Muslim Right Has Much In Common With Hindu Right: Muslim Forum on Conservatives Ridiculing LGBTQIA+ Community
New Age Islam News Bureau
18 March 2023
Muslim leaders in Kerala
ridiculing Muslims who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Getty Images
-----
• Activities Influencing Muslims towards Other
Religions Prohibited: Malaysian Islamic Religious Council
• Islamic Scholars to Visit Afghanistan for Talks on
‘Islam’s Position on Women’: Organization of Islamic Cooperation
• Pakistan Played Role in Facilitating Dialogue
between Saudi Arabia and Iran: Foreign Office
• Hamas: PA’s Participation in Egyptian Summit Is In
‘Total Disregard’ Of Israeli Crimes
India
• Madrassas Not Needed In New India: CM of
BJP-Governed Assam
• VHP Performs Special ‘Yagna’ Amid Madani Mosque Row
In Karnataka
• Bihar Govt Allows Muslim Staffers Early Office Leave
during Ramzan
• India overrides objections by Pakistan, to host G20
meet in J&K
• Shivamogga Islamic State conspiracy case: NIA
registers chargesheet against 2 B. Tech graduates
• Karnataka assembly polls: Congress likely to field
fewer Muslim candidates
• NIA charges 68 PFI leaders for ‘conspiracy to
establish Islamic rule by 2047’
• Madhya Pradesh: Muslim law student arrested on
'false charges' approaches SC
--------
Southeast Asia
• Report: Selangor Bans Foreign Islamic Preachers from
Leading Mosque Prayers during Ramadan
• Anwar touts PKR as real champion of Malays, as party
faces resurgent opposition
• Sanusi ‘unapologetic’ in defence, says Anwar in
court filing
--------
South Asia
• ISIS Hideouts Targeted in Balkh Province, Mujahid
Says
• ISIS in Afghanistan Capable of Overseas Attacks,
Says US Commander
• Taliban Stealing Humanitarian Aid, Starving Afghan People:
Afghanistan Mission tells UN
--------
Pakistan
• Maryam Calls On Govt to Treat PTI as ‘Terrorist
Organisation’
• Imran Khan to appear before LHC ahead of graft case
hearing in Islamabad court
• Pakistan court to decide if police can move to
arrest Imran Khan
• ‘Mastermind, handler’ of Peshawar mosque attack
traced; TTP faction involved in blast: KP police
• Punjab CTD nicks 11 suspected terrorists of banned
outfits
--------
Mideast
• Tally shows 100 killed in Israeli-Palestinian
conflict this year
• Turkey’s parliament will begin ratifying Finland's NATO
bid, but not that of Sweden
• Iran executes Kurdish ‘political prisoner’: Rights
groups
• Turkish foreign minister to head to Egypt after a
decade of tension
• Israel arrests two teenagers for arson attack on
mosque
• Young Palestinian man killed in West Bank as
Israel’s atrocities continue unabated
--------
North America
• US To Send Islamic Terrorists to Ukraine, Syria's
Assad Tells Russian Media
• US welcomes Türkiye's decision to ratify Finland's
NATO bid in parliament
--------
Europe
• Greece Violates Principle Of Reciprocity By Keeping
Several Mosques Closed: Experts
• Pro-Palestinian group launches campaign to check
Israeli products in Ramadan across UK mosques
• France refuses to comment on Iraq crash of
helicopter carrying PKK terrorists
--------
Arab World
• European Team Ends Questioning Lebanon’s Riad
Salameh, To Return In April
• Lebanon central bank chief denies financial
misconduct
• Syrian team provides relief for quake-affected dogs,
cats in Idlib
• EU's top diplomat calls for redoubling diplomatic
efforts to solve conflict in Syria
• Assad: War on Syria proved West acts against own
claims on democracy
--------
Africa
• Tunisian President Names One of His Staunchest
Supporters as Interior Minister
• Libya’s boxers recover from Qaddafi-era knockout
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/muslim-right-hindu-conservatives-lgbtqia/d/129352
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Muslim Right Has Much In Common With Hindu Right: Muslim Forum on Conservatives Ridiculing LGBTQIA+ Community
Muslim leaders in Kerala
ridiculing Muslims who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Getty Images
-----
17 MAR 2023
A secular democratic platform of Muslims in India on
Friday criticised the right wing Muslim leaders in Kerala for allegedly
"ridiculing and demonising" the Muslims who are part of the LGBTQIA+
community.
Sharply criticising the leaders of certain outfits including
that of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), who have questioned the logic
behind the reports that a trans-man has delivered a baby in Kerala, Indian
Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD) said it is a tragic irony that while the
minority Muslim community in India is itself the target of rampant
Islamophobia, the conservatives among them are hurling hate speech at the
sexual minorities (minority within the minority).
In a statement, the forum of Muslims, who according to
them are committed to the values of democracy, secularism, equality, and
justice, said it strongly condemned "the concerted effort by the Muslim
right wing in Kerala -- including leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Indian
Union Muslim League (IUML), and some Muslim-run websites -- to ridicule,
vilify, denigrate and demonise Muslims" who are part of the LGBTQIA+
community.
"It is a tragic irony that while the minority
Muslim community in India is itself the target of rampant Islamophobia, the
conservatives among them are hurling hate speech at the sexual minorities
(minority within the minority). What logic or ethics makes Islamophobia wrong
but homophobia, queerphobia, or transphobia right? Not surprisingly, the Muslim
right has much in common with the Hindu right", it said.
The signatories of the statement included eminent
personalities like poet, lyricist Javed Akhtar, actor Naseeruddin Shah and
Teesta Setalvad. The statement observed that the latest trigger for the
"fulminations" is the news last month of a transgender couple from
Kerala -- Zahad Fazil, a trans-man and Ziya Payal, a trans-woman -- having
decided to be biological parents of a baby.
The couple reportedly took this decision because
adoption is not an option for transgender persons, it said. "What perhaps
added to the fervour of the self-appointed custodians of morality is the fact
that Kerala’s health minister Veena George promptly congratulated the couple on
the phone and directed the Kozhikode Medical College to provide all treatment
for free. She also arranged for breast milk to be provided to the baby from the
human milk bank", it said.
The forum said being targets of hate politics
themselves, Muslims should know the difference between free speech and hate
speech."Comparing homosexuality to paedophilia, targeting members of the
LGBTQIA+ community with words and expressions such as "a shame",
"mentally ill", "worst kind of people", "people in
need of treatment" etc are hate speech, not free speech", it said.
The statement further said the very Constitution which
guarantees to Muslims the right to freely profess, practice and propagate their
faith cannot but also guarantee to sexual minorities their right to publicly
proclaim their presence, hold a Pride Parade.
"The United Nation’s Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (1948) begins with the recognition "of the inherent dignity
and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human
family..." So says the Constitution of Indian too", it said.
Even as the humiliated, bruised and battered Indian
Muslim community struggles for its own right to a dignified life, it must learn
to respect and uphold the "right to dignity" of all citizens, the
statement added.
As the transgender community in Kerala celebrated the
birth of the baby for the trans-couple Ziya Paval and Zahhad, senior IUML
leader M K Muneer has said homosexual couples can never conceive and termed as
"hollow" the claim that the person who had delivered a baby in Kerala
recently was a trans-man. "Those who believe in such wonders are living in
a fool's paradise," Muneer had said while addressing a programme organised
by Wisdom Islamic Conference.
Source: Outlook India
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original story:
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Activities Influencing Muslims towards Other Religions
Prohibited: Malaysian Islamic Religious Council
Selangor Islamic Religious
Council chairman Abdul Aziz Yusof noted that ‘Projek Artikel 11 Jom Ziarah’,
originally open to everyone, is now limited to non-Muslim youths. (Bernama pic)
------
17 Mar 2023
SHAH ALAM: Any programme made to persuade or influence
a Muslim to be inclined towards any non-Muslim religion is prohibited in
Selangor, said state Islamic Religious Council (Mais) chairman Abdul Aziz
Yusof.
He said it is also an offence under the Non-Islamic
Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims) Enactment 1988.
Aziz was referring to a poster being circulated online
regarding the “Projek Artikel 11 Jom Ziarah” programme organised by Impact
Malaysia, which comes under the youth and sports ministry.
He said the programme invited young people in Malaysia
interested in learning more about different religions to join an event at a
church in Klang tomorrow.
“Mais is of the view that this programme has elements
to attract the interest of youths, especially Muslim youths, to study or
acquire knowledge related to religions other than Islam.
“If this kind of programme is allowed to be organised,
it can subtly and unconsciously influence the thoughts of Muslim youths to be
inclined towards a religion other than Islam,” he said in a statement today.
Aziz said Mais was of the opinion that understanding,
tolerance and community unity were important to ensure harmony and peace.
However, he said, the programme of learning other
religions other than Islam in churches or houses of worship of other religions
required certain controls and restrictions to ensure that there was no element
of persuading Muslims to be inclined and interested towards religions other
than Islam, and involvement in the rituals of other religions.
He said Mais also took note of youth and sports
minister Hannah Yeoh’s latest statement in Parliament that the programme, which
was originally open to everyone, was now limited to non-Muslim youths.
“However, a check by Mais has so far found that
posters and advertisements on social and electronic media have not been amended
to show that this programme is only for non-Muslims.
“Mais advises any organiser whether from the public
sector, NGOs or other organisations who wishes to hold activities and
programmes on the basis of promoting unity and harmony to be more careful and
to take care of the sensitivities of Muslims and the community,” he said.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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original story:
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Islamic Scholars to Visit Afghanistan for Talks on
‘Islam’s Position on Women’: Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Representative Photo:
amu.tv/en/30055/
----
By Fidel Rahmati
March 17, 2023
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said on
Thursday to send a group of distinguished Islamic scholars to Afghanistan for
talks on the position of Islam on women’s education and employment.
OIC Secretary General Hussain Ibrahim Taha said while
addressing the 49th Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC member state opening
session in Mauritania.
“The OIC will continue its efforts and dialogue with
the concerned authorities in Afghanistan and, in coordination with the
International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), will send an expanded team of
scholars to Afghanistan for dialogue on aspects related to Islam’s position on
women’s education and work.”
Taha stressed that the OIC is still committed to
“Supporting the right of women in Afghanistan to education and work in line
with the principles of Islam.”
He also said that the Taliban continue to “demand that
they be given some time to review the academic curricula and safe environment
for girls’ education.”
The secretary-general also announced that the King
Salman Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Center, in collaboration with the OIC
office in Kabul, will continue to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Organization urged the de facto
government to reverse the ban on women’s education and work, which will face
the country with far-reaching social and economic consequences.
The Taliban-led administration has imposed several
decrees that resulted in a ban on women’s education and has worked with the
international organization since last year.
Their decision was criticized by international
organizations, Islamic organizations and regional countries, urging them to
revere their policies about women’s education and work immediately.
The new academic year in the country began last week,
but the girls have been denied their fundamental rights, education, and
employment for over a year.
Source: Khaama Press
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original story:
https://www.khaama.com/islamic-scholars-to-visit-afghanistan-for-talks-on-islams-position-on-women/
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Pakistan Played Role in Facilitating Dialogue between
Saudi Arabia and Iran: Foreign Office
Photo: news.cgtn.com/news
------
Iftikhar A. Khan
March 18, 2023
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday claimed
Pakistan had played a role in facilitating the dialogue between Saudi Arabia
and Iran.
“It is obvious that this [Saudi-Iran] agreement is a
result of the mediation efforts of China and the constructive talks that took
it facilitated and the two sides were able to resolve their differences,”
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told a weekly press briefing.
“We welcome this development. Pakistan like several
other countries and friends of both Iran and Saudi Arabia played their part in
facilitating the dialogue,” she added.
In this context, the spokesperson recalled that the
first meeting of the two foreign ministers took place in Islamabad on the
sidelines of an OIC meeting.
“But we do not wish to take away credit from China in
this latest agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia on normalisation of
relations and congratulate them for their successful diplomatic efforts,” she
said.
Ms Baloch said Pakistan commends China’s visionary
leadership in coordinating this historic agreement.
“We believe that this diplomatic breakthrough will
contribute to peace and stability in the region and beyond. We hope this
normalisation would define a template for regional cooperation and harmony,”
she remarked.
In reply to a question about a negative tweet by a PTI
leader about Pakistan-China ties, she said that Islamabad’s relationship with
Beijing is decades old.
“It is a relationship that has continued to grow in
strength over the last several decades. We have been friends through good times
and tough times, despite changing situation around us, international
developments, and any domestic developments in Pakistan or in China. Both sides
are committed to this relationship. One statement by some individual cannot in
any way damage this relationship, because it is based on mutual trust, on
mutual confidence and the support of the peoples of Pakistan and China, who
have for generations supported Pakistan-China friendship,” she said.
Answering a question, the spokesperson said Pakistan
has continued to call for peace in the region and security for all its friends,
including Saudi Arabia.
“We hope that with this agreement and the
normalisation of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, there will be
progress on outstanding issues including any differences that they have on
Yemen. We hope this would have peace dividends for the region including in
Yemen,” she remarked.
When asked to comment on reports that China has
demanded payments from Pakistan overdue on the Chinese independent power
plants installed under the CPEC, she stressed that Pakistan and China were
“all-weather strategic cooperative partners”.
She said China was a consistent, generous and
steadfast friend that has stood by Pakistan for the last several decades. China
came and invested in Pakistan’s power sector under CPEC when no foreign
investor was ready to invest in the country.
“This investment resulted in economic development to
the country and helped us in overcoming shortage and breakdowns. We are
grateful to our Chinese friends for their consistent commitment to Pakistan, to
CPEC and for investments in Pakistan. The claims that you have mentioned being
made in the media have taken an inter-governmental conversation completely out
of context by adding sensationalist jargon to it. Let me underline that
Pakistan and China consult closely on all matters and find optimal win-win
outcomes and we will continue to do that. The people of Pakistan are proud of
our friendship with China, which has always come to Pakistan’s assistance when
most needed, including in this difficult economic situation,” she said.
The spokesperson said Pakistan was deeply concerned at
the world-wide increase in racism, xenophobia and violence motivated by
Islamophobia, which is manifesting itself in negative profiling and
stigmatisation of Muslims, vandalisation of Islamic symbols and holy sites,
discriminatory laws and policies, ban on Hijab, and attacks on mosques. She
said that Pakistan was also concerned about rising hate crime against Muslims
including burning of the holy Quran in Europe.
“We call for fostering global dialogue to promote a
culture of peace and tolerance and to raise awareness to combat Islamophobia.”
In this context, she also condemned the recent remarks
made by a BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister in Karnataka, K.S. Eshwarappa.
“These remarks are yet another manifestation of the
rising Islamophobia in India. Pakistan is deeply concerned at the alarming rise
in communal violence and hatred directed against Muslims in India, who are
being systematically stigmatised and marginalised on account of their faith. We
call on India to take immediate steps to ensure safety, security, and
well-being of minorities and allow them to profess and practice their faith in
peace.”
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1742823/pakistan-played-role-in-facilitating-saudi-iran-thaw-fo
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Hamas: PA’s Participation in Egyptian Summit Is In
‘Total Disregard’ Of Israeli Crimes
Israeli forces stand guard
as Palestinian women react to the demolition of their home in the occupied West
Bank town of al-Khalil on December 28, 2021. (Photo by AFP)
------
17 March 2023
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has
vehemently decried the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s participation in an
upcoming summit in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula's Red Sea resort of Sharm
el-Sheikh.
Hazem Qassem, the Hamas spokesman, said on Friday that
the PA’s attendance at the summit on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on March
19 comes in “total disregard” of the Palestinian people's suffering at the
hands of the Israeli forces and settlers.
Stressing that the summit aims to “fight the
resistance,” Qassem called on the PA to reverse its decision, which only serves
the occupying regime's agenda.
The Hamas official called on the PA to stop all
security coordination with the Israeli occupation and to stand behind the
national consensus and the Palestinian people's will for resistance until
putting an end to the occupation.
The gathering, under the US auspices, comes amid
escalating violence in the occupied West Bank and al-Quds, which has left
growing numbers of Palestinian people, including women and children, dead and
many others injured.
Egypt, a US ally, has in the past brokered
negotiations aimed at ending hostilities between Israel and Hamas, including
the May 2021 war. Cairo has also been mediating between rival Palestinian
factions while tirelessly calling for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks, which stalled years ago.
The summit in the Egyptian city comes only two weeks
after the Aqaba security summit with the aim of de-escalating the surging
violence in the Palestinian territories ahead of the holy fasting month of
Ramadan.
On Thursday, the Israeli forces killed four
Palestinians, including a teenager, in the flashpoint West Bank city of Jenin,
according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The latest deaths bring the number of Palestinians
killed since the start of the year to 83 as the Israeli regime has stepped up
arrest raids across the occupied West Bank.
Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on
Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result
of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others
have been arrested.
Most of the raids have focused on Nablus and Jenin,
where Israeli forces have been trying to stifle a growing Palestinian
resistance in the occupied cities.
Local and international rights groups have condemned
Israel’s excessive use of force and “shoot-to-kill policy” against
Palestinians.
‘Israel, PA work to eliminate resistance’
Meanwhile, Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political
bureau of Hamas, said on Thursday that the Israeli regime, in cooperation with
the Palestinian Authority, was trying to eliminate the Palestinian resistance
in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking at a conference in Algiers via video link,
Haniyeh pointed out that armed resistance is growing across the West Bank as a
strategic option for all Palestinians.
Underscoring that the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades —
the military wing of Hamas — have introduced new missiles capable of striking
Israeli targets from a further distance, Haniyeh said, "the occupation
only understands the language of force."
The Israeli war on Gaza, which continued between May
10 and May 21 in 2021, killed at least 250 Palestinians, including 66 children,
and injured more than 1,900 others. The Gaza-based resistance movements
retaliated by firing thousands of missiles at the occupied Palestinian
territories.
The regime was eventually forced to announce a
ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, which came into force in the early hours of May
21.
Source: Press TV
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India
Madrassas Not Needed In New India: CM of BJP-Governed
Assam
Mar 18, 2023
BELAGAVI: BJP-governed Assam intends to shut its
remaining madrassas after having already converted those that used to be funded
by the state into general schools because “there is no need for any such
religious education in new India”, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on
Thursday in poll-bound Karnataka.
“What Assam needs are schools, colleges and
universities to produce doctors, engineers and other professionals to serve the
state and the country,” Sarma told a gathering at the inauguration of a
light-and-sound show on Chhatrapati Shivaji in Belagavi.
The BJP-led government last year shut close to 600
state-run madrasas, but spared those managed by private organisations. The
Gauhati high court upheld the decision after it was legally challenged.
“I come from Assam, which faces the threat of
infiltration from Bangladesh every day. There is a threat to our culture and
traditions. We have to transform our education system. The time has come to
rewrite our history in a new way as it has been distorted,” Sarma said.
Source: Times Of India
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VHP Performs Special ‘Yagna’ Amid Madani Mosque Row In
Karnataka
Mar 18, 2023
Amid an ongoing case on the controversial Assayed
Abdullahi Madani mosque in Malali in a Mangaluru court, Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) activists, who alleged that it was built on a temple, performed a special
‘yagna’ at the Ramanjaneya Bhajana Mandir in the town on Friday.
Officials of the Mangaluru district administration
said the VHP activists performed a ‘Maha Gana Yaga’ or ‘Ganapathy Homa’ for a
temple to be constructed at the site of the mosque after police denied
permission to conduct it near the mosque.
The yagna was also attended by Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) MLA from Mangaluru South constituency Bharath Shetty.
On November 9, last year, a civil court in Mangaluru
ruled that the suit seeking the appointment of a commissioner to survey the
Malali mosque to ascertain whether it was built on a Hindu temple was
maintainable.
The original suit was filed by TA Dhananjaya and BA
Manoj Kumar from Mangaluru before the third additional civil court.
The petitioners argued that remnants of a structure
resembling a temple were found when the Assayed Abdullahi Madani mosque in
Malali was being demolished for renovation in April this year. They sought a
survey of the mosque in the same case.
However, the mosque authorities said the mosque was a
Waqf property, and therefore such a request was not maintainable. They also
filed an application challenging the maintainability of such a suit.
The civil court ruled on Wednesday that the suit was
maintainable and that it will proceed with the hearing. The court had earlier
stayed the renovation work, while the suit was pending.
The court has also extended the temporary injunction
on dismantling the old tiled structure that has a temple-like structure.
Talking about how the controversy came to light, a
senior official said that earthmovers were deployed at the Dargah (mosque) as
part of the renovation process.
“During the process, the temple-like structure has
come to people’s notice. Some JCB workers have taken a photo of the structure
and shared them widely. As soon as the pictures came to light, we have taken
notice of the issue,” said the official who didn’t want to be named.
According to the police, photographs of what appears
to be a ‘kalasha’ (spire), ‘tomara’ (pillar) and poles resembling a temple were
circulated on social media soon after the front portion of the dargah was
demolished for renovation work, undertaken by the mosque authority.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Bihar Govt Allows Muslim Staffers Early Office Leave
during Ramzan
Rohit Kumar Singh
Mar 17, 2023
In a bid to woo Muslim voters ahead of the 2024 Lok
Sabha elections, the Bihar government has decided to change the duty hours for
Muslim officials and staffers during the holy month of Ramzan.
General Administration Department of the state
government on Friday issued a circular in this regard, facilitating Muslim
officials and staff to come to duty one hour before the normal duty hours and
leave one hour before the office leaving time during the month of Ramzan.
"Keeping in view the convenience of Muslim
employees and officials, the government has granted permission to come to the
office one hour before the scheduled time and leave the office one hour before
the scheduled time during the month of Ramzan," the official circular
released by the general Administration Department stated.
The circular further stated that the government order
would be permanently effective for every year during the month of Ramzan.
BJP DEMANDS SIMILAR CIRCULAR FOR HINDU STAFF DURING
NAVRATRA
In response to the circular for Muslim government employees,
BJP leader Arvind Kumar Singh demanded that the Bihar government should come
out with a similar circular for Hindu employees during the festival of Chaiti
Navratra and Ramnavami also.
Meanwhile, the RJD and JD(U) welcomed the move. RJD
leader Ejaz Ahmed said that this will go a long way in strengthening the
secular fabric of the country.
Source: India Today
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India overrides objections by Pakistan, to host G20
meet in J&K
Mar 18, 2023
NEW DELHI: India will host a senior official-level
meeting of G20 culture ministries in Jammu and Kashmir in May, overriding
objections by Pakistan which had lobbied member-states like China, Turkiye and
Saudi Arabia to prevent the Indian government from hosting any such meeting in
the union territory.
Official sources said the meeting will see senior
officials of G20 and guest countries discussing Indian presidency priorities like
protection and restitution of cultural property, harnessing living heritage of
sustainable future, promotion of cultural industries and leveraging of digital
technology for protection of culture.
India’s permanent representative Ruchira Kamboj told
the UN earlier this week that India will host 56 meetings across the length and
breadth of the country, taking G20 from "Kashmir in the north to
Kanyakumari in the south". She also said that under the Indian presidency
G20 meetings will be held in all 28 states and 8 union territories of India. A
G20-related meeting is taking place in Arunachal Pradesh too next week. The US,
China and Indonesia had held G20 meetings in 12, 14 and 25 cities respectively.
While an official announcement is awaited, the union
government had last year asked the local administration to prepare for a G20
meeting in the Valley by giving Srinagar a facelift.
For India, the meeting will offer an opportunity to
show how the situation in the Valley has normalised after the strife caused by
the revocation of the special status of the erstwhile state and to underscore
the potential for tourism in the union territory. According to sources, the
delegates will also visit several cultural hotspots in the region.
Pakistan, however, sees any proposal for a G20 meeting
in Jammu and Kashmir as designed to seek "international legitimacy"
and said last year that the member-states should be "fully cognizant of
the imperatives of law and justice" and reject it outright. Islamabad has
also sought support from its allies China, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to scuttle
the move.
China, in fact, seemed to back Pakistan when its
foreign ministry, responding to a query about the possibility of a G20 event in
Jammu and Kashmir, asked "relevant parties" to avoid complicating the
situation in Jammu and Kashmir with any unilateral move, saying G20 was a
premier forum for global economic cooperation.
Source: Times Of India
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Shivamogga Islamic State conspiracy case: NIA
registers chargesheet against 2 B. Tech graduates
Mar 18, 2023
MANGALURU: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on
Thursday filed a chargesheet against Maaz Muneer Ahmad, 23, and Syed Yasin, 22,
accused in the Shivamogga Islamic State (IS) conspiracy case.
The case relates to the conspiracy hatched to further
the activities of IS by carrying out acts of arson, sabotage and violence in
Karnataka. The NIA re-registered the case in September 2022 and took over the
investigations of the case registered by Karnataka police after the stabbing of
one Prem Singh in Shivamogga on August 15, 2022, by accused Zabiulla and
others, the NIA said.
"Maaz & Yasin, both BTech graduates, had been
radicalised and motivated by an online foreign-based handler to target public
and private properties, including warehouses, liquor outlets, hardware shops,
vehicles and properties belonging to citizens of a particular community,"
an NIA official said.
Involved in over 25 incidents of arson
The two also committed over 25 incidents of arson and
sabotage showing their commitment," an NIA official said.
The two also reportedly trekked and did recces of the
forest near Agumbe and Varahi river backwaters for possible hideouts. They
procured explosives and tested an IED on the banks of Varahi in Shivamogga.
Yasin also burnt the Indian flag and recorded a video to establish his
anti-India credentials, the NIA has stated in its chargesheet.
Source: Times Of India
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Karnataka assembly polls: Congress likely to field
fewer Muslim candidates
Mar 18, 2023
BENGALURU: Desperate to return to power, opposition
Congress is considering fielding candidates from minority communities only in
those constituencies where they stand a better chance of winning. This marks a
departure from the past when the party had handed tickets to members from
minority communities, prioritising its social justice credentials over the
winnability factor.
In the 2018 assembly elections, Congress had fielded
as many as 17 candidates from the minority communities. Only seven of them won.
This time around, the number of candidates is likely to come down to 13 or at
the most 15, say senior party functionaries.
Poll pragmatics may force Cong to change stance
According to them, the party is seriously weighing the
option of fielding non-minority candidates from Shiggaon, Hubballi-Dharwad
West, Ramanagara, Vijayapura City and Mangaluru North and South seats as the
Congress game plan to capitalise on the sizeable Muslim and Christian votes in
these constituencies had failed to yield results over the last one and a half
decades.
On Thursday, a delegation of Muslim leaders met
Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala,
demanding tickets for the community members in proportion to their population.
The parley by Muslim leaders notwithstanding, poll
pragmatics may force the party to adopt a more open stance in its choice of
candidates this time around. In Shiggaon, for instance, which has around 30%
Muslim population, the party has been unsuccessfully fielding Ajjampeer Khadri
since 2004. "Since he has lost the past four elections, the party is
toying with the idea of fielding a Panchamasali Lingayat or Kuruba candidate
this time," said a senior Congress functionary. Khadri had lost to chief
minister Basavaraj Bommai in the last three elections from Shiggaon.
The party is said to have asked former minister Vinay
Kulkarni, a Panchamasali Lingayat, to contest from Shiggaon, hoping to cash in
on the perceived anger of the community against Bommai over their demand for
reservation under the 2A category. Kulkarni, though, is not keen on leaving
Dharwad Rural.
Source: Times Of India
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NIA charges 68 PFI leaders for ‘conspiracy to
establish Islamic rule by 2047’
By Shishir Gupta
Mar 17, 2023
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday
filed two chargesheets against a total of 68 Popular Front of India leaders,
cadres and members in two separate cases in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. They were
raising funds to perpetrate terror activities and to establish Islamic rule in
India by 2047, the chargesheet said. With these, the total number of
chargesheets filed by NIA against PFI cadres this month has gone up to four.
The first such chargesheet was filed in Jaipur on March 13 and the second in
Hyderabad on March 16.
Now-banned PFI is most active in the two states where
the many rank-holders of the party were part of criminal conspiracies to create
a wedge between people of different communities through radicalisation of
impressionable Muslim youth, providing them with training in handling of
weapons, and raising funds for carrying out acts of terror and violence with
the ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic Rule in India by 2047, the
chargesheet said.
Kerala PFI case was registered in September 2022 by
the NIA to probe the criminal conspiracy hatched by the PFI and its leaders
& cadres to create a wedge and between people of different communities
through radicalisation of impressionable Muslim youth, training them in
handling of weapons and raising funds for carrying out acts of terror and
violence with the ultimate objective of establishing an Islamic Rule in India
by 2047.
In addition to criminal conspiracy, the NIA, in its
Kerala chargesheet, included the connected case of the brutal killing of a
Palakkad resident, Sreenivasan, who was hacked to death by armed PFI cadres.
The accused in the two chargesheets filed today have
been charged under various sections of IPC, the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act, 1967, and the Arms Act, 1959.
In the Kerala case, registered in September 2022, the
chargesheet has been filed in the Special Court for NIA Cases, Ernakulam,
against the PFI as an organisation and 58 other accused persons. NIA had
arrested 16 of the accused after taking over the case in 2022, while the others
were arrested earlier by Kerala Police.
The Kerala Chargesheet has been filed after searches
conducted by the NIA at more than 100 locations across the state. The NIA has
also attached 17 properties as they were identified as ‘proceeds of terrorism’
and frozen 18 bank accounts of the accused during the course of its
investigations.
Investigations in the case revealed that the accused
had been conspiring to drive a wedge between different communities and groups
living in India, spread the concept of violent extremism and Jihad in India
with the objective of dismembering the country and taking it over by
establishing Islamic Rule in India by 2047, the chargesheet said.
To achieve these objectives, PFI established various
Wings & units, such as ‘Reporters Wing’, ‘Physical and Arms Training Wing’
and ‘Service Teams’. Investigations by the NIA have revealed that PFI was using
its various Campuses, facilities and infrastructure to impart arms training to
selected cadres in the guise of Physical Education, Yoga Training etc. They
also established a ‘Reporters Wing’ and ‘Service Teams or Hit Teams’ to
eliminate their ‘targets’. Whenever required, PFI pressed into service its
loyal and highly trained cadres of their ‘Service Teams’, as ‘executioners’ of
the Orders pronounced by their parallel Courts, called ‘Dar-ul-Qaza’.
Some of the prominent PFI leaders and office bearers
chargesheeted oday include Abdul Sathar State General Secretary, Yahiya Koya
Thangal State Executive Member (SEC) Member, Shihas MH Ernakulam Zonal
Secretary, alongwith District Secretaries/President Sainudhen TS, Sadik AP, CT
Sulaiman, and, PK Usman State General Secretary SDPI Kerala.
In the Tamil Nadu case, the Chargesheet filed before
the NIA Special Court Chennai has named 10 accused, including Khalid Mohammed,
the State Vice President of PFI. This case was also registered in September
2022, when nine of the accused were arrested by NIA. The 10th accused was taken
into custody a few months later.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Madhya Pradesh: Muslim law student arrested on 'false
charges' approaches SC
17th March 2023
A Muslim lawyer and a law student, have reportedly
approached the Supreme Court seeking justice after they were implicated in
"false, baseless, politically motivated and communally charged cases"
at the behest of organisations having affiliations to the ruling BJP in Madhya
Pradesh.
According to Live Law, the petitioners are lawyer
Noorjahan and law student Sonu Mansoori.
Quoting the petition, Live Law recalled that on
January 28, 2023, Bajrang Dal supporters accompanied by a group of lawyers
associated with the Adhivakta Sangh (lawyers outfit), manhandled the intern
inside the courtroom accusing her of secretly recording bail proceedings of a
Bajrang Dal leader. He was accused of carrying out acts of vandalism in protest
of the movie 'Pathan.' The intern was forcibly frisked by the miscreants who
also snatched away a large sum of money and a phone that was in her possession.
The police, instead of taking action against the malefactors, took the intern
to the police station and lodged FIR against her on the basis of a complaint
claiming that she was working for banned outfits like the PFI (Popular Front of
India). Subsequently, she was arrested, produced before a court on January 29
and sent to judicial remand till February 1.
"No lawyer dared to appear on behalf of the
intern amidst the "communally hostile environment" created by the
miscreants," the petition said, according to the legal news site.
Further, since the local lawyers refused to defend
her, four lawyers from Delhi had to go to Indore to file the bail application.
But the four counsels were prevented from attending the court hearing and
police protection was denied to them. The local bar association also failed to
help. The police failed to pay heed to their pleas for help. Due to a lack of
legal representation, the intern, who was sent into police custody in the
interim, is now under judicial custody.
The petition sought directions from the Supreme Court
for an independent inquiry into the incident that took place in the Indore
district court premises. The petition also sought directions to the State
government to ensure the safety of the petitioners. Since, apparently, an FIR
has been registered also against the lawyer petitioner, the petition pleaded to
stay her arrest, Live Law report said.
The Bench comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice
Bela M Trivedi directed the petitioners to approach the competent High Court
before coming to the SC, the report said.
Source: New Indian Express
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Southeast Asia
Report: Selangor bans foreign Islamic preachers from
leading mosque prayers during Ramadan
By Rex Tan
18 Mar 2023
KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 — Non-Malaysian Islamic
preachers cannot lead the terawih prayers and Ihya Ramadan programmes in
Selangor mosques unless with prior permission from the state Islamic Department
(Jais).
Selangor Islamic Affairs, Consumer Affairs, and Halal
Industry Committee executive councillor Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni said
administrators of mosques, surau and musalla in the state must ensure that the
preachers engaged have been approved by Jais, Utusan Malaysia reported today.
“The invitation of foreign preachers is absolutely not
allowed except after getting permission from Jais,” Mohd Zawawi was quoted as
saying in a statement by the Malay newspaper.
He also reminded the mosque administrators to comply
with other special regulations that have been set up for the Muslim fasting
month of Ramadan, which starts from March 22 and ends on April 21 this year.
Mohd Zawawi also said mosques in Selangor can operate
at full capacity once again based on regulations set for the endemic phase of
Covid-19.
Even so, he reminded Muslims to take precautions and
remain vigilant to prevent contracting and spreading the contagious viral
disease.
Source: Malay Mail
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Anwar touts PKR as real champion of Malays, as party
faces resurgent opposition
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
18 Mar 2023
SHAH ALAM, March 18 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim today said PKR is the real champion of the Malays and the economically
vulnerable, as he accused political rivals of hypocrisy by pretending to uphold
Bumiputera interests when they were known to have squandered public wealth when
in power.
Anwar, who is also PKR president, took aim at the
Opposition parties and ostensibly his one-time-mentor-turned-nemesis, Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad, in a fiery speech at the PKR congress here that aimed to
rally the party ahead of a crucial election in six states.
“When people ask why we are with Umno, I tell them
after four months in power, we have never compromised on matters of law,
corruption and alleviating the lives of the people,” Anwar told delegates.
He said that PKR’s foes will continue to use race and
religion to incite voters against his administration.
“But what is happening now? When we want to fight
hardcore poverty, IPR and Menu Rahmah to help over 130,000 impoverished people
and other measures... we speak of (protecting the Malays and Islam) but they
are still being attacked and by using religion.”
Anwar’s coalition government has been the subject of
escalating attacks by leaders from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) bloc, which
continues to harp on racial and religiously-tinged allegations that the Pakatan
Harapan-led government promotes liberalism and wants to undermine Muslim rule.
Pundits have rated PN’s chances for the upcoming state
elections highly, after a strong showing at the 15th general election last year
when they garnered the second largest share of seats as a single bloc.
These attacks have put the prime minister in a
defensive spot, a sign that he may be concerned about them.
Today, the PKR president said the party has never
compromised on its idealism and struggle for social equitability, which it has
used to guide many of the “unity government” policies four months since taking
office.
“We say we want justice, and this justice means
equitability must be for all. We say we want to uphold the Constitution — to
protect the Bumiputera, that Islam is the religion of the federation, Bahasa
Malaysia and the sovereignty of the Malay Rulers.
“But we also must protect the rights of all citizens
because when we talk about upholding universal rights we cannot be selective,”
he said.
PKR and its allies in PH will seek to defend Selangor,
Penang and Negeri Sembilan from the so-called “green wave” in local elections
that is rumoured to be scheduled for June or July, but this time facing a real
possibility that its rivals could make a dent in those states.
The Anwar government so far enjoys a 68 per cent
approval rating, according to a recent survey from independent pollster Merdeka
Center poll; but whether or not the 10th prime minister can sustain it could
very much depend on his ability to visibly remedy issues like living cost
pressure and allay Bumiputera grievances.
At today’s PKR congress, Anwar said his government has
rolled out pro-people policies while his predecessors have been mired in
corruption scandals.
"I told Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar to give our paddy
farmers RM60 million, and later I said to him also give 30 per cent of Bernas'
revenue to the farmers," he said, referring to tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar
Albukhary whose net worth has been valued by Forbes at US$1.6 billion this
year.
"This is what we choose to do. What did they
choose to do? You siphon money into your party account so they can splurge it
on their families. Is this helping the Bumiputera? " Anwar added, likely a
reference to PN chairman and eighth prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
"I believe we should carry this narrative...and
we will use this principle to fight and God willing, we will win."
Source: Malay Mail
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Sanusi ‘unapologetic’ in defence, says Anwar in court
filing
V Anbalagan
17 Mar 2023
KUALA LUMPUR: Anwar Ibrahim has rejected an
explanation offered by Kedah Perikatan Nasional chief Sanusi Nor over remarks
made against him in a campaign speech during the general election last
November.
In a statement of reply filed over his defamation suit
against Sanusi, Anwar said Sanusi’s defence showed he had still maintained an
“unapologetic attitude” towards him.
Anwar said the defamation was premeditated, malicious
and was borne out of mala fide intentions.
Describing Sanusi’s reasoning as “oxymoronic and
farcical”, Anwar said he was now entitled to adduce evidence of Sanusi’s own
character and turpitude at the hearing of the suit.
Anwar had filed a suit for defamation against Sanusi
in December last year.
Last month, Sanusi had in his defence to the suit said
that Anwar had no basis to be “thin-skinned”.
He said Anwar had during his own election campaign
speeches subjected his political opponents to multiple accusations which were
not merely critical but also “defamatory” and “extreme”.
“It would be unreasonable and surprising for a
politician who regularly calls others ‘thieves’, ‘stupid’, etc., to suddenly
become sensitive when his opponents comment and criticise him based on his
background which is known to the public,” Sanusi’s defence said.
Sanusi also said his comments about Anwar were based
on matters which were derived from public records going back to 1998 when Anwar
was sacked from the government.
The Jeneri assemblyman is relying on the defences of
justification, qualified privilege, and fair comment to defeat Anwar’s suit.
Filed in the Alor Setar High Court, Anwar’s suit seeks
damages from Sanusi for damaging his reputation.
Sanusi is alleged to have made his remarks on Nov 13
last year, six days before polling day for GE15.
He was speaking in support of PN’s Ahmad Faizal Azumu,
whom Anwar eventually defeated in the contest for the Tambun parliamentary
seat.
The speech was reported widely in the media. It was
also captured on video and posted on Facebook.
Anwar’s statement of claim alleged that Sanusi’s
remarks implied Anwar had abused his powers as an MP, was deceitful, a traitor,
a hypocrite, and not a good Muslim.
Anwar said the previous Yang di-Pertuan Agong had on
June 16, 2018 granted him a full pardon of his three convictions – one for abuse
of power and two for sodomy – citing a “miscarriage of justice”.
He said the pardon was also granted on the basis that
there was a conspiracy to destroy his character.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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South Asia
ISIS Hideouts Targeted in Balkh Province, Mujahid Says
By Nizamuddin Rezahi
March 18, 2023
The Islamic Emirate spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid
said that Taliban security forces targeted ISIS hideouts in the fifth, sixth
and eighth areas of Mazar-e-Sharif province, and described it as a substantial
strike against insurgents.
Mr. Mujahid on Saturday wrote on Twitter that Taliban
security forces launched special operations against the ISIS militants in
Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital city of Balk province.
The operation continued until late Friday night, as a
result several ISIS fighters died and one Islamic Emirate security personnel
sustained an injury, Mujahid said.
Additionally, local sources reported a clash between
Taliban security forces and anti-government militants in the Dashte Shor area
of Mazar-e-Sharif.
With the arrival of spring, ISIS fighters have
increased their attack throughout Afghanistan, particularly in northern
provinces. Militants of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) claimed
responsibility for the attack on the Tabyan Cultural Center, which resulted in
the death and injury of scores of journalists in Mazar-e-Sharif.
Prior to the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, ISIS
presence was only seen in eastern Nangarhar and Khost provinces. However, the
insurgent group quite rapidly expanded its operation to different parts of
Afghanistan over the past 18 months.
According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan (UNAMA), ISIS militants have been behind some brutal attacks in
Kabul over the past months, including the attack on the Russian Embassy, the
Diplomatic Mission of Pakistan, and a hotel that accommodated Chinese citizens.
Meanwhile, the insurgent group has also launched
ruthless attacks on educational institutions and even targeted high-ranking
Taliban officials in Kabul.
Source: Khaama Press
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ISIS in Afghanistan Capable of Overseas Attacks, Says
US Commander
By Nizamuddin Rezahi
March 17, 2023
The Islamic State militants in Afghanistan will have
the potential to attack American or Western interests outside the country in
less than six months, the top commander for US forces in the Middle East said
on Thursday.
Army General Michael Kurilla, who leads US Central
Command, told the US Senate Armed Services Committee that Islamic State’s
Khorasan Province, commonly known as ISIS-K, is rapidly growing in Afghanistan,
with the potential to launch “overseas operations” in Europe and Asia.
The terrorist group will not be able to attack the US
homeland in the near future, however, hundreds of Americans outside the country
will face immediate threats from the insurgent group, according to Michael
Kurilla.
Following the withdrawal of American forces from
Afghanistan, civil and military American officials said that the United States
has the ability to target terrorist groups in Afghanistan from a distance.
The killing of Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in
a counter-terrorism operation by the CIA in the Afghan capital city of Kabul in
August 2021, justifies the US’s ability to target terrorist groups in
Afghanistan and beyond.
Kurilla acknowledged that the quality of US
intelligence has degraded since the pullout from Afghanistan, and conducting
counterterrorism operations has become difficult but not impossible. He said his command is working to close the
intelligence gap using sophisticated technologies that can stay in the air for
days and weeks to enhance gathering accurate intelligence on terror groups.
Since the return of the Taliban to power in August
2021, ISIS-K is responsible for killing and injuring at least 700 people in
Afghanistan, according to Human Rights Watch. The terrorist group carried out
four high-profile attacks from December-January 2022, hitting Afghanistan’s
foreign ministry, the military section of Kabul’s airport, the Pakistani
embassy, and a hotel housing Chinese guests, according to the nonprofit Counter
Extremism Project.
Source: Khaama Press
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Taliban Stealing Humanitarian Aid, Starving Afghan People:
Afghanistan Mission tells UN
Ajeyo Basu
March 17, 2023
Geneva: The legal advisor of the Afghanistan Mission
in Geneva has accused the Taliban regime in Kabul of interfering with aid
deliveries, leading to food shortages for sections of the Afghan population.
“The Taliban have also forced NGOs to register and
provide information which has led to the interference with the equitable
delivery of humanitarian aid,” Mohibullah Tayib told a United Nations (UN)
meeting in Geneva.
The senior Afghan official also expressed concerns
over the prevailing humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, which has been
worsened due to shortages of food and medicines and extreme weather conditions.
However, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – the
official name by which the Taliban rulers of Kabul call themselves – denied the
charges and claimed that aid is being delivered to all sections of Afghan
society with transparency.
“The Islamic Emirate has no interference in
humanitarian aid delivery. We are trying to distribute the aid to the
vulnerable people and ensure transparency in delivering the aid,” Abdul Latif
Nazari, the deputy Minister of Economy of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, was
quoted as saying by the media.
Source: Firstpost
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Pakistan
Maryam calls on govt to treat PTI as ‘terrorist
organisation’
March 17, 2023
PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif on
Friday called on the coalition government to treat the PTI as a “terrorist
organisation”.
“The way the government, the state deals with a banned
organisation, a terrorist organisation, Imran Khan should be dealt with in the
same way. Thinking of it (PTI) as a political party and dealing with it as a political
party needs to end,” she said.
She said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan was now amenable
for talks with the government after all his tactics had failed. “The government
should deal with them in the same way it deals with terrorists.”
She made the remarks during a fiery press conference
in Lahore in which she lashed out at the ex-premier for “openly revolting
against the state”.
The PML-N leader’s comments come as Imran has been
resisting arrest in the Toshakhana case and is holed up inside his Zaman Park
residence surrounded by hundreds of supporters, who have fought “pitched
battles” with the police and Rangers.
“After the foreign funding case, I have no doubt that
he (Imran) was launched to spread civil unrest and anarchy in Pakistan,” Maryam
said.
“What do terrorists do when they are planning to carry
out terrorism? They hide in caves and pass orders from there.
“In political and democratic movements […] we have
always seen that political leaders or the party head leads from the front. He
is at the front and the people come out behind him.”
She said that only in terrorists organisations were
orders given “from a cave”, adding that the same was happening at Zaman Park.
“Statements are being given from the Zaman Park
bunker,” she said, adding that people were also being given orders to throw
petrol bombs.
“Where did the petrol come from? Where did the petrol
bombs come from? Where did the technology for making petrol bombs come from?
Have you ever seen petrol bombs in the hands of a political party?”
Maryam alleged that Imran had pitted the police forces
of two provinces against each, adding that members of banned organisations were
also present outside Zaman Park.
“The way in which terrorist organisations tell people
to wear suicide jackets and carry out suicide attacks, in the same way he is
calling on people to attack the state with the promise of a [party] ticket. It
is the same thing.”
She further said that the state appeared to be on the
back foot as it did not want bloodshed and valued the lives of citizens. She
said that the state had to “look after everyone”.
“But yes, now the state will have to sit together with
the country’s institutions and remove the label of a political party from it
(PTI). It should be dealt with as a banned organisation […] and a terrorist
organisation.
“If this doesn’t happen, then a huge question mark
will arise on this government.”
During the press conference, Maryam was also asked
about why she only blamed ex-spymaster retired Lt Gen Faiz Hameed and not
former army chief retired Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa for ousting her father Nawaz
Sharif.
Source: Dawn
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Imran Khan to appear before LHC ahead of graft case
hearing in Islamabad court
Mar 17, 2023
LAHORE: Ousted premier Imran Khan will appear before a
Pakistani court here on Friday and provide an assurance that he was ready to
present himself on Saturday before the judge handling a corruption case against
him.
Khan, the 70-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
chief, has been resisting arrest in the Toshakhana case and is holed up inside
his Zaman Park residence here surrounded by hundreds of his supporters, who
have fought pitched battles with the police and Rangers over the past few days.
“Imran Khan will come to the Lahore High Court himself
and assure the judge that he is ready to go to the Islamabad court,” PTI leader
Fawad Chaudhry told media persons on Friday, adding that “an undertaking has
also been given to the court”.
Additional District and Sessions Judge in Islamabad
Zafar Iqbal had re-issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Khan on February 28
and directed the capital city police to bring him to court by March 18.
While hearing the case, the judge remarked that Khan
should surrender unconditionally before seeking any favour from the court.
Khan has skipped several hearings in the case.
Judge Iqbal on Monday re-issued non-bailable arrest
warrants for Khan and directed the police to bring him to court by March 18.
However, when the police reached Khan's Zaman Park
residence in Lahore to arrest him on Tuesday, they were met with resistance,
leading to two-day pitched battles between PTI supporters and law enforcement
agencies. The clashes ultimately subsided after the courts intervened on
Wednesday.
Ahead of the hearing in LHC on Friday, Chaudhry
tweeted that both parties had “agreed to resolve the issues” and the agreed
solution will be presented in court.
Khan has been in the crosshairs for buying gifts,
including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a
discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana, and selling them
for profit.
Established in 1974, the Toshakhana is a department
under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division and stores precious
gifts given to rulers, parliamentarians, bureaucrats, and officials by heads of
other governments and states and foreign dignitaries.
According to Khan, he was facing over 80 different
cases in various courts across Pakistan.
Khan was ousted from power in April last year after
losing a no-confidence vote, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy
targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia,
China, and Afghanistan.
Source: Times Of India
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Pakistan court to decide if police can move to arrest
Imran Khan
Mar 17, 2023
LAHORE, PAKISTAN: Scores of supporters of Imran Khan
barricaded his home on Friday to protect him as the former Pakistani prime
minister waited to hear a ruling on whether security forces could launch an
operation to arrest him for failing to show up in court.
Ahead of the court decision, a tense calm prevailed in
Khan's Lahore neighbourhood which earlier this week was the scene of pitched
battles between hundreds of supporters and security forces that had tried to
force the former international cricketer to attend a hearing in a case in which
he is accused of selling state gifts given to him while he was prime minister.
Khan denies the charges.
Even though there was no police presence on Friday,
witnesses said Khan's supporters, armed with batons and iron rods, remained
stationed outside his home.
Khan's aide Fawad Chadhury said his party, the
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, had filed another plea on Friday at the Islamabad
high court to suspend the warrant after a lower court rejected a similar plea a
day earlier.
"Our supporters are outside Imran Khan's house
but I don't think matters will become extreme," he added.
Police are waiting for the court ruling on the warrant
before taking any action, the provincial government's information minister Amir
Mir said.
The violence on Tuesday and Wednesday, in which
protesters hurled petrol bombs and security forces used tear gas and water
cannon, had raised fears of a new political stand-off in nuclear-armed
Pakistan, which is already grappling with an economic crisis.
The arrest warrant was issued by a court in Islamabad
when Khan, 70, failed to appear before it over charges that he unlawfully sold
state gifts given to him by foreign dignitaries when he was prime minister from
2018 to 2022.
The Election Commission of Pakistan had found him
guilty and barred Khan from holding public office for one parliamentary term.
Khan has said he was willing to submit a written
undertaking that he would voluntarily appear before the court on Saturday, but
the court said such an undertaking was insufficient. It was unclear whether the
court hearing on Friday would take this undertaking into consideration.
The legal proceedings against Khan began after he was
ousted from office in a parliamentary vote early last year. Since then, he has
been demanding a snap election and holding nationwide protests, and was shot
and wounded in one of those rallies.
Source: Times Of India
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‘Mastermind, handler’ of Peshawar mosque attack
traced; TTP faction involved in blast: KP police
Sirajuddin
March 17, 2023
The Additional Inspector General of Police in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Shaukat Abbas, said on Friday that the Counter Terrorism
Department has apprehended a key suspect linked to the Peshawar mosque bombing
that killed dozens in January as he attributed the attack to a splinter faction
of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
On Jan 30, a powerful explosion ripped through a
mosque in Peshawar’s Red Zone area where between 300 and 400 people — mostly
police officers — had gathered for prayers. The suicide blast blew away the
wall of the prayer hall and an inner roof and claimed 84 lives.
The outlawed TTP had initially claimed responsibility
for the attack. However, it later distanced itself from it but sources earlier
indicated that it might have been the handiwork of some local faction of the
outlawed group.
Addressing a press conference today, the senior KP
police official asserted that the TTP’s group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was behind the
incident. “The bomber who carried out the attack is known as ‘Qari’ in the TTP
circles,” the official added.
He said that the suspect detained by law enforcement
officials was a “backup suicide bomber” who would have been used as a secondary
option during the attack in case the first bomber failed to detonate his vest.
The suspect was identified as Imtiaz Khan and was
arrested by the CTD with the help of law enforcement agencies, according to the
additional IG.
The senior official declined to identify the place
from where the suspect was arrested. However, he reiterated that the alleged
bomber got training in the Kunduz area of Afghanistan.
Furthermore, he mentioned that law enforcement had
identified a “mastermind” and a “handler” associated with the bombers, and they
were currently making efforts to apprehend them.
The mastermind was identified as Ghaffar alias Salman.
“We have found that Ghaffar was in contact with the suicide bomber on the day
of the incident. We are trying to apprehend the handler and mastermind of the
attack.”
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in TTP violence since
peace talks between the militant group and the government broke down in the
latter half of last year. The TTP formally ended the ceasefire on November 28
and since then 58 attacks have been claimed by the group in which 170 people
died.
Source: Dawn
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Punjab CTD nicks 11 suspected terrorists of banned outfits
March 17, 2023
LAHORE: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on
Friday arrested 11 alleged terrorists of banned outfits during operations
across Punjab.
CTD spokesman said 55 intelligence-based-operations
(IBOs) were conducted in different districts of the province to effectively
deal with any untoward incident of terrorism, in which 56 suspected persons
were interrogated and 11 alleged terrorists were arrested with weapons,
explosives and other prohibited materials.
He said among the arrested terrorists were three
members of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi namely Najibullah, Muhammad Tahir and Abdul Sami,
one member of Tehreek Jafaria Muhammad Aftab, four members of Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan namely Kaleemullah, Manzoor Khan, Niaz Muhammad and Muhammad Zubair,
two members of Sepah Sahaba Pakistan identified as Muhammad Hussain Muawiya and
Muhammad Daniyal and a proclaimed offender Muhammad Zubair.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Mideast
Tally shows 100 killed in Israeli-Palestinian conflict
this year
18 March ,2023
Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian Friday in what
the army described as an attempted “stabbing attack,” bringing the number of
people killed in the conflict this year to 100.
The Palestinian health ministry announced the death of
Yazan Omar Jamil Khasib, 23, who died “after the occupation (Israel) opened
fire on him at the northern entrance of al-Bireh” city near Ramallah, in the
occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army said “soldiers spotted a suspect and
asked him to identify himself. The suspect drew a knife and approached the
forces who responded by opening fire.”
“The assailant was neutralized,” the army said in a
statement, adding that the incident took place close to Beitin, a Palestinian
village near al-Bireh.
No military personnel were injured in the incident, it
added.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day
War of 1967.
Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict has claimed the lives of 86 Palestinian militants and civilians,
including children.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Turkey’s parliament will begin ratifying Finland's
NATO bid, but not that of Sweden
17 March ,2023
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that
Turkey’s parliament will begin ratifying Finland's NATO bid, but not that of
Sweden, removing the biggest remaining hurdle to enlarging the Western defense
alliance as war continues to rage in Ukraine.
Speaking in Ankara alongside Finnish counterpart Sauli
Niinisto, Erdogan said Helsinki won Turkey’s blessing after taking concrete
steps to keep its promises to crack down on what it sees as terrorists and to
free up defense exports.
Ankara will continue discussions with Stockholm on
terrorism-related issues and Sweden’s NATO membership bid would depend directly
on measures taken, he added.
The parliaments of all 30 NATO members must ratify
newcomers.
“We have decided to initiate the ratification of
Finland’s accession process to NATO in our parliament,” Erdogan told reporters
after meeting with Niinisto, adding he hoped parliament would endorse the bid
before May 14 elections.
Niinisto said he welcomed the decision and called it
“very important” for Finland, which shares a long border with Russia.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden
and Finland applied last year to join the trans-Atlantic pact but faced
unexpected objections from Turkey. Ankara says Stockholm harbors members of
terrorist groups, a charge Sweden denies.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Iran executes Kurdish ‘political prisoner’: Rights
groups
17 March ,2023
Iran on Friday executed a Kurdish man viewed as a
political prisoner by activists for membership of an outlawed group, rights
groups said.
Mohayyedin Ebrahimi was hanged at dawn at Urmia prison
in northwestern Iran, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Hengaw
rights groups said in separate statements.
Five other men were also executed on drug-related
charges at Urmia on Friday morning, the groups added.
Ebrahimi, arrested in 2017 and sentenced to death in
2018, was accused of involvement in the Kurdish Democratic Party, a banned
group which has waged an armed struggle for self-determination of Iran’s
Kurdish populated region.
Ebrahimi denied the charges, with rights groups saying
that he had only been working as a porter carrying goods from Iraq.
Both IHR and Hengaw described him as a “political
prisoner.”
IHR said a protest took place outside the doors of
Urmia prison late on Thursday after it became apparent his execution could be
imminent, and his son was arrested.
Hengaw said Ebrahimi’s family was initially told he
was moving to another prison after the sentence was suspended, only to be
called to collect the body.
Meanwhile another convict was hanged on Thursday in
the prison of Khorramabad in western Iran for the murder of a policeman, the
official IRNA news agency said.
The hangings come as alarm intensifies over the high
numbers of executions in Iran, which has also faced strong international
condemnation over its crackdown on a protest movement that erupted in
September.
Iran has executed four people over the protests,
sparked by the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd
who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women.
Rights groups have warned that executions on all kinds
of charges are on the rise, arguing this seeks to intimidate society into not
protesting.
According to IHR, at least 144 people have been
executed this year.
IHR director Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam described those
executed “as victims of the government’s execution machine, whose purpose is
only to intimidate people and prevent protests.”
Source: Al Arabiya
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Turkish foreign minister to head to Egypt after a
decade of tension
17 March ,2023
Turkey’s foreign minister will travel to Cairo on
Saturday in a further sign of thawing relations a decade after diplomatic links
were cut by the overthrow of Egypt’s then president and Ankara’s ally Mohamed
Mursi.
The visit by Mevlut Cavusoglu will be the first time
Turkey has sent its top diplomat there since Egypt’s army chief, now president,
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the ousting of Mursi in July 2013.
It comes two weeks after Cavusoglu’s Egyptian
counterpart, Sameh Shourky, visited Turkey to show solidarity after the massive
earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
“All aspects of our bilateral relations will be
discussed, and views will be exchanged on regional and international issues,”
Turkey’s foreign ministry said.
The visit “inaugurates a path for restoring normal
relationships between the two countries,” Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a
simultaneous statement.
The visit would launch a “deep dialogue” aiming to
reach “a mutual understanding that achieves both countries’ interests,” the
Egyptian ministry’s spokesperson added.
Mursi, a senior figure in the Muslim Brotherhood who
died in 2019, was supported by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his
AK Party.
There have been signs of a growing rapprochement
between Turkey and Egypt in recent months.
Sisi and Erdogan shook hands during the 2022 World Cup
in Qatar.
In the wake of the deadly earthquakes last month, Sisi
and Erdogan spoke on the phone, and Egypt’s Shoukry visited Turkey on Feb. 27,
marking another first in a decade.
After visiting earthquake-hit areas, Turkey’s
Cavusoglu said he could visit Egypt soon, and that Erdogan and Sisi could meet “either
in Turkey or Egypt” after that.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Israel arrests two teenagers for arson attack on
mosque
MOHAMMED NAJIB
March 17, 2023
RAMALLAH: Two teenagers from Tel Aviv have been
arrested for firebombing the Sayedna Ali Mosque in Herzliya in January.
Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet said on
Friday that Liad Ohana, 19, and a 16-year-old boy, who was not named, had been
indicted on multiple charges, including committing terrorist acts, arson and
the use of weapons for terrorist purposes.
It said the pair had also initially planned to lynch
an Arab citizen, “but they abandoned the idea and decided to attack a mosque.”
The statement said there had been an increase in
nationalism in the wake of the terrorist attacks by settlers in Hawara in
February, which “constitutes a threat to the state’s security.”
“During the investigation conducted by the Shin Bet,
it became clear that the two suspects were involved in the crime attributed to
them and the evidence collected revealed that the attempt to burn the mosque
was motivated by nationalism,” Shin Bet said.
It added that after looking at mosques in the Tel Aviv
area, the teenagers decided to target one in the abandoned village of Haram,
near the city of Herzliya.
According to the arrest request submitted by the
public prosecution to the court, the two suspects manufactured “incendiary
Molotov cocktails to implement the plan to arson the mosque.”
“If the defendants’ plan had been fully implemented
and the mosque caught fire, this would have led to an escalation of severe acts
of violence in Israeli society,” Shin Bet said.
Jalal Banna, a political analyst, told Arab News that
statements made by Israel’s Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had emboldened Jewish extremists to commit
terrorist attacks against Arabs.
“This gives them legitimacy to take revenge on the
Arabs and it becomes part of the policy of the Israeli government that the
extremists are leading,” he said.
Banna referred to a petition submitted by hawkish
deputies from the Knesset on Thursday to Defense Minister Yoav Galant demanding
the release of Jewish extremists who burned Palestinian homes and vehicles in
Hawara on Feb. 26.
Israeli Arabs were living in fear of retaliation
during the upcoming month of Ramadan, he said.
Yousef Jabarin, a former Arab member of the Israeli
parliament, told Arab News that the comments made by Ben-Gvir and Smotrich
against Arabs had encouraged Jewish extremists to carry out terrorist acts with
impunity.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2270531/middle-east
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Young Palestinian man killed in West Bank as Israel’s
atrocities continue unabated
18 March 2023
Israeli forces have killed a young Palestinian man in
the occupied West Bank amid simmering tensions as the Tel Aviv regime have
intensified crackdown on growing armed Palestinian resistance.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the death
of Yazan Omar Jamil Khasib, 23, who died “after the occupation [Israeli forces]
opened fire on him at the northern entrance of al-Bireh” city near Ramallah, in
the occupied West Bank, on Friday.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported
that he was arrested in critical condition by Israeli soldiers, only to succumb
to his serious gunshot wounds and pronounced dead a few minutes later.
Palestinian ambulance and medical staff were denied
access by the Israeli army to the scene, where the young man was first reported
wounded.
Khasib's body was held by Israeli occupation military
force for two hours, before it was turned over to the Palestinian side.
The Israeli army later asserted in a statement that
its forces “spotted a suspect and asked him to identify himself”. It further claimed
that the man then drew a knife and Israeli troops opened fire and “neutralized”
him.
It added the killing took place close to Beitin, a
Palestinian village near al-Bireh. None of the Israeli forces was harmed in the
purported incident.
Since the start of this year, at least 88
Palestinians, including 17 children and one woman, have been killed by Israeli
forces, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Jenin recorded the highest number of fatalities with
35 victims, followed by Nablus with 21.
Seven Palestinians were also shot and killed by
Israeli military forces in al-Khalil, and another six lost lives in al-Quds.
The rest of the Palestinians were fatally shot in the cities of Ariha,
Qalqilya, Ramallah, al-Bireh, Bethlehem, Salfit and Tubas as well as the
besieged Gaza Strip.
EU calls for immediate probe into Israel’s killing of
Palestinian teen in Jenin
The European Union called for an immediate
investigation into the murder of 16-year-old Palestinian teenager Omar Awadin
by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin a day earlier.
In a tweet, the bloc called for a prompt and
transparent investigation into the killing, affirming that children enjoy
special protection under international law.
Over the past months, Israel has ramped up attacks on
Palestinian towns and cities throughout the occupied territories. As a result
of these attacks, dozens of Palestinians have lost their lives and many others
have been arrested.
Most of the raids have focused on Nablus and Jenin,
where Israeli forces have been trying to stifle a growing Palestinian
resistance in the occupied cities.
Source: Press TV
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North America
US to send Islamic terrorists to Ukraine, Syria's
Assad tells Russian media
By BOAZ EDIDIN
MARCH 17, 2023
The United States plans to send Islamic terrorists
from Syria to Ukraine to aid in the war against Russia, Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad told Russian state-owned media RIA Novosti.
On Wednesday, Assad met with Russian President
Vladimir Putin for the first time since the Ukraine-Russia War began to discuss
Syria and Russia’s political, economic, and military relationships. RIA spoke
to Assad after the meeting about the situation in Ukraine and the United
States' presence in Europe and the Middle East.
Both the interviewer from RIA and Assad accused the US
of harboring terrorists and manipulating the war for its own benefit.
"We don't have proof,” said Assad when asked
whether the US is transferring militants into Ukraine. “But it's quite
expected...the US is moving terrorists from one place to another, in addition
to the terrorists moving on their own.”
The militants he accuses the US of enlisting are
“Islamic terrorists,” he says, who hide behind the veil of religion. Although
there are no religious motives associated with the war in Ukraine, Assad
insists that he knows the purported terrorists are there based on videos he has
seen online.
“Judging by the videos circulating on the Internet,
they are present there,” Assad said. “They didn't go there because of the idea
of jihad. It is certain that someone abandoned these terrorists, and
undoubtedly this happened under the patronage of the United States and its
agents from Western countries.
"This is a typical topic that happens all the
time and is not connected with either Syria or Ukraine, it is connected with
the mechanism of action of America and Western countries in the issue of using
terrorism as an agent in their wars. Naturally, there are terrorists who were
transferred from other regions, including from Syria, in order to fight Russia
in Ukraine," he told RIA.
Russia pushes claims of American recruitment of
militants
RIA reported that, according to their sources, the CIA
has been recruiting militants from Kurdish-controlled camps in northeastern
Syria for shipment to Ukraine.
According to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service,
the CIA recruited 90 militants in June and 60 in January, including several
members of Al Qaeda and other jihadist groups affiliated with the Islamic
State.
RIA claims that the militants were transferred to
America’s Al-Tanf base in Syria to receive formal training in the execution of
terror attacks at the behest of the US military against foreign government
officials, military personnel, and civilians.
In addition to claiming that the US is using
terrorists to manipulate the war in Ukraine, RIA reported that the US is guilty
of supplying terrorists in Syria with advanced weapons. When asked about
America’s sending arms to the terrorists that oppose his regime, Assad
responded: “It will be only a small fraction of what will come to these
terrorist groups directly from the United States.”
“The United States provided them with modern advanced
air defense missiles; the terrorists have all the satellites,” he continued.
“What does the leak of small stocks of weapons mean? Nothing. They have
everything, they are an alternative army to the regular army of the United
States and other NATO member states.”
Source: J Post
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https://www.jpost.com/international/article-734642
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US welcomes Türkiye's decision to ratify Finland's
NATO bid in parliament
Rabia Iclal Turan
17.03.2023
WASHINGTON
The US Friday welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan's announcement to move ahead with Finland's NATO membership bid, the
White House said.
"The United States welcomes President Erdogan’s
announcement that he will send Finland’s NATO accession protocols to the
Turkish Parliament and looks forward to the prompt conclusion of that
process," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement.
"We encourage Türkiye to quickly ratify Sweden’s
accession protocols as well. In addition, we urge Hungary to conclude its
ratification process for both Finland and Sweden without delay," he added.
Noting that Sweden and Finland are both "strong,
capable partners that share NATO’s values," he said that they will
"strengthen" the Alliance and contribute to European security.
"The United States believes that both countries
should become members of NATO as soon as possible," he added.
Türkiye on Friday said it is approving the process of
Finland's NATO membership protocol in its parliament.
Noting that Finland has fulfilled Türkiye's security
concerns, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at a joint press conference with his
Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto in Ankara, said: "We have decided to
launch the approval process of Finland's NATO membership protocol in our
Parliament.”
On Sweden's process, however, Erdogan said the process
"will be directly linked to the concrete steps which Sweden will
take."
Abandoning decades of military non-alignment, Finland
and Sweden formally applied to join NATO last May.
However, Türkiye, a longstanding NATO member, asked
the two Nordic states to take concrete action against terror groups like the
PKK and FETO.
In June, Finland, and Sweden signed a memorandum with
Türkiye to address Ankara’s security concerns, and senior diplomats and
officials from the three countries have held various meetings since then to
discuss the implementation of the trilateral agreement.
Among the NATO members states, only Hungary and
Türkiye have not yet ratified Sweden's and Finland's applications for inclusion
in NATO.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Europe
Greece violates principle of reciprocity by keeping
several mosques closed: Experts
Halil Ibrahim Medet
17.03.2023
ISTANBUL
Greece's move to use Ottoman-era mosques for different
purposes by keeping them closed to worship is seen as a violation of the
principle of reciprocity that secures the freedom of religion, according to an
expert.
Evaluating the current status of historic mosques in
Greece, Sabri Can Sannav from the History Department at Trakya University told
Anadolu that the Mecidiye Mosque was converted into the Byzantine Museum of
Chios in 1912 when the island was under the control of Greece.
Slamming Greece for its practice of shutting down
historic mosques in the country dating back to Ottoman times, Sannav said:
"Mecidiye Mosque underwent a great change and lost its historical
character to a significant extent," and added that the museum now hosts
Christian artifacts and Muslim and Jewish gravestones.
Also, Sannav said the Mecidiye Mosque is "almost
the only Ottoman structure on the island that has survived in its
entirety."
Underlying the contrast between religious freedom in
Türkiye and Greece, he said Muslims cannot worship in historic mosques on
Chios, while the Christian community is free to perform religious services in
churches on the coast of Izmir's Cesme district.
"Today, non-Muslims can freely pray in their own
religious establishments in many parts of our country. Christians can come to
Cesme and pray freely in churches. Why can't Muslims pray in Mecidiye Mosque or
other mosques on Chios?" he said.
In the last 20 years, Türkiye has opened approximately
84 Greek-Orthodox churches, dating back to the 19th century in Edirne, Cesme,
Alacati, Ordu, Gemlik, and other places, which do not even have a congregation,
to worship on certain days, he noted.
The Suleymaniye Mosque on Rhodes is also closed to
worship," he added, saying: "Today, as in the past, Greece failed to
adhere to reciprocity in securing the religious rights of the Muslim
community."
Meanwhile, an associate professor of architecture from
Marmara University, Neval Konuk, said: "We have four imperial Ottoman
mosques standing on Chios."
"One of them, the Bayrakli Mosque, is used as a
warehouse for an electrical appliance repair shop. Mecidiye Mosque was
converted into a museum immediately after the occupation and is still used as a
museum today, while Osmaniye Mosque and Orhaniye Mosque are used forr storage
of artifacts from archaeological excavations," Konuk said.
Architectural works built during the Ottoman period in
Greece are not registered as Ottoman or Turkish works but as Muslim
architecture, Konuk said, adding that Greece follows a policy of "ignoring
Ottoman-Turkish structures within its borders."
Greece ignores Ottoman buildings constructed in the
period after the 1821 Greek uprising against the Ottomans, while there were
8,500 buildings built during the Ottoman rule in the Greek records, she
stressed.
According to Konuk's field research, around 20,000
structures dating back to the Ottoman era were present in Greece despite the
war, deliberate policies of demolition, and development plans.
Criticizing Greece for its unnatural restoration of
Ottoman-era buildings that "erases traces of the original purpose of
buildings," she said some are restored in a way to make them resemble
Byzantine architecture.
Despite the Ottoman rule from 1566 to 1912 in Chios,
there was only an Ottoman cemetery named Karaali Cemetery, while tombstones
belonging to Muslims in the Ottoman period collected from other cemeteries were
randomly placed in areas serving as an open-air exhibition museum, she said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Pro-Palestinian group launches campaign to check
Israeli products in Ramadan across UK mosques
March 18, 2023
LONDON: More than 20,000 leaflets urging Muslims to
#CheckTheLabel and boycott Israel are being distributed at mosques across the
UK, coinciding with the last Friday before the fasting holy month of Ramadan,
organizers said on Friday.
The initiative is part of a campaign launched by the
UK-based Friends of Al-Aqsa — concerned with defending the human rights of
Palestinians and protecting the Al-Aqsa sanctuary — to “Check The Label,” and
is calling on Muslims in the UK and Europe not to break their fasts with the
“taste of apartheid.”
The boycott campaign has gained huge momentum in the
run-up to Ramadan this year, with press coverage from the UK to Morocco and
Malaysia, FOA said in a statement.
“Running since the early 2010s, #CheckTheLabel has had
an unprecedented impact on the British public’s understanding of the connection
between the products they buy and Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine
(and) many individuals have become ethical consumers who avoid buying Israeli
produce as a result of this campaign,” FOA said.
“This Ramadan, it’s more important than ever that we
boycott Israel,” said Shamiul Joarder, head of public affairs at FOA. “By
checking the label and avoiding Israeli dates, we can send a clear message: We
won’t give our money to an apartheid state that breaks international law and
kills Palestinian children.”
The organization says that Israel has killed at least
83 Palestinians in the first 76 days of 2023, including at least 16 children.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2270806/middle-east
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France refuses to comment on Iraq crash of helicopter
carrying PKK terrorists
Umit Donmez
17.03.2023
PARIS
France’s Foreign Ministry on Friday refused to comment
on the crash of a helicopter in northern Iraq that was carrying PKK terrorists.
The chopper, a Eurocopter AS350, crashed in Iraq’s
Duhok region on Wednesday, and a day later Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government
(KRG) said some of those on board were members of the PKK terrorist
organization.
The Eurocopter AS350 helicopter, also known as
"Squirrel", was a light engine developed and produced by French
companies.
In response to an Anadolu query about the incident,
the French Foreign Ministry said: “We have no comment.”
The KRG earlier said it had contacted the Iraqi
government, US-led international coalition forces and Türkiye regarding the
crash in Duhok.
It said the helicopter did not belong to the PKK terrorist
group, but a number of its members were on board the aircraft.
Initial findings indicated that it was a Eurocopter
AS350 helicopter and some of the crash casualties happened to be PKK
terrorists.
A detailed investigation is underway to ascertain who
owned the helicopter.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Arab World
European team ends questioning Lebanon’s Riad Salameh,
to return in April
17 March ,2023
The European legal team on Friday wrapped up two days
of questioning of Lebanon’s Central Bank chief in Beirut in a money-laundering
probe linked to the governor, officials said.
Several European countries are investigating Gov. Riad
Salameh, who in recent years has been charged with corruption-related crimes,
in a case of money laundering of some $330 million. Salameh, 72, has been the
head of Lebanon’s Central Bank since 1993.
He was questioned for two hours on Friday and six
hours the day before, according to Lebanese judicial officials. The European
delegation — with representatives from France, Germany, and Luxembourg —
questioned Salameh through a Lebanese judge, acting as a go-between. Under
Lebanese laws, the representatives cannot directly question Salameh.
On Thursday, Salameh was questioned about an apartment
in Paris rented by Lebanon’s Central Bank and Forry Associates Ltd, a brokerage
firm owned by Salameh’s brother, Raja Salameh, the officials told The
Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the probe
proceedings.
The questions mostly focused on the Central Bank, its
assets and investments outside Lebanon, the officials added.
Salameh issued a statement later saying he responded
to the questions out of respect to the law, adding that he was not questioned
“as a suspect or accused.” He also denounced what he described as “bad
intentions” against him.
“Nations are not built on lies,” said Salameh, who has
repeatedly denied corruption charges.
The European team set April 15 to start questioning
Salameh’s brother and an associate, Marianne Hoayek, the officials also said.
Judge Helena Iskandar, who is representing the
Lebanese state in the European questioning, charged on Wednesday Salameh, his
brother and Hoayek with corruption.
In addition to the European probe, there are other
legal proceedings against Salameh underway in Lebanon. In late February,
Beirut’s public prosecutor, Raja Hamoush, charged the
same three suspects with corruption, including embezzling public funds,
forgery, illicit enrichment, money-laundering and violation of tax laws.
Lebanon is grappling with the worst economic and
financial crisis in its modern history. The economic meltdown that began in
late 2019 is rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country’s
political class. More than 75 percent of the tiny nation’s population of 6
million has been plunged into poverty.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Lebanon central bank chief denies financial misconduct
March 17, 2023
BEIRUT: Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh
maintained his innocence Friday following a second day of questioning before
European investigators in Beirut as part of a probe into his personal wealth.
Salameh, 72, is part of the Lebanese political elite
widely blamed for a crushing economic crisis that began in late 2019 and which
the World Bank has dubbed one of the worst in recent history.
He faces allegations of crimes including embezzlement
in separate probes in Lebanon and abroad, with investigators examining the
fortune he has amassed during three decades in the job.
Following a three-hour session Friday, Salameh
released a statement saying he appeared as a witness and “not as a suspect or
facing charges.”
“Funds from the Lebanese central bank were not
transferred to my account,” he said in a statement, adding: “The transfers I
made abroad, whatever the amount, were from my personal account.”
The European investigators are looking into allegations
of financial misconduct, including possible money laundering and embezzlement.
In January, the European investigators interviewed
banking officials in Beirut about the transfer of funds to countries where
Salameh has significant assets.
They have also been examining the central bank’s ties
to Forry Associates Ltd, a British Virgin Islands-registered company that
listed Salameh’s brother as its beneficiary.
Forry is suspected of having brokered Lebanese
treasury bonds and Eurobonds at a commission, which was then allegedly
transferred to bank accounts abroad.
Salameh denied he profited from any commissions to the
company.
He decried “ill intentions” against him and blamed an
“ongoing media campaign” for his legal woes.
Thursday’s more than five-hour session at Beirut’s
heavily guarded justice palace was the first time Salameh had appeared as part
of the European investigation.
The hearing had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday
but Salameh failed to show up, claiming it was in “conflict with national
sovereignty,” an argument the judiciary rejected.
For procedural reasons, the European investigators
submitted their questions to a Lebanese judge, who was then responsible for
putting them to Salameh in their presence, a judicial source previously told AFP.
France, Germany and Luxembourg seized assets worth 120
million euros ($130 million) in March last year in a move linked to a French
probe into Salameh’s personal wealth.
Salameh has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has
rarely appeared before investigating judges, despite numerous complaints and
summonses.
Last month, Lebanese authorities charged Salameh with
embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion as part of their own
investigation.
Source: Arab News
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Syrian team provides relief for quake-affected dogs,
cats in Idlib
17.03.2023
A Syrian team led by Muhammad Wattar, a citizen of
Aleppo and founder of Ernesto's Sanctuary for Cats, is caring for dozens of
cats and dogs injured in the earthquake that struck Idlib province in northwest
Syria.
The earthquake that hit southern Türkiye on Feb. 6
also caused significant damage on the Syrian side, affecting animals as well as
humans and structures.
Wattar and his crew quickly mobilized to assist
animals affected by the quake, establishing search and rescue teams to retrieve
animals from under the rubble in several areas, including Salqin, Jisr
al-Shughur, Darkush, and Termanin in Idlib, as well as Atarib and Jandiris in
Aleppo.
Thanks to their efforts, dozens of animals were saved
and given the necessary health care.
Wattar and his associates helped about 2,200 animals,
including 2,000 cats and 33 dogs, in a shelter affiliated with the association.
Speaking to Anadolu, Wattar explained that they
rescued 60 cats and 10 dogs from under the debris and provided medical care to
injured animals such as cows, sheep, and horses in pens.
He stated that they plan to establish new shelters for
animals outside Idlib.
For his part, Ahmed Youssef, a veterinarian working
with the association, said they collected stray animals in the areas most
affected by the earthquake.
He further said that they are creating bicycles with
toy wheels to help paralyzed and amputee animals walk and placing food for
animals in certain areas heavily impacted by the earthquake.
More than 48,400 people were killed in Türkiye in the
quakes on Feb. 6, according to official figures.
More than 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been
affected by the powerful quakes that rocked 11 provinces, including
Kahramanmaras, Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya,
Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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EU's top diplomat calls for redoubling diplomatic
efforts to solve conflict in Syria
Agnes Szucs
17.03.2023
The international community must “redouble its
efforts” to reach a solution to the conflict in Syria, the European Union’s
foreign policy chief said Thursday.
In a statement marking the 12th anniversary of
protests leading to the Syrian civil war, Josep Borrell called on the
international community to “redouble its efforts to reach a durable and
comprehensive political solution for Syria.”
He said the EU continues to support the work of UN
Special Envoy Geir Pedersen for this purpose.
Borrell called the support of the Syrian people a
“priority” for the EU, which is the largest provider of international aid to
the country.
The EU will host a fundraiser Monday for the victims
of last month’s earthquake in northern Syria and will organize the 7th Syria
donors' conference on June 15, he said.
At the same time, Borrell ruled out the normalization
of relations with the Assad regime, which is responsible for the “brutal
repression” of its own people.
“Huge human rights abuses and grave violations of
international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict continue to be
perpetrated, in particular by the Syrian regime and its allies,” he added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Assad: War on Syria proved West acts against own
claims on democracy
17 March 2023
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says the years-long
foreign-backed war in his country has proven that everything the West does runs
counter to what it claims about democracy and humanitarian principles.
Assad made the remark in an interview with Channel One
Russia on Friday, saying the West attempts to “transform other countries into
subordinate states” by portraying itself as an advocate of pro-democracy and
pro-freedom movements.
“The war in Syria has proven that the West will not
change and seeks to transform other countries into subordinate states that meet
its conditions, even at the expense of the interests of the peoples,” the
Syrian president said.
“Freedom is a beautiful term, but this freedom could
be that of a person to kill, destroy and do everything bad, and democracy for
the West is to be an agent and subservient to them.”
Assad said Western countries seek to transform smaller
or weaker countries into “vassal states” to satisfy their needs even at the
expense of the interests of these nations.
He said certain Western governments tried to persuade
him to resign during the foreign-sponsored war but they later realized that
Syria “fully understands Western policy.”
“During the war, certain Western governments tried to
persuade me to resign the presidency in exchange for full immunity,” the Syrian
president said, without providing any further details and naming any countries.
“They gave up on these attempts a long time ago and
understood that Syria fully understands Western policy, that it no longer fools
us.”
The US and its allies invaded Syria in 2014 under the
pretext of fighting Daesh. The Takfiri terrorist group had emerged as
Washington was running out of excuses to extend its regional meddling or
enlarge it in scale.
The US-led coalition sustains its illegal presence on
the Arab country's soil, although Damascus and its allies defeated Daesh in
late 2017.
Damascus has repeatedly urged the United Nations
Security Council to end the US-led military presence in the country, saying
that illegal US deployment is tantamount to occupation and aimed at plundering
Syria’s natural resources.
Former US President Donald Trump admitted on several
occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.
‘Syria’s interests must be taken into account for
Turkey meeting’
Elsewhere in the interview, Assad pointed to a
potential meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said
the interests of the Syrian people must be taken into account before any
meeting with Ankara.
Assad said contacts between Syria and Turkey had
started at the level of security and defense ministers, and a meeting at the
level of deputy foreign ministers was under discussion.
“We can have a meeting at the level of foreign
ministers, and the most important of these meetings is to achieve the interest
of Syria, end the war and stop the bloodshed,” the Syrian president said.
Turkey cut off its relations with Syria in March 2012,
a year after the Arab country found itself in the grip of rampant and hugely
deadly violence waged by foreign-backed militants and terrorists, including
those allegedly supported by Ankara.
Since 2016, Turkey has conducted three major ground
operations against United States-backed militants based in northern Syria.
The Turkish government accuses the militants, known as
the People's Protection Units (YPG), of bearing ties with the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) group, which has been fighting a hugely-deadly separatist
war against Ankara for many decades.
Source: Press TV
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Africa
Tunisian president names one of his staunchest
supporters as interior minister
March 18, 2023
TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied named Kamal Feki,
the former governor of Tunis, as his new interior minister on Friday, just
hours after Taoufik Charfeddine resigned from the post, amid a crackdown of
prominent opposition figures that has prompted international ire.
Tunisian interior minister Taoufik Charfeddine, a
close aide of President Kais Saied, announced Friday he had resigned to spend
more time with his three children following the death of his wife last year.
Charfeddine, 54, who had held his post since October
2021, told reporters he wished to thank the president for “his understanding
and for allowing me to be relieved of my duties.”
“The time has come for me to dedicate myself to this
responsibility she left me,” he said.
Replacing Charfeddine as interior minister is Kamal
Feki, governor of Tunis since 2021 and also part of Saied’s inner circle.
A former lawyer, Charfeddine was a key figure in the
election campaign that propelled the previously little-known Saied to the
presidency in 2019.
After Saied froze parliament and sacked the
then-government in a dramatic July 2021 move against the sole democracy to
emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings, Charfeddine became a close adviser.
As the president pushed through sweeping changes to
the country’s political system, concentrating near-total power in his office,
Charfeddine was one of the most outspoken defenders of Saied’s power grab.
Saied’s office regularly released video footage of the
two men’s meetings in the presidential palace.
During the wave of arrests that accompanied Saied’s
power grab, Charfeddine held news conferences to defend the incarceration of
opposition politicians.
When the vice president of the Islamist-inspired
Ennahdha party, the largest in parliament before its dissolution by Saied, went
on hunger strike to protest his detention, Charfeddine alleged that terrorism
fears had forced the security forces to respond.
“There were fears of acts of terrorism targeting the
country’s security and we had to act,” the minister said last year of the
arrest of Noureddine Bhiri, a former justice minister.
Last month, Charfeddine was by Saied’s side as Tunisia
faced an international outcry over a tirade by the president against illegal
migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.
“There is no question of allowing anyone in an illegal
situation to stay in Tunisia,” the president said in one of his videotaped
meetings with the minister.
“I will not allow the institutions of the state to be
undermined or the demographic composition of Tunisia to be changed.”
The president’s speech two nights previously had
triggered a wave of violence against African migrants and prompted several West
African countries to organize repatriation flights for fearful nationals.
On March 8, more than 30 Tunisian non-governmental
organizations demanded an apology from Charfeddine after he branded as
“traitors” the president’s many critics in the private sector, the media and
trade unions.
Source: Arab News
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Libya’s boxers recover from Qaddafi-era knockout
March 18, 2023
TRIPOLI: Omar Zlitni holds a decades-old, black-and-white
photo of himself as a boxer in his prime, posing in shorts and a training vest
before Libya’s then-dictator, Muammar Qaddafi, banned his beloved sport.
Boxing was “in his blood,” said the 63-year-old
Tripoli resident who proudly keeps the image as his phone’s wallpaper.
In 1979, he was just 19 when boxing, along with
wrestling and other combat sports, was banned by Qaddafi, who considered such
contests a threat to his personality cult.
“We were a whole group. We were going to fight in
Italy. And then, suddenly, they banned it. Why?” Zlitni said, with anger
clouding his usually peaceful face.
“There were friendships and love; boxing was
everything,” he said, adding he regretted their way of life had been taken away
and that “everyone went his own way.”
Officially, authorities considered the sport too
violent — despite Qaddafi’s regime being accused for more than 40 years of
atrocities including terrorism, torture, massacres of civilians and targeted
assassinations.
Following Libya’s 2011 revolution, in which Qaddafi
was ousted and killed, Zlitni reunited with former fighters and worked to
revive boxing, re-establishing the national federation through their “own
efforts.”
Since then, Libyan boxers have shone in various
competitions, modeling themselves after Malik Zinad, a light heavyweight
fighter who found success after leaving the country for Europe.
Under a tin roof, in a Tripoli barn, young fighters
spar in a dusty old ring. They are striving to be selected to compete in
African qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Now a coach, Zlitni deplores the lack of support from
authorities, pointing out the rudimentary equipment that he and other former
boxers had to pay for out of their “own pockets.” But the sight of so many
young people freely practicing the sport and “waving the flag of Libya” brings
him “joy.”
A crowd of spectators seated on plastic chairs shout
at a boxer parrying blows from his opponent: “Block!” “Come on!” “Again!”
One in particular stands out among the ringside crowd
— Mountaha Touhami, one of few women boxers in the conservative country.
The self-declared “sports lover” said she was
encouraged to get into the ring by her father, who had sought exile in the US
because of the boxing ban.
“Among the girls of my generation, we did not know
that others practiced,” the 25-year-old said, describing how she often trained
in secret with a punching bag.
“Even here, people are surprised to see a woman,” she
said, having come to the boxing gym to support a friend.
“But the fact of being a woman, child or adult, does
not prevent you from playing sports.”
Other combat sports have reappeared and emerged in
Libya since 2011. For Omar Bouhwiyah, an ardent kickboxer and Thai boxer, their
existence provided the opportunity to develop new passions.
“These sports have allowed me to have more
self-confidence, to remove negative energy, have a sense of responsibility and
to socialize more,” he said.
A fan of action films, the 29-year-old said he first
came across a Facebook group dedicated to kickboxing in his hometown of
Benghazi in 2013.
Having gone on to win several competitions, including
regional titles, Bouhwiyah now trains in a modern gym in Tripoli.
Dressed in gloves and shorts in Libya’s colors, he
delivers strong punches and kicks to a punching bag, while filming the scene
for his 14,000 followers on Instagram.
Source: Arab News
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