What Hindus Worship as Om, Muslims Worship as Allah; Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind Chief Equates Om, Allah and God
New Age Islam News Bureau
13 February 2023
Maulana Syed Arshad
Madani, the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Arshad faction) speaks at the
34th General Session of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, at Ramlila Ground, in New Delhi,
on Feb. 12, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI
------
• Spreading Religious Hatred and Sectarianism Should
Be Treated as National Crime; Outreach to Pasmanda Muslims Welcome: Jamiat
Ulema-e-Hind
• Turkey-Syria Earthquake Death Toll to Top 50,000, UN
Relief Chief Says
• Saudi Arabia Sending Gender Balanced Astronaut Team
to International Space Station
• Females Will Get Jobs, Education within Islamic
Framework: Deputy Foreign Minister of Islamic Emirate
India
• Jamiat's Arshad Madani Says 'Manu Worshipped Allah',
Jain Muni Storms Off Stage With Other Religious Leaders
• 'No Cooperation': After Allah-Om Remark, Jamiat Chief's
Stern Message On Extremism In Name Of Jihad
• Deep influence of Indian Islam in subcontinent:
Experts
• ‘Attempts to deconstruct Muslim renaissance history
in Kerala’
• Minorities panel received maximum complaints from
Muslims in last 5 yrs from UP
--------
Europe
• Saudi Arabia, France enjoy ‘remarkable relationship
of trust,’ says French FM
• UK counterterrorism report slammed for conclusions
based on ‘half-dozen cases’
• Pope Francis calls for prayers, solidarity with
quake victims in Türkiye, Syria
• UN says delivery of quake aid to northern Syria
blocked due to lack of ‘approval’ from terror outfit
--------
Arab World
• Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition holds
workshop in Riyadh
• Cairo Court Places Five Muslim Brotherhood Figures
on Terrorism List for 5 Years
• More than 4,300 people reported dead in northwest
Syria from quake: UN
• Syria earthquake aid held up by ‘approval issues’
with hardline group, says UN
• ISIS attack in central Syria kills 11, mostly
civilians: War monitor
• Turkish government lauds Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian
aid after deadly earthquake
• Lebanese religious leader slams politicians’ abuse
of ‘power, influence’ over election of new president
• US an enemy, no place for Americans in Iraq: Harakat
al-Nujaba
--------
South Asia
• Indian embassy in Kabul under threat of Islamic
State attack: UN report
• The Islamic Emirate Believes In Freedom Of Press: Spokesman
• India arrests two terror suspects planning to leave
for Afghanistan
--------
Southeast Asia
• Tougher Challenges Ahead for Indonesia’s Moderate
Islam: Nahdlatul Ulama
• Dangerous Divides Bedevil Southeast Asia’s Majority-Muslim
Democracies
• Body of new-born baby girl found abandoned at mosque
grounds
• King calls for greater racial harmony to prevent
extremism
• China sends emergency items to Syria, asks Chinese
rescue teams to stand down
--------
Mideast
• Iran’s Raisi to Leave for China on Three-Day Official
Trip
• Iran Reiterates Commitment to Nuclear Disarmament
• World Leaders, Senior Officials Felicitate Iran on
Victory Anniversary of Islamic Revolution
• Israel’s President Herzog warns of ‘constitutional
and social collapse’
• Arab leaders warn Israeli actions in Jerusalem, West
Bank threaten regional turmoil
• Israeli forces kill 14-year-old Palestinian boy in
West Bank’s Jenin
• Turkey earthquake: China sends 53 tonnes of tents to
aid earthquake relief
• Nearly 26 million people affected by Turkey-Syria
earthquake: WHO
• Iran releases filmmaker held for 6 months over
criticism of government
• Israeli justice minister accuses judiciary of
seeking 'coup' against Netanyahu gov't
• Israel 'buys island' in Bahrain; activists call it
'dangerous and worrying'
• Israel to step up crackdown against Palestinian
‘attackers’: Netanyahu
--------
Africa
• Tunisia’s Ennahda Condemns ‘Arbitrary Arrests’ Of
Opposition Activists
• Tunisian influential businessman Kamel Eltaief
arrested: Lawyers
• Tunisian Activist Khayam Turki Arrested, ‘Taken To
An Unknown Destination’: Lawyer
• Tunisia police arrest ex-judges sacked by president,
lawyer and media say
--------
Pakistan
• ‘Super king’ Bajwa, not US, behind ouster: Imran
• Imran Khan Blames 'negligence' of security forces
for spike in terror attacks in Pakistan
• Eight injured in blast near car carrying wounded ASI
in North Waziristan
• 60 suspects arrested in Nankana Sahib lynching case
• Bannu jirga urges Pakhtuns’ unity to establish peace
• Envoy underscores enhanced defence cooperation
between Indonesia, Pakistan
• Pakistan-US defence talks begin today
• Muslim Hands over 20 houses to flood victims in
Mastung, Jafarabad
--------
North America
• Biden Calls For Consensus in Israel on Plans To Tame
Judiciary
• US delegation to meet GCC officials in Riyadh for
talks on Iran, counterterrorism
• US carrier positioned in eastern Mediterranean to
assist Türkiye in earthquake response
• Trump and Kushner profited from close Saudi ties:
Report
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hindus-worship-om-muslims-allah-jamiat-madani/d/129095
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What Hindus Worship as Om, Muslims Worship as Allah; Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind Chief Equates Om, Allah and God
Maulana Syed Arshad
Madani, the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Arshad faction) speaks at the
34th General Session of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, at Ramlila Ground, in New Delhi,
on Feb. 12, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI
------
ZIYA US SALAM
February 13, 2023
Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind’s president Arshad Madani stirred
up a controversy on Sunday, with a speech which seemed to equate Om, Allah and
God, prompting some religious leaders to walk off the stage on the final day of
the organisation’s three-day conclave.
“What Hindus worship as Om, Muslims worship as Allah,”
Mr. Madani said. “Whom we call Adam, Hindus call Manu. Adam’s progeny is called
Aadmi (mankind). Manu’s progeny is Manushya (mankind). When there was no Ram,
Brahma, Shiva, whom did Manu worship? Few people tell us, they used to worship
Om who had no image. I say, we call Om as Allah, those who speak Persian say
Khuda, the English-speaking call God,” he added.
Following his remarks, Jain religious leader Acharya
Lokesh Muni left the stage, stating, “We only agree with living in harmony, but
all the story regarding Om, Allah, and Manu is all rubbish.”
‘Faith cannot be forced’
Mr. Madani’s presidential address had an audience of
over two lakh people. “For 1,400 years Hindus and Muslims have lived here
together as brothers. We have no differences. We have never forced anybody to
convert to Islam. We believe religion is a personal matter and acceptance comes
from the heart. Nobody can be forced to accept a faith,” said the Jamiat
president. “Since Independence we had not heard of Ghar Wapsi [literally
‘homecoming’, referring to reconversion to Hinduism] till the time the BJP
assumed power,” Mr. Madani added.
Later, the Muslim body issued a statement, expressing
disappointment with the judiciary and raising concerns about increasing
communalism in the country. “Jamiat considers religious hatred and sectarianism
as the biggest threat to the integrity to the country. It does not match our
long-standing heritage and ethos. Unfortunately, Muslims are the direct target
of the internal and external enemies of the country. The so-called
organisations which propagate extremist tendencies n the name of jihad are not
entitled to our cooperation. Sacrifice, loyalty and patriotism to the nation
are our national and religious duties,” said the Jamiat statement.
“The first duty of every ruler is to provide equal and
fair treatment to all. The Supreme Court and other courts of the country are
the guardians of democracy, but for some time, there is a general impression
that the courts are working under the pressure of the State. The situation is
not acceptable. If the judiciary is not free, then the country is not free. We
appeal to all Muslims of India to enforce in practice the code prescribed by
the Shariah. They should focus on ridding the Muslim society of evils like
divorce, non-maintenance to the wife and injustice to women in general,” it
added.
VHP slams remark
Hitting out at Mr. Madani, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) said his remarks on “Om, Allah and God” have exposed his real mind-set.
“Was it a ‘Sadbhavna Sammelan’ or a gathering of Jamiat’s poisonous group?” VHP
national spokesperson Vinod Bansal said in a video statement on Sunday.
The way Mr. Madani tried to assert “his supremacy and
that of Islam” with his comment in the “presence of Hindu dharma gurus at the
event exposed his real mindset and character”, Mr. Bansal charged. “You talk
about religion and indulge in sinful acts. Shame on you... The mindset of this
Jamiat’s gathering will now have to be driven away from this country.”
In a tweet in Hindi, Mr. Bansal also alleged that an
attempt was made to attack the Jain monk at the “Jamiat’s forum” and demanded
that Delhi Police take action in the matter.
Source: The Hindu
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Spreading Religious Hatred and Sectarianism Should Be
Treated as National Crime; Outreach to Pasmanda Muslims Welcome: Jamiat
Ulema-e-Hind
Madani said the Jamiat
does not have any religious or ethnic enmity with the RSS and the BJP, but its
differences are based on ideology. Credit: PTI Photo
------
13.02.23
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind asserted that efforts to create a
rift between people from different religions should be treated as a
"national crime", and welcomed the government's outreach to Pasmanda
Muslims.
This was stated in a message read by Jamiat president
Maulana Mahmood Madani at the conclusion of the three-day 34th general session
of the Muslim body at Ramlila Maidan here on Sunday.
"Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind considers religious hatred
and sectarianism as the biggest threat to the integrity of the country. It does
not match our long-standing heritage and ethos," the message read out by
Madani stated.
Any efforts to create a rift in the relations between
people from different religions should be considered a "national
crime", he said.
In the message, Madani asked Muslims to remain
vigilant against being targeted by "internal and external enemies" of
the country.
"The so-called organisations, which propagate
extremist and violent tendencies in the name of jihad are not entitled to our
cooperation and support in terms of the country's interest or the religion of
Islam," he said.
"Sacrifice, loyalty to the nation and patriotism
are our national and religious duties," he said.
On the judiciary of the country, the Jamiat said the
Supreme Court and other courts of the country are the guardians and strength of
India's democracy, but for some time, "there is a general impression that
the courts are working under the pressure of the state".
"This situation is not acceptable at all. If the
judiciary is not free, then the country also is not free," the Jamiat
said.
Madani said the Jamiat does not have any religious or
ethnic enmity with the RSS and the BJP, but its differences are based on
ideology.
"We welcome the recent statements of the RSS
Sarsanghachalak encouraging mutual harmony and national unity. According to
Islamic teachings, a hand extended for friendship should be held firmly and
strengthened," the Jamiat chief said.
"Therefore, we warmly invite him and his
followers to forget mutual hatred and enmity and embrace each other and make
our beloved motherland the most developed, ideal... and peaceful superpower in the
world," he said.
Madani said Islam teaches equality and racial
non-discrimination, but despite this, the existence of Pasmanda communities
amongst Muslims is a ground reality.
"No doubt that there has been discrimination and
bias against marginalised communities, which is religiously and morally wrong
and also reprehensible from the humane approach.
"We take this opportunity to say that we are
ashamed of the abuses that have been committed in the name of caste, and to
remove it, we pledge to reform the Muslim community and would make every
possible effort to establish equality among Muslims on economic, social and
educational fronts," he said.
"We congratulate the government of India for its
recent statement to uplift the backward communities (Pasmanda) and hope that
practical steps will be taken soon for the welfare and progress of the backward
communities, irrespective of their religious affiliations," he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his party
workers to reach out to the Pasmanda Muslim community.
The Jamiat chief also appealed to the Muslims of India
to enforce in practice the code prescribed by the Islamic Shariah.
He also urged them to focus on ridding the Muslim
society of evils such as the exclusion of women in inheritance matters,
violation of Islamic injunctions regarding divorce and non-maintenance to the
wife, and injustice to women in society in general.
"There is a dire need for Muslims to conduct a
mass movement across the country and take necessary steps for reforms so that
there is no room for anyone to interfere in the Muslim Personal Law,"
Madani said.
Earlier, Maulana Arshad Madani, who leads the other
faction of the Jamiat, said that Hindus and Muslims have been living side by
side in the country for 1,400 years.
There was never any difference between them, he
stressed.
Muslims should spread the message of love, he added.
Leaders of various religions and gurus also expressed
their views at the event.
National Parliament of Religions head Goswami Shusheel
Maharaj said that in the presence of leaders of different religions at the
session here, there is a big message for the country.
Source: Telegraph India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Turkey-Syria Earthquake Death Toll to Top 50,000, UN Relief
Chief Says
Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty
Images
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12 February, 2023
The death toll from a massive earthquake in Turkey and
Syria will “double or more” from its current level of 28,000, UN relief chief
Martin Griffiths has said.
Griffiths arrived on Saturday in Turkey’s southern
city of Kahramanmaras, the epicenter of the first 7.8-magnitude tremor that
upturned millions of lives in the pre-dawn hours of Monday.
He said of the death toll in an interview with Sky
News on Saturday: “I think it is difficult to estimate precisely as we need to
get under the rubble but I’m sure it will double or more.”
“We haven’t really begun to count the number of dead,”
he said.
Officials and medics said 24,617 people were killed in
Turkey and 3,574 in Syria. The confirmed total now stands at 28,191.
Tens of thousands of rescue workers are scouring
flattened neighborhoods despite freezing weather that has deepened the misery
of millions now in desperate need of aid.
The United Nations has warned that at least 870,000
people urgently need hot meals across Turkey and Syria. Up to 5.3 million
people may have been made homeless in Syria alone.
Almost 26 million people have been affected by the
earthquake, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it launched a flash appeal
on Saturday for $42.8 million to cope with immediate health needs.
Turkey’s disaster agency said more than 32,000 people
from Turkish organizations are working on search-and-rescue efforts. There are
also 8,294 international rescuers.
“Soon, the search and rescue people will make way for
the humanitarian agencies whose job it is to look after the extraordinary
numbers of those affected for the next months,” Griffiths said in a video
posted to Twitter.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Saudi Arabia Sending Gender Balanced Astronaut Team To
International Space Station
Ali Al-Qarni and Rayyanah
Barnawi
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February 12, 2023
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will send the Kingdom’s first
female astronaut and a male astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS)
during the second quarter of 2023.
Astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali AlQarni will join
the crew of the AX-2 space mission, Axiom Space’s second all-private astronaut
mission to the ISS.
“The step aims to empower Saudi capabilities in human
spaceflight geared towards serving humanity and benefiting from the promising
opportunities offered by the space industry”, the Saudi Press Agency said.
The spaceflight is scheduled to launch from the United
States to the International Space Station. The Saudi Human Spaceflight Program
includes the training of two more astronauts, Mariam Fardous and Ali AlGamdi,
on all mission requirements.
Previously launched by the Saudi Space Commission
(SSC), the Saudi Human Spaceflight Program is a collaboration with US company
Axiom Space to train Saudi astronauts and bolster SSC’s space exploration.
The space mission is historic as it will make the Kingdom
one of the few countries in the world that brings two astronauts of the same
nationality aboard the ISS simultaneously.
Saudi Space Commission Chairman Abdullah Al-Swaha said
the Kingdom’s leadership is keen to give unlimited support to the program, which
aims to increase graduates’ interest in science, technology, engineering and
mathematics, and to nurture innovation in space sciences.
It also aims to improve the Kingdom’s capacity to
conduct its own research, which will benefit the industry and the nation, and
develop human capital by attracting skilled talents.
SSC CEO Mohammed Al-Tamimi expressed his gratitude to
the Saudi leadership for supporting and empowering the commission, which has
allowed the Kingdom to make significant strides in the space sector.
Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman, the first chairman of
the Saudi Space Commission, owns the distinction of being the first Arab,
Muslim and royal to fly into space.
A former Royal Saudi Air Force pilot, Prince Sultan
flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission as a payload specialist
on June 17, 1985.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2249611/saudi-arabia
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Females Will Get Jobs, Education within Islamic
Framework: Deputy Foreign Minister of Islamic Emirate
Photo: Heart of Asia
------
By Bibi Amina Hakimi
Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abas Stanekzai
said that the Islamic Emirate will provide access to work and education to all
citizens particularly women and girls.
Stanekzai praised the activities of the aid
organizations in the country.
“Currently, the government of the Islamic Emirate
wants to create work and even education opportunities for all Afghan sisters
and brothers inside the country based on an Islamic format and Afghan tradition
and Sharia. The work is underway in this regard, and we hope to fix it soon,”
he said.
TOLOnews reached out to a professional who is at home
now since the Islamic Emirate ordered a nationwide ban on female workers at
NGOs.
Giti, who worked for one of the NGOs, said that she is
concerned about her future.
“There are some girls who do not have father or a
caretaker or brother so they need to work to meet the expenses of their
families,” she said.
This comes as the Ministry of Economy said that at
least 260 organizations are active in the social and economic spheres.
“The Islamic Emirate has provided various facilities
for the activities of the organizations, the security discussions and
procedures which we created provides them with facilities and they are under
our focus in this regard,” said Abdul Latif Nazari, deputy Minister of Economy.
The economists said that there is a need for the
continuation of international aid to alleviate the ongoing poverty in the
country and that women are necessary for the economic growth of the families.
“The ban on female work that also caused a reduction
in GDP affects the property of the families,” said Meer Shikib, an economist.
Following the decree of the Ministry of Economy to ban
females from working at the NGOs, many organizations halted or reduced their
activities.
Source: Tolo News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-182023
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India
Jamiat's Arshad Madani says 'Manu worshipped Allah',
Jain Muni storms off stage with other religious leaders
12.02.23
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani on
Sunday stoked controversy at the prominent Muslim body's general session by
claiming that "Om" and "Allah" were the same God worshipped
by 'Manu', drawing objections from a prominent Jain monk who stormed off the
stage along with a group of other religious leaders.
Speaking on the third and final day of the 34th
general session of the Jamiat at the Ramlila Maidan here, the Muslim cleric,
who heads the Arshad Madani faction of the outfit, said he asked the
"dharma gurus" as to who was worshipped when there was no Shri Ram,
Brahma or Shiva.
"Some say Manu worshipped Shiva. Very few have
pointed out that there was nothing in the world and Manu worshipped Om.
"I asked who is Om, many said 'it is just air, it
has no form, it has no colour and it is everywhere, it made the sky and land'.
I said this is what we call Allah, you call Ishwar, those speaking Persian call
Khuda and those speaking English call God," Madani said.
"This means that Manu, that is Adam, used to
worship one Om, that is one Allah," he said.
Manu is a term found in religious texts, referring to
the first man or the progenitor of humanity.
Arshad Madani's remarks were strongly disapproved by
Jain monk Acharya Lokesh Muni who walked out of the session, accusing Madani of
digressing from talking about unity to spinning a story about "Manu and
Allah".
“We only agree with living in harmony, but all these
stories regarding Om, Allah, and Manu are all baseless. He (Madani) completely
spoiled the environment of the session,” Muni said.
"The stories he narrated, I can narrate even
bigger stories than that. I would even request him (Madani) to come for a
discussion with me, or even I can come to meet him in Saharanpur,” he said.
“It should be remembered that the first Jain
Tirthankar was Rishabh, and his sons were Bharata and Bahubali, on whose name
this country 'Bharat' was named… . We don't agree with his (Madani's)
statements," the Jain monk asserted, before leaving the stage along with a
group of leaders of other religions.
Religious leaders of several religions are often
invited to the programmes and sessions of the Jamiat. Acharya Lokesh Muni has
been part of several Jamiat-organised programmes in the past as well.
On Friday, Mahmood Madani, who heads the other faction
of the Jamiat, triggered a row by claiming that India is the "birthplace
of Islam" and the oldest religion of the country. He had asserted that the
country belongs to him as much as it does to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
Source: Telegraph India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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'No cooperation': After Allah-Om remark, Jamiat
chief's stern message on extremism in name of jihad
Ashutosh Mishra
Feb 12, 2023
The three-day general session of the Jamiat
Ulama-e-Hind at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan concluded on Sunday. Jamiat passed a
resolution that “the organisations which propagate violence and extremism in
the name of jihad are not entitled to our cooperation.”
Earlier in the day, Maulana Arshad Madani, who heads
the Arshad Madani faction of the outfit, had stoked controversy after he
claimed that "Om" and "Allah" were the same God worshipped
by 'Manu'. The remark drew a sharp reaction from a prominent Jain monk who
stormed off the stage along with a group of other religious leaders.
But amidst the row triggered by Maulana Arshad Madni,
Jamiat passed several resolutions and issued a message, saying “Jamiat
Ulama-e-Hind considers religious hatred and sectarianism as the biggest threat
to the integrity of the country. It does not match our long-standing heritage
and ethos. Friendly and brotherly relations between different religions have
been the proud and enduring hallmark of Indian society. Any plan to create a
rift in these relations should be considered a national crime."
The message was read by Jamiat chief Maulana Mahmood
Asa’d Madani on Sunday.
During the 34th general session of Jamiat, chaired by
Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani, the Muslim organisation “resolved that they would
never insult religious leaders and holy books and they would free society from
terrorism and hatred and strive for the protection and honor of the country.”
But amidst the row triggered by Maulana Arshad Madni,
Jamiat passed several resolutions and issued a message, saying “Jamiat
Ulama-e-Hind considers religious hatred and sectarianism as the biggest threat
to the integrity of the country. It does not match our long-standing heritage
and ethos. Friendly and brotherly relations between different religions have
been the proud and enduring hallmark of Indian society. Any plan to create a
rift in these relations should be considered a national crime."
The message was read by Jamiat chief Maulana Mahmood
Asa’d Madani on Sunday.
During the 34th general session of Jamiat, chaired by
Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani, the Muslim organisation “resolved that they would
never insult religious leaders and holy books and they would free society from
terrorism and hatred and strive for the protection and honor of the country.”
The resolution added, “This situation is not
acceptable at all. If the judiciary is not free, then the country is also not
free.”
NO ENMITY WITH RSS, BJP: JAMIAT
Jamiat said that the “aggressive communalism” being
promoted in the name of Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity does not match the
soil and ethos of this country.
“We want to make it clear, that we do not have any
religious or ethnic enmity with RSS and the BJP, but our difference is based on
the ideology,” the resolution read.
They said that they believe in equality and do not
recognize “racial superiority”.
Source: India Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Deep influence of Indian Islam in subcontinent:
Experts
12 February, 2023
New Delhi [India], February 12 (ANI): Asserting that
the Indian Chishti Order had a significant impact on the Indian subcontinent,
particularly in the realm of spirituality and religion, Gaddi Nasheen of Ajmer
Dargah and the Director of Indo Islamic Heritage Center Professor Syed Liaqat
Husain Moini Chishti on Sunday said that the order is known for its emphasis on
devotion, love, and the personal experience of union with God.
“The Indian Chishti Order had a significant impact on
the Indian subcontinent, particularly in the realm of spirituality and
religion. The order, which was founded in the 11th century by the Sufi saint
Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, was known for its emphasis on devotion, love, and the
personal experience of union with God,” Syed Liaqat said while speaking on a
webinar on “Impact and Reflection of Chishti order in Indian Sub-continent”.
The Chishti Order is a ‘tariqa’, an order or school
within the mystic Sufi tradition of Sunni Islam. The Chishti Order is known for
its emphasis on love, tolerance, and openness.
Prof Shah Kausar Chishti Abululayi, Chairman of the
Department of Philosophy at the University of Dhaka (Bangladesh) and the
Director of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Dhaka Bangladesh,
said that one of the impacts of Indian Islam in Bangladesh has been
significant, shaping the country’s religious, cultural, and social landscape.
“The impact of Indian Islam in Bangladesh has been
significant, shaping the country’s religious, cultural, and social landscape.
Bangladesh was part of the Indian subcontinent for much of its history, and its
cultural and religious traditions were heavily influenced by the Indian
traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. One of the most notable impacts of
Indian Islam in Bangladesh is the spread of Sufism, a mystical form of Islam
that emphasizes personal devotion and the experience of union with God,” he
said.
Shah Kausar Chishti Abululayi further said that Sufism
was introduced to Bangladesh by Indian Sufi saints and mystics, and it became
popular among the masses due to its emphasis on spiritual fulfilment and its
rejection of religious formalism.
He went on to say that Indian Islam also had an impact
on the development of the Bengali language and literature.
“Many Bengali Muslim scholars and poets were
influenced by Indian Sufi traditions and their works reflect this influence.
The Sufi emphasis on devotion and love is a recurring theme in Bengali
literature, and Sufi saints are celebrated in poems and songs,” Chishti
Abululayi said.
Bangladesh professor also said that Indian Islam also
played a role in shaping the political landscape of Bangladesh.
“Sufi leaders and scholars often played an important
role in mediating conflicts and promoting peace and justice in society. They
also helped to foster a sense of unity and solidarity among the diverse
religious and ethnic communities in Bangladesh,” he added.
Another Speaker from Sri Lanka Inthikab Zufer,
Associate Professor and COO for International Medical Campus said that the
Chishti order and teaching of Khwaja Moin ud Din has had a profound impact on
Sri Lanka, shaping its religious, cultural, and political landscape.
“Its legacy continues to be felt in the country, and
Sufi traditions and practices remain an important part of its cultural
heritage. The ideals of Sufism, as taught by the Chishtis, helped to create a
more tolerant and pluralistic society in Sri Lanka, where people of different
religions and backgrounds could coexist peacefully. Additionally, the Chishti
Order’s emphasis on generosity and hospitality inspired some Sri Lankan Sufi
communities to establish communal kitchens and hospices, which served as
centers of social and spiritual life for local communities. This helped to
promote a culture of generosity and compassion, and provided support for the
poor and needy,” Inthikab Zufer said.
Dr Shujaat Ali Quadri who was the moderator of the
webinar said that the Chishti Order also had a profound impact on the cultural
and political life of the Indian subcontinent.
Source: The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://theprint.in/india/deep-influence-of-indian-islam-in-subcontinent-experts/1368209/
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‘Attempts to deconstruct Muslim renaissance history in
Kerala’
February 12, 2023
A conference organised by the Wisdom Islamic Organisation
here on Sunday condemned the alleged attempts to deconstruct the history of
Muslim renaissance in the State in a bid to reintroduce superstitions in
society.
The speakers pointed out that some sections were
disturbed because many social reformers in the community had imbibed the Salafi
ideology. They claimed that these reformers had helped the community escape
from spiritual exploiters, who confined the people in superstitions,
misinterpreted Islamic principles, and diverted the spiritual inquiries of the
believers. The participants also criticised attempts to persuade women to
change their gender and force men’s attire upon them.
Source: The Hindu
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Minorities panel received maximum complaints from
Muslims in last 5 yrs from UP
13th February 2023
New Delhi: As incidents of violence against minority
communities in the past few years across the country have seen a spike, what
specifically raises eyebrows is the fact that a bulk of complaints, or 71 per
cent of total complaints and petitions received by the National Commission for
Minorities (NCM) in the past five years are related to the Muslim community
alone.
Uttar Pradesh has been the only state for the last
five years, from where the maximum number of complaints related to the Muslim
community have been received by the commission.
According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs’ data,
of the total 10,562 complaints received by the commission related to all the
minority communities, namely Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and
Buddhists between 2017-18 and 2022-23 (till January 31, 2023), 7,508 pertain to
the Muslim community alone. This is 71 per cent of total complaints received by
the minorities’ panel from all the minority communities.
As per Section 9(1) of the NCM Act, 1992, among its
various other functions, the commission is required to look into specific
complaints regarding deprivation of rights and safeguard of minorities and taking
up such matters with the appropriate authorities.
The complaints now being received by it are mostly
related to police atrocities, service matters, minority educational
institutions and encroachments to religious properties.
Reports are sought from the concerned authorities
under the Union and state governments. On receipt of the reports, the
commission makes appropriate recommendations to the respective authorities for
redressal of the grievances.
A closer analysis of the data pertaining to the total complaints
received in the last five years by the NCM, a majority of them come from the
Muslim community.
In 2017-18, of the total 1,498 complaints received by
NCM, 1,128 of them or 75 per cent of the complaints came from the Muslim
community. Of these, 529 complaints were from Uttar Pradesh alone from Muslims.
Similarly in 2018-19, 1,344 complaints of the total
1,871 complaints (72 per cent) received by the commission, belonged to the
Muslim community. Here, too, Uttar Pradesh led with 810 complaints from the
Muslim community.
This pattern could also be seen in 2019-20, when 73.7
per cent of the total complaints received by NCM, were from the Muslim
community, with Uttar Pradesh leading with 728 complaints.
In 2020-21, too, 75.5 per cent or 1,105 out of the
total 1,463 complaints received by the panel pertained to the Muslim community,
with 646 from Uttar Pradesh alone.
In 2021-22, 68 per cent of the total complaints came
from the Muslim community to the NCM, 659 being from Uttar Pradesh.
During the current fiscal (2022-23) till January 31,
2023, the NCM received 1,984 complaints, of which 1,279 or 64.4 per cent came
from the Muslim community, with 662 from Uttar Pradesh.
According to the Ministry’s data, complaints received
by the panel from other minority communities have been very few during the last
five years, if the figures are to be compared to those sent by the Muslim
community.
Source: Siasat Daily
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Europe
Saudi Arabia, France enjoy ‘remarkable relationship of
trust,’ says French FM
LILA SCHOEPF
February 12, 2023
PARIS: Following her visit to Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1
and 2, Catherine Colonna, France’s minister for Europe and foreign affairs,
talked to Arab News en Francais about the evolution of ties between both
countries against a backdrop of regional and international tensions.
Q. What is your take on your visit to Saudi Arabia and
your meetings with Saudi officials? What transpired from these meetings?
A. It was the first time I visited the Kingdom as
minister for Europe and foreign affairs and it was an honor for me to be
received by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. We held enriching discussions
based on the remarkable relationship of trust between our two countries.
I also had a long meeting with Saudi Energy Minister
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. We signed an energy cooperation agreement. I also
spoke with my counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, as well as with Minister
of State (for Foreign Affairs) Adel Al-Jubeir.
I had the opportunity to observe a great convergence
of views with all the officials I talked to. There is a fundamental, clear, and
mutual understanding whereby the regional troubles are largely intensifying
under the impetus of none other than Iran, which is wrapped up in a dynamic of
escalation in all kinds of fields: The nuclear field obviously, but also the
proliferation of missiles toward non-state actors, not to mention the support
for terrorism.
Iran is engaged in a broad campaign aimed at
destabilizing its neighbors. We are also seeing the proliferation of drones, to
the same non-state actors as well as to Russia where they are being used to
carry out war crimes in Europe.
Faced with this growing threat, I strongly reiterated
France’s support for Saudi Arabia, which we consider an ally and a regional
stabilizing power.
France is resolutely committed to contributing to the
security and stability of this part of the world. These are not mere words.
During my trip, I visited the naval base of the French forces in the UAE, which
houses several hundred French soldiers in Abu Dhabi, particularly within the
framework of Operation European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz. Our
soldiers are mainly involved in the surveillance of maritime traffic. They had
just seized a few days earlier tens of tons of weapons that were on their way
to the Houthis in Yemen. This is one of many examples of our actions. When
there are threats involved, we walk the walk, and we shall continue to do so.
In the context of our dialogue, we have also obviously
tackled the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine and its harmful consequences
on a global scale, not only in terms of security but also in terms of energy,
economy, and food. We must work hand in hand to restore stability wherever the
balance has been lost.
I also had the opportunity to meet the new secretary
general of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) with which we share the same
regional security and prosperity objectives. The GCC is an important
coordination and consultation body that proves that our friends in the Gulf are
capable of uniting when the need arises. We shall intensify the dialogue
between France and the GCC in the future.
Allow me to also highlight the extraordinary dynamism
of our cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
France has become Saudi Arabia’s main partner in this
regard, as evidenced by the development of the extraordinary site of AlUla with
the French Agency for Alula Development. Archeology is an old and well-known
pillar of our cooperation, but it is not its only aspect. We are seeking to
expand our partnership to include museums, research, fashion, design, and
cinema.
Villa Hegra, a project that is progressing rapidly, is
poised to become a major cultural center on a regional scale and is another
example of this flourishing cooperation with a definite focus on the future.
We will actively broaden these exchanges in order to
be able to swiftly establish a strategic partnership desired by our two
countries with the aim of fitting all future projects into an ambitious
framework.
Q. During a telephone conversation last June with your
Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, you jointly expressed the wish to
expand cooperation in the areas of regional security and stability. What
measures or initiatives have been taken in this regard?
A. As I already mentioned, Saudi Arabia has a major
role to play in promoting security and stability in the region, being the
largest country in the Gulf.
We are working hand in hand to develop our bilateral
cooperation in the political and security fields, particularly through enhanced
consultation in order to respond to the crises affecting the world in general
and the Middle East in particular.
To begin with, as I said, there is an escalation led
by Iran, as it conducts destabilizing activities across the region. We are keen
to face this together.
But there are several other points of tension that are
increasing the risks of confrontation and instability in the region: The rise
in violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the lingering power
vacuum in Lebanon, the instability and volatility of the situation in Yemen in
the absence of a permanent political solution, or even Syria, which remains a
major point of instability and vigilance.
In this troubled context, my message was clear: France
is loyal to its commitment to secure its Gulf partners. France is a historic
and trusted partner. We have proven over the years that the Gulf can count on
our support.
In order to alleviate tensions, dialogue is key.
France is sparing no effort to promote dialogue. This was the main point of the
Baghdad II Conference held last December within the framework of an
unprecedented consultation format between regional states.
There is tremendous potential for cooperation between
the countries of the region, and it must be materialized. Cooperation must be
the name of the game in this troubled region, for the benefit of all, and above
all, for the benefit of the peoples of the region.
We are working on a third conference under the Baghdad
format, possibly this year. This was one of the topics of discussion with my
hosts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Q. The face of Saudi society has deeply changed since
the launch of Vision 2030. What is your take on the gradual changes taking
place in the Kingdom?
A. Saudi Arabia has been engaged for five years in a
vast and ambitious program of reforms and modernization in the economic,
societal, and cultural sectors within the framework of Vision 2030 led by Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In this new perspective, France intends to play its
full role and wishes to support the roll-out of this vision.
I must say that Vision 2030 is far from being a mere
vision: I was struck by the profound changes taking place in Saudi Arabia. In
only a few years, Riyadh has literally been transformed, as it is currently
showing the world a face that is resolutely focused on the future and open to
cooperation. We obviously support this change and are available to continue to
support it.
Q. Saudi Arabia and France have a relationship that we
can call “historic” and that dates back to 1926. How would you describe the
current relationship between Paris and Riyadh?
A. Relations between our two countries are indeed
solid and deeply rooted. The opening of a French consular post in Jeddah dates
back to 1839. It was the first French diplomatic mission in the Arabian
Peninsula.
France was subsequently the first state to recognize
the sovereignty of King Abdulaziz in March 1926. It is based on this trust and
this historical friendship that a dynamic relationship is thriving today and is
more than ever focused on the future.
Franco-Saudi bilateral relations are booming.
Following on from the crown prince’s visit to France on July 28, 2022, the two
heads of state agreed to boost cooperation between Saudi Arabia and France in
all kinds of fields.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and French President
Emmanuel Macron met in Jeddah, in Paris, recently during the G20 summits in
Bali, and on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in
Bangkok. Similarly, to the visits of my government colleagues, Bruno Le Maire
(French minister of economy and finance), at the end of January, and Olivier
Becht (French foreign trade minister) in December 2022, my visit to Riyadh on
Feb. 1 and 2 was fully in line with this framework.
Source: Arab News
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UK counterterrorism report slammed for conclusions
based on ‘half-dozen cases’
February 12, 2023
LONDON: A controversial review into the UK’s
counterterrorism strategy has been slammed due to its author only witnessing
half a dozen meetings of its deradicalization program, The Observer reported on
Sunday.
William Shawcross, who was appointed to review the
British government’s Prevent program in January 2021, has been accused after
his report said too much focus was given to far-right extremism and not enough
on Islamist extremism.
Between April 2021 and March 2022, almost 1,500
assessments for Channel — the Prevent support program tasked with assessing
more extreme individuals — took place.
But critics say Shawcross’s attendance of just six of
these case referrals raises concerns over how thorough the research was that
led to his findings.
Layla Aitlhadj, director and case study lead at
Prevent Watch, said her organization had examined hundreds of referrals for its
report last year into the counterterrorism program.
“We analyzed 600 cases ... Shawcross based his entire
report on just six Channel cases,” she added. “Light on research, poor on
analysis and heavy on anti-Muslim bias, the Shawcross review failed in every
regard.”
The UK’s former top counterterrorism officer, Neil
Basu, said the Conservative government-backed report is “insulting” to those
who serve to tackle extremism in Britain.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2249856/world
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Pope Francis calls for prayers, solidarity with quake
victims in Türkiye, Syria
Burak Bir
12.02.2023
LONDON
Pope Francis on Sunday again called for prayers and
solidarity with the victims of this week’s earthquakes that shook southern
Türkiye and affected Syria.
"We continue to be close, with prayer and
concrete support, to the earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey," he said
during his Angelus address, the Vatican News reported.
His remarks came as international search and rescue
efforts continue in affected areas of Türkiye following the two devastating
quakes.
"Let us not forget, let us pray and think what we
can do for them," added the pontiff.
In Türkiye, over 24,600 people were killed and over
80,000 others wounded after magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes struck 10
southern provinces on Feb. 6, affecting around 13 million people, according to
the latest official figures.
Several countries in the region, including Syria and
Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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UN says delivery of quake aid to northern Syria
blocked due to lack of ‘approval’ from terror outfit
12 February 2023
The United Nations says an anti-government group,
which has been designated as terrorist by the international community, is
preventing aid consignments from being delivered to the earthquake-stricken
areas in the northern part of Syria.
A spokesman for the UN's humanitarian aid office made
the remarks on Sunday, saying there were "issues with approval" by
the group, which it identified as the terrorist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The group has been waging deadly violence against
Syrian people and government forces alike since 2011, when the Arab country
found itself in the grip of foreign-backed militancy and terrorism.
The northern part of Syria, which is currently under
HTS' control, has received little relief aid as terrorists have sealed front
lines with the government, despite last week's announcement by Damascus that it
is willing to send aid to that region.
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted an HTS source, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity, as confirming that the terror outfit will not let
in shipments from government-held parts of Syria, alleging, "We won't
allow the regime to take advantage of the situation to show they are
helping."
The developments come as the death toll from the
7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and neighboring Syria on Monday has
approached 33,000.
The biggest part of the fatalities that have been
caused in Syria, have occurred in the territory that is being held by Takfiri
terrorist groups.
UN aid chief: We failed people in NW Syria, they feel
abandoned
In a related development, the UN's
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator Martin Griffiths took to Twitter on Sunday, lamenting the world
body's failure to properly help the quake-hit Syrians in those areas.
"We have so far failed the people in north-west
Syria. They rightly feel abandoned. Looking for international help that hasn’t
arrived," he wrote.
“My duty and our obligation is to correct this failure
as fast as we can. That’s my focus now,” he added.
Also on Sunday, UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen
arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus, noting, "We need all the access we
can have, crossline, cross-border, and we need more resources."
Source: Press TV
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Arab World
Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition holds
workshop in Riyadh
February 12, 2023
RIYADH: The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism
Coalition on Sunday held a workshop to discuss the latest developments in
combating terror groups.
The seminar was delivered by coalition adviser Farhat
Al-Harshani in the presence of Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi, acting
secretary-general of the intergovernmental alliance.
Representatives of member states looked at ways to
tackle intellectual, media, and military terrorism, and how to undermine the
financing of terrorism.
Al-Moghedi noted that coalition countries had specific
experiences and expertise to share with fellow nations in helping fight
terrorism and violent extremism in all its forms.
Source: Arab News
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Cairo court places five Muslim Brotherhood figures on
terrorism list for 5 years
12 Feb 2023
According to the court's ruling, five fugitive members
of the MB have been placed on the terror list for five years. The five members
are prominent MB preacher Wagdy Ghoneim
and MB youth figures Abdel-Rahman Ezz and Ahmed El-Mogheir as well as Reda
El-Sawy and Hany Sayid.
Courts in Egypt have already given rulings in absentia
-- including a death sentence in 2017 -- against Wagdy Ghoneim for inciting
hatred and encouraging the murdering of policemen.
Egypt demanded Interpol to arrest him along with other
MB figures, including MB youth figure Ahmed El-Mogheir, in 2017.
Ghoneim had residences in both Qatar and Turkey for
years, but it is unclear where he resides currently.
Source: Ahram
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More than 4,300 people reported dead in northwest
Syria from quake: UN
13 February ,2023
More than 4,300 people were dead and more than 7,600
others were injured in northwest Syria as of February 12 following the deadly
earthquake and aftershocks in neighboring Turkey, the UN office for
humanitarian affairs (OCHA) said in a statement on Monday.
Rescue workers in Syria’s opposition-held northwest
zones have revealed a lower toll as of Friday, and are anticipating announcing
higher toll in the hours ahead.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Syria earthquake aid held up by ‘approval issues’ with
hardline group, says UN
13 February ,2023
Earthquake aid from government-held parts of Syria
into opposition-controlled territory has been held up by “approval issues” with
one hardline group, a United Nations spokesperson said on Sunday.
The hostilities that criss-cross Syria, shattered by
nearly 12 years of conflict, are an added challenge for aid workers trying to
reach the northern regions affected by Monday’s earthquake, which killed at
least 29,000 people in Turkey and Syria and flattened swathes of towns and
cities.
Of the 3,500 deaths so far reported in Syria the bulk
occurred in the northwest, in territory largely held by extremist group Hayat
Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The area has received little assistance as frontlines
with the government are sealed off and only a single border crossing links it
to Turkey to the north. The Syrian government last week said it was willing to
send aid to the northern zone.
An HTS source who was not authorized to talk to the
media told Reuters the group would not allow shipments from government-held
parts of Syria and that aid would be coming in from Turkey.
“We won’t allow the regime to take advantage of the
situation to show they are helping,” the source said.
A spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian aid office
told Reuters there were “issues with approval” by the group, which the UN and
the United States classify as a terrorist organization, without giving further
information.
A UN spokesperson in Damascus declined to comment
beyond saying the organization “continues to work with relevant parties to have
access to the area.”
Arriving in Damascus on Sunday, UN envoy to Syria Geir
Pedersen said: “We need all the access we can have, crossline, cross-border,
and we need more resources.”
“We are reaching out of course to bilateral countries,
we are mobilizing funding, and we’re trying to tell everyone (to) put politics
aside, this is a time to unite behind a common effort to support the Syrian
people,” he said.
Aid convoy
Earlier on Sunday UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said
the people of north-east Syria had been failed and “rightly feel abandoned.”
The HTS media office did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
An aid convoy from Syria’s Kurdish-led northeastern
region carrying fuel and other aid was also turned back on Thursday from the
northwest, where Turkey-backed fighters are in control.
But Turkey said last week it may be willing to open a
direct border crossing with government-held zones in Syria, as ties begin to
thaw more than a decade after Ankara cut off diplomatic ties with Damascus over
the conflict.
The UN is also hoping to ramp up cross-border
operations by opening an additional two border points between Turkey and
opposition-held Syria for aid deliveries, spokesperson Jens Laerke said.
UN aid chief Griffiths “is working the phones very
hard on that front on the diplomatic front, speaking to everyone to unlock more
border crossings,” Laerke said.
Griffiths will brief the UN Security Council on Monday
and hoped to use a “water-tight argument” about urgent needs to overcome
historic resistance from Russia - a key ally of Damascus - to the cross-border
aid operation.
Russia has pushed for more cross-line deliveries but
Laerke said that “in terms of volume and frequency of aid, the cross-border
operation is the main show.”
The European Union’s envoy to Syria on Sunday urged
authorities in Damascus to “engage in good faith” with aid workers to get help
to those in need.
“It is important to allow unimpeded access for aid to
arrive in all areas where it is needed,” Dan Stoenescu told Reuters.
Source: Al Arabiya
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ISIS attack in central Syria kills 11, mostly
civilians: War monitor
12 February ,2023
At least 11 people, mostly civilians, were killed in
an attack in central Syria blamed on ISIS, a war monitor said Sunday.
ISIS “attacked about 75 people on Saturday while they
were collecting truffles in the Palmyra area, in the eastern countryside of
Homs,” the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Turkish government lauds Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian
aid after deadly earthquake
11 February ,2023
The Turkish government thanked Saudi Arabia for its
humanitarian aid to the deadly quake-hit Middle Eastern country.
Following Monday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit
Turkey and Syria, more than 25,000 people have died.
Soon after reports of overwhelmed search and rescue
resources, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries rushed to setup air bridges,
providing food, medicine, essential supplies and rescue personnel.
The official statement, reported by the Saudi Press
Agency, said: “We are thankful for the support and solidarity of the leadership
of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its brotherly people.”
“Several planes carrying Saudi humanitarian, relief,
and medical aid have arrived in various affected areas in Turkiye, and Saudi
search and rescue teams are working side by side with their Turkish peers.”
“Receiving support and solidarity from brotherly countries
is extremely important at such a difficult time, and Saudi Arabia is one of the
first countries to support us.”
As of Saturday, the Kingdom has sent six planes with
aid for Turkey and Syria. The sixth plane arrived in Turkey’s Gaziantep on
Saturday morning, carrying 98 tons of humanitarian aid, including food,
blankets and medicine.
Trucks carrying Saudi humanitarian aid to
quake-stricken areas in Syria began entering from Turkey through the Bab
al-Hawa border crossing on Saturday, Al Arabiya reported.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief
Center (KSRelief) officially launched its aid program on Wednesday to aid
people who have been affected by the earthquake that killed at least 25,000
people in Turkey and Syria.
The Kingdom is accepting donations through its “Sahem”
program which had received $71.1 million (SAR 267 million) from 745, 937
donors, according to information on the program’s website
Source: Al Arabiya
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Lebanese religious leader slams politicians’ abuse of
‘power, influence’ over election of new president
NAJIA HOUSSARI
February 13, 2023
BEIRUT: A Lebanese religious leader on Sunday accused
politicians of an abuse of their “power and influence” in obstructing the
election of a new president and the work of state institutions.
In his Sunday sermon, Maronite Patriarch Bechara
Boutros Al-Rahi said the Arab and international communities condemned their “corruption,”
adding that parliament should convene as soon as possible and decide on a new
presidential head.
He said: “Yes, the president is a Maronite, but the
voters are not all Maronites and Christians.
“Indeed, Christian leaders are responsible for the
presidential vacuum, but the greater responsibility rests with others.
Christians cannot agree over the identity of the president while others cannot
agree over the identity of the republic.
“We are thus keen not to harm the identity of neither
the president nor the republic because they are a guarantee of Lebanon’s
unity.”
Referring to the parliamentarians, he added: “Are you
respecting your top constitutional responsibility of electing a president who
legislates the work of parliament and the government? Are you carrying out the
internationally required reforms?
“Are you letting the judiciary carry out its duties
and investigate the Beirut port explosion to reveal the truth and implement
justice?
“Are you implementing the measures expected from the
International Monetary Fund and the international community?
“Are you achieving the state of law and eliminating
chaos, the proliferation of illegal weapons, and the law of the jungle?
“Are you consolidating Lebanon’s sovereignty over all
its lands and establishing its independence?”
Al-Rahi’s comments came after a meeting held in Paris
last week of officials from France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, and the US, to
discuss developments in Lebanon.
The French Foreign Ministry urged Lebanese officials
to take the initiative to elect a new president and carry out the reforms
needed to secure international support for the country.
Political parties loyal to Hezbollah want to hold a
legislative session to approve a capital controls bill and extend the term of
Lebanon’s director general of security, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who is due to
retire. But 46 opposition and reformist MPs have rejected the move claiming it
would be a violation of the constitution.
Meanwhile, MPs Melhem Khalaf and Najat Saliba are in
the fifth week of a parliament sit-in in protest over the presidential election
stalemate. They are demanding that Speaker Nabih Berri keeps holding voting
sessions until a new president has been agreed upon.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2249916/middle-east
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US an enemy, no place for Americans in Iraq: Harakat
al-Nujaba
12 February 2023
The head of the Iraqi resistance group Harakat
Hezbollah Nujaba says there is no friendship between Baghdad and Washington,
and the American occupation forces cannot stay in the Arab country under any
pretext.
Akram al-Kaabi, the founder and secretary-general of
the movement, made the remarks in a meeting on Sunday with the resistance
group’s injured veteran soldiers in the fight against US occupation forces and
Takfiri terrorists.
“The path of crusade continues and the fronts are
active as the enemy is still present. As long as the US and Israeli Zionism are
fighting against God, religion and humanity, the believers in sanctities and
authentic values should stand up to them,” Kaabi told the meeting.
“There is no friendship with America,” he said. “The US
is an enemy and will remain an enemy. We do not accept the staying of American
forces, including advisers, technicians and combat forces. The resistance has
no other position and will never change it.”
While the US claims it has ended its combat mission in
Iraq, some 2,500 US troops still remain inside the Arab country in what
Washington calls an “advisory” mission.
Pressured by the Iraqi people, US President Joe Biden
and Iraq’s then-Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi declared in July 2021 that
the US mission in Iraq would transition from combat to an “advisory” role by
the end of that year.
Anti-American sentiments have soared in Iraq over US
military adventurism in the region, in particular since Washington’s
assassination of the top anti-terror commanders of Iraq and Iran in the Arab
country three years ago.
General Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the
second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), were martyred
along with their comrades in a US drone strike that was authorized by
then-president Donald Trump near the Baghdad International Airport on January
3, 2020.
The two iconic anti-terror commanders are greatly
admired for their instrumental role in fighting and decimating the Daesh
Takfiri terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria.
Source: Press TV
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South Asia
Indian embassy in Kabul under threat of Islamic State
attack: UN report
Rakshit Sharma
February 12, 2023
New Delhi: The Indian embassy in Afghanistan’s capital
Kabul along with those of Iran and China is at the centre of an Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria – Khorasan’s (ISIS-K) plan to weaken Taliban’s realations
with regional countries, a UN report has said.
ISIS-K “threatened to launch terrorist attacks against
the embassies of China, India and the Islamic Republic of Iran in Afghanistan,”
the report read.
The group is engaged in a struggle against the
Taliban, just like Taliban was with the earlier government in Kabul. It is no
way near being the challenge the Taliban had posed to the government, however.
It wants to weaken the Taliban by undercutting its
ties with the regional countries, whom the Taliban is trying to develop
relations with to establish itself as a legitimate force.
“It (ISIS-K) had positioned itself as the primary
rival to the Taliban and was reportedly set to portray the Taliban as incapable
of providing security in the country,” the report said.
Last year on 5 August the terror group attacked the
Russian embassy.
Source: Firstpost
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The Islamic Emirate Believes In Freedom of Press:
Spokesman
February 12, 2023
The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate said on Sunday
that the government believes in freedom of the press and supports media outlets
where content is in line with Sharia and national interests.
Zabihullah Mujahid said this while speaking at a
seminar organized by the Ministry of Higher Education.
“If we observe the Islamic principles, national
interests and prevent spreading of rumours and pure propaganda of intelligence
activities, the government strongly supports the press and media, and if the
media operates within this framework, it will not have any problems, rather it
will be supported, and that media will be the real media of our country,”
Mujahid said.
He also called on officials to listen to criticism
reflected by the media.
“May government officials listen to criticism with
patience. If it is not true, they should respond, and if it is true, they
should bring reforms. This is the cooperation of society with the government.
When this cooperation is brought together by the media, we can have an advanced
and stable country.”
Mujahid also emphasized the importance of impartiality
of the media and said that the media should be a neutral bridge between the
government and the people so that trust in the media increases and the rulers
can address the problems of the people.
“The responsibility of the media is that they should
be neutral and not biased as they act as a medium between the government and
the people. When they criticize the government or have an objection or question
about the government, they should raise it as a third party. When the media
acts as a third party, the government also trusts the media,” he said.
The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate also said that
national unity and establishing relations with the world are part of
Afghanistan’s national interests, and the media has an obligation to strengthen
national unity in the country and not allow division.
Source: Ariana News
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https://www.ariananews.af/mujahid-the-islamic-emirate-believes-in-freedom-of-press/
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India arrests two terror suspects planning to leave
for Afghanistan
By Fidel Rahmati
February 12, 2023
According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA)
of India, two terrorist suspects about to travel to Afghanistan were detained
in a case involving Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent’s efforts to radicalize
and incite young people to commit terrorist crimes in the country.
According to a federal agency official, Hamraz Worshid
Shaikh of Maharashtra and Mohd Arif, a resident of Bengaluru, were in online
touch with handlers working for banned terrorist groups who were headquartered
abroad.
On Saturday, the two were apprehended and taken up for
questioning following searches at Thanisandra in Bengaluru and Palghar-Thane in
Maharashtra state, India.
“NIA arrested the two accused on Sunday in a case
relating to a conspiracy by terrorist organizations based in India and abroad
to radicalize the youth and provoke them to indulge in acts of violence and
terrorism,” a spokesman said.
After the Doha agreement between the US and the
Taliban group in February 2020, the Taliban agreed to cut ties with Al-Qaeda as
part of the agreement with the United States.
On the other hand, it will not allow any groups to
operate against the United States or other countries. However, Ayman al
Zawahiri, the Al-Qaeda leader, has found and killed by the US in Kabul last
year.
Source: Khaama Press
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Southeast Asia
Tougher Challenges Ahead for Indonesia’s Moderate
Islam: Nahdlatul Ulama
February 09, 202
By Siktus Harson
Indonesia’s oldest and largest Muslim organization,
Nahdlatul Ulama, turned 100 years old this month. The main centennial
celebration was held on Feb. 7 in East Java.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which means the revival of
ulemas (scholars), claims a membership of over 95 million people. It’s also
said to be the world’s largest Islamic organization.
Being the largest group, questions arise over its
effectiveness, contributions, failures, or challenges as it moves forward.
What amazes the world is that despite Muslims making
up over 87 percent of Indonesia's 270 million population, the country remains a
secular-democratic nation. Unlike other Muslim-majority countries, where
Islamic doctrine dominates their constitutions, Indonesia’s founding fathers
wanted modern democracy as its way forward.
Nevertheless, the country’s day-to-day life is
strongly affected by Islamic influences.
The situation has irked Muslims in the radical
Salafi-Wahhabi worldview. Wahhabism,
introduced by 18th-century theologian Muhammad ibn Abd al- Wahhab, was a
dominant sect in the Arab region and was seen as an ultraconservative movement.
Its influence started to gain a foothold in the archipelago in the 19th
century.
Members of this movement think that democracy is
against sharia, and Indonesia should be an Islamic state.
However, the NU has rejected such ideology. Instead,
it has become the guardian of pluralism against the radical Wahhabi movement.
Attempts to replace Indonesia’s secular ideology with
sharia principles have multiplied in the past two decades since the start of
the reform era marked by the fall of Suharto in 1998.
Since then radical movements have taken advantage of
democracy promoted by civil society groups. At the same time, the NU has
increased its monitoring and uncovered threats to the group’s mission and the
Indonesian people.
Many times it has warned the government about the
dangers of not taking tough action against radical groups, particularly during
the presidency of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Lack of action on the government’s
part during his 10-year tenure provided fertile ground for the growth of the
caliphate movement.
It was only under President Joko Widodo that radical
groups began to get serious attention. The banning of two such groups — Hizb ut
Tahrir and the Islamic Defenders Front — is just an example.
Throughout Widodo’s anti-radical drive, the NU has
stood up and defended its position to cooperate with state agencies, civil
society, and religious groups in the fight against the spread of radicalism.
Having such a huge membership, is it succeeding in
fighting radicalism? Why does radicalism or extremism continue to grow?
In some ways, the group has successfully educated its
members at the grassroots level about Islam Nusantara (Islam of the
archipelago). It’s a worldview of Islam deeply rooted in local wisdom, love,
tolerance, pluralism, and respect for other religions.
Radicalism or discrimination against religious
minorities continues to happen because radicalism is deeply rooted in
Indonesian culture. Long before Islamic State started its influence in 2014,
efforts to make Indonesia an Islamic nation had already been attempted.
The arrival of wahabbism in the 18th century in some
ways influenced Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewiryo who founded Darul Islam
(Islamic Caliphate) in West Java in 1949; four years after Indonesia declared
independence from Dutch colonial rule following the end of World War II. West
Java province, with nearly 50 million people, remains a hotbed of radicalism.
It can be said that the NU has not been able to
maximize its efforts to combat the rising tide of radicalism or extremism. But
it should be noted that this cannot be done by the group alone. Support is
needed from the government and elsewhere, including from other religions, such
as the Catholic Church.
In addition, NU members who are mostly ordinary
people, in grassroots communities, are struggling to improve their living
standards, education, and health. Stunting, for instance, threatens many
Indonesian children, including those of NU families.
What about its relationship with other religions,
particularly the Catholic Church?
Catholicism started in Indonesia in the 16th century
with the arrival of Portuguese missionaries in Maluku. On the other hand, Islam
came in the 7th century with the arrival of Arab merchants in Sumatra.
NU as a moderate Muslim organization works closely
with the Catholic Church in Indonesia. In the last several decades, cooperation
between Muslims and Christians has progressed significantly. The youth wing of
the NU plays a crucial role in protecting churches during Christmas and Easter.
Without the NU, Christianity could have faced a more
difficult journey. Whenever there’s opposition against the building of
churches, NU members are at the forefront to challenge conservative groups or
urge the government to protect minorities.
There’s a similarity between the Catholic approach and
the NU’s commitment to spreading the Indonesian version of Islam, the so-called
“Islam of the archipelago.” It refers to the spread of Islam in Indonesia
through a cultural approach, not with a rigid and hard doctrine.
This approach finds a place in Indonesian Islamic
discourse. But it’s not free from criticism and rejection not only in social
media discussions but in real life.
A few years ago, conflicts occurred between NU members
and followers of the wahhabi sect in East Java. It started when sect members
shirked Prophet Muhammad’s birthday celebrations or called visiting cemeteries
or praying for the dead heretical.
The biggest threat is perhaps the rapid expansion of a
radical understanding of Islam that reaches all corners and walks of life. The
presence of these groups is not only a threat to moderate Islam but also to
Christians and other religions.
Some observers underestimated the increasing signs of
radicalization, saying that they won’t cause the failure of moderate Islam in
Indonesia.
Source: UCA News
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https://www.ucanews.com/news/tougher-challenges-ahead-for-indonesias-moderate-islam/100306
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Dangerous divides bedevil Southeast Asia’s majority-Muslim
democracies
13 February 2023
Around the time of Indonesia’s 2019 presidential
elections, there was great concern about the damage that polarisation over
issues of religious politics was doing to Indonesia’s democracy and its social
fabric.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysia's Prime
Minister Anwar Ibrahim walk after inspecting the honour guards during a
welcoming ceremony upon their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Bogor,
Indonesia, 9 January 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Willy Kurniawan).
Then, once the voting was over, Indonesia seemed to
revert to its cooperative, moderate mean. The defeated presidential candidate
Prabowo Subianto was dealt into President Joko Widodo’s government as defence
minister and cut his ties to Islamists as the Widodo government began a
crackdown on the Islamist opposition.
But despite the relative political placidity of
Widodo’s second term, it would be premature to conclude that polarisation was a
flash in the pan. Ahead of the February 2024 presidential election, polls show
that the two strongest candidates are Widodo’s ally, the governor of Central
Java province, Ganjar Pranowo, and Anies Baswedan, the former governor of
Jakarta who has found his political groove as the candidate of more
conservative Muslims who dislike Jokowi.
If Ganjar and Anies secure nominations, a contest
between them could quickly reignite Indonesia’s latent cultural conflicts.
Islamists would line up behind Anies, and pluralists and religious minorities
would flock to Ganjar. Everybody else — including Prabowo, if he too secures a
candidacy — would be stuck in the middle, being told by ideologues on both
sides that equivocation isn’t an option. What could start as a relatively civil
contest could well turn nasty.
The fact is that elite cooperation and
consensus-building between elections can only paper over deep and abiding
social divisions for so long, as Dan Slater emphasises in this week’s lead
article which highlights growing affinities between the structure of democratic
competition in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Slater takes a glass half-full view of the political
changes ushered in by the fall of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (BN) in the wake
of the 2018 and 2022 general elections, writing that ‘authoritarian hegemony
has finally died in Malaysia just as it did decades ago in Indonesia’ with the
electorate ‘now splintered behind a handful of parties rather than concentrated
behind a hegemonic party’.
There are catches, though. The first is that just as
Suharto’s party vehicle Golkar dealt itself back into governing coalitions
after the end of the New Order regime, so has UMNO ‘pulled off a similar
trick’. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan coalition is propped up
in part because of the support of UMNO, now led by Zahid Hamidi, a party
warlord from central casting who faces serious charges of corruption. With both
men needing each other’s support to maintain their positions, political
realities dictate that Anwar’s promises of a political renewal are compromised
from the get-go.
Anwar’s voters, though, are mostly willing to forgive
his realpolitik approach because of another way in which Malaysian political
dynamics have come to resemble Indonesia’s. ‘Far more than during Malaysia and
Indonesia’s authoritarian eras’, Slater writes, ‘the divide between government
and opposition is assuming a worrisome ethno-religious colour’.
The deep racial and religious divides in Malaysian
society have historically had complicated political effects — encouraging ugly
identity politics while incentivising political coalitions to maximise their
electoral support by maintaining multi-racial political coalitions. Even the BN
government, Slater points out, balanced its core party UMNO’s upholding of
Malay special rights with its need to co-opt minorities via alliances with
Chinese, Indian and East Malaysian coalition partners. The opposition,
meanwhile, also strived with variable success in a reformist multiracial
coalition that mirrored BN’s.
But the post-2018 collapse of BN has now, after the
2022 polls, led to a reordering of coalitions in which the opposition to
Anwar’s multiracial government is effectively an alliance between
Malay-chauvinist and Islamist political forces.
How pluralists cope with the new terms of political
competition will matter almost as much as the opposition’s demagoguery. As
Slater cautions, ‘we still do not know if either Malaysia or Indonesia will
succeed at fending off the worst aspects of polarisation without plunging
straight back into authoritarian hegemony’. Certainly, there has been a
tightening of space for dissent in Indonesia under the banner of a crackdown on
Islamism. If Pakatan Harapan’s anxieties about the threat posed to Malaysian
multiculturalism by the opposition persist, pluralists might yet start to
rationalise similar hard-knuckled tactics. So much is yet uncertain: ‘[f]or
Malaysia, polarising pluralism is uncharted waters’, writes Slater.
There is no institutional magic formula for fixing
these problems. Efforts at electoral reform in Malaysia remain unfinished business
from Pakatan Harapan’s first stint in office between 2018 and 2020, with
political scientists disagreeing about whether a shift towards proportional
representation would soften or exacerbate communalist politics.
Source: East Asia Forum
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Body of new-born baby girl found abandoned at mosque
grounds
12 Feb 2023
SEREMBAN, Feb 12 — The body of a newborn baby girl was
discovered abandoned on the grounds of the Kampung Sri Jemapoh Congregational
Mosque, Juasseh, Kuala Pilah near here this evening.
Kuala Pilah district police chief Supt Amran Mohd Gani
said they received information from a man about the discovery of the body,
which was wrapped in cloth and placed in a yellow bag at 4.35pm.
“We believe the baby was just born within the last 24
hours. Detailed investigation is being conducted under Section 318 of the Penal
Code,” he said in a statement tonight.
Source: Malay Mail
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King calls for greater racial harmony to prevent
extremism
Danial Azhar
February 13, 2023
KUALA LUMPUR: The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan
Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, has called for a greater push towards racial
harmony in an effort to stamp out extremism.
In his address at the opening of the first meeting of
the second session of the 15th Parliament today, Sultan Abdullah noted that the
spirit of goodwill and respect among races is the basis of the country’s
stability.
“Harmony, through the idea of unity based on the
principles of the Federal Constitution, should be our main agenda for the sake
of our beloved country,” he said.
“The agenda of unity in the cultural context also
needs to be focused through the implementation of programmes oriented to the
unity of the country’s multiracial communities.
“This is also in accordance with the teachings of
Islam, which invites its people to practise patience and tolerance, and to
avoid extremism, which can destroy our racial harmony.”
Sultan Abdullah said that 66 years after independence,
the public should be mature enough to make its unique differences the main
flavour in the formation of a Malaysian race (Bangsa Malaysia) that loves and
respects each other, is tolerant, and united.
“If diversity and politics continue to be a cause for
controversy and division, I am concerned that we will not be able to achieve
peace and progress forever,” he said.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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China sends emergency items to Syria, asks Chinese
rescue teams to stand down
February 13, 2023
BEIJING: China sent the second batch of supplies to
earthquake-hit areas of Syria and has asked Chinese rescue teams that have not
left for disaster zones in Turkiye and Syria to cancel trips in order to ease
the burden on rescue operations.
The China Association for Disaster Prevention called
on Saturday for Chinese rescue teams to cancel or suspend their trips to not
increase the burden on hard-hit areas, and avoid risks due to inclement
weather.
Cotton tents, family kits, jackets and other daily
necessities, as well as medical supplies, were being provided to Syria by the
Red Cross Society of China, CCTV reported on Monday.
China has already committed financial aid to Turkiye
and Syria, and has sent a number of rescue teams from several parts of the
country, including 82 members dispatched by the Chinese government, as the
death toll tops 33,000.
China’s 53 tons of tents to aid Turkiye have arrived
in Istanbul, CCTV said on late Sunday. China has said more emergency aid is
planned in the near future.
Shipped on large cargo planes, according to video from
CCTV, the tents will help aid in relief operations as rescues continue.
The first batch of supplies from China’s government,
40,000 blankets, arrived in Istanbul on Saturday, according to CCTV. The
country is planning to send more medical equipment, including electrocardiogram
machines, ultrasound diagnostic instrument, and medical vehicles and hospital
beds, CCTV said.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2249966/world
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Mideast
Iran’s Raisi to leave for China on three-day official
trip
February 13, 2023
TEHRAN: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will head to
China on Tuesday (today) for a three-day visit, aimed at strengthening economic
cooperation, state media reported on Sunday.
The Iranian president will set out for Beijing in
response to an official invitation by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iran’s
state news agency IRNA said.
Both presidents met for the first time last September
in Uzbekistan at a summit for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, where the
Iranian president called for expanded ties.
On his upcoming trip, the Iranian president is
expected to hold private talks with Xi, and delegations from both countries are
due to sign “cooperation documents”, according to IRNA.
The agency added that President Raisi would also take
part in meetings with Chinese businessmen and Iranians living in the country.
Iran and China have strong economic ties, especially
in the fields of energy, transit, agriculture, trade and investment.
In 2021, both countries signed a 25-year “strategic
cooperation pact” said to include “political, strategic and economic”
components.
China is Iran’s largest trade partner, IRNA said,
citing the 10-month statistics of Iranian customs authorities.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1736891/irans-raisi-to-leave-for-china-on-three-day-official-trip
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Iran Reiterates Commitment to Nuclear Disarmament
2023-February-12
Eslami stated that Iran’s enemies are "spreading
misleading information" about Iran’s nuclear program and "they are
seeking to block Iran’s pathway toward progress by making excuses and baseless
claims".
The AEOI director added that the main issue is the new
power which emerges thanks to new technologies and end foreign domination over
a nation.
The official underscored that all allegations about
Iran seeking to make nukes, secret goals and undeclared nuclear sites in the
country are a lie.
Tehran says it is refining uranium only for civilian
energy uses, adding all nuclear activities of Iran are under the supervision of
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the nuclear agency’s
verification activities and reports have proved the peaceful nature of the
country’s nuclear program.
Iranian officials have numerously stressed that the
country has not been and is not after developing nuclear weapons.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei
has on many occasions stated the Islamic Republic considers the pursuit and
possession of nuclear weapons "a grave sin" from every logical,
religious and theoretical standpoint.
In April 2010, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a fatwa
declaring that the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons are all
haram (religiously banned).
"Iran is not after a nuclear bomb. Why would Iran
want a nuclear bomb? Moreover, when an atomic bomb is detonated, it does not
just kill enemies. Rather, it kills innocent people as well, and this goes
against Islamic beliefs and the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran. An
atomic bomb does not discriminate between good and bad people, and it is not
something that the Islamic Republic would use," a part of the fatwa said.
The Islamic Republic is relying on something that is
not affected by bombs, foreign invasions and other such things. Such things
only strengthen what the Islamic republic is relying on. The Islamic republic
is relying on the people," it added.
Iran has always had full cooperation with the IAEA and
allowed it to visit the country’s nuclear sites, but calls the nuclear agency's
approach unconstructive and destructive. Tehran has asked the IAEA to avoid
politicizing the issue and focus on technical aspects in line with the
organization’s mandate.
Source: Fars News Agency
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https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14011123000218/Iran-Reieraes-Cmmimen-Nclear-Disarmamen
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World Leaders, Senior Officials Felicitate Iran on
Victory Anniversary of Islamic Revolution
2023-February-12
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan sent separate
messages to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Khamenei and President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi to congratulate them the 44th
victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
Pashinyan in his message to Iran's Supreme Leader said
that warm and amicable ties between Armenia and Iran have hundreds of years of
roots, adding that the friendly ties will bring important achievements for
people of both countries.
In his letter to President Rayeesi, the Armenian
premier reiterated his invitation for official visit by the Iranian president
to Armenia.
Meantime, Russia felicitated Iran on the 44th victory
anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a
congratulatory message to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian on
Saturday said that relations between Iran and Russia are further growing based
on good neighborliness policies and despite the tough international conditions.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko also
congratulated the 44th victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.
Lukashenko sent a message to his Iranian counterpart,
expressing his eagerness to visit the capital Tehran.
The Belarusian president emphasized that he is hopeful
to travel to Tehran in the near future to hold talks with the Iranian
authorities on mutual, regional and international affairs.
Since Iran has succeeded in growing in the
sophisticated situation, the Islamic country is an important player at regional
and international areas, he said, adding that Belarus has always stood by Iran
and complied with implementation of bilateral agreements.
Mauritanian Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould
Marzoug, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister
Reshit Meredov, and Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik sent
congratulatory messages to Amirabdollahian on Saturday afternoon.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) felicitated Iran as the
country is commemorating the 44th victory anniversary of the 1979 Islamic
Revolution.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), the
president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the vice president, prime minister, and
minister of defense of the United Arab Emirates as well as the ruler of Dubai,
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in separate messages, felicitated Iran as
the country is commemorating the 44th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic
Revolution.
A large number of senior officials from different
world countries had already congratulated Iran on this auspicious day.
Source: Fars News Agency
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Israel’s President Herzog warns of ‘constitutional and
social collapse’
13 February ,2023
President Isaac Herzog of Israel warned in a rare
prime-time speech on Sunday that the country is on the verge of “constitutional
and social collapse” over a government plan to reduce the power of the
judiciary.
Herzog, known more as reliably dull than alarmist, was
speaking of a widespread concern that the change planned by the new government
of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu is so radical that it raises doubts about
the future of Israel’s democracy, its appeal to foreign investors and ties to
its strongest allies.
“The absence of dialogue is tearing us apart from
within, and I’m telling you loud and clear: This powder keg is about to
explode,” Herzog told the nation. “This is an emergency.”
Tens of thousands have demonstrated weekly against the
government’s plans while scores of economists, business leaders, retired security
chiefs and legal scholars have all gone on record in opposition.
Shortly after Herzog spoke, calling for compromise and
dialogue, the heads of the country’s top banks — Hapoalim, Discount, Leumi and
Mizrahi — all expressed support for his approach.
Netanyahu and his aides want to increase the
government’s role in appointing judges and greatly limit the Supreme Court’s
authority to strike down legislation. While they aren’t alone in saying that
the high court has too much power, many say the planned remedy is far worse
than the problem.
All of this is happening as violence among Israelis
and Palestinians has increased in Jerusalem and the West Bank. The security
cabinet announced plans late Sunday for the legalization of nine settlement
outposts and an increased police presence in the occupied areas as an answer to
Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians there.
The overlapping crises have led to a level of
discourse that itself threatens internal violence among Jews.
A coalition lawmaker blamed the supreme court chief
justice for the death of three people in an attack by a Palestinian in
Jerusalem. Earlier, a retired combat pilot wrote in a Facebook post that if a
prime minister assumes dictatorial powers, “he deserves to die.
Allies express concern
Israel’s closest allies are also speaking up.
President Joe Biden told a New York Times columnist
over the weekend that, like US democracy, Israel’s is based on institutional
checks and balances, notably through an independent judiciary.
Herzog, whose role is one of symbolic leadership
rather than policy, noted the need to work together amid the rising violence in
Jerusalem and the West Bank. He laid out a framework to start talks toward a
compromise.
“The threats from outside are great enough,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, leader of the
opposition, called Herzog’s negotiating framework reasonable, noting its
stipulation that talks be conditioned on immediate suspension of the
legislative process.
“Until then, the struggle will continue, the protests will
not stop, Lapid said in a statement. “We are fighting for the values of the
Declaration of Independence, and for the very idea of living here together as
one people.”
Israel has only one legislative body and in such a
parliamentary system, the executive can exert enormous control, leaving only
the courts to rein in perceived abuses of minorities and human rights.
The concern of many opponents is that the proposed
changes would make Israel far less open and less appealing as a place to
invest, increasing the influence of religious fundamentalists.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Arab leaders warn Israeli actions in Jerusalem, West
Bank threaten regional turmoil
13 February ,2023
Dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and
Islamic countries warned on Sunday Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied
West Bank could worsen regional turmoil, as violence surges between Israel and
the Palestinians.
The meeting in Cairo was hosted by the Arab League and
attended by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, Jordan’s King Abdullah II
and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas along with many foreign ministers and
senior officials.
The high-level gathering came amid one of the
deadliest periods of fighting in years in Jerusalem and the neighboring
Israeli-occupied territory. Forty-five Palestinians have been killed so far
this year, according to a count by The Associated Press. Palestinians have
killed 10 people on the Israeli side during that time.
Speakers at the meeting condemned Israel’s “unilateral
measures” in Jerusalem and the West Bank in statements, including home
demolitions and expanding settlements.
They also condemned visits by Israeli officials to the
city’s contested holy site, which is sacred to both Jews and Muslims and has
often been the epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian unrest.
There was no immediate comment from Israel’s
government.
The officials also voiced support for Jordan’s role as
custodian of the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. The mosque is
built on a hilltop in Jerusalem’s Old City that is the most sacred site for Jews,
who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it was the site of the Jewish
temples in antiquity.
Since Israel captured the site in the 1967 War, Jews
have been allowed to visit but not pray there. Israel claims all of Jerusalem
as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as the
capital of their future state.
Calling Jerusalem “the backbone of the Palestinian
cause,” Sisi warned of dire repercussions of any Israeli move to change the
status quo of the holy site, saying they would “negatively impact” future
negotiations to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He said such measures would impede the long-sought
after two-state solution to the conflict, which would leave “both parties and
the whole Middle East with difficult and grave options.”
Sisi, whose country was the first Arab nation to
establish diplomatic ties with Israel, called on the international community to
“reinforce the two-state solution and create conducive conditions for the
resumption of the peace process.”
King Abdullah II also called for Israel to cease its
violations and incursions into the al-Aqsa Mosque.
“The region cannot live in peace, stability, and
prosperity without any progress made on the Palestinian cause,” he warned.
Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the secretary-general of the
pan-Arab organization, also warned that attempts to partition the al-Aqsa
Mosque and obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity “would fuel endless unrest
and violence.”
Abbas, the Palestinian president, said his
administration would resort to the United Nations and its agencies and demand a
resolution to protect the two-state solution to the conflict.
“The State of Palestine will continue going to
international courts and organizations to protect our people’s legitimate
rights,” he said.
The ongoing bout of violence has put the region on
edge. Last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Egyptian,
Israeli and Palestinian leaders and urged them to ease tensions.
Israel is run by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
new far-right government. Many politicians in Netanyahu’s administration oppose
Palestinian independence.
Sunday’s meeting in Cairo issued a final statement
that condemned what it called “Israeli’s systemic policy” that aims at
“distorting and changing” Jerusalem’s “Arab and Islamic culture and identity.”
Source: Al Arabiya
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Israeli forces kill 14-year-old Palestinian boy in
West Bank’s Jenin
13 February ,2023
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager Sunday in
the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, with the army
reporting they came under fire during a raid.
The ministry reported 14-year-old Qusai Radwan Waked
died “as a result of being seriously wounded in the abdomen by live fire from
the occupation (Israel)” in Jenin, a city in the northern West Bank.
The army said Israeli forces were shot at while they
were trying to arrest an alleged Palestinian militant, while “explosive devices
and rocks” were also thrown at them.
“We are aware of the reports regarding a number of
armed individuals who got injured during the exchange of fire,” an army
statement said, adding that no troops were hurt.
An AFP photographer saw the teenager’s body wrapped in
a sheet and being carried on a stretcher.
The latest killing comes as violence flares in the
West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.
This year there have been 46 Palestinian fatalities,
including attackers, militants and civilians, according to an AFP tally based
on official statements.
Nine Israeli civilians and one Ukrainian have been
killed over the same period.
Elsewhere in the northern West Bank on Sunday,
Palestinian mourners gathered for the funeral of a 27-year-old man shot dead
allegedly by an Israeli settler.
Mithkal Suleiman Rayyan was shot in the head Saturday
near the village of Qarawat Bani Hassan, where the army reported “heavy clashes
between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli civilians.”
Attia Asi, who witnessed the killing, said the
shooting happened before soldiers arrived.
“In the beginning it was in the air, then it turned
toward the (Palestinian) guys, aiming to kill,” he told AFP at the funeral.
The latest raid in Jenin by Israeli forces led to the
arrest of Jebril Zubeidi, who the military said is accused of “terrorist
activity against security forces and planning attacks.”
The city’s deputy governor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said
Jebril Zubeidi is the brother of jailed Zakaria Zubeidi, who headed the armed
wing of the Fatah movement of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Turkey earthquake: China sends 53 tonnes of tents to
aid earthquake relief
12 February ,2023
China shipped 53 tonnes of tents to aid earthquake-hit
Turkey on Sunday, with more emergency aid planned in the near future, state
broadcaster CCTV said.
The tents departed Shanghai and are scheduled to
arrive in Istanbul later on Sunday, CCTV said.
Shipped on large cargo planes, according to video from
CCTV, the tents would help aid in relief operations as rescues continue after
earthquakes devastated Turkey and Syria and caused nearly 26,000 deaths.
The first batch of supplies from China’s government,
40,000 blankets, arrived in Istanbul on Saturday, according to CCTV. The
country is planning to send medical equipment, including electrocardiogram
machines, ultrasound diagnostic instrument, and medical vehicles and hospital
beds in the near future, CCTV said.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Nearly 26 million people affected by Turkey-Syria
earthquake: WHO
11 February ,2023
Almost 26 million people have been affected by the
deadly earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria this week, the WHO said Saturday,
warning that dozens of hospitals had been damaged.
As the death toll from the quake rose above 25,000,
the UN health agency launched a flash appeal Saturday asking for $42.8 million
to help it address the immediate, towering health needs.
The World Health Organization, which has already
released $16 million from its emergency fund, had previously said up to 23
million people could be impacted.
But on Saturday, that rose to nearly 26 million, with
15 million affected in Turkey and nearly 11 million in war-torn Syria.
Among them, more than five million people were
considered to be particularly vulnerable, including close to 350,000 elderly
people and over 1.4 million children.
WHO estimated that in Turkey, where more than 4,000
buildings have collapsed in the quake, 15 hospitals had suffered partial or
heavy damage.
In Syria, where the health care system had already
been ravaged by 12 years of civil war, at least 20 health facilities across the
hard-hit northwest, including four hospitals, had sustained damage.
This is making it all the more difficult to help the
tens of thousands of people who have been injured in the disaster.
And while emergency medical services have been
overwhelmed with trauma patients, essential health services have been severely
disrupted, WHO warned.
The UN agency said there was a dire need for immediate
trauma care, post-trauma rehabilitative care, essential medicines, prevention
and control to prevent disease outbreaks and access to mental health support.
“WHO’s goal is to save lives in the immediate
aftermath of the disaster, to minimize its downstream health consequences,
including mental health, and to rapidly restore essential health services
across all earthquake-affected populations.”
The agency added that it had flown 37 metric tons of
trauma and emergency surgery supplies to Turkey on Thursday, while 35 metric
tons had arrived in Syria on Friday.
“These life-saving supplies will be used to treat and
care for 100,000 people as well as for 120,000 urgent surgical interventions in
both countries,” it said.
A third flight carrying a similar load was scheduled
to reach Syria on Monday.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Iran releases filmmaker held for 6 months over
criticism of government
February 13, 2023
DUBAI: Iran has released an award-winning filmmaker
more than six months after arresting him for criticizing the government, a
pro-reform newspaper reported Monday.
Mohammad Rasoulof, whose 2020 film, “There is No
Evil,” won the top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival, is one of
several prominent artists, athletes and other celebrities detained in recent
months for criticizing authorities.
He was arrested in July for criticizing the
government’s crackdown on protests in the southwestern city of Abadan over a
deadly building collapse. Two months later, nationwide protests broke out after
a 22-year-old woman died in the custody of the country’s morality police.
The Shargh newspaper, which is associated with the
country’s reform movement, said Rasoulof had recently been furloughed from
prison and was formally released, without specifying the dates or providing
further information. There was no official comment.
Earlier this month, Iran released famed director Jafar
Panahi, who was arrested in July after inquiring about the detention of
Rasoulof and another colleague. Authorities also released Iranian actress
Taraneh Alidoosti on bail, after she was detained for criticizing the crackdown
on the latest protests.
Iranians took to the streets over the September death
of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish Iranian woman who was detained by the morality police
for allegedly violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code. The protests
escalated into calls for the overthrow of the country’s ruling clerics, marking
one of the biggest challenges they have faced since coming to power in the 1979
revolution.
At least 529 protesters have been killed and nearly
20,000 arrested since those protests began, according to Human Rights Activists
in Iran, a group that has closely monitored the unrest. Iranian authorities
have not released official figures for those killed or arrested.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2250031/middle-east
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Israeli justice minister accuses judiciary of seeking
'coup' against Netanyahu gov't
Zain Khalil
12.02.2023
JERUSALEM
Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Sunday accused
the country’s judiciary of seeking to carry out a “coup" against the
government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The accusation came after a watchdog group called
"the Movement for Quality Government" filed a petition asking the
Supreme Court to oust Netanyahu over plans to enact sweeping judicial changes.
"An attempt to oust a prime minister against the
law, while trampling on democratic choice, is no different from a putsch carried
out with tanks," Levin said.
"This is a group of lawyers who do not respect
the results of the election and are working to carry out a coup and declare
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit," he added.
During his previous tenure, Netanyahu in 2020 signed
an agreement on "conflict of interest" with then-attorney general
Avichai Mandelbit in order to allow him to stay in power at that time while he
is on trial.
On May 24, 2020, Netanyahu's trial began over charges
of fraud, bribery, and breach of trust, accusations he vehemently denies.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Israel 'buys island' in Bahrain; activists call it
'dangerous and worrying'
13 February 2023
Taking their "normalization" to the next
level, Israel has reportedly "bought an island" in the tiny Persian
Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, drawing outrage from social media users.
Arabic-language news websites said TV7 Israel News
reported that Israeli company Himnota, which is owned by the ultra-right Jewish
National Fund (JNF), bought a private island with an area of 9,554 square
meters for $21.5 million in an auction.
The TV channel claimed that the island is residential
and suitable for investment projects of special nature, quoting a source within
Himnota as saying that skyscrapers can be founded on the island and can be used
for evacuating Israelis in the event of war.
According to the report, Avery Shnayer, representative
of the Blue and White party on the board of directors of Himnota, said talks
will be held with the "friendly" Bahraini regime to transfer
sovereignty over the island to Israel.
Although the TV7 Israel News report was immediately
deleted without clarification, it sparked anger and outrage among Bahraini
activists and social media users who expressed concern that the sale is a
prelude to the occupation of another Arab territory.
"Reports emerging (posted by Israeli news then
deleted) that Israel has bought an island in Bahrain - best described as
colonial expansion - from a foreign ruling family that occupied Bahrain
violently and has been ruling it violently since," Bahraini human rights
activist Maryam Alkhawaja said in a tweet.
Jawad Fairooz, a former Bahraini lawmaker and the head
of SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR), described the report as
" a very dangerous and worrying signal."
The news about the sale of the island came a day after
Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi landed in Bahrain to participate in an
international military conference involving several regional leaders, according
to the Israeli media.
The conference was held under the auspices of the US
Central Command (CENTCOM), with the head of the CENTCOM, Erik Kurilla also in
attendance.
Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed
US-brokered normalization agreements with the Israeli regime in Washington in
September 2020.
The move sparked widespread condemnation from various
Palestinian resistance factions and ordinary civilians as well as Muslim
nations and human rights advocates across the globe
Bahrainis have repeatedly expressed their opposition
to the so-called "normalization" of ties with the Israeli regime,
taking to the streets often to hold demonstrations against the ruling
dispensation in Manama.
Bahrain’s main opposition group al-Wefaq and top
cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim, who is currently living in exile in Iran, have also
repeatedly condemned the "normalization" move made by the ruling
al-Khalifah dynasty.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/02/13/698124/Israel-bought-island-Bahrain-
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Israel to step up crackdown against Palestinian
‘attackers’: Netanyahu
12 February 2023
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to
ramp up a campaign of crackdown against Palestinians in East al-Quds and the
West Bank, following a spate of retaliatory attacks against settlers in the
occupied territories.
Netanyahu made the pledge on Sunday, two days after a
Palestinian man allegedly carried out a car-ramming in the occupied territories
that killed at least two settlers.
"The cabinet is meeting today to prepare for an
even broader action against those carrying out terrorism and their supporters”
in East al-Quds and the West Bank, “while preventing as much as possible harming
those uninvolved," he said, without providing further details.
Netanyahu’s remarks comes as far-right Israeli
minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has already ordered the regime’s police force to
prepare for a major offensive in al-Quds.
Ben-Gvir told reporters on Friday that he has
instructed the police forces to be prepared for "Defensive Shield 2"
operation in the holy city starting from Sunday.
He referred to a major Israeli offensive called
'Defensive Shield' order by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that led to
dozens of deaths among Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Ben-Gvir’s statements regarding the new large-scale
offensive were widely criticized by Israeli authorities, who said such
decisions should be taken after consulting with all security authorities.
Two Israeli settlers were pronounced dead and five
others were injured when a Palestinian man allegedly carried out a car-ramming
at a bus stop in the Ramot Alon settlement north of al-Quds on Friday.
Palestinian media outlets identified the Palestinian
as Hussain Karaka, a 31-year-old resident of Bethlehem’s Dheisha refugee camp,
who was fatally shot by Israeli forces on Friday afternoon.
Also on January 27, seven illegal settlers were killed
and 10 others wounded in a shooting operation in occupied al-Quds which came a
day after Israeli forces raided the city of Jenin and its neighboring refugee
camp in the north of the occupied West Bank, killing nine Palestinians in one
of the deadliest raids in years.
In a separate shooting on January 28, two Israeli
settlers were injured in occupied al-Quds.
The latest incidents came amid increased Israeli
violence against Palestinians in the occupied territories, especially in the
West Bank.
Source: Press TV
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/02/12/698090/Israel-Netanyahu-campaign
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Africa
Tunisia’s Ennahda condemns ‘arbitrary arrests’ of
opposition activists
Yamena Salemi
12.02.2023
TUNIS, Tunisia
Tunisia’s Ennahda movement has condemned what it
described as arbitrary arrests of opposition political activists in the North
African country.
Tunisian security forces detained political activist
and former Ennahda leader Abdelhamid Jelassi from his home in the capital Tunis
Saturday evening.
The private Radio Mosaique said Jelassi was arrested
upon suspicions of conspiring against state security.
“The indiscriminate targeting of opponents of the coup
will not solve people’s problems, but it reflects the authorities’ lack of
vision and its unbridled desire to eliminate all opponents, including
politicians, human rights defenders, trade unionists, intellectuals, media
professionals, bloggers and businessmen,” Ennahda said in a statement.
“It further confirms [President] Kais Saied’s
appropriation of the function of the judiciary and issuing of orders outside
the law, reminiscent of the methods of fascist regimes that terrorize people by
targeting critics and persecuting them as well as citizens in their daily
living needs,” it added.
There was no comment from the Tunisian authorities on
Ennahda’s statement.
Tunisia has been in the throes of a deep political
crisis that aggravated the country's economy since 2021, when Saied ousted the
government and dissolved parliament.
Since then, Saied held a referendum to draft a new
Constitution last July and parliamentary elections last December.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Tunisian influential businessman Kamel Eltaief
arrested: Lawyers
11 February ,2023
Tunisian police on Saturday arrested powerful
businessman Kamel Eltaief, a former confident of late president Zine El Abidine
Ben Ali, as well as political activist Khayam Turki, their lawyers said.
Eltaief, 68, was arrested at his home in the capital
Tunis, lawyer Nizar Ayed said without providing further details.
Many Tunisians, especially supporters of the Ennahdha,
saw Eltaief as a symbol of past corruption in the North African nation.
The influential power-broker was involved in the 1987
coup that forced former president Habib Bourguiba from power on medical
grounds, and was long considered a crony of his successor Ben Ali.
Eltaief later fell out of grace with Ben Ali in 1992
in a feud with the former dictator’s wife Leila Trabelsi.
After the fall of Ben Ali in 2011, the businessman
moved closer to the opposition.
In 2012 he was investigated for “conspiracy against
state security,” but no charges were brought against him and the case was
closed in 2014.
Political activist Turki, 58, had once been considered
as a potential candidate to head the government after the resignation of
premier Elyes Fakhfakh in 2020, and belongs to the social democratic Ettakatol
party.
Turki’s lawyer Abdelaziz Essid, who said his client
was not known to be wanted by the authorities, said he was arrested in an early
morning police raid.
“He was taken to an unknown destination,” said Essid,
adding Turki had not been “facing any legal proceedings” to justify his arrest.
No further details were immediately available.
Ettakatol was allied with the Ennahdha party within
the government between 2011 and 2014, before the latter became part of the
opposition.
Ennahdha condemned Turki’s arrest and called for his
“immediate” release.
Tunisia has seen a spike in the arrest and prosecution
of politicians, journalists and others since President Kais Saied seized
wide-ranging powers in a dramatic move against parliament in July 2021.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Tunisian activist Khayam Turki arrested, ‘taken to an
unknown destination’: Lawyer
11 February, 2023
Tunisian police on Saturday arrested political
activist Khayam Turki, his lawyer said, noting however that he was not known to
be wanted by the authorities.
Turki, 58, had once been considered as a potential
candidate to head the government after the resignation of Premier Elyes
Fakhfakh in 2020, and belongs to the social democratic Ettakatol party.
The lawyer Abdelaziz Essid said Turki had been
arrested early morning by police who stormed his house and searched it.
“He was taken to an unknown destination,” said Essid,
adding Turki had not been “facing any legal proceedings” to justify his arrest.
No further details were immediately available.
Ettakatol was allied with the Ennahdha party within
the government between 2011 and 2014, before the latter became part of the
opposition.
Tunisia has seen a spike in the arrest and prosecution
of politicians, journalists and others since President Kais Saied seized
wide-ranging powers in a dramatic move against parliament in July 2021.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Tunisia police arrest ex-judges sacked by president,
lawyer and media say
February 13, 2023
TUNIS: Tunisian police on Sunday arrested two former
judges who were dismissed by President Kais Saied last year, a lawyer and local
media said, in the second day of a wave of detentions of prominent people,
including politicians and a businessman.
Bechir Akremi and Tayeb Rached, who were among the
dozens of judges and members of the judiciary sacked in 2022, were detained by
police, Anouar Awled Ali, a lawyer close to the cases, told Reuters.
The local Mosaique FM radio network said Akremi’s
arrest was linked to the investigation into the assassination a decade ago of
Chokri Belaid, a political activist. It added that Rached’s arrest was due to
suspicion of financial corruption.
On Saturday, police detained a number of people on
suspicion of conspiracy against state security. Among those arrested was former
Finance Minister Khayam Turki, Abd El Hamid Jlassi, a former senior official in
the Ennahda Islamist party, and Kamel Ltaif, a businessman with close ties to
successive coalition governments.
A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry did not
immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrests.
Ennahda, the biggest opposition party, said the
arrests were aimed at intimidating opponents of Tunisia’s president.
Rights groups have voiced increasing concern over
political freedoms in Tunisia since Saied’s seizure of most powers in 2021 and
his moves to assume ultimate authority over the judiciary.
Saied’s political opponents, whom he has labelled
traitors, have accused him of a coup aimed at dismantling the democracy built
after a 2011 revolution.
The president has denied those accusations, saying his
moves were lawful and necessary to save Tunisia from chaos. He has promised to
uphold rights and freedoms won in the revolution.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2249946/middle-east
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Pakistan
‘Super king’ Bajwa, not US, behind ouster: Imran
Mansoor Malik
February 13, 2023
LAHORE: After months of allegations, former prime
minister Imran Khan has given a clean chit to the United States and instead
held former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa responsible for the ‘conspiracy’ which
resulted in his ouster via a no-confidence motion in April last year.
The PTI chairman made these remarks during an
interview with the Voice of America English aired on Saturday and a separate
televised address on Sunday. On both occasions, the former premier took swipes
at the ex-chief of army staff, who, according to Imran Khan, was the source of
all the crises plaguing Pakistan today.
“Whatever happened, now as things unfold, it wasn’t
the US who told Pakistan [to oust me]. It was unfortunately, from what evidence
has come up, [former army chief] Gen [Qamar Javed] Bajwa who somehow managed to
tell the Americans that I was anti-American. And so, it [the plan to oust me]
wasn’t imported from there. It was exported from here to there,” Mr Khan told
VoA in a sharp U-turn from his previous position of blaming the US.
In the televised address, Imran Khan termed Gen Bajwa,
who retired in November last year, ‘super king’ and admitted that his
three-and-a-half-year stint in the Prime Minister’s Office was more like of a
puppet.
“Gen Bajwa had become an expert of everything,
including economy, politics, and foreign policy,” Mr Khan alleged.
“Gen Bajwa used to get the credit for good decisions
and Imran Khan used to serve as a punching bag for every wrong decision,” Mr
Khan claimed, alleging that the former army chief was responsible for the
“political and economic ills” faced by the country today.
Imran Khan also slammed the former chief for hampering
the process of accountability. The PTI chairman claimed Mr Bajwa had decided
that there would be no accountability of Shehbaz Sharif as he had already taken
a decision to elevate him as the prime minister. “No accountability was held
thereafter,” he said and claimed that the former army chief had also
acknowledged this in an interview with a columnist.
“If Bajwa could be criticised or [held] accountable
for his actions, he would not have been able to damage the country to such an
extent,” he added.
‘Elections only solution’
During the address, Imran Khan doubled down on his
demand for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following the dissolution
of provincial assemblies. He believed that only fresh elections could drive
Pakistan out of the current economic and political mess.
According to the PTI chief, the Election Commission of
Pakistan (ECP) and the incumbent caretaker government were duty-bound to hold
general elections in Punjab and KP within 90 days of the dissolution of the
assemblies. “On the 91st day, the caretaker governments will cease to have
constitutional cover,” he said, asking the bureaucrats and police officers to
disobey the ‘unconstitutional caretaker government’ after the end of its
three-month timeframe.
Mr Khan alleged that the Sharifs and Zardaris were
afraid of elections as they first wanted to create a “level-playing field” by
disqualifying him from contesting elections and then putting him in jail along
with his party leadership.
“The ruling coalition in the federal government is
afraid of one person and one party, which is Imran Khan and PTI, and wants to
block us to get their NRO given to them by Gen Bajwa,” he alleged.
The former premier also went after the ECP and said
the electoral watchdog was taking decisions on the “instructions of PML-N
supremo Nawaz Sharif”.
‘Stand with judges’
Claiming that the ‘mafias’ would now try to
‘pressurise the judiciary’, Mr Khan urged the nation to be ready to stand with
the judges in these “trying times” as he linked the survival of the country
with the supremacy of the rule of law.
“Statements have already started pouring in against
the judiciary after its verdict directing the ECP to hold elections within 90
days,” he stated. It may be mentioned here that a single-member bench of the
Lahore High Court has asked the ECP to consult the Punjab governor to ensure
elections in Punjab are to be held in the constitutional timeframe.
Speaking about the IMF deal, Mr Khan said the
government’s agreement with the Fund would open floodgates of inflation and
push millions of people down the poverty line. Asserting that the Pakistan was
rapidly growing in economic terms, the former prime minister said the IMF had
in Feb 2022 – only six weeks before PTI government’s ouster – acknowledged that
Pakistan’s economy was making record progress.
In the past 10 months, the PDM government has
“shattered the economy” and almost every person has lost one-third of their
income due to an increase in inflation owing to the wrong policies of the
incumbent rulers, he added. “Who is responsible for shattering the economy
showing robust improvement,” he asked.
‘Failure of security forces’
Talking to VoA, Imran Khan said international
relationships should not be based on “personal egos” but on the interest of the
country’s people. He was responding to questions about his approach towards the
US upon a possible return to power and his allegations about the country’s
involvement in his ouster.
“The people of Pakistan, their interest is that we
have [a] good relationship with the US,” he said, explaining that it was a
superpower and Pakistan’s biggest trading partner.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1736897/super-king-bajwa-not-us-behind-ouster-imran
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Imran Khan blames 'negligence' of security forces for
spike in terror attacks in Pakistan
Feb 12, 2023
LAHORE: Imran Khan has said the outlawed Pakistani
Taliban was allowed to flourish because of the "negligence" of the
country's security forces, as the former prime minister underlined the
importance of working closely with Afghanistan to jointly combat terrorism in
the region.
Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
party, who was ousted from power in April 2022, made these comments in an
interview with the Voice of America website on Saturday.
In the interview Khan, 70, strongly defended his
government's move to greenlight negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP)
terrorist outfit.
"Well firstly, what were the choices [the]
Pakistani government faced once the Taliban took over and they decided the TTP,
and we're talking about 30, [30,000] to 40,000 people, you know, the families
included, once they decided to send them back to Pakistan? Should we have just
lined them up and shot them, or should we have tried to work with them to
resettle them?
"We had a meeting, and the idea was that the
resettlement had to be done with the concurrence of the politicians of all
along the border, the FATA [tribal] region, and along with the security forces,
plus, the TTP. But that never happened because our government left and once our
government was removed, the new government took its eye off the ball,"
Khan said. He pinned the blame on the negligence of Pakistan's security forces
that allowed the banned outfit to prosper in the region.
"Meanwhile, this threat grew and it's possible
that they regrouped, but then where were the Pakistani security forces? Where
were intelligence agencies? Could they not see them [re]grouping? So, the
problem is, how could we be held responsible for their negligence?" he
asked.
Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorism, mostly
in the country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and also in Balochistan and
Punjab provinces.
Khan asserted that despite the differences between the
two sides, Islamabad must get Kabul to work jointly to combat terrorism in the
region.
"I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but do we
want a repeat of what happened to Pakistan from 2005 onwards to 2015, where Pakistan
was going under, suffering from terrorism all along the Afghan border? I think
we are not in a position to have another war on terror. And the only way is to
somehow get Kabul to work with us so that we can jointly deal with this
issue," Khan explained.
Khan, who came to power in 2018, is the only Pakistani
Prime Minister to be ousted in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April
2022.
Since his ouster, he has stepped up the ante on the
ruling coalition to announce snap polls.
During the Apex Committee meeting earlier this month,
Pakistan's civil and military leadership decided to seek Afghan Taliban chief
Haibuttallah Akhundzada's intervention to control the TTP.
In November last year, the TTP called off an
indefinite ceasefire agreed with the government in June 2022 and ordered its
militants to carry out attacks on the security forces.
Pakistan hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to
power would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP
operatives but they have apparently refused to do so at the cost of straining
ties with Islamabad.
On January 30, a Pakistani Taliban suicide bomber blew
himself up in a high-security mosque in Peshawar, killing over 100 worshippers
and injuring 200 others.
The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several
militant outfits in 2007, called off a ceasefire with the federal government
and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country.
The group, which is believed to be close to Al-Qaeda,
has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack
on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing
of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.
Source: Times Of India
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Eight injured in blast near car carrying wounded ASI
in North Waziristan
February 13, 2023
NORTH WAZIRISTAN / DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Eight people,
including women, suffered injuries in a bomb attack on a vehicle carrying a
wounded police official in the Ghulam Khan area along the border with
Afghanistan on Sunday.
Unidentified people had attacked Assistant
Sub-Inspector Aminullah inside his home at around 4am on Sunday.
Officials said the police official sustained injuries
in the attack and was being shifted to the hospital in a car when a bomb near
the vehicle went off.
“He was in the car and was about to be shifted when
the explosion took place leaving eight people wounded,” a police official said,
adding that two women were among the victims.
He said the injured were taken to Khalifa Gul Nawaz
Hospital in district Bannu and added that three of them were in critical
condition.
Attacks on police in Tank, Lakki Marwat repulsed
The official said a police team had reached the scene
of the occurrence and started investigating the attacks.
Earlier on Saturday night, police in the Gomal Bazaar
area of district Tank repulsed an attack on the police station following heavy
exchange of fire with militants.
According to police officials, militants armed with
latest weapons had stormed Gomal Bazaar Police Station. However, they said, the
attack was repulsed since the police were ready to respond.
“We had already observed their [militants’] movement
with the help of thermal imaging camera. They [militants] attacked the police
station but police personnel responded to it immediately,” a police official
said, adding that it was the fourth attack on the police in the district within
a week.
Official sources said the number of attacking
militants was between 13 and 15 and the exchange of fire continued for around
15 minutes. Heavy contingents of police immediately reached the spot, they
said. However, no casualty was reported.
A statement issued from the office of the Inspector
General Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Akhtar Hayat Gandapur read that the
provincial police chief immediately contacted the station house officer and
lauded bravery of the personnel. He announced cash reward and certificate for
the police team that took part in the gunfight.
Meanwhile, police in district Lakki Marwat also
repulsed a similar attack on a police post in the Bakhmal area.
Source: Dawn
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60 suspects arrested in Nankana Sahib lynching case
Asif Chaudhry
February 13, 2023
LAHORE: The Nankana Sahib police arrested 60 suspects
involved in the lynching of a man outside the police station on Saturday
morning.
Several police teams launched a massive crackdown at
the residences, business points, and other places to round up the suspects.
Sheikhupura Regional Police Officer (RPO) Babar
Sarfraz Alpa said some 17 suspects/attackers have been nominated in the FIR.
He said the police were very clear in its action
against the attackers whether they were from any religious organsation or a
political party.
“Raids are underway for the arrest of others,” Nankana
Sahib District Police Officer (DPO) Asim Iftikhar told Dawn here on Sunday.
He said that the Warburton police lodged two first
information reports, one against hundreds of suspects who attacked the police
station and murdered Waris and the other for desecrating the Holy Quran.
He said that the police teams seized 923 video clips
of the incident, and identified and arrested 60 of them, adding that the
identification of more suspects was in process.
The forensic analysis of the clips, mostly recorded
with mobile phones, was also done.
According to the DPO, an 800-strong mob attacked the
police station in order to illegally detain the man accused of blasphemy.
Mr Iftikhar said there were 50 police personnel who
tried to save the man, but they were outnumbered.
He said that in response to an emergency call for
reinforcement, several police personnel were on the way but the mob killed the
man before their arrival.
He said some 15 people arrested were members of a
religious-cum-political party.
Another senior police officer who was close to the
entire incident declared the 15 members principally responsible for the
lynching incident.
He said that Waris, who was lynched, was recently
released from jail in a blasphemy case registered in 2019.
He said the deceased was declared innocent by the
court of law.
Married in 2016, Waris divorced his wife within a
couple of years and was living alone in his house in the jurisdiction of
Warburton police station.
According to the police source, the Warburton police
had received three calls in the last several days over the purported desecration
of the Holy Quran.
In the last such call, the local residents claimed
they found the burnt pages of the Holy Quran and a picture of Waris’s ex-wife
at the spot.
This sparked outrage among local residents, who rushed
to Waris’ house and overpowered and thrashed him, according to the police
officer, who added that the police responded to the emergency call and rescued
him.
When the charged mob was chasing them to take him from
police custody, the cops rushed him to the station.
The police immediately locked him in the bathroom of
the police station as more people started gathering outside the building when
the local mosques made announcements to take the law into their hands.
The police source said the situation got out of
control when some members of a religious party took the lead, raised ‘religious
slogans’ and provoked people to attack the police station.
The police officer also identified a strategic blunder
in the design of the Warburton police station building, saying that the
contractor had left a three-foot wide hole over its main entrance gate.
Source: Dawn
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Bannu jirga urges Pakhtuns’ unity to establish peace
February 13, 2023
LAKKI MARWAT: Leaders of political parties and rights’
organisations have called upon Pakhtuns to forge unity to stop ‘usurpers from
plundering their resources’ and to establish lasting peace on their lands.
They were speaking at a jirga convened by Olasi Aman
Pasoon outside the Bannu Press Club on Sunday.
Speakers included ANP’s provincial general secretary Sardar
Hussain Babak, Manzoor Pashteen of Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, former district
councillor Halimzada Khan, Pir Kamal Shah, Bakht Niaz Sikandari, Malik Shaoib
Khan Advocate of PPP, Haji Abdul Samsad Khan, Illauddin Khan, Junaid Rasheed
and Nisar Khan Advocate.
They said Pakhtuns were divided and their resources
were being usurped under a conspiracy. The speakers said attempts to disrupt
peace and create lawlessness in the region were part of this conspiracy, adding
unity was inevitable for peace and prosperity in the Pakhtun region.
They said world powers in collaboration with their
local helpers had used Pakhtuns’ land for their vested interests, causing
bloodshed and heightening miseries of local residents.
The speakers said Pakhtuns didn’t want any more
bloodshed on their land and had become tired of collecting bodies of their near
and dear ones. They asserted that establishment of peace was the only demand of
Pakhtuns and they won’t budge from it.
The speakers said divisions among Pakhtuns could be judged
from the fact that when youths from Bannu were murdered, only Banochi tribesmen
mourned their killing.
They asked the powers that be to shun toeing US
policies as Pakhtuns did not want war on their soil.
Source: Dawn
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Envoy underscores enhanced defence cooperation between
Indonesia, Pakistan
February 12, 2023
ISLAMABAD: Indonesian Ambassador Adam Tugio has urged
the Pakistani business community to look at Indonesia as a trade hub for
expanding its export to the huge market of more than 640 million people in the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“Participation of a frigate vessel of Indonesian Navy
to AMAN Naval Exercise 2023 is an example of how Indonesia attaches great
importance to its partnership with Pakistan to promote global peace and
security” he said.
During a discussion at Karachi Council for Foreign
Relations (KCFR), the Ambassador said that cooperation in defence sectors had
the potential to grow beyond an exchange of military officers and capacity
building programs, said a news release issued by the Indonesian Embassy here
Sunday.
“More than 50 percent of conflicts are taking place in
OIC geographic. Indonesia and Pakistan are the two biggest UN troops
contributing countries and the role of women peacekeepers of the two countries
can give a significant contribution to creating an enabling environment for
peace and reconciliation in such conflicts”, Tugio added.
The Ambassador specifically referred to the newly
established mechanism of the Joint Ministerial Commission which would allow the
two FMs to meet regularly for stocktaking progress of bilateral cooperation and
give strategic direction to deepening bilateral relations.
He further mentioned that Pakistan has the full
potential to develop its economy due to its geostrategic location to serve as a
gateway to the broader region in Central Asia.
“Pakistan has strong resilience to overcome the
economic crises and make strong revival as attested through its history”, the
envoy said.
Responding to a question on a doable strategy for
Pakistan to strengthen its partnership with ASEAN, he suggested a two-prong
approach of institutional collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat and
bilateral processes with ASEAN members.
The envoy underlined the importance of deepening connectivity
through hard elements, such as building infrastructure as well as increasing
people-to-people connections as soft elements of connectivity.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Pakistan-US defence talks begin today
Anwar Iqbal
February 13, 2023
WASHINGTON: The second round of US-Pakistan mid-level
defence dialogue begins in Washington on Monday (today) to consider various
options for strengthening ties between the two establishments.
The Pakistani team, headed by the Chief of General
Staff (CGS), Lt Gen Mohammed Saeed, reached the US capital on Sunday afternoon.
The delegation includes two major generals, two brigadiers and a civilian
representative, the Additional Secretary for Americas Muhammad Mudassir Tipu
from the foreign affairs ministry.
They will interact with their counterparts at the US
Defence Department, which is also known as the Pentagon.
The CGS heads the second most influential office in
the Pakistan Army after the Chief of Army Staff. He is the administrative head
of both intelligence and operational forces.
The agenda for the four-day (Feb 13–16) talks includes
expanding coordination on strategic issues between the two defence
establishments.
Expansion of coordination on strategic issues on the
agenda
“This is an important mechanism for talks on bilateral
issues,” said a diplomatic source. “Defence and security cooperation, strategic
coordination, key regional and global issues,” said the source when asked about
the agenda.
“This is an important forum for institutionalised
dialogue and may lead to further talks at a higher level,” the source added.
The foreign affairs ministry in Islamabad said in a
press release that the Pakistani delegation included representatives from the
Joint Staff Headquarters and the three services headquarters.
The US multi-agency team will be represented by the
Office of the Undersecretary of Defence.
“Issues of bilateral defence and security cooperation
will be discussed during the defence dialogue,” the ministry said. The first
round of the dialogue was held in Pakistan in Jan 2021.
The two military establishments have maintained close
ties despite disagreements on political issues. On Jan 13, US Defence Secretary
Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with the new Chief of Army Staff, Gen Asim Munir,
congratulated him on his appointment and discussed “areas of mutual interest as
well as recent regional developments” with him, said a Pentagon statement
issued after the call.
On Oct 4, Secretary Austin hosted the then Army chief
Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa in Washington during the 75th anniversary of diplomatic
relations between the two countries.
The Pentagon issued a brief statement after the
meeting, saying that “this long-standing partnership continues today with
discussions focused on opportunities to address key mutual defence interests”.
In an earlier statement, Secretary Austin said the US
relationship with the Pakistani military would provide openings for both
countries to cooperate on key issues.
During his confirmation hearing in Jan 2021, Secretary
Austin had termed Pakistan an ‘essential partner’, adding that “continuing to
build relationships with Pakistan’s military will provide openings for the
United States and Pakistan to cooperate on key issues”.
Source: Dawn
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Muslim Hands over 20 houses to flood victims in
Mastung, Jafarabad
February 12, 2023
ISLAMABAD: The “Muslim Hands” active in relief,
rehabilitation, and reconstruction projects in flood-hit areas of the country
have handed over 20 houses to flood victims in Mastung and Jafarabad while the
construction of around 200 other houses has entered the final stage.
Executive Director of Muslim Hands in Pakistan Syed
Javed Gilani told APP on Sunday that ‘Muslim Hands’ has successfully reached 1
million beneficiaries through its Emergency response in flood-affected regions
across Pakistan during the past six months. The organization perpetrated about
USD 8 million for rescue, relief, and rehabilitation projects out of which USD
4 million have been spent/disbursed.
“We are constructing hundreds of disaster resilience
houses in Mastung, Jaferabad, and Badin out of which 90 percent has been
entered in the final stage while more than 20 houses have already been handed
over to the flood affectees” Gilani added.
He told that 222,928 people were provided with ready
meals, and food baskets, 4,782 with winter kits, and 4,527 with other Non-Food
Items. In the health sector, 259 medical camps and 10 basic health centers were
established where more than 120,000 people were provided with free check-up
medicines and other health facilities apart from 2400 herbal medicine and 64
wheelchairs.
Syed Javed Gilani further informed that 4,902 people
were provided with employment support which includes shops, rickshaws,
agricultural equipment kits (fertilizers, seeds, tools), and other skill-based
kits.
“We also provided temporary shelters to more than
33,000 people which includes tents, community centers, and shelter
kits while clean drinking water facilities (bottles,
wells, water pumps, filtration plant) have also been provided to 544,000
people,” he said.
Syed Javed Gilani said that despite its own resources
the Muslim Hands has also provided relief to millions of victims with the
support of UNICEF, USAID, Concern Worldwide, and the Turkish Organization TIKA.
Source: Pakistan Today
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North America
Biden calls for consensus in Israel on plans to tame
judiciary
February 13, 2023
JERUSALEM: US President Joe Biden has called for wide
agreement to be reached in Israel on sweeping changes to the judiciary which
have sparked nationwide protests.
Israel’s parliament may on Monday begin the
legislation process of the judicial overhaul, which would increase the
government’s sway in selecting judges while weakening the judiciary’s power to
strike down laws or rule against the executive.
“The genius of American democracy and Israeli
democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and
balances, on an independent judiciary. Building consensus for fundamental
changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can
be sustained,” Biden said.
Netanyahu has said the changes are needed in order to
restore balance between the government, the Knesset and the judiciary, which
some in his coalition accuse of elitism and overreaching its powers to
interfere in the political sphere.
Critics say the changes would deal a fatal blow to
Israel’s democracy because they would politicise the bench and undermine
judicial independence, which could make corruption easier and endanger human
rights and civil liberties.
Many legal experts, economists and former security and
economic officials, who include Netanyahu confidants and appointees, have come
out against the government’s judicial plans.
Israel’s central bank chief has urged lawmakers to
safeguard the independence of institutions and the opposition is calling on
Israelis to join a general strike on Monday.
Israel has ‘crossed all red lines’
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas accused Israel on
Sunday of having “crossed all red lines” in the occupied West Bank and east
Jerusalem, and urged world leaders to put an end to its actions.
The international community must “protect” the
Palestinian people and “put a stop to Israeli aggression... (and) unilateral
actions”, the head of the Palestinian Authority told an Arab League meeting in
Cairo.
“Mr Biden tells me he supports a two-state solution,
but then does nothing at all,” Abbas added.
A two-state solution would mean the dismantling of
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, as well as the partition of
Jerusalem, which Israel refuses as it considers the city its undivided capital.
Source: Dawn
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US delegation to meet GCC officials in Riyadh for
talks on Iran, counterterrorism
11 February ,2023
A senior US government delegation is set to travel to
Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, to participate in the US-Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) Working Group meetings, taking place from February 13-16, the US
State Department said.
The US delegation will meet with representatives from
the GCC member states and the Secretariat to discuss shared priorities,
including integrated air and missile defense and maritime security, Iran, and
counterterrorism, the State Department said.
The delegation will be led by some of the top US
government officials, including Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, Acting
Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Acting US Special Envoy for the Global
Coalition to Defeat ISIS Christopher Landberg, Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State for Arabian Peninsula Affairs Daniel Benaim, and Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Dana Stroul.
The top officials will be joined by other senior
leaders from the military and civilian sectors, the State Department said.
Source: Al Arabiya
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US carrier positioned in eastern Mediterranean to
assist Türkiye in earthquake response
Rabia İclal Turan
11.02.2023
WASHINGTON
The US European Command (USEUCOM) said Friday it has
positioned military capabilities, including the George HW Bush carrier in the
Mediterranean Sea to help Türkiye’s search and rescue efforts following deadly
earthquakes.
“The George Herbert Walker Bush Carrier Strike Group
arrived in the eastern Mediterranean Sea within hours of notification on Feb.
7, and stands ready to provide logistics, medical, and rotary airlift support,”
USEUCOM said in a statement.
A source speaking on condition of anonymity told
Anadolu that the US carrier was positioned off the island of Rhodes in
international waters.
The statement said a team from USEUCOM arrived at the
Incirlik Air Base in Türkiye on Feb. 9 to determine “how the U.S. military can
rapidly respond” to the support assistance requested by the Turkish government
through USAID.
The US Army rotary wing aircraft have also been flying
missions out of the Incirlik Air Base and began transporting first responders
to quake-hit areas Feb. 7, it said.
UH-60 Black Hawks helicopters transported injured
civilians to a local medical facility, said USEUCOM.
“Additional aircraft, including Black Hawks and CH-47
Chinooks are being sent to Incirlik and will be postured for potential
follow-on missions to support any requests from Turkish medical professionals,”
it said.
It added that the Incirlik Air Base has received more
than 1,337 international aircraft sorties in support of earthquake relief
assistance following the quakes hitting the southern provinces of the country.
"When an Ally or partner nation faces moments of
incalculable disaster and tragic loss of human life, there's never a moment of
hesitation from the United States to quickly respond to the needs of that nation,"
US Army Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, who leads USEUCOM, said in a statement.
"From search and rescue to medical assistance and
humanitarian aid, our command is working with other U.S. government agencies to
provide assistance requested by the government of Türkiye in the aftermath of
this natural disaster,” he said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Trump and Kushner profited from close Saudi ties:
Report
12 February 2023
Donald Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner
established close ties with the Saudi royal family when they were in the White
House and now they are profiting from the relationship with billions of Saudi
dollars flowing into their businesses, according to a report.
The Washington Post reported on Saturday quoting US
administration sources that Trump and former White House senior adviser Kushner
used their positions in government to ensure they profited when re-entering the
private sector.
“The financial links between the Saudi royal family
and the Trump family raise very serious issues,” Senate Finance Committee Chair
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) told the Post. “When you factor in Jared Kushner’s
financial interests, you are looking right at the cat’s cradle of financial
entanglements.”
Democrats have launched congressional investigations
into Trump’s and Kushner’s ties to Saudi Arabia. They argued there is no
precedent for how the two men have relied so extensively on Saudi investments
in their businesses after helping Saudi Arabia's then-deputy crown prince
Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) while in office, the newspaper added.
The lawmakers said that such business ties could leave
them indebted to the Saudi crown prince if Trump returns to the White House
after winning the 2024 election
While in the White House, Trump admitted that he
“saved” bin Salman in the wake of the CIA’s finding that the crown prince
ordered the brutal murder of Post contributing opinion columnist Jamal
Khashoggi.
Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by a Saudi hit
squad at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018. He used to be a
vocal critic of the Saudi regime and the crown prince.
The CIA concluded in 2018 that MBS had ordered the
killing of Khashoggi, contradicting Saudi Arabia's insistence that the crown
prince had had no prior knowledge of the plot.
The prince has denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing but
acknowledged later that it took place “under my watch.” Saudi officials later
blamed “rogue agents” for the journalist’s murder.
Trump, who had already refused to directly implicate
MBS, then defied his own country’s intelligence agency by saying that the CIA
assessment was “very premature.”
Former White House officials said that Trump and
Kushner used their offices to set themselves up to profit from their
relationship with the Saudi princes after leaving the White House.
“I think it was an obvious opportunity for them to
build their Rolodexes,” John Bolton, who was Trump’s national security adviser,
said in an interview. “And I think they were probably hard at work at it,
particularly Jared.”
“Why should Jared be worried about the Middle East?”
Bolton said. “It’s a perfectly logical inference was that had something to do
with business.”
Some six months after leaving the Trump
administration, Kushner secured a $2-billion investment from Saudi Arabia's
sovereign wealth fund, chaired by bin Salman.
Kushner’s firm structured those funds in such a way
that it did not have to disclose the source, according to previously unreported
details of Securities and Exchange Commission forms reviewed by The Washington
Post.
Trump, too, has profited from post-White House Saudi
investments. Trump’s golf courses started hosting tournaments for the Saudi
fund-backed LIV Golf a year after his administration ended. Meanwhile, the
Trump Organization secured an agreement with a Saudi real estate company that
plans to build a Trump hotel as part of a $4 billion golf resort in Oman.
The significant investments by the Saudis in
enterprises that helped both men financially came after they established close
ties with the prince while Trump was in office.
They empowered the crown prince by scheduling Trump’s
first presidential visit to the kingdom, backing him amid many international
crises and meeting with him repeatedly in Washington and Riyadh.
Source: Press TV
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