Muslims Revive Durga Puja for Only Hindu Family Living On Muslim-Dominated Street in Kolkata
New Age Islam News Bureau
01 October 2022
Members of the Muslim
community restarted Durga Puja celebrations in 13/A Sharif lane, Alimuddin
Street last year.
-----
• Muslims Revive Durga Puja for Only Hindu Family
Living On Muslim-Dominated Street in Kolkata
• Iranian Protesters Want Regime Change, Says Renowned
Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
• Pakistan: 4 Years after Transgender Rights Act was
Enacted, Religious Parties call it 'Un-Islamic'
• France, Denmark, and Austria Contributing To A
“Systematic Suppression Of Muslim Civil Society”, Says Human Rights Conference
• Tensions Increase between Pakistan, Afghan Taliban
despite Historical Ties
India
• Arshi Qureshi Accused of Radicalising Youngsters to
Join Islamic State Acquitted After Six Years in Jail
• Several Popular Front of India Members Travelled To
ISIS Strongholds To Join Jihad: Officials
• Muslim Cleric Who Called Mohan Bhagwat 'Rashtra
Pita' (Father of Nation) Receives Death Threats from International Numbers
• Garba Organisers in Madhya Pradesh Restrict Entry of
Muslims
• Pakistan Government's Twitter Account Withheld In India,
Again
• Two Jaish-e-Mohammed men killed in Baramulla
• BJP agitation in Sasaram today to ‘free’ Ashokan
inscription turned into a ‘Mazar’ in 2005
--------
Mideast
• Iran says nine nationals from European countries
arrested for role in unrest
• Iran protests over young woman's death continue, 83
said killed
• Turkish Opposition Revives Questions over Islamic
State Burning Execution
• Senior IRGC commander killed during clashes in
southeastern Iran: State media
• Casualties feared after angry mob storms police
station in southeast Iran
• Israel ‘green lights’ assassination drones in West
Bank; heightens Gaza anxiety
• Palestinians mourn 7-year-old boy who died from
‘fear’ of Israeli forces
• Iran: Israeli regime’s history full of massacres,
child killings
• Teacher wounded, students arrested in Israeli
military attack on Palestinian school in al-Khalil
--------
Pakistan
• Suicide Bomber Blows Himself Up Minutes before
Friday Prayers in Pakistan's Restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• JUI-F moves Shariat Court against transgender
persons act
• Pakistan anti-terror court charges 3 more for blast
outside Hafiz Saeed's house
• PIA issues clarification after issuing bizarre dress
code for cabin crew
• Ashrafi for Celebrating Rabiul Awwal as ‘Paigham-e-Rehmatul-Lil-Alameen’
• Pakistan committed to deepen ties with UAE: PM
--------
Europe
• Saudi-UK business to grow ‘significantly’ under GCC
trade deal, says lord mayor of London
• Turkey rejects Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian
territory
• Norway police arrest 95 rioters over ‘acting
aggressively’ against Iranian embassy
--------
South
Asia
• Islamic Emirate Asks UNSC to Extend Travel Ban
Exemptions
• Bangladeshi Buddhists denied justice for a decade
• At UN, Iran raises concern over resurgence of
terrorist groups in Afghanistan
• Pakistan upset over Afghan Taliban's remarks, says
it's 'against spirit of friendly ties'
--------
Africa
• Burkina Faso Soldiers Announce Overthrow of Military
Government
--------
North
America
• Pentagon Silent on Overall Number of Civilian Deaths
in 2 Decades of Afghanistan Occupation
• US Military Killed 12 Afghan Civilians In 2021; 10
In Kabul Drone Strike: Pentagon
• Turkish delegation says US lawmakers were 'positive'
sales of F-16 jets
• US imposes new Iran-related sanctions on several
international companies
--------
Southeast
Asia
• PAS Lists 10 Reasons Why DAP Is Anti-Malay,
Anti-Muslim
• Tommy Thomas to be probed for sedition over book,
says PM
• Respect decision to amend DAP constitution, Guan Eng
tells Liu
• Indonesian police kill militant suspected in
farmers’ deaths
--------
Arab
World
• Lebanon’s Central Bank Extends Ceiling Free Dollars
Purchases Until End Of October
• Lebanon receives US mediator proposals for maritime
border with Israel
• Arab states condemn terrorist attack on educational
centre in Kabul
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/muslims-durga-puja-hindu-kolkata/d/128083
--------
Muslims Revive Durga Puja for Only Hindu Family Living
On Muslim-Dominated Street in Kolkata
Members of the Muslim
community restarted Durga Puja celebrations in 13/A Sharif lane, Alimuddin
Street last year.
-----
Suryagni Roy
Kolkata
September 30, 2022
A club in Kolkata with all members of the Muslim
community took it upon themselves to ignite the festive spirit of the only
Hindu family living in 13/A Sharif lane in Alimuddin Street--an area with a
predominantly Muslim population-- by organising Durga Puja in the colony.
The Durga Puja celebrations in this lane stopped 16
years ago after a majority of the Hindu families left the area for various
reasons. Last year, youngsters from the Muslim community decided to revive the
decades-old Durga Puja celebration this year for the Hindu families living
here.
Sayanta Sen's family is the only Hindu Bengali family
living in the area and his father was among the first few organizers of Durga
Puja. Speaking to India Today, the 20-year-old student said that he was happy
to see that the tradition of holding Durga Puja festivities has been revived in
his colony.
"I was around three to four-years-old when the
Durga Puja celebrations stopped. I had heard from my father that Durga Puja
celebrations used to be held here. It's beautiful how a decade-old tradition,
which died after Hindu families left, has been revived by Muslims in the
area," said Sen.
The puja was revived by Tousaf Rahman, who is also a
resident of the area. While speaking to India Today, he said that Sen's family
is the only Bengali Hindu family in the area and that they had been upset with
the fact that Durga Puja celebrations had stopped.
"The Sen family had approached us and we thought
we should revive the puja. Afterall, Durga Puja is for one and all. So, we
arranged the puja and pandal and the rituals are being conducted by the Sen
family. If we speak for the rights of minorities in India, we should also think
about the rights of the sole Hindu family in a predominantly Muslim area,"
said Rahman who started the puja in 2021.
Source: India Today
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Iranian Protesters Want Regime Change, Says Renowned
Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
Iranian lawyer Nasrin
Sotoudeh smiles at her home in Tehran on September 18, 2013, after being freed
following three years in prison. (AFP)
----
30 September, 2022
There is a “clear demand” for regime change in the
ongoing anti-government protests in Iran, internationally renowned Iranian
human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh said in an interview published Thursday.
“What is increasingly clear is that there is clear
demand for change in the regime,” Sotoudeh told TIME magazine.
“What the people want is regime change, and no return
to the past. And what we can see from the current protests and strikes that are
now being initiated is a very real possibility of regime change,” she added.
Sotoudeh said she anticipated more crackdown from
Iranian authorities.
“The crackdown will continue. But so too will the
protests. I in no way see a return to the past, no matter the nature of the
crackdown,” she said. “Even if the people’s demands are not met, the reality
will have shifted permanently. They will not tolerate the compulsory veil
anymore.”
Sotoudeh, 59, has represented opposition activists including
women prosecuted for removing their mandatory headscarf. She was arrested in
2018 and charged with spying, spreading propaganda and insulting Iran’s supreme
leader.
Sotoudeh, who denied the charges, was sentenced to 38
years in prison and 148 lashes.
She is currently out of prison on a medical furlough.
In 2010, Sotoudeh was jailed on similar propaganda
charges and for conspiring to harm state security – charges she also denied –
and was released after serving half her six-year term.
The European Parliament awarded her the Sakharov Prize
for human rights in 2012.
Protests erupted across Iran after Mahsa Amini, a
22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, was pronounced dead on September 16. She
fell into a coma shortly after she was detained by the morality police for
allegedly not complying with the regime’s strict hijab rules in Tehran on
September 13.
The protests continued in several cities on Friday,
videos shared on social media showed.
Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, said on
Thursday that at least 83 people, including children, were confirmed to have
been killed during the protests.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Pakistan: 4 Years after Transgender Rights Act was
Enacted, Religious Parties call it 'Un-Islamic'
Members of the transgender
community hold signs against the anti-begging law for the transgender
community, during a protest demanding jobs in Karachi, on April 10, 2019.
Photo: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
-----
Veengas
Oct 1, 2022
Karachi: With what many transgender activists believe
is suspicious timing, several religious political parties in Pakistan, such as
the Jamiat-e-Islami, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Tehreek Labbaik Pakistan, have
recently been raising objections to the country’s Transgender Persons
(Protection of Rights) Act, 2018.
Leaders of these parties have been calling the Act
‘un-Islamic’ and demanding amendments to it that would effectively strip the
transgender community of the rights promised by the Act. According to a report
published in Dawn on September 26, a bill amending the Act will shortly be sent
to a Senate standing committee for debate.
Activists believe that the parties objecting to the
Act four years after it was passed are planning to make the issue part of their
campaigns for the forthcoming elections which are due in 2023 at the latest,
pointing out that at this particular time, when Pakistan is trying to recover
from the worst floods in its history and enormous parts of Sindh are still
under water, there can be no other reason to suddenly bring up the issue.
According to Kami Sid, founder of the Sub Rang Society
that focuses on the rights and wellbeing of gender and sexual minorities in
Pakistan, religious parties tend to abhor the concept of human rights in any
case. Now, with elections around the corner, they are focused on the
transgender community.
“Sometimes they [the religious parties] go after
women’s rights; now we are their target,” said Sid.
Changing attitudes
Before the arrival of the British colonists in South
Asia, the transgender community was perceived as an integral part of society,
many of its members occupying high places in Mughal governments. In the
faith-based ethos of the region as well, the community was venerated as
carriers of prayers. In 1897, however, the British Raj criminalised certain
tribes and communities, including the hijra or transgender community. Though
the criminalisation law was discarded after independence, the community has
remained not just marginalised, but brutalised as well.
Better known in Pakistan as the Khwaja Sira community,
the transgender community had fought long and hard for a law to recognise their
rights and is prepared once again to fight the religious parties’ objections.
“The Act does not address Islamic or un-Islamic
issues. It just gives us the right to have our identity recognised and it gives
us fundamental rights. It helps the police change their behaviour towards us,”
said Nayyab Ali, founder of Transgender Rights Consultants, Pakistan.
Added Bindiya Rana, founder of Gender Interactive
Alliance, “In 2018, suggestions made by the opposition parties, the ruling
party, religious groups, the Islamic Council, lawyers and the Supreme Court
were added to the bill and after a long process, the Act was approved. Now,
four years later, what makes the religious parties oppose the Act?”
The National Assembly of Pakistan enacted The
Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, on May 8, 2018, providing
the transgender community with fundamental rights in health, education,
government and security.
The definition of a transgender person according to
the Act is: “Intersex (Khusra) with a mixture of male and female genital
features or congenital ambiguities, or (ii) Eunuch assigned male at birth but
undergoes genital excision or castration; or (iii) a Transgender Man,
Transgender Woman, Khawajasira, or any person whose gender identity and/or
gender expression differs from the social norms and cultural expectations based
on the sex they were assigned at the time of their birth.”
Since the Act was passed, transgender persons have had
the right to register themselves as transgender female and transgender male,
which is a significant advance for the community’s identity. In 2010, a time
when no law in Pakistan recognised the existence of transgender persons, the
Supreme Court had ordered the community to register for national identity
cards—identification documents based on which citizens can access financial and
social services. However, the national identity cards offered only two gender
options, female and male, giving members of the Khwaja Sira community no choice
but to register as women or men.
The legislation had taken two years to be passed,
Bindiya said. After it was enacted, some 80% of Pakistan’s society had begun to
accept the existence of the Khwaja Sira community and even consider the
problems faced by the community. “Now, their behaviour has changed due to the
religious parties’ stand,” said Bindiya.
‘Show us proof’
Due to the religious parties’ constant claims that the
Act promotes same sex relationships and other un-Islamic values, the harassment
of members of the transgender community has noticeably increased in the last
few weeks. On September 27, for example, a transgender person was brutally
murdered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
But as activists point out, there are no references at
all in the Act to same sex relationships and un-Islamic values. If such clauses
do exist, they say, the religious parties must point them out. However, no
religious party so far has shown any clause of the Act to support their claims.
“Even the Islamic Council approved the bill,” said
Kami Sid. “The bill gives us basic human rights. It neither gives us property
nor a palace.”
She added, “The propaganda spread against the Act will
lead to violence against our community. When transgender persons are raped,
brutally murdered, and harassed, no religious political parties speak up. Don’t
we require human rights?”
To counter the propaganda of the religious parties,
activists point to Egypt and Iran. Both are Islamic countries and both have
legalised sex-reassignment surgery.
“The opponents of the Act say that the Act was created
because it was ‘America’s agenda’. They seem to be dying for a call from
America! We are asking them not to discuss America. Instead, tell us about Iran
and Egypt and then tell us if the Act is un-Islamic,” said Bindiya.
The religious parties’ claim that the Act supports
same sex relationships by allowing men to marry men and women to marry women,
which is un-Islamic, is also easily countered, said Bindiya.
Also read: Pakistan’s Transgender Rights Bill Is a
Small Step Towards a Big Leap
“The National Database and Registration Authority
(NADRA) has a strict registration process. If a man is discovered to have been
registered as a woman, then the parties must show us proof of this,” she said.
“In any case, this has nothing to do with the transgender community.”
She referred to the case of a woman in Sindh who
claimed she was actually a transgender man and whose claim was approved by the
Sindh High Court some years ago. “Why were the religious parties silent then?”
Bindiya asked. “If a woman undergoes sex-reassignment surgery, will you thwart
her and let her die? She is the creation of God, and it is important to protect
her.”
Ready for battle
According Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, a member of the
Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, some 23,000 people have changed gender since the
Transgender Act was passed.
“But only 27 reassignment cases have actually been
registered,” said Nayyab.
The issue is somewhat clouded by the fact that those
transgender persons forced to register as female or male in 2010 changed their
gender identities to transgender female or transgender male after the Act was
passed.
Religious parties also want transgender persons to
prove their identity by submitting a medical certificate. “If this is accepted,
then males and females should also prove their identities with medical
certificates,” said Bindiya. “Who knows, the Khwaja Sira community may double
in number,” she added sarcastically.
The community has been feeling isolated since
opposition to the Act began. Mainstream political parties are silent on the
issue and no such strong voice has come forward to support these citizens of
the country.
Meanwhile, Senator Mushtaq recently stated that one
million videos would be uploaded on social media against the Act, which will
create more trouble for the transgender community.
Just having their identity recognised was long and
painful journey for the transgender community, said Bindiya. “Now that we have
a window of hope, religious political parties want to lock the door again,” she
said.
Added Kami Sid, “The religious parties want to make us
invisible again.”
Nayyab is disappointed, but ready for battle. “We will
fight for our existence. We will knock on the doors of the Supreme Court for
justice,” she said.
Veengas, a Karachi-based journalist, is the founder of
The Rise News. She tweets @veengasJ.
Source: The Wire
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://thewire.in/south-asia/pakistan-transgender-rights-act-religious-parties
--------
France, Denmark, and Austria Contributing To A
“Systematic Suppression Of Muslim Civil Society”, Says Human Rights Conference
Lamies Nassri said
Islamophobia in Denmark was "no longer a far-right issue"
(Screengrab)
-----
30 September 2022
Muslim civil society organizations, at a major
security and human rights conference held in Poland on Thursday, warned about
the alarming surge of state-sponsored Islamophobia in Europe.
They singled out France, Denmark, and Austria as some
of the European countries contributing to a “systematic suppression of Muslim
civil society” across the continent.
Addressing the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw, Lamies
Nassri, project manager of the Danish Muslim Rights Center, said Islamophobia
was spreading throughout Europe.
She called on governments to protect Muslims in their
respective countries from this toxic wave.
“It is your responsibility as member states to see to
it that citizens in these member states are protected from state racism,
surveillance, stigmatization and violence both symbolically and physically,"
Nassri told the delegates.
Pointing to the situation in Denmark, she said
Islamophobia was being “enabled directly through state policy and
participation” and was “no longer a far-right issue but is shared across the
political spectrum”.
She said that many Muslims in Denmark faced
discrimination due to the country’s categorization of people from non-western
backgrounds, which took precedence over their rights as Danish citizens.
Nassri further cited the impact of so-called “ghetto
laws” on Muslim communities.
The laws, which have been widely criticized, aim to
reduce the number of people of “non-Western origin” in designated “vulnerable
areas” to less than 30 percent, through evictions, double punishment,
over-policing, and compulsory daycare.
Nassri termed the laws "discriminatory"
against Muslims and ethnic minorities, which deprive them of their rights and
label them as “enemies within the state, who live in parallel societies that
must be fought".
“We also see this targeting in the way Muslims families
are portrayed as oppressive and controlling toward their children and, as such,
need to be surveilled,” she added, citing a law that requires non-western
residents in “ghetto” neighborhoods to put their children into state nurseries
from the age of one “to get instruction in Danish values and language”.
Delegates from France underscored the impact on Muslim
communities of the so-called “imams’ charter” which was adopted last year by
the French Council of the Muslim Faith at the behest of French President
Emmanuel Macron.
Elias d’Imzalene of French NGO Perspectives Musulmanes
said the charter amounted to an “Orwellian policy” that seeks to impose “a new
reading of Islam ordered by the state”.
“The police threaten to close any mosque denouncing
this new inquisition while a political hunt is also carried out, targeting the
dissenting voices of the community, thus making Muslim expression essentially
criminal,” said d’Imzalene.
Muhammad Rabbani, managing director of Cage, a
UK-based advocacy organization that also works in France, said French Muslims
face a "state-led program of repression" in which organizations
critical of government policies are censored, shut down, and criminalized.
Nehal Abdalla, an advocacy officer at ACT-P, an
Austrian organization formed to support children caught up in police raids in
the aftermath of Operation Luxor, also addressed the conference.
Austrian police raided 70 Muslim households and
arrested 30 academics and activists in November 2020, but none of them were
later charged.
Abdalla said that families and children caught up in
the raids had awoken to a “real-life nightmare” which amounted to “terrorizing
the Muslim community”.
According to a poll conducted by the Savanta ComRes in
recent months, anti-Islamic behavior in Europe and the UK has increased in
recent years.
The survey found that 69 percent of Muslims currently
employed in the UK experienced some sort of Islamophobic behavior during
work-related engagements.
Almost 44 percent percent of British Muslims said they
faced anti-Muslim behavior during interactions with customers, clients, and
other people in the workplace, while 42 percent experienced it during
work-related social events, and 40 percent when seeking promotions.
While discriminatory treatment of all Muslims in the
UK is reported at 37 percent, the figure stands at 58 percent among Black
Muslims.
The British Muslim community has borne the brunt of
the cost of living crisis in the country as well, with 54 percent of
respondents saying that providing for their households had become a major
challenge.
A recent report on Islamophobia in the UK showed that
British Muslims were among the groups facing the most discrimination in the
country.
Another report published in 2020 criticized many
European states for failing to report on anti-Muslim incidents as a separate
category of hate crime.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Tensions Increase between Pakistan, Afghan Taliban despite
Historical Ties
A Pakistani paramilitary
soldier (left) and Afghan Taliban fighters stand guard on their respective
sides of the border at a crossing in Torkham, in Pakistan's Khyber district.
(file photo)
-----
September 30, 2022
By Abubakar Siddique
Pakistan has been the Afghan Taliban's key foreign
sponsor for decades, with Islamabad harboring the militant group's leadership
during the nearly 20-year U.S.-led war in neighboring Afghanistan.
But since the Taliban seized power in August 2021, its
ties with Islamabad have deteriorated amid deadly border clashes. More
recently, the militants have accused Islamabad of permitting its air space to
be used by U.S. drones to strike targets in Afghanistan. In turn, Pakistan has
accused the Taliban of harboring terrorists.
Experts say the longstanding alliance, which dates
back to the emergence of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan in the mid-1990s,
is coming under unprecedented strain as their interests diverge.
"The Taliban may have accepted Pakistani support
for years but do not wish to be Pakistani proxies forever," said Husain
Haqqani of the Washington-based Hudson Institute who previously served as
Pakistan's ambassador to the United States.
Last month, the Taliban accused Pakistan of allowing
U.S. drones to use its airspace to conduct strikes inside Afghanistan. The
August 28 claim came after an American drone strike in Kabul killed Al-Qaeda
leader Ayman al-Zawahri in July. Islamabad has denied involvement in or
advanced knowledge of the strike.
On September 14, Islamabad accused the Taliban
government of harboring Masood Azhar, head of the Jaish-e Mohammad (JeI)
extremist group and a UN-blacklisted terrorist. The Taliban strongly rejected
Pakistan's claims.
In his speech to the UN General Assembly on September
23, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad "shares the key
concern of the international community regarding the threat posed by major
terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan."
Sharif mentioned the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K),
the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaeda, the East Turkistan Islamic
Movement, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan as groups based in Afghanistan
that "need to be dealt with comprehensively, with the support and
cooperation of the interim Afghan authorities."
The speech provoked a sharp rebuke from the Taliban,
with Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai on September 27
claiming Islamabad was "receiving millions of dollars" from
Washington for allowing American drones to conduct flights over Afghanistan.
"How long can we tolerate this?" Stanikzai
asked a gathering in Kabul. "If we rise against this [Pakistani
interference], no one will be able to stop us."
Experts say another source of tension is the Taliban's
unwillingness to crack down on the TTP, a close ideological and organizational
ally. From its bases inside Afghanistan, the extremist group has intensified
its insurgency against Islamabad in recent years.
The Afghan Taliban has mediated peace talks between
Islamabad and the TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban. But doubts have
been cast over the peace process as Pakistan has conducted air strikes against
TTP fighters inside Afghanistan. There have also been suspected TTP attacks in
Pakistan.
"Pakistan keeps assuming that the Taliban are
reliant on them economically and politically," said Obaidullah Baheer, a
lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan. "The Taliban, on the
other hand, are overreacting to Pakistani statements because, for a long time,
they were accused of being allied to Islamabad."
Graeme Smith, a consultant for the International
Crisis Group, says Pakistan and the Taliban have many incentives to cooperate
despite their differences. He cites the rapidly growing trade volume between
Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"The relationship will remain very
fractious," he said. "It's worth monitoring the flare-ups of
violence, but the incentives for cooperation are overwhelming."
Source: Gandhara
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/tensions-pakistan-afghan-taliban-despite-historical-ties/32059510.html
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India
Arshi Qureshi Accused of Radicalising Youngsters to
Join Islamic State Acquitted After Six Years in Jail
By Sadaf Modak
September 30, 2022
A SPECIAL court on Friday acquitted Arshi Qureshi, who
has been behind bars since 2016 following allegations that he had radicalised
youngsters to join the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation. Special Judge
A M Patil pronounced the judgment and informed 52-year-old Qureshi that he was
being cleared of all charges after scrutiny of evidence before the court. He
was acquitted of charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act related
to abetting, inciting commission of unlawful activity and lending support to a
terrorist organisation.
Qureshi was booked in 2016 when he was working as the
guest relations manager at the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) founded by
controversial televangelist Zakir Naik. Qureshi was arrested on the complaint
received by Mumbai police by Mumbai-based Abdul that his son, Ashfak Majeed,
was indoctrinated by him through his work at IRF. Ashfak, his wife, along with
their daughter and other youngsters from Kerala, were alleged to have left the
country to join IS. It was alleged that they had come in touch with Qureshi and
were influenced to join the terror group.
The case against Qureshi was among the offences cited
by the Central government while imposing a ban on IRF in 2016.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the
probe from the Mumbai police and filed a chargesheet against Qureshi in 2017.
At that time, two others arrested along with Qureshi were dropped as accused
with the NIA stating that there was not enough evidence against them.
Qureshi’s lawyers had submitted that there was no
evidence to show that he had, in any manner, incited the youth to join the
terrorist organisation. It was submitted that neither was he a member nor
sympathiser of the organisation. “Nothing on record even to suggest that at any
point of time arranged/encouraged/addressed any meeting for propagation of any
unlawful activity or to support any cause or purpose of any banned
organisation,” his lawyers T W Pathan, I A Khan and Faizan Qureshi had
submitted during the final arguments before the court.
It was also submitted by them that there were no
documents produced on record by the NIA to ratify that the missing youngsters
had joined any banned organisation, nor were they named as accused in the case.
“I am very happy, I just want to be back with my
family now,” Qureshi said after the pronouncement of the verdict on Friday.
Qureshi, who returned to India after studying hotel and business management in
the US, was working with the IRF as a guest relations manager for seven years.
He said that after the six-year incarceration, his concern was in finding the
means for earning a livelihood again. When asked if he had anything to say
about the period spent in jail, Qureshi said that he had no complaints against
anyone and was only happy to be acquitted.
During the trial, 57 witnesses were examined including
Ashfak’s parents and other relatives of the Kerala-based youth, who were
alleged to have joined IS. Abdul, based on whose complaint Qureshi was
arrested, did not support the NIA’s case. During his deposition in the court in
2019, Abdul said neither did he know anything about IRF nor Qureshi. He told
the court that his son was missing since 2016 but was not aware where he and
others had gone. He also told the court that the Mumbai police had written a
complaint and he was asked to sign it, adding he did not know what was written
in it.
During the final arguments, the NIA, through special
public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves, had submitted that other witnesses including
the brother of one of the women who went missing had pointed to Qureshi’s role
in influencing them and in converting people to Islam and hence there was
evidence to convict him. An NIA official said that the detailed judgment will
be studied when made available and a decision will be taken on appealing the
acquittal before the Bombay High Court.
Source: Indian Express
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/arshi-qureshi-irf-acquitted-special-court-8182214/
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Several Popular Front Of India Members Travelled To
ISIS Strongholds To Join Jihad: Officials
Sep 30, 2022
NEW DELHI: Popular Front of India (PFI) members, who
joined the dreaded terror organisation ISIS, always took a long circuitous
route to avoid the security dragnet before arriving in conflict theatres like
Syria to take part in jihad, officials said.
The PFI was banned by the government on Tuesday for
five years for allegedly having "links" with global terror
organisations like the ISIS and trying to spread communal hatred in the
country.
According to documents prepared by the National
Investigation Agency (NIA), there were a few cases of youths getting killed or
arrested at foreign soil and later being deported back to India.
In 2017, Kerala Police received information that some
Muslim youths had migrated to Syria and some were planning to join hands with
ISIS in its jihad and most of the accused in the case were members of the PFI.
Hamza, a Gulf returnee, was the alleged mastermind
behind recruiting Kerala youths to ISIS. To execute his plans, Hamza befriended
suitable PFI supporters who already harboured anti-national or
anti-establishment sentiments, officials said.
The divisional president of the PFI, Md Sameer alias
Abu Safvan, allegedly hatched and conveyed the plan to exit India and enter
Syria after taking refuge in different countries to finally join ISIS in Syria.
In the process, the accused went to Saudi Arabia,
Malaysia and Turkey and waited for final call to join jihad in Syria, the
officials said.
Later, Abdul Manaf alias Abu Fathimaand, Mohammed
Sameer alias Abu Safvan, both PFI leaders, were killed in Syria while
participating in jihad. As investigation progressed, five persons including the
mastermind were apprehended by the Kerala Police before joining the ISIS, they
said.
The Kerala Police filed a charge sheet against 17
accused for supporting the ISIS or Daesh. Hamza, the alleged mastermind in the
case was a "hardcore Salafi follower" who used to preach in support
of the ISIS and Taliban.
After declaration of Islamic Caliphite in Iraq and
Syria, Hamza convinced Mohammed Sameer and Abdul Manaf, both PFI members, about
the need to perform 'hijra' from the land of 'infidels', the officials said.
Sameer indoctrinated ISIS ideology to other PFI cadres
like Shajahan VK, who was accused in another terror case, and Mohammed Shajil.
Mohammed Sameer moved to Saudi Arabia along with the
family on December 12, 2015 on the pretext of performing 'Umrah'. Before
infiltrating to Syria, he directed other PFI associates to leave India where
criminal cases were already pending against them. Later, Sameer was reportedly
killed in Syria. Meanwhile Abdul Manaf alias Abu Fathima, an aggressive leader
of PFI, joined ISIS in Syria after crossing Turkish borders.
Manaf was also killed while waging war in Syria.
Mohammed Shajil and Shajahan VK also motivated their close associates in PFI to
join ISIS. They travelled to Malaysia, UAE, Iran to reach Turkey and waited for
directions from their handlers to join ISIS.
But only Mohammed Shajil and family were able to cross
over to Syria. Shajahan VK and his family were apprehended by Turkish
authorities and deported to India.
After remaining underground for a while, Shajahan VK
tried to get hold of a fake Indian passport to join ISIS again.
In his second attempt, with the help of one Midlaj
alias Abu Misab, who was also recruiting youth to ISIS, Shajahan VK managed to
convince Abdul Khayoom and Abdul Razak to join ISIS, the officials said.
Among the trio, only Abdul Khayoom, who was reportedly
killed in Syria, was able to sneak into Syria. Shajahan and Abdul Razak were
deported back to India. On arrival they were arrested by Indian authorities in
New Delhi.
Source: Times Of India
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Muslim Cleric Who Called Mohan Bhagwat 'Rashtra Pita'
(Father of Nation) Receives Death Threats From International Numbers
September 30, 2022
All India Imam Organisation head Umar Ahmed Ilyasi
stated that he had been receiving threat calls. The cleric hit the bulletin
after he deemed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat as 'Rashtriya
Pita' (father of the nation). On September 22, Bhagwat, while visiting a mosque
in Delhi, interacted with madrasa pupils as part of his outreach to the Muslim
community.
The Muslim cleric has said he received repeated death
threats from international numbers. Against the backdrop of Imam Umer Ahmed
Ilyasi deeming Bhagwat as the father of the nation, he started getting
dangerous calls wherein he was threatened to be killed.
“Mohan Bhagwat Ji visited on my invitation today. He's
'rashtra-pita' and 'rashtra-rishi', a good message will come out of his visit.
Our ways of worshipping god are different, but the biggest religion is
humanity. We believe the country comes first,” Umer Ahmed Ilyasi was quoted as
saying by ANI.
Bhagwat visited the madrasa in a bid to interact and
reiterate cordial ties with the community. In this pursuit, he had invited the
chief cleric of the All India Imam. Sources said that the madrasa students also
chanted 'Madre Vatan' and 'Jai Hind' while interacting with the RSS chief.
"He [Mohan Bhagwat] was extremely cordial,"
said madrasa cleric Mehmud Hasan, going on to describe the RSS chief's visit to
the madrasa.
Source: India Today
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Pakistan government's Twitter account withheld in
India, again
Oct 1, 2022
NEW DELHI: The Twitter account of the Pakistan
government has been withheld in India. This is reportedly the second such
incident in recent months.
This account was withheld earlier in July as well but
had been reactivated and was visible. Today, again the account displayed the
message of being withheld in India.
"@GovtofPakistan account has been withheld in
India in response to a legal demand," is seen while accessing the Twitter
handle.
According to Twitter guidelines, the microblogging
site takes such action in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court
order.
Currently, the Twitter feed of the Pakistan government
"@GovtofPakistan" is not visible to Indian users.
Previously, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry
had blocked 16 YouTube news channels including six Pakistan-based channels for
spreading disinformation related to India's national security, foreign
relations, and public order.
Twitter said that if it "receives a valid and
properly scoped request from an authorized entity, it may be necessary to
withhold access to certain content in a particular country from time to
time."
Such withholdings will be limited to the specific
jurisdiction that has issued the valid legal demand or where the content has
been found to violate local law(s)," the social media giant said.
In June, Twitter in India banned official accounts of
Pakistan Embassies in UN, Turkey, Iran and Egypt.
Later in August this year, India blocked 8 YouTube-based
news channels, including one operating from Pakistan and one Facebook account
for posting "fake, anti-India content" online.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a
statement that the action was taken by imposing emergency powers under Information
Technology Rules, 2021. The orders for the move were on August 16. The blocked
Indian YouTube channels were observed to be using fake and sensational
thumbnails, images of news anchors and logos of certain TV news channels to
mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic.
Source: Times Of India
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Two Jaish-e-Mohammed men killed in Baramulla
Oct 1, 2022
SRINAGAR: Two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were killed
in a shootout with a combined team of Army, CRPF and J&K police in the
Pattan area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday.
The terrorists had snuck into Baramulla to attack the
Army Agniveer recruitment rally being held at its 10 Sector Hyderbeigh HQ in
the district, SSP Rayees Mohiuddin Bhat said.
Police said both were Kashmir natives. They were
surrounded by a security team following intelligence inputs about terrorists
hiding at Yedipora village of Pattan. The cornered duo fired at the forces and
were killed eventually in the gunfight.
Source: Times Of India
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BJP agitation in Sasaram today to ‘free’ Ashokan
inscription turned into a ‘Mazar’ in 2005
Sep 30, 2022
The opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar
has announced an agitation here on October 1 to “free” the 3rd century BCE
Ashokan rock inscription near Sasaram, an ASI-protected monument which was
allegedly taken over by the local Muslim community members in 2005 and turned
into a “shrine”.
Samarat Chaudhary, a former minister and currently the
leader of opposition in the Legislative Council, who has announced the
agitation, said in a statement that the site was captured and locked by members
of the Muslim community, who were not willing to relent despite repeated
letters from the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) since 2005.
Asked why the BJP, which has been part of the state
government for most of the duration since 2005, did not act earlier, Chaudhary
said, “Nitish Kumar was the chief minister and the home minister. If it was not
freed before, it will be freed now. We will fight for justice.”
Chaudhary belongs to the Kushwaha community, which
constitutes more than six per cent of Bihar’s population. The community
believes its roots lie in the Mauryan dynasty and celebrates the anniversary of
Emperor Ashoka the Great with much fanfare on April 14, which was declared a
state holiday by the state government in 2016.
It is believed that Lord Buddha, during his first
visit to Sarnath after attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, had spent a night
at this cave where Ashoka made the inscription.
The inscription of Mauryan ruler Ashoka (272-232 BC),
situated in a cave on Ashoka Pahari (now called Ashik Pahari), three kilometres
south of Rohtas district headquarters town Sasaram, has great historical and
archaeological importance. It was acquired by ASI and declared a nationally
protected monument on December 1, 1917.
The inscription is among 18 minor rock edicts of
Ashoka spread over the country, according to Dr Shyam Sundar Tiwary, researcher
and expert on Sone valley civilization.
Noted historian Dr Parmeshwari Lal Gupta, in his work
“Prachin Bharat Ke Pramukh Abhilekh”, has also written about the importance of
this inscription.
In 2005, some local Muslim community members allegedly
locked the entrance gate of the cave after covering the inscription with a
“green cloth” and declaring it a Mazar (shrine). ASI officials said that since
then, they have repeatedly requested the Rohtas district administration through
several letters for removal of encroachment, to no avail.
In July 2018, the then district magistrate of Rohtas,
Pankaj Dixit, had held a meeting with representatives of the local Muslim
community to persuade them to hand over the cave to ASI.
“But the cave could not be freed and handed over to
the ASI due to reasons known best to the authorities,” Dr Tiwary said.
When contacted for his response, GM Ansari, the
“custodian” of the “Mazar”, said he was headed for Mecca and could not speak on
the subject before his return after one month.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Mideast
Iran says nine nationals from European countries
arrested for role in unrest
30 September, 2022
Iranian security forces have arrested nine people from
Germany, Poland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and other countries for
their role in the protests against the death of a young woman in police
custody, the intelligence ministry said on Friday.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Iran protests over young woman's death continue, 83
said killed
30 September, 2022
Protests continued in several cities across Iran on
Thursday against the death of young woman in police custody, state and social
media reported, as a human rights group said at least 83 people had been killed
in nearly two weeks of demonstrations.
Mahsa Amini, 22, from the Iranian Kurdish town of
Saqez, was arrested this month in Tehran for “unsuitable attire” by the
morality police that enforces the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for
women.
Her death has sparked the first big show of opposition
on Iran's streets since authorities crushed protests against a rise in gasoline
prices in 2019.
“At least 83 people including children, are confirmed
to have been killed in (the) #IranProtests,” Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based
group, said on Twitter.
Despite the growing death toll and a fierce crackdown
by authorities, videos posted on Twitter showed demonstrators calling for the
fall of the clerical establishment in Tehran, Qom, Rasht, Sanandaj,
Masjed-i-Suleiman and other cities.
State television said police had arrested a large
number of “rioters”, without giving figures.
Rights groups said dozens of activists, students and
artists have been detained and the Committee to Protect Journalists said on
Twitter that it had learned that security forces had arrested at least 28
journalists as of Sept. 29.
Meanwhile, Germany's foreign minister said on Thursday
she wanted the European Union to impose sanctions on Iran following Amini's
death.
In Norway, several people attempted to enter the
Iranian embassy in Oslo during an angry demonstration in which two people
sustained light injuries, Norwegian police said. Police detained 95 people,
public broadcaster NRK reported.
President Ebrahim Raisi said the unrest was the latest
move by hostile Western powers against Iran since its Islamic revolution in
1979.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Turkish opposition revives questions over Islamic
State burning execution
Sibel Hurtas
September 30, 2022
Turkey’s main opposition has revived questions over
the gruesome execution of two Turkish nationals by the Islamic State (IS) in
Syria, almost six years after a video showing the pair being burned alive shook
the nation to its core.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the Republican People’s
Party, visited the family of one of the victims this week, pledging to take the
issue to parliament. “What upsets me the most is that the army and the
government made no statement about the incident after it reverberated on social
media,” he said.
The authorities responded with silence to the
execution video, shared by IS-linked accounts in December 2016, that showed two
young Turkish-speaking men clad in military camouflage being burned alive.
One of the victims — Sefter Tas, a soldier abducted from
a border area the year before — has been confirmed dead. According to official
records, the other victim — Fethi Sahin — is still alive. Authorities have yet
to shed light on the execution and punish its perpetrators, even though several
suspects — most of them Turkish nationals — have emerged from IS-related court
cases over the years.
A Syrian IS member is believed to have ordered the
execution following failed efforts by Ilhami Bali — the alleged Turkey emir of
IS who remains on Ankara’s most wanted list — to use the two victims as a
bargaining chip. The killing was allegedly carried out by two Turkish
militants. Turkish national Omer Yetek disseminated the video.
Yetek, who was arrested in 2018 and released pending
trial in 2020, had spoken about the execution in his testimony to the police.
Contacted by Al-Monitor this week, he disowned his testimony, claiming the
police had forced him to write it; he denied knowing any of the militants
implicated in the killing. That Yetek remains free despite a six-year sentence
for membership in a terrorist group is quite intriguing, even though he said he
had appealed the sentence.
Even more intriguingly, Jamal Alwi — the Syrian who
allegedly ordered the execution — appears to have lived quietly in Turkey for
years. Having walked free after initial detention, he was rearrested last year
after an investigative journalist reported he ran a bird shop in the border
city of Gaziantep.
Senem Doganoglu, a lawyer representing victims'
families in a court case over a bloody IS bombing in Ankara in 2015, told
Al-Monitor that prosecutors in the city of Antalya had obtained phone records
showing that Bali had sought to use the two victims as a bargaining chip.
Bali’s wife, who remains behind bars, has named Hasan
Aydin as an executioner in her questioning by the police. Aydin’s fate remains
unknown, while the other alleged executioner, Talip Akkurt, was reportedly
killed in 2018.
According to investigative journalist Gokcer
Tahincioglu, a comprehensive probe into the incident “could be conducted only
after the state officially acknowledges the two soldiers were burned to death.”
Tas’ father said in 2017 that officials had informed
the family the execution video was authentic and their son was dead.
As for Sahin, authorities have kept mum. Though he,
too, is usually referred to as a “soldier,” some media outlets claim he had
joined IS while others say he was an intelligence operative who infiltrated the
group. According to his parents, Sahin left the family home in March 2015,
saying he would go to Syria. Several months before the execution video, Sahin’s
father was reportedly contacted by Syrians from a Turkish-backed rebel group
who said his son was detained by IS for “being an informant” for Turkey’s
gendarmerie force.
If Sahin really had an intelligence role, the official
silence comes off as a sign that “the state is trying to evade responsibility”
for his death, Doganoglu said.
Source: Al Monitor
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Senior IRGC commander killed during clashes in
southeastern Iran: State media
30 September, 2022
A senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
commander died on Friday after he was injured during clashes with “anti-regime”
gunmen in southeastern Iran, state media reported.
Ali Mousavi, chief commander of the IRGC’s
intelligence unit in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan, died after being shot
in the chest by a group of “anti-regime” gunmen in the city of Zahedan, the semi-official
Tasnim news agency reported.
Earlier on Friday, state media had reported that
gunmen opened fire at a police station in Zahedan, the provincial capital city
of Sistan-Baluchestan.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Casualties feared after angry mob storms police
station in southeast Iran
Syed Zafar Mehdi
30.09.2022
TEHRAN, Iran
Heavy clashes erupted in the city of Zahedan in Iran's
southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province on Friday after an angry mob stormed a
police station, leading to a firefight.
The incident took place following Friday prayers at
police station 16 on Razi Street in west Zahedan, a few blocks away from a
mosque, according to local reports.
At least two deaths and dozens of injuries have been
reported in local media, but the exact toll remains unclear. The injured have
been admitted to hospitals.
Videos circulating on social media showed gory scenes
of wounded people being taken away amid plumes of smoke and the sound of
intermittent gunfire in the background.
State media said unidentified gunmen opened fire and
threw Molotov cocktail at the police station, leading to an intense firefight.
However, other reports said the assailants were
unarmed, but pelted stones at the police who responded with live fire.
Later, angry protesters set ablaze public properties,
banks and police cars across the city, according to eye witnesses.
Tensions have been running high in recent days in the
Sunni-majority province that borders Pakistan over the death of a young Iranian
woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.
However, media reports also point to another case in
the province that has inflamed the situation — the alleged sexual harassment of
a 15-year-old girl by a police officer in the neighboring port city of
Chabahar.
The incident, which was reported earlier this month,
has drawn widespread anger and outrage in the border province with people
calling for justice and accountability.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Israel ‘green lights’ assassination drones in West
Bank; heightens Gaza anxiety
01 October 2022
The Tel Aviv regime has given the ‘green light’ for
the use of armed drones to carry out assassinations against Palestinians in the
occupied West Bank, in an escalation in aggression by the Israeli occupation
troops.
According to a report published by the Jerusalem Post,
Israeli commanders will now be allowed to use the platforms not only as cover
and intelligence for forces during operations but also to carry out strikes
against Palestinians.
The order seemingly comes within the context of
Israeli forces attempts to police the Palestinian territories, especially since
drones are a military instrument that can be used easily and without risk.
Army Chief, Aviv Kochavi, gave his approval to use the
armed drones for assassinations and “to carry out strikes” against Palestinian
resistance groups that "pose an imminent threat to the Israeli
military", the media outlet said.
The Israeli army has evaluated the situation in the
West Bank, said Kochavi on Wednesday, adding that Israel will keep preparing
for every scenario to ensure what he described as "Israel's security".
According to the Jerusalem Post, Israel is hoping that
drones and remote-controlled weapons can keep its troops out of harm’s way in
the West Bank for the time being. In the same context, it is noteworthy that
the Israeli occupation forces recently installed a remote gun turret in a
heavily populated area of al-Khalil, after reportedly deploying facial
recognition technology on the Palestinian territory last year.
Israel has used Elbit’s Hermes 450 drones to carry out
targeted assassinations in Gaza since 2008. According to reports, these drones
have been in production since the late 1990s. However, establishing a full
account of their usage is difficult, as Israel’s military censor had banned
reports on their use until earlier this year.
In July, the Jerusalem Post reported on this note that
Israel Air Force has been using attack drones for at least the past 20 years,
and it has been extensively documented in US diplomatic cables as well as at
international air shows. The Israeli troops, however, never publicly disclosed
the use of such platforms, and Israeli journalists who attempted to publish
anything were blocked by the censor.
Also in September, the same source confirmed that
Israeli occupation commanders had undergone training to prepare them for the
possibility that they will use armed drones during counter-terrorism
operations. It is believed that the order was given as Israel feels it might be
facing an extensive operation in the northern West Bank, similar to Operation
Defensive Shield in 2002.
The Tel Aviv regime follows the footsteps of its
number one ally, the United States, which has been conducting drone strikes for
years, especially under the Obama administration.
In 2020, the US carried out its notorious drone attack
in which it assassinated commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps'
Al-Quds Brigade, General Qassem Soleimani on Iraqi soil.
Back then, Agnes Callamard, a UN special rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said, "There are no robust
standards governing drones' development, proliferation, export, or capability
for use of force. No transparency. No effective oversight. No
accountability."
Similarly, using drone strikes allows the Israeli
occupation to evade accountability the same way the US has been for years.
Despite Israeli claims that the intelligence provided
by drones makes it easier to target those Palestinians it has defined as
“terrorists”, research shows civilians are the main victims.
In 2009, the total number of Gazan civilians killed by
drone-launched missiles remains unclear. Human rights organizations including
B’Tselem, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and the Al-Mezan Center for
Human Rights reported 42 drone attacks that killed 87 civilians in the 2008 war
on Gaza.
Amnesty International told media outlets that it
documented 48 civilian deaths from drones, and this does not represent the full
number. In only six Israeli drone strikes back then, 29 Palestinian civilians
were killed, 8 of them children.
Israel’s response back then was that Israeli forces
failed to take all feasible precautions to verify whether the targets were
Palestinian resistance fighters or civilians. According to statistics compiled
by human rights groups in Gaza, civilians are the chief casualties of what
Israel refers to as “surgical” strikes from drones.
Drone Anxiety in Gaza
Meanwhile, psychiatrist Iman Hijjo, who treats
Palestinians from conflict trauma triggered by the sound of Israeli drones says
“children suffer fear and anxiety as a direct result of the drones,” lamenting
a lack of scientific research to determine longer-term impacts.
Based in Gaza's southern city of Khan Yunis, Hijjo
says "When an insect moves around you, you can hit it, but not the
drone," adding that the situation leads to a "sense of
powerlessness".
Her fellow psychiatrist Sami Oweida points out for his
part that "children need to feel safe in order to develop, but with the
presence of drones in the sky, these feelings cannot flourish."
Moreover, teenager Bissam from the enclave was quoted
by AFP as saying she “has trouble sleeping and concentrating as the buzzing
sound of Israeli military drones above the crowded Palestinian enclave drives
her to distraction.”
The 18-year-old, the source reported, said "the
drone is constantly with me in my bedroom -- worry and fear don't leave our
homes.”
Bissam's mother said she struggles to calm her
children when the drones fly overhead, fearing an Israeli air strike could
follow even if there is no active conflict. "The kids sleep intermittently.
We wake up, we sleep, then we wake up" the 42-year old mother explained.
Israel uses drones above Gaza for 4,000 flying hours
every month-- the equivalent of deploying five of the unmanned aircraft
permanently in the sky, the Israeli military told AFP.
Unmanned surveillance aircraft have become an integral
part of Israel's 15-year-old blockade of the Gaza besieged enclave, and 2.3
million Palestinians endure their incessant hum of what Palestinians call
‘Zanana’, which stands for a noise maker or buzz in Arabic.
Source: Press TV
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Palestinians mourn 7-year-old boy who died from ‘fear’
of Israeli forces
01 October 2022
Thousands of Palestinians have participated in the
funeral of the 7-year old Palestinian boy Rayan Suleiman, who died in an
Israeli raid.
The Funeral of Rayan took place in the occupied West
Bank. The boy lost his life on Thursday as his heart stopped when he was chased
alongside other school children by the Israeli occupation forces in the town of
Teqoa, southeast of Beit Lahm
Mourners, who filled the streets of Teqoa to mourn
Rayan’s death, chanted “we all die, and Palestine lives.” The little boy’s body
was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.
Violent confrontations erupted on Friday between
Palestinian youths and the Israeli occupation forces after the funeral of the
martyred child Rayan.
According to local Palestinian sources, the confrontations
began immediately after the funeral of the child, as Palestinian youths began
throwing stones at the occupation forces.
Rayyan's father, Yasser, said the Israeli soldiers
chased his son to their house alleging that he and the children with him were
‘throwing stones at them’, which caused him to fall from a considerable height.
However, a medical official who inspected the boy’s
body told Reuters that even though he reportedly fell from a significant
height, his body bore no sign of physical trauma and that the death appeared
consistent with heart failure.
Quoted by al-Jazeera, Rayan’s cousin, Mohammed
Suleiman said that upon his arrival at his house, Rayan was chased by the
soldiers who were yelling at him.
“The soldiers shouted at him that he’s [a] stone
thrower,” he said. “He ran away from one side, and the soldier met him from the
other side [of the house]. Rayan saw the soldier in front of him, and was
shocked and dropped dead out of fear,” he said.
For her part, Hadeel Salman, a neighbour and witness,
said Israeli soldiers were “going in all directions looking for any child they
could find”.
“The soldiers even summoned my young brother – they
told him he threw stones at them and needed to be arrested,” Salman told the
source, “He insisted he had nothing to do with it.”
Relatives of the Suleiman family said on Thursday that
Rayan had no previous health problems and accused the army of scaring the child
to death. On this note, Rayan’s uncle Mohammed said, "He was a completely
healthy boy filled with happiness, and within minutes we lost him."
Human rights groups have long accused the Israeli
regime of deliberately targeting Palestinian children. 83 Palestinian children
were killed in 2021 and 2022, according to Defense for Children International -
Palestine (DCIP) data.
The Geneva-based DCIP presented a report in June,
saying that the occupying regime had been intensifying its aggression against
minors in the occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, and the holy
occupied city of al-Quds since the start of 2022. It said that as many as 15
Palestinian children have been killed so far in 2022 at the hands of the
Israeli forces.
Source: Press TV
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Iran: Israeli regime’s history full of massacres,
child killings
30 September 2022
Iran has slammed Israel over the fear-induced death of
a seven-year-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank, saying the history
of the usurping regime is replete with such atrocities, among many the killing
of children.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana’ani made the
remark in a post on his Twitter account on Friday as he pointed to the death of
Rayyan Yaser Suleiman, a Palestinian child who lost his life after falling from
a high place while running away from Israeli soldiers in the village of Tuqu,
southeast of Bethlehem.
Palestine's health officials said the child was
admitted to hospital due to a heart attack and attempts to revive him had
failed.
Kana’ani’s tweet also coincided with the 22nd
martyrdom anniversary of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah, who was killed by
Israeli gunfire on his father’s lap in the besieged Gaza Strip on September 30,
2000.
“From Muhammad al-Durrah to Rayyan Suleiman, the history
of Israel's apartheid regime is full of assassinations, massacres, torture and
killing of children,” Kana’ani said in a Persian-language tweet.
“Rayyan and other martyred Palestinian children are
the victims of ‘silence on normalization’ and ‘false claimants of human
rights.’”
Palestine's official Wafa news agency said Rayyan
"ran away in fear" from soldiers who chased him and other students
after leaving their school, causing him to fall from a considerable height.
Rayyan's father, Yaser, said the Israeli soldiers
chased his son to their house and because his son was so scared of the troops
he tried to run away but his heart stopped and he fell dead.
Israeli media, quoting Rayyan’s uncle, admitted that
the Palestinian boy had died from a heart attack.
"Rayyan's father opened the door and the soldiers
entered. Then, there was a commotion and a lot of screaming. Out of fear,
[Rayyan] collapsed and had a heart attack," said his uncle Mohammed.
"He was a completely healthy boy filled with happiness, and within minutes
we lost him."
The Palestinian authorities called the seven-year-old
“a martyr” and urged the international community to “hold the occupation
accountable for its crimes.”
Israeli forces have recently been conducting overnight
raids and committing murder in the northern part of the West Bank, mainly in
the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where new groups of Palestinian resistance
fighters have been formed.
Source: Press TV
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Teacher wounded, students arrested in Israeli military
attack on Palestinian school in al-Khalil
30 September 2022
Israeli forces have raided an elementary school in the
southern occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil and attacked teachers and
students, as tensions are on the rise across the occupied territories in the
wake of near-daily Israeli military operations that have killed dozens of
Palestinians.
Director General of Education Department in al-Khalil,
Atef al-Jamal, stated that the Israeli troops stormed al-Hajriya Elementary
School on Thursday and broke into classrooms, causing panic and fear among
students.
He added that the forces beat teachers and students,
and sprayed their faces with pepper as they pushed them back the Israeli
soldiers.
A teacher, identified as Ihab al-Rajbi, sustained
bruises to his hand. The soldiers also detained and interrogated two schoolchildren
after dragging them out of their classrooms. They were released later.
The incident came on the same day that a Palestinian
boy died of heart failure while being chased by Israeli soldiers in the
occupied West Bank.
Seven-year-old Rayyan Suleiman was coming home from
school with other pupils in the village of Tuqu when troops gave chase, and he
“died on the spot from fear,” his father Yasser said in a video circulated on
social media.
A medical official who inspected the body stated that
it bore no sign of physical trauma and that the death appeared consistent with
heart failure.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the
incident as “an ugly crime” by the Israeli regime.
Meanwhile, Palestinian local and security sources said
Israeli forces have detained seven Palestinians and wounded two others during
overnight operations in various parts of the West Bank.
They said that Israeli forces stormed a house in
Jalazone refugee camp, located 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) north of Ramallah, in
the early hours of Friday, and rounded up a 17-year-old teen following a
thorough search.
The soldiers opened live fire at a vehicle in the
refugee camp, wounding two people. One of them suffered gunshot wounds the
shoulder while the other was struck in the foot. They were rushed to a nearby
hospital for treatment.
Additionally, gun-toting soldiers detained four
Palestinians and ransacked the houses of their families in several
neighborhoods of the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil.
They also forced their way into Beit Ummar town,
arrested two other Palestinians and searched the houses of their families.
Israeli forces have recently been conducting overnight
raids and killings in the northern occupied West Bank, mainly in the cities of
Jenin and Nablus, where new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been
formed.
Source: Press TV
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Pakistan
Suicide Bomber Blows Himself Up Minutes before Friday
Prayers in Pakistan's Restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Sep 30, 2022
PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber on Friday blew himself up
in an open field situated close to a mosque, minutes before the Jumma prayers
in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said. The attacker
detonated a hand grenade before exploding his suicide vest, which killed him on
the spot, district police officer Irfanullah said.
However, no one else was hurt or injured in the blast.
The incident took place in Mardan district in
Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Earlier this week, a suicide bomber attacked a
Pakistani military convoy in the province, injuring at least 21 soldiers.
Source: Times Of India
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JUI-F moves Shariat Court against transgender persons
act
September 30, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) on moved
Federal Shariat Court against the Transgender Persons Act 2018, claiming that
the law was in contradiction with Islamic principles.
According to details, the JUI-F has filed a petition
in Federal Shariat Court, challenging the Transgender Persons (Protection of
Rights) (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The law should be declared against Shariat, the
petition stated, maintaining that no law can be passed in the country that
contradicts with Holy Quran and Sunnah.
The Federal Shariat Court will take up the petition on
October 3. In a statement, the JUI-F spokesperson said the party would continue
its struggle against this act on every platform.
Earlier, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamat-e-Islami (JI)
had filed a petition in the Federal Shariat Court against the Transgender
Rights Bill 2018, claiming it’s in contradiction with the Islamic principles of
heredity.
The JI leader had argued that the bill would cause
complications in Islamic heredity rules.
The petition, filed by the JI senator, would be
persecuted by Lawyer Imran Shafique Advocate. Senate’s Human Rights Committee
had debated the bill in its September 5 session.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Council of
Islamic Ideology (CII) deemed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights)
(Amendment) Bill, 2022 un-Islamic and not in line with the Sharia, ARY News
reported.
In a statement, the top religious body said that many
sections of the Transgender Act 2018 are not in conformity with Islamic
teachings and could add to social problems in the country.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Pakistan anti-terror court charges 3 more for blast
outside Hafiz Saeed's house
September 29, 2022
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has indicted three
more suspects in a car bomb blast outside the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind and
JuD chief Hafiz Saeed's house here last year that killed three people, an
official said on Thursday.
"The prosecutors of the Counter Terrorism
Department (CTD) of Punjab Police declared the suspects - Samiul Haq
(mastermind) Aziz Akbar and Naveed Akhtar (facilitators) - guilty before the
court," a CTD official told PTI.
He said the suspects, who were brought amid tight
security, pleaded not guilty before the court.
The official said the ATC Lahore directed the
prosecution to present witnesses before it on October 4.
In January, the ATC had sentenced four suspects - Eid
Gul (activist of banned Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), Peter Paul David, Sajjad
Shah and Ziaullah - to death on nine counts.
The court had also handed down five years imprisonment
to a woman, identified as Ayesha Bibi, during the in-camera trial proceedings
at the high-security Kot Lakhpat Jail here.
The prosecution had presented 56 witnesses against
these five convicts.
Three people were killed and over 20 others injured in
the blast outside Saeed’s Jauhar town residence here on June 23, 2021 that also
damaged a number of houses, shops and vehicles in the area.
According to the CTD, TTP's Eid Gul had installed
explosives in the car used in the blast. The car belonged to Peter Paul David
and the other three - Sajjad Shah, Ziaullah and Ayesha - were facilitators.
Saeed, chief of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) has
been serving a jail sentence at the Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore for his conviction
in terror financing cases. There were unconfirmed reports that Saeed was
present at his house when the blast took place.
The 71-year-old radical cleric and a UN-designated
terrorist, whom the US has placed a USD 10 million bounty on, has been
convicted of 36 years imprisonment in five terror financing cases. His
punishment is running concurrently.
Saeed-led JuD is the front organisation for the
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which is responsible for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai
attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.
The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed
as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. He was listed under the UN Security
Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008.
Source: India Today
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PIA issues clarification after issuing bizarre dress
code for cabin crew
Sep 30, 2022
ISLAMABAD: A red-faced Pakistan International Airlines
(PIA) was forced to issue a clarification on Friday after the state-owned
carrier received much flak for its bizarre dress code for its cabin crew,
instructing them that wearing undergarments underneath the uniform was a must.
On Thursday, PIA told its crew that wearing
undergarments underneath the uniform was a must, saying that a lack of proper
attire would leave a "poor impression" and "portrays a negative
image" of the airline.
Not surprisingly, the diktat was massively criticised
from several quarters, terming it as "inappropriate."
The national carrier immediately withdrew the
bulletin, due to the backlash it received, Geo News reported.
Barely 24 hours later, the airline, in an attempt to
downplay the incident, came out with a carefully-worded clarification.
“Despite the fact that the spirit behind the advisory
was to ensure proper dress code, however, the standard bulletin, inadvertently,
came out with an inappropriate selection of words,” PIA's Chief HR Officer said
in a written clarification.
“I personally feel regretful and am fully convinced
that the words could have been more civilised and appropriate in this context
instead of words published, which, unfortunately, are being trolled and twisted
towards the defamation of the company,” he added.
In the previous notification, PIA General Manager
Flight Services Aamir Bashir, in an internal instruction memo, said: "It
has been observed with great concern that a few cabin crew tend to dress
casually while travelling intercity, staying in hotels, and visiting various
suffices."
“Such dressing leaves a poor impression on the viewer
and portrays a negative image of not only the individual but also of the
organisation.”
Bashir asked the cabin crew to "dress
properly" in formal plain clothes over "proper undergarments".
PIA is Pakistan's largest airline and operates a fleet
of 30 aircraft.
Source: Times Of India
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Ashrafi for celebrating Rabiul Awwal as
‘Paigham-e-Rehmatul-lil-Alameen’
OCTOBER 1, 2022
Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith
Harmony and Middle East Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Friday said
Rabi-ul-Awwal was being celebrated as month of the
‘Paigham-e-Rehmatul-lil-Alameen’ throughout the country.
Addressing a Sirat-un-Nabi Conference on Friday,
Ashrafi who is also the chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council said peace,
affection and tolerance was the message of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon
Him) and it was the responsibility of every Muslim to spread this noble message
across the world. Assuring the rights of minorities living in Pakistan, he said
Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) had made Muslims the protectors of
the rights of non-Muslims at all levels.
He said the Prophet of Allah Almighty had given women
the right to education and it was Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon
Him) to seek the daughter’s consent before her marriage. There was no concept
of forced marriage and forcefully conversion to religion in Islam, he added.
Ashrafi said the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) had
always sympathized with those who kept enmity against him as extremist
attitudes are creating problems for Islam and Muslims all over the world.
“Islam is spread all over the world through best moral
values, that is why; even the enemies of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) used
to call him Sadiq and Ameen (Truthful and Honest),” he added.
He said today making false statements against one
another were causing death and destruction in the society. He said in the month
of Rabi-ul-Awwal, ‘Paigham-e-Rehmatul-lil- Alameen’ conferences, seminars and
congregations would be held under the aegis of Pakistan Ulema Council across
the country.
Meanwhile, talking to media after the conference, he
said the ongoing political turmoil in the country could be settled down by
reconciliation.
Source: Daily Times Pakistan
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Pakistan committed to deepen ties with UAE: PM
October 1, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al-Zaabi called on Prime Minister Muhammad
Shehbaz Sharif here on Friday and discussed matters of mutual interest.
The prime minister reaffirmed the importance Pakistan
attached to its fraternal relations with the UAE, and extended the best wishes
for the continued progress and prosperity of its brotherly people.
He highlighted the extensive devastation caused by the
recent floods across Pakistan and the response of the government to address the
dire situation. In this regard, he expressed gratitude for the relief
assistance provided by the UAE for the flood-stricken people and for
establishing an air corridor to provide humanitarian assistance.
The prime minister added that Pakistan was committed
to further deepen its relations with the United Arab Emirates in all areas of
common interest.
Pakistan and the UAE enjoy close fraternal ties for
five decades that are rooted firmly in common belief and shared values and
culture. The UAE is Pakistan’s largest trading partner in the Middle East and a
major source of investments.
Pakistan desires Japanese investment
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday said Pakistan was
desirous of Japanese investment in the projects of solar energy, cleaning
drinking water and treatment, and drainage of waste water and materials.
The prime minister expressed these views while talking
to a delegation of Japanese companies based in Pakistan, led by Japan’s Vice
Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry Satomi Ryuji. Japan’s Ambassador to
Pakistan Wada Mitsuhiro was also present on the occasion.
He said Pakistan was speedily moving towards
benefitting from sources of renewable energy like solar, wind and hydel as the
money being spent on the expensive oil, gas and other fuels was an intolerable
burden on the economy.
The PM said Pakistan was initiating on emergency basis
projects for generation of 10,000 megawatts of solar power.
For the purpose, the government had prepared an
effective investment plan and had already held a pre-bid conference of the
stakeholders, he told.
Under the solarization project, he said, solar parks
would be established and government buildings, commercial centers and
tube-wells would be converted to solar energy to save precious foreign
exchange.
He said Pakistan wanted investment of the Japanese
companies under the public private partnership mode for setting up projects for
provision of clean drinking water and treatment and drainage of waste water and
materials in Karachi.
The prime minister thanked the government and people
of Japan for the financial assistance of $7 million and for their expression of
sympathy on the loss of precious lives during the recent unprecedented
devastating floods in Pakistan.
Source: Pakistan Today
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https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/10/01/pakistan-committed-to-deepen-ties-with-uae-pm/
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Europe
Saudi-UK business to grow ‘significantly’ under GCC
trade deal, says lord mayor of London
ALEX WHITEMAN
September 30, 2022
LONDON: A pending free-trade agreement between the UK
and the Gulf Cooperation Council will “significantly increase” their financial
ties at a transformational moment for the global economy, the lord mayor of the
City of London told Arab News prior to his tour of the region.
Vincent Keaveny, who will begin his tour in Riyadh
this weekend, said Saudi investment in Britain already topped £65 billion
($69.36 billion) annually, with UK trade with the Gulf surpassing £33 billion.
“The GCC is our fourth-largest trading partner, which
gives you an idea of the importance and scale of investment flows, which are
two way, and I see this increasing significantly over the years,” he added.
“Saudi Arabia has great transformational plans for its
own economy, and the financial and professional services here in the UK have a
huge amount to offer in helping implement and support this.”
One of the oldest continuously elected civic officers,
the lord mayor of London serves as mayor of the City of London and leads the
City of London Corp., with a focus on representing, supporting and promoting
business within the financial heart of the UK capital.
The UK-GCC FTA that was announced in June appears to
remain a priority for Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss, and is hoped to
generate £33.5 billion in new trade.
While hosting GCC foreign ministers last December,
then-Foreign Secretary Truss stressed that “closer economic and security ties
with our Gulf partners” was a priority.
Keaveny said: “The FTA would be a very positive
statement of intent about the future relationship between the UK and the
countries that make up the region, and we would support the prime minister’s
ambitions to get this done and get this done as quickly as possible.”
He added: “I think with Liz Truss this will happen;
she’s someone the City knows very well. We worked with her closely on the
international trade agenda when she was international trade secretary and
indeed, she had a pronounced focus on trade during her time as foreign
secretary.”
Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British
Understanding, told Arab News that the FTA will be a priority for Truss.
Her focus when it comes to the Middle East, he said,
would very much be on “getting the free-trade deal over the line.”
Keaveny said he would not be surprised by requirements
for country-level agreements between each of the parties to flesh it out,
stressing that “we’d have to wait and see” on the details.
“I take the view that free-trade agreements provide a
framing context. It may be that some of the FTAs we see coming through in the
next couple of years aren’t as full as we’d like them in the City,” he added.
“I’d only encourage the negotiators involved in this
FTA to get it settled as quickly as possible, albeit I do recognize that this
is a complicated position when negotiating with a body, like the GCC, that
represents a diverse group of countries with divergent interests.”
When questioned if increased regulatory alliance was
on the agenda, he stressed that he was “not close enough to the negotiation to
know if regulatory alignment will be the outcome,” but that greater alignment
would be a positive, particularly from a financial services perspective.
“Anything that makes provision of financial services
smoother, whether through regulatory alignment or the liberalization of data
flows, would be welcome,” he said. “But I’m genuinely not close enough to the
negotiations to know if this is a realistic outcome.”
For Keaveny, “strong, historic” ties exist between the
Gulf and the UK, and he envisages “significant investment requirements and
opportunities.”
In Saudi Arabia, there is the combination of its
Vision 2030 plan — aimed at reducing its reliance on hydrocarbons, diversifying
its economy and expanding public services — and its determination to be
net-zero by 2060.
“All of this requires support, and the UK’s expertise
and approach to net-zero and the financing of the transition means in many ways
the City of London and the country are the thought leaders on this issue,” said
Keaveny.
“So we’ll be able to contribute massively to Saudi
Arabia’s plans on this. It’s a big win as there are all sort of benefits that
will flow and scope to significantly increase this, both in terms of financial
assets and UK infrastructure, whether power structure or other utilities.”
Keaveny’s tour coincides with a fractious moment for
the world, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict ekes into its ninth month amid
growing concerns of a winter of discontent for a Europe that grew dependent
upon Russian gas.
Even so, he does not see it being a major talking
point for the parties involved. “Clearly the war in Ukraine has global economic
repercussions, and if it comes up I believe it will be in the context of that,
and on the effects it’s having on inflationary pressures around the world and
on our net-zero ambitions,” said Keaveny.
He expressed excitement at the decision to host this
year’s and next year’s UN Climate Change Conference in the Middle East, in
Egypt and the UAE respectively.
“It’s very exciting that we have a COP festival in
Africa this year and next year’s in Dubai, as it will frame a different set of
discussions than the Glasgow one, and will set in motion what we need to do to
finance the transition in developing economies,” he said.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2172851/world
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Turkey rejects Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian
territory
October 01, 2022
ISTANBUL: Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday
it rejects Russia’s annexation of four regions in Ukraine, adding the decision
is a “grave violation” of international law.
Turkey, a NATO member, has conducted a diplomatic
balancing act since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Ankara opposes Western
sanctions on Russia and has close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv, its Black Sea
neighbors. It has also criticized Russia’s invasion and sent armed drones to
Ukraine.
The Turkish ministry said on Saturday it had not
recognized Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, adding that it rejects
Russia’s decision to annex the four regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and
Zaporizhzhia.
“This decision, which constitutes a grave violation of
the established principles of international law, cannot be accepted,” the
ministry said.
“We reiterate our support to the resolution of this
war, the severity of which keeps growing, based on a just peace that will be
reached through negotiations,” it added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the
annexation of the regions on Friday, promising Moscow would triumph in its
“special military operation” even as he faced a potentially serious new
military reversal.
His proclamation came after Russia held what it called
referendums in occupied areas of Ukraine. Western governments and Kyiv said the
votes breached international law and were coercive and non-representative.
The United States, Britain and Canada announced new
sanctions in response.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2173036/middle-east
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Norway police arrest 95 rioters over ‘acting
aggressively’ against Iranian embassy
30 September 2022
Norwegian police have arrested 95 rioters who had
behaved “violently” and “aggressively” during an unannounced demonstration
against the Iranian embassy in Oslo.
Operations manager of Oslo police district, Bjørn
Gunnar Nysæter, told NTB that a total of 85 of the 95 people arrested on
Thursday were taken to the detention center.
Nine of them were arrested for damage to the embassy
area and/or violence against the police, including in the form of
stone-throwing, he added.
The Norwegian police are also set to go through some
video material from the demonstration for further investigations.
Meanwhile, Gjermund Stokkli, an official with Oslo
police, confirmed that tear gas had been used to control the crowd.
No injuries to police personnel have been reported, he
said, adding that there has been damage to the facade and fences belonging to
the embassy.
The riots began at around 2 PM on Thursday in front of
the embassy, where many of the rioters were behaving violently and
aggressively, according to Norwegian media.
Several rioters also tried to get into the embassy but
the police controlled the situation by deploying a “significant” number of
officers.
Photos from the scene show that some of the rioters
carried Kurdish flags.
Since last Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC) has launched a series of aerial raids on the positions of Iraqi
Kurdistan-based terrorist groups, including the so-called Komala Party, which
has gained a strong foothold in the region bordering Iran.
The operations came in response to the dispatching of
terror teams and a large cache of weapons to western Iranian regions aimed at
creating unrest following the death of a 22-year-old Iranian woman.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC Ground Force said
that the operations against terror bases will continue until all anti-Iran
separatist and terrorist outfits holed up in the rugged mountainous area lay
down their arms and surrender.
Similar riots against Iranian representative offices
have also been reported in other cities, including at the Iranian embassy in
London on Sunday.
Source: Press TV
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South
Asia
Islamic Emirate Asks UNSC to Extend Travel Ban
Exemptions
By Mohammad Farshad Daryosh
September 30, 2022
Over 40 days have passed since the end of the travel
ban exemption for Islamic Emirate officials instated by the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC).
Kabul once more requested that the United Nations
Security Council extend the travel ban exemption of the officials of the
Islamic Emirate, saying that adopting an isolationist policy would not benefit
any side.
"Isolation policies are not in the benefit of any
side. The Islamic Emirate wants good relations and good interaction with all
sides, and this is in the interest of all sides,” said Bilal Karimi, deputy
spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.
However, some political analysts said that the world's
political and economic sanctions are not beneficial to Afghanistan.
"There is no unity of thought in the Security
Council on this issue as there was previously, and the only way European
countries will accept their travel again is if Kabul gives a specific date for
the opening of girls' schools,” said Tariq Farhadi, political analyst.
Earlier, some diplomatic sources said that the UN
Security Council members were divided over whether or not to extend the Islamic
Emirate leaders' travel ban exemption.
Source: Tolo News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-180090
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Bangladeshi Buddhists denied justice for a decade
September 30, 2022
Buddhists in Bangladesh have expressed frustrations as
they marked the tenth anniversary of anti-Buddhist violence that left 12
temples and dozens of houses destroyed in the Muslim-majority country.
“The incident took place ten years ago, but the trial
has not been completed. It is unfortunate for us. There is no progress and I
think justice has been deliberately delayed by the state,” Pragyananda Bhikkhu,
a Buddhist monk from Cox’s Bazar district told UCA News on Sept. 29.
The monk said on the day Buddhists observed the anniversary
in silence and prayer, adding that most Buddhists have lost hope for justice
for the communal violence.
Ucan Store
“The names of the main accused have been omitted from
the investigation report for political reasons,” alleged the monk, president of
the district unit of the Buddhist Protection Council.
On Sept. 29, 2012, a Muslim mob attacked Buddhist
temples and houses in the Ramu area of Cox’s Bazar district.
The violence was allegedly triggered by a Facebook
post of a burned Quran by a local Buddhist man, Uttam Barua, that defamed Islam
and “hurt religious sentiments” of Muslims.
The mayhem left 12 temples and some 100 houses razed
in arson attacks. The attackers also looted the centuries-old temples and
Buddhist houses before setting those on fire, local media reported at that
time.
The violence came communal riots erupted between
Buddhists and Muslims in the Rakhine state of neighboring Myanmar in June of
that year.
In the following month, the leading Bangladeshi
English daily, the Daily Star published an investigative report that said the
anti-Islam image was posted by a Fake page to trigger the hate crime against
Buddhists.
Bangladesh's government, under the supervision of the
military, reconstructed the destroyed temples and rebuilt the houses of the
Buddhists.
Police officials said a total of 19 cases were filed
over the violence. One case has been compromised through an out-of-the-court
settlement and 18 cases are still pending in different courts.
While alleging negligence for justice, monk
Pragyananda has also pointed out that the government also failed to ensure the
safety of the man falsely accused of posting the defamatory image.
“Uttam Barua ran away from home fearing an attack that
day. He has not been found since then. Uttam's family also had to stay in
hiding for a long time,” he added.
Kajol Barua, 35, a local Buddhist and day laborer
alleged that on the day of the attack police stood silently when the mob was
formed that marched to the temples.
Barua, an eyewitness, said many like him refrained
from testifying in the court fearing a backlash.
“In absence of security no one will go to the court to
give witness, and there will be no justice,” Barua told UCA News.
In past years, a judicial probe boy identified 298
people responsible for the mayhem. Another probe by the Home Minister found the
involvement of 205 people and concluded the attack was planned 10 days earlier.
Police have pressed charges against 385 people
including leaders and supporters of three major political parties – the ruling
Awami League, opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and hardline
Jamaat-e-Islami party.
Faridul Alam, a state prosecutor in Cox’s Bazar
claimed that cases have been dragging for years due to the non-availability of
witnesses.
“Total of 19 cases were filed, and one has been
settled outside the court. Police filed 18 cases as the plaintiff. Due to a
lack of witnesses, there has been a long delay in the trial,” Alam told UCA
News.
Kajol Barua said the witnesses would go to the court
to testify if they are promised adequate security.
“When you see those accused getting bail and roaming
freely, you cannot expect witnesses to testify in the court. We continue to
live in fear,” he said.
A Catholic priest, who did not want to be named,
expressed regret, saying that due to the indifference of the government, one
after another attacks on religious minorities occurred in the country.
He referred to a series of violent attacks against
minority Hindus in Bangladesh.
Source: UCA New
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/bangladeshi-buddhists-denied-justice-for-a-decade/98948
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At UN, Iran raises concern over resurgence of
terrorist groups in Afghanistan
September 30, 2022
Post the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the
international community as a whole is concerned about the affinity of the group
with other terrorist organizations. Iran also expressed alarm, warning that
terrorism in Afghanistan poses a threat to regional and global security,
reported The Khaama Press.
According to Zahra Ershadi, ambassador and deputy
permanent representative of Iran to the UN the re-emergence of terrorism in
Afghanistan poses a threat to both regional and international security. The
Iranian official placed a strong emphasis on fighting terrorism and stated
during the UN Security Council meeting that the Taliban must uphold its
commitment to this cause, reported The Khaama Press.
She also highlighted that the Taliban should ensure
the security of the diplomatic places in Afghanistan, emphasizing that
Afghanistan should not once again become a sanctuary for international
terrorist groups.
Ershadi further called on the Taliban to establish an
inclusive administration in Afghanistan. She told that inclusive administration
in Afghanistan is a major need, and called on the world leaders to honour their
pledges in this way, reported The Khaama Press.
Notably, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
earlier in the UN General Assembly session explicitly stated that Afghanistan
has become a safe haven for terrorists.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister said that “Pakistan shares
the key concern of the international community regarding the threat posed by
the major terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan, especially Islamic
State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), as well as
Al-Qaeda, East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
(IMU),” reported Tolo News.
Sharif’s remarks sparked reactions from the Islamic
Emirate and former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai. Karzai said in a
statement that Afghanistan has been the victim of terrorism and that terrorist
sanctuaries have been active under the Pakistani government in the country and
have been used against Afghanistan for decades, reported Tolo News.
At the annual UN 77th session, the foreign minister of
Tajikistan also raised alarm over the re-emergence of terrorist organizations
in Afghanistan, adding that the nation rapidly attracts terrorists and turns
into a haven for them.
The Taliban, however, dismissed these statements and
demanded that the Taliban be given a seat in the UN to accurately represent
Afghanistan to the rest of the world.
Since its ascent to power in Kabul, the Islamic group
imposed policies severely restricting basic rights–particularly those of women
and girls.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Taliban
dismissed all women from leadership posts in the civil service and prohibited
girls in most provinces from attending secondary school.
Taliban decrees prohibit women from travelling unless
accompanied by a male relative and require women’s faces to be covered in
public–including women TV newscasters.
The Taliban have also carried out censorship, limited
critical reporting, and beaten journalists. Taliban forces have carried out
revenge killings and enforced disappearances of former government officials and
security force personnel. They have summarily executed people deemed affiliated
with the Islamic State.
Source: The Statesman
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Pakistan upset over Afghan Taliban's remarks, says
it's 'against spirit of friendly ties'
Oct 01 2022
Islamabad, Oct 1 (IANS): Pakistan has termed the
recent remarks of an official from the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan as
"against the spirit of friendly relations", and highlighted the need
for interim authorities to take necessary steps to address international
expectations and concerns.
The views were expressed by Foreign Office (FO)
spokesperson Asim Iftikhar at the weekly media briefing here on Friday, in
response to a question regarding the statement of the Taliban's Deputy Foreign
Minister Sher Abbas Stanikzai, a week after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
shared the concern of the international community regarding threats posed by
terrorist groups operating from the neighbouring country, during an address to
the UN General Assembly, Dawn news reported.
The premier's speech, however provoked a sharp rebuke
from the Taliban, with Stanikzai claiming on September 27 that Islamabad was
"receiving millions of dollars" from Washington to allow American
drones to conduct flights over Afghanistan.
"How long can we tolerate this?" he asked a
gathering in Kabul. "If we rise against this, no one will be able to stop
us."
In response to the question about his comment, the FO
spokesman said: "This is very unfortunate and unacceptable. We have noted
with concern, these recent remarks. We consider such statements as against the
spirit of friendly relations between our two brotherly countries.
"Pakistan's role in facilitating peace in
Afghanistan, and our efforts to strengthen bilateral ties are well known, and
they are acknowledged widely.
"We believe that for the success of positive
engagement, it is important that the interim Afghan authorities take necessary
steps to address international expectations and concerns.
Source: Daiji World
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Africa
Burkina Faso soldiers announce overthrow of military
government
Oct 1, 2022
OUAGADOUGOU: Armed soldiers in fatigues and masks
appeared on television in Burkina Faso on Friday night to confirm the ouster of
President Paul-Henri Damiba, the second coup in the troubled West African
country this year.
The announcement capped a day that began with gunfire
near a military camp in the capital Ouagadougou, an explosion near the
presidential palace, and interruptions to state television programming.
It is a pattern that has become increasingly familiar
in West and Central Africa in the past two years as Islamist insurgents wreak
havoc across the arid expanses of the Sahel region, killing thousands and
eroding faith in weak governments that have not found a way to beat them back.
Mali, Chad, and Guinea have all seen coups since 2020,
raising fears of a backslide towards military rule in a region that had made
democratic progress over the past decade.
Burkina Faso's new leader is army Captain Ibrahim
Traore. In a scene that replicated Damiba's own power grab in a Jan. 24 coup,
Traore appeared on television surrounded by soldiers and announced the
government was dissolved, the constitution suspended and the borders closed. He
declared a nightly curfew.
Damiba's whereabouts were unknown on Friday evening.
Traore said a group of officers who helped Damiba
seize power in January had decided to remove their leader due to his inability
to deal with the Islamists. Damiba ousted former President Roch Kabore for the
same reason.
"Faced with the deteriorating situation, we tried
several times to get Damiba to refocus the transition on the security
question," said the statement signed by Traore and read out by another
officer on television.
The statement said Damiba had rejected proposals by
the officers to reorganise the army and instead continued with the military
structure that had led to the fall of the previous regime.
"Damiba's actions gradually convinced us that his
ambitions were diverting away from what we set out to do. We decided this day
to remove Damiba," it said.
National stakeholders will be invited soon to adopt a
new transitional charter and designate a new civilian or military president, it
said.
Civilian populations have cheered military juntas in
the hope that they may be more successful at containing the insurgents than
their democratically elected predecessors. But hope has faded fast.
Burkina Faso has become the epicentre of violence
carried out by groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State that began in
neighbouring Mali in 2012 and has spread to other West African countries south
of the Sahara Desert.
Thousands have been killed in raids on rural
communities and millions have been forced to flee. This week, at least 11
soldiers died in an attack in northern Burkina Faso. Dozens of civilians are
still missing.
Friday's coup creates a conundrum for West Africa's
political bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which
has tried to persuade coup leaders in the region to return to civilian rule as
soon as possible.
ECOWAS suspended Burkina Faso after the January coup
but had since agreed to a two-year transition back to democratic elections.
"ECOWAS reaffirms its unreserved opposition to
any taking or maintaining of the power by unconstitutional means," it said
in a statement.
Source: Times Of India
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North
America
Pentagon silent on overall number of civilian deaths
in 2 decades of Afghanistan occupation
29 September 2022
Abdullah Amirzada
A recent report by the Pentagon says 12 civilians were
killed in drone strikes during 2021 in Afghanistan.
Two were killed in separate airstrikes in Herat and
Kandahar, and 10 members of a family in a drone operation in Kabul, just before
the US withdrawal. Although General McKenzie admitted that the incident was a
"mistake" but none of the US military forces went on trial for this
attack.
The report also compares the number of casualties in
2021 and 2020. It shows there is a decrease, but those are not the only years
the US was present in Afghanistan. The United States came to Afghanistan in
2001 and left the country in 2021. Armed drones were used by the US military
from the beginning. Still there is no mention of the overall number of
casualties in the report.
The exact number of casualties during the 20 years of
the US occupation of Afghanistan is unknown, but statistics show a 330 percent
increase in the figure since 2017, when the US military relaxed its rules of
engagement for airstrikes in Afghanistan. Another source estimates more than a
thousand civilians have lost their lives in air raids, but that only includes
the death toll from 2015 to 2020, which accounts for only 5 years of the US
presence.
Source: Press TV
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US military killed 12 Afghan civilians in 2021; 10 in
Kabul drone strike: Pentagon
28 September 2022
The US military, which invaded and illegally occupied
Afghanistan for almost two decades, killed 12 Afghan civilians in 2021,
according to a congressionally mandated Pentagon report, pointing to a tip of
an iceberg.
They were killed in a botched drone strike the
American military carried out in the Afghan capital Kabul on August 29, 2021,
the report states, one day before the phased US military drawdown ended.
Seven of the ten civilians killed in that incident
were children, according to the report released on Tuesday, which constitutes
only a fraction of atrocities unleashed by the US forces in Afghanistan.
It also documents the killing of a civilian in a US
strike on January 8 in western Herat province, and another on August 11 in
southern Kandahar province.
The botched drone strike in August 2021 prompted a
half-hearted apology from then-head of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie,
who admitted it was a “mistake.”
However, no US military officials or troops were
punished or held accountable for the deadly strike.
Taliban staged a stunning comeback in August 2021,
toppling the West-backed government in Kabul and forcing the US and its allies
to abandon the country after years of futile military adventure.
For two decades, the war in Afghanistan remained an
enigma for the successive US governments, from George Bush to Joe Biden,
finally ending in a botched military exit and a disgraceful defeat.
It started on February 29, 2020, when then-US
President Donald Trump’s administration signed an agreement with the Taliban to
pull out US troops from the country by May 1, 2021.
The deal, however, failed to de-escalate tensions
between the two sides.
On April 14, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that
the remaining 2,500-3,500 US troops in Afghanistan would withdraw by September
11 to end what he called America’s “forever war.”
Between May and August 2021, the Taliban overran
several key provincial capitals across the South Asian country, with the
beleaguered Afghan forces offering little resistance.
On August 15, 2021, the Taliban fighters finally
marched into Kabul, without firing a single bullet, as the US-backed government
officials fled the country.
A day after, thousands of panic-stricken people
flocked to the Kabul Airport, looking for evacuation flights. The disastrous
war ended the way it started — in a reckless fashion.
Amid the ensuing chaos and commotion, on August 29, a
US drone strike killed 10 family members, including seven children, near the
airport.
The bombing targeted the car of Zemari Ahmadi, an
Afghan national who worked for a US-based aid organization, killing him and
nine of his family members.
In September 2021, the Pentagon acknowledged it was a
tragic mistake but said none of the military personnel involved in the botched
strike will face any kind of punishment, prompting a global outcry.
“What we saw here was a breakdown in process, and
execution in procedural events, not the result of negligence, not the result of
misconduct, not the result of poor leadership,” said John Kirby, Pentagon’s
chief spokesman.
“So I do not anticipate there being issues of personal
accountability to be had with respect to the Aug. 29 airstrike.”
One year since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the
Taliban government in Kabul continues to struggle with the rapidly
deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country amid crippling US sanctions
and a shortage of funds.
Millions of Afghans are without work now, the banking
system is virtually dysfunctional, medical facilities are lying in tatters and
the worst humanitarian catastrophe in modern history is in the making.
Source: Press TV
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Turkish delegation says US lawmakers were 'positive'
sales of F-16 jets
Dildar Baykan Atalay
01.10.2022
WASHINGTON
A Turkish lawmaker visiting the US capital said Friday
that congressional members his delegation met were "positive" during
talks on modernization of the fleet of Türkiye's F-16 fighter jets.
Justice and Development (AK) Party Deputy Chair in
charge of Foreign Affairs, Efkan Ala, led a Turkish delegation that included
Akif Cagatay Kilic, head of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Commission, Osman
Askin Bak, chair of the Turkish delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly,
Volkan Bozkir, AK Party Istanbul deputy and Mehdi Eker, AK Party Diyarbakir
deputy.
During a news conference at the Turkish Embassy, Ala
said the delegation discussed bilateral and regional issues, including the F-16
fighter jet sales with two senators and 17 Democrat and Republican
representatives.
They last visited the Congress in May.
Ala said Türkiye's diplomatic efforts during the
conflict between Russia and Ukraine were welcomed by their US counterparts. He
was referring to a grain deal brokered by Ankara and the UN, and Türkiye's role
in a prisoners swap between Russia and Ukraine earlier this month.
"For this reason, it is once known how necessary
the F-16 modernization and supply package demanded by Türkiye is for our
country's security, NATO's deterrence and the stability of our region,"
Ala told reporters.
"As in the meetings of our President (Recep
Tayyip Erdogan) with some members of Congress in New York, the members of
Congress we met here gave positive messages regarding the modernization of our
country's F-16 fleet," he said, referring to Erdogan's talks on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting.
Ala said Senator Bob Menendez, who serves as chairman
of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a bill conditioning sales
of the F-16 to Türkiye on relations with Greece in the 2023 National Defense
Authorization Act.
"We deem this amendment, which binds the sale of F-16s
to Türkiye to our bilateral relations with another NATO ally, unfair and
baseless," said Ala.
He also urged Congress to maintain a "fair and
equal" stance toward two NATO allies -- Türkiye and Greece -- and to
respect Türkiye's sensitivity on Aegean Sea issues.
"We believe that the positive outcome of the F-16
procurement process will have a positive impact on reestablishing trust between
the parties and resolving our current disputes," he added.
Ankara requested F-16s and modernization kits last
October. The $6 billion deal would include the sale of 40 jets and
modernization kits for 79 warplanes that the Turkish Air Force has in its
inventory.
In July, however, the US House of Representatives
approved legislation creating a new hurdle for the sale.
It prohibits the sale unless President Joe Biden
certifies the transfer is in US national interests and guarantees to Congress
that in the 120 days before the transfer, the Turkish government has not
"violated the sovereignty of Greece, including through territorial
overflights."
Source: Anadolu Agency
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US imposes new Iran-related sanctions on several
international companies
29 September 2022
The United States has slapped illegal sanctions on a
number of international companies saying they are involved in Iran's
petrochemical and petroleum trade, including some firms based in China.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement on
Thursday warned of further actions to enforce its economic curbs on Tehran.
Blinken said the US imposed sanctions on two
China-based companies, Zhonggu Storage and Transportation Co. Ltd, and WS
Shipping Co Ltd, saying these companies are helping Iran to sell its Iranian
petroleum and petrochemical products, according to Reuters.
The US Treasury Department also placed sanctions on a
network of companies saying it was involved in the sale of hundreds of millions
of dollars worth of Iranian petrochemical and petroleum products to users in
South and East Asia.
The Treasury said it targeted Iranian brokers and
front companies based in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and India.
The United States, under former president Donald
Trump, abandoned the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May 2018 and reinstated unilateral sanctions that
the agreement had lifted.
The talks to salvage the agreement kicked off in the
Austrian capital of Vienna in April last year, months after Joe Biden succeeded
Trump, with the intention of examining Washington’s seriousness in rejoining
the deal and removing anti-Iran sanctions.
Despite notable progress, the US indecisiveness and
procrastination caused multiple interruptions in the marathon talks.
In recent weeks, there have been unfruitful, indirect
exchanges of responses between Tehran and Washington over an EU draft proposal
on restoring the JCPOA, with Iranian officials urging their American
counterparts to show “realism” and “flexibility” in order to secure a deal.
European diplomats say talks now appear headed toward
a pause until after the US mid-term elections on November 8.
"As Iran continues to accelerate its nuclear
program in violation of the JCPOA, we will continue to accelerate our
enforcement of sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sales under
authorities that would be removed under the JCPOA," Blinken said in the
statement on Thursday, making baseless accusations against the Islamic
Republic.
Source: Press TV
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Southeast
Asia
PAS lists 10 reasons why DAP is anti-Malay,
anti-Muslim
FMT Reporters -September 30, 2022
PETALING JAYA: The Islamic party PAS has cited DAP’s
constitution as among 10 reasons to show that the party is anti-Muslim and
anti-Malay.
PAS information chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin said
Article 2 of DAP’s constitution said it sought to “reaffirm and restore the
Malaysian Constitution to its original ‘secular’ framework”.
“This is proof that DAP is anti-Muslim and
anti-Malay,” he said in a statement today in response to criticism of PAS as
having adopted a racist and extremist approach.
Khairil said that DAP was blatantly against the move
to provide shariah courts with power to impose more severe criminal penalties,
even though such punishments could only be meted out against Muslims for
shariah-related offences.
He said DAP had also pushed for the ratification of
the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination which was opposed by PAS as a “Freemason agenda to destroy
religion, race and country”.
Khairil also highlighted criticisms by several DAP
personalities.
He said DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang had alleged that
Friday sermons, which are prepared by the Islamic development department
(Jakim), were used to spread hate, while a DAP Wanita chief had criticised
another sermon on the need for women to dress modestly, and P Ramasamy had once
labelled televangelist Zakir Naik as “satan”.
Other reasons cited by Khairil were:
Questioning the need for loudspeakers to be used for
the azan (call to prayer) and recital of Quranic verses;
Angering the sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin
Idris Shah, by refusing to nominate more than two candidates for the position
of menteri besar in 2014;
Its record in offending the Malay rulers;
Snarky remarks by DAP leaders on ‘purdah’ worn by
Muslim women.
Calling for Muslims to be given the freedom to leave
Islam.
The Setapak declaration which called for the
opposition to segregating citizens into “bumiputeras” and “non-bumiputeras”.
Khairil said these examples were among the many that
showed the racism within DAP.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Tommy Thomas to be probed for sedition over book, says
PM
September 30, 2022
PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has
directed that former attorney-general Tommy Thomas be immediately investigated
for sedition and several other offences arising from the contents of his
controversial memoirs.
An official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s
Office said that Thomas will be probed under Section 8 of the Official Secrets
Act (OSA), Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act
and Sections 124I and 203A of the Penal Code.
Ismail said a special task force formed to look into
allegations in Thomas’ book had initially identified 19 issues. These issues
were then narrowed down into four main issues, namely:
allegations levelled against the judiciary
exposing government secrets
abuse of power and professional negligence
seditious statements.
In his statement, Ismail said the special task force
had presented its findings at a Cabinet meeting earlier today.
The book, titled “My Story: Justice in the
Wilderness”, was published in January last year.
“The report prepared by the task force over the past
nine months has detailed every allegation made by Thomas in his book.
“I have instructed for further investigations to be
immediately conducted by the relevant enforcement agencies to probe any
possible offences by Thomas,” Ismail
said in the statement.
Section 4 of the Sedition Act provides for a maximum
jail term of three years or a RM5,000 fine, or both, while Section 23 of the
MACC Act deals with abuse of power, providing up to 20 years in prison and a
fine not less than five times the value of the bribe.
Section 203A of the Penal Code involves disclosure of
information obtained in the performance of one’s duties, which provides for up
to one year in prison, a maximum RM1 million fine, or both.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Respect decision to amend DAP constitution, Guan Eng
tells Liu
Predeep Nambiar
September 30, 2022
GEORGE TOWN: Sungai Pelek assemblyman Ronnie Liu
should respect the decision of DAP delegates to amend the party’s constitution
to terminate the membership of elected representatives who do not toe the party
line on fundamental issues, says its chairman Lim Guan Eng.
This comes after Liu, a DAP central executive
committee (CEC) member, said the party may no longer be “democratic”, and that
he would have been removed from the party if the amendment had been in place in
the past.
Liu had also said “God save DAP”.
Lim reiterated that the new sacking provision was to
plug a “loophole” in the upcoming anti-hopping law, which allowed an MP to
remain in his seat despite not being aligned with the party’s ideals.
“If you are serious about getting rid of political
frogs, it is a necessary step. It is not just DAP, other parties are doing the
same,” he said on the sidelines of an event here.
“There are some who hang on to be elected
representatives. They defy party directives, yet they don’t leave the party.
“Those who continuously defy the party’s directive,
behaving no different from Barisan Nasional, MCA or even Perikatan Nasional,
but remain in the DAP, are they not a thorn in our flesh?
“It is a classic case of someone who looks like a
frog, talks and sings like one, too, but they are not technically a frog since
they didn’t resign.”
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Indonesian police kill militant suspected in farmers’
deaths
October 01, 2022
PALU, Indonesia: Indonesia’s elite counterterrorism police
have killed a militant who was the last remaining member of an organization
that pledged allegiance to Daesh, police said Friday.
Police said Al Ikhwarisman, also known as Jaid, was a
key member of the East Indonesia Mujahideen network.
The East Indonesia Mujahideen, known by the Indonesian
acronym MIT, has claimed responsibility for the killings of police officers and
minority Christians, some by beheading, and has pledged allegiance to the Daesh
group.
Provincial police chief Rudy Sufahriadi said Jaid
conducted at least 10 of the group’s executions, including the killing of four
Christian farmers in May 2021. He was killed by the Densus 88 counterterrorism
unit in a shootout late Thursday in mountainous Kawende village in Poso
district, an extremist hotbed in Central Sulawesi province, Sufahriadi said.
Thursday’s shootout occurred four months after
security forces killed the other remaining member of MIT in a jungle shootout,
police said.
“He was the last remaining suspected member of the
group,” Sufahriadi said. “We have managed to eliminate a dangerous militant
group that has disturbed peace in Poso.”
Security operations in Central Sulawesi were
intensified last year to capture MIT members, particularly Ali Kalora, the
group’s leader and Indonesia’s most wanted militant. Kalora was killed in a
shootout in July 2021, two months after the group killed the four Christians in
Kalemago village, including one who was beheaded.
Authorities said the attack was in revenge for the
killing in March 2021 of two militants, including the son of the group’s former
leader, Abu Wardah Santoso.
Santoso, Kalora’s predecessor, was killed by security
forces in July 2016. Dozens of other leaders and members of the group who
escaped to remote mountain jungles of Poso have since been killed or captured.
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority
nation, has conducted a crackdown on militants since bombings on the resort
island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly Western and Asian tourists.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2172981/world
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Arab
World
Lebanon’s central bank extends ceiling free dollars purchases
until end of October
30 September, 2022
Lebanon’s central bank on Friday extended a circular
allowing banks to purchase an unlimited amount of US dollars on its Sayrafa
exchange platform until the end of October, a central bank statement said.
On Wednesday, Lebanon’s finance ministry said the
official exchange rate of 1,507 pounds per dollar would be replaced with one of
15,000, calling this a step toward unifying multiple rates that have emerged
during Lebanon’s three-year long financial crisis.
But after declaring a November 1 implementation date,
the ministry later linked the step to approval of a financial recovery plan,
the latest version of which is being discussed in parliament.
Some economists and politicians saw this as a
government retreat: the recovery plan, which must address a $72 billion hole in
the national finances, has been in dispute since 2019.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Lebanon receives US mediator proposals for maritime
border with Israel
October 01, 2022
Lebanese President Michel Aoun has received a letter
from US mediator Amos Hochstein regarding proposals for the demarcation of a
maritime border with Israel, the presidency said on Saturday on Twitter.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2173056/middle-east
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Arab states condemn terrorist attack on educational
centre in Kabul
October 01, 2022
DUBAI: Arab states have condemned Friday’s terrorist
attack that targeted an educational center in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul,
which killed teenage students, most of them girls.
The bombing happened in the Dasht-e-Barchi
neighborhood of western Kabul, a predominantly Shiite Muslim area home to the
minority Hazara community, the target of some of Afghanistan’s most deadly
attacks.
The bomber shot dead two security guards before
entering the gender-segregated hall where students were sitting for a practice
college examination, earlier reports said.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the
attack.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Expatriates, in a statement, condemned the attack which killed and injured
“scores of innocent people.”
The ministry voiced its rejection of all forms of
violence and terrorism.
Bahrain also condemned the suicide blast, and in a
statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the kingdom’s “deep
condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims.”
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2173051/middle-east
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