
Khaled al-Mishri, president of the High Council of the
State of Libya, said the evaluation meeting, which should be held after the
election of the new prime minister, was postponed and they did not take a final
position on the issue. Al-Mishri said he would accept the objections in the
next session of the council.
Evaluations from the Libyan streets indicate that if
al-Mishri had also announced support for Bashagha as prime minister, the
Dbeibeh government would have fallen.
Following the remarks of al-Mishri, Dbeibeh, who does
not look kindly on the fact that the elections will be held shortly, said he
would change his stance and make a statement on Feb. 17 on the elections
coinciding with the anniversary of the revolution.
The HoR parliament had announced that Khaled Bibas,
who was Bashagha’s only rival in the elections, had withdrawn from the race.
However, Bibas denied having withdrawn and accused
Libyan parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh of having lied by announcing his
withdrawal.
Different scenarios
Different scenarios are emerging regarding the
situation in the west of the country.
The first scenario is that the Dbeibeh government will
continue to work but Bashagha also establishes a parallel government.
In this case, the possibility of Bashagha forming the
government in Sirte, the hometown of ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi, to avoid
the possibility of armed conflict is being discussed because some names,
especially those who supported the eastern part of the country, had expressed
their opinion about moving the capital to Sirte.
The possibility of Dbeibeh withdrawing from the race
is also being discussed. But it is considered a weak possibility. Dbeibeh is
seen as the prime minister who has served and invested the most in the country
in a year since protests that started in 2011. He has quite high popular
support in the west of the country.
The third possibility is that Mohamed al-Manfi, the
chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council, dissolves the HoR parliament, the
Libyan State Supreme Council and the government and declares a state of
emergency.
It is considered difficult for former ambassador
al-Manfi and his assistants to show the will to take such a decision, and even
if they do, the stable environment in the west of the country may deteriorate
again.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Algeria president announces youth unemployment benefit
February 15, 2022
ALGIERS: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said
Tuesday that the government would introduce youth unemployment benefits as the
North African nation struggles with a jobless rate of almost 15 percent.
The payments will be made “to preserve the dignity of
young people,” Tebboune said in an interview broadcast on Algerian television.
Algeria will offer its jobless a monthly grant of
13,000 dinars (around $100), a decision aimed at alleviating the economic
crisis,d Tebboune told reporters.
The allowance — equivalent to nearly two-thirds the
minimum wage of 20,000 dinars ($142) — will begin in March.
It will be accompanied by medical benefits, while some
taxes on consumer products will also be suspended, Tebboune said.
Algeria, Africa’s biggest gas exporter with around 45
million people, earns some 90 percent of its state revenues from hydrocarbons.
Tebboune said the youth payments were part of the 2022
budget.
In November, lawmakers voted to scrap generous state
subsidies on basic goods that had long helped maintain social peace, but that
had strained state budgets as energy revenues fell.
Meanwhile, the Algerian leader also said that an Arab
League summit will be held in the fourth quarter of this year, after previously
announcing that it would be postponed.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2025611/middle-east
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/indian-secularism-hijab-religious-jingoism-/d/126384