'Hijab Jihad': Bajrang Dal Leader Dubs Hijab Row a Controversy of Anti-National Forces To Create Division
New
Age Islam News Bureau
17
February 2022
(File
Photo)
-----
•
Minister for Religious Affairs Urges Imran Khan to Replace Aurat March with
Headscarf Movement
•
Women’s Wing of the Islamic Constitutional Movement in Kuwait Protest outside
Embassy In Support Of Muslim Women in India
•
‘Full of Stress’: Fear Runs Through Afghanistan’s Dangerous Media Landscape
•
Act against Preachers Who Insult Other Faiths, 60 NGOs Urge Malaysian PM
India
•
If Wearing Of Other Religious Symbols Allowed, Why Not Hijab, Says Counsel
•
Customs to Demand Duty for Quran and Dates from the UAE Consulate
•
"Only 5 things Essential in Islam, Hijab Not among Them": Kerala
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan
•
Convey BJP Not Against Muslim Women, Party Brass Tells Karnataka Netas
•
India and UAE complete talks on bilateral pact to boost trade
--------
Pakistan
•
Pakistan FM Qureshi says social media misuse among main drivers of religious
intolerance
•
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates arrives in Pakistan on first-ever visit
•
All nominated suspects in Khanewal lynching case held
•
Six terrorists killed in exchange of fire near Balochistan's Buleda area: ISPR
•
Minister calls for end to smuggling of fertiliser to Afghanistan
--------
Arab World
•
Controversy among jihadis in Idlib over killing of Islamic State leader
•
Ericsson shares crash after CEO says firm may have paid ISIS
•
Hezbollah has started producing drones, can create precision missiles:
Nasrallah
•
Kuwait’s defence, interior ministers resign over ‘abuse of interrogations’
•
UAE calls for ending appeasement of Houthis
•
Arab Coalition conducts 17 targeted strikes against Houthis in Marib, Hajjah
•
IAEA says it is helping Egypt and Saudi Arabia with nuclear power
•
Senior Hezbollah official: Bahrain committed ‘historical crime’ by normalizing
ties with Israel
--------
South Asia
•
China Slams US Seizure of Afghanistan’s Assets as ‘Conduct of Bandits’
•
US Not Backing 'Armed Opposition' to Islamic Emirate: West
•
Afghan girls 'must definitely' return to school: Karzai
•
Europe pledges $11 M to Afghanistan’s educational sector
•
EU to deliver Є500 million to Afghan people
•
Taliban delegation holds talks with EU, US diplomats in Doha
--------
Southeast Asia
•
Perlis Mufti Confirms Children Registered as Muslims without Mum’s Presence
•
Hun Sen: Myanmar crisis could take 10 years to resolve
•
Beijing Olympic organisers hit out at Xinjiang ‘lies’
•
Apex court nine-man bench to give its verdict on SIS Forum’s legal challenge
against Selangor sharia law on Monday
--------
Europe
•
Türkiye, Pakistan, Malaysia Hailed For Fight against Islamophobia at an
International Conference in Istanbul
•
How a Soviet intelligence officer became a Muslim and an Afghan
•
Yemeni civilian casualty toll highest in three years: UN
•
Decision on Iran nuclear deal days away, ball in Tehran's court: France
•
Turkiye rescues 52 irregular migrants pushed back by Greece
•
UK Police Probing Prince Charles’ Charity Bid Involving Saudi National
--------
North America
•
Muslim Nations That Refuse To Recognize Kosovo Making Big Mistake, Says PM
Albin Kurti
•
Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and UAE are ‘terrorist actions’: Kosovo PM
•
US has no choice but to work with Pakistan, says envoy
•
Biden eased pressure on the Houthis one year ago; has it worked?
•
US House Leader Nancy Pelosi arrives in Israel, vows support on Iran
--------
Mideast
•
Palestinian Factions In Gaza Vow To Retaliate For Israeli Crimes In Al-Quds
•
50 countries to take part in Aqsa Week 2022 to promote love of mosque, raise
awareness
•
Israel: officials in Southern Islamic Movement angry with leader
•
Hamas, Islamic Jihad urge enhancing Palestinian Resistance against Zionist
regime
•
Iranian FM: US President’s guarantee not enough
•
Iran Calls for West’s Responsible Conduct to Reach Agreement in Vienna
•
Envoy: Iran Ready for Playing Role in UN Peacekeeping Operations
•
17 Israelis arrested over attack on Palestinian village
•
Australia to list Hamas as terror group
•
S. Korea, Iran hold talks on resuming oil trade, unfreezing funds
•
Palestinian President Abbas receives Turkish delegation in Ramallah
•
Yemenis face ‘death sentence’ amid raging Saudi bombardments, UN official warns
--------
Africa
•
Tanzania seeks ‘wider national interests’ on disputed Maasai land
•
African Union Peacekeepers Kill Over 20 Al-Shabaab Terrorists
•
Burkina Faso's junta leader sworn in as president
•
Top Libyan official says naming new prime minister ‘incorrect’
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hijab-jihad-bajrang-dal-anti-national/d/126392
--------
'Hijab
Jihad': Bajrang Dal Leader Dubs Hijab Row a Controversy of Anti-National Forces
To Create Division
(File
Photo)
-----
Mustafa
Shaikh
February
16, 2022
Bajrang
Dal Karnataka convener Sunil KR termed the hijab controversy "hijab
jihad" and alleged a conspiracy behind the ongoing row. Speaking with
India Today TV on Wednesday, the Bajrang Dal leader said, "There is a
conspiracy behind the hijab controversy, hence we are calling it hijab
jihad."
"We
are speaking on this issue because anti-national forces like the PFI [Popular
Front of India] and the SDPI [Social Democratic Party of India] are active on
this issue," Sunil KR said.
He
also said students should wear a uniform.
Meanwhile,
Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) member Poornima Suresh said, "These girls are
trying to send a message by wearing hijab that we are different. They are
creating a divide, hence it's jihad."
"Those
Hindu and Muslim girls, who used to eat together, are now looking at each other
as [if they are] different -- this is the problem," Poornima Suresh said.
"At
some places, hijab was allowed, but these girls started a fire which engulfed
the entire state. They have also asked for a probe by the NIA [National
Investigation Agency]," Poornima Suresh said.
The
comments by Bajrang Dal and VHP leaders came on the day pre-university and
degree colleges reopen in Karnataka amid the ongoing hijab row.
The
spat between students and college authorities were reported from several areas
after Burqa-clad girls were asked to remove their hijabs and sit in the
classroom.
Amid
tight security with policemen deployed in and around pre-university colleges at
many sensitive places, the day saw a section of Muslim students remaining
adamant not to remove the Burqa, let alone Hijab, the Islamic scarves.
Meanwhile,
Section 144 has been imposed in Bagalkot, Bangalore, Chikkaballapura, Gadag,
Shimoga, Tumkur, Mysore, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada.
The
row over girls wearing hijab started in January when six girl students of a
college in Udupi protested against the college authorities for denying them
entry into the classroom while wearing Hijab.
The
full bench of the Karnataka High Court where the girls had petitioned is
hearing the matter on a day-to-day basis. Live TV
Source:
India Today
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Minister
for Religious Affairs Urges Imran Khan to Replace Aurat March with Headscarf
Movement
February
17, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Minister for Religious Affairs Noor ul-Haq Qadri requested Prime Minister Imran
Khan to impose a ban on the Aurat March movement and instead celebrate the
International Women’s Day on March 8 as Headscarf Day, Geo News reported.
The
contentious rights movement has been attended by tens of thousands in multiple
cities across Pakistan since 2018 to coincide with Women’s Day.
Organisers
say they have faced a backlash from conservative elements, including threats of
violence.
In
2021, the march sparked outrage when banners and videos of protesters chanting
what its detractors labelled as objectionable slogans surfaced on social media.
Organisers, however, termed the videos as doctored, saying they were aimed at
stifling dissent and free speech.
According
to Geo News, Qadri said “certain elements” should not be permitted to mock
Islamic values or the wearing of headscarves, without elaborating further.
The
minister proposed to Khan the world’s attention be drawn on March 8 to the
discrimination faced by Muslim women in India, occupied Kashmir and elsewhere
in the world due to their religious attire.
Qadri
further said the international community should be urged to put an end to
blatant mocking and prejudiced treatment meted out to Muslim women in India.
A
copy of the letter has also been forwarded to President Dr Arif Alvi.
Global
watchdogs have expressed concern in recent years over what they see as a
clampdown on rights campaigns in Pakistan.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Women’s
Wing of the Islamic Constitutional Movement in Kuwait Protest outside Embassy
In Support Of Muslim Women in India
The
women’s wing of the Islamic Constitutional Movement held a demonstration near
the Indian Embassy
----
February
17, 2022
KUWAIT:
The women’s wing of the Islamic Constitutional Movement held a demonstration
near the Indian Embassy yesterday in support of Muslim women in India. Around
120 people, the majority of them women, expressed their rejection and
disapproval of the persecution of Muslim women in India and slammed the silence
of the international community.
The
protesters carried placards against what is happening against students wearing the
hijab in India, some of whom were barred from entering schools and colleges in
the southern state of Karnataka. The protesters expressed their rejection of
moves to force Muslim students to remove their headscarves in schools,
denouncing the silence of the international community against such practices
against Muslim women.
“What
is happening against Muslim women in India is a clear injustice. It is not the
right of a person to force someone else to give up their religious beliefs,”
said Dana Sharaf, who attended the protest. “Religious terrorism is
unacceptable, and the Indian government must take into account its nationals in
Muslim countries, especially in the Gulf states, because they are one of the
largest communities and have complete freedom in their religious beliefs and
rituals,” said lawyer and political activist Israa Al-Maatouk.
“Our
message is to convey our voice to the Indian government and to protest against
what is happening to Muslim women there. The Kuwaiti Embassy in India must
convey our voice and message to the Indian government,” she said, adding it is
unacceptable to prevent Muslim women from getting an education if they do not
take off the hijab.
Mohammed
Al-Ansari, who was at the demonstration, expressed his strong disapproval of what
is happening against Muslim women in India, pointing out that Indo-Kuwaiti
relations are longstanding, especially in the field of trade. He said
humanitarian relations between the two countries are also old, calling on the
Indian government to respect all religions.
“In
Kuwait we respect the Indian community, which is the largest community residing
in the country, and do not force them to practice our Islamic rituals and
beliefs. They are free to believe in and practice their rituals, so we call on
the Indian government to reciprocate and respect Muslims and their rituals,”
Ansari said.
Source:
Kuwait Times
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
‘Full
Of Stress’: Fear Runs Through Afghanistan’s Dangerous Media Landscape
Fear
accompanies journalist Banafsha Binesh from the moment she leaves her Kabul
home
----
17
February ,2022
Fear
accompanies reporter Banafsha Binesh from the moment she leaves her Kabul home
each morning for the newsroom at Afghanistan’s largest television station.
It
starts with the Taliban fighters, who roam the streets of the capital with
weapons slung over their shoulders. Binesh, 27, says she is frightened by their
reputation of harshness toward women, rather than any unsavory encounter.
Dread
and uncertainty mount with every new report of a fellow journalist having been
detained, interrogated or beaten by Taliban fighters.
“Working
is full of stress,” said Binesh, who works for TOLO-TV.
Since
taking power six months ago, the country’s new rulers have also issued
directives requiring journalists to keep Islamic principles in mind and work
for the good of the nation — rules that would seem aimed at quashing
independent reporting.
Bilal
Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Culture and Information Ministry, said
criticism is tolerated, but must be constructive.
He
blamed attacks on journalists — often while they cover women’s protests,
explosions, and other news — on over-zealous Taliban. Other arrests of
journalists were not linked to their work, he claimed.
Steven
Butler from the Committee to Protect Journalists said it’s not clear yet if
attacks on journalists are systematic or “just semi-random events initiated by
some Taliban official who has a grudge.”
“I
would describe the landscape as full of hazards that are not fully
predictable,” said Butler, the Asia program director at CPJ. “Journalists are
being selectively picked up, interrogated about their coverage, beaten, and
then released after hours or days.”
Most
recently, two journalists working for the UN refugee agency were held for six
days and released last week after the UN raised alarms. The Taliban said they
released the journalists after confirming their identities.
Butler
expressed concerns that Taliban intelligence officials are becoming more
“hands-on” and have increasingly been implicated in arrests and disappearances.
In
one trend-bucking development, TOLO now has more female than male journalists,
both in the newsroom and out on the streets.
TOLO
news director Khpolwak Sapai said he made a point of hiring women after nearly
90% of the company’s employees fled or were evacuated in the first days of the
Taliban takeover.
He
said female staffers have not been threatened by the Taliban authorities but
have at times been denied access because of their gender.
In
one case, a TOLO reporter was barred from a briefing by the acting minister of
mines and petroleum when he found out the station had sent a woman to the
event.
Sapai
said TOLO promptly does stories on such incidents.
The
ranks of journalists in Afghanistan thinned dramatically during the chaotic
days of the Taliban takeover in August. Tens of thousands of Afghans fled or
were evacuated by foreign governments and organizations.
A
December survey by Reporters Without Borders and the Afghan Independent
Journalist Association found that 231 out of 543 media outlets had closed,
while more than 6,400 journalists lost their jobs after the Taliban takeover.
The outlets closed for lack of funds or because journalists had left the
country, according to the report.
During
their previous rule in the late 1990s, the Taliban had no opposition and banned
most television, radio and newspapers. Foreign news organizations were able to
operate at that time, along with some local outlets.
Faisal
Mudaris, a broadcast journalist, blogger and YouTube personality, spent eight
days in Taliban custody, where he said he was beaten and threatened.
Mudaris
is from the restive Panjshir Valley, the only holdout against Taliban rule
during their first weeks in power. Mudaris fears his ethnicity as a Panjshiri,
not his journalism, landed him in a Taliban lockup. He believes he remains at
risk, fearing that no one can hold the Taliban accountable.
Journalists
from other ethnic minorities, including the Hazaras who have long faced
discrimination from successive governments, also worry. In the first months
after the Taliban takeover, several journalists of a small outlet called
Etilaat Roz were arrested and beaten. Both were Hazaras.
Karimi
denies anyone is targeted because of their ethnicity and promises
investigations will be carried out against offending Taliban. CPJ’s Butler said
his advocacy group has no way to measure attacks based on ethnicity.
Still,
there appears to be some room for critical reporting under the Taliban. For
example, TOLO repeatedly aired a clip of Taliban fighters beating a former
Afghan soldier.
Within
days, top Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhunzada warned Taliban fighters against
excesses, saying they would be punished. He reiterated a promise of amnesty for
former soldiers.
“Did
the news story bring about a change? I want to think it contributed to it,”
said Sapai, the TOLO news director.
Sapai
said views among the Taliban range from those who cling to the strict views of
the past, to those who want a more open society that embraces education and
work for all — including girls and women.
He
believes domestic and external pressures on the Taliban should not be
underestimated. “Most of the Taliban leadership accept that Afghanistan and the
world is different now and it’s hard to turn back the clock but still the
differences exist among them,” he said.
It’s
the uncertainty about which view will prevail that has journalists worried.
“The
fear that we have is for the day in the future when the Taliban will prevent us
from the work that we do,” said TOLO reporter Asma Saeen, 22. “This is my big
fear and my constant anxiety.”
She
has no recollection of the harsh Taliban rule of the 1990s and said she has
been able to work unhindered. Yet she resents the many restrictions imposed on
girls and women, including banning teen-age girls from returning to school, at
least for now, and many women not being allowed to return to their jobs.
Both
Saeen and Binesh want to leave Afghanistan, saying they long for the freedoms
they enjoyed before the Taliban swept to power.
“We
were not expecting that after 20 years of democracy to face these many
restrictions,” said Binesh. “I am ready to go.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Act
against Preachers Who Insult Other Faiths, 60 NGOs Urge Malaysian PM
Act
against Preachers Who Insult Other Faiths, 60 NGOs Urge Malaysian PM
-----
Jason
Thomas
February
16, 2022
PUTRAJAYA:
More than 60 NGOs presented a memorandum to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob
today demanding that he address the issue of certain Islamic preachers who have
been “insulting and denigrating” other faiths.
The
NGOs, under the Global Human Rights Federation (GHRF), had previously lodged
numerous police reports against certain Islamic preachers who have been
“attacking non-Islamic faiths and beliefs” in the public domain and through
social media by “mocking, misinterpreting and misquoting” the holy books of
other religions.
They
also called on the Islamic development department (Jakim), the national unity
ministry, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the
Attorney-General’s Chambers to take action against these preachers, saying
their cries had fallen on deaf ears.
“We
would like to highlight to the prime minister that these preachers are a threat
to the peaceful co-existence of Malaysia’s multiracial, multireligious and
multicultural society,” said GHRF president S Shashi Kumar.
“Despite
numerous police reports made against them, and the matter having been
highlighted by media reports which are definitely known to the prime minister
and the government, no proactive measures have been taken to reprimand these
preachers to date.”
He
said the preachers had violated Articles 3, 5 and 11 of the Federal
Constitution, which relate to liberty and freedom of religion.
Representatives
from GHRF handed the memorandum to a special officer at the Prime Minister’s
Department calling on Ismail to also act “impartially and without fear or
favour” against unilateral conversions, which the Federal Court had ruled
unlawful.
Shashi
said that in light of the numerous cases of children being converted to Islam
without the knowledge of both parents, GHRF wanted to see the formation of an
independent body to manage and administer conversions.
“The
prime minister and his administration should take serious measures to implement
strict laws and guidelines with regards to non-Muslims who decide to embrace
and profess Islam,” he said.
He
said the federation also hoped to bring their concerns to the Yang di-Pertuan
Agong, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, and the Malay rulers next as “we
can’t trust politicians”.
A
member of the delegation, representing a Sarawakian NGO, said he wanted to see
all Malaysians treated equally.
“If
a non-Muslim insults Islam, I think they would be picked up in less than two
hours,” said Kindy Nyadang, a committee member from Persatuan Terabai Menua.
“The
law has to be fair, regardless of your race or religion.”
In
a separate memorandum, GHRF urged Ismail to allow further Employees Provident
Fund (EPF) withdrawals for those struggling to make ends meet.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
India
If wearing of other religious symbols allowed, why not hijab, says counsel
Feb
17, 2022
BENGALURU:
The hijab ban is hostile discrimination against Muslim girls based purely on
their religion and is a draconian decision opposed to the intent of Article 15
of the Constitution, senior advocate Prof Ravivarma Kumar submitted on
Wednesday.
Appearing
for a student of an Udupi college before a full bench of the Karnataka high
court headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Kumar argued that when wearing
of other religious symbols, like bangles, bindi and crucifix pendants, among
others, is being allowed, why is only the hijab being disallowed. Article 15 of
the Constitution forbids discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste,
sex, or place of birth.
Kumar
pointed out that in Indian society, many college-going girls wear a dupatta or
something else to cover their heads, whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian,
or of any other religion.
Government
forcing girls to choose between hijab and education, says lawyer
If
people wearing a turban can be in the Army, then why can’t a girl sporting her
hijab to practise her religion attend classes? It is a draconian decision,” a
girl’s counsel Prof Ravivarma Kumar submitted.
He
claimed Muslim girls are least educated and least represented in classrooms and
if they are shut out in this fashion, it will spell doom for their education.
As per him, the role of education is to promote plurality and heterogeneity,
and not to have uniformity and homogeneity, and a classroom should be a
reflection of diversity in society. Further arguing that college development
committees headed by MLAs have no statutory source of power, he said they
should not be allowed to exercise police powers vis-a-vis expulsion of
students. “A judicial note of the fact may be taken that the MLA, whoever he
may be, will be representing a party/ideology. Can we entrust students’ lives
to a party or ideology,” he asked. According to him, an MLA will not be
subordinate to the government and hence there will be no accountability.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Customs
to Demand Duty for Quran and Dates from the UAE Consulate
K
S Sudhi
FEBRUARY
16, 2022
Cochin
Customs will demand Customs duty from the UAE Consulate, Thiruvananthapuram,
for the copies of Quran, including the ones given to former Minister K.T.
Jaleel, and the dates imported to Kerala.
Dr.
Jaleel had on Tuesday stated that he would return the 1,000 copies, which were
provided by the Consulate, for distribution in the State. The copies were kept
in two institutions in Edappal and Alathiyoor.
The
UAE consulate had imported 4,000 copies of Quran two years ago, besides the
17,000 kg of dates that were distributed in the State.
Quran
and the dates were brought to Kerala as diplomatic cargo, which are supposed to
be utilised for the personal and official needs of those at the UAE Consulate.
International
convention
Diplomatic
cargo is exempted from the Customs duty as per the international conventions.
However, it was later found that copies of the Quran and the dates were
distributed in the State. Once imported goods are found used by persons without
any diplomatic privilege, they become taxable, Customs officials said.
If
the consignments were intended to be distributed outside the Consulate, prior
permission of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs had to be
obtained and Customs duty paid. The Customs duty for Quran and the dates would
be assessed as per the provisions of the Customs Tariff Act, sources said.
Though
the Bill of Entry of the consignment from UAE port indicated that 4,000 copies
were shipped to Kerala, there was no clarity on the total number of copies
distributed.
As
the Consulate was out of bounds of the Customs to carry out any search, it
would be presumed that all the copies were distributed and Customs Duty
assessed accordingly. The Consulate may have to provide the explanation on the
number of copies in its possession, sources said.
Source:
The Hindu
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
"Only
5 things Essential In Islam, Hijab Not Among Them": Kerala Governor Arif
Mohammad Khan
February
16, 2022
New
Delhi: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan today said the ongoing row over hijab
is "not a controversy but a conspiracy" to push back Muslim women.
"There is no conflict between religion and education," he said,
adding that in Islam, "The purpose of the religion is to make men acquire
knowledge". The Governor also added that the argument that hijab is an
essential practice in Islam and therefore requires the protection of the
Constitution's Article 25.
Quoting
the Supreme Court, Mr Khan, who is originally from Uttar Pradesh, said it has
laid down that any aspect on which one claims the protection of the
Constitution's Article 25, has to be "essential, intrinsic and integral to
the practice of faith".
The
hijab row started in Karnataka's Udupi last month as some students protested
against a bar on it. It drew retaliation from other students who insisted on
coming in saffron scarves. The confrontation spread rapidly through the state.
Protests were held and Muslim girls heckled, forcing the state to close schools
and colleges temporarily and drawing calls for peace from the court.
The
matter is currently being heard in the Karnataka High Court where some students
have challenged the bar on headscarves, citing the constitutional right to
freedom of religion.
The
religious books in Islam describes in detail what is essential, Mr Khan said,
pointing out that there only "five essential features which are called
Arkan e Islam". This are -- the affirmation of faith through kalima,
prayer at regular intervals, fasting during Ramzan, charity and for those who
can afford it, haj. There can be "no addition or deletion" in these,
he said.
"When
you apply the essential tests, then this argument that this (hijab) is part of
religious freedom -- no. The Supreme Court has said that only the essential
features which are integral to the practice of faith -- only they will receive
the protection of Article 25. Hijab is definitely not one of them," Mr
Khan added.
Asked
about the current bar on hijab at educational institutions is affecting the
studies of girls and young women, he said it is a fallout of "total
ignorance".
Pointing
out that the first word in Quran is "Read", he said man is not only
exhorted to read the name of God. Quoting relevant passages, he said man has
been asked to contemplate about animals, stars and space, and has been asked to
go to China if need be in search of knowledge. "More than 700 words in
Quran that mean knowledge, think about, meditate," he said, adding the
religion is about the search of knowledge.
PromotedListen
to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com
As
for the controversy around headscarves in Karnataka that has been continuing
for more than a month, it is a "sinister design" to push back Muslim
women, especially the young girls.
Source:
ND TV
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Convey
BJP not against Muslim women, party brass tells Karnataka netas
B
V Shiva Shankar
Feb
17, 2022
BENGALURU:
The central BJP leadership has taken serious note of developments stemming from
the hijab controversy in Karnataka and asked local leadership and the state
government to convey a clear message to stakeholders that the party is not
against Muslim women and that enforcement of dress codes is left to individual
institutions, party members said.
BJP
legislators revealed that the high command has asked local leaders to exercise
restraint and work to end the row without hurting the party’s electoral
prospects.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
India
and UAE complete talks on bilateral pact to boost trade
17
February ,2022
India
and the United Arab Emirates have completed talks for a wide-ranging economic
pact aimed at boosting trade and investment, the Indian government said on
Wednesday.
The
announcement comes days after the UAE signed a similar pact with Turkey in a
push to deepen ties with fast-growing economies. The country is seeking to
burnish its reputation as a global hub. India wants better links to revive its
economy after the pandemic.
“Negotiations
for CEPA were launched in September 2021 and have been completed. The agreement
will take India-UAE economic and commercial engagement to the next level, a
statement issued by India’s Ministry of External Affairs said.
India’s
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE is seen as a
springboard for moving further on negotiating trade agreements with other Gulf
Arab nations. The Modi government also views the deal as a gateway to Africa
via the UAE, its third-largest trade partner.
Total
trade between India and the UAE stood at $53 billion during April-Dec. 2021-22.
Imports stood at $33 billion while exports at $20 billion during the period.
UAE,
India aim to double trade to $100 billion in five years
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al
Nahyan are scheduled to hold a virtual summit on Feb. 18 to discuss bilateral
cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual
interest, the statement said.
Indian
nationals make up one of the largest population groups in the UAE, a major
source of foreign remittances. India is also an important market for two-way
tourism and UAE airlines Emirates and Etihad. On a political level, UAE royals
helped broker talks between India and Pakistan earlier last year.
Investment
ties have deepened rapidly in the lead-up to the agreement.
Groups
from the UAE, which relies heavily on imports, committed $7 billion in 2019 to
set up a “food corridor and invest in Indian agriculture, with an eye on food
security.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Pakistan
FM Qureshi says social media misuse among main drivers of religious intolerance
SAJJAD
HUSSAIN
16
February, 2022
Islamabad,
Feb 16 (PTI) Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday blamed
state policies, inflammatory remarks by public office holders and misuse of
social media for religious intolerance and violence worlwide, amid growing
incidents of mob lynching in recent weeks in the country.
Addressing
the 8th meeting of the Istanbul Process, themed ‘10th anniversary of UN Human
Rights Council resolution 16/18: Looking Back and Moving Forward’ via video
link, Qureshi said that “while people of every faith had been victims of these
scourges, Muslims and Islam had borne their main brunt.” He said that
“securitisation of state policies, deployment of incendiary rhetoric by public
office holders, and misuse of social media platforms were among the main
drivers of the growing incidents of religious intolerance, discrimination and
violence worldwide.” His remarks came amid growing incidents of mob lynching in
recent weeks in Pakistan.
On
Saturday, a middle-aged mentally challenged man was stoned to death by a mob
over charges of blasphemy in Khanewal district in Punjab province. The incident
was a grim reminder of Sialkot lynching of Sri Lankan nation Priyantha Kumara,
whose body was set on fire over allegations of blasphemy in December.
On
Sunday, an enraged mob attacked and injured a Shia scholar for allegedly
burning the pages of a religious book in Faislabad district in the province.
On
Monday, a Christian man was killed and another injured in clashes between the
two communities over an issue of playing loud music in the province.
Qureshi
presented a three-pronged preventive and action-oriented strategy as a way
forward to counter these contemporary menaces – reviewing discriminatory State
laws, policies and practices; promoting inter-faith harmony, tolerance and
peaceful co-existence, while building legal deterrence against hate speech; and
concluding an international instrument that prohibits dissemination of ideas
and expressions which incite acts of religious intolerance.
Nearly
200 participants from States, inter-governmental organisations, civil society,
faith community, mainstream and social media attended the virtual meeting.
The
hosting of this 8th Istanbul Process meeting signifies Pakistan’s resolve to
foster dialogue, and encourage adoption of affirmative and regulatory measures
as a bulwark against rising incidents of incitement to violence against people
of faith, in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision, the Foreign Office
said.
The
meeting was hosted on a virtual platform by Pakistan from Geneva.
Source:
The Print
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Microsoft
co-founder Bill Gates arrives in Pakistan on first-ever visit
February
17, 2022
Microsoft
co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates arrived in Pakistan on
Thursday for his first-ever visit to the country, Special Assistant to the
Prime Minister on Health (SAPM) Dr Faisal Sultan shared.
During
his visit, Gates will review progress on polio eradication efforts and meet
President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and provincial health
officials, the SAPM tweeted.
In
addition, Gates will also visit the National Command and Operation Centre, the
central body for coordinating the country's response to the coronavirus.
The
famous philanthropist has held conversations with Prime Minister Imran in the
past on various issues and their possible solutions. In October last year, the
premier urged Gates to consider providing humanitarian assistance to
poverty-stricken people in Afghanistan.
The
two had also discussed the polio situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan with the
premier appreciating the assistance provided by Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation in that regard. In turn, the Microsoft co-founder had praised the
prime minister for the progress in eliminating the disease and pledged his
foundation's continued support to the country's polio programme.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
All
nominated suspects in Khanewal lynching case held
February
17, 2022
LAHORE:
Police claimed on Wednesday to have arrested all the nominated suspects [33]
involved in lynching a ‘mentally-deranged’ man over alleged desecration of the
Holy Quran in Khanewal district.
Police
also held five other suspects after identifying them through videos of the
incident and the total number of the arrested reached 119.
On
Saturday, a ‘mentally-ill’ man was stoned to death by a mob over alleged
desecration of the Holy Quran at Jungle Dera village.
Tulamba
police registered a case under sections 148 (rioting, armed with deadly
weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly of people), 186 (obstructing public servant in
discharge of public functions), 302 (intentional murder) and 353 (assault or
criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the
Pakistan Penal Code and section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act against 33
identified and around 200-300 unidentified suspects.
The
first information report stated that when police officials reached the village,
a man accused of burning the Holy Quran was found tied up with ropes and being
subjected to violence by a mob.
The
suspects killed the man after beating him with rods, sticks and bricks. “The
suspects hung his body from a tree which spread immense fear,” the FIR said,
adding that the body was recovered after much effort and taken for a postmortem
examination.
Khanewal
police on the instructions of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and IGP Rao Sardar
Ali Khan took immediate action and arrested all the nominated suspects.
A
Punjab police spokesperson said raids were being carried out on a daily basis
in Mian Channu and Khanewal to arrest the suspects. He said police arrested all
the 33 nominated suspects along with five more main suspects whose roles are
being determined.
He
said the total number of suspects in the main role has reached 38.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1675490/all-nominated-suspects-in-khanewal-lynching-case-held
--------
Six
terrorists killed in exchange of fire near Balochistan's Buleda area: ISPR
Naveed
Siddiqui
February
16, 2022
Six
terrorists, who were involved in recent attacks on military personnel in Balochistan's
Kech district, were killed during an exchange of fire with security forces in
Injirkan Range near the district's Buleda area on Wednesday, according to the
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The
military's media affairs wing said in a statement that security forces
conducted an operation in Injirkan Range on the basis of information about the
presence of a terrorists' hideout "to apprehend [the] externally sponsored
enemies of peace in Balochistan".
When
the troops started a clearance operation in the area, the terrorists tried to
escape their camp and opened fire on security forces, the statement said,
adding that six of the terrorist were killed during an intense exchange of
fire.
"These
terrorists were involved in recent firing and attacks on security forces in the
Kech district."
According
to the ISPR, a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered during the
operation.
"Operations
to eliminate such perpetrators of terrorist acts in Pakistan will continue and
they will not be allowed to sabotage [the] peace, stability and progress of
Balochistan," the ISPR statement read.
Recently,
there has been a rise in incidents of terrorism in Balochistan, with two major
terrorist attacks on security forces reported within the span of a week.
In
late January, ten soldiers were martyred after terrorists had attacked a
security forces' checkpost in Balochistan's Kech district.
According
to a statement issued by the ISPR, the "fire raid" by terrorists
occurred on the night of Jan 25-26.
"During
intense exchange of fire, one terrorist was killed and several injured. While
repulsing terrorists' fire raid, 10 soldiers embraced martyrdom," the
statement said.
Then
on February 2, terrorists had attempted to attack security forces' camps in
Panjgur and Naushki in two separate incidents. However, security forces had
repulsed both the attacks and killed 20 terrorists in a subsequent clearance
operation.
In
Panjgur, terrorists had tried to enter a security forces' camp from two
locations. "However, timely response by troops foiled their attempt,"
the ISPR had said.
The
military's media wing had said five soldiers, including a junior commissioned
officer, were martyred and six injured during follow-up operations in Panjgur.
In
Naushki, according to the ISPR, terrorists attempted to enter a Frontier Corps
camp which was "promptly responded", adding that four terrorists were
killed as a result.
The
statement had said one officer was injured during the shootout.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Minister
calls for end to smuggling of fertiliser to Afghanistan
Saleem
Shahid
February
17, 2022
QUETTA:
Balochistan’s Minister for Agriculture Asadullah Baloch has warned that if
immediate measures are not taken to stop smuggling of urea fertiliser to
Afghanistan, Balochistan may face a serious agriculture crisis in the coming
days.
“The
smuggling of urea fertiliser is continuing through different routes to
Afghanistan despite tall claims of institutions concerned about action being taken
against smugglers,” Mr Baloch said on Wednesday.
He
said that 80 per cent population of Balochistan was linked to agriculture
sector and if timely supply of urea fertiliser was not ensured, farmers and
other people attached to the sector would suffer badly. A food crisis could not
be ruled out if the situation was not handled carefully by the federal
government.
“Farmers
and growers are already affected by drought-like situation in the province due
to less rains and snowfall and now they are facing extreme difficulty in
getting urea fertiliser for their wheat crop.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1675525/minister-calls-for-end-to-smuggling-of-fertiliser-to-afghanistan
--------
Arab World
Controversy
among jihadis in Idlib over killing of Islamic State leader
Khaled
al-Khateb
February
16, 2022 —
ALEPPO,
Syria — The Feb. 3 US Special Forces operation that led to the death of Islamic
State (IS) leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi has angered many jihadis
opposing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.
The
jihadis raised questions on the role HTS played in Qurayshi’s killing and the
possible coordination between the United States and HTS, which controls Idlib.
Another group of jihadis accused HTS of treason because it did not interfere to
prevent this operation that lasted for more than two hours at the heart of its
area of influence, where its security and military staff are heavily deployed.
Others have even accused HTS of providing a safe haven for IS leaders and
members in Idlib.
The
controversy escalated among jihadis in light of HTS’ comments on the raid,
since it took place at the heart of its area of control and security
stronghold, and under the radar of its fighters who were closely watching what
happened.
In
response to the accusations, HTS said in a Feb. 6 statement that it did not
know that Qurayshi lived in the safe house in the town of Atmeh before his
death, and stressed its rejection of the US raid.
“We
were not aware of the raid ahead of time,” it read, stating that HTS did not
know who resided in the house. At the same time, HTS stressed that it will
continue to ward off IS’ crimes.
The
statement read, “The raid raised new concerns among Syrians, and it resulted in
casualties among civilians, including women and children, which raised fear and
panic among the displaced [living in the camps near the site of the raid] who
fled the regime and Russian shelling to find refuge in the border areas.”
It
continued that security in the area is the responsibility of the local
authorities, which are defending the area from the Syrian government and all
components that are trying to tamper with its security.
The
US raid in the border town of Atmeh, north of Idlib, was followed by two hours
of clashes between the attacking forces and those who were at the house. The
operation resulted in the killing of the IS leader, in addition to at least 13
people, including six children and four women.
A
source close to the jihadis in Idlib, who declined to be named, told
Al-Monitor, “The way HTS dealt with the killing of [Qurayshi] raised many
questions among the jihadis opposing HTS, especially those who are affiliated
with al-Qaeda-affiliated Hurras al-Din.”
He
said, “HTS imposed a security cordon around the site [during the raid], and its
members were deployed in its vicinity, watching the course of the operation
without interfering. This is what pushed the jihadis to accuse HTS of treason,
of having knowledge of the operation and of providing a favorable security
environment that facilitated its implementation.”
The
source added, “HTS denying knowledge of the raid and its timing did not
convince the jihadis in Idlib. What if the regime forces or the Russian forces
were to carry out this raid and HTS leaders who are stationed in military and
security headquarters close to that place were the target? Would HTS have stood
idly by as it did in Atmeh? Of course not. The jihadis consider HTS’ claims as
false. It is a mere attempt to cover up their involvement in the killing of
Qurayshi.”
Talha
al-Masir, aka Abu Shuaib al-Masri, an Egyptian jihadist who opposes HTS and who
resides in Idlib, said on Telegram, “The crusader’s [US forces] landing in
Atmeh amid a heavy HTS military presence in the area — through its security
criminals on border posts along the [border with] the Olive Branch area, the crossings
and checkpoints, as well as the peaceful way it dealt with the crusaders —
clearly confirm that [HTS leader Abu Mohammed] al-Golani's real project has
nothing to do with defending Muslims, and the area and that the repeated
defeats and loss of land are its expected outcomes.”
Issam
al-Khatib, a former judge who defected from HTS, wrote on Twitter, “I told you
that Golani’s security forces are on alert and have work to do. Indeed they
remained on alert until the US landing began and ended. Then Golani’s followers
stormed the place, looking for gold or money, like the gold they found where
the former groups’ leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in Barisha two years
ago.”
Saudi
jihadist Majid al-Rashed said on Telegram, “Had you known Golani’s way of
thinking, which is based on deception and insult and [on the idea] that the end
justifies the means, you would think that he collaborates with the [US]
intelligence.”
He
added in another post, “I have no doubt that Abu Mohammed al-Golani and some of
his commanders coordinate with US intelligence, and that denying knowledge of
the landing is an outright lie. The operation lasted three hours. What did they
do after they knew? They protected them.”
Source:
Al Monitor
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Ericsson
shares crash after CEO says firm may have paid ISIS
17
February ,2022
Ericsson
may have made payments to the ISIS terror organization to gain access to
certain transport routes in Iraq, in a shock admission following years of
regulatory investigations.
Shares
in the Stockholm-based company were down almost 14.5 percent around lunchtime
on Wednesday, its biggest drop in a day since July 2017.
The
admission from Ericsson comes after the company was accused by the US
Department of Justice in October of breaching a $1 billion agreement it made
with prosecutors in 2019 to end a long a running corruption probe.
In
an interview with newspaper Dagens Industri, chief executive officer Borje
Ekholm said that Ericsson had identified “unusual expenses dating back to 2018
but the company hasn’t yet determined who the final recipient of the money was.
“What
we are seeing is that transport routes have been purchased through areas that
have been controlled by terrorist organizations, including ISIS,” Ekholm added.
Ekholm’s
comments follow a statement by the telecommunications equipment manufacturer
late on Tuesday, in which the company said that it continues to “invest
significantly into a probe regarding compliance concerns in its Iraq-based
operations.”
A
spokesperson for Ericsson declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.
The
news of the internal investigation adds another embarrassment for the company
following a long running corruption probe, including a $1 billion settlement in
2019.
A
unit of Ericsson AB pleaded guilty to a years-long campaign of bribery and
corruption in Asia and the Middle East. In October last year, the matter
resurfaced, after the US Department of Justice accused the company of breaching
the agreement by failing to provide certain documents to the DOJ.
The
new suspect payments likely formed part of the same corruption probe, according
to analysts at Handelsbanken. The analysts don’t expect the revelations to
trigger further investigations.
Ekholm
told the newspaper that Ericsson has spent “considerable resources trying to
understand this as best we can. Financing terrorism is completely unacceptable
and something we do not allow at all.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Hezbollah
has started producing drones, can create precision missiles: Nasrallah
16
February ,2022
Lebanon’s
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Wednesday the group has been
producing drones and has the capability of turning thousands of rockets to
precision missiles.
“We
have been producing drones in Lebanon for a long time and whoever wants to buy
them, submit an order,” he said in a televised speech to his followers.
Nasrallah
said his group is able to transform standard rockets into precision missiles
with the help of “experts” from Iran, and that the production has been prompted
by arch-enemy Israel's increased use of drone technology.
Israel
has long viewed the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon as an enemy. Lebanon and
Israel are still in a formal state of war and have long contested their land
and maritime borders. Israel has also carried out hundreds of air strikes in
neighboring Syria in recent years against suspected Iranian military
deployments or arms transfers to Hezbollah.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Kuwait’s
defence, interior ministers resign over ‘abuse of interrogations’
16
February ,202
Kuwait’s
defense and interior ministers submitted their resignations to the prime
minister on Wednesday, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas reported.
“I
resigned because we can no longer work in this atmosphere,” Defense Minister
Sheikh Hamad Jaber al-Ali told Al Qabas.
Al-Ali
also cited interrogations by the National Assembly as the reason behind his
decision, saying: “The abuse of the use of constitutional tools pushed us to
submit our resignations to the [prime minister].”
“The
general atmosphere is full of quarrelling and the turbulence in the political
scene,” al-Ali and Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmed Mansour al-Ahmed said in a
joint statement.
“Achieving
reform has become almost impossible… [since] the state’s executive apparatuses
require us to make drastic reforms,” they said according to Kuwaiti newspaper
Al-Jarida.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
UAE
calls for ending appeasement of Houthis
16
February ,2022
The
UAE called for ending appeasement of the Iran-backed Houthi militia during a UN
Security Council briefing on Yemen, state news agency (WAM) reported on
Wednesday.
“During
the past months, we’ve heard several briefings, including that of [Hans]
Grundberg,” who is the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, “regarding his efforts to
bring the Houthis back to the table of negotiations,” said UAE permanent
representative to the UN Lana Zaki Nusseibeh.
“However,
terrorist attacks targeted civilian facilities in the UAE resulting in
casualties among innocent civilians. We cannot but ask, when will the
appeasement of this terrorist group end?” said Nusseibeh.
In
January, the Houthis targeted the UAE with three cross border aerial attacks
using cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones. All the attacks
targeted civilian sites and infrastructures and led to the death of three
civilians.
During
the briefing, Nusseibeh stressed the UAE’s sovereign right to take all the
measures necessary to protect the country and its citizens and residents from
any “terrorist” attacks.
She
noted that the UAE would take such measures while respecting its commitments
based on international law, adding that the Houthi “terrorist attacks are a
flagrant violation of all international laws and norms.”
Earlier
in February, General Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said the US
will help the UAE replenish interceptors it uses to knock down incoming
missiles following a spate of unprecedented attacks by Houthi fighters in
Yemen.
McKenzie's
remarks came after the Pentagon's announcement of a deployment of a guided
missile destroyer and advanced US F-22 fighter jets to the UAE.
Nusseibeh
also voiced the importance of putting an end to the Houthi’s “hostile
behavior.”
“This
requires the international community to take serious and decisive measures
where it must exert heavy pressure on the [Houthi] militia and those who
support it,” she said, adding that such pressure begins by tightening sanctions
and drying up the Houthis’ sources of funding.
Reiterating
her call for designating the Iran-backed Houthi militia as a “terrorist” group,
Nusseibeh noted that the Houthis have repeatedly broken their pledges to
respect any agreement or keep a promise due to the lack of clear international
pressure.
Commenting
on the Houthis militia’s alleged use of Hodeidah port to store weapons, she
called on the UN to have presence in the port to prevent using it to serve
military purposes and to launch attacks that threaten the security of
navigation and countries in the region.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/02/16/UAE-calls-for-ending-appeasement-of-Houthis
--------
Arab
Coalition conducts 17 targeted strikes against Houthis in Marib, Hajjah
16
February ,2022
The
Arab Coalition has conducted 17 targeted strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi
militia in Yemen’s Hajjah and Marib in the last 24 hours, the official Saudi
Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
The
targeted strikes resulted in the destruction of 14 military vehicles, according
to SPA, and caused casualties among the Houthis.
The
operation comes during a time when tensions are rising with Yemen’s Iran-backed
Houthis.
Last
week, the Arab Coalition asked residents of Sanaa to evacuate some “civilian
sites” in the next 72 hours and warned of strikes on the Houthi militia in the
area.
The
warning came after the Houthis conducted a drone strike against Saudi Arabia’s
Abha International Airport, injuring 12 people.
Abha,
near Saudi Arabia’s southern border with Yemen, is a regular target of drone
and missile strikes launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia fighting
coalition forces in Yemen.
Numerous
countries and country representatives including the US Department of State, the
UAE, Jordan, Egypt, and others, condemned the airport attack.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
IAEA
says it is helping Egypt and Saudi Arabia with nuclear power
16
February ,2022
International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi told a conference in Saudi
Arabia on Wednesday that the organization is working with Egypt and Saudi
Arabia to help them to develop nuclear power.
Saudi
Arabia has vast reserves of uranium ore that it plans to use to use to develop
a nuclear power program, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman previously told the Future
Minerals Summit in Riyadh on January 12.
Saudi
Arabia said more than a decade ago that it was considering developing its own
nuclear power program but it has yet to build any nuclear plants. Prince
Abdulaziz said at the summit that Saudi Arabia would be manufacturing and
developing uranium.
“Let
me be very specific about it, we do have a huge amount of uranium resources
that we would like to exploit and we will be doing it in the most transparent
way, we will be bringing in partners,” the minister said at the time.
He
said Saudi Arabia would be publishing its energy strategy soon and that it was
well-placed to become the cheapest producer of so-called green hydrogen.
“Our
business model would enable us to do that ... we are very open to every
opportunity that comes our way and every technology,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
Saudi
Arabia Mining Co. (Ma’aden), the Gulf's largest miner, would also be creating a
subsidiary for investments abroad.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Senior
Hezbollah official: Bahrain committed ‘historical crime’ by normalizing ties
with Israel
16
February 2022
The
deputy head of Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah says Bahrain has
committed “a historical crime” by normalizing ties with the Israeli regime,
stressing that the kingdom would soon recognize that the normalization deal
only serves the interests of Tel Aviv.
Speaking
at a ceremony in Beirut on Wednesday, Sheikh Naim Qassem described Israeli
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s recent visit to Manama as an “act of treachery
committed by the Bahraini leaders.”
“If
they think normalization would protect them from [consequences of shirking]
their responsibilities towards their people and towards the rights that are
wasted, they are wrong”, he said, adding that “if they think that Israel will
offer them something, they are wrong.”
He
pointed to the Tel Aviv regime’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and
wreaking havoc there, and said Israel seeks to “own all the land” by killing
and arresting Palestinians.
“Bahrain
has committed a historical crime with normalization,” Qassem said, adding that
leaders of the Manama regime and those of all the Persian Gulf states that have
normalized or want to normalize ties with Tel Aviv would “soon” find that they
have lost everything, including the trust of their peoples as well as their
conscience.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, the Hezbollah official emphasized that the honorable and free
nations as well as the resistance would ultimately emerge victorious in the
confrontation with the Israeli regime.
Bennett
arrived in Manama on Monday in the highest-level visit since the two sides
normalized their relations under a 2020 US-brokered deal.
Bahrain,
along with the United Arab Emirates, signed a peace pact with the Tel Aviv
regime in a ceremony hosted by former US president Donald Trump at the White House
in September 2020.
Sudan
and Morocco followed suit later in the year and inked similar US-brokered
normalization deals with the occupying regime.
Palestinians
slammed the deals as a treacherous “stab in the back” and a betrayal of their
cause against the decades-long Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
Source:
Press TV
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--------
South Asia
China
slams US seizure of Afghanistan’s assets as ‘conduct of bandits’
16
February 2022
China
has condemned the United States’ decision to seize Afghanistan’s frozen assets
amid a mounting humanitarian crisis, saying the conduct is no different from
that of “bandits.”
“Without
the consent of the Afghan people, the US willfully disposes of assets that
belong to the Afghan people, even keeping them as its own. This is no different
from the conduct of bandits,” Chinese foreign ministry’s spokesperson Wang
Wenbin said
at a press conference.
“As
the culprit of the Afghan crisis, the US should not exacerbate the suffering of
the Afghan people. It should unfreeze their assets, lift unilateral sanctions on
Afghanistan as soon as possible, and assume its due responsibility to ease the
humanitarian crisis in the country,” he reiterated.
US
President Joe Biden issued an executive order this week authorizing the release
of half of the $7 billion in frozen Afghan funds for humanitarian aid, keeping
the other half for a possible payment to the families of the 9/11 victims.
Following
the order, thousands of Afghans took to the streets of Kabul and other cities
to condemn the measure, arguing that Afghanistan had nothing to do with the
September 11, 2001 attacks.
Angry
demonstrators also called on the international community to help Afghanistan
unfreeze all the assets frozen in the US as well as the European countries.
The
decision by Biden came only a few days after the UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres warned that Afghanistan is “hanging by a thread," as millions of
Afghans are at the risk of starvation and death.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/02/16/676982/China-slams-US-seizure
--------
US
Not Backing 'Armed Opposition' to Islamic Emirate: West
16
February, 2022
The
US special envoy for Afghanistan, Thomas West said at an event on Monday that
Washington is not backing “organized armed opposition” to the Islamic Emirate
and that it would “discourage other powers from doing so as well."
Speaking
at an event at the US Institute of Peace (USIP), the US special representative
for Afghanistan suggested that Pakistan previously had an opportunity to help
with a negotiated settlement Afghanistan, which it did not take.
“I
think had Pakistan taken some of those steps in a more meaningful and
consistent way, I think we would be in a different place today,” he said.
West
said that he believes “there is a recognition in Pakistan that the current
leadership of the interim authorities in Afghanistan is not truly
representative and potentially not sustainable.”
He
suggested said the decision made by US President Joe Biden over the fate of $7
billion Afghan assets was meant to protect the assets for Afghanistan:
“Fundamentally the action was about protecting $3.5 billion for the benefit of
the Afghan people,” West said.
The
US envoy expressed optimism over the reopening of schools and universities for
the girls.
Source:
Tolo News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-176744
--------
Afghan
girls 'must definitely' return to school: Karzai
Feb
17, 2022
KABUL:
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that every girl in the country
"must definitely" return to schools, as it is "absolutely"
necessary for the well-being of war-torn nation.
In
his remarks to France 24, the former leader said that the return of girls to
school and women to their workplaces is the demand of Afghanistan itself, TOLO
News reported.
Girls
and women have been out of educational institutions and offices since the
Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021.
Regarding
the recognition of the incumbent Taliban government, Karzai said some initial
steps were needed to be taken at the national level to pave the way.
"On
the issue of recognition by the international community, my proposal has been
from the very beginning this--that we the Afghan people need to put our own
house in order first.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Europe
pledges $11 M to Afghanistan’s educational sector
16
Feb 2022
Foreign
Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said that European
representatives pledged $11 million to Afghanistan’s educational sector and
added that the money will increase based on the needs.
The
meeting was conducted in the Qatari capital Doha where the acting Foreign
Minister of the IEA, Amir Khan Motaqi is leading a delegation that is meeting
the city-based European diplomats.
The
Foreign Ministry in a press release said that the Afghan delegation discussed
with European representatives the humanitarian situation, humanitarian assistance,
women’s and minorities’ rights, women’s education and working opportunities,
and the participation of all ethnic groups in the government.
The
visiting Afghan delegation has also briefed European envoys about the reopening
of schools and universities in the country, according to the statement.
As
per the statement, the Afghan delegation has assured European envoys of their
commitment to the rights of all Afghans.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/europe-pledges-11-m-to-afghanistans-educational-sector-8758667/
--------
EU
to deliver Є500 million to Afghan people
16
Feb 2022
Special
representative of European Union for Afghanistan Thomas Niklasson said that
they remain committed to Afghan people adding that the Union will deliver up to
Є500 million to address the humanitarian situation of the Afghan people.
Thomas
Kilasson in a Twitter post on Tuesday, February 15 said that with the money,
they will focus on food, health, education, and other relevant parts.
“The
EU remains committed to the Afghan people and is delivering 500 million euros
in assistance through UN and NGOs focusing on food, health, WASH and
protection, education and livelihood.” Reads the Twitter post.
The
announcement comes after the Taliban delegation held negotiations with European
representatives in Doha.
Tomas
Niklasson said that the two delegations agreed to continue the dialogue through
physical and virtual meetings.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/eu-to-deliver-%D1%94500-million-to-afghan-people-89587/
--------
Taliban
delegation holds talks with EU, US diplomats in Doha
16
Feb 2022
Doha,
Qatar – Representatives of the European Union and the United States have met
Taliban members as the group seeks to unlock fundings to tackle Afghanistan’s
dire humanitarian crisis.
The
Afghan delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Wednesday
held the second day of talks with diplomats from 16 European countries in the
Qatari capital, Doha.
“All
participants pledged to make all possible efforts for the overall well-being of
the Afghan people,” read a statement issued by the Taliban, adding that the
international community is ready to take “effective steps in the field of
humanitarian assistance”.
The
statements though did not provide any specific details about the steps to be
taken by the international community.
Thomas
Niklasson, EU special representative for Afghanistan, who also attended the
talks, said that the bloc remains committed to delivering 500 million euros
($569m) in assistance through the UN and humanitarian organisation.
The
Taliban is still not recognised by any country and many of its senior officials
are still under Western and UN sanctions. The country is also cut off from
international financial institutions, which has triggered a banking crisis.
The
talks came weeks after the armed group met Western diplomats in the Norwegian
capital Oslo during which the issue of human rights and the need for
humanitarian aid was discussed.
Niklasson
in a Twitter post added that the Taliban expressed “commitment to open primary
and secondary schools for boys and girls throughout the country no later than
March”.
The
Taliban-led government is gripped with a fast-deteriorating humanitarian crisis
with 97 percent of the population at the risk of sinking below the poverty
line, according to UNDP’s projection.
The
group, which seized power in August last year by toppling the Western-backed
government of President Ashraf Ghani, is also seeking to unfreeze billions of
dollars of money by the West.
But
Western countries and international financial institution have linked their
release to the improvement of the country’s human rights record, especially
regarding women.
Last
week, US President Joe Biden said that some $7bn in Afghan reserves held in the
US would be split between a fund to aid Afghanistan and to compensate victims
of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
“It
is not acceptable for us to spend this money on humanitarian aid or
compensation,” Mottaqi said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Millions
of dollars in aid pledged by the West will be channelled through a special
mechanism, which means the fund will not go through the government departments.
While
the Taliban have repeatedly emphasised exercising a softer rule compared with
their previous stint in power from 1996 to 2001, restrictions on women still
remain in force.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Southeast Asia
Perlis
Mufti Confirms Children Registered As Muslims Without Mum’s Presence
February
17, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Azinul Abidin has confirmed that the state’s
religious department had registered single mother Loh Siew Hong’s three
children as Muslims without her being present.
He
also confirmed that the children’s father had been asked where Loh was, though
they did not investigate her whereabouts further.
“The
father came and brought his children to Perlis to be converted to Islam,” he
said in a video posted on his Facebook page yesterday, adding that the three
were all under 18 at the time.
According
to Asri, the father had brought the children to the religious department in
July 2020.
“When
asked where their mother was, the father said he didn’t know. He wanted to
request that his children become Muslim. So the religious department registered
them as Muslim. They weren’t registered at the national registration
department.
“Their
father brought them. We didn’t research where their mother was. Their father
said he did not know where their mother was, so we let them become Muslim.”
Yesterday,
Loh told FMT she could not see her children for the past three years because
she had been at a women’s shelter after suffering physical abuse at her former
husband’s hands.
She
filed for divorce last year, winning full custody of the 14-year-old twin
daughters and 10-year-old son. The High Court in Kuala Lumpur had also ordered
the police to recover her children.
The
Federal Court previously ruled that the conversion of any child under 18 to
another religion needed the consent of both parents.
Asri
said the Perlis religious authorities were not aware that the Kuala Lumpur High
Court had granted Loh full custody of her children in March 2021. At the time,
the children were in Perlis.
“The
children were converts, the father was in jail, so we took care of them. Then
we heard that someone wanted to take them. We continued looking after them …
because we didn’t know about the court order,” he said.
He
said the children had been brought to Perlis before the court’s letter on the
matter “reached our hands”.
“The
court letter was between her and her husband, it wasn’t addressed to us.”
Asri
maintained that the state religious authorities would not always side with
Muslims when it came to issues of child custody, saying they were primarily
concerned about who could ensure the child’s welfare.
“But
if the child is already ‘mumaiyiz’ (capable of distinguishing good from bad), they
can choose to go to their non-Muslim mother or Muslim father,” he said.
He
said the father was jailed for drug offences several months after their
conversion.
Asri
maintained that the Perlis religious authorities had no qualms with handing
over the children to Loh, if that was what they wanted.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Hun
Sen: Myanmar crisis could take 10 years to resolve
February
17, 2022
Cambodian
Prime Minister Hun Sen said it would take 5-10 years to resolve the violent
crisis in Myanmar as ASEAN foreign ministers began arriving in Cambodia for
their annual meeting.
Speaking
at the inauguration of seven bridges in western Cambodia, Hun Sen said
international criticism of his efforts to end the violence, which erupted in
response to last year’s coup led by General Aung Min Hlaing, had made
negotiations too difficult.
“Seeking
peace is not easy,” he told journalists. “It might take five to 10 years in the
case of Myanmar. If both ASEAN's chair and the UN secretary-general’s special
envoy are criticized for their efforts to resolve the Myanmar crisis, how do
you expect Myanmar to end the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis?”
Hun
Sen last month became the first foreign leader to visit Myanmar since the coup
when he attempted to move forward the five-point consensus agreed by ASEAN and
bring Myanmar back into the fold after it was banned from the bloc’s annual
summits.
But
he was widely criticized for legitimizing the regime and a ceasefire which, as
this year’s chair of ASEAN, Hun Sen helped negotiate. The ceasefire is in
tatters amid continued military strikes and reports of massacres.
The
junta has since said ASEAN's special envoy, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak
Sokhonn, can meet with ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a key element of the
five-point consensus, but no further details have been provided.
Myanmar
was uninvited to the foreign ministers' retreat amid the violence, although it
can send a non-political envoy but has to date declined.
The
meet has been dubbed a “hybrid summit” after Brunei and Thailand opted to
attend via Zoom as foreign ministers from Singapore, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam
arrived.
However,
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son tested positive for Covid-19 on his
arrival in Cambodia, Prak Sokhonn said. “I would like to wish a swift recovery
to our colleague,” he said.
High
on the agenda are issues surrounding China and the disputed South China Sea,
admitting Timor-Leste to ASEAN and formulating a plan for a post-pandemic
economic recovery.
The
regional bloc has increasingly split along traditional lines in recent years.
Divisions initially emerged over attitudes to China and respective claims in
the South China Sea but widened over Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing of its Muslim
Rohingya population and further in the wake of the coup.
Source:
UCA News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/hun-sen-myanmar-crisis-could-take-10-years-to-resolve/96148#
--------
Beijing
Olympic organisers hit out at Xinjiang ‘lies’
February
17, 2022
BEIJING:
Beijing Olympics organisers hit out at “lies” about Xinjiang on Thursday and
reiterated the Chinese government’s stance on Taiwan, while also railing
against “politicising” the Games.
The
US has led a diplomatic boycott by some Western nations at the Games over
rights concerns in China, especially the fate of the mostly Muslim Uighur
minority in China’s northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Rights
issues overshadowed the build-up to the Olympics in the Chinese capital and
they roared back to the fore during a regular daily press conference featuring
an IOC spokesman and officials from the local organising committee.
Campaigners
say that at least one million Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking Muslims have
been incarcerated in camps in Xinjiang, while there are also allegations of
forced sterilisations of women and forced labour.
“These
issues are irrelevant to the Winter Games but I still feel obliged to make a
quick comment again,” said Beijing 2022 Organising Committee spokeswoman Yan
Jiarong, after foreign reporters twice asked about Xinjiang.
“The
questions are based very much on lies. Some authorities have already disputed
such false information with a lot of solid evidence.”
Yan
also criticised what she called “lies by deliberate groups” over Xinjiang.
China
vehemently denies all charges over its treatment of Uighurs and maintains the
camps are vocational training centres aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic
extremism.
Yan
was also bullish on the question of Taiwan. China claims the self-ruled
democratic island as part of its territory to be re-taken one day, by force if
necessary.
At
all Olympic Games, athletes from Taiwan compete under the banner of “Chinese
Taipei”.
“This
is something that we really have to take a solemn position on,” said Yan,
following a question about Taiwanese athletes at the Games and their attendance
at Sunday’s closing ceremony.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Apex
court nine-man bench to give its verdict on SIS Forum’s legal challenge against
Selangor shariah law on Monday
16
Feb 2022
PUTRAJAYA,
Feb 16 — The Federal Court nine-member bench will deliver its decision this
Monday (February 21) on a legal action by SIS Forum (Malaysia) to challenge a
Selangor Islamic Enactment provision which empowered the state Shariah High
Court to review fatwa issued by the state religious authorities.
One
of the lawyers representing SIS, Surendra Ananth, when contacted, said they
received a notification from the court today informing of the decision date.
The
decision will be delivered virtually via Zoom.
On
October 12 last year, the bench, led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan
Mat reserved the court’s decision after lawyers representing SIS and the
Selangor government completed their submissions in the case.
The
bench had heard submission from lawyer Datuk Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, who appeared
for SIS and also by Selangor state legal adviser Datuk Salim Soib @ Hamid, who
acted for the Selangor government, as well as from lawyers Zainur Zakaria and
Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla, representing the Selangor Islamic Religious
Council (Mais), which was allowed to intervene in the case.
The
other judges on the bench were Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf,
Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak
Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Datuk Seri Mohd
Zawawi Salleh, Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat, Puan Sri Zaleha Yusof, Datuk
Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang.
On
September 22 last year, the Federal Court granted SIS leave to pursue its legal
challenge in the Federal Court through Article 4(4) of the Federal
Constitution.
SIS
sought leave to commence the challenge seeking to declare as invalid Section
66A of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor)
Enactment 2003 which states that the Shariah High Court may, in the interest of
justice, on the application of any person, have the jurisdiction to grant
permission and hear the application for judicial review on the decision made by
the council or committees carrying out the functions under this Enactment.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Europe
Türkiye,
Pakistan, Malaysia Hailed For Fight against Islamophobia at an International
Conference in Istanbul
16
February, 2022
Speakers
at an international conference in Istanbul have commended Türkiye, Pakistan and
Malaysia for their relentless efforts against the scourge of Islamophobia and
anti-Muslim hate crimes, with Ankara offering to share its "knowledge and
experience" with other members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC).
"As
an organisation (OIC), we need to work together, increase collaboration and use
our platform more effectively," Türkiye's deputy justice minister Yakup
Mogul told a conference on Wednesday.
Muslim
nations need to support people who are facing discrimination around the world,
he told delegates gathered to discuss human rights violations faced by Muslims,
adding Türkiye was ready to "share our knowledge and experience" with
other OIC countries.
"If
we don’t take steps, it would get worse," Mogul said, referring to the
occupation of Palestine's lands and Myanmar’s brutal uprooting of ethnic
Rohingya Muslims.
The
two-day event is jointly hosted by Türkiye's justice and foreign ministries and
the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of OIC.
Responding
to Islamophobic incidents in Europe, he said: "We should not allow Europe to
become a place that is not peaceful for Muslims" while calling for
"effective" UN and OIC systems.
Legal
safeguards
Haci
Ali Acikgul, the chairperson of the OIC's IPHRC, said the Muslim bloc and its
human rights body have remained vocal in "condemning hate-motivated acts
against Muslims around the world, from Palestine to Kashmir, Nagorno Karabakh,
India, Sri Lanka, France, New Zealand, Central African Republic, and
Myanmar."
Islamophobia,
he said, has "transformed into a systematic anti-Muslim rhetoric of
right-wing extremists propagated to achieve well-defined political gains."
Acikgul
said the IPHRC has proposed a comprehensive anti-Islamophobia strategy for the
OIC, but given the scale of the challenge "efforts of the OIC and IPHRC
alone are not enough."
"It
requires concerted collaborative efforts by states, civil society,
intelligentsia and media," he noted while praising the leadership of
Türkiye, Pakistan and Malaysia for their "laudable efforts that provided a
sense of direction and required political impetus to the ongoing efforts at the
global scale."
"We
support their call for instituting legal safeguards aimed at protecting the
sensitivities of all religious groups and galvanising OIC's collective efforts
to project the true image of Islam and its message of peace and
tolerance," he said.
Acikgul
said Islamophobia has "transformed into a systematic anti-Muslim rhetoric
of right-wing extremists propagated to achieve well-defined political
gains."
Studies
show that far-right and anti-Muslim movements have gained ground around the
world, especially in Europe as the refugee crisis has triggered nationalism
across the continent.
Palestinian
official highlights discord within OIC
"There
is inconsistency in our positions and actions as the members of the OIC are not
acting in unison," said Ammar Hijazi, Palestine's assistant minister for
multilateral affairs, while decrying the decision of some nations to normalise
ties with Israel.
However,
he stressed that "we seek solutions based on respect, dialogue and
harmony," calling for solidary and support for the Palestinian people.
People
of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) "are victims of double
standards and discrimination at a larger scale," said Huseyin Isiksal,
special adviser to the TRNC president on international relations and diplomacy.
However,
he asserted that Turkish Cypriots "will never give up our rights (as) we
are not a minority but equal to Greek Cypriots."
Source:
Trt World
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
How
a Soviet intelligence officer became a Muslim and an Afghan
17
February, 2022
Sherefovic
Hakimov fought alongside Communist Soviet forces against Afghan mujahidin in
the 1980s, but his life changed fundamentally after becoming a prisoner of war.
The
56-year-old Sherefovic Hakimov, a former Soviet military personnel, no longer
identifies himself as Russian. He lives in Afghanistan’s Herat city as a Muslim
and an Afghan.
In
1987, as part of the invading forces of the Soviet Union, he became a war prisoner.
His
brother, Alexandre, was a Russian deputy in the country’s parliament, and his
sister, Mabuba, worked as an adviser for the Soviet military. His parents were
also high-ranking officials in the Soviet army. His father, an ethnic Armenian,
was a general and his mother, a Ukrainian Jew, worked for Soviet intelligence.
In
1984, Hakimov was deployed to Afghanistan as a Soviet military intelligence
officer. After three years, he was severely wounded during a gun battle with
the Afghan mujahidin. Injured and demoralised, he eventually became a prisoner
of war.
“There
were about 120 lost Soviet soldiers, and Hakimov is one of them,” said Bilal
Guler, Anadolu Agency’s Kabul correspondent, who conducted an extensive
interview with Hakimov in Herat, western Afghanistan.
“There
is no concrete information on those lost Soviet soldiers, and none of them
appear to be able to go back to either the Soviets or current Russia. It’s not
clear what happened to them,” Guler tells TRT World. Among others, Hakimov has
a unique story.
"They
were telling me to become a Muslim. They also encouraged me to say 'La ilaha
illallah Muhammedun Rasulullah,'" said Hakimov, who also goes by his
adopted name, Sheikh Abdullah, given to him by Haji Sayyid Abdulvahab Katali,
one of the mujahidin leaders.
“La
ilaha illallah Muhammedun Rasulullah”, which means “there is no god but God and
Muhammad is His prophet,” is considered as the declaration of belief in Islam.
By uttering these words, a non-Muslim can enter Islam and become a Muslim.
“I
thought that Muhammad would come and determine what to do with me, and that he
was a judge or leader of these [Mujahidin],” Hakimov told Anadolu Agency’s
Guler, remembering his feelings back in the day. Anadolu Agency interviewed
Hakimov on February 15, the anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from
Afghanistan.
Dreaming
Islam
Hakimov
did not become a Muslim until he had a dream in which a white-bearded man also
advised him to convert to Islam. After that, he decided to adopt both the
Muslim faith and the Afghan culture.
"I
have been in Afghanistan for nearly 40 years. I'm Afghan now. I have Afghan
citizenship. I am now a Muslim. I'm not Russian. I don't belong to the
Russians," Hakimov said. The former Soviet soldier dresses like an Afghan
and is fluent in both Pashto and Persian, the two dominant languages of
Afghanistan.
Hakimov
also became good friends with his former enemy, Katali.
"He
was our enemy back then. We were his enemies too. If we had caught him, we
would have executed him. If we had fallen into his hands, maybe he would have
executed us," Hakimov said.
"We
became friends after I converted to Islam…I became both his employee and his
son. He got me married. He gave [me] a house," he added.
When
he was 25, Hakimov married an Afghan woman, who died giving birth to a girl
named Menice. His second wife also passed away due to stomach cancer last year.
With
the loss of his second wife, Hakimov grew disillusioned with life. "After
my wife died, I couldn't do anything anymore." He visits his wife’s grave
every day to pray for her.
Russia:
a foreign land
Hakimov,
who is suffering from memory loss and other ailments from his past injury, has
lost his Soviet passport and belongings, including photographs of his family
members.
His
Russian has become rusty with time, and due to his health condition, he has
forgotten many words and phrases. He still has a good hold on his native
Armenian language, however.
Both
his parents are dead. Being away from his siblings for decades has taken a
mental toll on him. He misses his brother and sister a lot.
"We
are human beings. It's impossible not to miss [them],” he said, expressing his
desire to see them. The last time he talked to his sister over the phone was
two years ago.
While
he's aware that many of his ailments could be treated in Russia, he's still not
sure how the government would treat him if he ever went back.
But
Guler believes that if one of his siblings visited him in Afghanistan, he might
feel encouraged to go to Russia. “I think that he feels left behind by the
family,” Guler says.
“Russia's
policy is different. It is true, they say they forgive us. But one of us went
to Russia and was arrested. He escaped from there and came back to Afghanistan.
If the Russians hadn't arrested him, we'd all be gone," Hakimov said.
Hakimov
fears that if he goes back to Russia, he might face retribution too.
"I'm
not under arrest here. They [Russians] say why you surrendered. We say that we
didn't surrender. We were wounded and remained. We fell into the hands of the
mujahidin ,” Hakimov said.
“It
takes a long time to realise that we were prisoners and did not
surrender," he added.
Different
delegations from the UN to Uzbekistan and Russia visited him many times to help
him leave Afghanistan, but he refused to do so.
Hakimov
is not sure if the Russian government can understand the circumstances that led
to his capture. On some occasions, Hakimov even trained the mujahidin to fight
against the Soviets.
“I
had to, I was afraid. For my life, to survive, I was showing every skill I
could to the mujahidin .”
A
neutral ‘Afghan’
In
1989, two years after Hakimov’s captivity, the Soviets left Afghanistan in
disgrace. But after that, an internal power struggle gripped Afghanistan until
the Taliban emerged victorious in 1995. However, Taliban rule was also
interrupted in 2001 following the September 11 attacks in the US with the
American invasion.
“Since
the Soviet withdrawal, Hakimov has pulled out from armed conflict not fighting
for any Afghan group,” Guler says. “His health also does not allow him to get
involved in any fighting,” Guler adds.
Source:
Trt World
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Yemeni
civilian casualty toll highest in three years: UN
February
17, 2022
UNITED
NATIONS: The seven-year war in Yemen has witnessed a dangerous escalation, with
January’s civilian casualties the highest in at least three years and eight
million Yemenis likely to lose all humanitarian aid next month without urgent
new funds, UN officials said on Tuesday.
UN
special envoy Hans Grundberg and UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths painted
a worsening picture of the already dire situation in the Arab world’s poorest
nation. They said the past month brought a multiplication of combat zones and
the end of January saw nearly two-thirds of major UN aid programmes being
scaled back or closed.
Yemen
has been convulsed by civil war since 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels
took control of the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north, forcing
the government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led
coalition entered the war in March 2015, backed by the US and United Arab
Emirates, to try restore President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power.
Grundberg
warned the UN Security Council that recent attacks by the Houthis on the UAE
and Saudi Arabia indicate how this conflict risks spiraling out of control
unless serious efforts are urgently made by the Yemeni parties, the region and
the international community to end the conflict.
He
said a coalition air strike on a detention facility in Houthi-controlled Saada
was the worst civilian casualty incident in three years, and he pointed at an
alarming increase in air strikes in Yemen, including on residential areas in
Sanaa and the port area of Hodeida.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1675510/yemeni-civilian-casualty-toll-highest-in-three-years-un
--------
Decision
on Iran nuclear deal days away, ball in Tehran's court: France
16
February ,2022
France's
foreign minister said on Wednesday that a decision on salvaging Iran's 2015
nuclear deal with world powers was just days away, but that it was now up to
Tehran to make the political choice.
Indirect
talks between Iran and the US on reviving the tattered agreement resumed last
week after a 10-day hiatus and officials from the other parties to the accord -
Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - have shuttled between the two
sides as they seek to close gaps.
Western
diplomats previously indicated they hoped to have a breakthrough by now, but
tough issues remain unresolved. Iran has rejected any deadline imposed by
Western powers.
“We
have reached tipping point now. It's not a matter of weeks, it's a matter of
days,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament, adding that
the Western powers, Russia and China were in accord on the outlines of the
accord.
“Political
decisions are needed from the Iranians. Either they trigger a serious crisis in
the coming days, or they accept the agreement which respects the interests of
all parties.”
The
agreement began to unravel in 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew
the US and reimposed far reaching sanctions on Iran, which then began breaching
the accord's limits on its uranium enrichment activity.
Diplomats
and analysts say the longer Iran remains outside the deal, the more nuclear
expertise it will gain, shortening the time it might need to race to build a
bomb if it chose to, thereby vitiating the accord's original purpose. Tehran
denies it has ever sought to develop nuclear arms.
Western
diplomats say they are now in the final phase of the talks and believe that a
deal is within reach.
“We
are coming to the moment of truth. If we want Iran to respect its (nuclear)
non-proliferation commitments and in exchange for the US to lift sanctions,
there has to be something left to do it,” Le Drian said.
Iran
said on Monday it was “in a hurry” to strike a new deal as long as its national
interests were protected and that restoring the pact required “political
decisions by the West”.
Key
bones of contention remain Iran’s demand for a US guarantee of no more
sanctions or other punitive steps in future, and how and when to restore
verifiable restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear activity.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Turkiye
rescues 52 irregular migrants pushed back by Greece
Haydar
Toprakçı
16.02.2022
IZMIR,
Turkiye
Turkish
Coast Guard units rescued 52 irregular migrants off the coast of Izmir province
after they were pushed back by Greek coastal authorities.
The
Coast Guard Command said Tuesday in a statement they learned that there was a
group of irregular migrants in life rafts off Dikili, Seferihisar, Foca and
Cesme districts and dispatched units to the areas.
Later,
the asylum seekers, who were in five life rafts, were brought ashore and all of
them were taken to provincial migration offices.
Turkiye
and human rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of
pushing back asylum seekers, saying it violates humanitarian values and
international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including
women and children.
Turkiye
has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to
start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkiye-rescues-52-irregular-migrants-pushed-back-by-greece/2503808
--------
UK
police probing Prince Charles’ charity bid involving Saudi national
16
February 2022
The
UK police have launched an investigation into allegations that one of Prince
Charles’s charities offered to help a Saudi billionaire secure honors and
citizenship in return for donations.
In
a statement released on Wednesday, the London Metropolitan Police Service said
it decided to open a formal investigation after assessing media reports and
looking at documents.
“The
decision follows an assessment of a September 2021 letter. This related to
media reporting alleging offers of help were made to secure honors and
citizenship for a Saudi national,” the statement read.
“The
Special Enquiry Team has conducted the assessment process which has included
contacting those believed to hold relevant information.”
“Officers
liaised with the Prince's Foundation about the findings of an independent
investigation into fundraising practices. The foundation provided a number of
relevant documents.”
The
probe followed a series of stories in the Times of London, which reported that
a long-time aide to Prince Charles helped secure the prince's support for a
Saudi citizen to receive a knighthood and British citizenship in return for
donations of millions of pounds.
Saudi
national Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz’s large contributions notably funded
the renovation of several royal residences, including Dumfries House, in
Scotland. Prince Charles's closest aide, Michael Fawcett, who promised to help
secure British citizenship for Mahfouz, stepped down in October.
Mahfouz,
a donor to the Prince’s Foundation, had been seeking to obtain citizenship by
paying intermediaries tens of thousands of pounds to put him in contact with
the prince after being advised that awards would help his application.
Despite
Charles's claims that he had no knowledge of the alleged deal, he could still
prove to be a vital witness, as he held private meetings with Mahfouz at the
British embassy in Saudi Arabia, in London and in Scotland.
Prince
Charles already stands accused of bribes from the Saudi royal family, which has
one of the worst records of human rights abuses.
The
British royals have faced a host of scandals in the past several years. In the
most recent, Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II’s son, agreed to settle his
lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually assaulting her when
she was underage.
According
to documents filed on February 15, the case was settled out of court for an
undisclosed amount of money.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/02/16/676976/UK-police-Prince-Charles-Mahfouz
--------
North America
Muslim
Nations That Refuse To Recognize Kosovo Making Big Mistake, Says PM Albin Kurti
February
17, 2022
Fourteen
years ago, the Republic of Kosovo declared its independence and became the
world’s newest country. Backed by its main ally, the US, and protected by an
UN-mandated NATO presence, Kosovo enters its 15th year of independence facing
several challenges — and some clear and present dangers, too.
Despite
the backing of some of the world’s biggest and most influential states, Kosovo is
still not part of the UN and is recognized by fewer than 100 of the 193 UN
member states. Even though it is located in the heart of Europe, and enjoys
huge support from the EU, it is still not a member of the union and Kosovars do
not enjoy visa-free travel across the continent.
The
main cause of most of Kosovo’s pains is the deep-rooted historic rift with its
northern neighbor, Serbia. Both countries were part of the former Yugoslavia
and, following its break-up, endured a bloody decade of fighting in the Balkans
during the 1990s.
Serbia
refuses to recognize Kosovo or apologize for the atrocities of the 1998-1999
Kosovo War, which only ended after NATO intervened. The current standoff and
mutual non-recognition prevent both countries from joining the EU, five members
of which still do not officially recognize Kosovo.
Previous
Kosovar leaders attempted to engage in dialogue with Serbia. However, since
assuming office in March 2021, Prime Minister Albin Kurti has signaled
repeatedly that talks with Belgrade are not a priority.
“We
did not want to neglect dialogue with Serbia but I cannot have it as priority
number one,” he told Arab News during an exclusive interview at his office in
Pristina. “I said, from the outset of this government, that jobs, justice and
the COVID-19 pandemic are our top three priorities. Number four could be the
dialogue.
“This
dialogue, which we are approaching in a constructive and creative manner with
different proposals, is a dialogue about the status of relations between Kosovo
and Serbia. Kosovo and Serbia do not recognize each other, so the solution is
mutual recognition.”
There
are other elements that further complicate the possibility of a normalization
of relations between the countries and their mutual accession to the EU.
To
start with, there are the dark shadows of the past. A few months after he was
elected prime minister, Kurti spoke about the possibility of reviving plans to
sue Serbia for genocide in an international court, and rejected some Western
calls for Kosovo’s minority Serb population to be allowed to vote in a Serbian
referendum that Pristina considers “unconstitutional.”
Another
issue is that officials in Kosovo accuse their Serbian counterparts of being
much more interested in being in the orbit of Russia rather than Europe.
“Serbia
has close cultural, historical and military links with Moscow,” said Kurti.
Asked how this close relationship between Belgrade and Moscow might affect his
country if war breaks out between Russia and Ukraine, Kurti said it might push
Serbia to become “more aggressive.” But while he said that Pristina is
“following the situation very carefully,” he added: “We are not afraid.”
Nevertheless,
some critics of recent US foreign-policy decisions believe Kosovo has a number
of reasons to be concerned, given that in recent years neither Washington nor
NATO have proven to be very good friends to many of their traditional allies in
times of need.
Former
US President Barack Obama’s so-called “red lines” did little to deter Russia
from seizing control of Crimea in 2014. More recently, as part of the Biden
administration’s pivot toward ending “forever wars,” the world watched the
painful scenes at Kabul Airport as many Afghans desperately trying to flee the
country after Washington effectively handed the country back to the Taliban, 20
years after it waged a war to bring democracy to the country and end the rule
of the same extremist group.
However,
Kurti strongly believes that the NATO presence in Kosovo is there to stay but
that if push comes to shove, Kosovars are capable of defending themselves.
“I
think that Kosovo has great people with great will and courage, on one hand,
and on the other hand, I think that our defense and security forces and NATO,
especially the US, are here to stay,” he said.
“And
we are certain that we will be victorious in any kind of future crisis that
might occur, but which we do not want to have.”
Kurti
is so confident of NATO’s commitment to his country that he believes it is
likely Kosovo will join the alliance as a full member much sooner than it is
granted EU membership status.
“I
believe that this is the case for two reasons,” he said. “Firstly, in the EU we
have five non-recognizers out of 27, whereas in NATO we have four
non-recognizers out of 30. So, one non-recognizer less in NATO than in EU.
“But
in addition, the criteria and standards that you have to fulfill to join NATO
are not as complex as they are for joining the EU. So, it is realistic to
expect that we will first join NATO and then EU.”
In
addition, NATO does not require its members to be member states of the UN or
the EU, so provided that Pristina can convince Spain, Greece, Romania and
Slovakia to recognize it, the prime minister’s vision might become a reality in
the next few years, observers argue.
Relations
with the Muslim world
The
members of the EU that do not recognize Kosovo might argue that they have taken
this position to avoid encouraging separatist movements within their countries.
What is perhaps more remarkable is that fact that as things stands, only
slightly over half of the members of Organization of Islamic Cooperation
recognize Kosovo, which is a Muslim-majority country. Leading the way among the
Gulf recognizers are moderate Muslim countries, such as regional powerhouse
Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
How
does Kurti feel about the fact that so many fellow Muslim states do not
recognize his country, particularly a major Islamic nation such as Iran?
“We
think that it’s a big mistake that some of the countries with Muslim-majority
populations are not recognizing Kosovo,” he said. “I think that they have been
misinformed by Serbia. And some of them do this because they keep some close
links with the Russian Federation.
“However,
I would urge all the countries in the world, for the sake of long-term peace,
sustainable security and recognizing the rights of people to freedom and
self-determination, to recognize the independence of Kosovo.
“In
a way, those who do not recognize the independence of Kosovo, with or without
intention, they fall prey to supporting Serbia from the time of the militias
that committed genocide in Kosovo.”
A
particularly paradoxical twist in this tale is the non-recognition of Kosovo by
the Palestinian Authority. One might think that the official representatives of
a people who have for seven decades protested and fought against the illegal
occupation by Israel would be among the first to stand in solidarity with
Kosovo.
Yet
the PA does not recognize Kosovo and its former leader, Yasser Arafat, was
criticized for his close ties with former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic at
the turn of the century.
Meanwhile,
although Israel and Kosovo only formally recognized each other a little over a
year ago Tel Aviv’s policy towards Kosovo has long been non-aggressive. Even
before the formal recognition, which had been lobbied for by the administration
of former US President Donald Trump, Israel supported Kosovo’s campaigns to
gain membership of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Even
so, Kosovo’s announcement last year of its decision to recognize Jerusalem as
the capital of Israel shocked many Muslim countries, given the sensitivity of
the issue in the Muslim world.
All
of this begs the question of what the current stance in Pristina is on the
Palestinian cause and the PA.
“I
think that, just as we know how much the Palestinian people have suffered, they
should not neglect the suffering of the Albanians in Kosovo, who survived
Serbia’s genocide,” said Kurti.
He
denies, however, that the Trump-era decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s
capital was in any way a form of retaliation against the official Palestinian
position of non-recognition of Kosovo.
“That
has nothing to do with our stance toward the Palestinian people and their
cause,” he said. “We want to have good relations with Palestine, with the
Palestinian Authority and with Palestinians as people.”
Last
year, Kosovo joined several Arab and Muslim states in designating the
Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah as a terrorist group. When asked about
the background to that decision, Kurti said it is “not difficult to recognize
terrorists and violent extremists.”
He
added: “In line with our beliefs and values, on which we are building our
country and on which we are orienting future generations, we made such a
decision in Kosovo, and we are part of the global coalition against violent
extremism and terrorists.
“We
also condemned all the attacks and activities of Hezbollah, and also of Daesh.”
Kurti
also said he was appalled by the recent attack by the Houthis in Yemen on Abu
Dhabi airport and their ongoing strikes against civilian targets in Saudi
Arabia, adding that such acts can never be tolerated.
Does
this mean that he agrees that the Houthis should be designated as a terrorist
group?
“Yes,
I think all these attacks on civilians are terrorist actions,” he said.
Kosovo,
as well as Bosnia, has had its own issues with home-grown terror; a number of
its citizens lest the country to join Daesh a few years ago. Kurti said there
is no place in his country for tolerance of extremist ideology.
“There
were a couple of hundred people from Kosovo who unfortunately joined these
absolute wars,” he said. “Some of them never came back and for those who did
come back, we have done some rehabilitation programs. Some are also serving
sentences in prison.
“There
had been some manipulation of certain individuals. I can imagine that was due
to their lack of educational background, and perhaps unemployment and social
misery, and we have to have a certain sensitivity toward the situation. However,
this will never stop us from harshly condemning violent extremism.”
‘Kurtinomics’
and Saudi Vision 2030
At
the start of our interview, Kurti congratulated the Saudi leadership and people
on the occasion of the newly announced annual “Founding Day,” which will be
celebrated in the Kingdom on Feb. 22 each year. Throughout our discussion, he
appeared up to speed on the most recent developments in Saudi Arabia.
“I
think the people of Kosovo, but also people in the Balkans and in Europe,
should know more about the reforms and the progress in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“We want to strengthen cooperation with the Kingdom. It’s a very rich country,
both in its culture and history, but likewise in its natural resources and
economic development.”
The
reforms Kurti referred to are those that are taking place under Crown Prince
Mohammad bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan. It includes the diversification of the
economy to reduce its dependence on oil; the creation of jobs for Saudi youths,
who form the majority of the population; the introduction of previously
unimaginable social freedoms and religious reforms; and a relentless crackdown
on corruption.
Meanwhile,
Kurti and his party triumphed at the election in Kosovo last year based on a
“jobs and justice” campaign that focused on the creation of opportunities for
young people and women, and a promise to tackle corruption.
He
sees the similarities in the recent developments in the two countries and an
opportunity for them to enhance cooperation. To this end, he invited Riyadh to
seize the opportunities and invest heavily in the emerging environment in
Kosovo.
“With
our government we are fighting corruption,” he said. “There is no tolerance for
corruption. And we are also growing our economy. For example, last year we
registered two-thirds higher exports than the year before. Budget revenues
increased by one third.
“Likewise,
business turnover increased, while foreign direct investment increased by more
than 50 percent. These figures show that Kosovo is progressing — and the best way
for more progress is to invest in the already existing progress.”
But
how exactly does his brand of “Kurtinomics” work? He said his reforms are all
about giving people hope and a reason to believe in them.
“When
people are hopeful, they would rather spend than save in our economy if it is
growing,” said Kurti. “Because when you expect rainy days in the future, you’d
rather save than spend. Then when people see the government is not corrupt,
they are more ready to pay taxes and other contributions. That’s why budget
revenues in Kosovo, tax revenues, increased by a third without changing fiscal
policy.
“And
the last thing is that tax administration started to have greater discipline
than before. Fighting corruption and crime helps not only the common values of
the people but also the health of the economy. On the other hand, our diaspora,
which is huge and especially concentrated in German-speaking Europe, sent even
more remittances back home than before.
“We
have also established a commercial court and in this way we want to create a
good environment for business. Kosovo has the euro as a currency and a very
young population; the average age is 30 years, even though we are an ancient
people. We are located at the heart of the Balkans, close to European markets.
And at the same time, Kosovo is a country that never forgets its friends and
wants to have good relations with all peace-loving nations in the world.”
Regarding
the fight against corruption, Kurti admitted his government has a mountain to
climb. “Corruption in Kosovo was high in the past and has not been eradicated
altogether,” he said. “But it was quite concentrated at the top, so there was
no trickle-down effect. Corruption was concentrated at the top and now we
stopped it, precisely, at the top, with the change of government through
democratic elections. This is the first point.
Source:
Eurasia Review
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Houthi
attacks on Saudi Arabia and UAE are ‘terrorist actions’: Kosovo PM
February
17, 2022
PRISTINA:
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti condemned the continuing series of Houthi
attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, and more recently the UAE,
agreeing that such assaults reveal the Houthis to be a terrorist group.
“We
were appalled by these images and all these attacks. Absolute violence against
civilians, which has nothing to do with respect for human dignity, for human
rights, for society and community, is something that we can never tolerate and
it is our task to always condemn (them),” he said.
Asked
whether he agrees that as a result of this deliberate targeting of civilian
targets the Iran-backed Houthi militia should be designated as a terrorist
group, Kurti said: “Yes, I think that all these attacks on civilians are
terrorist actions.”
Kurti
spoke to Arab News during an exclusive interview at his office in Pristina to
mark the 14th Independence Day of Kosovo. The prime minister lauded his
country’s cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the fields of countering terrorism,
intelligence sharing and the ideological battle against violent extremism.
PRISTINA:
Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti condemned the continuing series of Houthi
attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, and more recently the UAE, agreeing
that such assaults reveal the Houthis to be a terrorist group.
“We
were appalled by these images and all these attacks. Absolute violence against
civilians, which has nothing to do with respect for human dignity, for human
rights, for society and community, is something that we can never tolerate and
it is our task to always condemn (them),” he said.
Asked
whether he agrees that as a result of this deliberate targeting of civilian
targets the Iran-backed Houthi militia should be designated as a terrorist
group, Kurti said: “Yes, I think that all these attacks on civilians are
terrorist actions.”
Kurti
spoke to Arab News during an exclusive interview at his office in Pristina to
mark the 14th Independence Day of Kosovo. The prime minister lauded his country’s
cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the fields of countering terrorism,
intelligence sharing and the ideological battle against violent extremism.
terrorism,
and all these kinds of violent fundamentalism, we are on the same page,” he
said.
Highlighting
the recent wide-ranging reforms that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has
ushered in under Vision 2030, Kurti said it is his aim to strengthen Kosovo’s
ties with the Kingdom.
“I
think the people of Kosovo, but also people in the Balkans and in Europe,
should know more about the reforms and the progress in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“We
want to strengthen cooperation with Saudi Arabia. It’s a very rich country,
both in its culture and history, but likewise in its natural resources and
economic development.”
Sorry,
the video player failed to load.(Error Code: 101102)
The
prime minister invited the Kingdom to invest more in his country and benefit
from the reforms and serious anti-corruption measures his government is
introducing in Pristina.
“With
our government we are fighting corruption; there is no tolerance for
corruption,” he said. “And we are also increasing our economy.
“For
example, last year we had for two-thirds (of the year) higher exports than the
year before. Budget revenues increased by one-third. Likewise, business
turnover increased (and) foreign direct investment increased by over 50
percent. This data shows that Kosovo is progressing — and the best way for more
progress is to invest in the already existing progress.”
Regarding
the opportunities that exist for Saudi and other international investors, Kurti
highlighted several potential sectors and stressed that as prime minister, he
looks forward to engaging with efforts to promote these opportunities.
“We
would like to have more trade exchange with Saudi Arabia and more investments
in the health sector, in agriculture and also in energy because we want, just
like Saudi Arabia, to invest in renewables, especially solar and wind,” he
explained.
“Because
the vast majority of our electrical energy is generated by coal thermal power
plants, we would like to have more renewables.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2026326/saudi-arabia
--------
US
has no choice but to work with Pakistan, says envoy
Anwar
Iqbal
February
17, 2022
WASHINGTON:
The United States has no choice but to work with Pakistan on the way ahead in
Afghanistan, says a senior US official while elucidating the Biden
administration’s new policy for the region.
At
a discussion at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Tuesday afternoon,
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West acknowledged Pakistan’s
role in arranging a peace deal with the Taliban but also complained that
Islamabad often ignored Washington’s suggestions.
“I
have productive, good and honest relationships with Pakistani leaders, and they
have huge amounts of expertise in their system on these (Afghan) matters,” he
said. “And I think we don’t have a choice but to work with Pakistan on the way
ahead.”
He
was the only speaker at this discussion which focused on US consultations with
the Taliban, other Afghans and the international community since the Taliban
takeover.
The
moderator, former US National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley, however, also
asked a set of questions about US-Pakistan relations, differences between
Islamabad and Kabul’s new rulers and the Taliban’s position on TTP and the
Durand Line.
“During
the life of the negotiations, from January to August, and in the years before,
we were in very close touch with the leadership of Pakistan regarding steps
that we urged Pakistan to take to enhance the prospects of a negotiated
settlement to this conflict,” Mr West said.
“Had
Pakistan taken some of those steps in a more meaningful and consistent way, I
think we would be in a different place today. I genuinely do.”
The
response made it clear that while Pakistan supported the peace process, it did
not always accept US proposals. Mr West also made it clear that Islamabad’s
reluctance often irked Washington, although the two allies continued to support
the Doha talks that led to an agreement in 2020.
“Now,
it’s a mark of our pragmatism, in my view, that in Washington you are not
hearing leaders from across the spectrum spending time and energy criticising
Pakistan and looking backwards,” he said.
Mr
West, however, indicated that despite these reservations, Washington wants to
continue its cooperation with Pakistan on Afghanistan and other issues.
“I
frankly think that that energy (criticising Pakistan) is not called for given
the situation in Afghanistan today,” he said.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1675518/us-has-no-choice-but-to-work-with-pakistan-says-envoy
--------
Biden
eased pressure on the Houthis one year ago; has it worked?
16
February ,2022
One
year ago today, the US removed Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and group officials
from terror blacklists shortly after President Joe Biden announced an end to
support for Saudi Arabia’s “offensive operations” inside Yemen.
The
Biden administration cited humanitarian concerns despite making it one of the
president’s first foreign policy moves, which also included freezing arms sales
to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both part of the coalition
fighting in Yemen.
Biden
also declassified a report that alleged that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman approved the 2018 operation that led to the murder of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate. Saudi Arabia’s
Foreign Ministry denied the allegations following the report’s publication.
There
was an effort by the Biden administration to highlight its so-called focus on
human rights. But a year later, Biden and his top officials appear to be
reconsidering their rushed policy moves on Yemen that placed much of the blame
on Saudi Arabia and the coalition it leads.
Last
month, Biden declared that he was reconsidering designating the Houthis as a
terrorist organization following multiple attacks on the UAE’s capital Abu
Dhabi.
Analysts
say that doing so may not have much impact as the first decision already
emboldened the Houthis.
“Removing
[the designation] once it had been put in place was a powerful signal to the
Houthis that the new administration was leaning towards them and encouraged them
to be intransigent,” Ali Shihabi told Al Arabiya English.
“Had
it never been put in place, it would have made little difference; but removing
it once it was in place was the huge mistake,” argued Shihabi, a political
analyst with a focus on Saudi Arabia.
State
Department officials say that no decision has been made and that the move is
still being considered. Sources familiar with the Biden administration’s
thinking say that specific sanctions on Houthi leaders could be announced in
the coming weeks.
The
Houthis have threatened to keep targeting the UAE so long as it backs groups in
Yemen fighting against the militia.
The
UAE is part of the coalition, which intervened in Yemen in 2015 to restore the
internationally recognized government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour
Hadi.
The
Arab Coalition and pro-government groups have been making gains in Yemen,
reclaiming provinces from under the control of the Houthis.
Washington
has since approved millions of dollars of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the
UAE in a bid to help both countries defend themselves against attacks from the
Houthis and other Iran-backed groups in the region.
Biden’s
top diplomat for Yemen, Tim Lenderking, has also repeatedly said the Houthis
were at fault for blocking any real efforts towards a political solution in
Yemen.
He
has also said that there is no military solution to the war, which has pitted
the Houthis against the internationally recognized government.
The
group escalated its offensive on the oil-rich province of Marib and increased
its attacks on Saudi Arabia following Biden’s decision to remove the group from
the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list and revoking its Specially
Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) designation.
Houthi
militants have ransacked the US Embassy in Sanaa and detained multiple US and
UN employees. The local staff that worked for the US continue to be held more
than four months after being detained.
Meanwhile,
the Biden administration sanctioned several Houthi officials and have vowed to
continue doing so for their role in the yearslong Yemen war.
The
Biden administration has grown increasingly frustrated with the Houthis due to
their lack of cooperation with efforts to reach a solution. This will be
reflected in the moves expected to be made soon, sources familiar with the US
administration’s thinking say.
Changing
views on the Houthis
One
year later, things on the ground have changed, even for those who initially
opposed designating the Houthis.
“My
view is that the FTO issue should be revisited,” former US Ambassador to Yemen
Gerald Feierstein told Al Arabiya English.
Despite
being one of the 100 former US diplomats to publicly criticize the Trump
administration’s move to designate the Houthis, Feierstein now says, “things
have changed.”
“The
past year has demonstrated that the Houthis will not return to the negotiating
table until they accept that there is no alternative to a political
resolution,” he wrote in an article Tuesday titled ‘A peacemaker’s case for
designating the Houthis.’
Citing
Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government’s willingness to engage in a ceasefire,
the former US diplomat wrote: “As a member of Iran’s ‘axis of resistance,’
uncontested Houthi control of Yemen would pose an enduring challenge not only
to the well-being of the Yemeni people but also to vital US interests...”
Yet,
he suggested crafting new sanctions and designations in a way that prevented
unintended humanitarian consequences.
Such
a move, as Shihabi argued, may not have a direct impact on the Houthi
leadership, but it would send a message “that delegitimizes the Houthi movement
as a participant in Yemen’s political future.”
For
her part, Nadwa al-Dawsari said the FTO designation has little value other than
delegitimizing the Houthis as an actor in the country.
“Nothing
short of a substantial military campaign that is consistent and coordinated to
weaken the Houthis would help bring Yemen closer to peace,” she told Al Arabiya
English, arguing that re-designating the group could have a “devastating
impact” on ordinary Yemenis.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
US
House Leader Nancy Pelosi arrives in Israel, vows support on Iran
16
February ,2022
US
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Israel on Wednesday as
part of a Congressional delegation to the country, reiterating the United
States’ “iron clad” support for Israel’s security.
“We’re
together in the fight against terrorism posed by Iran, both in the region and
also its nuclear development,” she said in a speech at the Knesset. “Israel’s
proximity to Iran is a concern to all of us.”
The
Democratic House speaker also said she hoped that the Senate will “very soon”
approve the additional funding that the House passed last September for the
Iron Dome anti-missile system, which Israel uses to intercept homemade rockets
fired from the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The
visit came at a time of heightened tensions following clashes between
Palestinians and Jewish settlers in the flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood
of East Jerusalem. Israel captured East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza in a
1967 war.
Pelosi
reiterated the United States’ commitment to a two-state solution “that enhances
stability and security for Israel, Palestinians and their neighbors.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Palestinian
factions in Gaza vow to retaliate for Israeli crimes in al-Quds
16
February 2022
Palestinian
factions in the besieged Gaza Strip have stressed that Israel will pay a price
for its crimes and ongoing attacks against Palestinians in al-Quds and the
occupied West Bank.
They
made the remarks during a protest held in Gaza City on Wednesday to express
solidarity with residents of the occupied East al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh
Jarrah.
Tensions
heightened across the Palestinian territories on Sunday, when Israeli forces
and illegal settlers renewed their attacks against Palestinians in Sheikh
Jarrah.
Sheikh
Jarrah has been the scene of frequent crackdowns by Israeli regime forces on
the Palestinians protesting against the threatened expulsion of dozens of
families from their homes in favor of Israeli settler groups.
Speaking
on behalf of the factions, Amer al-Ja’ab, a senior leader of the Palestinian
Democratic Union (aka FIDA political party), said, “The dignity of our people
is associated with their adherence to … their land and sanctuaries, and we will
not leave the people of al-Quds alone.”
He
added that the Palestinian people would not allow Israel to continue with its
policy of Judaizing al-Quds, despite the rise of settler terrorism.
Al-Ja’ab
emphasized that unity among Palestinians would thwart all Israeli schemes.
Israel
occupied East al-Quds, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip — territories the
Palestinians want for a future state — during the six-day Arab-Israeli war in
1967. It later had to withdraw from Gaza.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
50
countries to take part in Aqsa Week 2022 to promote love of mosque, raise
awareness
February
17, 2022
LONDON:
A UK-based initiative to shed light on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem has gone
global for the second year in a row, with more than 50 countries set to take
part, according to organizers.
Aqsa
Week 2022, which will run from Feb. 24 to March 2, is being organized by the
British-based Friends of Al-Aqsa (FOA) — a NGO concerned with defending the
human rights of Palestinians and protecting the Al-Aqsa Sanctuary.
FOA
said that during the week, which they anticipate to be the biggest one yet,
mosques, universities, local councils and parliaments will hold talks,
workshops and other activities and educational events to highlight the mosque’s
heritage, and bring global focus to its issues and the plight of the
Palestinians.
“It
is an incredible week for people around the world to create conversation and
raise awareness on the centrality of Masjid Al-Aqsa as well as the plight of
the Palestinian people,” FOA said.
Aqsa
Week, which was launched by FOA in 2017, aims to inform people of Al-Aqsa and
its history and significance, as well as the dangers faced by Al-Aqsa and the
Palestinian people.
Al-Aqsa
is Islam’s third holiest site and is in close proximity to religions sites significant
to Jews and Christians, making the area a flashpoint in the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict. The Israeli government has on occasion prevented Muslim worshippers
from accessing the mosque.
Several
of the FAO events will be streamed live on their social media accounts, as well
as TV and radio, and they have chosen #LoveAqsa as this year’s hashtag.
“Aqsa
Week 2021 was an unprecedented global success, receiving incredible support
from government departments and prominent institutions, including the Departments
of Religious Affairs in Turkey and Malaysia, the Iraqi government and the
Palestinian Awqaf,” FOA said.
Meanwhile,
FOA organized a demonstration on Saturday to call on Londoners to boycott
Israeli apartheid, stopping at certain locations, including PUMA and British
electronic retailer Currys, to raise awareness of Boycott, Divestment,
Sanctions (BDS) campaigns.
“FOA
called on individuals and businesses to stop buying Coca-Cola until the company
ends its complicity in the human rights abuse of Palestinians,” it said, as
part of its #NotInMyFridge campaign, which says the company operates in an
illegal Israeli settlement, making it complicit in apartheid.
The
other campaigns they highlighted on the streets included the #PowerOffHP as “HP
provides the technology for the control systems used at Israel’s checkpoints, a
key aspect of the illegal occupation,” and #BoycottPUMA “until it stops
sponsoring the Israeli Football Association,” which “has football clubs in
illegal Israeli settlements.”
The
march came on the heels of a report by human rights organization Amnesty
International, which called for Israeli authorities to be “held accountable for
committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians.”
The
report, entitled “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: A cruel system of
domination and a crime against humanity,” details how Israel enforces a system
of oppression and domination against the Palestinian people wherever it has
control over their rights, Amnesty said.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2026471/world
--------
Israel:
officials in Southern Islamic Movement angry with leader
February
16, 2022
Several
senior officials of the Southern Islamic Movement in Israel have declared their
anger with leader Mansour Abbas over his stances which, they allege, contradict
the movement's principles, Safa has reported.
Abbas
is said to be adopting the Zionist narrative regarding the Israeli occupation.
He infuriated the officials in the movement recently when he rejected the
conclusion reached by Amnesty International that Israel is an apartheid state.
His claim that, "Israel was born a Jewish state and will remain a Jewish
state," apparently caused uproar among the movement's members.
The
Islamic Movement in Israel was established in 1971 by the late Sheikh Abdullah
Nimer Darweesh and it worked on both religious and social issues. In the 1990s,
the movement was split into what became known as the Southern Islamic Movement
and the Northern Islamic Movement. The latter was led by Sheikh Raed Salah, but
was outlawed by the Israeli government in 2015.
"The
Islamic Movement rejects the remarks of Mansour Abbas regarding Amnesty
International's investigation, the normalisation with Israel and the Jewish
state," said Ibrahim Sarsour, one of the senior officials critical of the
leader. "He has defected from the steadfast religious and national
principles." He called on Abbas to commit to the "text and
spirit" of the movement's principles.
Source:
Middle East Monitor
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Hamas,
Islamic Jihad urge enhancing Palestinian Resistance against Zionist regime
February
16, 2022
The
Palestinian resistance movements Hamas and Islamic Jihad called on all
Palestinian people to intensify resistance against the Israel regime in the
face of the crimes committed by the Zionists.
The
two groups released separate statements on Tuesday after Israeli forces shot
and killed a Palestinian youth in the occupied West Bank.
The
Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the Palestinian
was killed by Israeli fire during clashes that erupted in Nabi Saleh, northwest
of Ramallah City, between protesters and Israeli troops.
Residents
identified the victim as Nehad Bargouthi, 19, who was shot in the abdomen with
live bullets and was taken to the hospital before succumbing to his wounds.
Local
witnesses said the shooting was cold-blooded and with no justification.
In
their statements, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said the blood of Martyr
Barghouthi and other martyrs and the sacrifices made by Palestinians held in
Israeli jails will bring about the enemy’s end.
They
called on all Palestinians to continue the path of martyrs and intensify
resistance against the Zionist regime in all its forms.
Bargouthi's
killing comes a day after Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian teenage boy and
wounded at least 14 others during fierce skirmishes in Silat al-Harithiya
Village, northwest of Jenin. Those clashes broke out as Israeli troops raided
the village to tear down a home.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iranian
FM: US President’s Guarantee Not Enough
2022-February-16
Amir
Abdollahian made the remarks in an exclusive interview with the Financial
Times.
He
said that Washington had failed to address Iran’s demand for guarantees that no
party is able to abandon the deal, as the US did under former President Donald
Trump in 2018. Tehran also wants all sanctions imposed by Trump to be lifted.
“As
a matter of principle, public opinion in Iran cannot accept as a guarantee the
words of a head of state, let alone the United States, due to the withdrawal of
Americans from the JCPOA,” Amir Abdollahian stated, using the acronym for the
accord, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Experts
say it is virtually impossible for the Joe Biden administration to provide the
legal assurances Tehran demands. But Amir Abdollahian noted he had told Iran’s
negotiators to propose to western parties that “at least their parliaments or
parliament speakers, including the US Congress, can declare in the form of a
political statement their commitment to the agreement and return to the JCPOA
implementation”.
“Iran’s commitments are as clear as a
mathematical formula. It is absolutely clear what we are supposed to do and how
these measures will be verified through the IAEA [the UN nuclear watchdog].
Therefore the other side can have no concern; But we remain concerned primarily
about the guarantees [that the US would not withdraw].”
Expressing
Tehran’s frustrations with Washington’s position as weeks of talks in Vienna
appear at risk of stalling, Amir Abdollahian added, “We are facing problems
during this period because the other party lacks a serious initiative.”
He
said that Iran wanted the negotiations to lead to the “total lifting” of
sanctions. The challenge, however, was that the Biden administration was only
willing to remove the economic sanctions authorised by Trump, he added.
“This
is not all we are looking for. That Trump unilaterally and unjustly imposed
sanctions on real and legal entities in Iran under some allegations as Iran’s
missile programme, regional issues or human rights is not acceptable,” the
foreign minister continued.
He
noted that “this is also one of the challenges which remains on the negotiating
table in Vienna”.
Amir
Abdollahian said US officials had sent “many messages” to have direct talks
with Iran, but ruled out any such move.
“Our
last response to Americans and intermediaries was: any direct dialogue, contact
and negotiation with the US would have very huge costs for my government,” the
foreign minister added.
“We
are not ready to enter into the process of direct talks with the US if we do
not have a clear and promising outlook to reach a good agreement with
sustainable guarantees in front of us,” he stated.
Amir
Abdollahian noted that Tehran had indicated to the US that if Washington’s
“intentions are genuine, you should take some practical and tangible steps on
the ground before any direct talks and contacts can take place”.
This
could include unfreezing billions of dollars of Iranian petrodollars stuck in
foreign central banks because of Trump’s sanctions or a presidential executive
order to lift some of the sanctions, he continued.
Amir
Abdollahian said that in “general, we are optimistic”, adding, “We also welcome
a good deal in the shortest time however this deal must uphold the rights of
the Iranian people.”
Secretary
of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani underlined on
Tuesday that the Iranian negotiators' pursuit of a good agreement in Vienna
talks with the world powers, stressing that verification and guarantees are
integral parts of a good deal.
"The
real lifting of sanctions means that #Iran will enjoy credible and sustainable
economic benefits," Shamkhani wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday.
"Proven
American malpractice is the most important threat to any agreement.
Verification and providing a guarantee is an integral part of a
#GoodDeal," he added.
In
relevant remarks on Monday, Amir Abdollahian said that the threats and warnings
made by the western side during the Vienna talks will not end the negotiations,
and further stressed that attainment of a deal requires the other parties to be
more serious.
"If
the American side and the three European countries [to the Vienna talks] are
serious about returning to fulfilling their obligations under the JCPOA, a good
agreement can be reached in a short term," Amir Abdollahian said in a
joint press conference with his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney in Tehran.
"We
look forward to reaching a good agreement, and we are confident that the
practical, positive and constructive proposals presented by the Islamic
Republic of Iran have paved the way for such an agreement to be reached
quickly," he added.
He
also noted that the Western parties must show their true intention to return to
their full commitments under the JCPOA instead of playing with text and time.
"We
are in a hurry to reach a good agreement, but within the framework of rational
negotiations and achieving the rights and interests of our people," the
Iranian minister said.
“Threats
and warnings of the other sides will not specify the endpoint of the
negotiations and the realities of the negotiating table and the seriousness and
efforts of the western sides and the US for reviving their undertakings will
specify the endpoint for negotiations or attainment of an agreement,” he
underlined.
Also,
on Monday, Shamkhani said that if Washington makes a political decision to
remove sanctions against Iran, all speculations about the outcome of the Vienna
talks will be removed.
“Vienna
Talks have reached a stage where outcome can be announced without speculation
and with certainty,” Shamkhani wrote on his twitter page yesterday.
"The
US political decision to realize or refuse to accept the requirements of a
credible and lasting deal based on the principles accepted in the JCPOA can
replace speculation", he added.
In
another tweet on Sunday night, Shamkhani had voiced displeasure that the
western parties participating in Vienna talks still continue their initiative
“show” to avoid acting upon undertakings.
Shamkhani
referred to his phone talks with Iran’s lead negotiator Ali Baqeri Kani, and
said, "Tonight's phone call with Bagheri Kani confirmed 2 statements in my
mind about Vienna Talks: 1. Increasing difficulty of Iranian negotiators task
to advance the logical and legal instructions of Tehran 2. Continuation of
initiative ‘show’ by Western parties to evade commitments."
Envoys
from Iran and the G4+1 group of countries — Britain, France, Russia, and China
plus Germany — have been holding negotiations in the Austrian capital for 10
months in a bid to resurrect the JCPOA.
The
eighth round of the talks resumed last week after a brief pause during which
the negotiators returned to their capitals for consultations.
Shamkhani
warned last week that the Vienna talks between Iran and the world powers may
not end up in a deal if the US remains adamant to removing all cruel sanctions
imposed on Tehran under the maximum pressure campaign.
"The
agenda for the Iranian negotiators to continue the eighth round of Vienna Talks
has been carefully defined. An agreement in which the sanctions that form the
maximum pressure are not lifted will condition the country's economy and cannot
be the basis of a good deal," Shamkhani wrote on his twitter page.
Reports
said earlier this month that the Biden administration has restored a nuclear
cooperation sanctions waiver to Iran, a senior State Department official said.
The
waiver, which was rescinded by the Trump administration in May 2020, had
allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to carry out non-proliferation
work at Iranian nuclear sites.
The
move came as Iran has been requesting removal of economic sanctions.
Shamkhani
reacted to the news by saying that Iran has the right to a peaceful nuclear
program.
“Iran’s
legal right to continue research and development and to maintain its peaceful
nuclear capabilities and achievements, along with its security against
supported evils, cannot be restricted by any agreement,” he tweeted.
Iranian
senior analyst Seyed Mostafa Khoshcheshm also discredited the US move,
describing it as a deceitful measure aimed at prioritizing nuclear debates over
economic sanctions in the Vienna talks.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14001127000972/Iranian-FM-US-Presiden%E2%80%99s-Garanee-N-Engh
--------
Iran
Calls for West’s Responsible Conduct to Reach Agreement in Vienna
2022-February-16
“The
Iranian side’s initiatives have put an agreement within reach, but conclusion
of a final agreement depends on the Western side’s responsible conduct,” Amir
Abdollahian wrote on his twitter page, referring to his phone talks with the
European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
The
EU coordinated the talks that led to conclusion of the 2015 deal.
Secretary
of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani underlined on Tuesday
that the Iranian negotiators' pursuit of a good agreement in Vienna talks with
the world powers, stressing that verification and guarantees are integral parts
of a good deal.
"The
real lifting of sanctions means that #Iran will enjoy credible and sustainable
economic benefits," Shamkhani wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday.
"Proven
American malpractice is the most important threat to any agreement.
Verification and providing a guarantee is an integral part of a
#GoodDeal," he added.
In
relevant remarks on Monday, Amir Abdollahian said that the threats and warnings
made by the western side during the Vienna talks will not end the negotiations,
and further stressed that attainment of a deal requires the other parties to be
more serious.
"If
the American side and the three European countries [to the Vienna talks] are
serious about returning to fulfilling their obligations under the JCPOA, a good
agreement can be reached in a short term," Amir Abdollahian said in a
joint press conference with his Irish counterpart Simon Coveney in Tehran.
"We
look forward to reaching a good agreement, and we are confident that the
practical, positive and constructive proposals presented by the Islamic
Republic of Iran have paved the way for such an agreement to be reached
quickly," he added.
He
also noted that the Western parties must show their true intention to return to
their full commitments under the JCPOA instead of playing with text and time.
"We
are in a hurry to reach a good agreement, but within the framework of rational
negotiations and achieving the rights and interests of our people," the
Iranian minister said.
“Threats
and warnings of the other sides will not specify the endpoint of the
negotiations and the realities of the negotiating table and the seriousness and
efforts of the western sides and the US for reviving their undertakings will
specify the endpoint for negotiations or attainment of an agreement,” he
underlined.
Also,
on Monday, Shamkhani said that if Washington makes a political decision to
remove sanctions against Iran, all speculations about the outcome of the Vienna
talks will be removed.
“Vienna
Talks have reached a stage where outcome can be announced without speculation
and with certainty,” Shamkhani wrote on his twitter page yesterday.
"The
US political decision to realize or refuse to accept the requirements of a
credible and lasting deal based on the principles accepted in the JCPOA can
replace speculation", he added.
In
another tweet on Sunday night, Shamkhani had voiced displeasure that the
western parties participating in Vienna talks still continue their initiative
“show” to avoid acting upon undertakings.
Shamkhani
referred to his phone talks with Iran’s lead negotiator Ali Baqeri Kani, and
said, "Tonight's phone call with Bagheri Kani confirmed 2 statements in my
mind about Vienna Talks: 1. Increasing difficulty of Iranian negotiators task
to advance the logical and legal instructions of Tehran 2. Continuation of
initiative ‘show’ by Western parties to evade commitments."
Envoys
from Iran and the G4+1 group of countries — Britain, France, Russia, and China
plus Germany — have been holding negotiations in the Austrian capital for 10
months in a bid to resurrect the JCPOA.
The
eighth round of the talks resumed last week after a brief pause during which
the negotiators returned to their capitals for consultations.
Shamkhani
warned last week that the Vienna talks between Iran and the world powers may
not end up in a deal if the US remains adamant to removing all cruel sanctions
imposed on Tehran under the maximum pressure campaign.
"The
agenda for the Iranian negotiators to continue the eighth round of Vienna Talks
has been carefully defined. An agreement in which the sanctions that form the
maximum pressure are not lifted will condition the country's economy and cannot
be the basis of a good deal," Shamkhani wrote on his twitter page.
Reports
said earlier this month that the Biden administration has restored a nuclear
cooperation sanctions waiver to Iran, a senior State Department official said.
The
waiver, which was rescinded by the Trump administration in May 2020, had
allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to carry out non-proliferation
work at Iranian nuclear sites.
The
move came as Iran has been requesting removal of economic sanctions.
Shamkhani
reacted to the news by saying that Iran has the right to a peaceful nuclear
program.
“Iran’s
legal right to continue research and development and to maintain its peaceful
nuclear capabilities and achievements, along with its security against
supported evils, cannot be restricted by any agreement,” he tweeted.
Iranian
senior analyst Seyed Mostafa Khoshcheshm also discredited the US move,
describing it as a deceitful measure aimed at prioritizing nuclear debates over
economic sanctions in the Vienna talks.
In
a reply tweet to a post left by Ulyanov who had welcomed the US waivers as a
step forward, Khoshcheshm said the US continues its game against Iran and its
recent move shouldn't be interpreted as softening tone.
Iranian
President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi said last week that his country pursues a
balanced foreign policy in relations with the world states, stressing that
Iran's progress does not depend on developments in New York or Vienna.
"In
our foreign policy, we seek balanced relations with the world and attach special
importance to neighboring countries" Rayeesi said.
"We
pin hope on our people," he added, noting that "we never pin hope on
either New York or Vienna".
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Envoy:
Iran Ready for Playing Role in UN Peacekeeping Operations
2022-February-16
“In
this regard, my Government stands ready to increase its contribution to the
peacekeeping operations logistically and militarily by deploying troops,
military observers, police, and civilians,” Takht Ravanchi said, addressing the
UN’s Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations on Tuesday.
He
reiterated the Islamic Republic’s strong commitment and support to the UN
peacekeeping missions as the “flagship” activity of the United Nations.
The
Islamic Republic first announced its preparedness to contribute to the United
Nations’ peacekeeping missions by providing security forces and logistical
support in 2016.
Back
then, Iran’s former UN envoy Gholam Ali Khoshrou, underlined the need for
strict adherence to the UN Charter’s principles in any peacekeeping operation
and the host countries’ responsibility towards protection of the civilian
lives.
Takht
Ravanchi laid emphasis on the same imperatives as well as “non-use of force except
in self-defense and impartiality.”
“Therefore,
any military intervention by the United Nations or by any foreign forces under
the pretext of protection of civilians should be avoided,” the ambassador
asserted.
“We
strongly believe that the respect for principles of sovereign equality,
political independence, territorial integrity of all States and
non-intervention in matters that are essentially within their domestic
jurisdiction should also be upheld in this regard.”
The
UN peacekeeping helps countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to
peace.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
17
Israelis arrested over attack on Palestinian village
16
February ,2022
Seventeen
Israelis have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a racist attack on a
Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank last month, police said
Wednesday.
Police
said Jewish Israelis armed with stones, clubs and “other objects” wounded one
Palestinian and vandalised shops, vehicles and property in the northern West
Bank village of Hawara on January 24.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
suspects, who live in the West Bank, Jerusalem and northern Israel, are under
investigation for perpetrating “an attack, participation in a prohibited
gathering and destroying property with a racist motive,” police said.
Human
rights groups say that West Bank Palestinians face frequent attacks by Jewish
Israelis and that perpetrators often go unpunished as Israeli security forces
rarely take action.
Israel’s
B’tselem rights group, which closely monitors West Bank violence, said in
November that it had documented 451 incidents of Jewish settler violence on
Palestinians since early 2020.
In
66 percent of cases in which settlers attacked Palestinians, Israeli security
forces did not visit the scene, B’tselem said.
The
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded 410
attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the first 10 months of
2021, compared to 358 in 2020.
The
Israeli army said it documented 100 attacks by Palestinians against Jewish
settlers in the West Bank last year.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Australia
to list Hamas as terror group
17
February ,2022
Australia
on Thursday said it would list all of Palestinian movement Hamas as a terrorist
organization, the latest Western nation to do so.
Canberra
had previously listed Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades as a terror group, but the new
designation will list the organization in its entirety.
Hamas
currently controls the Gaza Strip, has vowed to “liberate” Jerusalem by force
and has frequently carried out attacks on Israeli targets.
“The
views of Hamas and the violent extremist groups listed today are deeply
disturbing, and there is no place in Australia for their hateful ideologies,”
said home affairs minister Karen Andrews.
The
designation will place restrictions on financing or providing other support to
Hamas -- with certain offences carrying a 25-year prison sentence.
“It
is vital that our laws target not only terrorist acts and terrorists, but also
the organizations that plan, finance and carry out these acts,” Andrews said.
Israel
has maintained a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, when Hamas took power
in the impoverished enclave.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/02/17/Australia-to-list-Hamas-as-terror-group
--------
S.
Korea, Iran hold talks on resuming oil trade, unfreezing funds
16
February ,2022
South
Korea and Iran have held working-level talks on resuming imports of Iranian
crude oil and unfreezing Iranian funds held in the East Asian nation, South
Korea’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
South
Korea was previously one of Iran’s leading Asian oil customers. The move comes
as negotiations to revive Tehran’s nuclear agreement with world powers resumed
in Vienna.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“Our
side expressed hope for the resolution of issues related to sanctions such as
the transfer of frozen funds upon the agreement on the restoration of the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) now underway in Vienna,” the release said.
The
Iranian side stressed the importance of an early resolution of the matter of
the frozen funds, it added. Iranian officials could not immediately be reached
for comment.
Iran
and South Korea are also discussing the trading of crude oil and oil products,
on the condition sanctions are lifted as progress is made in nuclear
negotiations, the release said.
Previously
South Korean oil buyers chiefly imported condensate, or an ultra-light form of
crude oil, from Iran.
The
United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after then President Donald
Trump withdrew from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear agreement with six major powers,
under which it agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for US sanctions
relief.
Tehran
has repeatedly demanded the release of about $7 billion of its funds frozen in
South Korean banks under US sanctions, saying Seoul was holding the money
“hostage.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Palestinian
President Abbas receives Turkish delegation in Ramallah
Enes
Canlı, Mücahit Aydemir
17.02.2022
JERUSALEM
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday received Turkish presidential spokesman
Ibrahim Kalin and Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal in Ramallah, according to
diplomatic sources.
The
sources said that during the meeting Turkiye-Palestine relations were
discussed. The Turkish delegation assured continued support to the Palestinian
people within the framework of a two-state solution, the sources added.
The
Turkish delegation also met Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and
discussed bilateral ties.
Turkish
Consul General in Jerusalem Ahmet Riza Demirer also attended the meeting.
Kalin
and Onal are scheduled to meet Israeli Foreign Ministry and Presidency
officials on Thursday.
The
two senior Turkish officials began a two-day visit to Palestine and Israel from
Wednesday.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Yemenis
face ‘death sentence’ amid raging Saudi bombardments, UN official warns
16
February 2022
Millions
of people in Yemen could face a “death sentence” if the gaps in the UN’s
funding for humanitarian aid are not filled, a UN official has warned.
Under-Secretary-General
for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths told
the UN Security Council on Tuesday that January had seen nearly two-thirds of
major UN aid programs being scaled back or closed. He said rations may be cut
further from March, or stopped.
“The
humanitarian operation... is about to start doing a lot less,” Griffiths said.
“Aid agencies are quickly running out of money, forcing them to slash
life-saving programs.”
“We
have never before contemplated giving millions of hungry people no food at all.
If these gaps aren’t addressed, it will simply be a death sentence for people
whose coping mechanisms in some cases are completely exhausted and who rely on
assistance for their survival,” Griffiths said.
The
official, who previously served as the UN’s special envoy for Yemen, described
the current funding shortage as “unprecedented in Yemen.”
According
to the UN humanitarian office, the 2021 humanitarian plan for Yemen received
$2.27 billion of its $3.85-billion requirement, the lowest funding level since
2015. The 2022 plan has not been released.
Funding
shortages could also deprive 3.6 million people of safe drinking water and end
programs to promote reproductive health.
UN
special envoy Hans Grundberg also told the 15-member Council that an airstrike
by the Saudi-led coalition on a detention facility in Sa’ada in January “was
the worst civilian casualty incident in three years,” as he pointed at an
“alarming” increase in the bombardment of Yemen, including residential areas in
Sana’a and the port area of Hudaydah.
More
than 650 civilians were killed or injured in January by Saudi air raids,
shelling, small arms fire and other violence, “by far the highest toll in at
least three years,” according to UN figures.
Meanwhile,
recent retaliatory attacks by the Sana’a-based National Salvation Government on
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “indicate how this conflict risks
spiraling out of control unless serious efforts are urgently made by the Yemeni
parties, the region and the international community to end the conflict,”
Grundberg said.
Saudi
Arabia and a number of its regional allies, backed by the United States and
European powers, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of
bringing the government of former Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back
to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah resistance movement.
Famine
significantly threatens more than five million people in Yemen, according to
the World Food Programme.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/02/16/676968/Yemen-UN-Martin-Griffiths-death-sentence-gaps
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Africa
Tanzania
seeks ‘wider national interests’ on disputed Maasai land
Kizito
Makoye
17.02.2022
LOLIONDO,
Tanzania
In
a desperate bid to curb increasing human activities at one of UNESCO’s cultural
heritage sites, authorities in Tanzania are planning to review a controversial
law allowing a multiple land use system in the northern Ngorongoro Conservation
Area (NCA), ostensibly to protect wildlife sanctuaries.
The
NCA, which is sprawled across a wide expanse of highland plains and savanna
woodlands dotted with wild animals, is a multiple land-use area with wildlife
coexisting with semi-nomadic Maasai herders who practice traditional livestock
grazing.
The
area, known worldwide as a home to the Maasai, is rich in plants and endangered
animal species, including black rhinoceroses, as well as a breathtaking dry
season migration of wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles into the northern plains.
Damas
Ndumbaro, Tanzania’s minister of natural resources and tourism, told parliament
last week that the government is planning to review the Ngorongoro Conservation
Act of 1975 because it no longer suits the purposes for which it was meant.
The
controversial law gives the state-owned Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority
(NCAA) the power to oversee conservation and develop natural resources, promote
tourism and safeguard the interests of Maasai pastoralists who engage in cattle
ranching and the dairy industry within the area.
However,
human rights groups say the government’s move to review the law will
technically halt the traditional land-use system, paving the way for the
eviction of over 80,000 Maasai pastoralists.
Human
rights campaigners have accused the government of using every ploy to justify
the eviction of Maasai people from their ancestral land under the guise of
wildlife conservation.
But
Ndumbaro has denied such land grabbing claims.
“One
of the things that is being said is that the government wants to grab Maasai
land. Let me state it clearly: Nobody owns land in Tanzania. All the land
belongs to the state, and the president is the sole custodian on behalf of the
people,” he told parliament.
The
land conflict in the disputed Ngorongoro area has been raging for decades now.
The Maasai pastoralists, who moved into the Ngorongoro and Loliondo areas from
Serengeti National Park, claim they had been promised that they would never
again be relocated.
However,
since 1992, the ethnic group in Ngorongoro, who resides on roughly 4,000 square
kilometers (1,544 miles) of land, has been living in constant fear as
authorities repeatedly threaten to evict them. In April 2021, local residents
in Ngorongoro claimed they had been told by authorities to prepare to move out
of the district.
However,
in his statement, Ndumbaro allayed such fears, saying there are no such plans
to evict the Maasai in Ngorongoro.
Surprisingly,
the minister defended a smear campaign in the local media accusing the Maasai
of destroying the environment and wildlife habitats.
“Anyone
who’s genuinely dissatisfied with the news coverage about the situation in
Ngorongoro can present their complaints to the relevant authorities,” he said.
Erick
Kabendera, a prominent Tanzanian investigative journalist, strongly criticized
fellow journalists who blindly support the eviction of Maasai from their
ancestral land.
“Local
media touting cultural xenophobia narratives need to appreciate other
communities’ cultures before exposing their ignorance,” Kabendera tweeted.
Meanwhile,
human rights campaigners have opposed a directive issued by Prime Minister
Kassim Majaliwa, who instructed the Ministry of Tourism and its related
institutions to conduct an awareness campaign to educate legislators about the
history of Ngorongoro.
In
their joint statement issued last week, the campaigners said the government
order goes against principles of dispensing justice because the ministry is
part of the dispute.
They
advised the government to recruit independent observers including human rights
campaigners and the people of Ngorongoro to raise awareness about the real
situation to avoid sharing biased information.
“We
insist this conflict must be carefully resolved in a participatory way by
involving the Maasai people, who are the main victims,” the group said in a
statement.
The
group acknowledged the need for sustainable conservation in Ngorongoro but
asked for a clear explanation from the government on why Maasai communities who
have been living among the wildlife are being perceived as a nuisance.
They
called on the government to abandon its plans to evict Maasai communities in
Ngorongoro and Loliondo because doing so will inflict great pain and suffering
on the impoverished communities.
Speaking
at a public rally with Maasai traditional leaders and other stakeholders this
week, Prime Minister Majaliwa allayed eviction fears, saying the government
recognizes the Maasai people in Ngorongoro and their role as natural
conservators of natural resources.
“As
native people, you’ve made an immense contribution to the protection of natural
resources for many years. We recognize your role in conserving nature,” he
said.
Majaliwa
hailed the Maasai people for their innate ability to co-exist with wildlife.
He
said that based on the opinions given by various stakeholders, the government
is working on the best way to safeguard the wider national interest in the
Ngorongoro area
The
prime minister said the government is determined to improve the tourism sector
in Ngorongoro by involving local people.
“We
have all seen an increase in the human and livestock population in Ngorongoro.
If we do not take appropriate actions, our parks will suffer,” Majaliwa said.
“This is a tourism area. We must decide whether or not we don’t want tourism.”
Emmanuel
Lekshoni Shangai, a legislator from Ngorongoro, has urged the government to
recognize the legal status of Maasai herders in Ngorongoro and Loliondo who
have become victims of persecution.
He
decried the government’s move to take away 1,500 square kilometers (579 square
miles) of land in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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African
Union peacekeepers kill over 20 al-Shabaab terrorists
Mohammed
Dhaysane
17.02.2022
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
Peacekeeping
forces of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) conducted an operation
late Wednesday against the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Shabaab terrorist group,
killing over 20 terrorists, local media reported.
The
operation took place in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region.
AMISOM
carried out the operation hours after al-Shabaab attacked the capital Mogadishu
on multiple fronts and briefly took over the Kahda district police station.
The
attacks, which began with suicide car bombings, killed at least five people,
including two civilians, and wounded 16 others.
"AMISOM
executed this operation without the coordination of federal government security
forces," the Garowe Online news website reported.
As
the Somali government focuses on completing parliamentary elections by a Feb.
25 deadline, al-Shabaab have doubled their terrorist attacks.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Burkina
Faso's junta leader sworn in as president
James
Tasamba
16.02.2022
KIGALI,
Rwanda
Burkina
Faso’s junta leader Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was sworn in as the
country’s president on Wednesday, weeks after the ousting of former President
Roch Kabore.
In
a televised ceremony in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, Damiba with
his right hand raised swore before the Constitutional Council to “preserve,
respect, uphold and defend the Constitution” as the president of Burkina Faso,
head of state and the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Dressed
in camouflage uniform, a red beret, and a sash in the colors of Burkina's
national flag, Damiba’s swearing-in came after the West African country’s
Constitutional Council last week formally recognized him as president.
Kabore
was detained and later resigned on Jan. 24 following a coup.
The
military junta has pledged to re-establish constitutional order within a
“reasonable time.”
Earlier
this month, the junta announced a 15-member commission that it said will be
tasked with “drawing up a draft charter and agenda, together with a proposal
for the duration of the transition period.”
In
his inauguration speech, Damiba said the commission has already begun its work.
“Its
work should indicate the path to follow for a return to a constitutional order
accepted by all, and taking into account our security constraints, our
realities and the aspirations of our people,” he said.
He
said the coming weeks and months will be decisive for Burkina Faso, and called
for national reconciliation.
“I
address to the Burkinabe of the interior and the diaspora a message of
confidence. I am convinced that there is no inevitability as long as we put all
our strength together,” he said.
“The
world is watching us ... In the spirit of the aspirations of our people, I
pledge to govern by example,” he added.
On
corruption, Damiba said justice and anti-corruption structures will have a
crucial role to play, warning that those trying to obstruct the process will
bear the consequences of their actions.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/burkina-fasos-junta-leader-sworn-in-as-president/2504420
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Top
Libyan official says naming new prime minister ‘incorrect’
Walid
Abdullah
16.02.2022
TRIPOLI,
Libya
The
head of Libya’s High Council of State said last week’s move by the parliament
to appoint a new prime minister was “incorrect”.
“The
parliament’s decision to name a new prime minister before holding a session of
the High Council of State was incorrect,” Khaled al-Mishri said in a statement
on the council’s website on Wednesday.
This
move “won’t help to build bridges of trust between the council and parliament,”
he added.
On
Feb. 10, the House of Representatives, based in eastern Libya, named former
Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha to form a new government, replacing incumbent
Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.
The
parliament argues that the mandate of Dbeibeh’s government had expired on Dec.
24.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hijab-jihad-bajrang-dal-anti-national/d/126392