'We Call For Full Respect Of All Religions, Ensuring Different Communities Can Live In Harmony': UN On Udaipur Killing
New Age Islam News Bureau
30 June 2022
United Nations spokesman Stephane
Dujarric | Photo Credit: AP
----
• Islamic Law That Advocates Beheading Being Taught In
Madrasas: Kerala Guv Arif Mohammed Khan
• Men Will Represent Women At Religious Scholars'
Grand Gathering Of Taliban: Dy PM
• Pakistan Rejects India’s ‘Mischievous’ Attempt To
Link Udaipur Accused With Pakistani Organisation
• US To Blame For Muslim Poverty, Iran Guards
Commander Tells Pakistan
North
America
• American lawmakers favour close ties with Pakistan,
caution against anti-US rhetoric
• US slams Iran for not responding positively to EU
efforts on nuclear deal
• US citizen in Iran prison appeals to Biden for deal
• Key US Republican senator backs sale of F-16 fighter
jets to Türkiye
• Pentagon voices support for Türkiye's F-16 fleet
modernization plans
• US offers support for potential sale of F-16 jets to
Turkey
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India
• Madras High Court Directs DGP To Look Into Complaint
Of Two Individuals Misleading Muslim Youth To Collect Donations Through
International Channels
• RSS-Linked Muslim Body Demands Death Penalty For
Udaipur Tailor's Killers
• Udaipur bishop says no to confrontation after
Islamists beheaded a tailor
• ‘Un-Islamic’: Muslim Bodies Condemn Udaipur Tailor
Kanhaiya Lal’s Brutal Killing Over Prophet Remarks
• Leaders, Muslim Bodies Condemn Beheading Of Udaipur
Tailor Kanhaiya Lal Over Prophet Remarks
• Udaipur tailor murder: Delhi Jama Masjid's Shahi
Imam condemns act, says 'not only act of cowardice but against Islam'
• Muslim leaders in India condemn killing of Hindu man
• Perpetrators of 'Talibani barbarism' biggest enemies
of Islam, humanity: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Udaipur incident
• Bengal Imam’s association demands strong action in
Udaipur murder
• Clerics condemn Udaipur killing, appeal for calm
• Lashkar duo killed in Kulgam encounter
• Udaipur killing a terror attack, act filmed to
terrorise society: BJP
• Have been treating Udaipur killing as terror act
from the start: DGP
• Udaipur Killing: Time is Ripe for Muslim Clerics to
Issue Fatwa Against Blasphemy
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South
Asia
• US Seeks to Unfreeze Assets Without Enriching
Islamic Emirate: Report
• Deputy PM Mullah Beradar assists 53 million Afghanis
to quake-hit families
• Afghanistan: Taliban war crime against civilians in
Balkhab
• Taliban and U.S. officials to meet amid quake relief
efforts
--------
Pakistan
• Kartarpur Corridor Symbol Of Pakistan’s Commitment
Towards Religious Freedom: COAS
• Pakistan is hurtling along the path of multiple
implosions: Dr Naseer Dashti
• JUI minister vows to continue struggle for free,
transparent elections
• 'We must not promote famine': Khar calls for easing
sanctions on Afghanistan
• TTP refuses to budge from demand for Fata merger
reversal
• Sino-Pakistan ties enter a new phase as China’s
senior leader calls on PM Shehbaz, Gen Bajwa
--------
Mideast
• Iranian Envoy Warns of Certain UNSC Members' Abuse
of Power
• Israel’s parliament dissolves itself, sets November
1 elections
• Israel’s Bennett will not run in next general
election: Spokesperson
• Houthi: Yemeni army’s defence capabilities greater
than many Arab states
• Dozens of extremist settlers defile Aqsa Mosque
• Iran Dismisses G7's "Baseless, Unfair"
Statement
• Iranian FM Calls for Caspian Sea Littoral States'
Cooperation to Strengthen Security
• Iran Condoles with Jordan on Tanker Tragedy Incident
• Israeli military, Palestinians clash at West Bank
shrine
• Iran says guard killed at Afghan border
• US, UK military trainers arrive at southeast Yemen
port with arms cache: Report
--------
Europe
• British Foreign Secretary Grilled Over UK Government
Links To ‘Authoritarian’ Saudi Arabia
• UK Muslim Doctor Singled Out At Manchester Airport
Amid Rising Islamophobia
• France, Türkiye Committed To NATO’s Unity, Strength:
French President
• French court finds Salah Abdeslam guilty of murder
in 2015 Paris attacks
• Biden, Erdogan agree on 'continued close
consultations' between US, Türkiye
• Türkiye's president attends family photo shoot at
NATO summit
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Malaysian Health Minister: Remains Of Muslim
Covid-19 Patients Can Be Bathed, Shrouded
• Cabinet forms Special Task Force on Jihad Against
Inflation: PM
• Umno seeks united front as polls loom, says report
• Hamzah downplays deaths in immigration centres
--------
Arab
World
• Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Cuts Ties With Syria After It
Recognized Separatist Republics
• UAE Minister highlights nature-based solutions to
mitigate climate change at UN meet
• Saudi Arabia: Mecca, Medina ready to serve Hajj
pilgrims with 41 pct more 5G towers
• Car bomb kills at least six in Yemen’s Aden:
Officials
• Hajj ministry announces alternative flights,
facilities to accommodate pilgrims facing issues from UK, Europe and America
• Iran urges UNSC to condemn Israeli acts of terror,
aggression against Syria
--------
Africa
• Terrorists, Herders Plotting To Attack Churches,
Mosques, Markets In Lagos – Primate Ayodele To Sanwo-Olu
• Internet services cut in Sudan’s Khartoum ahead of
pro-democracy protests
• Bodies of 20 migrants found in Libyan desert two
weeks after last contact
• World bank lends Tunisia $130 million for grains hit
by Ukraine war
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/un-udaipur-killing-religions/d/127371
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'We Call For Full Respect Of All Religions, Ensuring
Different Communities Can Live In Harmony': UN On Udaipur Killing
United Nations spokesman Stephane
Dujarric | Photo Credit: AP
----
Jun 30, 2022
UNITED NATIONS: UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres
calls for the full respect of all religions and for ensuring that different
communities can live in harmony and peace globally, his spokesperson Stephane
Dujarric has said amidst communal tensions in Rajasthan after the killing of a
tailor in Udaipur.
Dujarric said this in response to a question on
whether the UN chief has a comment on the “resurgence” of religious tensions in
India following the killing of Kanhaiya Lal.
Two men, identified as Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse
Mohammad, with a cleaver hacked Lal to death in Udaipur city and posted videos
online that said they are avenging an insult to Islam, triggering stray cases
of violence in the Rajasthan city, a part of which was placed under curfew.
“We very much hope... we call for the full respect of
all religions and for ensuring, throughout the world, that different
communities can live in harmony and in peace,” Dujarric said at the daily press
briefing here on Wednesday.
In response to another question on the arrest of Alt
News co-founder Mohammad Zubair, he said, “We believe in a fundamental right of
expression. We believe in the fundamental right of journalists to express
themselves and we also believe in the fundamental need for people to respect
other communities and other religions. And we don't believe the two are... we
believe those two sentiments are very much compatible”.
Zubair was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday over
an “objectionable tweet” he had posted in 2018 against a Hindu deity.
Source: Times Of India
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original story:
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Islamic Law That Advocates Beheading Being Taught In
Madrasas: Kerala Guv Arif Mohammed Khan
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan
( File Photo)
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30th June 2022
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Coming down heavily on the kind of
education being imparted in madrasas, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said Islamic
law, that advocates beheading as a punishment for blasphemy, is being taught in
Muslim religious schools.
He was speaking to reporters who sought his reaction
to the incident in which a 40-year-old man was beheaded in broad daylight in
Rajasthan after an exchange of a series of inflammatory social media posts.
“The Muslim law does not come from Quran. It was written by individuals during
the time of empire (sic) and it provides for beheading. This law is taught in
the madrasas to the children,” Khan said.
The governor said that children are prone to be
influenced or indoctrinated in madrasas and demanded that what is taught in
such institutions should be examined. He added that it was the right of every
child to receive broad-based education till the age of 14. “Till the age of 14,
you cannot give a child specialised education,” the governor added. He was
speaking to reporters after inaugurating the ‘Janabodhan’ campaign against
alcohol and drug abuse.
Pinarayi condemns Udaipur incident
T’Puram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has termed
the Rajasthan beheading incident as a cruel act that has shocked the conscience
of humanity. He said the incident shows that the growth of religious extremism
is the greatest threat to the country.
“The incident goes on to prove that religious fundamentalism will wipe
out the last bit of goodness in human beings,” he said
Source: New Indian Express
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original story:
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Men Will Represent Women At Religious Scholars' Grand
Gathering Of Taliban: Dy PM
A girl sits with women
wearing burqas in Afghanistan. October 5, 2021. REUTERS
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Jun 30, 2022
KABUL (AFGHANISTAN): Ahead of the religious scholars'
grand gathering of Taliban, the deputy prime minister of the Taliban, Mawlawi
Abdul Salam Hanafi announced on Wednesday that the meeting will convene without
the participation of women.
Over 3,000 religious scholars, tribal elders,
intellectuals, influential figures and national traders will attend the
gathering at the Loya Jirga Hall in Kabul on Thursday without the participation
of women, stated the deputy prime minister, Khaama Press reported.
"The women are our mothers, sisters, we greatly
respect them, when their sons are in the gathering it signifies that they are
also involved, in a way, in the gathering," he added.
On being asked whether women could become a part of
the assembly, deputy minister Hanafi responded that male delegates would speak
on their behalf.
According to Khaama Press, the senior Taliban official
stated that the assembly was called at the Ulema's request and the Taliban
organized it so that they could talk over a variety of topics, like Islamic
regime, national unity, and the improvement of economic and social affairs.
However, civil societies have strongly condemned the
decision and have called the gathering illegitimate in absence of women.
It remains unclear what issues would be discussed
under the gathering's agenda and whether the issue of reopening girls' schools
and women's rights is considered an integral part of the talks, Khaama Press
reported.
Taliban has suspended the secondary education of girls
and enforced a strict form of Hijab. They have also provided no opportunities
for Afghan women to participate in political and public life, to fit the
pattern of absolute gender segregation that is aimed at making women invisible
in society.
Afghan women had enjoyed unfettered freedom in the
country for so many years but are now staring at a bleak future due to a number
of restrictions imposed by the Taliban governing aspects of their lives within
ten months of Afghanistan's takeover.
Women employees in some banks have already stopped
working. Even women police officers have received threats.
Away from the urban areas, women and girls are not
allowed to move out on the streets or travel without a male family member
accompanying them.
Women are being curtailed from wearing make-up as well
as from their reproductive rights.
Unrecognized by most of the international community,
the Taliban-led government has committed to disrespecting the human rights of
women. The atrocities of the Taliban against Afghan women have been on an
incessant surge since the organization seized power in Afghanistan in August
last year, banning young girls and women of humanitarian rights.
Source: Times Of India
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Pakistan Rejects India’s ‘Mischievous’ Attempt To Link
Udaipur Accused With Pakistani Organisation
Islamabad Police personnel
standing outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. — AFP/File
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June 30, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday rejected India’s
“mischievous” attempt to link the accused of the murder case in Udaipur with a
Pakistani organisation.
“We have seen reports in a segment of the Indian media
referring to investigations into the murder case in Udaipur, mischievously
seeking to link the accused individuals — Indian nationals — to an organisation in Pakistan,” said the
Foreign Office spokesperson in a statement.
The spokesperson, while “categorically” rejecting the
insinuations, said that the linking was a “typical” BJP-RSS “Hindutva” driven
Indian regime’s attempts to malign Pakistan “including externalising their
internal issues through pointing of fingers towards Pakistan”.
“Such malicious attempts will not succeed in
misleading the people, either in India or abroad,” said the spokesperson.
A day earlier, the Indian police arrested two men
after they beheaded a Hindu tailor on camera in the city of Udaipur over his
support online for a former ruling party official whose remarks about the
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) sparked global protests.
“Both the accused in the killing have been arrested
and we will ensure strict punishment and speedy justice,” Ashok Gehlot, chief
minister in the state of Rajasthan, where Udaipur is located, said on Twitter.
However, today Rajasthan’s Home Minister Rajendra
Singh Yadav claimed that one of the accused in the case had visited Karachi in
2014.
The Indian Express quoted Yadav as saying that Ghouse
Mohammad, one of the accused, was in Karachi for 45 days in 2014.
“Then in 2018-19, he also had movements in Arab
countries and visited Nepal a few times. For the past 2-3 years, he had been
making calls to 8-10 phone numbers from Pakistan,” Yadav was quoted by the
Indian publication.
According to Indian Express, Director General of
Police ML Lather said that the accused had gone to visit the office of
“Dawat-e-Islami”.
Source: Pakistan Today
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US To Blame For Muslim Poverty, Iran Guards Commander
Tells Pakistan
Hossein Salami said Iran
sees Pakistan's security as important as its own [Getty]
-----
29 June, 2022
The US military presence in the Muslim world is the
reason for poverty, division, insecurity, and conflict in these countries, a
top Iranian military commander has told a Pakistani official.
In a meeting with Pakistan's Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Committee Nadeem Raza in the Iranian capital Tehran, Hossein
Salami, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) condemned the
impact of US interventions in Muslim-majority countries.
He accused Washington of stirring divisions among
Muslim nations, prolonged wars, destruction of homes, displacement of people,
insecurity, poverty, and underdevelopment, according to official news agency
IRNA.
Salami said Iran and Pakistan's challenges stem from
"destructive" US interferences and presence in Afghanistan and the
only way to reverse this is through a US withdrawal.
Iran shares a sometimes troubled border with Pakistan
and has looked to boost cooperation, particularly on security issues.
Iranian forces have been attacked by Pakistani
militants and in February the two countries said they would work closer on
border security.
Tehran has also been accused of meddling in
neighbouring countries, including Pakistan.
It has huge strategic, economic and political depth in
Iraq and has bolstered Bashar Al-Assad's cruel regime in Syria.
Saudi Arabia also accuses it of arming and supporting
Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Source: The New Arab
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/us-blame-muslim-poverty-irgc-tells-pakistan
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North
America
American lawmakers favour close ties with Pakistan, caution against anti-US rhetoric
Anwar
Iqbal Published
June
30, 2022
WASHINGTON:
About a dozen US lawmakers gathered on the rooftop of a building across Capitol
Hill this week, urging the Biden administration to stay engaged with Pakistan,
a country they said was too important to be ignored.
And
at least one lawmaker, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, however,
offered to use his influence to help repair the damage done to US-Pakistan
relations by the anti-American rhetoric of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Congressman
Peter Meijer, a Republican lawmaker from Michigan, recalled how his father had
spent time in Pakistan when Washington and Islamabad had started building
“economic and strategic ties”.
And
“now we have an opportunity to continue to develop those ties,” said the
congressman while speaking at the fourth annual convention of the
Pakistan-American Political Action Committee (PAKPAC) on the Hill.
Senate
majority leader says he will help repair ‘damage’ done to ties
Congressman
Admiral Ronny Jackson, an influential Republican lawmaker from Texas who also
served in the US Navy, said he was “a big supporter of the organisation
(PAKPAC) and your cause” and offered to “do anything I can to help” to promote
this cause in Congress.
The
group describes its cause as “rebuilding the strong ties” that united the two
countries until recently, when relations began to strain over Afghanistan.
Several
speakers argued that it was wrong to hyphenate bilateral relations with a third
country, such as Afghanistan or India, as Pakistan on its own was an important
country of 220 million people in a sensitive, nuclearised region.
Congressman
André Carson, a Muslim Democrat from Indiana, also spoke about the Kashmir
dispute and urged the United States to play a role in defusing tensions,
“disagreements and the strife between Pakistan and India”.
Congresswoman
Nicole Malliotakis, a New York Democrat, noted that this was “a critical time
for the people of Pakistan” and pleaded for “peace, stability and economic
recovery” of the country and “for peace and stability in the region”.
Senator
Schumer, who spoke at a meeting of the American-Pakistan Advocacy Group (APDG)
in New York earlier this week, also hoped for the restoration of friendly ties
between the two countries, noting that Pakistan was once a key US ally.
The
Democratic senator, however, also asked the gathering who they support in
Pakistan. Most in the audience said Imran Khan while a minority backed the
current government.
Senator
Schumer reminded the audience that their former prime minister “did not talk
positively about the US” while “the incumbent Pakistani premier is expected to
help foster bilateral ties”. Responding to Imran Khan’s allegation of continued
US interference in internal Pakistani politics, the senator said the United
States did not make its policies on individual likes and dislikes.
Source:
Dawn
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US
slams Iran for not responding positively to EU efforts on nuclear deal
29
June, 2022
The
US and Iran ended indirect talks on reviving the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal
on Wednesday without any breakthrough, according to officials, with Washington
accusing Tehran of not being ready to “to revive the deal or bury it.”
“Two
intense days of proximity talks in Doha on #JCPOA. Unfortunately, not yet the
progress the EU team as coordinator had hoped for,” said Enrique Mora, the EU’s
coordinator for the talks.
Mora
said he would keep working “with even greater urgency to bring back on track a
key deal for non-proliferation and regional stability.”
The
EU official and EU Foreign Policy chief Joseph Borrell had expressed optimism
in recent days after they pitched to resume the stalled talks between
Washington and Tehran.
A
State Department official confirmed that the talks in Doha had ended and
thanked the EU for its efforts. “We are disappointed that Iran has, yet again,
failed to respond positively to the EU’s initiative and therefore that no
progress was made,” the official told Al Arabiya English.
The
official added that the US had made clear it was ready to “quickly conclude and
implement a deal” for mutual return to compliance with the 2015 deal, also
known as the JCPOA.
“Yet
in Doha, as before, Iran raised issues wholly unrelated to the JCPOA and
apparently is not ready to make a fundamental decision on whether it wants to
revive the deal or bury it,” the official said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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US
citizen in Iran prison appeals to Biden for deal
29
June, 2022
A
US citizen held for nearly seven years in Iran made an appeal from prison
Wednesday to President Joe Biden, urging a deal to free Americans regardless of
the outcome of nuclear diplomacy.
In
an op-ed published in The New York Times, 50-year-old Iranian-American Siamak
Namazi said he was concerned about repercussions he might suffer for speaking
out while confined to Tehran’s infamous Evin prison.
“But
I am compelled to break that silence now because I believe that the Biden
administration’s approach to rescuing Americans in distress in Iran has failed
spectacularly so far and unless the president intervenes immediately, we are
likely to languish in this abyss for the foreseeable future,” he wrote.
“Mr.
Biden, I implore you to put the lives of innocent American detainees above
Washington politics and make the tough decisions necessary to free all of us
immediately.”
Namazi
said he had been hopeful last year as the new Biden administration opened talks
with Iran on returning to a 2015 nuclear deal, with US officials indicating an
agreement was impossible without freeing four Americans.
“That
was the right approach. But forgoing an opportunity to free us because the
nuclear talks have stalled is not,” he wrote.
Namazi,
a businessman, was arrested in October 2015 and handed a 10-year sentence on
charges of seeking to overthrow the clerical state, with evidence cited
including his fellowships at Washington think tanks.
His
father, former UNICEF official Baquer Namazi, was taken into custody in
February 2016 as he tried to see him.
The
now 85-year-old was ordered released in 2020 but his supporters say he has been
denied a passport to travel, despite mounting health concerns, as Iran does not
recognize dual nationality.
Iranian
media have earlier indicated that a deal was in the works to free
Iranian-Americans in return for South Korea releasing some $7 billion frozen on
US requests.
Iran
released five prisoners in 2016 to coincide with the nuclear deal, which
promised sanctions relief in return for Tehran drastically scaling back its
sensitive atomic work.
Former
US President Donald Trump renounced the accord and the Biden administration has
been increasingly pessimistic about returning to the accord, although it is
holding a new round of indirect talks this week in Qatar.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Key
US Republican senator backs sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye
Servet
Günerigök
30.06.2022
WASHINGTON
Key
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham threw his support Wednesday behind a decision
by the US on upgrading Türkiye's F-16 fighter jet fleet.
"I
support the Biden Administration’s decision to support the sale of new F-16s to
our NATO ally, Turkey," Graham, who represents South Carolina, said on
Twitter.
"While
we have differences with Turkey, they are a NATO ally and it is in America’s
national security interests to beef up their capabilities in a troubled region,"
he wrote.
He
added that upgrading Türkiye's "aviation capability will benefit Turkey,
the U.S., NATO, and regional security."
His
tweets came hours after the Pentagon expressed support for Türkiye's
modernization plans for its F-16 fleet.
In
a call with reporters, Celeste Wallander, the assistant secretary of defense
for international security affairs, called Ankara a "highly capable,
highly valued, strategic NATO ally," noting that "strong Turkish
defense capabilities contribute to strong NATO defense capabilities."
"So
the US Department of Defense fully supports Turkey's modernization plans for
its F-16 fleet. These plans are in the works," she told reporters.
Wallander
said the modernization of the fleet is a contribution to NATO’s security and
therefore American security.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Pentagon
voices support for Türkiye's F-16 fleet modernization plans
Servet
Günerigök
29.06.2022
WASHINGTON
The
Pentagon is backing Türkiye's modernization plans for its F-16 fighter jet
fleet, Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international
security affairs said Wednesday.
Speaking
on a call with National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic
Communications John Kirby, Wallander called Ankara a "highly capable,
highly valued, strategic NATO ally," noting that "strong Turkish
defense capabilities contribute to strong NATO defense capabilities."
"So,
the US Department of Defense fully supports Turkey's modernization plans for
its F-16 fleet. These plans are in the works," she told reporters.
Wallander
said the modernization of the fleet is a contribution to NATO security and
therefore American security.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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US
offers support for potential sale of F-16 jets to Turkey
June
2022
The
administration of US President Joe Biden has expressed support for Turkey's
delayed purchase of F-16 fighter jets after Ankara dropped its opposition to
Finland and Sweden’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Washington
"supports Turkey’s modernization of its fighter fleet because that is a
contribution to NATO security and therefore American security," Celeste
Wallander, Assistant Secretary for Defense for International Security Affairs
at the Pentagon, said on Wednesday.
"These
plans are in the works. And, they need to be worked through our contracting
processes," she added.
"Turkey
is a highly capable, highly valued, strategic NATO ally and Turkish defense
capabilities, strong Turkish defense capabilities, contribute to strong NATO
defense capabilities," she added.
This
is the first time Washington expresses public backing for Ankara's request for
the fighter jets.
Turkey,
a NATO ally, requested to buy several dozen new F-16 fighter jets last October
to boost its air force. But with relations between Turkey and the US and its
European allies fraught, Washington had so far refrained from expressing any
opinion on the sale.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had accused the US of “stalling tactics” over
the F-16 purchase.
The
warm words from the Biden administration came a day after Turkey agreed to
support Sweden and Finland's membership of NATO, where unanimous consent is
required for enlargement.
At
the beginning of a meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in
Madrid, Biden thanked his Turkish counterpart "for what you did putting
together the situation with regard to Finland and Sweden."
Meanwhile,
a senior US official said Ankara had not asked for any "particular
concession" to give its green light.
The
official said US officials were engaged in ongoing technical talks about
Turkey’s request to buy F-16 fighter jets. Congress would have the final say
about any such sales.
The
sale of US weapons to Turkey became contentious after Erdogan purchased a
Russian-made S-400 missile defense system.
Source:
Press TV
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India
Madras High Court Directs DGP To Look Into Complaint
Of Two Individuals Misleading Muslim Youth To Collect Donations Through
International Channels
JUNE 30, 2022
It says the allegation levelled by a petitioner was
serious and it requires the attention of the police department
The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the
Director General of Police (DGP) to look into a complaint of an individual and
his associate misleading the Muslim youth by involving them in unlawful
activities and then collect donations through international channels in the
guise of helping those youngsters get released from prison.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N.
Mala observed that the allegations levelled by a public interest litigant M.
Jahufar Sathik of Mannurpet were serious in nature and therefore they call for
the attention of the police department. The Bench called for a detailed counter
affidavit to the PIL petition by July 20.
In his affidavit, the petitioner, a scrap merchant,
stated he was part of a local Muslim forum of 35 to 40 people in 2013 when
Mannadi Abdullah approached them for religious preaching. He claimed when he
and his friends attended the preaching, they found it was mostly about Jihad
and against Hindu leaders who were anti-Muslims.
The petitioner also said he and some of his friends
fell prey to the preaching and got involved in a murder case. Totally, 17
persons were charge sheeted in the case and much later, the petitioner came to
know that their handcuffed photographs were used to collect donations from Gulf
countries.
Source: The Hindu
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RSS-Linked Muslim Body Demands Death Penalty For
Udaipur Tailor's Killers
June 30, 2022
New Delhi: Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) on Wednesday
demanded capital punishment for those who brutally killed a tailor in
Rajasthan's Udaipur, calling them "terrorists and devils".
In a statement, the RSS-linked outfit said the
perpetrators of the "barbaric" incident have "disgraced"
Islam and brought "disrepute and shame" to the "peaceful"
Muslims in India and other parts of the world.
"The Manch is deeply shocked by such a heinous
murder, and strongly condemns it," the MRM said.
Two men armed with a cleaver allegedly killed Kanhaiya
Lal in Udaipur's Dhan Mandi area on Tuesday and posted videos online that said
they are avenging an "insult to Islam", triggering stray cases of
violence in the Rajasthan city, a part of which was placed under curfew.
In a video clip, one of the two assailants declared
that they had "beheaded" the man and went on to threaten Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, saying their knife will get him as well.
"The Manch demands that these terrorists and
devils be given harshest punishment. They must be hanged till death for the
barbaric crime that they have committed. The government should set up a fast
track court for the trial of the accused in the case," the statement
added.
Source: ND TV
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Udaipur bishop says no to confrontation after
Islamists beheaded a tailor
by Nirmala Carvalho
06/29/2022
Udaipur (AsiaNews) – Bishop John Ganawa of Udaipur has
issued an appeal for peace and dialogue following yesterday’s gruesome murder
of a tailor by Islamic extremists in the city of Udaipur (Rajahstan).
Kanhaiya Lal was attacked and beheaded by two men
yesterday in his shop, which is located in a crowded market in the Maldas area,
after he allegedly shared a post on social media in support of Nupur Sharma,
spokeswoman for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.
After making disparaging comments about the Prophet
Mohammed during a debate in late May on the Times Now television channel she
was suspended from her position.
Since then, the case has inflamed emotions across the
country where relations between Hindu nationalists and Muslim communities have
been marred by rows and controversies.
Lal was attacked by a man with a sharp weapon, while
the other videotaped the crime. Later the scene was posted online along with
the two attackers, Mohammed Riyaz Attari and Ghouse Mohammed, brandishing
swords and threatening to kill Prime Minister Modi.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that two
men were detained in Rajsamand in connection with the murder.
In view of the situation, the authorities banned any
gathering of more than four people in several parts of Udaipur for fear that
the incident could trigger further violence.
“I condemn the incident,” Bishop Ganawa told AsiaNews.
“As a representative of the Christian community here
in Udaipur, I appeal for peace and harmony among all the communities,” he said.
Source: Asia News
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‘Un-Islamic’: Muslim Bodies Condemn Udaipur Tailor
Kanhaiya Lal’s Brutal Killing Over Prophet Remarks
29 JUN 2022
Prominent Muslim organisations have condemned the the
brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur, calling it "un-Islamic" and
asserting that no person has the right to take law into one's hands.
Bodies like All India Muslim Personal Law Board
(AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind issued statements condemning the murder of
Kanhaiya Lal by two men who had posted videos online that claimed they were
avenging an insult to Islam.
Delhi Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari called
the killing an "act of cowardice" and "an act against
Islam".
Islam is a religion of "peace and
tranquillity," he said.
In its statement, the AIMPLB said such acts were
against the principles of Islam and no one should take law in their hands.
"Insulting holy personalities of any religion is
a serious crime. BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma made derogatory remarks about
the holy Prophet of Islam, which is very sad for Muslims. The government not
taking any action against Nupur Sharma is like rubbing salt on the wounds. But
despite this, taking the law into one's own hands and killing a person by
declaring him a criminal is a condemnable act," the statement issued on
behalf of AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani.
"Neither the law allows it nor does the Islamic
Shariah justify it. Therefore, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board strongly
condemns the incident in Udaipur (Rajasthan)," the statement said.
The board also urged the government to make stringent
laws regarding disrespectful comments against holy personalities and take
immediate action in such cases.
The board also appealed to the Muslim community to act
patiently and not take law into their own hands as well as not indulge in any
such action that might disturb communal harmony in the country.
In a statement, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind general secretary
Maulana Hakeemuddin Qasmi condemned the "brutal killing in Udaipur
apparently on the pretext of the insult to the Prophet" and called it
against the law of land as well as "against the religion of Islam".
He said whoever has perpetrated this incident cannot
be justified in any way and the act was against the law of the land and
"our religion".
"In our country, there is a system of law, no one
has the right to take the law into his own hands," Qasmi said.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind said the Udaipur incident is
"barbaric, uncivilised" and there is no room for justification of
violence in Islam.
"We strongly condemn it. No citizen should take
law in his own hands. Let the law prevail.
The culprits should be dealt with according to the law of the land. In
any case, peace should not be disturbed. Nobody should try to take the
advantage of this ugly crime," it said.
Bukhari issued a statement saying the
"heartbreaking, heinous murder committed in Udaipur has shaken the
humanity".
"Islam is a religion of peace and tranquillity.
The life of the Prophet of Allah is full of numerous examples of compassion,
tolerance, generosity and humanitarianism," the Shahi Imam of the 17th
century mosque here said.
"I, myself and on behalf of the Muslims of India,
with all the vehemence at our disposal, condemn this act," Bukhari said.
"Had the persons who committed this barbaric act
studied the life and character of the Holy Prophet and had they been well
versed with the spirit of Quran and shariah, they would not have committed the
heinous crime," he said.
Two men, identified as Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse
Mohammad, have been arrested for the murder.
In a video clip, Akhtari declared that they had
beheaded the man and went on to threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying
their knife will get him as well.
Indirectly, the assailants also referred to Nupur
Sharma, the BJP leader who was suspended from the party over a controversial
remark on Prophet Mohammad. Lal, the tailor, was recently arrested by the local
police over some remarks made on social media by him.
Source: Outlook India
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Leaders, Muslim Bodies Condemn Beheading Of Udaipur
Tailor Kanhaiya Lal Over Prophet Remarks
29 JUN 2022
The brutal killing of Udaipur tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, in
the broad daylight has shaken the nation after his murder video went viral. It
has drawn ire from different political parties, and several leaders urged the
State to accord the strictest possible punishment to the accused.
40-year-old Kanhaiya Lal was allegedly beheaded for
supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's remarks against Prophet
Muhammad. Two men slit the throat of the tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, and posted a
video on social media where they claimed that they are avenging an insult to
Islam. This triggered communal tension in the Rajasthan city with a curfew
being imposed.
In the video clip, one of the purported assailants
declared that they had “beheaded” the man and then threatened Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, saying their knife will get him as well.
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief
Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday condemned the killing of a tailor in Rajasthan’s
Udaipur district for allegedly insulting Islam.
Owaisi, who was addressing a gathering in Bhopal’s
Ashoka Garden area as part of his party’s campaign for the Madhya Pradesh local
body polls, also demanded the arrest of the suspended BJP spokesperson for her
remarks against Prophet Mohammad.
“I condemn the (Udaipur) incident. Killing someone is
not allowed in the law. Nobody can kill others. We will not take the law in our
hands. This is a crime. But we demand that Nupur Sharma should also be
arrested,” he said. Terming the tailor’s killing as gruesome, he said the
government must take the strictest action, adding that the AIMIM’s consistent
stand was to oppose such violence. During his speech, Owaisi also criticised
Congress and BJP and accused them of hobnobbing with each other.
Prominent Muslim organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind
condemned the heinous killing of a tailor in Rajasthan’s Udaipur on Tuesday,
saying such an act cannot be justified in any way and is against the religion
of Islam.
In a statement, Maulana Hakeemuddin Qasmi, general
secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, condemned the “brutal killing in Udaipur
apparently on the pretext of the insult to the Prophet” and called it against
the law of land as well as “against the religion of Islam”.
“In our country, there is a system of law, no one has
the right to take the law into his own hands,” Mr. Qasmi said.
The Indian American Muslim Council also condemned the
murder along with prominent journalist Rana Ayyub.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to Twitter
to assure that the accused persons would be "punished severely in
court".
Attacking the Gehlot government, Union minister Anurag
Thakur said, "The brutal and brutal murder of an innocent person in
Udaipur is a big question mark on the legal system of the Gehlot
government."
Condemning the act, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said
that he was "deeply shocked".
"I am stunned by this heinous murder. Barbarism in the name of
religion cannot be tolerated. Those who spread terror through this act of
brutality should be severely punished immediately. We all have to defeat hate
together. I appeal to all, please maintain peace and brotherhood," he
wrote on Twitter.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said
the violent incident in Udaipur should be condemned. "The culprits should
get the harshest punishment. Spreading hatred and violence in the name of
religion is fatal for our country and society. We have to together strengthen
the efforts for peace and non-violence," she said in a tweet in Hindi.
BSP chief Mayawati urged people to maintain peace and
order.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "I unreservedly
condemn the horrific beheading of shopkeeper KanhaiyaLal in Udaipur by two
Muslim youth, who then posted a gruesome video of the murder on social
media."
Condemning the murder, Kerala CM said, "Strongly
condemn the barbaric murder in #Udaipur. Request the authorities to take stern
action against those responsible. Such heinous acts would only serve to upset
our harmonious living. Appeal to everyone to maintain peace and calm and let
the law take its course."
Source: Outlook India
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Udaipur tailor murder: Delhi Jama Masjid's Shahi Imam
condemns act, says 'not only act of cowardice but against Islam'
June 29, 2022
The Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Delhi, on Wednesday,
condemned the brutal murder of a tailor in Udaipur by two men in a broad
daylight and said it was “not only an act of cowardice but an act against
Islam.”
In a statement, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Shahi Imam, Jama
Masjid, Delhi said: “The heartbreaking, heinous murder committed in Udaipur has
shaken the humanity. The inhumane incident of the murder of a man named
Kanhaiya Lal by two persons named Riaz and Ghous, and that too in the name of
the Holy Prophet, is not only an act of cowardice but an act against Islam.”
“I, myself and on behalf of the Muslims of India, with
all the vehemence at our disposal, condemn this act,” he said.
Elaborating that Islam is a religion of peace and
tranquility, with the life of the Prophet of Allah having numerous examples of
compassion, tolerance, generosity and humanitarianism, Bukhari stated:
"Had the persons who committed this barbaric act studied the life and
character of the Holy Prophet and had they been well versed with the spirit of
Quran and shariah, they would not have committed the heinous crime."
For the unversed, two men - Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse
Mohammad - slit the throat of a tailor, identified as Kanhaiya Lal, in Udaipur
on Tuesday, 28 June, days after he made a social media post in support of
suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma.
The accused have, subsequently been arrested from
Rajsamand. They had filmed the incident of killing Kanhaiya Lal and shared it
on social media saying they were avenging Islam.
In a video clip, Akhtari declared that they had
"beheaded" the man and went on to threaten Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, saying their knife will get him as well.
On Wednesday, the he Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on
Wednesday has directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the
investigation of the murder of tailor Kanhaiya Lal Teli in Udaipur, Rajasthan
on Tuesday.
Source: Firstpost
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Muslim leaders in India condemn killing of Hindu man
Shuriah Niazi
29.06.2022
NEW DELHI
Prominent Indian Muslim organizations, and leaders on
Wednesday called the murder of a Hindu man in India’s Rajasthan state on
Tuesday a "disgrace to humanity and an act of defaming Islam."
Reacting to a video posted on social media by two men
claiming that they avenged an insult to Islam, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, a leading
Muslim organization, said in a statement that no one has the authority to take
law into their own hands.
Mobile and internet services and large gatherings
remained restricted in the western Udaipur city on Wednesday, a day after
police arrested two Muslim men for allegedly killing a Hindu tailor. The two
cleaver-wielding men filmed the act and posted it on social media and also
threatened to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the same manner.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind’s President Maulana Mahmood Asad
Madani strongly condemned the killing, saying: “This incident is a great
challenge to the law enforcement agencies of the country. No matter whosoever
is the killer, no one has the authority to take law into his own hands.”
He said Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind is against all forms of
extremism and demands that strict action should be taken against such persons
irrespective of their religion, caste, and ethnicity.
Social Democratic Party of India’s National Secretary
Taslim Ahmed Rehmani, denouncing the incident, said: “This ghastly murder
cannot be accepted in a civilized society. I demand fast track court shall try
this case and murderers must be hanged publicly.”
Asaduddin Owaisi, the chief of All India
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, another Muslim organization, said that no one can
take law into their own hands.
“I condemn the gruesome murder in Udaipur Rajasthan.
There can be no justification for it. Our party’s consistent stand is to oppose
such violence,” tweeted Owaisi.
Rajasthan's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that both
the accused have been arrested.
Meanwhile, tension prevailed in the whole state after
the incident. The federal government is treating the gruesome killing as a
terror attack and dispatched a team of the anti-terror probe agency National
Investigation Agency (NIA) to Rajasthan.
The state government also announced the imposition of
prohibitory orders for a month and cut internet services for 24 hours across
the state.
In a video, the two Muslim men claimed that it was a
retaliation for anti-Islam remarks made by Nupur Sharma, an official of the
ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/muslim-leaders-in-india-condemn-killing-of-hindu-man/2625569
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Perpetrators
of 'Talibani barbarism' biggest enemies of Islam, humanity: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
on Udaipur incident
Jun
29, 2022
NEW
DELHI: Minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday condemned the
brutal murder of a tailor in Udaipur and said perpetrators of "Talibani
barbarism" are the biggest enemies of both Islam and humanity.
Two
men with a cleaver murdered a tailor in Udaipur and posted videos online,
claiming that they are avenging an insult to Islam.
No
community or country can tolerate such barbarism and brutality, Naqvi told
reporters.
"We
should beware of such elements who want to shatter the strength of India
through their nefarious and heinous conspiracies. We have to work united to
defeat such evil forces," the senior BJP leader asserted.
Two
men, identified as Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse Mohammad, have been arrested for the
murder.
In
a video clip, Akhtari declared that they had beheaded the man and went on to
threaten Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying their knife will get him as well.
Indirectly,
the assailants also referred to Nupur Sharma, the BJP leader who was suspended
from the party over a controversial remark on Prophet Mohammad. Kanhaiya Lal,
the tailor, was recently arrested by the local police over some remarks made on
social media by him.
Source:
Times Of India
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Bengal
Imam’s association demands strong action in Udaipur murder
By
Rabi Banerjee
June
29, 2022
Bengal
Imam Association strongly condemned the 'gruesome murder' of Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor
of Udaipur, who supported the statement of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma
on social media.
“It's
a crime against humanity as Allah has said. Killing an innocent person is
anti-Islam. I don’t know from where they have come. They might bear Arabic
names but they are not Muslims,” said Md Iyahiya, chairman of the Imam’s
association in Bengal.
Tension
has gripped several border villages in Bengal as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
has alerted all district police while being on tour in Western part of Bengal.
Ironically,
the situation suddenly turned volatile after Banerjee in a party meeting in
Asansole asked the people to launch a 'political jihad' against the BJP.
A
10-member-delegation led by Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the opposition, is
scheduled to meet governor Jagdeep Dhankhar today, said Raj Bhavan, Kolkata.
“They
are going to meet governor today at 5.30pm regarding alarmingly worrisome
stance taken by Mamata Banerjee at a public meeting in Asansol yesterday,” said
the statement issued by Raj Bhavan.
However,
Banerjee, today condemned the incident in Rajasthan and asked people from every
community to maintain peace. Yiyahiya also said that the comment of a
particular person did not fall on any political party.
Source:
The Week
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Clerics
condemn Udaipur killing, appeal for calm
Jun
30, 2022
Varanasi:
Condemning the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur by fanatics, Muslim
clerics and forums including Bunkar Biradarana Tanzim have appealed to the
citizens for maintaining peace. A group of lawyers staged a demonstration
against the incident on Wednesday.
Though
men in khaki in Kashi are already on high alert mode since May 20 when the
first Friday namaz after the completion of court-mandated survey and
videography of Gyanvapi premises in which a shivling was purportedly found in
the ablution pond, was conducted in a tense atmosphere, they further increased
alertness mainly in mixed populated and communally sensitive localities since
Tuesday night.
Mufti-e-Banaras
Abdul Batin Nomani strongly condemned the killing of tailor Kanhaiya Lal and
said that the act of taking law in hand by killers can’t be justified as it was
not only against law but also Islam. He appealed to the people of the city to
keep emotions under check and cooperate in maintaining peace and communal
harmony.
Weavers’
bodies including Bunkar Biradarana Tanzim Barah, BBT Pancho and BBT Baeesi also
condemned the Udaipur incident. The chiefs of these organisations including
Sardar Ekramuddin, Sardar Jiya-ul-Hasssan and Sarday Nurul Hassan said that it
is disgrace to humanity and an act of defaming the religion of Islam. They
appealed to the people to extend full cooperation to district administration
and police in maintaining peace.
A
group of lawyers led by the president of Banaras Bar Association Dhirendra Nath
Sharma staged demonstration in Kutchehri premises and also gave a memorandum to
the district administration demanding stern action against the killers.
On
the other hand, the men in khaki intensified patrolling and route marches
especially in the mixed populated and communally sensitive areas. Commissioner
of police A Satish Ganesh said that extra alert was already being maintained by
police in the city since May 20 but since Tuesday night further enhancement in
security measures was ensured.
Teams
of officials were engaged to meet the religious authorities and prominent
people to seek their cooperation in maintaining communal harmony, said CP
adding, foot patrolling and route marches had also been intensified apart from
increasing pickets in sensitive and mixed populated areas.
Source:
Times Of India
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Lashkar
duo killed in Kulgam encounter
Jun
30, 2022
SRINAGAR:
Two local Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were shot dead in an encounter in Nawapora
area of Mirbazar hamlet in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday. The
operation that took place on the day the first batch of Amarnath pilgrims set
out for the holy cave shrine, assumes significance as the site of the gun
battle was very close to the national highway (Yatra route).
Kashmir
Zone Police, in a tweet quoting IGP (Kashmir Zone) Vijay Kumar, identified the
slain duo as categorised terrorists Yasir Wani from Wangund, Kulgam, and Raees
Manzoor from Chotipora, Shopian. Arms and ammunition including an AK-47 rifle
and one pistol, along with other incriminating materials were recovered from
the spot of the firefight.
The
anti-terror operation was launched in the afternoon by a joint team of the
Army, CRPF and police after receiving inputs about the presence of terrorists
in the area. As the security forces headed toward a suspected hideout, holed-up
terrorists opened fire at the search party, triggering an encounter in which
the two terrorists were killed.
Lashkar
terrorists arrested in Budgam, Bandipora
Srinagar:
Two Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were arrested — one each in central Kashmir’s
Budgam district and north Kashmir’s Bandipora district respectively — on
Wednesday.
In
Budgam, police while investigating a narco-terrorism module arrested Showkat
Ahmed Ganie, a Chadoora resident, who was involved in distributing proceeds
from the sale of narcotics to active terrorists and operatives to fund
terrorism in the Kashmir Valley. He also provided logistic support to the
outfit.
Source:
Times Of India
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Udaipur
killing a terror attack, act filmed to terrorise society: BJP
June
29, 2022
Hours
after the Union Home Ministry directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA)
to take over the Udaipur murder case of Kanhaiya Lal Teli, a tailor, the ruling
BJP on Wednesday termed the beheading as a “terror attack” and held the
Congress government responsible for the incident saying its “appeasement and
discriminatory policies” are leading to such incidents.
Addressing
a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi, BJP spokesperson
Rajyavardhan Rathore said Teli’s killers filmed the incident and made the video
viral in an attempt to terrorise society. “The Chief Minister of Rajasthan
calls this incident a murder. When someone makes a video of a murder and makes
it viral, it is not an ordinary incident. This is not a murder, this is a
terrorist attack. The action (filming the incident) has been taken to terrorise
the entire society,” Rathore said.
Two
men hacked Kanhaiya Lal Teli to death inside his shop in Udaipur on Tuesday,
and posted a video online of the incident claiming it was in retaliation for
the victim sharing remarks made by BJP’s Nupur Sharma on the Prophet.
According
to Rathore, a Lok Sabha MP from Jaipur Rural, extremist groups have been
flourishing in the state and the Ashok Gehlot government has been “directly or
indirectly” promoting them.
Rathore
alleged that the Congress government in Rajasthan is responsible for Teli’s
killing and that it has taken many steps during its tenure to appease one
community. “Not a single week has gone by in the last six months when terrorist
or jihadi incidents have not taken place in Rajasthan. The government of
Rajasthan is solely responsible for this,” Rathore said. “There are different
laws for different religious communities. There are restrictions for the
festivals of one community but others are given police protection to conduct
their festivals,” he said.
He
said Teli had sought police protection but the administration tried to put
pressure on him instead. “The Chief Minister, who is also the Home Minister,
should take moral obligation – either he should take responsibility or should
quit. But he has been playing vote bank politics and has been helping the
extremist forces that are hurting the interests of the nation…and the state
intelligence was being used for political intelligence,” Rathore said.
Source:
Indian Express
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Have
been treating Udaipur killing as terror act from the start: DGP
Jun
30, 2022
By
Sachin Saini
The
Rajasthan Police have been treating the brutal killing of a Hindu tailor by two
Muslim men as an act of terror “from the very beginning” and have also booked
the accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), state
directorate general of police (DGP) M L Lather said on Wednesday.
Preliminary
investigation by the state police has revealed that one of the accused, Gaus
Mohammed, a resident of Udaipur who was apprehended by Rajasthan Police on
Tuesday evening, had made a trip to Pakistan in 2014, and was closely connected
to an organisation named Dawaat-e-Islami, the DGP said.
“During
the course of the investigation, it has emerged that Gaus Mohammed was closely
connected with an organisation called Dawat-e-Islami. Keeping this in mind and following
instructions from chief minister Ashok Gehlot, we have been treating the case
as an act of terror right from the beginning,” Lather said.
Keeping
in mind these aspects and the nature of the attack, the state police notified
the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and appealed for help, Lather added.
“We
have also filed a case under UAPA,” he said.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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Udaipur
Killing: Time is Ripe for Muslim Clerics to Issue Fatwa Against Blasphemy
JUNE
30, 2022
In
response to the barbaric murder of an Udaipur tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, by two
Muslim men, Hazrat Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, general secretary of the
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), gave an interesting statement. On
the face of it, he criticised the killing, calling it a “brutal attack on a
poor man” by “some non-ethical minds”. But when one looks at the finer points
of the statement, it becomes obvious that this was a conditional criticism.
Rahmani
said, “It is a grave crime to defame and slander any religious personality. The
derogatory words spoken by (former) BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma against
Prophet Mohammed are very painful for the Muslim community. The inaction of the
government against this crime is nothing but rubbing salts on our wounds.”
The
statement is problematic as it condemns the killing but in the same breath
attempts to justify it. In fact, the biggest culprit, as per Rahmani, is the
Government of India which failed to act against Nupur Sharma, whose “derogatory
words” have “pained” the Muslim community. So, in the larger scheme of things,
these two Muslim men were provoked to act in a gruesome manner by the statement
of Nupur Sharma and the failure of the BJP government to act against her!
What
Rahmani conveyed indirectly, Congress leader Pawan Khera said it bluntly. He
wrote on Twitter, “Kanhaiya Kumar, Akhlaq and Pehlu Khan — all became victims
of hatred. Who is creating an atmosphere of fanaticism in the country? Who is
creating controversies in society? Who is gaining political mileage by
spreading hatred? Everyone knows who he is. Everyone is watching, but he is
silent.”
It
is this mindset that invariably makes people look for the “root cause” of any
dastardly incident; they invent one when there is none. This mindset stops the
society as a whole from introspecting where the problem actually lies. In this
narrative, a make-believe victimhood is invented, while the real victims are
left to lick their own wounds.
According
to Wikipedia, blasphemy in Islam is an impious statement or action involving
Allah that finds a much wider gaze in the vernacular, encompassing not just
ridiculing or vilifying of Islamic qualities but also disputing any of the
religion’s essential doctrines. In nations like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and
Indonesia, blasphemy cases are becoming rampant as a tactic for persecuting
minorities. According to the Centre for Social Justice, at least 1,500
individuals were accused of blasphemy, and at least 75 people accused of
blasphemy were murdered in Pakistan. According to a study conducted by a US
government advisory body, Pakistan used blasphemy laws more than any other
country on the planet.
In
recent years, many people have been lynched after being accused of blasphemy.
Pakistan’s anti-defamation laws, which carry the death penalty, are reported to
be often utilised to settle personal scores in the Muslim-majority nation,
according to rights groups. The bulk of the 71 nations that have made blasphemy
illegal are Muslim-dominated countries. Penalties vary in severity, as does the
degree to which these laws are implemented. Blasphemy is punished by death in
Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, and Saudi Arabia. With a
possible punishment of three years in jail, Italy has the worst blasphemy laws
among non-Muslim-majority nations. Apostasy is illegal in half of the world’s
49 Muslim-majority countries. This means that leaving Islam could get you in
trouble with the law.
In
addition to the high-profile cases such as the one involving The Satanic Verses
in 1988 and the Charlie Hebdo massacre in 2015, there have been a few other
cases like the 2019 Kamlesh Tiwari case, wherein the victim was shot and
stabbed for ‘blasphemous’ statements; or, the Kishan Bharwad case, which saw a
27-year-old man from Ahmedabad being shot death for an alleged ‘blasphemous’
social media post, which apparently was a repost.
The
murder of Kanhaiya Lal does not come as a surprise to those who have a basic
understanding of Islam. For, there are interpretations of the holy book, which
are especially taught in religious seminaries and madrassas, that find
themselves to be antithesis of modern, liberal sensibilities. There are verses
that divide humanity into believers and non-believers, with the latter having
no chance of redemption, however good he might be.
Societies
that fail to discuss and adapt with the passage of time are destined to perish.
Sanatan Hindu Dharma is thousands of years old; hundreds of sages sacrificed
their lives to advance it. They also allowed detractors to discuss and debate
the shifting values of life as time passed.
Islam,
on the other hand, is believed to be a perfect and perfected religion. This
leaves hardly any scope for debate, discussion and dissent. It is this mindset
that stops any reform. For, how can a perfect religion be reformed? And if it
is reformed, how can it be a perfect religion? When a fake news is spread about
someone ridiculing the Prophet, then this mindset ensures there are people
readily available to go to any extreme length to “avenge” the so-called
mocking.
The
two men who killed Kanhaiya Lal, therefore, don’t think they have done anything
wrong. Their video makes it abundantly clear that they are only adhering to the
religious texts. In this backdrop, it is necessary to put a full-stop to the
radicalistion of Islamic institutions, the incitement of Muslims to riot on the
streets, and the dissemination of religious texts that incite violence. The
government must take this issue seriously and organise a conference with Muslim
ulema and encourage them to push liberal values.
Muslim
clerics must be encouraged to issue fatwa against blasphemy, which is at the
root of the problem. The administration must make it clear that the idea of
blasphemy has no place in a democracy like India. Also, it’s time we looked at
the problem without being apologetic or without trying to do a balancing act.
Such politically correct statements may sound nice but in the long term it only
helps strengthen Islamist forces in the country.
Source:
News18
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
South
Asia
US
Seeks to Unfreeze Assets Without Enriching Islamic Emirate: Report
June
30, 2022
The
administration of US President Joe Biden is in talks with the Islamic Emirate
to create a mechanism by which Afghanistan’s Central Bank will be able to partially
use assets while erecting safeguards that would ensure the funds are not
siphoned off for misuse by the Islamic Emirate, the Washington Post reported,
citing sources privy to the issue.
This
comes as a delegation of the Islamic Emirate, led by the acting Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Amir Khan Muttaqi, left Kabul on Wednesday for Doha.
“It
would be accurate to say negotiations are underway,” said Shah Mehrabi, an
economics professor at Montgomery College in Maryland and a senior member of
Afghanistan’s Central Bank board since 2002, as quoted by the Washington Post.
“We are in the process of trying to come up with a mechanism that will allow
the transfer of reserves to the central bank of Afghanistan.”
The
Islamic Emirate said that its delegation in Qatar would meet with the US
special envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West and officials from the US Department
of Treasury.
“The
delegation will hold talks with (Thomas West) the US Special envoy for
Afghanistan, and US Department of Treasury officials on political, economic,
and banking issues,” said Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
The
Central Bank said that efforts are underway to unfreeze the Afghan assets.
“The
Afghanistan Bank welcomes any steps which are aimed at releasing Afghan assets.
These assets belong to the people of Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Sabir Momand,
a spokesman for the Central Bank.
Meanwhile,
economists said that if Afghan assets are used as humanitarian aid, the
humanitarian crisis will increase.
“The
US talks with the Taliban officials about the formation of mechanisms for
humanitarian assets is a political and economic tactic; on the one hand they
want to show their level of engagement to the (Afghan) government, and on the
other hand it is a massive strike on the Afghan economy, particularly the
currency,” said Shakir Yaqobi, an economist.
“Allocation
of Afghan assets for the humanitarian crisis is a big oppressive action against
the people of Afghanistan,” said Rohullah Ahmadzai, an economist.
Source:
Tolo News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-178715
--------
Deputy
PM Mullah Beradar assists 53 million Afghanis to quake-hit families
June
30, 2022
KABUL:
First Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Emirate on economic affairs, Mullah
Abdul Ghani Beradar, visited Khost and Paktika provinces and donated an aid of
up to 53 million Afghanis to the earthquake victims’ families, a statement from
his office said.
Deputy
Prime Minister Mullah Beradar expressed sympathy and condolence to the
quake-hit families, according to the statement.
“The
Islamic Emirate stands with you and will support you until your destroyed homes
are reconstructed and your lives returned normal,” the statement quoted Beradar
as saying.
The
Islamic Emirate has already delivered aids for the victims of the tragedy, the
statement added. Beradar also distributed about 53 million Afghanis to rebuild
their houses and shelter, according to the statement.
In
addition, it’s planned that in the coming days, several million Afghanis to be
distributed for the quake-affected families in a transparent manner by the
Disaster Management Commission.
Meanwhile,
expressing their support tribal elders, scholars, and influential figures of
the southeast provinces praised the Islamic Emirate’s efforts.
“The
Islamic Emirate is the people’s system, and the system has come as a result of
your sacrifices,” said the deputy prime minister.
Source:
The Kabul Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://thekabultimes.gov.af/deputy-pm-mullah-beradar-assists-53m-afg-to-quake-hit-families/
--------
Afghanistan:
Taliban war crime against civilians in Balkhab
June
30, 2022
According
to local sources, Taliban terrorist militants displaced and shot dozens of
civilians after taking control of various areas of Balkhab district.
According
to local sources in Balkhab district, Taliban militants shot dead nine
civilians on June 25, including five miners, two shepherds, and two other
civilians in the Jah Mirk, Gowarz, and coal mines.
On
the other hand, hundreds of people fled from the villages of Takhshar,
Qala-e-Gag, Larkord, Hoosh, etc, to the mountains for fear of Taliban armed
violence.
Clashes
and protests have also taken place in the districts of Darreh Suf in Bamyan
province, Lal and Sarjangal in Ghor province and Yakawlang.
The
exact number of people killed by Taliban is not known, but video evidence from
Balkhab confirms the allegations of civilian casualties.
After
controlling the city of Tarkhoj, the center of Balkhab district, the Taliban
militants, with the cooperation of infiltrators, succeeded in identifying the
dissatisfied residents and some supporters of Mehdi Mojahe.
According
to local sources, their homes were looted and most of them were captured and
tortured on various charges and shot if they resisted. At the same time, the
Taliban governor in Balkhab has announced that the government has no problem
with the people and they can continue their normal lives!
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://en.abna24.com/news//afghanistan-taliban-war-crime-against-civilians-in-balkhab_1271144.html
--------
Taliban
and U.S. officials to meet amid quake relief efforts
JUNE
29, 2022
Last
week’s devastating earthquake in southeastern Afghanistan killed around 770
people, according to UN figures.
Afghan
finance and central bank officials from the Taliban-led government departed for
Qatar on Wednesday to meet with a U.S. Treasury department official, after last
week’s deadly earthquake highlighted how critical relief efforts have stumbled
under the weight of the country’s spiraling economic woes.
Last
week’s devastating earthquake in southeastern Afghanistan killed around 770
people, according to UN figures, though the Taliban put the death toll at
closer to 1,150, with thousands injured. The UN says 155 children are among
those killed in what was the deadliest earthquake to hit the impoverished
country in two decades.
The
quake struck a remote, deeply impoverished region of small towns and villages
tucked among rough mountains near the Pakistani border, collapsing stone and
mud-brick homes and in some cases killing entire families. Nearly 3,000 homes
were destroyed or badly damaged in Paktika and Khost provinces.
News
of a meeting between Taliban government officials and U.S. officials was
confirmed by Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad, who said the
Afghan delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi. He
said the officials will meet in Doha, Qatar with the U.S. Special
Representative for Afghanistan and officials from the U.S. Treasury Department
to discuss Afghanistan’s economic and banking sectors.
The
Washington Post first reported on Tuesday that senior Biden administration
officials are working with Taliban leadership on a mechanism to allow
Afghanistan’s government to use its central bank reserves to deal with the
country's severe hunger and poverty crises while erecting safeguards to ensure
the funds are not misused.
The
Biden administration froze some $9 billion in foreign Afghan central reserves
after the Taliban seized power in last August, prompting a chaotic and deadly
withdrawal of U.S. and NATO allied forces.
The
international sanctions that followed choked off bank transfers for months into
the country, even for many aid groups still operating there. Afghans have since
struggled to withdraw money from local banks and tens of thousands of public
sector employees continue to see their salaries delayed as the Taliban
leadership seeks ways to collect taxes and other fees to keep the government
running.
No
government has yet recognised the Taliban's rule over Afghanistan. The former
insurgents have resisted international pressure to maintain the previous rights
gained by Afghan women, instead imposing restrictions on women's dress and
limiting access to schools for teenage girls.
Even
before the Taliban takeover last year, Afghanistan's economy had been deeply
reliant on foreign aid. The UN and an array of overstretched aid agencies in
the country have tried to keep Afghanistan from the brink of collapse,
including the International Committee of the Red Cross which is paying the
salaries of health care staff and the operational costs of more than 30
hospitals across the country.
Overstretched
aid agencies said the earthquake underscored the need for the international
community to rethink its financial cut-off of Afghanistan since Taliban
insurgents seized the country. That policy, halting billions in development aid
and freezing vital foreign reserves, has helped push the economy into collapse
and plunge Afghanistan deeper into humanitarian crises and near famine.
Source:
The Hindu
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Kartarpur
Corridor symbol of Pakistan’s commitment towards religious freedom: COAS
June
28, 2022
RAWALPINDI:
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa Tuesday said that
Kartarpur corridor is the practical manifestation of Pakistan’s unwavering
commitment towards religious freedom and harmony.
A
12-member delegation of British Sikh soldiers – headed by Major General Celia J
Harvey, Deputy Commander Field Army UK – visited the General Headquarters in
Rawalpindi and met Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the
military’s media wing said.
“Pakistan
respects all religions and also recognises the need for promotion of religious
tourism in the country,” Gen Bajwa was quoted as saying by the Inter-Services
Public Relations (ISPR) on Tuesday.
The
delegation also visited Lahore where the dignitaries witnessed a flag-lowering
ceremony at the Wagha border.
According
to the ISPR, the British Sikh soldiers visited Lahore Fort, Allama Iqbal
Mausoleum and Badshahi Mosque.
During
their stay, the delegation visited several religious sites in the country which
included Darbar Hazrat Mian Mir, Haveli Naunihal Singh, Gurdwara Janamasthan
Guru Ram Das, Samadi Ranjeet Singh, Gudwara Dera Sahib, Kartarpur Corridor,
Nankana Sahib and Dera Panja Sahib.
They
also visited Orakzai District and witnessed Samana Fort, Lockhart Fort and
Saragarhi Monument, the military’s media wing said.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
is hurtling along the path of multiple implosions: Dr Naseer Dashti
Jun
29 2022
By
Rahul Kumar
New
Delhi, Jun 29: The first thing that strikes you about Dr Naseer Dashti-foremost
Baloch intellectual and author, is his carefree and cheerful nature. He loves
to laugh at his banter. He starts a conversation with ease, even with a
stranger, even if he must be playfully sarcastic.
Outside
the London Bridge train station, under the shade of the Shard, our conversation
starts with, "I know you Indians have an obsession with Turko-Mongols, so
I will take you to a Turkish restaurant to eat". Finding no good reason to
find favour with Turks, given today's tumultuous geopolitics, I question him on
his statement.
Without
batting an eyelid, Dashti retorts: "Of course, you love the Turks-you have
cities named after their marauders and plunderers, your media glorifies Turkish
invaders like Shahjahan and Akbar, you even have structures, cities and roads
named after Turkish slaves who ruled India for a while, and you have adopted
Turkish foods as Indians...", and he reeled off a few more examples.
The
second thing that strikes you after some time is that he holds contrarian views
about international relations and global politics. Like the other Baloch
leaders in exile, Dashti misses no opportunity to make fun of Pakistan.
"Pakistan was purposely created as a client State to serve the interests
of the British empire. The welfare of people or the socio-economic up-gradation
of the region was not the agenda for the creation of Pakistan", he says
with effortless ease but with firm conviction.
While
in Pakistan, he had published two books in Quetta-the capital of conflict-torn
Balochistan which borders Afghanistan and Iran. The phobia-driven Pakistan
government banned the books after labelling them anti-Islam and anti-Pakistan.
Once the government levied the dreaded blasphemy charges against Dashti, he
knew it was time to find a sanctuary. So, in 2008, he fled Pakistan for the
safety of the UK.
Excerpts
from the interview:
IN:
What is your view of the Baloch struggle?
Dashti:
The Baloch national struggle is moving forward at a slow pace. Many internal
and external factors are hampering its progress. However, I don't believe in
the contention of many critics and analysts that it is directionless. On the
contrary, I think it will ultimately overcome its weaknesses and be in a
position to gain its objectives.
Pakistan
has come down heavily on the Baloch resistance through the brutal use of force.
The Pakistani army has made Balochistan a war zone. The land has been under an
undeclared martial law for many decades.
Then
there are divisions and mistrust among the Baloch nationalist groups. Some
analysts believe that there is political disorientation among the resistance
groups. Political mobilisation in Balochistan has become impossible because of
the brutalities of the security apparatus of Pakistan.
The
material support for a protracted war in the Baloch national struggle is not
according to the need of the resistance. For the moment, the external support
necessary for the success of any national liberation struggle is not visible.
Despite
all these weaknesses, the will of the Baloch people to throw away the yoke of
slavery is strong. They will keep resisting the occupation forces.
IN:
But there have been large-scale attacks on the Pakistani military by Baloch
armed organisations. Also, the Baloch groups are believed to be using modern
weapons bought from the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Dashti:
Armed resistance and political mobilisations are two parts of a national
liberation struggle. Their combined objective was to persistently target the
financial and strategic interests of the colonial power until the occupation
forces were tired or the colony became ungovernable.
In
my opinion, isolated events are part of the game but not the whole thing. There
will not be a significant impact until you strike the enemy daily. The Baloch
national resistance still needs to grasp the realities of a protracted and
exhaustive war against the colonial power.
Regarding
getting arms from the Taliban, it is a socio-historical fact that everything is
for sale in Afghanistan - friendships, enmity, fighting force, Mujahideen,
Taliban and weapons. The Taliban may have sold the weaponry to the Baloch
parties. But any kind of weapon is available in the international market. If
you have the money, you buy them. So, the Baloch might have purchased some
weapons. Although I am not an expert in this field still, according to my
knowledge, the Baloch fighters use only simple weapons - grenades, Kalashnikovs
and rocket launchers, nothing sophisticated.
IN:
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is in shambles. The Baloch seem to
have inflicted heavy damage to the mega-project through their attacks on
Chinese nationals.
Dashti:
The Baloch resistance has had some impact on the progress of CPEC, but in my
opinion, CPEC has become a thing of the past. There are other factors involved
in its inglorious demise. While we analyze Pakistan's economic and political
situations, we must keep in mind that this Allah-given country is not an
independent State. Socially, politically, and economically, it is highly
dependent on the West's support, led by the USA and the UK. You have to
understand that the West controls everything in Pakistan, not China.
Do
you know how many Pakistani generals have homes in Shanghai or other Chinese
cities? But nearly every serving or retired general in Pakistan bought
businesses and homes in the West. Their salaries come from the IMF and World
Bank. And political and moral support for the military rule in Pakistan has
always been forthcoming from the western democracies.
In
the disguise of CPEC, the fundamental objective of the Chinese was to make
Gwadar a strategic base. In many ways, the Gwadar port project became the main
causative factor in the demise of CPEC. The Middle East is a sensitive piece of
land for the West. They do not want anything to harm their interests in the
Gulf.
They
do not want China to reach the Indian Ocean-which is still a historical and
perhaps a psychological obsession for the Western powers. If we go back to the
history of the colonial era, in this region, India was essential for the
prosperity of the colonial power. Now it is the oil in the Persian Gulf.
Therefore, they are sensitive to this. The West cannot afford to let China have
a naval base in the mouth of the Persian Gulf, which in a way, is still the
lifeline of Western industrial nations.
IN:
But China which has invested so heavily in CPEC will not let go of its
investments in Pakistan.
Dashti:
China has not invested anything in CPEC. All of it is a loan to Pakistan with
high-interest rates. China has been expanding its colonial influence in Asia
and Africa by adopting the role of a moneylender. Except for these loans and
political rhetoric of eternal friendship, the factual position is that there is
nothing socially, politically, linguistically, religiously and historically
common between Pakistan and China.
We
should bear in mind that China cannot confront the West. It cannot afford to
lose the lucrative markets in the West. China's strength lies in selling cheap
goods to Europe and the Americas.
After
the demise of CPEC, China will pressure Pakistan to pay back its debts, and we
have to see where Pakistan gets the money to pay back the Chinese.
IN:
Talking of religion, Pakistan is an Islamic State. So why has Islam not been
able to bind its people together in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan?
Dashti:
Religion has never been a binding factor in politics involving different
nations. People and nations prophesied the same religious and mythological
beliefs and fought bloody battles in Asia and Europe.
Take
the example of Europe. Christianity did not unite Europe. Similarly, the
Sindhis, the Baloch and the Pashtuns did not want Pakistan. The academics of
the British Empire created the theory of Muslims as a nation in the 19th
century to counter the Russian moves toward central Asian Khanates, whose
population was mainly Muslims. Later, this theory was used in the division of
India after retaining Indian colonies became untenable. Is it not amazing that
the Christians, Buddhists and followers of other faiths in India were not
declared as nations, and no land was allotted to them.
In
Pakistan, the Sindhis, the Baloch, and the Pashtuns do not have anything in
common with the ruling Punjabi Muslims. They are separate nations but are not
strong enough to fight the Pakistani army. To free themselves from the clutches
of Pakistan, they need two things-a protracted struggle and support from
outside. External support is imperative because there is no example in history
where nations have been able to gain independence without external support.
However,
in some examples, subjugated nations become independent because colonial powers
implode. And Pakistan is moving in that direction at a fast pace.
IN:
Are you trying to say that Pakistan faces an existential threat?
Dashti:
Yes, the implosion of Pakistan is imminent.
The
West has been sustaining Pakistan for 75 years, but now it is not in a position
to sustain it further. When the West needed Pakistan, it was included in the
Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation
(SEATO). Now it appears that Pakistan has exhausted its utility for the West.
The West is now beginning to align with India in various ways, and if things go
smoothly in this direction, they might not need Pakistan anymore.
Western
taxpayers might not be able to afford billions of dollars to feed the Pakistani
army. We should remember that the only binding force in Pakistan is its army.
It is an army which is genetically mercenary. Without perks and privileges, the
military will not fight against the Baloch, Sindhis, and Pashtuns. With this,
Pakistan will eventually collapse. But it still depends upon New Delhi, London,
and Washington to decide what should be the post-Pakistan scenario or what
would be the fates of the Baloch, Sindhis and Pashtuns.
Source:
Daiji World
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=973805
--------
JUI
minister vows to continue struggle for free, transparent elections
June
29, 2022
Minister
for Communications Asad Mahmood on Wednesday said that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
Pakistan (JUIP) would continue struggle for free, fair and transparent
elections in the country and not allow rigging in this process.
He
stated this while addressing here in the National Assembly after the speech of
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari regarding conduct of local government
elections in Sindh.
He
said that JUIP believed in the democratic process and it always struggled for
fair and transparent elections. He said that the reforms were being carried out
by the government regarding the electoral process.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
'We
must not promote famine': Khar calls for easing sanctions on Afghanistan
June
30, 2022
Minister
of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar has called for an easing of
Western sanctions against Afghanistan under the Taliban government, saying the
basic functioning of the Afghan economy must not be endangered.
The
Taliban takeover last year prompted foreign governments, led by the United
States, to cut development and security aid, and the strict enforcement of
sanctions has debilitated the country's banking sector.
In
an interview with Germany's Welt newspaper published on Thursday, Khar said
isolating Afghanistan economically was pushing the country into economic
collapse.
"If
the country remains locked out of international banking and its foreign assets
remain frozen, then that is what will happen. We must not promote famine,"
she added.
Khar
said the Western troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, in which Germany was also
involved, had serious repercussions because it was not preceded by a negotiated
solution, as she called on Germany to play an active political role in easing
sanctions.
"In
the current situation, it is not a good idea to continue to starve Afghanistan
and risk an economic implosion in the country," she said, adding that
economic support was necessary to help the Afghan people.
"How
is it that we spent $3 trillion on the war, but today don't even have $10
billion on Afghan survival? I don't understand this behavior," she added.
Taliban
takeover
The
Taliban took back power in Afghanistan in August last year after the United
States pulled out its troops, almost 20 years after the group was ousted by
US-led forces following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Days
after the takeover, the US administration froze about $9.5 billion of the
Afghan government’s reserves in US banks to compensate the victims of the 9/11
attacks. Banks have also placed severe restrictions on withdrawals by private
customers, and many in the country have resorted to selling household
possessions to buy food for their families.
Afghanistan
has been in the grip of a major humanitarian crisis and the United Nations says
more than half of Afghanistan's 38 million people face hunger. The country's
economy, already battered by decades of war, went into freefall after the
Taliban's return.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
TTP
refuses to budge from demand for Fata merger reversal
Pazir
Gul
June
30, 2022
NORTH
WAZIRISTAN: The proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has categorically
stated that the insurgent group would not back down from its demand for the
reversal of the merger of erstwhile Fata with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Our
demands are clear and especially the reversal of Fata merger with KP is our
primary demand which the group cannot back down from,” said Mufti Noor Wali
Mehsud, chief of the outlawed group during an interview with a YouTuber. The
interview, which was made available on YouTube on Wednesday, has been
apparently conducted somewhere in Kabul.
Federal
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had recently ruled out the reversal of Fata
merger with KP which was done through a constitutional amendment in 2018.
Negotiations
between the government of Pakistan and TTP have been held in Kabul under the
auspices of the Afghan Taliban’s interim government in the neighbouring
country. A 57-member jirga comprising elders of major tribes and clans from KP
visited Kabul and held talks with the TTP leaders.
TTP
had announced ceasefire for an indefinite period. However, security forces kept
conducting search and strike operations against militants in the region,
particularly in North Waziristan district. Similarly, attacks on security
forces also continued.
With
an automatic assault rifle kept by his side, the proscribed group chief said
that negotiations between the TTP and the government were in progress but no
major breakthrough had been made so far.
“The
talks have yet to reach a conclusion,” said Noor Wali, sporting a traditional
black turban. He belongs to South Waziristan and has moved to Kabul for holding
talks with the government.
He
claimed that Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Faiz Hameed was representing the
Pakistan government in talks while from the TTP he was leading its delegation.
He
said the Afghan Taliban were hosting and facilitating the negotiations. He said
if the government showed “seriousness”, then a breakthrough in talks would be
possible. He confirmed that the government had released some prisoners, but at
the same time, ‘our colleagues are also being arrested’.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1697452/ttp-refuses-to-budge-from-demand-for-fata-merger-reversal
--------
Sino-Pakistan
ties enter a new phase as China’s senior leader calls on PM Shehbaz, Gen Bajwa
By
Mian Abrar
June
29, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Mr. Yang Jiechi, Director of Central Committee on Foreign Affairs, China,
Wednesday held separate meetings with the Pakistani top leadership including
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed
Bajwa and federal cabinet members.
Mr
Yang Jiechi is a special aide of Chinese President Xi Jinping and a member of
the Political Bureau (Politbureau) of the Central Committee of Communist Party
of China (CPC) and is considered expert in holding key dialogue.
As
Director of the Central Commission on Foreign Affairs, Yang Jiechi has a
prominent role in China’s foreign relations. He has previously served as
China’s Foreign Minister from 2007-13 and State Councilor from 2013-17.
During
his meeting, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif told the Chinese dignitary
that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the growing economic linkages
had deepened the roots of the abiding friendship between the peoples of Pakistan
and China.
“Atop
this unshakeable foundation, the Pakistan-China partnership would continue to
play its valuable role as a factor of peace and stability in the region and
beyond,” the prime minister said during a meeting with Yang Jiechi, Member of
the Politburo of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and
Director of its Foreign Affairs Commission, who called him.
The
prime minister said that Pakistan stood ready to work closely with China for
realizing both countries’ shared vision of connectivity, prosperity and public
well-being.
Pakistan
would also continue to support Chinese investors with competitive incentives,
access to high-quality infrastructure and unwavering security arrangements, he
added.
Director
Yang Jiechi is accompanied by Vice Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Commerce,
Vice Chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA)
and Deputy Secretary General of China’s National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC).
The
prime minister underscored the significance of Director Yang’s visit for
accelerating the implementation of the leaders’ consensus on further enhancing
bilateral relations across all domains.
He
highlighted that economic cooperation had become a mainstay of the wide-ranging
Pakistan-China partnership. He expressed satisfaction at growing bilateral
trade and financial linkages, with China’s unstinting support playing an
invaluable role in helping Pakistan offset external shocks to the global
economy and demonstrating the continued resilience of Pakistan-China
cooperation at a time of heightened uncertainty on the world stage.
The
prime minister particularly thanked China for renewal of the RMB 15 billion (US
$ 2.3 billion) syndicate facility. The prime minister also thanked China for
its support and assistance to Pakistan’s efforts towards preventing the spread
of COVID-19 pandemic by providing millions of vaccine doses as well as
protective and medical equipment.
He
underlined that as a flagship of the visionary Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),
CPEC had transformed Pakistan’s economic base and strengthened capacity for
self-development.
He
reaffirmed the Government’s resolve to accelerate the pace and complete CPEC
projects at the earliest.
The
prime minister also underscored the high importance Pakistan attached to the
strategic ML-I and other key projects including Karachi Circular Railway (KCR),
Babusar Tunnel, and desalinization plant in Karachi.
The
prime minister reiterated his strong condemnation of the Karachi terrorist
attack and underscored Pakistan’s determination to bring the perpetrators to
justice.
He
reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to enhanced measures for safety, security and
protection of the Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in the country.
Recalling
the recent visit of tri-services delegation to China led by the Chief of Army
Staff, he expressed satisfaction at the expanding defence and security
cooperation between Pakistan and China which was contributing to the regional
peace and stability.
While
emphasizing the need for enhanced people-to-people contacts, he thanked China
for facilitating return of Pakistani students to resume their on-campus
studies, and expressed hope that the remaining students would be able to return
soon.
The
prime minister also appreciated Chinese decision for the resumption of PIA
flights to China and increasing the frequency of weekly flights.
Exchanging
views on international issues of mutual interest, he also highlighted the
adverse impact of India’s unabated repression and gross violations of human
rights in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The
prime minister thanked China for its principled stance and steadfast support on
the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The
prime minister and director Yang also exchanged views on the situation in
Afghanistan including the humanitarian and economic crises.
The
need for international cooperation and unfreezing of assets to avert
humanitarian catastrophe and ease the misery of the Afghan people was
underscored.
Extending
a warm welcome to Director Yang, the prime minister conveyed the most cordial
greetings and best wishes for President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
The
prime minister noted that director Yang’s visit marked the continuation of
high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China, which were the hallmark of the
time-tested all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between the two
countries.
He
also recalled his extensive conversation with Premier Li Keqiang in May 2022,
during which both leaders had reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral
relations and exchanged views on the regional and international situation.
At
the head of a high-level delegation, Director Yang is paying a visit to
Pakistan on June 29 and 30. On arrival in Islamabad, Yang was received by Syed
Tariq Fatemi and Mr. Zafaruddin Mahmood, Special Assistants to the Prime
Minister, and Ambassador Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Additional Secretary, and other
officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Following
the meeting, the Prime Minister hosted a banquet in honour of Director Yang and
his accompanying delegation. During the visit, the two sides concluded
following Protocols/MoUs:
MoU
on terms of reference/scope of works of G2G joint technical working group for
realignment of Karakoram Highway from Thakot to Raikot, protocol on the
sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for Rhodes grass exported from Pakistan
to China, protocol on quarantine and health requirements for buffalo embryos to
be exported from Pakistan to China and acceptance letter of 3000 sets of solar home
system.
The
Chinese side announced the roll-over of $2 billion SAFE deposits. It was also
conveyed that China would export 200,000 MT of urea fertilizer to Pakistan.
Reiterating
cordial invitation to President Xi Jinping, the prime minister said the people
of Pakistan were looking forward to welcoming President Xi on his next state
visit to Pakistan at the earliest.
Chinese
leader calls on Gen Bajwa
Separately,
the senior Chinese CPC leader called on COAS Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa here at the
GHQ. The meeting of Mr Yang Jiechi with
the COAS is considered very important and a follow-up of the meetings held
during the recent visit of COAS Gen Bajwa to Beijing.
During
the meeting, matters of mutual interest, defence collaboration, progress on
CPEC and regional security were discussed in detail.
The
COAS said that Pakistan values China’s role in global and regional affairs and
Pakistan looks forward to enhance bilateral strategic partnership.
“COAS
reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to cooperate with its international
partners for peace and stability in the region,” the ISPR quoted the army chief
as saying.
The
visiting dignitary thanked COAS for special measures taken for provision of
safe and secure environment for Chinese personnel employed on various projects
in Pakistan and efforts towards regional stability. He also assured to play his
role for further improvement in diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all
levels.
The
COAS had not only led a high-level military delegation to Beijing from 9-12 June
and held delegation-level talks with the deputy chief of the PLA but he also he
had met with President Xi Jinping who is also the chief of the PLA.
A
source told Pakistan Today that during the meeting, Pakistan and China decided
to expand the bilateral cooperation to the next stage and key decisions would
be taken in the near future in this regard.
According
to the Foreign Office, during his two-day visit, Director Yang Jiechi will hold
talks with the foreign minister and call on the prime minister.
It
further said that Director Yang Jiechi will be accompanied by vice ministers
for foreign affairs and commerce, vice chairman of China International
Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), and deputy secretary general of the
National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The
visit is part of the regular high-level exchanges between Pakistan and China.
Recently, these interactions included a virtual meeting between the foreign
ministers on May 11, 2022; Prime Minister Shehbaz’s telephone call with Premier
Li on May 16, 2022; and foreign minister’s visit to China on May 21-22, 2022.
Source:
Pakistan Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Iranian
Envoy Warns of Certain UNSC Members' Abuse of Power
2022-June-29
"A
candid review of the Security Council's practices reveals that the Council's
authority and powers have been repeatedly abused by certain States," Takht
Ravanchi said, addressing an open debate on “Implementation of the note by the
President of the Security Council”.
He
said that those states, “in pursuit of their short-sighted political
objectives, particularly against developing countries, regard this body as
their preferred tool to exert pressure on other countries”.
Those
states, by conducting such actions, both violate the UN Charter and show
disrespect to the Council’s authority and powers, Takht Ravanchi added.
“Such
conduct not only breaches the UN Charter and fundamental principles of
international law, but also demonstrates disrespect for the Council's authority
and powers, jeopardizing its integrity and efficiency.”
The
Iranian diplomat also called on the world body to evaluate the efficacy of
sanctions and their humanitarian consequences at various stages of conflict and
suspend or lift them when necessary.
He
noted that sanctions have grave humanitarian repercussions, as the world
witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The
Security Council must assess the effectiveness of sanctions and their
humanitarian repercussions at various stages of conflict and suspend or lift
them as needed. Sanctions, as is well acknowledged, have serious humanitarian
consequences as we have all witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting
civilian populations' health and lives in grave jeopardy. Furthermore, working
in an environment where sanctions are prevalent is often difficult for
humanitarian actors,” he said.
Takht
Ravanchi called on the UNSC to continually improve its effectiveness and
transparency, adding it also needs to ameliorate its interaction and
communication with non-Council members.
“To
that end, reforming and evolving the Council into a fully transparent,
rule-based, and, above all, accountable body is the most efficient method to
ensure its transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness. That is the reason why
the Council's ‘working methods’ are among the five primary topics under
consideration in the ongoing Security Council reform discussions,” he said.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010408000381/Iranian-Envy-Warns-f-Cerain-UNSC-Members'-Abse-f-Pwer
--------
Israel’s
parliament dissolves itself, sets November 1 elections
30
June, 2022
Israel’s
parliament voted Thursday to dissolve itself and send the country to the polls
in November for the fifth time in less than four years.
Yair
Lapid, Israel’s foreign minister and architect of the outgoing coalition
government, will become the country’s caretaker prime minister just after
midnight on Friday. He will be the 14th person to hold that office, taking over
from Naftali Bennett, Israel’s shortest serving prime minister.
The
government collapsed just over a year after it was formed in a historic move
that saw longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu ousted after 12 years in power by a
coalition of ideologically diverse parties, the first to include an Arab
faction.
The
motion to dissolve passed with 92 lawmakers in favor, and none opposing, after
days of bickering by coalition and opposition lawmakers over the date of new
elections and other last minute legislation.
New
elections will be held on November 1.
The
move brings a formal end to a political experiment in which eight parties from
across the Israeli spectrum tried to find common ground after a period of
prolonged gridlock in which the country held four elections in two years.
The
upcoming elections are an extension of Israel’s protracted political crisis, at
the heart of which sits Netanyahu and his ongoing corruption trial.
The
four deadlocked elections in the previous three years were largely referendums
on Netanyahu’s fitness to serve while facing charges of accepting bribes, fraud
and breach of trust. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing.
Lapid,
a former talk-show host who heads a center-left party, is expected to campaign
as caretaker prime minister to keep the job as the main alternative to
Netanyahu, and will likely get an early boost when he welcomes President Joe
Biden to the country next week.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israel’s
Bennett will not run in next general election: Spokesperson
29
June, 2022
Outgoing
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will not stand at the upcoming general
election, his spokesperson said Wednesday evening, just hours ahead of the
expected dissolution of parliament.
Bennett
announced to lawmakers from his Yamina party “his intention not to stand at the
next elections,” his spokesman told the media, as MPs prepared to vote to
dissolve Israel’s current legislature, paving the way for national elections
later this year.
Barring
an 11th-hour shock agreement to save the coalition, Bennett’s eight-party
alliance is due to end by midnight, installing Foreign Minister Yair Lapid as
caretaker prime minister, in the absence of a new government being cobbled
together from the existing parliament.
The
move to end Bennett’s year-long tenure would trigger a fifth election in less
than four years and could see ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu reclaim power.
Bennett,
a religious nationalist, has led a coalition of right-wingers, centrists, doves
and Islamists from the Raam faction, which made history by becoming the first
Arab party to support an Israeli government in the Jewish state’s 74-year
history.
The
motley alliance formed in 2021 offered a reprieve from an unprecedented era of
political gridlock, ending Netanyahu’s record 12 consecutive years in power and
passing Israel’s first state budget since 2018.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Houthi:
Yemeni army’s defence capabilities greater than many Arab states
29
June 2022
The
leader of Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement on Wednesday commended the
country’s meteoric progress in developing indigenous long-range ballistic
missiles, stressing that Yemenis have overcome difficult stages and challenges
over the past eight years of Saudi-led war.
In
a speech broadcast live from the Yemeni capital, addressing a group of visiting
tribal leaders and locals from the northern Yemeni province of Hajjah,
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi declared that the Yemeni forces and fighters from allied
Popular Committees today possess military capabilities much superior than those
of many Arab countries.
“We
now manufacture long-range ballistic missiles that can hit the depths of
Saudi-led coalition member states. The production of various types of missiles
is well underway and continues to improve,” the Yemeni resistance leader
remarked.
“Yemeni
missiles are becoming more precise, stronger, more destructive and deadlier.
Despite expensive and sophisticated American air defense systems, enemies are
unable to intercept and bring down our missiles,” he hastened to add.
The
Ansarullah leader underscored that production of military equipment was taken
into serious consideration after the start of the Saudi-led aggression, and
great achievements were made in the area through patience, sacrifice and
research.
“From
pistols to Kalashnikov rifles, cannons and missiles, all kinds of weapons are
manufactured indigenously. This is a great and impressive achievement,” Houthi
underscored, with a hint of pride.
“We
have achieved great results in the military sphere, the first of which was to
prevent the complete occupation of the country by aggressors. Enemies are
expected to repeat their actions. We must put on stronger fronts, and build our
military capabilities. Thank God, we have reached a level in military
capabilities that many Arab countries have not attained,” he added.
The
Ansarullah leader further said that Yemenis were in the eighth year of
confronting the US and Saudi-led aggression, adding that they have gone through
"difficult stages and taken on daunting challenges.”
“Hajjah
province has always been at the forefront of popular struggle against the
Saudi-led aggression, and its residents have enormously contributed to the
battle and have had an active participation in it," Houthi noted.
“By
means of crippling blockade, enemies sought to pit Yemeni people against each
other and throw them into internal strife. The foes, however, failed in all
their conspiracies to sow the seeds of sedition and wage a propaganda war, as
they were faced with the vigilance of Yemeni nation."
The
Ansarullah chief went on to say that the Saudi-led coalition and its allied
Takfiri militants have carried out numerous massacres in Hajjah province as
they targeted ordinary people at weddings and outdoor markets in the province
on several occasions.
“Our
resilience and steadfastness have frustrated enemies, and drove them to utter
despair. Various countries in the world were surprised in the wake of the
determined resistance, and treated Yemeni people with great respect. We have
trodden a long path and our future will be bright, God willing,” Houthi stated.
American
policies and those of Zionist lobby groups have created major crises in
different parts of the world, including in Muslim world, he said.
“The
United States is involved in a new state of war with Russia and China. The
Ukraine conflict is the product of Washington’s provocative and divisive
policies throughout the world. We have two options in the face of international
crises and enemies’ conspiracies: either to embrace negligence,
irresponsibility and despair and be overwhelmed, or to follow a movement of
faith and mobility with reliance on God,” the Ansarullah chief said.
He
called for close cooperation, especially at the security level, to confront
enemies, stating that Yemeni authorities must cooperate in security and social
spheres and forge more intimate relations with the nation.
Saudi
Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration
with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and other
Western states.
The
objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi
and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state
affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Dozens
of extremist settlers defile Aqsa Mosque
June
30, 2022
Hordes
of extremist Jewish settlers desecrated the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied al-Quds on
Wednesday morning.
According
to local sources, dozens of settlers entered the Mosque in groups through its
Maghariba Gate and toured its courtyards under police escort.
During
their tours at the Islamic holy site, the settlers received lectures from
rabbis about the alleged temple mount and a number of them provocatively
performed Talmudic prayers.
The
Aqsa Mosque is exposed to daily desecration by Jewish settlers and police
forces in the morning and the afternoon except on Fridays and Saturdays.
Meanwhile,
Jerusalemite activists and figures have urged their compatriots, who live in
the holy city or are able to reach the holy city, to perform I’tikaf (religious
retreat) at the Aqsa Mosque during the first 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah (the 12th
month of the Islamic calendar).
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://en.abna24.com/news//dozens-of-extremist-settlers-defile-aqsa-mosque_1271138.html
--------
Iran
Dismisses G7's "Baseless, Unfair" Statement
2022-June-29
Iranian
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said the country “strongly condemns”
passage of the statement, describing it as “baseless, one-sided, and unfair”.
The
statement, he said, “deliberately ignores” the US departure from a 2015 nuclear
deal with Iran and others as well as Washington’s subsequent re-imposition of
illegal sanctions against the Iranian people.
The
Iranian official reprimanded the countries that had issued the statement for
their cooperation with the US in imposing sanctions and their refusal to
confront the coercive economic measures.
He
also spurned any accusations directed towards Iran’s peaceful nuclear energy
program, saying the statement “deliberately” ignores the Islamic Republic’s ban
on all nuclear weapons.
Kan’ani
reminded that the G7 countries were facing Iran with “factitious allegations”
while they, themselves, were in possession of the world’s “biggest nuclear
arsenal”.
The
spokesman, meanwhile, blasted the statement for trying to portray Iran’s
comprehensive cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the
United Nations’ nuclear body, in a bad light.
The
official further rejected all allegations against Iran’s “legitimate and
defensive missile program,” reminding that the country’s missile work can never
be subject to any negotiation or compromise.
“It
is necessary that the parties that have issued the statement rather be
accountable for their sales of billions of dollars of advanced weapons, which
is one of the most important factors of instability in our region,” Kan’ani
asserted.
Addressing
the human rights allegations made through the statement, the official said the
countries throwing the allegations were the very same states that have closed
their eyes to the “flagrant violation” of the Iranian nation’s rights as a
result of the sanctions.
The
statement was issued during a meeting of the group’s sevenfold members (Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US) in Germany on
Tuesday.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010408000331/Iran-Dismisses-G's-Baseless-Unfair-Saemen
--------
Iranian
FM Calls for Caspian Sea Littoral States' Cooperation to Strengthen Security
2022-June-29
Iran
constantly laid emphasis on the necessity for designing a mechanism for
collective work in the fields of protecting regional security and boosting joint
economic cooperation among the five Caspian neighbors, Amir Abdollahian said,
addressing the Caspian Sea states ministerial meeting in Ashgabat,
Turkmenistan, on Tuesday.
“This
issue is highly significant in terms of the security and national interests of
all the Caspian littoral states,” he added.
Amir
Abdollahian welcomed relevant proposals to that effect, including one put
forward by Russia, saying Moscow’s latest initiative would systematize and
strengthen cooperation in the strategic region.
He
also voiced Iran’s support for the holding the second “Caspian Economic Forum”
in Russia, saying that the Islamic Republic believes the five Caspian Sea
neighbors need to attach special importance to trade and transportation, as two
important sectors that could facilitate growth and development in those
countries.
It
has been four years since the signing of the Convention on the Legal Status of
the Caspian Sea, Amir Abdollahian said.
In
this regard, although we have taken an important step, very important issues
still remain unresolved, such as “the designation of maritime zones” and “the
demarcation of basins and sub-basins”, the minister added.
Iran,
Azerbaijan Republic, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan are the five Caspian
littoral states.
In
relevant remarks in April, Amir Abdollahian said that his country attaches much
importance to increased cooperation among the Caspian Sea littoral states.
Amir
Abdollahian made the remarks in a phone conversation with his Turkmen
counterpart Raşit Meredow on several regional and international issues as well
as the Tehran-Ashgabat ties.
He
pointed to the continuous development of friendly relations between Iran and
Turkmenistan, emphasizing the positive view of the Islamic Republic of Iran on
the expansion of the relations in all fields, specially the need to increase
cooperation between the Caspian Sea littoral states.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
Condoles with Jordan on Tanker Tragedy Incident
2022-June-29
Kanani
expressed his sorrow and sadness to the Jordanian government and people,
specially the families of the victims, following the incident in the Jordanian
port of Aqaba that killed and injured dozens of Jordanian citizens and some foreign
nationals.
Ten
people were killed and 250 others were injured in a gas leak from a tanker
carrying toxic gas in the Jordanian port of Aqaba.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010408000509/Iran-Cndles-wih-Jrdan-n-Tanker-Tragedy-Inciden
--------
Israeli
military, Palestinians clash at West Bank shrine
30
June, 2022
Palestinian
gunmen opened fire at Jewish worshipers on Thursday at a flashpoint holy site
in the occupied West Bank, wounding an Israeli military officer and two
civilians, the Israeli army said.
The
Palestinian official news agency Wafa said a Palestinian teenager was wounded
by live fire and 16 others by rubber bullets in clashes with Israeli forces at
the site near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, a frequent point of
conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Some
Jews believe the biblical Joseph is buried at the site, while Palestinians say
it’s the tomb of a Sheikh. Jewish worshipers escorted by the Israeli military
often visit the shrine to pray.
The
Israeli military said Palestinian gunmen opened fired on hundreds of Jewish worshipers
who came to the site overnight on Thursday. The commanding officer of the unit
suffered slight injuries, and two civilians were wounded, the army said.
Last
month, a Palestinian teen was killed and at least 15 Palestinians were wounded
in clashes with the military near the shrine, according to Wafa.
In
April, Palestinians set fire to the shrine before they were dispersed by
Palestinian security forces, an incident that drew condemnation from Israeli
leaders.
Thursday’s
clash was the latest in a wave of violence that has persisted for months
following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel, Israeli arrest raids across
the West Bank, and the killing of a Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
says guard killed at Afghan border
29
June, 2022
An
Iranian border guard was killed in an “incident” in the country’s southeast at
a border crossing with Afghanistan, Iran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday.
“The
dimensions of this unfortunate incident in the Milak border area, which led to
the martyrdom of the dear border guard of the Islamic Republic of Iran, are
being investigated by the authorities and will be announced as soon as the
issue is clarified,” ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said.
He
expressed condolences to the family of Mohammad Sayyad who was killed at Milak
crossing in Sistan-Baluchestan province.
Afghan
officials told AFP there had been no clashes between Iranian and Afghan forces
near the border.
“Officials
in Afghanistan’s caretaker government are expected to take serious action to
clarify the dimensions of the issue, punish the perpetrators and take the
necessary measures to prevent similar incidents,” Kanani added.
Iran,
like many other nations, has so far not recognized the new government formed by
the Taliban after it took power amid a hasty withdrawal by US-led foreign
forces in August.
While
Iran insists that the Taliban form an inclusive administration, the movement
has formed an all-male cabinet made up entirely of members of the group, and
almost exclusively of ethnic Pashtuns.
Water
rights issues have also increased tensions between the two neighbors.
In
January, demonstrators in Sistan-Baluchestan rallied at a border crossing for a
protest over water from the Helmand River.
Last
year, then Afghan president Ashraf Ghani inaugurated Kamal Khan Dam on the
river, announcing that Afghanistan would no longer supply “extra” water to Iran
for free but instead exchange it for oil.
Iran
has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades, but fresh waves have
flooded the country since the Taliban’s return to power.
The
two nations have the Persian language in common - known as Farsi in Iran and
Dari in Afghanistan - but a majority of Afghans are Sunni Muslims compared to
their mostly Shia neighbors.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/06/29/Iran-says-guard-killed-at-Afghan-border
--------
US,
UK military trainers arrive at southeast Yemen port with arms cache: Report
29
June 2022
A
top-ranking Yemeni official says US and British military trainers have arrived
at a port in the country’s southeastern province of al-Mahrah bordering Saudi
Arabia and Oman on vessels loaded with munitions as well as military and
logistical equipment.
The
provincial governor, al-Qatabi Ali Hussein al-Faraj, told Yemen’s official Saba
news agency on Wednesday that large arms shipments aboard military vessels
disembarked at the port of Nishtun, and that British and American military
trainers are stationed at al-Ghaydah International Airport.
“The
Saudi-led coalition of aggression is involved in the smuggling and trade of
narcotics in the area in order to perpetuate insecurity, advance its fiendish
plots and deter the local population from confronting the invaders,” Faraj
said.
The
senior Yemeni official noted that occupiers and their allied Takfiri militants
are trying to plunge Mahrah province into utter chaos and confusion as locals
are fiercely opposed to the presence of foreign forces.
Faraj
stressed that the boiling public rage over the deployment of foreign troops to
Mahrah indicates that the battle to liberate the province from the clutches of
invaders and their mercenaries is reaching its final stages.
Last
month, the leader of Yemen’s popular Ansarullah resistance movement said the
United States, with the help of its allied Takfiri militant groups, was
building several military bases in the country’s eastern provinces of
Hadhramaut and al-Mahrah as well as on the Red Sea coast.
Addressing
a delegation of tribal leaders from the western Yemeni province of Ibb on May
19, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said Washington was setting up military installations
in eastern Yemen and the country's southern coastal city of Aden.
He
asserted that the Yemeni nation cannot accept Washington’s diktats, warning
that the enemies are hell-bent on sowing the seeds of discord and division
among people by hook or by crook.
“We
must work for security and social stability in Ibb province through compromise
and cooperation among local authorities,” the top Yemeni resistance leader told
the delegation.
He
said the “enemies” have begun to mobilize military reinforcements by taking
advantage of the UN-brokered ceasefire, which clearly shows their orientation
towards the next stage of the war, and bears testimony to their failure in the
previous phase.
Car
bomb attack hits motorcade of high-ranking official in Yemen's Aden
In
a separate development, at least five guards and two pedestrians were killed
when a car bomb targeted a motorcade of a high-ranking security official in
Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Wednesday afternoon.
A
local source was quoted as saying in media that the blast struck the convoy of
General Saleh Al-Sayd, commander of security forces in the neighboring southern
province of Lahj, when his motorcade was passing through a main street near
Aden airport.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Europe
British
Foreign Secretary Grilled Over UK Government Links To ‘Authoritarian’ Saudi
Arabia
Wednesday,
29 June 2022
British
foreign secretary Liz Truss on Tuesday dodged a volley of questions from
parliamentarians on her government's ambiguous stance on Saudi Arabia’s dismal
human rights record while describing the kingdom as a “partner.”
Truss
faced the grilling at a foreign affairs committee hearing, when asked about the
Arab kingdom’s rights record by Labour MP Chris Bryant.
n
being asked whether Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman was responsible for
the murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Truss sufficed to say
that Saudi Arabia is an "important partner of the United Kingdom.”
Washington
Post columnist Khashoggi, who was murdered and dismembered by a Saudi hit squad
at the kingdom’s Consulate in Istanbul in 2018, used to be a vocal critic of
the Saudi regime and the crown prince. The CIA has concluded that the murder
was ordered by the Saudi de-facto ruler.
The
top British diplomat’s failed attempts at deflecting the question on
Khashoggi’s diabolic murder came days after she asserted that London had to
serve as a “robust counterweight to authoritarian regimes.”
“Eighty-one
executions in one day in Saudi Arabia, and you don’t think that’s an
authoritarian regime?” Bryant pressed, referring to the execution of 81 people
in Saudi Arabia in a single day in March.
Truss
again withheld her answer, saying her main focus was on, what she called, “the
threat from Russia,” adding, “It is important to build a close trading
relationship with the [Persian] Gulf states” as the UK was trying to wean
itself off Russian oil imports.
“If
a country is an authoritarian regime, it’s fine to do business with it as long
as the authoritarianism is only within its own borders, is that right?” Bryant
continued, to which Truss again brought up Russia and China.
Truss
went on to state that she had previously raised human rights concerns with the
leaders of the Gulf states, but Bryant said that the foreign secretary's
spokesman said that she had done no such thing.
“You
can’t remember a single human rights issue that you’ve raised with a Gulf state
leader?” Bryant pushed.
The
British government opened trade negotiations last week with the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC), which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, and the UAE.
While
its original list of objectives for a deal included references to “human
rights” and the “rule of law,” these entries were dropped from the final list.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/06/29/684767/UK-Saudi-Arabia-human-rights
--------
UK
Muslim Doctor Singled Out At Manchester Airport Amid Rising Islamophobia
June
29, 2022
Pakistani
British surgeon and president of the British Hernia Society, Dr. Aali Sheen,
claimed he was the victim of "racial triaging" at Manchester Airport
security as a recent study revealed that Islamophobia is on the rise in the
country.
Sheen
said he was exposed to racism when security at Manchester Airport told him to
queue for a full-body scanner, while white passengers were ushered in another
direction. The surgeon, who was traveling with his two children, added that he
soon saw a Muslim family also being singled out from other passengers to be
scanned.
Sheen
told Manchester Evening News about his encounter with a security guard at
Manchester Airport before flying to Grenoble, France on April 3 this year,
according to Turkish daily Yeni Şafak.
The
leading surgeon said he queued for two hours before reaching security for his 8
a.m. flight, noting that a security guard pointed toward a queue at the scanner
even though the smaller arch metal detector was on and usable.
Recounting
the incident, Sheen explained: "I said, 'Why?' He said because they have a
system. What kind of system is this, I asked him. I challenged him. I knew the
reason. To me it was clear. He said 'do as you are told.' He was really rude to
me and I said 'don't talk to me like that.' I told him he had to give me a
reason."
"Then
I packed my bags and looked behind me and saw a distinctly Muslim family, and
they were all going through the same scanner as me. They were being directed
there by the same person. Other white people were passing through another
scanner," he continued.
Sheen
made a formal complaint when he landed at his destination but the airport only
responded after his local member of parliament got involved.
'Expect
attack at any time'
Meanwhile,
a new study by the Muslim Engagement and Development group (MEND) of more than
100 British mosques found that 35% of Islamic centers faced at least one
anti-Muslim attack every year.
MEND
regional manager, Nayeem Haque, told Sky News that the figures were “indicative
of a wider trend of Islamophobia,” in Britain.
“We
believe the Islamophobic narrative being peddled in wider society is to blame
for the rise in attacks we’ve seen in the Muslim community,” he said.
Haque
pointed out that there was now more anxiety among Muslims about visiting a
place of worship, which corresponds to what was said by Mohammed Kozbar,
chairperson of Finsbury Park Mosque – the mosque that suffered a fatal
terrorist attack five years ago.
“Our
community still feels the fear and intimidation, and they expect an attack at
any time. What happened was not a one-off. The situation is even worse than it
was five years ago. Islamophobia is on the rise, and no one can deny that,”
Kozbar cautioned.
The
comments are backed up by recent government data for England and Wales showing
that religiously aggravated offenses are at an all-time high, according to
Bloomberg citing a Press Association report using data from the British Home
Office. A total of 76,884 racially and religiously aggravated offenses were
recorded in 2021, up 15% from 66,742 in 2020, putting it at an all-time high.
The
hate crime offenses include racially or religiously aggravated assault,
harassment and criminal damage.
Although
the government took steps with the "Places of Worship Protective Security
Scheme" aimed at supporting places of worship at risk of attacks and hate
crimes, the MEND report found that only 33% of mosques in England and Wales
that applied for the scheme were provided funding, leaving the remaining 66%
exposed. Haque believes that a streamlined process to access funding for
mosques needing security is required.
Source:
ABNA24
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
France,
Türkiye committed to NATO’s unity, strength: French president
Burak
Dag
29.06.2022
French
President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that his country and Türkiye are
committed to the unity and strength of NATO.
Macron
wrote on Twitter that both countries will continue to make efforts to ensure
the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Marcon earlier on the sidelines of the NATO
Summit in Madrid.
Türkiye
has been actively engaged with Kyiv and Moscow to secure the export of millions
of tons of grain from Ukraine and prevent a food shortage of global proportions.
Tons
of Ukrainian grain are stuck due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, causing
global shortages and price hikes.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
French
court finds Salah Abdeslam guilty of murder in 2015 Paris attacks
Cindi
Cook
29.06.2022
PARIS
A
French court on Wednesday found Salah Abdeslam guilty of murder and terrorism
in the 2015 Paris attacks trial.
The
full verdicts will be read Wednesday evening, bringing the near-ten-month-long
trial to a close. Abdeslam, the main defendant, was read his verdict by the
Paris chief prosecutor, who had requested a life sentence without the
possibility of parole, as reported by French news outlet France24.
Other
19 defendants standing trial were also found guilty on all counts, some in
absentia. The requested sentences range from five years to life.
Five
judges presided over the trial that officially ended on Monday, moving then to
a secret locale in Paris to render the full decisions.
The
sentences are being handed down after the lengthy deliberations over the night
of horror at Bataclan nightclub, Paris terraces, and Stade de France on Nov.
13, 2015, killing 130 people.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Biden,
Erdogan agree on 'continued close consultations' between US, Türkiye
Servet
Günerigök
29.06.2022
WASHINGTON
The
Turkish and US presidents agreed on "continued close consultations"
between Washington and Ankara during a meeting in Madrid, the White House said
on Wednesday.
The
meeting between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Joe Biden took place on the margins of
the NATO summit.
The
two leaders discussed Sweden and Finland's NATO membership bids, the Ukraine
war, as well as the situation in the Aegean and Syria.
"President
Biden reiterated his desire to maintain constructive bilateral relations, and
the leaders agreed on the importance of continued close consultations between
our governments," the White House said in a statement.
The
US president also welcomed Ankara's conclusion of a trilateral agreement with
Finland and Sweden that paved the way for NATO to invite them to join the alliance.
"The
leaders discussed their continued support for Ukraine in its defense against
Russian aggression, as well as the importance of removing Russian obstacles to
the export of Ukrainian grain," the statement said.
The
two leaders also talked about the importance of maintaining stability in the
Aegean and Syria.
In
a brief conversation before a closed-door meeting, Erdogan said steps being
taken to strengthen NATO will have a "special contribution" in the
context of the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
The
Russia-Ukraine war has had negative effects on grain and oil, the Turkish
president said, adding: "We are trying to resolve the process with a
balanced policy in this regard. We hope that we will get results with this
balanced policy."
He
expressed hope of opening corridors soon to the countries that are currently
lacking grain.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Türkiye's
president attends family photo shoot at NATO summit
Beyza
Binnur Donmez
29.06.2022
MADRID
Türkiye's
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday attended a family photo shoot at
the NATO summit.
The
leaders posed for a family photo following the official welcoming ceremony at
the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid.
Ahead
of the photo shoot, Erdogan shook hands with Spain's Prime Minister Pedro
Sanchez and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
In
the photograph, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood to Erdogan's right,
while Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob stood to his left.
Later,
the Turkish president shook hands with his US counterpart Joe Biden, Johnson,
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and
Stoltenberg -- and exchanged greetings.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkiyes-president-attends-family-photo-shoot-at-nato-summit/2625682
--------
Southeast Asia
Malaysin Health Minister: Remains Of Muslim Covid-19 Patients Can Be Bathed, Shrouded
29
Jun 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR, June 29 — Under revised procedures for the management of remains of
Muslim Covid-19 patients, the bodies can now be bathed and shrouded, with the
adoption of precautionary measures, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Khairy
said the bathing and shrouding would be done by a trained mortuary operator at
the hospital with the use of complete and appropriate personal protective
equipment (PPE) as well as avoiding aerosol-generating procedure (AGP)
activities.
He
said only two next-of-kin who were fully vaccinated and wearing complete PPE
were allowed to help with the bathing and shrouding at the hospital.
“The
MOH would like to announce that the management procedures for bodies of Muslim
and non-Muslim Covid-19 victims have been reviewed to ensure they stay relevant
with the current situation.
“This
review is also in line with the Resolution of the Third Special Meeting of the
Muzakarah Committee of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs
Malaysia in 2021 which convened on July 26, 2021,” he said in a statement
today.
Previously,
the procedure for handling the remains of Muslim Covid-19 patients allowed only
“tayammum” (dry purification using purified sand or dust) to be done without
the need for bathing, it was to be managed completely in the hospital without
the involvement of the next of kin.
Meanwhile,
for the management of non-Muslim bodies of Covid-19 patients, Khairy said if
the last rite procedure required a change of new clothes, the clothes could be
placed on the body without the AGP procedure and only two fully vaccinated next
of kin were allowed to participate.
In
addition, under the revised procedures, only one body bag is to be used for
each body, as compared to two body bags for one body previously.
According
to the health minister, the MOH does not set the number of next of kin who can
be involved in the funeral ceremony but they must wear PPE.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Cabinet
forms Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation: PM
06-
29- 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: The Cabinet today agreed to form a Special Task Force on Jihad Against
Inflation to help Malaysian families face the rising cost of living.
Prime
Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pix) said the main role of the special
task force is to gather all information from ministries, agencies and the
public, and to formulate strategies and coordinate actions to resolve issues
relating to inflation, especially in controlling price hikes more efficiently
and effectively.
“The
task force will function like the one which handled the Covid-19 pandemic, and
they will have meetings twice a week, namely on Mondays and Thursdays.
“A
press conference will be held after every meeting to answer all questions on
issues raised by the people,” he said in a statement here today.
Ismail
Sabri said the move was taken following the rising cost of living faced by the
people due to climate change and geopolitical uncertainties, including the
Russia-Ukraine crisis which is expected to drag on and affect fuel and food
commodity markets.
The
Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation will be chaired by Minister of
Communications and Multimedia Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
It
will have five members namely Minister of Finance Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul
Tengku Abdul Aziz, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries Datuk Seri Dr
Ronald Kiandee, Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Seri
Alexander Nanta Linggi, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy)
Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd
Zuki Ali.
Meanwhile,
the Prime Minister said an officer will be appointed at each ministry as the
focal point to provide immediate responses to the special task force with the
Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs as its secretariat.
Source:
The Sun Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Umno
seeks united front as polls loom, says report
June
26, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: After a few years of internal discord following Umno’s shock election
defeat in 2018, party leaders have been working to bridge the divide between
two main factions ahead of the next general election (GE15), says a Supreme
Council member.
Former
Perak menteri besar Zambry Kadir said that a consultative committee, comprising
members from both camps met twice since last month to hash out issues such as
food security and the rising cost of living, The Straits Times reported.
“The
purpose of the committee is to discuss government policy with regard to
political and economic issues in the best interest of the party and the
people,” Zambry told the Singapore daily.
He
added that it was to reach an understanding and present a united front with
GE15 possibly happening this year.
According
to The Straits Times, Zambry, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN)
secretary-general, led the group aligned to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,
while rural development minister Mahdzir Khalid spoke for those who are aligned
to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
One
of the main points of contention that divides the two factions in the party is
the timing of GE15.
Those
aligned to Zahid want it to be held this year, to build on the momentum gained
from state election victories in Melaka and Johor.
However,
all Umno leaders serving in the Cabinet want the current government to serve
its full term until July 2023.
In
the meantime, the former has started to take the necessary action in the event
Parliament is dissolved this year.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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Hamzah
downplays deaths in immigration centres
June
28, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: Home minister Hamzah Zainudin has downplayed reports of deaths in
immigration centres, saying that people should not be too quick to point
fingers at the authorities.
“If
we detain someone, that means they have committed a crime. When someone commits
a crime, they have to go through the existing legal process,” he said during an
event in Putrajaya.
“If
we detain someone who commits a crime and we put them in a depot, and then they
die, who should we blame?”
Hamzah
said this when asked to comment on a report on deaths in immigration detention
centres in Sabah.
“If
I knew someone was going to die and (therefore) should not be placed in a
(immigration) depot, I would be great,” he said.
“Sometimes
people die even while walking… They don’t even have to be in a depot. So, this
should not be an issue.”
On
Saturday, a group of Indonesian NGOs, the Sovereign Migrant Workers Coalition
(KBMB), released a report stating that the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta
recorded 149 Indonesians who died while in five Sabah detention centres over a
period of 18 months, between 2021 and 2022.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab
World
Ukraine’s
Zelenskyy cuts ties with Syria after it recognized separatist republics
29
June, 2022
Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced cutting ties with Syria after Damascus
recognized the independence of Ukraine’s two separatist republics.
“There
will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria,” Zelensky said in a
video on Telegram.
Earlier
on Wednesday, the Syrian state news agency SANA cited a foreign ministry
official as saying: “Syria has decided to recognize the independence and
sovereignty of both the Lugansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's
Republic.”
“We
will communicate with both countries to agree on frameworks for strengthening
relations, including establishing diplomatic relations in accordance with
established rules,” the official added.
Prior
to launching the invasion of Ukraine, Russia recognized the independence of
Ukraine’s breakaway states of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
UAE
Minister highlights nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change at UN
meet
30
June, 2022
The
UAE Minister of Climate Change and the Environment Mariam bint Mohammed
Almheiri, participated in the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), co-hosted by the
governments of Portugal and Kenya in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, WAM
(Emirates News Agency) reported.
Running
from June 27 to July 1, UNOC seeks to drive the development of much-needed
science-based innovative solutions aimed at starting a new chapter of global
ocean action to support the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) 14: Life Below Water. The conference is running under the theme ‘Scaling
up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal
14: Stocktaking, partnerships and solutions.’
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Mariam
Almheiri said, “It was a pleasure to attend UNOC that comes at a crucial time
for ocean conservation. At the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the
UAE next year, we aim to continue the dialogue on accelerating the deployment
of ocean-based climate solutions. We are keen to exchange knowledge and
experience with other countries, and explore opportunities for effective
partnerships in this space. Because if we want to have a fighting chance of
keeping global warming within 1.5˚C, we need to make the most of every solution
available to us, and we need to do it together.”
During
the interactive dialogue titled ‘Addressing Marine Pollution,’ the Minister
explored ways to tackle marine pollution from land- and sea-based sources that
has a serious negative impact on the world’s oceans.
Almheiri
also attended the high-level meeting on ocean and climate that took place under
the theme ‘From Lisbon to Sharm el-Sheikh: accelerating ocean-based climate
solutions.’
The
event’s outcomes will inform policy and investment decisions to be made in the
run-up to COP27 and beyond.
In
her opening remarks at the meeting, Minister Almheiri highlighted the
importance of leveraging nature-based solutions, especially blue carbon
ecosystems, to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The
UAE works to protect its marine and coastal environment and preserve its vital
ecosystem services in line with its commitment to implementing SDG 14. These
include expanding the network of marine protected areas, implementing fishing
regulations, developing the aquaculture industry, combatting marine pollution,
and rehabilitating degraded marine ecosystems.
The
UAE has achieved the two targets of SDG 14 that had a deadline in 2020. Having
designated 16 marine protected areas that account for 12.01 percent of its
marine and coastal territory, the country reached Target 14.5 that entails conserving
at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas. In addition, the nation
maintains global leadership in the Marine Protected Areas category of the
Environmental Performance Index (EPI).
Through
integrated management of its marine protected areas, whose effectiveness is
being regularly evaluated, the UAE has also achieved Target 14.2 that requires
countries to implement measures to sustainably manage and protect marine and
coastal ecosystems, and take action for their restoration.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Saudi
Arabia: Mecca, Medina ready to serve Hajj pilgrims with 41 pct more 5G towers
30
June, 2022
Saudi
Arabia’s digital regulator, the Communications and Information Technology
Commission (CITC), said its IT infrastructure is now fully operational and
ready to serve Hajj pilgrims in Mecca and Medina, according to the official
Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
With
around one million pilgrims expected for the Hajj season this year, CITC
ensured that the right infrastructure be in place so the pilgrims can remain
connected during their time in the holy cities, SPA reported on Wednesday.
The
regulator said that it deployed 41 percent more 5G towers in the respective
areas. There are now 2,600 5G towers to ensure superfast connectivity, as well
as 5,900 communication towers and 11,000 Wi-Fi access points.
“The
Kingdom’s infrastructure readiness will not only help smooth the passage of
fulfilling a lifelong dream, it will significantly enhance their digital
experience,” CITC Governor Dr. Mohammed bin Saud al-Tamimi said.
Overseas
worshippers will partake in the Hajj pilgrimage this year for the first time
since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With
worshippers traveling to Saudi Arabia from every part of the planet, we are
ensuring that this year’s pilgrims have the most innovative and interactive
Hajj experience in history. That’s why the ability to seamlessly communicate
this life-changing experience is so important,” the CITC Governor added.
Hajj
is followed by Eid al-Adha where Muslims traditionally sacrifice a sheep and
distribute it among friends, family and the poor for food.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Car
bomb kills at least six in Yemen’s Aden: Officials
29
June, 2022
A
car bomb attack on the convoy of a Yemeni military official in the southern
port city of Aden killed at least six people and wounded several others on
Wednesday, military officials said.
The
head of security forces of Lahj province Saleh al-Sayed survived the
assassination attempt, three military officials said.
Two
of them said at least five civilians and one military officer were killed and
six others were seriously wounded in the attack.
There
was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but al-Qaeda militants
have stepped up their operations in south Yemen recently. At least 10 Yemeni
soldiers were killed there in two separate attacks last week.
Instability
in the south, where the internationally-recognized government is based,
complicates international efforts to end the seven-year-old conflict.
Several
attacks have been recorded despite a ceasefire agreement.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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Hajj
ministry announces alternative flights, facilities to accommodate pilgrims
facing issues from UK, Europe and America
June
30, 2022
RIYADH:
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that it
will secure alternative flights and provide additional seats for pilgrims
coming from Britain, the US, and Europe.
In
cooperation with relevant authorities, visas will also be issued immediately to
the pilgrims entering the Kingdom as part of the efforts.
This
comes after people faced technical issues while applying for hajj via the
electronic portal and had access to limited seats on flights.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2113826/saudi-arabia
--------
Iran
urges UNSC to condemn Israeli acts of terror, aggression against Syria
30
June 2022
Iran’s
ambassador to the United Nations says the Islamic Republic recognizes Syria’s
right to self-defense in the face of Israeli attacks, urging the UN Security
Council to strongly condemn the regime’s acts of aggression against the Arab
country.
Addressing
a monthly UN Security Council session on the situation in Syria on Wednesday,
Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Israel continues its acts of aggression and terrorist
attacks on Syria as well as violations of the Arab country’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity by occupying parts of it.
“The
Security Council must unequivocally condemn the Israeli aggression and
terrorist attacks against Syria. We recognize Syria’s legitimate right to
self-defense under international law and the United Nations Charter,” he said.
“We
strongly condemn Israel’s repeated violations of Syria’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity, including recent terrorist attacks on civilians and
civilian infrastructure, particularly the attacks on Damascus International
Airport on June 10th, which resulted in the cancellation of all flights,
including humanitarian flights.”
Syria
and the Israeli regime are technically at war due to the latter’s 1967-present
occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights.
The
regime maintains a significant military presence in the occupied territory,
which it uses as one of the launchpads for attacks on Syrian soil.'
The
regime's attacks on Syria have grown significantly in scale and frequency after
2011 when Syria found itself in the grip of foreign-backed terrorism.
Elsewhere
in his address, Takht-Ravanchi reiterated Iran's stance on avoiding military
approaches and solving the crisis in Syria through diplomatic channels.
"As
Iran has repeatedly emphasized, there is no military solution to the Syrian
crisis. The crisis should be settled peacefully and in accordance with the
principles of international law, especially full respect for national
sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries," he said.
He
emphasized that Iran supports Syria cross-border aid mechanism if it does not
violate Damascus's sovereignty and territorial integrity and heed legitimate
concerns of the Syrian government.
The
top diplomat said the Constitutional Committee plays a crucial role in the
political settlement of the Syrian crisis, adding an Iranian delegation was in
Geneva, acting in concert with all parties to advance its aims.
Iran
welcomes the Constitutional Committee's announcement that its next session
would be held on June 25-29, he noted.
The
Islamic Republic, he said, emphasizes that the committee must act in full
accordance with its internal regulations and free from outside pressure or
artificial deadlines and be a truly Syrian-led and -owned process.
The
Iranian envoy further noted that guarantors of the Asana Format have expressed
earlier this month their commitment to advance a long-lasting political process
that works in line with Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015).
He
said Iran would continue its efforts to help release detainees and called on
all parties to support the humanitarian endeavor, adding that the recent
amnesty announced by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was a valuable
contribution to peace.
Provision
of humanitarian aid is essential and must not be prevented by politics, but be
executed with full respect for Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and
national unity.
Israel
must be compelled to cease its attacks on Syria: Sabbagh
Addressing
the same meeting, Syria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Bassam
Sabbagh voiced regret at the Security Council’s failure to condemn Israel’s
aggression in Syria, particularly against the Damascus International Airport,
and said Israel must be compelled to cease its attacks on his country.
Sabbagh
also condemned Israel’s ongoing military attacks against Syria, which
jeopardize security in the region.
He
said the Syrian government has achieved significant progress in the last few
months, demonstrating its keenness to support national reconciliation and local
settlements.
President
Assad's amnesty decree issued in April benefitted a host of detainees, he added
and said diplomatic missions abroad and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs have
received applications and requests in that regard.
Syrian
institutions continue their efforts to strengthen the legal architecture, he
said, noting that a number of important decrees and laws have been enacted to
regulate areas such as the possession of weapons and ammunitions, amending the
penal code, and abolishing life imprisonment with hard labor.
The
Syrian government is committed to removing all impediments for the safe,
voluntary and dignified return of refugees to their places of origin, Sabbagh
emphasized.
He
urged the countries that prevent Syrian refugees from returning to their
homeland to stop those practices, emphasizing the need to lift unilateral
coercive measures imposed on Damascus.
Citing
the concluding statement from the eighteenth Astana Meeting on Syria, he
stressed the importance of taking new actions to combat terrorism and refusing
all attempts to create a new reality on the ground by autonomous initiatives in
northeast Syria.
He
welcomed the release of detainees and abductees in June, expressing appreciation
for the support of Russia and Iran in this regard.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
Terrorists,
herders plotting to attack churches, mosques, markets in Lagos – Primate
Ayodele to Sanwo-Olu
June
29, 2022
By
Nsikak Nseyen
The
leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, on
Wednesday, issued some warnings to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on the state of
insecurity in the state.
Primate
Ayodele said deadly terrorists, who are disguising as herders are planning to
attack churches, marketplaces, and mosques in Lagos State.
In
a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele warned
of a major attack on the Southwest zone.
He
revealed that terrorists, kidnappers and armed robbers have surrounded Lagos
State and that the governor needs to re-organize the security system of the
state to avert the danger that he foresees.
He
said: “Southwest governors should rise up now; there will be a major attack
that will shake the zone especially in Lagos State. Terrorists have surrounded
the states in the zone.
“I’m
calling the attention of the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to beef
up the security, outfits should be re-organized so that Lagos can be safe.
Lagosians, churches, mosques, supermarkets, markets should be conscious at this
moment; this is a message from the Lord.
“Terrorists,
Kidnappers, armed robbers are in Lagos; the governor should fight these challenges
as urgent, including the whole southwest. The governors should come together
and form unified security to fight this.”
The
man of God explained that deadly terrorists and herders are in the southwest,
with Lagos being their focus, while declaring fasting and prayer sessions from
1st of July to 3rd of July, 2022 to avert the impending security crisis in the
zone.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
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Internet
services cut in Sudan’s Khartoum ahead of pro-democracy protests
30
June, 2022
Internet
services were cut in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Thursday ahead of
pro-democracy protests, a Reuters reporter said, the first time for months that
web access had been blocked in the lead up to rallies.
The
protests mark the third anniversary of huge demonstrations during the 2019
uprising that toppled long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir, and led to a
power-sharing arrangement between civilian groups and the military.
Last
October, military leaders toppled the transitional government in a coup,
triggering mass rallies that have called on the military to quit politics and
continued for more than eight months.
fter
the military takeover, there were extended internet blackouts in an apparent
effort to hamper the protest movement.
Staff
at Sudan’s two private sector telecoms companies, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said authorities had ordered them to shut down the internet once
again on Thursday.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Bodies
of 20 migrants found in Libyan desert two weeks after last contact
29
June, 2022
The
bodies of 20 migrants who got lost in the Libyan desert near Chad have been
found, the ambulance service said on Wednesday, showing pictures of them lying
around a black pick up truck on the sand.
The
bodies were discovered by a truck driver traveling through the desert and were
recovered on Tuesday about 320 kilometers southwest of Kufra and 120 kilometers
from the border with Chad.
“The
driver got lost... and we believe the group died in the desert about 14 days
ago since the last call on a mobile phone there was on June 13,” Kufra
ambulance chief Ibrahim Belhasan said by phone.
Two
of the bodies were Libyans and the others were believed to be migrants from
Chad crossing illegally into Libya, Belhasan said.
Libya
has become a major launching point for migrants seeking to reach Europe via the
dangerous route across the desert and over the Mediterranean.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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World
bank lends Tunisia $130 million for grains hit by Ukraine war
29
June, 2022
The
World Bank has announced a $130-million loan to help Tunisia cover the cost of
cereal imports whose prices have spiraled since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The
package aimed “to lessen the impact of the Ukraine war by financing vital soft
wheat imports and providing emergency support to cover barley imports for dairy
production,” the lender said.
It
would also help buy “seeds for smallholder farmers for the upcoming planting
season,” it said in a statement late Tuesday.
Tunisia
was already dealing with heavy public debt, a low credit rating and steep
inflation before the Ukraine war, and has been left reeling by Russia’s
military blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
“Tunisia
faces a major grain supply shock due to difficulties in accessing financial
markets and rising global prices which affected the ability to procure imported
grain,” said the World Bank’s Tunisia country manager Alexandre Arrobbio.
Last
year Tunisia imported 60 percent of its soft wheat, used for bread, and 66
percent of its barley from the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
The
loan approved Wednesday aims to ensure “affordable bread for the poor, barley
for livestock, and agricultural inputs for domestic grain production,” the
World Bank said.
Bread
is a vital part of Tunisian’s diets and bread shortages or price hikes have
contributed to political upheaval in the past.
The
World Bank said its loan program was “expected to reduce import dependency
through incentives to sustainably increase domestic grain production,” the
World Bank said.
The
lender has in the past urged Tunisia to focus on crops with “greater labor
intensity,” such as citrus fruits, arguing that Tunisia “does not have a strong
comparative advantage in cereals.”
In
April the government unveiled a program to support farmers with access to
better seeds, technical assistance and state-backed loans in a push to boost
its self-sufficiency in grains.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/un-udaipur-killing-religions/d/127371