'Girls and Boys Sitting Together In Class Is Dangerous': Kerala Indian Union Muslim League Head Slams Gender-Neutral Education
New Age Islam News Bureau
20 August 2022
Kerala Indian Union Muslim
League (IUML) general secretary in-charge PMA Salam (Source: Keralakaumudi)
-----
• Pakistan, India Can't Afford another War: Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
• USCIRF Says Release of Convicts ‘Part of a Pattern’
In India; Condemns the “Unjustified” Release
• UN to End Travel Ban Exemptions for Taliban
Officials
• Nigeria Activists Concerned as Secular Court Upholds
Shariah Court Trial for Blasphemy
India
• Aligarh Muslim University to Explore Collaborations
in the Gulf in Areas of Innovation, Start-Ups and Entrepreneurship
• Court Fines Anjuman Intezamia Masjid for Delaying
Hearings in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri Case
• Bilkis Bano case: TRS MLC Kavitha writes to CJI
• Muslim Couple Invites Hindu Seer Home, Perform
‘Padapooja’ (Surrendering To A Guru) In Karnataka
• Muslim activist who opposed MP govt’s bulldozer
action held under NSA
--------
Pakistan
• Can Parliament Make ‘Self-Serving’ Laws, Wonders CJP
• Islamabad Admin Denies PTI Permission to Hold Rally
Today Against Alleged Torture on Shahbaz Gill
• Pakistan again urges US to unfreeze Afghan assets
• MQM warns of reviewing decision to participate in
Sindh LG polls
• JUI-F starts protest sit-in against lawlessness in
Bajaur
--------
North
America
• US Court Sentences Daesh/ISIS 'Beatle' El Shafee
Elsheikh To Life In Prison
• CAIR condemns Islamophobic attack on Muslims
protesters in US
--------
Europe
• 9 EU countries voice concern over Israeli raids on Palestinian
NGOs
• Ukrainian president appreciates Turkish counterpart
for supporting territorial integrity
• Sweden preparing to deport PKK terror suspect
• Plagued by cost-of-living crisis, UK resorts to
war-torn Syria with offer of lower tariffs
• Mali welcomes French military pull-out, vowing
improved security
--------
Africa
• Shabaab Militants Attacked Hayat Hotel in Somali
Capital, At Least 12 Killed
• Oyebanji won’t stop war against rape in Ekiti –
Attorney-General assures
--------
South
Asia
• Participants at Kandahar Gathering: World Should
Recognize Islamic Emirate
• Afghanistan: Peace at a price in the Taliban’s
heartlands
• For Afghanistan’s Immediate Neighbours, Cautious
Engagement With the Taliban
• Anti-Taliban protests erupt in Pakistan border areas
--------
Mideast
• Iranian Diplomat Meets Islamic Jihad Representative,
Ihsan Ataya, At the Latter’s Office in Beirut
• Spokesman: CIA-Led 1953 Coup Recalls Dark Days for
Iranians
• Top Commander: IRGC Navy Planning to Widen Presence
in High Seas
• Israel announces plans to grant more work permits
for Palestinians from Gaza
• Erdogan says Turkey not looking to seize Syrian
territory
• Palestinian man killed in Israeli West Bank raid:
Palestinian ministry
--------
Arab
World
• Iraqi Shia Leader Reaffirms Support for JCPOA
Revival in Meeting with MBS
• Attack on Rushdie highlights divisions among
Lebanese Shia
• Supporters of Iraq’s Al-Sadr Step up Pressure Tactic
with Weekly Prayer in Green Zone
• Five children among 14 killed in shelling on north
Syria market
• Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan ink multiple deals worth
over $12.5B: Report
• Turkish forces ‘neutralize’ 5 YPG/PKK terrorists in
northern Syria
• Russia: HTS militants, White Helmets preparing
false-flag chemical attack in Syria’s Idlib
• Nasrallah says there will be no calm in region if US
mediator rejects Lebanon’s demands
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Malaysian Anti-Extremism Group Links Brain Drain to
Insults against Minority Faiths
• No submissions from us, says Najib’s lead counsel
• Boustead forensic audit report on LCS ‘to be
declassified’
• Umno will ‘win big’ if elections this year, says Dr
M
• Cabinet approves central agency to handle forfeited
assets
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/iuml-gender-neutral-education-kerala/d/127762
--------
'Girls and Boys Sitting Together In Class Is
Dangerous': Kerala Indian Union Muslim League Head Slams Gender-Neutral
Education
Kerala Indian Union Muslim
League (IUML) general secretary in-charge PMA Salam (Source: Keralakaumudi)
-----
19 AUG 2022
Criticising the Kerala government's gender-neutral
education system, Kerala Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) general secretary in
charge PMA Salam on Friday sparked controversy by claiming that it is
"dangerous" to let boys and girls sit together in a classroom.
According to a report by Kerala media, he said,
"Gender neutrality is not a religious issue; it is a moral issue. I am
against the attempt to bring in liberalism. Efforts are being made to impose
gender-neutral uniforms."
He further claimed that with gender-neutral reforms,
children would go "astray".
Salam's statement comes at a time when the Kerala
government's efforts to introduce a gender-neutral education system in the
state.
A report by India Today quoted Salam, "It is
dangerous. What is the need for girls and boys to sit together in classrooms?
Why are you forcing them or creating such opportunities? It will only cause
problems. Students will deviate from studies."
Salam would "urge" the Kerala government to
withdraw the reforms of the gender-neutral education system.
Earlier, the Muslim organisations had accused the
ruling-Left government of bringing in liberal ideology in educational institutions
that would destroy religious values.
Source: Outlook India
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original story:
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Pakistan, India Can't Afford another War: Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Shehbaz Sharif
----
Aug 20, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has
reiterated his country's strong resolve to maintain peace in the region, but
added that sustainable peace in South Asia was linked to the resolution of
Jammu and Kashmir issue in line with the UN resolutions and the wishes of
Kashmiris, and nothing short of it would work.
"We want permanent peace with India through
dialogue as war is not an option for either of the countries," The News
quoted the premier as saying said while speaking to a group of students from
the Harvard University.
Sharif pointed out that Islamabad and New Delhi should
have competition in trade, economy and improving the conditions of their
people.
Pakistan was not an aggressor, but its nuclear assets
and the professionally trained army are deterrence, he said, adding: "We
spend on our military to protect our frontiers and not for aggression,"
The News reported.
The delegation consisted of students from diverse
origins and academic backgrounds.
The Prime Minister welcomed students and held a candid
discussion about contemporary challenges Pakistan was facing today.
In response to a question about the national economy
and the IMF programme, the premier said that Pakistan's economic crisis stem
from structural problems along with political instability in the recent
decades.
He said the first few decades since the inception of
Pakistan witnessed impressive growth across all sectors of the economy when
there were plans, national will and the implementation mechanism to produce
outcomes.
"Overtime, we lost the edge in sectors in which
we were ahead. The lack of focus, energy and policy action led to reduction in
national productivity."
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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USCIRF Says Release of Convicts ‘Part of a Pattern’ In
India; Condemns the “Unjustified” Release
Bilkis Bano, a survivor of
the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, has said the premature release of all
the 11 convicts has shaken her faith in justice and left her numb.(File Photo)
-----
Aug 20, 2022
The US Commission of International Religious Freedom
(USCIRF) on Friday strongly condemned the “unjustified” early release of 11 men
convicted in the Bilkis Bano case. They were sentenced to life for raping a
pregnant Muslim woman and murdering her five-year-old daughter and 13 others
during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
“USCIRF strongly condemns the early and unjustified
release of 11 men sentenced to life in prison for raping a pregnant Muslim
woman and committing murder against Muslim victims during the 2002 Gujarat
Riots,” USCIRF Vice Chair Abraham Cooper said in a statement.
Calling the early release of the convicts a “travesty
of justice”, USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck said it was part of a “pattern
of impunity” for those involved in the violence against religious minorities.
“The failure to hold accountable perpetrators of the
2002 Gujarat Riots who committed physical & sexual violence is a travesty
of justice. It's part of a pattern of impunity in India for those engaged in
violence against religious minorities," USCIRF quoted Schneck as saying.
The BJP-led Gujarat government has been facing ire for
approving the early release of the convicts under its old 1992 remission
policy. While those convicted for murder with rape or gang rape do not come
under the scope of the revised policy, a senior official of the Gujarat
government said the release was considered under the state's old remission
policy because it was in effect in 2008 when they were pronounced guilty in the
case.
Thousands of grassroots workers and women and human
rights activists have urged the Supreme Court to revoke the remission, saying
the release will have a "chilling effect on every rape victim who is told
to ‘trust the system’, ‘seek justice’, and ‘have faith'."
The Congress party has questioned the neutrality of
the review panel that granted the remission saying two BJP MLAs were part of
the panel.
“There is an interesting side story to the grant of
remission to 11 persons convicted for gang rape in Gujarat. Among the Review
Panel were two BJP MLAs Shri C. K. Raolji and Smt Suman Chauhan!”
"Another member was Shri Murli Mulchandani who
was a key witness for the prosecution in the Godhra Train burning case!"
he alleged on Twitter.
Source: Hindustan Times
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original story:
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UN To End Travel Ban Exemptions for Taliban Officials
United Nations
----
Aug 20, 2022
UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations is set to end
travel ban exemptions for 13 Taliban officials Friday, pending any deal by
Security Council members on a possible extension, diplomats told AFP.
Under a 2011 UN Security Council resolution, 135
Taliban officials are subject to sanctions that include asset freezes and
travel bans.
But 13 of them were granted exemptions from the travel
ban to allow them to meet officials from other countries abroad.
In June, the 15-member UN Security Council's
Afghanistan Sanctions Committee removed two Taliban education ministers from
the exemption list over the regime's curtailment of women's rights.
At the same time, they renewed the exemption for the
others until August 19, plus a further month if no member objected.
Ireland objected this week, according to diplomatic
sources.
China and Russia have called for an extension, while
the United States has sought a reduced list of the officials allowed to travel
and the destinations they can travel to.
The latest proposal on the table would allow just six
officials to travel for diplomatic reasons, diplomatic sources told AFP.
If no member of the Council objects by Monday
afternoon, it will come into force for three months.
In the meantime, the exemptions for the 13 officials
end at midnight on Friday.
Among the 13 are Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani
Baradar and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai.
They were instrumental in negotiations with the US
government of then-president Donald Trump which led to a deal in 2020 paving
the way for America's withdrawal from Afghanistan.
A spokesperson for the Chinese mission at the UN,
which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, this
week called the Western position linking the travel ban to human rights
"counterproductive."
The exemptions are "needed as much as ever,"
the spokesperson said, adding that if reimposing a travel ban is all other
members of the Council want to do, "clearly they have learned no lessons
at all."
Despite their promises to be more flexible after they
seized power in August last year, the Taliban have largely reverted to the
harsh Islamist rule that characterised their first stint in power from 1996 to
2001.
In particular, they have severely restricted the
rights and freedoms of girls and women, calling for them to don burkas,
effectively halting girls' education and systematically removing women from
Afghan workplaces.
No country has so far recognised the government.
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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Nigeria Activists Concerned as Secular Court Upholds
Shariah Court Trial for Blasphemy
FILE - Lawyers are
pictured in a courtroom during a hearing of a blasphemy case in Kano, Nigeria,
Jan. 21, 2021.
-----
August 19, 2022
Timothy Obiezu
ABUJA, NIGERIA
—
Supporters of free speech in Nigeria are expressing
concern after a federal court ruled this week that a singer appealing his death
sentence for blasphemy must have his case retried in a Shariah court.
Yahaya Aminu Sharif's lawyer argued his case should be
tried in a secular court and challenged the legality of Nigeria’s Islamic
courts, which critics say threaten free speech.
But in its decision delivered Wednesday on Zoom, the
Kano state appeals court ruled 2-1 that Islamic law does not violate the
national charter and that Islamic courts have jurisdiction to try blasphemy
cases.
The ruling dismissed a challenge filed by Sharif's
lawyer, Kola Alapinni, questioning the legality of the death sentence. One of
the judges, Abubakar Muazu Lamido, said the challenge was not backed by law,
and that it was "more out of sentiment.”
An Islamic court in Kano sentenced Sharif to death in
August 2020 for allegedly circulating a song that blasphemed the Muslim Prophet
Mohammed on social media.
In November, the Kano High Court overruled the
sentence and ordered a retrial at the Shariah court, stating that Sharif did
not have any legal representation during his trial.
Different appraisals
Activists are raising concerns about the appeals court
ruling. Abuja-based human rights lawyer Martin Obono called it a threat to free
speech. But Kano state Attorney General and Justice Commissioner Musa Abdullahi
Lawan praised the judgment, calling it a victory for Kano citizens.
Sharif's lawyer has yet to respond to the court's
decision, but he has been opposing Shariah, saying it contravenes the Nigerian
Constitution. Islamic scholar Fuad Adeyemi, who serves as executive director of
the Al-habibiyyah Islamic society, rejects that assertion.
Shariah, he said, is sometimes "misapplied by
people who are not professionals in the handling of it. It's strictly meant for
Muslims to regulate the lives of the Muslims. It doesn't concern any
non-Muslim.”
Shariah is more dominant across the 12 northern
Nigerian states, with a strong base in Kano.
Critics say they worry the ruling could encourage
overzealous believers to take mob actions against alleged blasphemers.
In May, a female college student was stoned to death
and burned by an angry mob in northwest Sokoto state over accusations of
blasphemy. Three weeks after that, a member of a vigilante group in Abuja was
also killed over blasphemy allegations.
Abuja lawyer Kayode Ajulo compared the cases.
"I know as a lawyer that Shariah law is part of
the body of laws in Nigeria," Ajulo said. "The killing of that
innocent girl in Sokoto is a clear criminal case of lynching, murder. It is
different from [Shariah] because the issue of blasphemy is still subjected to
court or tribunal interpretation, and you can see what the high court has done
to say there must be a retrial."
Blasphemy is a sensitive topic in Nigeria, a country
of more than 200 million people with a nearly equal distribution of Christians
and Muslims.
The offense is punishable by a jail sentence under the
country's secular law. But in the far north, the punishment is stricter,
including a possible death sentence.
Source: VOA News
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original story:
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India
Aligarh Muslim University to Explore Collaborations in
the Gulf in Areas of Innovation, Start-Ups and Entrepreneurship
Tariq Alfaham
August 20, 2022
INDIAGCC COUNTRIESEDUCATION
New Delhi – Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), an
Institution of National Importance under the Constitution of India, is to
explore collaborations with counterpart institutions of the Gulf "in the
frontier areas of innovation, start-ups and entrepreneurship."
AMU’s Vice Chancellor, Tariq Mansoor, said today that
in addition, collaborations are planned "in the classical languages of
Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Hindi."
Writing in the mass circulation daily newspaper, The
Indian Express, on AMU’s role in strengthening India’s relations with the Gulf,
Mansoor said the proposed collaborations will be part of the National Education
Policy (NEP) adopted two years ago, of which, internationalization of education
is a key goal.
"The strong Indian diaspora in the Gulf is
uniquely placed to vigorously promote Indian higher education institutions in
the Gulf as part of the internationalization education under the NEP," he
wrote.
He recalled Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
words spoken at the AMU that "in the last 100 years, AMU has worked to
strengthen India’s relations with many countries of the world. The research
done here on Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages, on Islamic literature, gives
new energy to India’s cultural relations with the entire Islamic world."
Modi said this while speaking at the University’s
centenary celebrations in December 2020. The Prime Minister asked the AMU
community to further invigorate India’s relations with the Islamic world.
Analyzing India’s rapidly growing relations with the
Gulf, Mansoor said AMU, therefore, had a role in strengthening India’s links
with the region. This is under review.
"Historically, the AMU has played an important
role in augmenting India’s quest for fostering closer ties with the Arab and Islamic
world. The extensive network of AMU alumni in every Gulf country, especially in
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, has over the years successfully leveraged AMU’s soft
power dividend in bolstering people-to-people contact."
Source: Zawya
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Court Fines Anjuman Intezamia Masjid for Delaying
Hearings in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri Case
Aug 20, 2022
VARANASI: The court of the district judge here has
imposed a fine of Rs 500 on the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM) -- the mosque
management committee -- for delaying hearings in the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri
case. The court has fixed the next date on August 22.Five women have sought the
right to worship idols of Shringar Gauri and other deities in the Gyanvapi
mosque premises. The AIM has opposed their petition.
During a scheduled hearing Thursday, the AIM filed an
adjournment application seeking 10 days for preparations despite having sought
time on August 4 in view of the untimely death of its senior advocate, Abhay
Nath Yadav.
According to district government counsel (civil),
Mahendra Prasad Pandey, Judge Ajay Krishna Vishvesha expressed displeasure over
this and said that the hearing was being done in compliance with the order of
the Supreme Court which is being delayed. Pandey pointed out that the court had
fixed August 18 for the hearing to allow time as Yadav had passed away.
Source: Times Of India
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Bilkis Bano case: TRS MLC Kavitha writes to CJI
Aug 19, 2022
HYDERABAD: Ruling TRS MLC K Kavitha on Friday
requested Chief Justice of India NV Ramana to intervene in the Gujarat
government's decision to release 11 convicts in the case relating to Bilkis
Bano gang-rape and murder of her kin case during the 2002 riots in the western
state.
In a letter to the CJI, Kavitha alleged the Gujarat
government has acted in ignorance of the guidelines issued by the ministry of
home affairs as part of the celebrations of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' on April
21, 2022 which says that remission should be denied to prisoners convicted for
the offence of rape, human trafficking, and the Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO), and Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act,
1956.
"I implore the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India to
save the nation's faith in our laws and in humanity by intervening in this
matter so that the decision of the release of the aforementioned convicts is
withdrawn immediately," the TRS leader urged Justice Ramana.
Bano was 21 at the time and five months pregnant when
this heinous crime took place and to imagine her seeing her rapists walking
free with impunity, then being garlanded and celebrated must have shattered
her, Kavitha said.
The ruling party legislator pointed out that the case
was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and it was the
Special CBI Court that sentenced these convicts.
Section 435 (1) (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code
states that the power of the state government to remit or commute a sentence in
any case which was investigated by the CBI shall not be exercised by the state
government, except after consultation with the Central government, she opined.
The former Lok Sabha member said whether the release
of the 11 convicts, in this case, was done in consultation with the Centre is
unclear.
Meanwhile, Kavitha's brother and minister K T Rama
Rao, in a tweet, referring to the Bilkis Bano case said political parties
typically promise development, security, and welfare sops to win elections.
Source: Times Of India
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Muslim Couple Invites Hindu Seer Home, Perform
‘Padapooja’ (Surrendering To A Guru) In Karnataka
19th August 2022
Gadag: A Muslim couple in Gadag district of Karnataka
invited a Hindu seer and performed ‘padapooja’ (ceremony which symbolises
surrendering to a guru) on Friday.
The family members of Sikandar Badekhan residing in
Hudco Colony of Gadag city invited Swaroopananda Swamiji of Omkar Ashram in
Kyarakoppa of Dharwad district. Sikandar Badekhan is a retired professor.
All members of the family worshipped Swamiji’s feet
and later chanted the ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ mantra in the house. Later, the Swamiji
took ‘prasad’ (lunch) at the house.
Many Muslim families in Gadag district follow
Swaroopananda Swamiji. Sikandar Badekhan has been inviting Swamiji to his house
for many years.
North Karnataka region is known for religious
tolerance and harmonious living in the state for over centuries. Unlike in
other places, Hindus and Muslim live side by side harmoniously in most of the
villages.
It can be recalled that the authorities made it a
point to keep the old tradition of religious procession visiting a dargah in
Bengaluru during the Karaga festival despite a section of the people opposing
it. At Belur’s historical Chennakeshava Rath Yatra also, the ceremony of
reading the Quran before the commencement of Rath Yatra was performed in spite
of opposition.
People are appreciating the gesture of the Muslim
family and the Hindu religious seer for sending a message of unity to the
society.
Source: Siasat Daily
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of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/muslim-couple-invites-hindu-seer-home-perform-padapooja-in-karnataka-2393626/
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Muslim activist who opposed MP govt’s bulldozer action
held under NSA
17th August 2022
Bhopal: An activist, who was vocal against the
bulldozer drive of the Madhya Pradesh government following communal violence in
Khargone, has been arrested under the National Security Act (NSA).
Zaid Khan, a resident of Indore, was arrested in
Khargone on Monday for allegedly spreading hatred among the communities,
disrupting communal harmony, inciting religious sentiments and posting
objectionable posts on social media.
Indore district administration claimed that “Khan had
been involved in several criminal activities before 2021. He (Khan) was
deliberately disrupting communal harmony with his relentless posts on social
media”.
Two FIRs have been lodged against Khan, accusing him
of disrupting social harmony and inciting Muslims with his hate speeches. One
FIR has been lodged in Indore and the other in Khargone district.
Notably, Khan was one of those who had criticised the
BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government’s bulldozer drive in Khargone after a
communal clashes broke out there in March this year.
The communal violence had erupted after a group of
Muslims had attacked a Ram Navami procession on March 10.
After the clashes, the administration had imposed
curfew in the area. Later, several houses were bulldozed during a drive against
illegal encroachment.
While the government maintained that the drive was
against illegal encroachment, the opposition Congress and the activists accused
the BJP government of targetting Muslims.
Source: Siasat Daily
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of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/muslim-activist-who-opposed-mp-govts-bulldozer-action-held-under-nsa-2391923/
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Pakistan
Can parliament make ‘self-serving’ laws, wonders CJP
Nasir Iqbal
August 20, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata
Bandial on Friday wondered whether the parliament could be expected to make a “self-serving
legislation” when it’s in a “transitory period and the elections have to be
held”.
“We are the guardians of the Constitution and it is
not a joyful enterprise for the courts to do legislation instead or show over
activism. But we have to protect the Constitution, the constitutional machinery
and the rule of law,” observed the CJP.
The observation came during the hearing of a
challenge by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman and former prime minister Imran
Khan, through his counsel Khawaja Haris Ahmed, to recent amendments made to
the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO).
Headed by the CJP, the three-judge Supreme Court bench
that heard the case has Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah
as its other members.
SC hears Imran’s petition against changes to NAO; govt
lawyer says courts must not get involved in political disputes
“These are not ordinary times but exceptional times
where the erstwhile ruling party was not performing its duties since it has
boycotted out of the parliament while the beneficiaries were amending laws,”
regretted the CJP.
Justice Shah wondered if the court should bother about
the political temperature outside and asked which forum the people should
approach to seek remedy if they were upset in case NAO was completely repealed
in future.
Senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan, who appeared on
behalf of the federal government, replied by citing that the United States
Supreme Court always followed the latest election results, meaning they stood
with the government in power while deciding constitutional cases.
‘Greater burden on courts’
In a society or a country where the parliamentary
process was not working properly and when the fundamental rights were
suspended, then there was a greater burden on the courts, but a different
approach had to be taken if the democratic and constitutional dispensation were
functioning smoothly, the counsel argued.
He cited a number of examples to show that the Supreme
Court in the US had changed its views over the years on issues like death
sentence, abortion and in the flag salute case, saying resolution of
controversies should be confined always to the parliamentary forums instead of
allowing them to be decided on the streets.
“We are conscious of the fact,” the CJP observed,
adding the court should not enter the political thicket “but we also have to
take into view the fundamental guarantees to the citizens like due process,
fair trial and fairness in the criminal judicial process”.
The court postponed further proceedings until Sept 1
when Khawaja Haris said he had recovered from Covid only the other day and
therefore could not submit a concise statement in time.
The right forum
Answering the questions raised in the petition,
Makhdoom Ali Khan in a statement explained that the forum to enact or oppose
the enactment of statutes was parliament. Politicians might succeed or fail in
the parliament in pursuit of their objectives and those frustrated could take
their appeal to people, he said, adding that was their right but the remedy for
their grievances was not with courts.
The counsel emphasised that courts could judge the
constitutionality of statutes but could not test a statute on the criteria of a
particular political outlook or a moral viewpoint or a philosophical approach.
He argued that if followed, the route suggested by the
petitioner would lead straight to the political thicket, adding that [courts
should] always resist or avoid being embroiled in such disputes.
The counsel emphasised that the petitioner lacks locus
standi and bona fide to move the present petition since the amendments of
similar nature were made through ordinances in the NAO during the petitioner’s
term as the prime minister. It is thus clear that this petition does not raise
constitutional but political questions, the counsel said, especially when the
apex court has repeatedly held that it does not decide political questions.
Source: Dawn
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of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705841/can-parliament-make-self-serving-laws-wonders-cjp
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Islamabad
admin denies PTI permission to hold rally today against alleged torture on
Shahbaz Gill
Syed
Irfan Raza
August
20, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
After a court in the capital declined to hand over his custody to Islamabad
police in view of his fragile condition, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief
Imran Khan on Friday alleged that his close aide Shahbaz Gill was “sexually
abused” and “tortured both mentally and physically” by investigators during the
ongoing probe against him for making “seditious remarks”.
Mr
Khan also announced countrywide rallies to express solidarity with his chief of
staff, who is incarcerated in a sedition case, vowing to seek justice for the
PTI leader currently being treated in the Pakistan Institute of Medical
Sciences (Pims). The capital police said they did not inflict torture on
Shahbaz Gill so who were the individuals responsible for the torture of Mr
Gill, the PTI chief asked.
“There
is a general perception in the public at large and in our minds too, as to who
could have carried out the gruesome torture. Remember, the public will react.
We will leave no stone unturned to find those responsible and bring them to
justice,” Mr Khan said in his tweet.
“All
the pictures and videos show clearly Gill was tortured both mentally and
physically, including sexual abuse – most too gruesome to relate. He was
humiliated to break him down. I now have full detailed information,” the former
premier tweeted.
Mr
Khan urged his party supporters to take to the streets today in the federal
capital and all regional headquarters to protest against the detention and
alleged torture inflicted on Mr Gill. The PTI chairman urged people to join the
rally to show their resolve against the torture.
Rally
in Islamabad
Meanwhile,
in a video clip shared on the party’s official Twitter account, Fawad Chaudhry
said that the PTI “strongly condemned worst kind of torture” on Mr Gill. He
added the PTI would hold a rally at Jinnah Avenue from China Chowk to F-9 Park
in the federal capital and in all regional headquarters.
Mr
Chaudhry said Imran Khan will lead the rally in Islamabad and will address the
party workers at the park which will be shown at all regional headquarters
through a video link. The PTI leader further claimed that the party has
acquired pictures and doctors’ certificates to corroborate their claims and
they have been forwarded to the authorities concerned.
Earlier,
PTI leaders Babar Awan and Shahzad Wasim also held a joint press conference
where they alleged that that Mr Gill was sexually abused and tortured.
However,
the Islamabad administration said the PTI will not be allowed to hold a rally
in the federal capital and added that Section 144 was in force in the city. The
PTI, however, refused to comply with the directives and Fawad Chaudhry said the
rally will proceed as planned.
On
the other hand, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said in a statement PTI
chairman Imran Khan has to get a court order if he wanted to meet Shahbaz Gill
in custody. Her statement came after Mr Khan went to Pakistan Institute of
Medical Sciences (PIMS) Hospital to meet Gill but he was denied. “He is not a
monarch to go anywhere he wants,” she added.
Court
hearing
When
Judicial Magistrate Raja Farrukh Ali Khan took up a police application seeking
Mr Gill’s eight-day physical remand, the PTI legal team opposed any further
extension of the remand.
The
counsel for Mr Gill argued that the instant case was registered without the
prior permission of the federal government.
The
defence counsel argued that Gill was “subjected to fierce physical and mental
torture” and they placed on record an application for registration of first
information report (FIR) against the delinquents and alleged torturers.
The
counsel also expressed doubt on the medical board report, saying it
deliberately did not place the report regarding the state of the accused lungs
before the court.
The
report, issued late on Thursday night, said Mr Gill was discharged as he was
clinically stable, and advised him some medication.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705846/imran-alleges-gill-abused-urges-pti-to-take-to-streets
--------
Pakistan
again urges US to unfreeze Afghan assets
Baqir
Sajjad Syed
August
20, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Friday urged the United States again to unfreeze Afghan assets
and conditionally allow the Taliban regime to use those funds for dealing with
the economic and humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged country.
Foreign
Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar, at a weekly media conference, said the Afghan
assets held in the US should be released urgently and “in a manner that would
make it easier for the interim authorities to utilise this money.”
He
was responding to a question relating to reports that the process for the
unfreezing of the funds could face delays because of renewed concerns in the
US, after Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri’s killing in Kabul late last month,
that the money could be diverted to terrorist groups.
The
US government had last year frozen $7 billion, owned by Afghanistan, after
the Taliban took over control of the country. President Biden, earlier this
year, split this amount equally between the families of victims of the Sept 11
terror attacks and aid for suffering Afghans.
Washington
has since then been establishing a process for the release of those funds.
Zawahiri’s killing has reinforced doubts in the US about Taliban’s
counter-terrorism commitments.
Mr
Iftikhar recalled that Pakistan too wants that the release “shouldn’t be done
without strings attached”. He particularly noted that the US provided a lot of
humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan over the past year.
The
spokesman, while referring to recent visit by Centcom chief Gen Michael Kurilla
and other bilateral engagements said that besides the bilateral agenda, the
two sides also discussed the situation in Afghanistan.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705839/pakistan-again-urges-us-to-unfreeze-afghan-assets
--------
MQM
warns of reviewing decision to participate in Sindh LG polls
Imran
Ayub
August
20, 2022
KARACHI:
In a strong message to “state powers” while reiterating its protest over
“unjustified delimitation, fake voters’ list and less count of population in
the National Census 2017,” the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) on
Friday warned that it would review its decision to participate in the upcoming
August 28 local government elections in Karachi and Hyderabad.
The
partner of the ruling alliance at the Centre went on to say with a caution that
the party could even boycott the electoral process if the people of urban Sindh
were left with a feeling that their original mandate was being stolen only to
impose the “fake municipal leadership”, mainly in Karachi, the business
capital.
The
fresh thoughts in the party ranks were shared by the top leadership during a
press conference at its temporary headquarters in Bahadurabad where they were
convinced for a “final move” despite repeated appeals to the power corridors.
Without
naming any individual, institution or organisation, the MQM-P apparently, along
with the president and prime minister, also addressed the powerful
establishment for their role in addressing the grievances of urban Sindh.
“I
am here to ask the president, prime minister and those who are guardians of law
and Constitution to suggest to us where we should go for justice,” said MQM-P
convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.
He
then shared the details of “unjustified delimitation and fake voters”, alleging
that the population of Karachi was halved in the 2017 census. Explaining the
reasons behind his presser only days before the local bodies’ elections to
raise the same old issues the party has been protesting over for the past many
months, the MQM-P leader came up with a direct warning that suggested the party
was still indecisive about the August 28 polls.
“After
the by-election in NA-245 on August 21, we would go to the people of Karachi,”
he said. “We would seek their opinion. We would ask them whether it would be
beneficial for us or for our people to participate in an election in which
their representation has been restricted to 25 per cent [of the total
population], their population has been halved and voters’ lists are fake. We
are not sure whether participation in such elections would strengthen or weaken
democracy?”
In
reply to a question about the fate of “Charter of Rights” the party had signed
with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in March 2022 to strike a deal with the
Sindh’s ruling party on almost all of its years-old demands, which would be
agreed under a guarantee offered from the leadership of the opposition
alliance, Dr Siddiqui admitted that “nothing has been achieved” and made it
clear about the future stance of his party on the agreement.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705812/mqm-warns-of-reviewing-decision-to-participate-in-sindh-lg-polls
--------
JUI-F
starts protest sit-in against lawlessness in Bajaur
August
20, 2022
BAJAUR:
A large number of people attended the protest sit-in arranged by Jamiat
Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl here in Bajaur tribal district on Friday to urge the
authorities to fulfil their responsibility of providing protection to the local
residents and maintaining peace.
Besides
workers of several political parties, mostly of JUI-F, social activists and
tribal elders also attended the sit-in held outside the Civil Colony, Khar.
The
“peace sit-in” meant to make an urgent appeal for improving the law and order
situation by ending the wave of violence against the activists of JUI-F and
other parties was started after Friday prayers and it continued till filing of
this report at 9:30pm.
The
participants had designated the day for the protest after the bomb attack on
JUI-F senior leader and Khar tehsil council chairman Haji Said Badshah on Aug
15.
Holding
white flags inscribed with slogans such as “we want peace in our area”, the participants
had brought several essential items with them to the sit-in venue, which showed
they planned to continue the protest.
JUI-F
district chief Maulana Abdur Rasheed and general secretary Maulana Laiq Khan,
Awami National Party’s senior leader Maulana Khan Zeb, Pakistan Peoples Party’s
former MNA Sayed Akhunzada Chattan, Youth of Bajaur chairman Rehan Zeb Khan,
tribal elder Malik Shaheen Khan and several other notables addressed the
participants of the sit-in.
They
termed such gatherings necessary for bringing improvement in law and order in
the district. According to them, the law and order situation had deteriorated
over the past several months in the region.
The
speakers were of the view that peace and normalcy were the basic components of
life and development. They said that they would not sit silent over incidents
of violence in the region.
They
asked the authorities to fulfil their responsibility of providing protection to
the local residents and said the sit-in would be continued till the authorities
gave them a strong assurance of peace in the area.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705745/jui-f-starts-protest-sit-in-against-lawlessness-in-bajaur
--------
North
America
US
court sentences Daesh/ISIS 'Beatle' El Shafee Elsheikh to life in prison
Darren
Christopher Lyn
19.08.2022
HOUSTON,
Texas
El
Shafee Elsheikh, the Daesh/ISIS terrorist who was part of a group known as the
"Beatles," was sentenced on Friday in US court to eight consecutive
life terms in prison for torturing and murdering four American nationals.
"With
today’s verdict, we finally have a bit of justice,"Diane Foley, the mother
of James Foley, one of the Beatles' victims, said at a news conference after
the sentence was handed down.
"I
think there's a relief, you know, this has been quite an ordeal that's truly
exhausting," she continued.
The
other three victims were Steven Sotloff, Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.
The
three American men – Foley, Sotloff and Kassig – were beheaded while in
captivity, and the terror group released propaganda videos of their executions
online, setting off a frantic search to identify the group of masked men who
were dubbed the "Beatles" due to their British accents.
Elsheikh
– who was born in the UK but stripped of his citizenship there after he was
identified – was nicknamed "Ringo."
"Today
is the eighth anniversary of our son Jim’s gruesome beheading by ISIS,"
said Foley's mother. "But today we remember four extraordinary young
Americans."
Mueller
was raped multiple times by ex-Daesh/ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before
her death.
"This
is a small piece of justice that will help us heal a little, but I don't think
there will ever be closure," said Kayla's father Carl Mueller.
A
federal judge sentenced Elsheikh to a life sentence for each of the eight
counts he was convicted of in April.
The
death penalty was taken off the table as part of a deal the US struck with the
UK to get the case tried in the US.
The
surviving hostages testified during the trial that the "Beatles"
would rewrite the Eagles' song "Hotel California" as "Hotel
Osama" and would make them sing the refrain, "You will never
leave."
More
than 20 hostages were taken captive from 2012 to 2015 when Daesh/ISIS
controlled large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
CAIR
condemns Islamophobic attack on Muslims protesters in US
August
19, 2022
WASHINGTON:
The
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy group, has
called on the state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate an
alleged bias-motivated assault on those protesting against the persecution of
religious minorities and caste discrimination in India at Los Angeles, Palma
Park in Anaheim, in the US state of California.
A
press release issued by CAIR’s Los Angeles office said that the attackers
allegedly harassed protesters, shouting “stupid Muslims, get out.” They also
reportedly grabbed protest signs and physically and verbally harassed the
protesters.
In
a statement, CAIR’s Executive Director in Los Angeles Hussam Ayloush said: “Every
American has the right to peaceful protest without the threat of violence and
intimidation based on their race, faith or national origin. We call on local,
state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate this reportedly
bias-motivated attack and to consider bringing hate crime charges against the
alleged perpetrators.”
Earlier,
CAIR’s New jersey office joined the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) in
condemning the use of a bulldozer at the India Independence Day parade in South
Plainfield this year.
Source:
Tribune Pakistan
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2372027/cair-condemns-islamophobic-attack-on-muslims-protesters-in-us
--------
Europe
9
EU countries voice concern over Israeli raids on Palestinian NGOs
Ahmet
Gençtürk
19.08.2022
Nine
EU countries on Friday expressed their concern over Thursday’s Israeli raids on
the Palestinian NGOs.
In
a joint statement, foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden said: “A free and strong
civil society is indispensable for promoting democratic values and for a
two-state solution.”
“The
further reduction of civil space in the oPT (occupied Palestinian Territory)
remains a source of concern,” the statement added.
The
countries underscored that Israel did not provide substantial information that
would justify reviewing their policy toward the six Palestinian NGOs on the
basis of the Israeli decision to designate them as “terrorist organisations.”
“Should
convincing evidence be made available to the contrary, we would act
accordingly,” they concluded.
On Thursday,
the Israeli army stormed and ordered the closure of Palestinian NGOs in the
West Bank cities of Ramallah and Al-Bireh.
The
EU last week decided to unfreeze funds allocated to six of the Palestinian
NGOs, but despite the vote, the European Commission did not announce that the
funds would be unfrozen.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Ukrainian
president appreciates Turkish counterpart for supporting territorial integrity
Davit
Kachkachishvil
19.08.2022
KYIV,
Ukraine
Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday appreciated his Turkish counterpart
Recep Tayyip Erdogan for supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and
sovereignty.
"I
had lengthy conversations today with Erdogan, the Turkish president. I am
appreciative of President Erdogan's consistent support for our state's
territorial integrity and sovereignty. We talked about cooperation in the
economy, energy, and defense sectors,” Zelenskyy said in a video message.
On
Thursday, Erdogan visited the Ukrainian city of Lviv and met with Zelenskyy and
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"I
appreciate Turkey helping out with this project by taking care of Kharkiv's and
its surroundings' reconstruction. A country that is extremely powerful can complete
this task. The infrastructure agreement was inked today, marking the first
stage," the Ukrainian president said.
According
to Zelenskyy, the world's food crisis started to improve once the grain
corridor deal that was agreed in Istanbul by Türkiye, Russia, Ukraine, and the
UN came into effect.
"The
result is clear and not only for Ukraine, but also for the world. Because the
severity of the global food crisis is felt to be diminishing," he said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Sweden
preparing to deport PKK terror suspect
Atila
Altuntas
19.08.2022
STOCKHOLM
Sweden
is set to deport a suspected member of the PKK terror group to Türkiye, local
media on Friday.
Swedish
newspaper ETC reported that the 26-year-old Zinar Bozkurt has been detained
pending deportation.
Separately,
digital news outlet Blank Spot said Bozkurt's asylum application to Sweden
eight years ago was rejected earlier this year and that a decision was made for
his deportation.
The
Swedish Security Service (SAPO) detained Bozkurt over connections with the PKK
terrorist organization, it reported, adding that he was deemed a security
threat to the Nordic country.
This
came roughly a week after reports emerged that Stockholm accepted Türkiye's
extradition request for Okan Kale, who was convicted over fraud charges.
Kale
sought asylum in Sweden in 2011 after being accused of credit card fraud
against three banks in Türkiye, but his request was denied.
In
2014, he was granted refugee status in Italy.
Kale
received a temporary refugee residence card for two years in Italy. He then
came to Sweden in 2016 and married a Swedish woman 23 years older than him. He
attained a residence and work permit in Sweden thanks to this marriage.
In
October 2021, Ankara came into contact with Swedish authorities through
Interpol. Kale was arrested and imprisoned on the same date.
On
the other hand, Ankara has not received a positive response to other requests
for terrorist extraditions over the last five years, including for members of
the PKK and its offshoots, as well as the Fetullah Terrorist Organization
(FETO), the group behind the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Türkiye.
Sweden
refused to extradite PKK members Mehmet Sirac Bilgin, Aziz Turan, Ragip
Zarakolu, and Halef Tak, granting citizenship to all four.
In
its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a
terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the
deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
Stockholm
did not respond to the requests from Ankara for the extradition of FETO members
Harun Tokak and Bulent Kenes, either.
In
the defeated 2016 coup orchestrated by FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah
Gulen, 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.
Türkiye,
Finland, and Sweden signed a memorandum this June on the Nordic countries' bids
for NATO membership following four-way talks in Madrid.
The
memorandum conditions Finland and Sweden to take steps on Türkiye's terrorism
concerns, including the extradition of terror suspects, and lifts an arms
embargo on Ankara.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/sweden-preparing-to-deport-pkk-terror-suspect/2665207
--------
Plagued
by cost-of-living crisis, UK resorts to war-torn Syria with offer of lower
tariffs
19
August 2022
The
UK has promised to liberalize trade with Syria, offering lower tariffs to the
war-torn country as part of plans to bring its cost-of-living crisis under
control.
The
Department for International Trade announced earlier this week that it is set
to unilaterally offer improved trading terms to Bashar Assad’s government and
seven other developing countries, which will be included in a new post-Brexit
“enhanced preferences” scheme.
The
UK government plans to cut tariffs for those countries by 85 percent in a bid
to cut the cost of imports for British consumers and decrease the burden of
soaring prices for people.
K
imports from Syria last year, including textiles, vegetables and sugar, were
about £2m, while the exports, including dairy products, machinery and
electrical goods, were around £4m.
The
UK government is resorting to any method to fix its inflation-hit economy,
which has witnessed skyrocketing energy prices, especially after imposing
sanctions on Russian energy over the Ukraine war.
The
decision comes at a time when most European countries are grappling with a
severe energy crisis after losing access to Russian fuel.
Meanwhile,
British officials have said that the “robust sanctions” on Damascus meant the
Syrian government “could not benefit from enhanced preferences,” putting doubt
over British claims that the economic strategy seeks to help developing
nations.
Since
the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, the UK government has been
funding militants seeking to overthrow the Assad government. In 2018, the UK
took part in US-led missile strikes against Syria. In March 2021, the British
government slapped sanctions on key allies of President Assad.
The
UK is also currently funding Kurdish-run prisons in Syria, where hundreds of
children are being held in dire conditions, despite the UN’s warning to London
that funding “mass arbitrary detention centers is incompatible with the
International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights.”
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mali
welcomes French military pullout, vowing improved security
20
August 2022
Mali's
government has welcomed the withdrawal of French military forces from the African
nation, saying the pullout ushers in better security for its people.
"People's
security will be considerably improved," said government’s spokesman
Abdoulaye Maiga in a statement on Friday, insisting that the French withdrawal
"reassures the Malian population that, thanks to the rise in power of the
brave Malian forces, more successes will be recorded against the terrorist
groups."
The
government "takes note of this final withdrawal," Maiga added in the
official statement after France said Monday that its last remaining troops had
left Mali.
The
development came days after Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop blamed
French forces in his country for "acts of aggression" and sponsoring
Daesh-linked terrorists.
In
a letter to the president of the 15-member UN Security Council (UNSC) on
Monday, Diop said that French forces had committed "frequent
violations" of Malian airspace, suggesting that the intruding flights were
aimed at "collecting intelligence for the benefit of terrorist groups...
and to drop arms and ammunition for them."
He
called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council in his letter in order
to ensure that France “immediately ceases its acts of aggression,” in the form
of the alleged violations of its sovereignty, support for terrorist groups, and
spying.
“In
the event of the persistence of this posture which undermines the stability and
security of our country, Mali reserves the right to use self defense,” he said.
France,
however, reacted to Mali’s complaint at the UN by slamming what it claimed as
"increasing manipulation of information" about its military
withdrawal.
Relations
between Bamako and Paris have deteriorated following two military coups in the
impoverished – though minerals-rich -- Sahel country since 2020.
According
to Western press reports, the arrival of Russian paramilitary forces in Mali at
the invitation of the provisional military government in Bamako was a key
factor in France's decision to withdraw its occupation forces.
Meanwhile,
Mali’s Defense Minister Sadio Camara paid a visit to Russia this week and was
reportedly still there on Friday.
France's
military occupation of Mali began in 2013 to allegedly counter militants that
Paris claimed were linked to the al-Qaeda and Daesh terrorist groups.
Accordingly, the French government deployed thousands of soldiers to
purportedly prevent separatist forces from reaching Bamako.
The
war caused several thousand deaths and more than a million people to flee their
homes. There have been two military coups in roughly a year, amid growing
demonstrations against France’s military presence.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
Shabaab
Militants Attacked Hayat Hotel in Somali Capital, At Least 12 Killed
Aug
20, 2022
MOGADISHU:
At least 12 people have been killed in Somalia's capital Mogadishu after al
Shabaab militants attacked a hotel leading to a siege that authorities are
still trying to end, an intelligence office told Reuters on Saturday.
The
attackers struck the Hayat Hotel on Friday evening with two car bombs, before
entering the facility while firing their guns and seizing control.
"So
far we have confirmed 12 people, mostly civilians, died," Mohammed, an
intelligence officer who only gave one name, told Reuters "The operation
is about to be concluded but it is still going on."
Sounds
of explosions punctuated the night as government forces tried to wrest control
of the hotel back from the militants, witnesses said.
Large
sections of the hotel were destroyed by the fighting, they said.
The
al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack,
according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors
jihadist group statements.
Al
Shabaab has been fighting to topple the Somali government for more than 10
years. It wants to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of
Islamic law.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Oyebanji
won’t stop war against rape in Ekiti – Attorney-General assures
August
19, 2022
By
Emmanuel Ani
The
Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Ekiti State, Hon. Olawale
Fapohunda SAN, has assured the residents of the state that the Governor-elect,
Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji, will continue to fight against the spike of rape in
Ekiti State.
Hon.
Fapounda gave his words to parents of child victims of rape in his office on
Thursday that there is absolutely no need to worry about the post Governor
Fayemi era, assuring that Oyebanji was sufficiently aware of the crisis of rape
in Ekiti State and would rather intensify than stop the fight.
According
to the Attorney-General, the zero tolerance policy for all forms of sexual
violence in Ekiti State is appropriately enshrined in the Criminal Law of Ekiti
State, thus legally sustainable by the incoming administration.
Fapounda
said the Ministry of Justice was concerned about the recent spike in cases of
child rape in Ekiti State, as elsewhere, and will not rest on its oars until it
is totally eradicated.
The
Attorney General also confirmed that his office was currently prosecuting a
Prophet who raped a 13-year-old girl and another who raped eight girls all
under the age of 14.
Ekiti
State has been at the forefront of prosecuting and getting judgements against
perpetrators of rape and other forms of gender-based violence.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
South
Asia
Participants
at Kandahar Gathering: World Should Recognize Islamic Emirate
August
20, 2022
The
gathering of tribal elders and Islamic clerics in Kandahar ended on Thursday
and attendees issued a resolution asking the world to recognize the Islamic
Emirate as a legitimate system and to engage with Kabul in a positive way.
"We
call on them to recognize the Islamic Emirate as a legitimate system, to
interact positively with the Islamic Emirate, to lift the restrictions they
have put in place, and to cooperate in the economic development and development
of the Afghan nation,” the resolution reads.
"Not
all representatives of Afghanistan participated, women also did not
participate,” said Wahidullah Faqiri, an expert on international relations.
The
sixteen-article resolution referred to the US airstrike on Kabul, saying that
the neighboring countries who allowed the US drone to operate in their
territory are involved in this crime and would face consequences.
"The
rulers of these countries should know that making deals on Afghanistan and
allowing Afghanistan's enemies to access their space and land, as well as
allowing operations against Afghanistan, will certainly have bad consequences
for them,” the resolution stated.
"This
is not only a step in accordance with international principles; this is the
voice and response of the Afghan people who have long asked the government to
stand against the damaging actions of the countries in the region,” said
Najibullah Jami, university lecturer.
The
Emirate has been asked in the fourteenth article of this resolution to give
attention to women, minorities, children, and people in the area of justice, as
well as religious and modern education.
"We
call on the Islamic Emirate to pay special attention to rights of minorities,
children, women, and of all people involved in justice, religious and modern
education, health, agriculture, and industry in light of Sharia law,” according
to the resolution.
"If
the Taliban are truly committed to the Islamic and human rights of Afghan
women, they should end the systematic suppression of women and open girls'
schools above the sixth grade as soon as possible,” said Maryam Marouf Arween,
women’s rights activist.
More
than 3,000 people attended the gathering of Islamic clerics and tribal elders
held in Kandahar yesterday, including the leader of the Islamic Emirate and
other officials.
Source:
Tolo News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-179468
--------
Afghanistan:
Peace at a price in the Taliban’s heartlands
By
Secunder Kermani
August
20, 2022
A
year after the Taliban takeover, BBC correspondent Secunder Kermani visits the
group's heartlands in southern Afghanistan to discover that peace comes at a
price.
In
a dusty patch of land next to the Helmand river, along what used to be one of
the frontlines of the war, two teenage boys are locked in an embrace, trying to
wrestle each other to the ground. Sitting in a wide circle, spectators look on
eagerly as the early evening light begins to dim.
We're
in Sangin district in southern Afghanistan, scene of some of the deadliest
clashes of the past two decades. Much of the town is still rubble, though a
number of houses are being rebuilt as residents return home, savouring their
first taste of peace in years.
There
are no women amongst the crowd: in this deeply conservative part of the
country, they're largely kept behind closed doors. Many here supported the
Taliban's insurgency against the former Afghan government and US-led forces
that supported it, while others are simply relieved the violence that plagued
their lives has finally come to an end.
"Life
is very good now, people are happy," says Lalai, who has organised the
wrestling match. "There's freedom and no problems," chimes in another
man.
Everyone
you speak to here has been affected by the war. "You won't find a single
home in the district without at least two or three relatives martyred,"
Lalai tells us.
Many
Afghans feel deeply despondent about the direction the country is being taken
in by the Taliban. However, in rural areas, particularly in the south and east
- dominated by the Pashtun ethnicity - there are many others who either support
the Taliban or who feel life under their rule is preferable to life at war.
Reminders
of the conflict are everywhere in Sangin: the debris of homes flattened by US
or Afghan government airstrikes, as well as the scars on the road leading to
Helmand's capital Lashkar Gah, left by Taliban bombs.
Inside
Lashkar Gah, everyone we speak to praises improved security, but there's a new
battle in Afghan cities, against hunger.
Foreign
funding which used to prop up the previous government has been slashed and
Afghanistan's bank reserves have been frozen ever since the Taliban took power
last year. Now poverty and child malnutrition are on the rise.
"I
go down to the roundabout at dawn to try and find work as a labourer," one
elderly man tells us, "but if even one person arrives offering a job, 50
others swarm around him first."
A
crowd gathers around us as we speak, all complaining of sharp rises to food
prices and a lack of opportunities.
"Even
when I'm saying my prayers, I keep thinking of my debts and how I'll pay them
back," says Haji Baridad, a building contractor. Still, he adds, he's
happy the war has ended. "I live just outside the city and couldn't travel
at night, now I can… But I'm earning nothing."
The
Taliban do have a degree of genuine grassroots support in Afghanistan,
particularly in places like Helmand, although as they stridently oppose
democratic elections, it's impossible to quantify it.
Helmand,
however, is also one of the most tightly controlled provinces in the country.
We've been told anyone publicly criticising the Taliban faces arrest or even
worse.
In
December 2021, Naveed Azimi, an English teacher, was detained by the Taliban in
Helmand for having written a Facebook post criticising the lack of salaries for
government employees. Not long after, his dead body was dumped by the river.
Speaking
on condition of anonymity, another local critic of the Taliban told the BBC
that about 20 people in total had been arrested for their social media
activity.
"You
can't say anything at all," he said, describing how some were simply
threatened whilst others were kept in jail. "The Taliban have different
types of torture for them, hitting them with cables and pipes, holding their
heads under water."
From
Helmand, we set off for Kandahar. The drive is just under three hours, but
would have been unimaginable for us during the war. In the fields by the
roadside, farmers are picking grapes, but it's another crop that this part of
the country is best known for.
Opium
grown in Afghanistan produces the vast majority of the world's heroin, and in
the past, it's been a valuable source of income for both poor farmers and the
Taliban.
Now
the Taliban have banned its cultivation. A few fields of dried-up poppies are
all that remain of the most recent crop. Shaista Gul, an elderly farmer with a
wrinkled face, is worried. "Nothing else we plant can earn us enough
money," he says.
Given
the ban, however, he has no plans to try to plant opium again. The Taliban
could be about to achieve what the US never could, substantially eradicating
poppy production. Opium that has already been processed, though, is still being
openly traded in markets.
"Some
say rich people have stored up a lot of opium," Shaista Gul tells us,
"waiting for the prices to rise even further. So they're happy."
We
arrive in Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city and spiritual home of the
Taliban. It was at a shrine here that the founder of the Taliban, Mullah Omar,
was declared "Leader of the Faithful" in 1996, as he stood in front
of a crowd, holding out a cloak said to have belonged to the Prophet Muhammad.
"The
Taliban were much stricter back then," one elderly witness to the event
tells us. "Now they're not forcing people to grow their beard, for
example."
Kandahar,
however, is where the new supreme leader of the Taliban, the reclusive Mullah
Haibatullah Akhundzada, still resides. He remains out of public sight, but he
is believed to be behind the progressively hardening stance of the Taliban over
the course of the year. The Taliban's government is based in Kabul, but it's
Kandahar where the ultimate decisions are made.
The
latest example of the Taliban's assertiveness is corporal punishment. So far,
it hasn't been widely implemented, but last month, Taliban officials in
Kandahar announced three people had been flogged for sex outside marriage and
theft.
"It's
our nation, our religion," the province's deputy governor, Maulvi
Hayatullah Mubarak, responds defiantly when I question him about the incident,
insisting a legal procedure would have been followed.
It's
Afghan women who have been affected most by the Taliban's new laws. In Kandahar
and southern Afghanistan, nearly all wore the burqa or covered their faces in
public already. Female teachers and healthcare workers are among those who have
been allowed to continue working. But others have been told to stay at home.
Negina
Naseri was a radio presenter in Kandahar, but stopped work when fighting
intensified. Now she would like to go back, but while female journalists in
Kabul are still broadcasting, outlets in Kandahar have been told they can no
longer employ them.
"Kandahar
is a province where people don't often let women work," Negina tells me.
"When I was out on the street I was hit, my scarf was pulled, people threw
bottles or cigarette packets at me - even their phone numbers… despite all this
I managed to achieve a professional position."
Now,
stuck at home, she says she sometimes wishes she had never even bothered
pursuing an education.
Kandahar
might be where the Taliban first emerged, but it's also where they have faced
some of the fiercest resistance. Just across the road from the shrine visited
by Taliban founder Mullah Omar is an elaborate domed mausoleum commemorating
one of the Taliban's most notorious opponents.
General
Raziq was viewed as a hero by many in Afghanistan for helping hold back the
Taliban advance, until he was assassinated in 2018. He was closely linked to
the foreign military presence, but also accused of widespread human rights
abuses.
In
the town of Spin Boldak, south of Kandahar, bordering Pakistan, his men
allegedly ran a secret prison. Faizullah Shakir, an imam at a nearby mosque,
who says he has no links with the Taliban, was held there for nearly three
years and gives us a tour of his former cell.
"They
hung me from the ceiling and wrapped my arms around a pipe, while beating my
legs with bayonets," he says. He describes being suspended like that for
three days before being cut down, having his jaw broken and then being taken to
a small, dark underground chamber where he lived with a group of other
prisoners.
There
wasn't even enough space for them each to lie down, he says.
The
Taliban have committed countless atrocities in the course of the Afghan
conflict and have been responsible for the majority of civilian deaths, but
they, or those accused of links to them, have also been the victims of
atrocities. The incidents were often simply just never highlighted in the same
way.
It
explains why some in the country see little difference between the
"strongmen" of the previous government and the Taliban's forces now.
Driving
along the fence separating Afghanistan from Pakistan, we reach an entirely
abandoned village called Sharo Oba. Commander Haji Sailab, a veteran Taliban
member, says he and other local members of his Noorzai tribe who lived there
were forced out en masse by General Raziq, who belonged to a rival tribe.
"When
I returned here for the first time last year with my family, they cried with
happiness," Haji Sailab says.
Others
suggest the inhabitants were forced to leave, not because of tribal rivalry,
but because they were harbouring Taliban elements who had launched repeated
attacks on government forces. But Haji Sailab says the incident helped the
movement grow from a small to substantial presence in the area, capitalising on
local anger.
After
Spin Boldak fell to the Taliban, there were credible reports of revenge
killings by members of the Noorzai tribe. Haji Sailab, however, denies that. He
insists an amnesty announced by the Taliban leadership prevented violence.
There
would've been rivers of blood flowing," he says. "We know exactly who
was responsible for the attacks on us."
The
killing of dozens of former members of the Afghan security forces has been
documented over the past year and there has been no sign of any accountability
for their deaths from within the Taliban. Yet by the brutal standards of the
Afghan conflict, their return to power has been less bloody than many had
initially feared.
It's
what the Taliban do now that matters most to Afghans. As we return to Kandahar,
we take a detour, following an autorickshaw that has been converted into a
mobile library.
The
Pen Path charity works promoting education in remote villages. About 100 boys
and girls gather excitedly in front of a mosque as a visiting teacher begins
his lesson. Matiullah Wesa, founder of Pen Path, describes education as an
"Islamic right", but the Taliban have kept most girls' secondary
schools in the country closed.
In
this village, as in other impoverished rural parts, no girls' secondary school
even exists. Students often don't even have pens or notebooks, says Matiullah
Wesa.
As
the open-air class gets underway, older girls and women are nowhere to be seen.
The Taliban cite these conservative values as the reason behind the continuing
school closures. But watching over their younger daughters, fathers in the
village are clear they want them to get an education.
"I
want them to go to university," says one, "they can become doctors
and serve the country." Another expresses support but outlines his
conditions that "there should be a separate building for girls and a
female teacher. They should wear the burqa on their way to school."
Even
in this deeply conservative environment, there appears a consensus that girls
should have the same right to education as boys. It's a telling moment.
Source:
BBC
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62566884
--------
For
Afghanistan’s Immediate Neighbours, Cautious Engagement With the Taliban
Vaishali
Basu Sharma
August
20, 2022
Five
countries that share borders with Afghanistan – Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and
Turkmenistan to the north; Iran to the west; and Pakistan to its east and south
– are directly impacted by the return of the Taliban at the helm in Kabul. With
China, Afghanistan shares a tiny 76 km stretch at the tip of the remote Wakhan
corridor, beyond which lies the Xinjiang province.
According
to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are currently over two million
registered refugees from Afghanistan in these five nations. Pakistan and Iran
account for the majority of refugees at 1,282,901 and 780,000, respectively.
After
the fall of Kabul, former Vice-President Amrullah Saleh and former defence
minister Massoud’s eldest son and namesake, Ahmad, who is now spearheading the
resistance against the Taliban, escaped to Tajik capital Dushanbe.
In
a gesture that could not have made Tajikistan’s anti-Taliban stance clearer,
President Emomali Rahmon conferred the country’s highest civilian award, the
‘Order of Ismoili Somoni’, upon the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, fondly referred to
as the ‘lion of Panjshir.’
Tajikistan
Just
as for other countries, Tajikistan’s main concern remains the destabilisation
of Central Asia by the export of militant groups from Afghan soil. Yet, this is
oversimplifying a complex security dilemma; an estimated six million Tajiks
live in Afghanistan (approximately 25% of the 23 million Afghans living in
Afghanistan). Dari-speaking Tajiks have been targeted by the Taliban for their
ethnicity and because they constitute the core of the Northern Alliance, just
as the Hazaras, who are Shia, are targeted for their religious beliefs.
A
month prior to the fall of Kabul, almost the entire 1,357 km Afghan-Tajik
border, bridged by six crossings in total, fell into the Taliban’s hands. As
the Taliban gained ground, defeated Afghan troops began to cross over into
Tajikistan. Soon, “what started as a trickle became a torrent” and nearly 1,500
fleeing Afghans sought refuge in Tajikistan. Tajik authorities said that the
troops were all sent back to Kabul on chartered flights, but details remain
unclear.
In
September, tensions rose as the Taliban sent reinforcements, including fighters
from the Jamaat Ansarullah, formerly the Tajik wing of the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU), to guard sections of the Tajik border. In retaliation,
President Rahmon mobilised 20,000 troops to the border and held military
exercises with other members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.
Around
the time that the Taliban takeover picked up momentum, many ordinary Afghans
crossed over into the Shughnon district in Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan
Autonomous Region (GBAO), which shares a long border with Afghanistan. Dushanbe
has been trying to draw attention to the impact of Afghans trying to enter the
country, with the head of the State Committee for National Security, Saimumin
Yatimov, saying, “Every day hundreds more try to enter the country,” calling
the situation a “threat to the whole post-Soviet region”.
Iran
According
to a US congressional investigation, an estimated 3,000 members of Afghan
security forces, including a number of high-ranking officers and US-trained
Afghan special operators, were effectively forced to flee to Iran after the
collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s government. Along the border with Iran, clashes
occur every so often between the Iranian forces and the Taliban, each accusing
the other of starting the fights.
On
the other hand, Iran and Taliban ministers have settled issues related to water
and energy cooperation. The Taliban has agreed that water from the Helmand
river will no longer be diverted to Godzareh, as it was under the previous
US-backed administration, enabling Iran to receive its share of 820 million cubic
meters per year.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
has been playing a key role in providing the logistics for aid to be delivered
to Afghanistan. Although the Taliban is unable to pay for electricity,
Uzbekistan, which provides Afghanistan with almost 60% of its electricity, has
continued the supply. So have Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, albeit their
contributions are much smaller. This is likely a move to appease the armed
group.
From
Termez to the Friendship Bridge on the Amu Darya River, a rail connection connects
Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif. Tashkent has been engaging in talks with Pakistan
to extend the railway line to Peshawar, which will provide access to the
Pakistani ports on the Arabian Sea.
Turkmenistan
During
the Taliban regime in the 1990s, Turkmenistan was conferred a UN-recognised
status as a neutral state. This time, however, Ashgabat has been vocal in
support of Afghanistan to become part of the global economy. Turkmenistan’s
deputy foreign minister recently argued that reintegrating Afghanistan into the
global economy “will have a positive impact on ensuring the security and
stability of both the country itself and the region as a whole.”
If
ever realised, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline
holds the possibility of supplying 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Turkmen gas
to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. While TAPI remains an unlikely proposition,
for now, the Taliban government has reached a deal with Turkmenistan to import
1,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas.
Pakistan
For
Pakistan, the initial sense of jubilation dissipated with the recognition of
the dangers posed by the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The previously Pakistan-linked Haqqani faction of the Taliban is engaging with
India, prompting New Delhi to deploy a “technical team” to its shuttered
embassy in Kabul to review and restart basic consular diplomacy.
The
TTP, which enjoys unprecedented support in Afghanistan, is not budging from its
demand on reversal of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) merger.
Earlier this year, Pakistan had to launch air strikes targeting TTP hideouts in
Afghanistan, using Chinese drones.
Security
along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is worse than before and according to
Claude Rakisits, a senior strategic analyst at the Australian National
University, it has become obvious “that the Taliban’s ideological,
organisational, tribal, and personal ties with the TTP, its fellow ideological
traveller, would trump any feeling of gratitude it had toward Pakistan for
supporting it – diplomatically, militarily, and institutionally – for the last
20 years.”
Also
read: Pakistan: An Army-Imposed Deal with the Pakistani Taliban Could Spell
Disaster
Differences
over the Durand line have become sharper since the return of the Taliban at the
helm. Regardless of the deteriorating security relations, Pakistani Prime
Minister Shehbaz Sharif had approved the import of coal from Afghanistan in
Pakistani rupees instead of dollars.
Taliban
2.0
Despite
regular pronouncements about banning opium cultivation, the Taliban has
continued its narcotics trade, although the exact dimensions of the volume and
revenue from it has never been completely uncovered. This week, Iranian Customs
officials at Dowqarun seized about 100 kg of sheesha in an Afghan tanker truck.
Large amounts of the heroin that reaches Russia first crosses Tajikistan.
David
Mansfield of The Economist estimates the group made between $27.5 million and
$35 million annually by taxing the drug trade and about $245 million at
checkpoints along main roads. According to a Voice of America report, the
Taliban have managed to collect $840 million in revenue between December, 2021
and June, 2022, a large share of which (56%) is from customs and the export of
coal and fruits to Pakistan.
There
is lot of evidence pointing towards the fact that under Taliban 2.0,
extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and
violations of fundamental freedoms have become the norm. Its senior leaders
lack a coherent vision for the country and its emir remains reclusive. The
Taliban has proved intransigent and unrealistic in its relations with its
neighbouring countries.
All
the three central Asian countries – Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan –
along the northern border of Afghanistan, and Iran in the west, have maintained
permanent diplomatic missions in Afghanistan, without formally recognising the
Taliban government, maintaining that its recognition would hinge on forming an
“inclusive” administration. However, an
international conference on Afghanistan held in Tashkent earlier in July was
attended by representatives of over two dozen countries including Iran, India
and Pakistan.
Regular
reports emerge of Taliban fighters destroying border pillars in the Wakhan
corridor, more as a show of strength and nationalism to Pakistan than China.
The Taliban has shrewdly manipulated China’s concerns over Uighur separatists
to take forward negotiations on economic and developmental support. Not overly
concerned about infiltration from the border, Beijing is inclined to deal with
the Taliban on its own rather than rely on Islamabad.
Afghanistan’s
immediate neighbours face a deadlier threat from a resurgent Islamic
State-Khorasan (ISK) that has stepped up attacks across the country, targeting
religious and ethnic minorities and recruiting extremists. Even as they
cautiously proceed, for the countries in its neighbourhood, further engagement
with the Taliban mainly hinges upon its ability to contain the ISK and prevent
extremist groups from operating in Afghanistan.
Source:
The Wire
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://thewire.in/south-asia/afghanistan-neighbours-cautious-engagement-with-taliban
--------
Anti-Taliban
protests erupt in Pakistan border areas
20th
August 2022
Islamabad:
Protests against the strengthening of the Taliban erupted in the border region between
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The
protesters on Friday called on the Islamabad government to take stronger action
against attempts by the Taliban who control Afghanistan to seize Pakistan’s
North Waziristan region, reports dpa news agency.
A
Taliban spokesman called the protests “sabotage” and “financed by the West”.
Protesters
blocked a main road connecting the region to the rest of the country, according
to local police.
They
raised black flags against the Taliban on their rooftops.
Protests
have already taken place in the Swat region, near North Waziristan.
Swat
is home to Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who narrowly survived
an assassination attempt by the Taliban in 2012 after campaigning for education
for women and girls.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/anti-taliban-protests-erupt-in-pakistan-border-areas-2394071/
--------
Mideast
Iranian Diplomat Meets Islamic Jihad Representative,
Ihsan Ataya, At the Latter’s Office in Beirut
August
19, 2022
The
Iranian diplomat, Karamullah Moshtaqi, who is a political advisor to the
embassy, met with the Islamic Jihad official, Ihsan Ataya, at the latter’s
office in Beirut.
The
Iranian diplomat relayed Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani’s
congratulations to Ataya on the martyrdom of the members of the Palestinian
resistance movement in the recent flare-up with Israel, according to Al Alam.
Moshtaqi
saluted the Mujahideen of the Al-Quds Brigades, praising the brigades'
performance in confronting Israel’s aggression.
During
the meeting, it was insisted on the importance of the role of the "Islamic
Jihad Movement" in managing the battle of "the unity of the
battlefields", its merit in leading the military confrontation against the
barbaric aggression on Gaza, and response to the assassination of Taysir
al-Jabari by striking Tel Aviv in order to create an equation in protecting the
resistance leaders from the Israeli targeted killings.
The
meeting also discussed ways to prevent the enemy from achieving its goals, and
thwarting its attempts to sow discord between the Jihad movement and the
Palestinian people, especially in Gaza.
During
its three-day aggression against the Gaza Strip from August 5 to 7, Israel
killed more than 40 Palestinian civilians, including 16 children. After the
unprovoked aggression against the Gaza Strip, Israel accepted an Egyptian-brokered
ceasefire that put an end to its bombing of civilian homes.
The
flare-up began when Israel started aggression against Gaza with the purpose of
eliminating the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine.
The
movement agreed to the ceasefire. It underlined in a statement its right to
respond to any Israeli aggression.
Speaking
at a press conference held after the announcement of the ceasefire, al-Nakhalah
said Israel failed to achieve the goals it set for its recent aggression which
is to eliminate the leaders of the resistance movement.
“The
Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip scored an achievement, led by the
Islamic Jihad movement… the enemy raised a specific slogan, which is the
liquidation of the Islamic Jihad movement and its military arm, but the movement
today is stronger than ever,” he said, adding that the resistance movement had
the upper hand during the flare-up evidenced by its ability to shower Israeli
targets with missiles.
Al-Nakhalah
kept in touch with Iran’s high-ranking officials after the Israeli aggression.
He sent a letter to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah
Seyed Ali Khamenei, and spoke over the phone with Speaker of Iranian Parliament
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.
In
his letter, al-Nakhalah confirmed the widespread presence of Palestinian
Resistance fighters, particularly from the Islamic Jihad and the military
branch of Saraya al-Quds, in all of Palestine, especially in Gaza and the West
Bank, according to khamenei.ir. He said, “Due to the presence of the troops of the
Jihad Resistance, not a single day passes without clashes taking place with the
Zionist regime in the West Bank.”
The
Leader responded to the letter of al-Nakhalah. In his reply, Ayatollah Khamenei
stated that he considered the Islamic Jihad’s courageous resistance to be the
reason for both the elevation of the movement's position and their ability to
nullify the Zionist regime’s deception while crushing them.
“I
received your honorable, promising letter with its good news. May God reward
you and hurry the ultimate victory of the admirable and oppressed Palestinian
nation. The recent event has added to the honors of the Palestinian Islamic
Jihad movement and elevated the status of Islamic Jihad in the magnificent
Resistance movement of the Palestinian nation. With your courageous Resistance,
you have nullified the policy of deception of the usurping regime,” the Leader
said, according to khamenei.ir.
In
the conversation between Qalibaf and Al-Nakhalah, the speaker of parliament
congratulated the Palestinian leader on the recent victory achieved by the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad against Israel.
“The
Islamic Republic of Iran stands by the Palestinian nation and the Palestinian
Islamic Resistance under all circumstances and with all its might,” Qalibaf
told al-Nakhalah, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
Source:
Tehran Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/475824/Iranian-diplomat-meets-Islamic-Jihad-representative
--------
Spokesman:
CIA-Led 1953 Coup Recalls Dark Days for Iranians
2022-August-19
"The
American government tops the world record in terms of intervening in affairs of
other countries and staging military attacks and coup against independent
countries and governments," Kana'ani tweeted.
"The
1953 coup d'état against the Iranian national government is a clear example of
Iran's dark days," he added.
The
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman asked will the American government correct
its wrong and failed policy towards Iran and respect the Iranian nations'
legitimate rights.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010528000311/Spkesman-CIA-Led-953-Cp-Recalls-Dark-Days-fr-Iranians
--------
Top
Commander: IRGC Navy Planning to Widen Presence in High Seas
2022-August-18
"Today,
we have been tasked with establishing a presence in the high seas," Maj.
Gen. Salami stated at a ceremony held to pay tribute to the IRGC’s naval forces
in the Northeastern city of Mashhad.
He
praised the bravery of the IRGC Navy in the face of threats, noting it is
unwavering faith that makes the country’s Armed Forces unbreakable against the
enemies besides military might.
“Today,
we have nothing less than the enemies’ [military equipment]; state-of-the-art
missiles, vessels with high stability at sea and other sea-based hardware. Such
equipment gets invincible only when accompanied by the brave soldiers’ true
faith,” the military chief stated.
“Our
criterion is not enjoying equality with the enemies in terms of armaments but
strong faith, which is the key to success on the battlefield,” he added.
“I’m
sure that there is no fear of the enemies’ superficial grandeur in your hearts”
but the main factor needed to face them is faith, the IRGC commander continued.
Salami
described the IRGC Navy as a powerful and experienced force, with a mission to
pave the way for the Islamic Republic’s presence in the far seas.
On
Wednesday, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad
Hossein Baqeri said that the military power of Iran is strong, extraordinary
and deterrent despite enemy sanctions and pressures, and hailed the IRGC Navy
for its remarkable developments in the recent decades.
Addressing
a gathering of the IRGC Navy commanders and officials in the Northeastern city
of Mashhad, Maj. Gen. Baqeri stated that the IRGC Navy, which has a brilliant
background in fighting US aggressors in the Persian Gulf, had made significant
development in enhancing the power in the fields of fleet, missile, and drone.
“Thank
God, we have witnessed incredible and proud advancements and developments in
the capabilities of the IRGC Navy over the past four years, which have promoted
the Islamic Republic of Iran’s deterrence power,” he stated.
Referring
to the Navy’s strategic role and missions, he noted that safeguarding Iran’s
interests in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, which is the
responsibility of the IRGC Navy, has established a strong defense in this
strategic region.
"Despite
the enemy’s sanctions and the maximum pressure, Iran’s military power has been
strong, extraordinary and deterrent," the military official underlined.
"Navy
forces have put on the agenda developing equipment and improving the level of
combat power," Baqeri underscored.
The
Islamic Republic’s military doctrine holds that the country’s armed capability
solely serves defensive purposes.
Iranian
military experts and technicians have in recent years made substantial headway
in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces
self-sufficient in the weaponry sphere.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israel
announces plans to grant more work permits for Palestinians from Gaza
19 August,
2022
Israel
said Friday it plans to grant more work permits to Palestinians in blockaded
Gaza, reviving a pledge made ahead of a visit by US President Joe Biden but
later scrapped.
A
further 1,500 people from the impoverished and overcrowded Gaza Strip would be
allowed to work in Israel from Sunday, the military said in a statement.
“The
decision will take effect... on condition that the security situation remains
quiet in the area,” said COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible
for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.
The
move to boost to 15,500 the total number of work permits was initially
announced on July 12, on the eve of Biden’s visit to Israel and the Palestinian
territories.
But
it was scrapped four days later, in the wake of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip
and retaliatory strikes by Israeli warplanes.
The
work permits provide vital income to some of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, who
have been living under a strict blockade imposed by Israel since the
Palestinian militant group Hamas seized power in 2007.
Friday’s
announcement follows three days of fighting this month between the Islamic
Jihad movement and Israel.
At
least 49 Gazans were killed and hundreds wounded, according to figures from the
enclave’s health ministry.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Erdogan
says Turkey not looking to seize Syrian territory
19
August, 2022
President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that Turkey was not looking to seize any
Syrian territory despite stepping up its attacks against Kurdish forces in the
war-torn country's north.
Erdogan's
comments came days after a Turkish air strikes on a Syrian border post run by
regime forces reportedly killed 17 fighters.
A
war monitor reported that both Kurds who man some of the Syrian border posts
and regime forces were killed in the Turkish raids.
The
official Syrian news agency said three government soldiers were killed in the
attack.
Turkey
said it was responding to a strike on its own positions along the border that
killed two soldiers.
The
exchange of fire marked one of the largest escalations since Ankara and
Damascus traded attacks in 2020.
Erdogan
appeared to try and calm the tensions in comments to reporters on board his
return flight from his first wartime visit to Ukraine.
“We
do not have eyes on the territory of Syria because the people of Syria are our
brothers,” Turkish media quoted Erdogan as saying.
“The
regime must be aware of this.”
Erdogan's
visit to Ukraine came two weeks after he flew to Sochi for talks with Russian
President Vladimir Putin that also covered Syria.
Putin's
support was instrumental in helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad survive an
11-year conflict against rebel groups backed in part by Turkey.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Palestinian
man killed in Israeli West Bank raid: Palestinian ministry
19
August, 2022
A
Palestinian man was killed Friday by Israeli forces during a raid in the north
of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Salah
Sawafta, 58, “died of critical wounds, sustained by live bullets from the
occupation (Israeli military) in the head, in Tubas this morning,” a ministry
statement said.
The
Israeli military said soldiers came under fire during a raid in the town.
During
an operation in “Tubas, several suspects hurled Molotov cocktails and opened
fire at (Israeli) troops, who responded with fire,” the army said in a
statement, adding “hits were identified.”
The
mayor of Tubas, Hossam Daraghmeh, said Sawafta had been leaving dawn prayers
when he was shot.
“He
left the mosque and was heading to his house wearing a prayer robe. There was a
vengeful soldier stationed in a building near the municipality who shot him in
the head,” he said.
Daraghmeh
said Sawafta had been unarmed when he was hit.
“This
man did not have a stone or anything in his hand,” he said.
The
Israeli military said five people were detained in overnight raids across the
West Bank.
On
Thursday, a 20-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops during clashes
in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab
World
Iraqi
Shia leader reaffirms support for JCPOA revival in meeting with MBS
August
19, 2022
According
to CNN, citing the official Saudi news agency, the two sides also discussed
Saudi-Iraq relations and a number of issues of common significance.
The
meeting was attended by Khaled bin Salman, Deputy Minister of Defense of Saudi
Arabia; Musa’id bin Muhammad Al-Aiban, Saudi National Security Adviser; Abdul
Aziz Al-Shammari, Saudi Ambassador to Iraq; and Sayyid Mohsen Al-Hakim, Deputy
Chairman of Iraq's National Wisdom Movement.
Hakim
went on to say that the Vienna talks should be viewed as an opportunity for all
parties to look at the future positively and seek common goals to help
stabilize the region.
Hakim
also pointed to the role of Iraq in mediating talks between Iran and Saudi
Arabia, saying it will have positive effect on the nations of the region.
So
far, Iraq has hosted five rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The
Saudi crown prince has suggested dialogue between the foreign ministers of
Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi
Arabia cut ties with Iran after dozens of Iranian students attacked the Saudi
embassy in Tehran in January 2016 in protest to the execution of 40
pro-democracy activists.
Source:
Tehran Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Attack
on Rushdie highlights divisions among Lebanese Shia
18/08/2022
BEIRUT,
Lebanon—
The
stabbing of author Salman Rushdie has laid bare divisions in Lebanon’s Shia
Muslim community, pitting a few denouncing the violence against fervent
followers of the Iran-backed Shia militant Hezbollah group who have praised the
attack. One Rushdie defender received death threats.
The
attack struck close to home among Lebanon’s Shia. The assailant, 24-year-old
Hadi Matar, is a dual Lebanese-US citizen and his father lives in a village in
Hezbollah-dominated southern Lebanon. Matar’s mother has said she believes her
son’s visit to the village of Yaroun in 2018 turned him into a religious
zealot.
The
religious edict, or fatwa, urging Muslims to kill Rushdie was issued in 1989 by
Iran’s then-spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who accused the
author of blasphemy for his portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad in the novel “The
Satanic Verses.”
Iran,
a close Hezbollah ally, has praised Friday’s attack but denied direct
involvement. Hezbollah officials have been tight-lipped since the attack on the
75-year-old Rushdie as he was about to give a lecture in western New York. A
Hezbollah official declined comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
Most
Lebanese Shia support Hezbollah and the more secular allied Amal movement of
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, which won all 27 seats allocated to the sect
during this year’s parliamentary elections. Parliament and cabinet seats are
divided in Lebanon in accordance with religious affiliations.
Still,
there is a vocal minority of Hezbollah critics among Shia. Several were
attacked and one was shot dead last year.
As
the controversy swirled, an old video of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
resurfaced on social media. In it, Nasrallah said that “no one would have dared
to attack Islam’s Prophet Muhammad again” if Rushdie had been killed
immediately after the fatwa.
Some
Hezbollah critics have accused the group and its supporters of teaching their
children to kill in the name of religion.
Matar’s
mother, Silvana Fardos, told the local Al-Jadeed TV late Tuesday that her son
had lived all his life in the United States until he visited Lebanon for the
first and last time in 2018. That trip changed him forever, she said.
“After
he returned from Lebanon he was a different human being … I knew that he had a long
depression and I was expecting one day to wake up and find out that he had
committed suicide,” Fardos said, alleging that her son was mistreated by his
father.
Asked
if she asked herself whether she had raised a terrorist or an extremist, the
mother said: “No. I raised an angel.”
Journalists
have been prevented from entering Yaroun and Matar’s father has not spoken to
the media.
Despite
Hezbollah’s official silence, the group’s supporters on social media are
praising the attack.
Some
released threats against prominent journalist Dima Sadek after she posted on
her Twitter account a photo of Khomeini and General Qassim Soleimani, the
Iranian Revolutonary Guards’ Quds Force chief killed in a US strike in 2020,
describing the two as “satanic verses.”
Since
then, death threats on social media and through messages on her cell phone have
not stopped, with one man warning her, “I will rape you in public,” and another
saying that “her blood should be shed.” She received a text message in which
the sender told her where she lives.
Sadek
said despite the public threats, she has not been contacted by the authorities
with offers for protection.
“This
is the first time I feel I am in danger,” Sadek, a harsh Hezbollah critic for
years, told the AP. She alleged that the social media campaign against her is
orchestrated by Nasrallah’s son, Jawad.
She
said she is restricting her movements for the first time.
The
Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Lebanese authorities to launch an
investigation and protect Sadek.
Shia
journalist Mohamad Barakat, managing editor of the Asas Media news website,
also came under attack after he wrote that by stabbing Rushdie, Matar “stabbed
Shia who live in Europe and America.”
In
the other camp, Lebanese journalist Radwan Akil of the renowned local daily
An-Nahar said in seemingly contradictory remarks that he condoned the fatwa
against Rushdie, but not the killing of anyone, including writers.
“I
am of course with political freedoms and freedom of expression … but I’m not
for criticising the greatest man in history the Prophet Muhammad and I also
reject the criticism of Jesus Christ,” Akil said in a televised interview with
Lebanese media.
An-Nahar
issued a statement, headlined “adopting a call to murder contradicts our
policies.” It said that Akil’s views were his own. Two journalists who had
worked for the paper and were outspoken critics of Hezbollah and the government
of Syrian President Bashar Assad, another Iran ally, were killed in car
bombings in 2005.
The
debate may eventually fizzle out because most Lebanese are preoccupied with the
country’s economic meltdown and lack of services. “They have lots of other
concerns,” said Hilal Khashan, political science professor at the American
University of Beirut.
Lebanese
political leaders have not commented on the Rushdie attack.
However,
caretaker Culture Minister Mohammad Mortada denounced Rushdie’s depiction of
the prophet.
Source:
The Arab Weekly
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://thearabweekly.com/attack-rushdie-highlights-divisions-among-lebanese-shia
--------
Supporters
of Iraq’s al-Sadr step up pressure tactic with weekly prayer in Green Zone
19 August,
2022
Thousands
of supporters of Iraq’s Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stepped up their pressure
tactics Friday with a weekly prayer session in the high-security Green Zone
they have occupied for three weeks.
Tensions
in the impoverished, war-scarred country have escalated over the inability of
political factions to agree on formation of a government, 10 months after
parliamentary elections.
Al-Sadr
once led an anti-US group and has millions of devoted followers. Some of them
stormed Iraq’s parliament late last month and began a sit-in, first inside the
building and then on its grounds where thousands remain.
More
recently their opponents from a pro-Iran bloc, the Coordination Framework,
began their own sit-in on an avenue leading to the Green Zone which houses
government institutions and foreign embassies.
“Yes!
Yes to Muqtada!” the cleric’s followers chanted as the prayers began under a
blazing sun.
Al-Sadr
did not attend.
Neither
was he present Wednesday when caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi met
party and other leaders to discuss the political deadlock, which ordinary
Iraqis see as having nothing to do with their daily struggles.
Sadr
wants parliament dissolved to pave the way for new elections, and his followers
see him as a champion of the anti-corruption fight.
Their
opponents in the Framework seek a transitional government before new polls.
The
Coordination Framework comprises former paramilitaries of the Tehran-backed
Hashed al-Shaabi network, and the party of former prime minister Nuri
al-Maliki, a longtime al-Sadr foe.
Maliki
was among those who attended the talks on Wednesday, when political leaders
agreed to work on a roadmap aimed at ending the impasse which has left the
country without a new prime minister or president.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Five
children among 14 killed in shelling on north Syria market
19 August,
2022
Fourteen
people were killed including at least five children in a rocket attack on a
market in the northern Syrian city of al-Bab on Friday, according to emergency
responders working in opposition-held areas.
The
White Helmets rescue group earlier put the death toll at nine.
It
said that figure might rise further as rescue and search operations continued,
adding that children were also among at least 30 people wounded in the attack.
The
warring parties in Syria’s 11-year conflict have carved up the north into a
patchwork of zones of control.
Al-Bab
falls within the areas of Aleppo province held by Turkish-backed fighters, but
other parts are held by Syrian government troops backed by Russia.
The
US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by Kurdish groups who
have opened a dialogue with the Damascus-based government, also control parts
of the north and northeast.
The
head of the SDF’s media center, Farhad Shami, said the group had nothing to do
with Friday’s attack.
Activists
in al-Bab had been planning a protest after midday prayers on Friday to
denounce comments by Turkey calling for reconciliation between the Syrian
government and the opposition.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Saudi
Arabia, Uzbekistan ink multiple deals worth over $12.5B: Report
Yakoota
Al Ahmad, Ali Semerci
20.08.2022
Saudi
Arabia and Uzbekistan inked multiple deals worth over $12.5 billion in various
fields, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
The
deals were signed at a Saudi-Uzbek Business Council meeting which was held
during Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s two-day visit to Saudi Arabia.
The
agreements aim to promote investments, and increase joint projects in different
sectors, including health, energy, aviation, tourism, pharmaceuticals,
construction, food, and technology.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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of the original story:
--------
Turkish
forces ‘neutralize’ 5 YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria
Merve
Berker
19.08.2022
Turkish
security forces “neutralized” five YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, near
the Turkish border, authorities said on Friday.
The
terrorists were planning an attack on Türkiye's Operation Peace Spring zone,
the Turkish National Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Turkish
authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question
surrendered or were killed or captured.
Since
2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across
its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and
enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive
Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Russia:
HTS militants, White Helmets preparing false-flag chemical attack in Syria’s
Idlib
20
August 2022
Russia’s
Defense Ministry has warned that members of the Takfiri Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
(HTS) terrorist outfit together with the so-called civil defense group White
Helmets are planning to stage yet another false-flag chemical attack against
civilians in the northwestern province of Idlib to implicate Russian army and
Syrian government forces.
“The
Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria has received information that Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham terrorists together with representatives of the
pseudo-humanitarian organization White Helmets are preparing to record a staged
video in Ariha town and Jisr ash-Shughur city of the province to accuse the Russian
Aerospace Forces and Syrian government troops of indiscriminate strikes on
civilian infrastructure and residential areas,” Deputy head of the center,
Major General Oleg Yegorov, said on Friday.
He
added that the the Takfiri terrorist group, previously known as Jabhat
al-Nusra, has carried out five counts of shelling in the past 24 hours, of
which one was recorded in the Idlib de-escalation zone. Areas in the same
Syrian province as well as the western coastal province of Latakia were also
shelled on four different occasions.
“In
Aleppo province, a Syrian soldier was also wounded when terrorists stationed in
Tekad town west of Aleppo used light weapons to target positions of government
forces near Basratun village,” Yegorov said.
The
White Helmets group, which claims to be a humanitarian NGO, is known for its
coordination with terror outfits in Syria to carry out staged chemical attacks
in order to falsely incriminate Syrian government forces and fabricate pretexts
for military strikes by a US-led military coalition present in Syria since
2014.
On
April 14, 2018, the United States, Britain, and France carried out a string of
airstrikes against Syria over a suspected chemical weapons attack on the city
of Douma, located about 10 kilometers northeast of the capital Damascus.
That
alleged attack was reported by the White Helmets group, which published videos
showing them purportedly treating survivors.
Washington
and its allies blamed Damascus for the Douma attack, an allegation strongly
rejected by the Syrian government.
The
western media and governments have repeatedly accused the Syrian government of
using chemical weapons against its own citizens in the war against terrorists.
This
is while Syria surrendered its stockpile of chemical weapons in 2014 to a joint
mission led by the United States and the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversaw the destruction of the weaponry. It has
also consistently denied using chemical weapons.
Russia
has been providing Syrian forces with crucial military assistance in the
ongoing battles across the conflict-plagued Arab country.
The
Russian assistance, which began in September 2015 at the official request of
the Syrian government, has proved effective as Syrians continue to recapture
key areas from remnants of the Daesh terrorist group and other foreign-backed
terrorist factions.
‘Remnants
of terrorist groups in Iraq, Syria expanding their activities elsewhere’
Meanwhile,
Head of Russia's Security Council Nikolai Patrushev says remnants of Takfiri
terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria are expanding their activities in other
countries of the world.
Addressing
a meeting of the security chiefs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
member countries in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent, Patrushev stated that the
extremists, having suffered heavy blows in Iraq and Syria, are now changing
their tactics and expanding their activities in other parts of the world,
including South Asia and Africa.
Source:
Press TV
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--------
Nasrallah
says there will be no calm in region if US mediator rejects Lebanon’s demands
19
August 2022
Secretary
General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah says if the American mediator does
not accept the demands put forward by Lebanon with regard to waters disputed
with Israel, there will be no calm in the region.
Nasrallah
made the remarks on Friday while addressing a ceremony to mark laying the foundation
stone for the touristic landmark in Bekaa’s Janta via video conference.
He
said addressing the case of disputed waters and gas fields with the Israeli
regime should not be tied to the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Nasrallah said Hezbollah will insist on the Lebanese rights and borders.
“If
Lebanon’s demands on maritime demarcation are not met, things will escalate,
regardless of whether Iran’s nuclear deal is signed or not.”
He
said all the attention is now on the US mediator who is “wasting” the limited
time. The coming days, he added, will be “critical” for Lebanon’s oil wealth
and maritime demarcation.
Lebanon’s
Al-Akhbar reported on Friday that Israel had yielded to Beirut’s maritime
demands. Also according to Israeli outlets, an Israeli official is set to
travel to the United States to discuss the issue in the hopes of achieving an
agreement.
Back
in mid-July, Nasrallah had warned the regime of any drilling operations for oil
and gas in the disputed area, saying, “There would be no room for oil and gas
extraction in the entire region if Lebanon does not get its right.”
The
maritime row between Lebanon and Israel is over an area in the Mediterranean
Sea spanning about 860 square kilometers. Block No. 9 is rich in oil and gas.
Israel relies heavily on gas and has long been developing occupied offshore gas
deposits in the Mediterranean Sea.
The
two sides have held several rounds of talks to delineate their maritime borders
and resolve the decades-long dispute, but to no avail. The maritime dispute
escalated in early July after the regime moved vessels into the Karish Gas
Field, which lies in Lebanon’s territorial waters.
The
Lebanese resistance movement does not rule out going to war with Israel over
the regime’s attempts at impinging on Lebanon’s natural resources.
New
tourist site in Bekaa
The
new tourist site will be built in one of the former training camps of Hezbollah
in Janta. Historically, that land had hosted the resistance’s military drills
since Hezbollah's emergence 40 years ago.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
Malaysian
Anti-Extremism Group Links Brain Drain to Insults against Minority Faiths
Dineskumar
Ragu
August
20, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: An anti-extremism group has voiced fear that the brain drain from the
country will worsen if legal authorities are not serious in acting against
those who insult minority faiths.
Komuniti
Muslim Universal (KMU) founder Aizat Shamsuddin said the Attorney-General’s
Chambers (AGC) should take heed of an allegation by the Global Human Rights
Federation (GHRF) that there had been inaction in cases of insult to faiths
other than Islam.
Aizat
said the failure to protect the religious freedoms of minorities could be a
factor in emigration.
He
said members of religious minority groups who emigrate would typically head for
countries with a much more accepting society and functioning rule of law.
“Many
examples of emigration like this can be seen from countries that are facing
inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts,” he said, citing Afghanistan,
Pakistan, China and Myanmar.
“Selective
action from the authorities can also contribute to the disaffection and
grievances within the minority communities which can negatively impact social
cohesion and public trust in the state institution.”
Recently,
GHRF spokesman Peter John Jaban said there appeared to be a double standard in
handling cases of insult to religions.
He
claimed that immediate action was often taken against those accused of
insulting Islam but not against those insulting other faiths.
Citing
the case of Wan Asshimah Kamaruddin, who allegedly called for the desecration
of churches in Sarawak, he said 61 police reports had been lodged against her
for a video she posted in March 2021.
The
AGC took action only after members of the public filed a civil suit this year,
he added.
However,
Ryan Chua of Pusat Komas said it was unlikely that the alleged double standard
was a major factor in the brain drain phenomenon.
“I
think it is a little bit too far-fetched to make the link to that extent,” he
told FMT.
“We
at Pusat Komas believe that institutionalised racism and favourable treatment
given to a particular race, to a certain extent, may have contributed to the brain
drain. But we need to understand that brain drain does not involve only
non-Malays.
“Malays
are also migrating overseas to seek brighter opportunities. We can see that
there are a lot of them. We also need to look at their social class.”
But
Chua called for action against those who insult minority faiths.
“The
AGC needs to remember its function to serve all Malaysians and not just one
race,” he said.
He
also urged Putrajaya to form the National Harmony and Reconciliation Commission
proposed by the National Unity Consultative Council when Pakatan Harapan was in
power.
In
2020, the national unity ministry said a bill on the commission would not be
tabled, claiming that there were already enough laws to deal with issues
related to race and religion.
Aizat
suggested that the AGC and the police explore a non-punitive alternative
approach, such as requiring perpetrators to face aggrieved parties and
apologise publicly.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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No
submissions from us, says Najib’s lead counsel
Ho
Kit Yen
August
19, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: Najib Razak’s lawyers have told the Federal Court that they will not be
making any submissions in his SRC International appeal next week.
Lead
counsel Hisyam Teh Poh Teik indicated this to the court after ad hoc prosecutor
V Sithambaram wrapped up the prosecution’s case.
Chief
Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who is chairing the five-member panel presiding
over the appeal, then pointed out that the defence had three days until Tuesday
to prepare its submissions.
“Don’t
tell us you are not prepared to submit on any of the 94 grounds (listed in the
petition of appeal filed by Najib’s former lawyers)?” she asked.
Hisyam
then reiterated that they will not be making any submissions.
Tengku
Maimun responded by saying that the panel will “deal with it” when court
resumes next Tuesday.
The
other judges on the panel are Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Abang Iskandar
Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Nallini Pathmanathan, Mary Lim and
Zabidin Mohamad Diah.
Hisyam’s
stand today seemed to contradict what he told the court yesterday, when he said
the defence will be filing “fresh submissions”.
Najib
is seeking to quash his conviction for abuse of power, money laundering and
criminal breach of trust (CBT) over SRC funds amounting to RM42 million.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Boustead
forensic audit report on LCS ‘to be declassified’
August
19, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein has ordered Boustead Heavy
Industries Corporation (BHIC) to declassify the forensic audit report into the
late delivery of the navy’s littoral combat ships, according to Umno Youth
chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
In
a Facebook post, Asyraf said that the report will shed light on the mastermind
behind the corruption and misappropriation that plagued the company.
“I
wonder who is the opportunist and who masterminded the delay (in the delivery
of the ships). Let’s wait and see what the forensic audit will reveal,” he
said.
Asyraf
said he was informed by Hishammuddin that he had ordered BHIC to declassify the
report.
He
said they had met after a Barisan Nasional meeting in Johor this evening.
BHIC
is a major shareholder of Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), the defence
ministry’s contractor to build six frigates in the littoral combat ship
programme.
On
Wednesday, Putrajaya had declassified a report on the project by the
governance, procurement and finance investigation committee.
It
came two weeks after Parliament’s watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee,
released a report into the troubled RM9 billion project, which has suffered
years of delays.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Umno
will ‘win big’ if elections this year, says Dr M
August
20, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Umno feels it is likely to “win big” if the 15th general election is held
this year, says former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He
said Umno would want the nationwide polls to be held “as soon as two or three
months from now because they feel that at this moment the public still looks up
to them, and the opposition is broken up, disorganised,” Associated Press
quoted him as saying.
Mahathir
claimed that former prime minister Najib Razak hoped to make a political
comeback should Umno win, and expects that an Umno-led government would pardon
him of his convictions on corruption charges.
“And
when he gets a pardon, (and is) cleared completely, he can then become prime
minister. He will do it. Believe me, he will do it.”
Mahathir
said he believes that Malay voters have returned to support Umno, and claimed
that the voters had been offered money and other incentives.
A
general election is not required until September next year. However, several
Umno leaders, particularly party leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime
minister Najib have pressed for earlier elections, especially after Barisan
Nasional’s victories at recent state elections.
Najib
is currently seeking to quash his conviction and 12-year jail sentence on
corruption charges. His case is now on appeal before the Federal Court.
Mahathir
said if his party wanted him to contest the elections, he would do it if he was
“strong and healthy” enough to form a graft-free administration.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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Cabinet
approves central agency to handle forfeited assets
August
19, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: The Cabinet has approved a policy paper to enable the National
Anti-Financial Crime Prevention Centre (NFCC) to be the central agency to
handle seized and forfeited assets.
Law
minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the centre would proceed with the
process of drafting suitable amendments to the law, Bernama reported.
He
said the decision follows Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s statement on May
19 to make NFCC the central agency to manage seized and forfeited assets.
The
legal amendments will have provisions to empower the NFCC to manage seized and
forfeited assets on behalf of the government.
Wan
Junaidi said research would be carried out on how centralised property
management systems are handled in countries such as Australia, Britain, the
United States and the Netherlands.
“Countries
with a centralised property management system are able to manage property more
effectively and efficiently, adding value and bringing success to the country.
“Most
importantly, its implementation will benefit all parties in the criminal
justice system,” he said.
Wan
Junaidi said a one-stop centre to manage seized and forfeited assets is
required in Malaysia.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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of the original story:
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/iuml-gender-neutral-education-kerala/d/127762
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