Al-Qaeda Leaders Still Sheltered and Protected By Taliban in Afghanistan: UNSC Watchdog
New
Age Islam News Bureau
05
February 2021
The Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring
Team’s report, Al-Qaeda Leaders Still Sheltered and Protected By Taliban in
Afghanistan
----
•
Kano State Sharia Police Arrested Barber, Elijah Ode, for Giving Haircuts That
Offend Islamic Faith
•
Indonesian Activists Laud Ban on Mandatory Religious Attire in Public Schools
•
Islamic State Accused Argues In Bombay High Court: I Have Already Served 6
Years, I Regret My Actions, But How Long
•
Political Parties Should Practise Democratic Values: Chief Justice of Pakistan
•
Top UN Court Throws out Qatar Blockade Case against UAE
•
Arab Party May Play ‘Break-Even Role’ For Netanyahu to Hold On To Office
•
Arab Party May Play ‘Break-Even Role’ For Netanyahu to Hold On To Office
•
Canada Designates Hizbul Mujahideen a Terrorist Group
•
Will Pope Francis Prove 'Clash of Civilizations' Wrong?
South
Asia
•
Al-Qaeda Leaders Still Sheltered and Protected By Taliban in Afghanistan: UNSC
Watchdog
•
Oppression of Minorities Hinders Harmony in Bangladesh
•
NATO Raises concern while AJSC reports ‘surge of violence’ against journalists
•
Humanitarian crisis risks getting worse: Afghanistan
•
Deported Bangladeshi Student: He plotted terror attack in France
--------
Africa
•
Kano State Sharia Police Arrested Barber, Elijah Ode, for Giving Haircuts That
Offend Islamic Faith
•
Dozens of Sudanese Protesters Burn Israeli Flag In Rally Against Normalization
•
Hamas: Israel's demolitions in Jordan Valley amount to ethnic cleansing
•
At least nine Malian soldiers killed in suspected militant attack
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
Indonesian Activists Laud Ban on Mandatory Religious Attire in Public Schools
•
Malaysian Woman Born To Muslim Father and Buddhist Mother Wins Appeal In
Federal Court, Declared Not A Muslim
•
Turkey Uighurs fear sellout to China in exchange for vaccine
--------
India
•
Islamic State Accused Argues In Bombay High Court: I Have Already Served 6
Years, I Regret My Actions, But How Long
•
Is Rihanna Muslim? Is Rihanna Pakistani? What India Googled after Her Viral
Tweet
•
Bengal’s Top Muslim Clerics Want Paper Ballots In Polls, Question Evms
•
Supreme Court Grants Bail to Comedian, Munawar Faruqui, Accused Of Insulting
Hinduism
•
BJP to field Muslim candidates not opposed to Assamese identity: Himanta Biswa
Sarma
•
Onus On Pak To Create Condition For Normal Ties, India Responds
--------
Pakistan
•
Political Parties Should Practise Democratic Values: Chief Justice of Pakistan
•
Balochistan coal miners reluctant to work after Hazara killings
•
16 injured after blast in Balochistan's Sibi
•
Onus on India To Create Right Environment For Engagement: FO
--------
Arab
World
•
Top UN Court Throws out Qatar Blockade Case against UAE
•
US Equipping Military Base in Iraqi Kurdistan Region
•
Iraq sends mixed signals over closing camp for displaced
•
‘Sad day in Lebanon,’ says US secretary of state after Hezbollah critic gunned
down
•
Hezbollah condemns distinguished Lebanese critic’s death, warns against
political exploitation
•
US developing military base in northern Iraq despite parliament's call for
troops pull-out: Report
•
West uses OPCW as weapon to serve its agenda against Syria: Damascus
•
Saudi Arabia welcomes Biden commitment to help Kingdom defend territory
•
Iraq, US-led Coalition Ramp up Pressure on IS
--------
Mideast
•
Arab Party May Play ‘Break-Even Role’ For Netanyahu to Hold On To Office
•
Ankara says US behind 2016 abortive coup in Turkey against Erdogan
•
Ansarullah: Establishment of peace possible if aggression, siege ends
•
Coronavirus Taking Toll from Terrorist Organization in Albania
•
Israeli army shoots, kills unarmed Palestinian man in West Bank settlement
•
Turkey's interior minister says US behind 2016 failed coup attempt: Hurriyet
•
Al-Qaeda's leader in Yemen under arrest: UN report
--------
North
America
•
Canada Designates Hizbul Mujahideen a Terrorist Group
•
US report highlights Pakistan-China ‘closeness’ in Afghanistan
•
US condemns ‘heinous assassination’ of Lebanese activist Lokman Slim
•
Biden says Yemen war must end, appoints former US diplomat in Riyadh as special
envoy
--------
Europe
•
Will Pope Francis Prove 'Clash of Civilizations' Wrong?
•
US, UK, France, Germany foreign ministers to discuss Iran soon: Reuters sources
•
France calls murder of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah activist Lokman Slim 'heinous
crime'
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/al-qaeda-leaders-still-sheltered/d/124233
--------
Al-Qaeda
Leaders Still Sheltered and Protected By Taliban in Afghanistan: UNSC Watchdog
February
05, 2021
The Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring
Team’s report, Al-Qaeda Leaders Still Sheltered and Protected By Taliban in
Afghanistan
----
The
United Nations Security Council watchdog charged with monitoring sanctions
against global jihadist groups has said the Taliban aid key leaders of
al-Qaeda, noting that several top leaders continue to be “given shelter and
protection by the Taliban”. The report comes among mounting pressure on the
United States government to roll back plans to withdraw its troops from
Afghanistan.
The
Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s report, released on Friday,
notes that the “killing of several al-Qaeda commanders in Taliban-controlled
territory underscores how close the two groups are”.
In
their report, the sanctions monitor point to the case of Mohammad Hanif, a
leader of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent who was killed in fighting in
Afghanistan’s Farah province in November. Hanif, the report records a United
Nations member-state as saying, “had been providing bomb-making training to
Taliban insurgents”.
“Further
evidence of close relations between the groups was the release of the wife of
the late Asim Umar, a former AQIS leader, who was among the more than 5,000
Taliban prisoners freed by the Government of Afghanistan in 2020,” the report
records.
Asim
Umar, born Sana-ul-Haq in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal, grew up in an influential
local family; his grandfather was a village pradhan, his grand-uncle a freedom
fighter and great-grandfather a district magistrate under the British rule. He
is believed to have left for Pakistan to join the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, and went on to be
appointed founding chief of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent in 2014.
The
report also underlines the growing power of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,
with an estimated 2,500-6,000 armed personnel and responsible, according to one
member-state, for more than 100 cross-border strikes into Afghanistan last
year.
Evicted
from Pakistan’s borderlands in the course of military operations launched after
2014, the report says that the reunification of the TTP’s several splinter
groups has been “moderated by Al-Qaida”.
A
bipartisan study group appointed by the United States Congress on Thursday,
called on their government to slow down the withdrawal of the country’s forces
in Afghanistan, scheduled to be completed by May 1 according to the terms of a peace
accord signed with the Taliban last year.
United
States negotiators engaging with the Taliban in Qatar’s capital, Doha, continue
to be led by Zalmay Khalilzad, appointed to lead by the effort by former
President Donald Trump.
However,
the Congressional study group has said progress is contingent on negotiators
“making clear to the Taliban that they have not fulfilled the conditions in the
Doha agreement under which a U.S. withdrawal can take place”.
The
Doha agreement says the Taliban will act to stop al-Qaeda and other
transnational jihadist groups “from threatening the security of the United
States and its allies, and will prevent them from recruiting, training, and
fundraising and will not host them".
Failure
in Afghanistan, the sanctions monitoring team suggests, could spur the growth
of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and al-Qaeda elsewhere in the
world. The report flags both groups’ growth in several parts of the world,
“mainly on the African continent”. “While terrorism continues to spread in West
Africa, the region of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique is among the most concerning
areas”.
The
report also notes member-state concerns about “rising number of ISIL
sympathisers in cyberspace in South Asia”. However, it adds that
“notwithstanding continuing Member State concerns about abuse of technology by
terrorists, especially in the fields of finance, weaponry and social media,
neither ISIL nor al-Qaeda is assessed to have made significant progress in this
regard in late 2020”.
https://www.news18.com/news/world/al-qaeda-leaders-still-sheltered-protected-by-taliban-in-afghanistan-un-watchdog-3393698.html
--------
Kano
State Sharia Police Arrested Barber, Elijah Ode, for Giving Haircuts That
Offend Islamic Faith
By
Frank White
February
3, 2021
Sahara
Reporters
The
Kano State Hisbah Corps has arrested a barber from Benue State, Elijah Ode, for
allegedly giving his customers haircuts which offend the Islamic faith in the
Sabongari area of the state.
It
was learnt that the religious police force reportedly arraigned Ode on Tuesday
and also had him remanded.
According
to a Benue State activist, Smith Akoko, who first brought the matter to the
attention of Nigerians, the barber, who is also a student, was arrested last
Wednesday, after two of his customers were caught with hairstyles deemed
blasphemous to the Islamic religion.
His
cousin, Sunday Ukenya, who confirmed the incident to Akoko, said the Hisbah
corps arraigned Elijah in court on Tuesday, February 2, and thereafter remanded
him in prison.
It
is not clear yet when his trial would resume.
Elijah
Ode, a resident of Kano from Adum East, Obi Local Government Area of Benue
State, who combines his barbing vocation with his studies, was accused by the
Islamic police of committing blasphemy in the cause of his work as a barber.
According
to eyewitnesses, Elijah, who is well patronised by young people for possessing
exceptional skills in giving trendy haircuts, attracted the wrath of the
extremists last Wednesday when two of his customers were tortured to stupour
for having haircuts claimed to be blasphemous to the Islam.
Thereupon,
Elijah was traced to his barbershop, where he was arrested for complicity, and
put in police detention with the two customers last week.
According
to information obtained from a family member, Ode did not design the hairstyles
with the intention to provoke.
The
source said, “He is only being innovative and to improve on his work, which he
used to eke out a living for himself and pay his fees at his tertiary
institution of study in Kano, where he sponsors himself.
“The
case is already in the court of law at the wish of the aggrieved Muslims with
the first session heard yesterday. But all efforts by the young barber’s lawyer
to bail him proved abortive because of the claim that it is a major case and
therefore not bailable.
-“At
the moment, the family has run out of hope, soliciting intercessory prayers as
the reality of incarceration stares Elijah in the face.”
https://www.newsngr.com.ng/2021/02/nigeria-sharia-police-arrested-barber-for-giving-haircuts-that-offend-islam/
-----
Indonesian
Activists Laud Ban on Mandatory Religious Attire In Public Schools
Ban
on religious attire in school dress codes in Indonesia
----
February
4, 2021
JAKARTA:
Activists in Indonesia today lauded the government’s decision to ban public
schools from making religious attire mandatory, a move that followed national
outrage over non-Muslim students being forced to wear a hijab.
Indonesia
officially recognises six religions, with nearly 90% of the population are
Muslim, but concern has grown in recent years that more conservative
interpretations of Islam are fuelling religious intolerance.
The
government’s signing of the decree yesterday on religious attire in school
dress codes came a few weeks after news emerged about a school in West Sumatra
province forcing non-Muslim female students to wear a hijab.
The
issue captured national attention because of a protest by the parents of one of
the girls, news of which spread on social media.
Yaqut
Cholil Qoumas, Indonesia’s religious minister, said the West Sumatra case was
just the “tip of the iceberg”.
“There
are no reasons to infringe upon others’ freedom in the name of religious
expression,” he told a news conference yesterday.
The
special autonomous province of Aceh, which enforces sharia law, is exempt from
the decree, education minister Nadiem Makarim said.
Beka
Ulung Hapsara, a commissioner at Indonesia’s main rights body, Komnas HAM, said
the decree respects people’s choice to express their beliefs.
“Places
of education are a space to develop independent souls free of discrimination,
where respect is fostered,” he said.
Andreas
Harsono, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, said schools in more than 20
provinces still make religious attire mandatory in their dress code, so the
decree was a positive step.
“Many
public schools require girls and female teachers to wear the hijab that too
often prompt bullying, intimidation, social pressures, and in some cases,
forced resignation,” he said.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2021/02/04/indonesian-activists-laud-ban-on-mandatory-religious-attire-in-schools/
--------
Islamic
State Accused Argues In Bombay High Court: I Have Already Served 6 Years, I
Regret My Actions, But How Long
Vidya
February
5, 2021
Hearing
a plea against the bail granted to the lone Islamic State accused facing trial
in India, the Bombay High Court asked NIA how long will the case take as the
accused argued for himself and said he returned to India on his own and has
been lodged in prison for six years while the minimum punishment for his
offence is five years.
The
bench was hearing a plea filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA)
against the trial court order that granted bail to the lone ISIS accused facing
trial in India.
The
trial court, which granted bail to accused Areeb Majeed in March 2020, stayed
its own order for the agency to appeal in high court. In the high court, Majeed
never hired a lawyer so the court asked him if he was going to need any legal
assistance. Majeed has been behind the bars for the past six years and has been
arguing his own court in the lower court too. So, he expressly denied the need
for it now.
Majeed
told the high court his trial has been moving at snail's pace. Majeed said,
"The NIA keeps saying that the witnesses are not coming. I have admitted
many documents to expedite the trial but even then, they are examining
witnesses concerning those documents. How can they promise to expedite the
trial?"
The
additional solicitor general replied, "The pandemic has delayed many
trials. Trials have only started now. We will try to complete it as early as
possible. From our side there will be cooperation and we will finish the trial
at the earliest."
Majeed
argued on the merits of the case as well, citing how the case of the
prosecution was extremely weak. He also told the court that the quantum of
punishment that he can be handed if he is found guilty after trial is a minimum
5 years to life sentence. "I have already spent six years," said
Majeed.
During
the hearing the bench also wondered, “Why would a 21-year-old go to Iraq for
people who he has never met in his life by leaving his family behind? Don’t you
have enough suffering around you? You may be immature, like you said.” To this
Majeed replied, "I have also suffered in the past six years
(incarcerated). I have been kept away from the people I returned for."
Majeed
also pointed out how he himself had made contact to be brought back from Syria.
"From Syria to Turkey and then to Istanbul, I met officials at the Indian
consulate who facilitated my stay and travel here. On November 28, 2014, I was
arrested at the airport in Mumbai. They are saying that I was illegally trying
to enter India as they do not want to admit their own role in my return,"
said Majeed.
The
court sat till 8 pm to hear the case. Majeed said, "I will not shy away
from what wrong I have done but I will not admit the allegation that they are
making against me."
NIA
has been saying that Majeed has returned with ulterior motives. Replying to
that, Majeed quoted the ASG and said, "Let us not assume as to what might
happen in future. If anything goes wrong the aggrieved party can come to the
court."
This
argument was put forth by ASG Singh himself while he was opposing the bail
application of Elgar Parishad accused Varavara Rao this week. Majeed was in the
court while Singh's arguments were going on.
Majeed
assured that he "will attend NIA office and if I don't go then warrants
can be issued. What more does one want?" Justice Pitale asked the
27-year-old accused as to what he was planning to do. Majeed replied, "I
am going to study for law."
Justice
Pitale replied, "If you had utilised your time while you were 21 it would
have been a matter of joy for family and your country." Majeed's family
was sitting in court during this court exchange when he said, "That is what
I regret. It is not that I don't regret my lord."
Majeed
introduced his father and said, "My father has his own unani medicine
clinic in Kalyan." His father informed the court and that his two
daughters have just finished studying medicine too.
The
court watched a video put forth by NIA to show the "purpose" for
which Majeed had gone to Syria. The court after hearing both the sides has
reserved the judgment till February 23.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/islamic-state-accused-argues-in-bombay-high-court-1766111-2021-02-05
--------
Political
Parties Should Practise Democratic Values: Chief Justice of Pakistan
February
5, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed on Thursday emphasised the need for
bringing democratic values in political parties, instead of party head behaving
like a dictator.
“The
political party heads should not act like dictators and convert the political
party into one-man party,” observed the chief justice while heading a
five-judge SC bench that had taken up a reference through which President Dr
Arif Alvi has sought explanation whether the condition of secret ballot under
Article 226 of the Constitution applies to Senate elections or not.
The
chief justice acknowledged that there was no dearth of members of political
parties who voted according to the dictates of their conscience and then
admitted it openly.
He
said that a political party in the country was run in the name of its leader,
but every member of the party should have the courage to express his/her views
openly.
AGP
says if Senate polls are held on open ballot, a group of conscientious
parliamentarians will emerge
Attorney
General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan said that if the Senate elections were
held through open ballot then a conscientious group would emerge among
parliamentarians in future to challenge wrong decisions of party heads.
Citing
a case from India, the AGP argued that time would come soon when political
party heads had to consider fielding better candidates of good repute for the
elections.
In
case a member is removed from the party for taking a conscious stand then time
will come when he/she will stand up and challenge the removal in a court of
law, Mr Khan said.
He
added that political stalwarts like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Wali Khan, Maulana
Mufti Mehmood, Professor Ghafoor Ahmed or Shah Ahmed Noorani would be shocked
if they were told that open ballot for the Senate elections was being sought to
discourage vote buying because horse-trading would be a new phenomenon for
them.
Justice
Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, a member of the bench, wondered when the Constitution itself
stated that all elections should be held under the Constitution through secret
ballot then was there any corresponding provision to provide for open ballot
also.
The
AGP said that in the elections of this nature (like Senate polls), the number
of voters was very limited and, therefore, their identification became relevant
because they were acting as the proxy of the political parties they belonged to
in an indirect election.
At
this, Justice Ahsan observed that what the AGP was stating was that a member of
provincial assembly during the Senate elections might not necessarily be a free
agent because he was a member of a political party and could not betray the
trust of his party.
“If
the party discipline has to be kept at all cost, will the results of the
elections not be a foretold conclusion?” asked the chief justice.
The
AGP explained that the intention behind the entire scheme was to reflect the
complexion of a particular party in the Senate.
Then
an independent candidate would not get a vote, the chief justice said.
The
AGP explained that an independent candidate would need endorsement of the
members of the assembly of the province he belonged to.
Citing
the 1998 Benazir Bhutto case, Mr Khan recalled how the Supreme Court had
emphasised the role of the political parties and how important the political
parties were for a democratic system since they were lifeline of the
parliamentary form of government.
The
voter for the Senate elections was not voting for a particular individual but
for a particular manifesto which would become the law of the land, he said.
Justice
Ahsan observed that the scheme of the Constitution itself suggested that if a
political party enjoyed a majority then this majority should also reflect in
the Senate, otherwise the system could be stalled.
Justice
Umar Ata Bandial, another member of the bench, asked the AGP to draw a
distinction between the role of the upper house and the lower house of
parliament.
“When
the National Assembly reflects a storm in society, the upper house brings
stability and calmness and shows maturity. When the upper house is a mature
house then why its elections cannot be held through secret ballot,” Justice
Bandial wondered.
Further
proceedings were postponed for Monday.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1605559/political-parties-should-practise-democratic-values-cjp
--------
Top
UN court throws out Qatar blockade case against UAE
February
04, 2021
THE
HAGUE: The UN’s top court on Thursday rejected a case brought by Qatar accusing
the United Arab Emirates of discrimination during a blockade of Doha, which has
since been lifted.
Qatar
filed the case in 2018, a year after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt
cut transport links over claims the gas-rich nation backed extremists and was
too close to Iran.
Doha
said the UAE’s actions had breached the 1965 International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), a UN treaty.
But
the International Court of Justice said it “upholds the first preliminary
objection raised by the UAE” that racial discrimination did not include
nationality in this case.
“The
court finds that it has no jurisdiction to entertain the application filed by
the state of Qatar,” ICJ President Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf said in The Hague.
Qatar’s
rivals agreed to lift the restrictions at a summit in early January and the UAE
reopened its borders to Qatar shortly afterwards.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1804176/middle-east
--------
Arab
party may play ‘break-even role’ for Netanyahu to hold on to office
04
February 2021
An
alliance of Arab parties in Israel finalized its breakup on Thursday, setting
up the possibility that a small Islamist party could hold the key to Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remaining in office and avoiding prosecution on
corruption charges.
The
Joint List, an alliance of four Arab parties that won a record 15 seats in
elections held last year, finalized the split overnight in which three will run
together and the United Arab List, an Islamist party led by parliament member
Mansour Abbas, will strike out on its own.
One
of the main points of division was Abbas’ openness to working with Netanyahu or
other Israeli leaders to address longstanding issues like crime and housing in
Israel’s Arab community, which makes up around 20 percent of its population.
Abbas’
party is only expected to win a few seats in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset.
But in a tightly-fought election in which the winner must assemble a coalition
of 61 seats, he could emerge as an unlikely kingmaker. Polls show Netanyahu’s
Likud winning the most seats but falling slightly short of a ruling coalition.
Even a couple seats might be enough to make a difference.
“Taking
into consideration the political stalemate, any Arab party might play the
break-even role ... in return for benefits for Arab society,” said Arik
Rudnitzky, a researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute. “This is the main
political consideration of the Islamic movement.”
Israel’s
Arab community has full citizenship, including the right to vote, but faces
widespread discrimination in housing and other areas. They have close ties to
the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, which has led many Jewish Israelis
to view them with suspicion.
No
Arab party has ever sought or been invited to join an Israeli government, but
that could change this time around, or the Arab parties might support a ruling
coalition from outside, allowing it to form a government.
The
March 23 elections will be Israel’s fourth in less than two years. In previous
campaigns, Netanyahu has been accused of racism and incitement for inveighing
against the Arab parties, but this time around he is openly courting Arab
support in what many saw as an attempt to hasten the breakup of the Joint List
and reduce overall turnout.
Netanyahu
hopes to assemble a ruling coalition that would extend his 12 years in office
and potentially grant him immunity from prosecution on charges stemming from a
series of corruption investigations.
Rudnitzky
said Abbas’ party could do well on its own.
“The
Islamic movement is one of the largest popular social movements acting in Arab
society,” he said. “They have a very solid base of popular support, but the
question is whether this popular support will translate into an actual vote on
election day.”
Later
on Thursday, two left-wing candidates, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and Knesset
member Ofer Shelah, dropped out of the race. Huldai, the long-time mayor of the
country’s secular metropolis, had launched a new party to great fanfare late
last year. Their departure is expected help the left-wing Labor and Meretz
parties consolidate support.
On
the opposite side of Israel’s political spectrum, the Religious Zionist party
joined forces with Jewish Power, a small faction comprised of the heirs to the
late rabbi Meir Kahane, whose outlawed Kach party advocated the forcible
removal of Palestinians and the establishment of a Jewish theocracy. The two
parties united in a bid to pool votes and exceed the 3.25 percent electoral
threshold.
“We
are uniting. For the sake of the people of Israel, the land of Israel and the
Torah of Israel,” Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben Gvir wrote on Twitter.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/04/Arab-party-may-play-break-even-role-for-Netanyahu-to-hold-on-to-office
--------
Canada
designates Hizbul Mujahideen a terrorist group
By
Anirudh Bhattacharyya
FEB
04, 2021
Canada
has designated the Pakistan-based, Kashmir-focused Hizbul Mujahideen as a
terrorist group.
HM
was among 13 new groups added to the list, including several neo-Nazi
organisations like Proud Boys, which was also alleged to have taken part in the
violence at the Capitol in Washington DC last month.
Public
Safety Canada said HM was formed in 1989 as a militant group as violence escalated
in the Kashmir valley and its “primary goal is to unite the Indian and Pakistan
administered parts of Kashmir, which would then join with Pakistan.”
“HM
has launched attacks on Indian security forces, politicians, military targets
and critical infrastructure within the newly formed territories of Jammu and
Kashmir, and Ladakh. HM’s tactics include using assassinations and armed
assault. The group has also abducted and killed police officers and
informants.”
The
list of terrorist groups on the Canadian register has now grown to 73 and
includes several that are engaged against India including the Pakistan-based
Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Also listed are
Khalistani outfits Babbar Khalsa International and International Sikh Youth
Federation, as well as Indian Mujahideen.
Canada’s
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said, “Violent
acts of terrorism have no place in Canadian society or abroad. Today’s
additions to the Criminal Code list of terrorist entities are an important step
in our effort to combat violent extremism in all forms.”
“Canadians
expect their Government to keep them safe and to keep pace with evolving
threats and global trends, such as the growing threat of ideologically
motivated violent extremism. The government of Canada will continue to take
appropriate actions to counter terrorist threats to Canada, its citizens and
its interests around the world,” he said in a statement.
Once
an entity is formally listed, banks and financial institutions freeze its
assets and it becomes a crime to deal with the assets of such a proscribed
group. In its release, Public Safety Canada noted that such listings “also help
obstruct assistance from sympathisers and supporters in Canada by criminalising
certain support activities, including those related to terrorist travel,
training and recruitment.”
Neo-fascist,
white supremacist groups are recent entries into the list, with the latest
additions including Proud Boys, Atomwaffen Division and the Base. The new
listings also feature three more affiliates of the al Qaeda, five more of the
Islamic State including its presence in Bangladesh and the Russian Imperial
Movement.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news
--------
Will
Pope Francis prove 'clash of civilizations' wrong?
Ben
Joseph
February
05, 2021
In
an indirect riposte, Pope Francis is trying to prove the confrontational
rhetoric of Samuel Huntington's “clash of civilizations” wrong.
The
pontiff has helped piece together a counter-narrative against the former
Harvard professor's social theory, stressing the importance of harmonious
civilizational relations. It also advocates moderation in place of
fundamentalism as a common ground to challenge the entrenched perception that
certain cultures and religions are incapable of change.
His
narrative aims to repudiate a putative or real clash of civilizations and
instead foster enhanced interfaith dialogue between cultural and religious
groups for a peaceful coexistence.
If
the twin tower blasts (9/11) were arguably the culmination of the clash of
civilizations from the Western or Christian point of view, the wars that
followed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria established beyond doubt among
Muslims that cultural superiority has to give way to cultural eclecticism so
that moderation (wasaṭiyyah) can prevent
an increasingly hostile relationship between the civilizations of Christianity
and Islam.
The
pope has found common ground among Christians and Muslims despite them
subscribing to different sociopolitical worldviews.
The
secular democracy of the West and Sharia-based Islamic rule clash as they both
entertain ideas for global domination and share a missionary history. Above
all, both want to recast the world according to their worldviews.
Islam
also alleges Judaism has teamed up with Christianity to finish it off, and
jihad (Islamic holy war) is adopted to counter it. Thus, three Abrahamic
religions disagree on their practical applications despite tracing a common
ancestry. Their people are on the warpath, ignoring the basics of their
scriptures.
While
the West wages war in the name of establishing democracy in Muslim-majority
nations, Islamic fundamentalists' jihadist exploits are out in the street to
put pokes into the Western way of life, which they find haram (forbidden).
Thus, they explode bombs at five-star hotels, nightclubs and churches.
When
the face-off between Christians and Muslims occurs in a localized context, as
happened in France last year, a tit-for-tat is the norm with stray killings and
acts of terror. As a result, fear and hate grow, making lives miserable.
The
Vatican's strategy to foster interfaith harmony and pursue talks with the
Muslim community began with the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. For the
first time, the council expressed the Church's new vision: "But the plan
of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first
place among whom are the Muslims: these profess to hold the faith of Abraham,
and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the
last day." (Lumen Gentium 16).
Since
then, the Church has hosted and taken part in series of conferences with Muslim
scholars to reduce tensions. Pope Paul VI constituted the Pontifical Council
for Interreligious Dialogue in 1964 to improve relations and dialogue between
the Catholic Church and other religions.
Since
becoming pope in 2013, Francis' major trips have been to non-Christian nations
including Egypt, Bangladesh, Morocco, Japan and Thailand, pleading for
religious pluralism and peaceful coexistence.
An
Islam-loving Pope?
Pope
Francis' encounters with the Muslim world were fructified during his 2019 visit
to the United Arab Emirates, where he signed the document on "Fraternity
for World Peace and Living Together." Also known as the Abu Dhabi
Document, it aims to "build a future together."
A
few months later, the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity was set up to put
into action the aspirations of the document "to foster fraternity,
solidarity, respect and mutual understanding."
The
committee is planning to erect an Abrahamic Family House with a synagogue, a
church and a mosque on Saadiyat island in Abu Dhabi.
The
Higher Committee of Human Fraternity comprises international religious leaders,
scholars and cultural honchos who draw inspiration from the fraternity
document.
On
Feb. 4, Pope Francis celebrated the International Day of Human Fraternity in a
virtual event hosted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi, with the grand
imam of Al Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, and UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.
"This
celebration responds to a clear call that Pope Francis has been making to all
humanity to build peace in the encounter with the other," stressed
Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue.
After
a hiatus imposed by the ongoing pandemic, Pope Francis is getting ready for the
next pontifical journey to Iraq, another Muslim-majority nation, also the land
of Abraham.
In
the ancient city of Iraq in March, the pope is expected to bring the Shia sect,
one of the two branches of Islam, to the negotiation table.
Francis
following Francis
Pope
Francis's action to cement ties with Muslims has made him a modern-day St.
Francis of Assisi, who met Egypt's Sultan Malik al-Kamil in 1219 when
Christendom was engaged in a bitter battle with Muslims over the Holy Land. The
Italian saint of poverty, who addressed all creatures of the universe as
brothers and sisters, traveled to Egypt during the Fifth Crusade in the early
13th century to establish peace with the sultan. Records show that he was
received warmly.
St.
Francis stood against all forms of hostility and violence and did not aim at
"imposing doctrines." Pope Francis has distanced himself from
warriors of Catholicism while seeking a gentle way of communicating with
Muslims.In his third encyclical Fratelli tutti, the pope urged the world to
exercise "political love." He
cast aside the just war theory and updated the Church's teaching on the so-called
"just war."
"Every
war leaves our world worse than it was before," he said.
The
Holy See's dialogue with the Islamic world is complicated due to tardy progress
in West-Islam relations. The Vatican's honeymoon with Muslims has already
raised many eyebrows in the Western world from people who champion the
"clash of civilizations" theory.
Though
his interfaith ties with Muslims are making great strides in the Middle East,
the Judeo-Christian majority and the Muslim minority in Western countries care
little about multiculturalism. Moreover, the governments of these countries
still prefer to swear by the confrontational rhetoric of Huntington.
The
pontiff is making a point so that the clash of civilizations does not dominate
global politics. He has taken utmost care to prevent the fault lines between cultures
from becoming the battle lines of future conflicts.
The
pope urges the world to rise above identity in ethnic and religious terms to
reverse an "us versus them" relationship existing between people of
different ethnicities and religions.
If
the pope has his way, the military superiority and economic agenda of the West
and the Islamic resurgence and caliphate of fundamentalists will take a back
seat.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/will-pope-francis-prove-clash-of-civilizations-wrong/91282
--------
South
Asia
Oppression
of minorities hinders harmony in Bangladesh
February
05, 2021
Jogendranath
Sarker and his five-member family, who belong to the Protestant Church of
Bangladesh, left Kushtia district town of northwestern Bangladesh and moved to
Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state in neighboring India, in February
last year.
Sarker,
43, had sold his ancestral homestead on 1,200 square meters of land after
failing to protect about 1.66 acres of his farmland from locally influential
Muslims during more than five years of struggle.
This
group of Muslims, using forged land documents to claim ownership, occupied the
farmland Sarker had inherited from his father.
Amid
the dispute, his home was burned in arson attacks three times and he received
numerous threats of eviction from Muslims.
“I’m
a victim of oppression as ours was the only Christian family within 20
kilometers. Despite many problems, I wanted to stay in Bangladesh, but at the
end I could not stay,” Sarker told UCA News.
He
lamented that he sought help from local police many times but didn’t get any
support from them. He didn’t file any case in court as he didn’t have enough
money to run a lengthy, expensive legal battle.
A
police officer admitted that Sarker sought help and they had promised to
investigate.
“We
told him that police would look into his problems. When we visited his house
last year, we came to know he had sold the property and left for India,”
sub-inspector Mohammad Sanowar from Kushtia Sadar police station told UCA News.
In
Kolkata, Sarker’s family have been living with their relatives despite
difficulties without a job and an income.
“In
Bangladesh I faced an existential crisis, but here there is no fear for life. I
am with my relatives and they promised to get me a job. Hopefully, I can have a
better life and can educate my two children. I can also go to church regularly
here,” he said.
The
case of Sarker might be tragic, but it is a common reality in Muslim-majority
Bangladesh where land disputes are a major cause of discrimination against
minorities that can also lead to victims fleeing their homes and some settling
in other countries.
Minority
rights groups say that despite Bangladesh being a moderate Muslim country with
a long-held tradition of harmony and pluralism, violence and oppression against
minorities, often stemming from land disputes, have increased in recent times.
A
report from Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, published in
December, recorded 60 cases of eviction of minority families from March to September
last year. There were incidents of attacks, vandalism and arson on minorities
including Hindu temples. Some 18 minority member were killed, 11 received death
threats and 23 were victims of abduction and torture. The report alleged that
30 girls and women from minority communities were victims of rape.
A
Hindu forum, Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, claims that violence
against minorities more than doubled in 2020 from the previous year despite the
country reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.
It
says 62 members of minorities were killed in the first six months of 2020, some
512 people were injured in attacks and 1,460 minority families, mostly Hindus,
were evicted from their houses.
Govind
Chandra Pramanik, president of the group, said that Bangladesh’s first
constitution of 1972 was secular and non-communal but it was amended and
distorted to give a communal character that encouraged radical elements to
dominate and oppress minorities in various parts of the country.
“Harmony
is vital for the prosperity of any nation, but it is under threat as minorities
are abused. For a long time, we have demanded reserve seats for minorities and
a separate ministry for minority affairs. I think that without such efforts
minorities won’t have proper representation and abuses of minorities won’t
stop,” Pramanik, a Supreme Court lawyer, told UCA News.
There
are regular reports of pressure on minorities to convert to Islam by radicals.
Modhu
Das (not his real name), a 29-year-old Hindu from north-central Mymensingh
district, alleged that he had received threats from local Islamic radicals to
denounce his religion recently.
“I
run a grocery shop that feeds my four-member family. Some radical Muslims told
me to convert or they would force [us] to leave the country. I filed a
complaint with the police and the police issued a warning. There [have been] no
more threats, but I am still living in fear,” Das told UCA News.
For
decades, Christians have prioritized interfaith dialogue as an effective way of
dispelling communal tensions and harmony, but now and then oppression of
minorities due to issues like land disputes and politics pose grave threats,
says Father Patrick Gomes, secretary of the Catholic bishops' Commission for
Christian Unity and Inter-Religious Dialogue.
The
reports of increasing violence against minorities are true, the priest said.
“At
the grassroots level, people of all religions have mostly good relations. But
the rhythm of this brotherhood was disturbed due to some reasons like disputes
over land and politics. In the top levels of the state, there is no
fundamentalism but at the rural level Islamic radicals have considerable
influence. Sometimes radicals spread propaganda against minorities on social
media that triggers violence,” Father Gomes told UCA News.
The
priest said the Church has been carrying out interfaith dialogue programs at
national and locals levels, which have positive impacts and foster harmony.
“I
think interreligious fraternity can help strengthen harmony and eradicate
oppression of minorities,” the priest added.
Islamic
cleric Maolana Mohammad Iqbal Eusuf, secretary of Dhaka-based Sufism Research
Center, also admitted the sad reality of oppression of minorities in
Bangladesh.
“There
is no denying that in a country where people of various faiths live side by
side, majority group tries to dominate minorities. Islam as a religion never
endorses it and those who exploit Islam to abuse minorities are greedy and
misguided,” he told UCA News.
The
state needs to firmly apply the law to end any form of violence against
minorities, while the state and other groups must make efforts to promote
interfaith dialogue to strengthen harmony, he said
“Christians
have been prioritizing interfaith dialogue, which is highly praiseworthy. All
religious groups as well as the state must do the same to remove all forms of
religious bigotry and communalism from society,” the cleric added.
About
90 percent of more than 160 million people in Bangladesh are Muslims, about 8
percent are Hindu and the rest belong to other faiths including Buddhism and
Christianity.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/oppression-of-minorities-hinders-harmony-in-bangladesh/91291#
--------
NATO
Raises concern while AJSC reports ‘surge of violence’ against journalists
04
Feb 2021
Afghan
Journalists Safety Committee in Afghanistan on Thursday announced that it has
recorded 132 threats and violence as opposed to journalists.
Report
analysis indicates a 26 percent increase than 2019, seven journalists and media
workers were killed, five killed as a result of targeted killings and IED
attacks.
This
report hints at a worrying status of journalists’ safety and media freedom in
Afghanistan.
The
rise in killings of the journalists has created “extensive fear” among media”
outlets, it has reduced content production capabilities, and expanded
self-censorship, the committee said.
The
escalation of attacks on journalists at the end of 2020 spread panic between
journalists and media outlets across the country, such attacks had noticeable
adverse effects on reporting procedures, many journalists reconsider how and
whether to report a certain topic for fear of reprisal, that paved the path for
wide practice of self-censorship, according to the AJSC statement.
Besides,
the pandemic has created financial challenges for media outlets which kept then
the frustration of raising funds for creating media content.
The
statement said, media and civil society groups are concerned, as the republic’s
delegation lacks a coherent strategy to preserve key constitutional rights
including freedom of speech and media.
“The
Taliban’s ideological opposition to these values enhances concerns about the
future of such freedoms. Further, the government’s efforts in early 2020 to
draft a new Media Law, which could extensively limit press freedom if enacted,
and the lack of meaningful commitment to investigate the cases of murdered
journalists have fueled these concerns,” the statement read.
AJSC
recorded 132 threats and violence against Afghan journalists and media workers,
this includes their murder, injuries, assault, kidnappings, threat, theft,
legal, verbal and administrative abuse.
The
data in 2020 shows a 26 percent increase in threats and violence against
reporters compared to 2019 in which the organization had recorded only 105 cases.
18
journalists were injured while reporting, 10 were physically assaulted, 47
threatened, 28 verbally abused, 13 journalists and media workers faced legal
and administrative abuse, 7 journalists were kidnapped and two were victims of
theft while on the field working on reports.
AJSC
held the Taliban and Daesh accountable for majority of the violence and threats
and the government officials come second, AJSC stated.
Historically
Afghanistan has reached a critical juncture, although the recent peace process
formed hopes to an ending and prolonged peace, and reduction in violence.
Despite
efforts for peace violence raged and surged, and many journalists, civil
society activists were killed, which raised serious concerns over peace talk
success and whether core values of freedom of expression, speech and civil
liberties be protected, the statement added.
This
comes as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in a joint press conference
said “we have seen attacks … against
individuals, journalists, and others, and of course the high level of violence
is something which is of great concern.”
Jens
Stoltenberg said, “so, we will make the assessment together, we will make the
decision together, and this will be one of the most important topics that will
be discussed when we have a NATO Defense Ministerial meeting later this month
and decisions will be made,”
He
said that NATO and its allies came by a difficult decision on Afghanistan and
that they should make the decision together, because the international leaders
will face challenges and costs, on whatever they decide.
“If
we decide to leave, we risk jeopardizing the peace process, we risk losing the
gains we have made in the fight against international terrorism over the last
years, and we risk that Afghanistan once again becomes a safe haven for
international terrorists,” he said.
“On
the other hand, if we decide to stay, of course we will continue to be in a
difficult military operation in Afghanistan, and we risk increased violence
also against NATO troops,” he added that the Taliban “have to live up to their
commitments, especially when it comes to breaking old ties with international
terrorists including Al Qaeda. And we need to see reduced violence.”
Belgium
PM, Alexander De Croo during the press conference said, “To really align with
what the secretary general said, on the Belgium side we are committed to this
NATO mission, and the word ‘together’–you mentioned it multiple times– I think
that’s the key. We made the decision together to intervene.”
“If
we adjust, well, we should decide together to adjust, at some point, we will
leave Afghanistan,” he mentioned.
https://www.khaama.com/nato-raises-concern-while-ajsc-reports-surge-of-violence-against-journalists/
--------
Humanitarian
crisis risks getting worse: Afghanistan
04
Feb 2021
The
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič said on Wednesday
half of Afghans need humanitarian aid but rising violence is preventing
deliveries.
Janez
Lenarčič, European Commissioner for Crisis management says nearly half of
Afghans require humanitarian assistance and that the violence prevents its
deliveries.
Reuters
reported, 32 million euros will be provided for humanitarian projects in 2021.
“Increasing
violence and conflict is the main cause for the humanitarian need in this
country,” he said. “We very much hope and call for an immediate, unconditional,
and comprehensive ceasefire.”
US-Taliban
dashed deal of violence reduction, and instead it has escalated.
Lenarčič
called on both domestic warring parties “to understand that allowing for full
and unimpeded humanitarian access is their obligation under humanitarian law.”
Lenarčič
said that the amount of the EU’s humanitarian aid could rise. Those funds are
separate from the $12 billion over the next four years that foreign donors
including the EU pledged in November.
He
predicted that humanitarian aid could rise as the humanitarian crisis keeps
hitting the country.
During
his visit to Afghanistan “The safety and unobstructed access of humanitarian
aid workers cannot be compromised,” he said.
“The
human cost of the conflict in Afghanistan is profound, with the civilian
population suffering the most. My message here today is very clear; the
protection of civilians is a cornerstone of international humanitarian law and
must be respected by all parties. The EU reiterate its call for an immediate
ceasefire,” the EU commissioner added.
“My
discussions here today confirm the dire humanitarian situation that a large
part of the civilian population faces every single day. The EU has been among
the most generous humanitarian donors to Afghanistan,” he said.
“In
the last two years, the EU allocated €100 million in humanitarian aid, in 2021
our initial support amounts to 32 million euros. To meet the needs and reach
the most vulnerable, we operate in partnership and coordination with NGOs and
UN agencies in strict compliance with our humanitarian principles,” he added.
The EU commissioner also met with President
Ashraf Ghani and HCNR head Abdullah Abdullah, he reaffirmed the EU’s support
for the peace process, he stressed political unity, and support to efforts of
NGOs in Afghanistan
Earlier,
Ramesh Rajasingham, Acting assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian
Affairs, and Deputy Emergency Relief coordinator for UNOCHA said, at least four
out of 10 humans in Afghanistan suffer from hunger and poverty every single
day.
United
Nations urged international donors to provide $1.3 billion in aid to Afghans in
need.
Officials
in a virtual meeting described the crisis in Afghanistan as extremely
concerning and indicated that the coronavirus pandemic and war have caused half
of the population to suffer from poverty and are desperately in need of
humanitarian assistance.
“Forty
years of war and displacement, mixed with climate shocks and now COVID-19, have
left almost half of Afghanistan’s population needing emergency aid,”
Rajasingham added whole moderating the meeting.
He
also said that the number of people in need has doubled from 9.4 million to
18.4 million since the start of 2020 until now.
UNOCHA
deputy head added the population of 40.4 million nearly 17 million people is on
the verge of crisis and food insecurity and nearly half of the Afghan children
will be acutely malnourished by the end of 2021.
https://www.khaama.com/humanitarian-crisis-risks-getting-worse-afghanistan-3434455/
--------
Deported
Bangladeshi Student: He plotted terror attack in France
February
05, 2021
Mohammad
Jamil Khan
A
Bangladeshi recently deported from France for his involvement in militant activities
had plans of going to Syria to join Islamic State.
Self-radicalised
through various online contents, 24-year-old Saif Rahman was planning to
conduct a terror attack in France. He was involved in jihadi propaganda and
activities from September to December 2019, claimed Counter Terrorism and
Transnational Crime (CTTC)officials.
For
this reason, the French government deported Saif to Bangladesh after he was
arrested by a law enforcement agency of the European country.
The
CTTC unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police came up with this info after arresting
Saif upon his arrival at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) on
January 14.
Later,
he was shown arrested under section 54 and sent to jail.
After
translating a two-page official document written in French recovered from
Saif's possession and through primary interrogation, CTTC officials learned
details of his militant activities and filed a case against him under the Anti
Terrorism (Amendment) Act 2013.
The
Daily Star obtained a copy of the translated documents and the first
information report (FIR).
Saiful
Islam, deputy commissioner of CTTC unit, told The Daily Star yesterday that a
case has been filed against Saif Rahman at the Airport Police Station under the
Anti-Terrorism Act.
"The
case is currently under investigation and we are checking whether any other
Bangladeshi nationals have engaged in militant activities after joining
him," he said.
On
Wednesday, CTTC submitted a remand prayer in court for Saif's interrogation and
the court set February 8 for a hearing on the remand.
According
to investigators, born in 1997 in Bangladesh, Saif completed his O-levels in
2014 from European Standard School in Dhaka. He later completed A-levels from
Oxford International School. Then on February 7, 2015 he went to France at the
age of 18.
In
2016, Saif graduated from the University of Cergy-Pontoise, France and started
part-time work in the university administration.
CTTC
sources said Saif planned to travel to areas controlled by the IS in Iraq and
Syria in 2020. But French law enforcement detained him before he could leave
for Syria and put him in a detention centre for around two months, they said.
The
FIR filed against Saif quoted the translation of the French document, which
said youths who failed to go to IS-dominated areas often conducted terror
attacks inspired by the outfit. As the presence of Saif in France became a
terror threat, he needs to be expelled, the document said.
He
was later expelled from France by the country's court, added the FIR.
A
high-placed CTTC official, requesting anonymity, said the French law
enforcement agency found evidence of Saif's militant activities and connection
with the international militant outfit after analysing his digital devices.
CTTC DC Saiful Islam said they have seized Saif's laptop and cell phone.
"We
are suspecting that he might have some communication with local militant
outfits. We will send the digital devices for forensic test now so that we can
get details of his connections," he added.
This
is not the first time that a Bangladeshi tried to go to Syria or Iraq to join
an international militant outfit.
On
January 23, CTTC unit arrested university teacher Minhaj Hossain, 38, who
allegedly went to Turkey and then Syria in September 2020 to join international
militant outfit Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Failing
to join HTS, Minhaj returned to Bangladesh after a three-month stay in Turkey
and Syria, and then tried to communicate with Neo JMB to conduct subversive
activities in the country, said CTTC officials.
https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/news/deported-bangladeshi-student-he-plotted-terror-attack-france-2039465
--------
Africa
Dozens
of Sudanese protesters burn Israeli flag in rally against normalization
04
February 2021
Dozens
of Sudanese protesters have staged a rally to express their outrage and reject
a recent signing of an agreement by the North African country to normalize ties
with Israel.
Demonstrators
took to the streets in the capital, Khartoum, on Wednesday evening, chanting
slogans against Israel and in condemnation of normalization, Lebanon-based and
Arabic-language al-Manar television network reported.
Sudan
agreed to normalize ties with Israel in October last year and an Israeli
delegation visited Khartoum the following month.
On
January 6, Sudan signed the so-called Abraham Accords, normalizing ties with
Israel, becoming the third Arab country to do so after the United Arab Emirates
and Bahrain.
A
statement from the office of Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said at the
time that Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari signed the accord with visiting
former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The
signing came just over two months after former US president Donald Trump
announced that Sudan had agreed to normalize relations with Israel.
But
protests against normalization have continued in the African nation.
Back
in October, Sudan’s Popular Congress Party, the second most prominent component
of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) political coalition, said in a
statement that Sudanese people were not obligated to accept the normalization
deal.
Sudan’s
former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi also slammed the announcement, adding that
he would withdraw from a government-organized conference at the time in
protest.
Furthermore,
Palestinians have strongly condemned Sudan’s agreement to normalize relations
with the Israeli regime.
The
Islamic resistance movement Hamas said in a statement that the move has shocked
Palestinians, Arab and Muslim nations, as well as freedom-loving people of the
world.
“Sudan,
indeed, loses its position as a leading Arab and Muslim country by agreeing to
sign such a deal," the statement said.
“We
call on the Sudanese people to express their rejection of this dishonorable
agreement that won’t bring about stability and prosperity, but rather chaos,
deterioration, and disgrace,” it added.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/04/644558/Dozens-of-Sudanese-protesters-burn-Israeli-flag-in-rally-against-normalization
--------
Hamas:
Israel's demolitions in Jordan Valley amount to ethnic cleansing
04
February 2021
Hamas
says the recent demolition of Palestinian homes and buildings in the northern
Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and displacing their desperate
inhabitants amounts to “ethnic cleansing”.
“The
crime of demolishing homes in Himsa al-Fuqa is part of the systematic organized
terrorism that is practiced by the Zionist entity on a daily basis against our
people everywhere,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said in a press release on
Thursday.
Qasem
said a large-scale displacement of citizens and the ongoing annexation of
Palestinian lands in the Jordan valley and elsewhere across the occupied
territories reflects Israel’s disregard for international law.
Tel
Aviv has constantly been pursuing and implementing a policy of ethnic cleansing
against the Palestinian people, he stressed.
Many
homes belonging to Palestinians living in the town of Toubas and Himsa al-Fuqa
areas of the Jordan Valley have been demolished by Israeli bulldozers over the
past few months.
The
Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley regularly face evacuations due to
Israeli military exercises in the region. Much of the Jordan Valley is fully
controlled by the Israeli military.
Hamas
has already warned that Tel Aviv’s escalation of its demolition campaigns in
the Jordan Valley is aimed at removing the true residents of the region in an
attempt to replace them with Israeli settlers.
Israeli
authorities usually demolish Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank,
claiming that the structures have been built without permits, which are nearly
impossible to obtain. They also sometimes order Palestinian owners to demolish
their own homes or pay the demolition costs to the municipality if they do not.
Hamas
also denounced Tel Aviv for implementing its highly controversial annexation
plans in the occupied lands through similar campaigns.
The
UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said there
has been a sharp increase in the number of Palestinian houses being demolished
by Israel in the occupied West Bank during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tensions
have been mounting between Israelis and Palestinians in the wake of Israeli
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank that
has been met with far-and-wide regional and international objection.
The
occupied territories are already reeling from former US President Donald
Trump’s announcement of his decision on December 6, 2017 to recognize Jerusalem
al-Quds as Israel’s "capital" and relocate the US embassy from Tel
Aviv to the city.
The
plan also allows the regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and
the Jordan Valley, among other controversial terms.
Palestinian
leaders say the deal is a colonial plan to unilaterally control historic
Palestine in its entirety and remove Palestinians from their homeland, adding
that it heavily favors Israel and denies them a viable independent state.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967
Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East
Jerusalem al-Quds.
The
UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the
occupied territories in several resolutions.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/04/644566/Palestine-Israel-West-Bank-Jordan-valley-Hamas---Hazem-Qasem-
--------
At
least nine Malian soldiers killed in suspected militant attack
February
3, 2021
Nine
troops were killed in Mali's troubled central region early Wednesday when their
camp came under attack from jihadists, security sources said.
Their
position at Boni, located between Douentza and Hombori in the Mopti region, was
attacked by "heavily armed individuals in armoured vehicles," one
source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Several
soldiers were injured, the source said, an account confirmed by another
security official and a local government official.
An
initial toll gave four dead and 10 injured, two of them seriously.
The
source said the camp had been seriously damaged and the assailants had made off
with lots of equipment.
The
attack is the latest in a brutal conflict that has been raging in Mali since
2012, when militants overtook a rebellion by mostly ethnic Tuareg separatists
in the north.
The
conflict, which has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians, then spread to
central Mali, an ethnic powderkeg, and neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.
Jihadist
attacks in central Mali typically involve roadside bombs or hit-and-run raids
on motorbikes or pickups, and the use of armoured vehicles, if confirmed, is
extremely rare.
Heni
Nsaibia, a researcher with an NGO project called the Armed Conflict Location
and Event Data (ACLED), said jihadists had seized armoured vehicles from the
armed forces in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The
Malian army said on social media that it had received air support from France's
anti-jihadist Barkhane mission in the Sahel.
A
Malian military official said the assailants had suffered "major
casualties" but did not give details.
Central
Mali has seen a string of deadly attacks since the start of the year, including
a roadside bomb that killed four UN peacekeepers from Ivory Coast.
French
and Malian troops have also carried out a joint mission in the area, called
Operation Eclipse. According to a Malian army statement on January 26,
"100 terrorists were neutralised" in the operation.
https://www.africanews.com/2021/02/03/at-least-nine-malian-soldiers-killed-in-suspected-militant-attack/?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1968258_
--------
Southeast
Asia
Malaysian
woman born to Muslim father and Buddhist mother wins appeal in Federal Court,
declared not a Muslim
05
Feb 2021
BY
IDA LIM
KUALA
LUMPUR, Feb 5 — A Malaysian woman who was born to a Muslim man and a Buddhist
woman out of wedlock finally won her five-year-long legal battle to be declared
a non-Muslim, after a majority of the judges decided that the facts showed both
she and her mother were never Muslims.
A
nine-judge panel at the Federal Court headed by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun
Tuan Mat unanimously decided that 39-year-old Selangor resident Rosliza Ibrahim
had won her appeal.
As
part of the decision, Tengku Maimun and six other judges on the panel decided
that the court will grant all the court orders sought by Rosliza, after having
decided that the evidence showed that she was born illegitimate and that the
facts do not show her as being a Muslim.
The
three court orders sought by Rosliza include a declaration that she is
illegitimate and that the late Buddhist woman Yap Ah Mooi is her mother, as
well as a declaration that she is not a person professing the religion of Islam
and that all Selangor state laws for Muslims do not apply to her and that
Selangor Shariah courts do not have jurisdiction over her.
She
had also wanted a court declaration that the putative father of an illegitimate
child does not fall under the definition of “parents” in the interpretation of
“Muslim” in Section 2(b) of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State
of Selangor) Enactment 2003. Under Section 2(b), a person — who had either a
parent or both parents being Muslim at the time of the person’s birth — will be
considered to be a Muslim.
The
six other judges who agreed with Tengku Maimun are President of Court of Appeal
Tan Sri Rohana Yusuf, and Federal Court judges Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan,
Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof, Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan
and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang.
Two
judges on the panel, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed and Datuk
Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, both allowed the appeal, but differed slightly in
not granting two of the court orders sought by Rosliza.
“An
order is granted in terms of prayer one, namely a declaration that the
appellant is an illegitimate person and that one Yap Ah Mooi, a Buddhist is her
natural mother. However, as I do not have the benefit of the opinion of the
Fatwa Committee, it is with deep regret that I am unable to make any order in
respect of prayers (ii) and (iii) sought by the appellant,” Azahar said when
reading out a summary of his judgement, which was agreed to by Hasnah.
Rosliza
had started her legal bid back in 2015 with a lawsuit filed via an originating
summons in the High Court to have official recognition that she is actually not
a Muslim, with the respondents in her lawsuit being the Selangor state
government and the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais).
Previously
at the High Court, Rosliza had shown proof that the Islamic religious
authorities of the Federal Territories and 11 states (Selangor, Johor, Kedah,
Kelantan, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Perak, Perlis and Terengganu)
do not have any records of her mother converting to Islam or of her biological
parents entering into a Muslim marriage, as well as provided the court with her
late mother’s October 8, 2008 statutory declaration of not being married to
Rosliza’s father when she was born.
Both
the High Court and the Court of Appeal had previously in June 2017 and April
2018 respectively ruled against Rosliza, which led to her appeal involving two
legal questions before the Federal Court.
Two
questions of law were posed before the Federal Court, including whether the
High Court has exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide on a matter if it is
about “whether a person is or is not a Muslim under the law” rather than
“whether a person is no longer a Muslim”, based on the Federal Constitution.
The
second question was whether the contents of a written application for an
identity card can be considered as proven facts when the truth of the contents
had not been proven by affidavit or at trial, in light of Regulation 24(1) of
the National Registration Regulations 1990 — which places the burden of proving
the truth of the contents of a written application for an identity card on the
person alleging the truth of such contents.
The
appeal was heard at the Federal Court on December 16, 2020, where both the
Selangor government and Mais objected to Rosliza’s appeal.
What
the Federal Court decided
The
Federal Court delivered its decision today to all those involved in the case
through video-conferencing via Zoom.
In
reading out her judgement in favour of Rosliza that was agreed by six other
Federal Court judges, Tengku Maimun went through the facts and evidence
presented in Rosliza’s case.
In
examining the second question of law, Tengku Maimun listed the three related
issues that would arise, including whether Rosliza’s mother Yap and father
Ibrahim Hassan were married to each other when she was born.
While
the separate written applications of both Ibrahim and Yap in January 1995 and
February 1995 for new identity cards had stated their marital status to be
married instead of single, Tengku Maimun noted that both Regulation 24(1) and
the Evidence Act’s Section 103 would put the burden on the Selangor government
and Mais to prove that the “married” status in the applications were true.
Noting
that Rosliza had in a statutory declaration said her parents were not married
when she was born and that Yap had in a 2008 statutory declaration also said
both she and Ibrahim were not married when Rosliza was born, the judge noted
that letters from the Islamic religious authorities had also said they were
unable to find any records of a marriage between Rosliza’s parents.
“The
evidence, when strung together, sufficiently casts doubt on the existence of
Ibrahim and Yap Ah Mooi’s purported marriage.
“In
terms of actual proof, the defendants cannot in their respective records locate
any proof of the marriage. Neither is there a single affidavit from Ibrahim or
from any other relevant person to contradict the plaintiff’s (Rosliza) case,”
the judge said, noting that the more logical conclusion in such a situation is
to believe that the alleged marriage was non-existent.
As
for the second related question of whether Yap’s mother Rosliza is a Muslim or
Malay, Tengku Maimun noted Rosliza’s statutory declaration said her mother is a
Buddhist, and an affidavit by a neighbour also said Yap is a Buddhist, as well
as Islamic religious authorities of Kuala Lumpur and 11 states admitting to
have no records of Yap having converted to Islam, concluding that such evidence
collectively showed that there was no proof that Yap was a Muslim at the time
of Rosliza’s birth.
The
judge noted that Yap had in her 1995 application for an identity card claimed
she was a Chinese Buddhist, noting that this meant Yap considered herself a
Buddhist in 1995 and in 2008 when she affirmed her statutory declaration.
As
for Ibrahim’s claim that Yap was a Malay — which under the Federal Constitution
is defined as a person who professes the religion of Islam and habitually
speaks the Malay language, the judge noted that this was in doubt as Yap’s
statutory declaration was translated into Malay from Cantonese.
Tengku
Maimun also noted that Yap had in her 1995 application for her own identity
card said she was Chinese, and that both Rosliza’s birth certificate and Yap’s
death certificate lists Yap as Chinese, and that Rosliza had in her statutory
declaration said her mother is Chinese.
“The
High Court appeared to believe Ibrahim’s written application for the
plaintiff’s identity card where he stated Yap Ah Mooi is Malay. Given the
consistency of the record of Yap Ah Mooi’s descent as Chinese, this single
entry by Ibrahim is an anomaly,” Tengku Maimun said, adding that Rosliza’s
evidence is more consistent and that the facts and circumstances on a balance
of probabilities suggest that Yap was neither a Muslim nor a Malay.
With
no evidence that Yap was a Muslim when Rosliza was born, the judge said this
meant that Rosliza cannot be said to be legally a Muslim by claiming that both
her parents were Muslims when she was born.
While
the High Court and Court of Appeal had decided against Rosliza by ruling that
Rosliza’s parents were validly married and that she inherits her Muslim
father’s religious identity as she is a legitimate child, Tengku Maimun however
said that Ibrahim could not ascribe his paternity to Rosliza via Section 111 of
the Islamic Family Law (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003 as she was born
illegitimate. This would mean Rosliza would not inherit her father’s Muslim
identity.
Citing
the Federal Court’s decision in the case of M. Indira Gandhi where the Hindu
mother successfully challenged her Muslim convert ex-husband’s unilateral
conversion of their children to Islam, Tengku Maimun said that this meant
Ibrahim similarly could not under secular law have the right to unilaterally
decide the religion for his then infant daughter as he did in his 1994 written
application for Rosliza’s identity card. Rosliza’s identity card currently
bears the word “Islam”.
“There
is no evidence that Yap Ah Mooi jointly consented to recognise the plaintiff as
a Muslim,” the judge said, noting that the evidence instead showed that
Rosliza’s birth certificate states “Maklumat Tidak Diperolehi” or information
not obtained for the column for the child’s religion.
In
the 1994 written application for Rosliza’s identity card which was submitted by
Ibrahim, Ibrahim said Rosliza’s religion is “Islam” and said Yap is a Malay.
With
this, Tengku Maimun said the answer for the second question of law is negative,
which means that the contents of a written application for an identity card
cannot be considered as proven facts when the truth of the contents had not
been proven by affidavit or at trial.
In
answering the first question of law, Tengku Maimun said the High Court has
exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide on a matter if it is about “whether a
person is or is not a Muslim under the law” rather than “whether a person is no
longer a Muslim”, based on the Federal Constitution.
Tengku
Maimun also said the facts showed that Rosliza’s case was not a case about a
Muslim wanting to renounce Islam or be recognised as no longer a Muslim, but
was a case about a person who was not a Muslim in the first place.
Among
the facts listed by the judge were that there was “no proof” that Rosliza was
ever a Muslim, and that Rosliza’s statutory declaration states that she was
never a Muslim and was raised a Buddhist by her mother, and Yap’s statutory
declaration stating she had never raised Rosliza as a Muslim, and their
neighbour’s affidavit that she had always known Rosliza to be a Buddhist.
“Further,
we have the independent evidence in the religious authorities’ Letters where
they found no record of conversion of either the plaintiff or her mother to
Islam,” the judge said.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/02/05/malaysian-woman-born-to-muslim-father-and-buddhist-mother-wins-appeal-in-fe/1947152
--------
Turkey
Uighurs fear sellout to China in exchange for vaccine
Feb
5, 2021
BEIJING:
Abdullah Metseydi, a Uighur in Turkey, was readying for bed last month when he
heard commotion, then pounding on the door. "Police! Open the door!"
A
dozen or more officers poured in, many bearing guns and wearing the camouflage
of Turkey's anti-terror force. They asked if Metseydi had participated in any
movements against China and threatened to deport him and his wife. They took
him to a deportation facility, where he now sits at the center of a brewing
political controversy.
Opposition
legislators in Turkey are accusing Ankara's leaders of secretly selling out
Uighurs to China in exchange for coronavirus vaccines. Tens of millions of
vials of promised Chinese vaccines have not yet been delivered. Meanwhile, in
recent months, Turkish police have raided and detained around 50 Uighurs in
deportation centers, lawyers say - a sharp uptick from last year.
Although
no hard evidence has yet emerged for a quid pro quo, these legislators and the
Uighurs fear that Beijing is using the vaccines as leverage to win passage of
an extradition treaty. The treaty was signed years ago but suddenly ratified by
China in December, and could come before Turkish lawmakers as soon as this
month.
Uighurs
say the bill, once law, could bring their ultimate life-threatening nightmare:
Deportation back to a country they fled to avoid mass detention. More than a
million Uighurs and other largely Muslim minorities have been swept into
prisons and detention camps in China, in what China calls an anti-terrorism
measure but the United States has declared a genocide.
"I'm
terrified of being deported," said Melike, Metseydi's wife, through tears,
declining to give her last name for fear of retribution. "I'm worried for
my husband's mental health."
Suspicions
of a deal emerged when the first shipment of Chinese vaccines was held up for
weeks in December. Officials blamed permit issues.
But
even now, Yildirim Kaya, a legislator from Turkey's main opposition party, said
that China has delivered only a third of the 30 million doses it promised by
the end of January. Turkey is largely reliant on China's Sinovac vaccine to
immunize its population against the virus, which has infected some 2.5 million
and killed over 26,000.
"Such
a delay is not normal. We have paid for these vaccines," Kaya said.
"Is China blackmailing Turkey?"
Kaya
said he's formally asked the Turkish government about pressure from China but
has not yet received a response.
Both
Turkish and Chinese authorities insist that the extradition bill isn't meant to
target Uighurs for deportation. Chinese state media called such concerns
"smearing," and foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin denied any
connection between vaccines and the treaty.
"I
think your speculation is unfounded," Wang said at a Thursday press
briefing.
Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in December that the vaccine delay was not
related to the issue of the Uighurs.
"We
do not use the Uighurs for political purposes, we defend their human
rights," Cavusoglu said.
But
though very few have actually been deported for now, the recent detentions have
sent a chill through Turkey's estimated 50,000-strong Uighur community. And in
recent weeks, the Turkish ambassador in Beijing has praised China's vaccines
while adding that Ankara values "judicial cooperation" with China -
code, many Uighurs fear, for a possible crackdown.
In
the past, a small number of Uighurs have traveled to Syria to train with
militants. But most Uighurs in Turkey shun jihadis and worry they are hurting
the Uighur cause.
Lawyers
representing the detained Uighurs say that in most cases, the Turkish police
have no evidence of links to terror groups. Ankara law professor Ilyas Dogan
believes the detentions are politically motivated.
"They
have no concrete evidence," said Dogan, who is representing six Uighurs
now in deportation centers, including Metseydi. "They're not being
serious."
Even
if the bill is ratified, Dogan doubts there would be mass deportations, given
widespread public sympathy for the Uighurs in Turkey. But he believes the
chances of individuals being deported would go up significantly.
Because
of shared cultural ties, Turkey has long been a safe haven for the Uighurs, a
Turkic group native to China's far west Xinjiang region. Turkish President
Recep Erdogan denounced China's treatment of the Uighurs as
"genocide" over a decade ago.
That
all changed with an attempted coup in Turkey in 2016, which prompted a mass
purge and alienated Erdogan from Western governments. Waiting to fill the void
was China, which is loaning and investing billions in Turkey.
Signs
of strong economic ties abound, big and small: An exporter with business in
China was appointed Turkey's ambassador to Beijing. A Chinese-funded $1.7
billion coal plant is rising on the banks of Turkey's Mediterranean sea.
Istanbul's
airport obtained the world's first "Chinese Friendly Airport"
certification, setting aside check-in counters to receive thousands of tourists
from Shanghai and Beijing. And President Erdogan's once-fiery rhetoric has
turned dull and diplomatic, praising China's leaders for their assistance.
China
also began requesting the extradition of many more Uighurs from Turkey. In one
leaked 2016 extradition request first reported by Axios and obtained
independently by The Associated Press, Chinese officials asked for the
extradition of a Uighur former cellphone vendor, accusing him of promoting the
Islamic State terror group online.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/turkey-uighurs-fear-sellout-to-china-in-exchange-for-vaccine/articleshow/80704516.cms
--------
India
Is
Rihanna Muslim? Is Rihanna Pakistani? What India Googled after her viral tweet
February
4, 2021
Rihanna
has become the biggest trending topic in the country ever since she tweeted on
the ongoing farmers' protest on Tuesday. The international singer, actor and
entrepreneur tweeted in support of the ongoing farmers' protests in the borders
of Delhi.
For
the uninitiated, on Tuesday, she shared a news report by CNN on the internet
shutdown in the outskirts of Delhi in the light of hundreds of farmers
protesting against the Indian government's newly enacted farm laws.
She
tweeted, "Why aren't we talking about this?"
Take
a look at her tweet:
As
soon as Rihanna shared this tweet, the singer went viral on social media and
became a target of negative and positive responses. Many supported the Umbrella
singer and praised her for raising her voice in support of the farmers.
However, some questioned her for meddling in the country's matters and said
that her tweet was paid.
GOOGLE
SEARCH ABOUT RIHANNA'S RELIGION INCREASES
Most
prominently, Rihanna trended on Google too. As several tweets by netizens
suggested, many people were hearing about the singer for the first time. As a
result, Google searches about the singer increased as well. Amid the usual
searches like 'who is Rihanna?', people also searched for her religion and
whether the singer was Muslim.
Google
trends suggest that searches on keywords and phrases such as 'Is Rihanna
Muslim?' and 'Rihanna religion' have peaked in the past few days. In fact, in
the related queries around the keyword 'Rihanna', the question that topped the
list was 'Is Rihanna Pakistani?'
Apart
from Rihanna, several other international personalities who also tweeted about
the farmers' protests were Greta Thunberg, Hasan Minhaj, Lilly Singh, John
Cusack, Amanda Cerny, Mia Khalifa and many more.
Meanwhile,
farmers protesting at the Singhu Border also expressed their gratitude towards
the singer. They said, "We're grateful to Rihanna ji for her support,
though we did not know who she was until this evening. Our youngsters showed us
the tweet just now and told us who she is. All the farmers from across the
country want to thank Rihanna for supporting our voice and for the timely
gesture she has made."
On
the other hand, a day after Rihanna's tweet, Bollywood stars such as Ajay
Devgn, Karan Johar and Akshay Kumar, and sportspersons such as Sachin
Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble joined the Centre's call to stand united
against "propaganda" against India’s policies..
https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/is-rihanna-muslim-is-rihanna-pakistani-what-india-googled-after-her-viral-tweet-1765863-2021-02-04
--------
Bengal’s
top Muslim clerics want paper ballots in polls, question EVMs
FEB
05, 2021
The
West Bengal Imams’ Association and clerics from the famous Furfura Sharif
shrine in Bengal’s Hooghly district want paper ballots to be offered as an
option to voters in addition to electronic voting machines (EVM) in the
assembly polls due in April-May.
“I
appeal to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and members of the state assembly to
use provisions laid down in Article 328 of the Constitution and pass a law that
will offer voters the option to use ballot paper if they do not wish to use
EVMs. Article 328 empowers state legislative assemblies to frame laws in regard
to assembly polls,” Md Yahiya, chairman of the state imams’ association told HT
on Thursday.
“The
budget session of the state assembly will commence on Friday. We are writing to
the chief minister and the assembly speaker, urging them to place a bill that
will give voters an option. The Maharashtra government is working on this.
India’s voters and opposition parties lodged complaints against use of EVMs
several times in the past. Many countries have discarded the machines. In a
country as big as ours, polls cannot be held solely with machines,” said
Yahiya.
Of
about 40,000 mosques in Bengal, clerics from at least 26,000 are members of the
association.
Article
328 says: Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and in so far as
provision in that behalf is not made by Parliament, the Legislature of a State
may from time to time by law make provision with respect to all matters
relating to, or in connection with, the elections to the House or either House
of the Legislature of the State including the preparation of electoral rolls
and all other matters necessary for securing the due constitution of such House
or Houses.
The
Furfura Sharif shrine is one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in
Bengal. It is built around the mausoleum of Pir Abu Bakr Siddiqui. It also has
a mosque built in 1375 and draws millions during the Urs festival and the
annual fair dedicated to the Pir. Urban development minister Firhad Hakim
visited Furfura Sharif on Tuesday when the mazaar authorities distributed
clothes and blankets among 10,000 people. Hakim also delivered a speech.
“We
support the imams. If people in Europe and America can use ballot paper why do
we need machines? People should be given the option of voting in the traditional
way since questions have been raised about EVMs,” said Pirzada Jiauddin
Siddiqui, a scion of the Pir’s family and son of Allamah Kutubuddin Siddiqui,
the most senior among the clerics at Furfura Sharif.
The
demand from the clerics attains significance since Bengal’s Muslim population
stood at 27.01% during the 2011 census and is projected to have increased to
around 30% now. According to surveys done by the TMC and the BJP, a swing in
Muslim votes can influence poll results in as many as 120 assembly seats.
Among
the districts where the Muslim population is substantially high are Murshidabad
(66.28%), Malda (51.27%), North Dinajpur (49.92%), South 24 Parganas (35.57%),
and Birbhum (37.06%). There are a large number of Muslim voters in East and
West Burdwan districts, North 24 Parganas and Nadia as well.
Senior
TMC leaders did not want to comment on record on the development. “This is a
serious issue. The assembly polls are conducted by the Election Commission of
India. The legal provisions need to be studied,” a cabinet minister said on
condition of anonymity.
Former
advocate general of Tripura and now a Rajya Sabha member, eminent lawyer Bikash
Ranjan Bhattacharya welcomed the demand.
“I
do not see any reason to oppose it. We always welcome technology but freedom of
the people is more important. The Maharashtra government is working on the
process of reintroducing ballots. Why shouldn’t the Central government come
forward and say that it will return to the ballot paper system? I also argued
before the Calcutta high court in a recent case that candidates should be
allowed to file nomination papers and fees online. This will reduce pre-poll
violence to a large extent,” said Bhattacharya.
Siddiqullah
Chowdhury, a minister in the TMC government and president of the Jamiat Ulema
-e–Hind’s Bengal unit, however, said there are too many legal knots.
“The
demand raised by the imams’ association is not something that can be met
easily. I do not think anything will come out of it,” said Chowdhury.
Union
home minister Amit Shah has announced that his party will oust the Mamata
Banerjee government by winning over 200 of the state’s 294 seats while
Banerjee’s election strategist Prashant Kishor recently tweeted that he will
give up his job if the BJP’s tally crosses 99.
The
Bengal BJP said the demand is part of an effort to steal the limelight and
makes no sense.
“We
have full faith in the present system. The arguments put forth against EVMs are
irrelevant since none of the parties that raised issues could prove anything. Those
raising this demand again are only trying to hog the limelight,” said Samik
Bhattacharya, chief spokesperson of the Bengal BJP.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bengals-top-muslim-clerics-want-paper-ballots-in-polls-question-evms-101612466343969.html
--------
Supreme
Court Grants Bail to Comedian, Munawar Faruqui, Accused Of Insulting Hinduism
February
05, 2021
NEW
DELHI: India’s top court on Friday granted interim bail to a stand-up comedian
who was jailed for more than a month over allegations of insulting Hindu
deities during a show, court officials said.
The
comedian, Munawar Faruqui, 30, was arrested early last month following a
complaint by the son of a politician from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that he had made objectionable remarks
about Hindu deities and the interior minister, Amit Shah, during a show at a
cafe in the city of Indore.
Stand-up
comedy has become hugely popular in India in recent years but some comedians
have come in for criticism for poking fun at Modi’s Hindu nationalist party and
its policies.
Faruqui
is among many who have recently had to defend themselves against accusations of
challenging a law that protects religious beliefs.
In
his plea, Faruqui said police did not conduct investigations or collect any
evidence before arresting him.
On
Friday, a Supreme Court bench said the allegations against Faruqui were vague
and granted him interim bail.
Faruqui
was not immediately available for comment.
Last
month, creators of a show on Amazon’s streaming platform were charged with
offending religious sentiments.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1804296/world
--------
BJP
to field Muslim candidates not opposed to Assamese identity: Himanta Biswa
Sarma
Feb
4, 2021
GUWAHATI:
Stating that the coming assembly election in Assam will be fought on cultural
rather than religious lines, state cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on
Wednesday said BJP will field Muslim candidates in polls who have not
challenged Assamese identity, consider India and Assam as their motherland and
revere Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva and Ahom general Lachit Borphukan.
“The
Assam Muslim population is divided into two streams — those came to Assam from
Bangladesh and those who are indigenous. Some people who had come to Assam at
different point of times have started to identify themselves as ‘miya Muslim’
and are involved in various activities to distort Assamese language and
Assamese culture. They are very communal too,” Himanta said.
The
Assam Muslim population is nearly 35% of the state’s total population and only
a miniscule number of them are indigenous. The rest have migrated from
Bangladesh over several decades and play a decisive role in more than 30 of the
126 assembly seats. BJP is aiming to win more than 100 seats in the coming
election and to do so it has to try and win seats where Muslims are in
majority.
Sarma
said, “We will give party tickets to members from the Muslim community who
accepts India as their motherland, Assam as their motherland. But we will not
give tickets to those who identify themselves as miya Muslims.”
He
added, “Let me be very clear that this is a cultural issue and not a religious
issue. The entire miya population is communal and will try to emerge as
stronger this election. So, I request Congress also not to give them party
tickets and not allow them to flourish.”
Sarma
said ‘miya’ is a revered word in north India but “in Assam, the word is used to
challenge our identity, our culture by a particular micro-section of Muslim community.”
He added, “Neither we were going to give them tickets nor do we want their
votes.”
“If
you identify as miya, do not vote for me, even not by mistake. But those who
identify themselves as Assamese, will do vote for us. All Muslims do not
identify themselves as miya. This election will give a rough idea how many
identify as Indians and Assamese Muslim and how many as miya…this will throw a
data,” Sarma added.
He
further said, “I don’t want to be an MLA with votes of miyas. I cannot
compromise with my soul. My personal opinion is that the people who openly
challenge Assamese culture, language and composite Indian culture shouldn’t
vote for us.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/bjp-to-field-muslim-candidates-not-opposed-to-assamese-identity-himanta-biswa-sarma/articleshow/80681788.cms
--------
Onus
on India to create right environment for engagement: FO
Baqir
Sajjad Syed
February
5, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and India on Thursday put onus of creating conducive environment for
normalisation of relations and meaningful engagement on each other.
Foreign
Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, at the weekly media briefing, said:
“The onus is on India to create enabling environment for meaningful
engagement.”
Indian
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava at the media briefing in
Delhi said: “The onus is on Pakistan for creating such an environment.”
This
comes against the backdrop of comments by Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa at a
graduation ceremony at PAF Academy in Risalpur earlier in the week.
Gen
Bajwa had said: “It is time to extend hand of peace in all directions.” He had
further called for resolution of the longstanding dispute of Jammu and Kashmir
in “a dignified and peaceful manner” in line with aspirations of the Kashmiri
people and to “bring this human tragedy to its logical conclusion”.
The
comments are being seen as the latest gesture from Pakistan for easing of
tensions in the region. More importantly, the statement had come from the
military.
Mr
Chaudhri, while responding to a question, said: “Pakistan has always believed
in peaceful settlement of all issues, including the core issue of the Jammu and
Kashmir dispute. It is India that has vitiated the environment with its
illegal, inhuman and unilateral actions of 5th August, 2019.”
“Pakistan
wants India to rescind the unilateral and illegal annexation of Occupied Jammu
and Kashmir, cease excessive human rights violations in the held valley, and
agree to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with relevant UN Security
Council resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.”
India,
meanwhile, in an attempt to malign the indigenous uprising in Kashmir, accuses
Pakistan of “terrorism”.
The
Indian MEA spokesman, while listing demands for normalisation of relations,
repeated the usual mantra that Pakistan should ensure “an environment free of
terror, hostility and violence” for good neighbourly relations.
Pakistan
and India have held no substantive dialogue since 2013 when they resumed
engagement after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. However, the process was put on hold
because of tensions along the Line of Control. The relations have only
deteriorated since then because of absence of any direct or back channel
engagement.
In
February 2019 Indian Air Force aircraft for the first time intruded into
Pakistan’s airspace in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. Pakistan Air Force
later retaliated and in the ensuing battle, shot down two Indian jets. Pilots
of one of the downed aircraft was taken into custody. The two countries, days later,
stepped back from the brink of war because of intervention of some important
countries.
The
FO spokesman, in his comments on Gen Bajwa’s statement, said: “It, when
compared with remarks by Indian commanders, reflected the difference of
approach and mindset.”
He
said that unlike Pakistani commanders, who made peace gestures, Indian military
officials had been making careers by issuing irresponsible and provocative
statements against Pakistan.
“The
belligerent rhetoric of the Indian military leadership is an example of RSS-BJP
mindset, which has permeated all state institutions of India,” he said. The
Indian military’s rhetoric, he said, only imperiled regional peace and
security.
“The
(Gen Bajwa’s) statement is also a reiteration of the importance of peaceful
resolution of all outstanding disputes, including the core issue of Jammu and
Kashmir,” he added.
The
spokesman also commented on the farmers’ protest in India and said the world
was gradually realising what Pakistan had been saying for long that under the
RSS-BJP combine India was no more a democracy, but an extremist Hindutva
regime.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1605536/onus-on-india-to-create-right-environment-for-engagement-fo
--------
Arab
World
US
Equipping Military Base in Iraqi Kurdistan Region
2021-February-4
The
Arabic-language al-Arabi al-Jadid newspaper quoted Iraqi sources as saying on
Thursday that the US forces are at al-Harir base in the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
They
added that al-Harir base has been developed for the first time in years and
that the process has been underway for about two months, a move against a
decision by the Iraqi parliament to expel foreign troops from the country.
An
Iraqi Defense Ministry military intelligence officer also told the newspaper
that development of al-Harir base includes the construction of underground
shelters and several warehouses.
The
officer further noted the military base has recently become the US operations
command and control center in neighboring areas of Northern Syria, which are
controlled by the Kurdish militias known as the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Ein
al-Assad base in Western Anbar province (Western Iraq) and the al-Harir base in
Northern Erbil are the two main US bases in Iraq with a capacity of 7,000
troops.
Late
last month, Iraqi parliamentarians served fiery responses to a decision coming
out of Washington to review the previous US administration’s plan to draw down
the number of American forces in the Arab country.
Baghdad
Today news agency reported the reactions that were issued by MPs Hassan Shaker
al-Ka’abi, head of the Badr parliamentary bloc, and Mukhtar al-Mousavi,
representative of the Fateh Alliance, to which Badr is affiliated, on
Wednesday.
The
US’s new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated during his confirmation hearing
last week that he was to reexamine the plan announced by the administration of
former President Donald Trump for reducing the number of troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan each to 2,500.
Aside
from throwing hopes of the drawdown into question, Austin’s remarks also flew
in the face of a decision by the Iraqi parliament last January for all the
US-led troops to leave the Iraqi soil. The legislature passed the law following
the US’s assassination of top Iranian and Iraqi anti-terror commanders,
Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in a drone
strike in Baghdad.
The
Iraqi lawmakers insisted that the parliamentary ratification had to be
implemented at the end of the day.
Ka’abi
said the legislative body had made its final decision in this regard, and
referred to the Iraqis' millions-strong rallies in the aftermath of the
assassinations to protest Washington’s gall to resort to such barbaric atrocity
in violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty and the international law.
Mousavi
noted the parliamentary law was definitive and the Joe Biden administration had
to understand this.
Iraq
does not need American or any other foreign forces on its soil, he added,
urging Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government to act on the law
regardless of the Biden administration’s position.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991116000606/US-Eipping-Miliary-Base-in-Irai-Krdisan-Regin
--------
Iraq
sends mixed signals over closing camp for displaced
04
February 2021
Iraq
appears to have back-tracked on plans to close a camp for internally displaced
Iraqis, many with links to the ISIS group, following a week of confusion and
outcry from families unable to return home.
Evan
Faeq Jabro, Iraq's minister of migration and displacement, told The Associated
Press that the news the camp known as Jadah 5 in northern Iraq would close was
false, and that it would remain open for the foreseeable future.
However,
a letter issued by the ministry’s directorate in Ninevah province, addressed to
its sub-districts and seen by the AP, had said closures would begin on Jan. 25,
suggesting the federal government subsequently reversed the decision, or that
there was miscommunication within ministry ranks.
The
mixed signals reflect Iraq's real dilemma as it races to close all camps for IDPs
in line with its plans to revive lagging reconstruction efforts in many cases
without providing alternative housing or properly managing reconciliation with
local tribes.
News
of the order had prompted criticism from many IDP families who said they felt
forced to pack up and return to their destroyed, inhabitable homes. Some were
subsequently sent back by vengeful tribes for their perceived links to IS.
“We
were crying, we couldn’t sleep the night,” said a 37-year-old woman who
identified herself as Umm Abdulrahman and whose husband was an IS member. She
said her tribe in the town of Hawija rejects her family's return and that the
camp is safer than her hometown. “If they force us to go back, we will stay in
the street.”
Jabro,
the minister, clarified that Jadah 5 would remain open for now, and dismissed
news of the closure. She said families had the choice to stay, or failing
government-led reconciliation efforts, would be provided housing elsewhere.
“It
is still unknown until now when it will close, and maybe it will not close,
because those who are living there still have problems with tribes, or their
homes are completely destroyed,” she said in a phone interview.
“The
ministry… didn’t announce we will close the camp and we were surprised too when
we read the announcement” she said.
Iraq
began accelerating camp closures late last year across the country, prompting
condemnation from international aid groups who criticized the scheme as rushed.
Many
IDPs pitched tents next to their destroyed homes.
Families
with proven or perceived links to ISIS are among the most vulnerable and
heavily stigmatized in Iraqi society. They remain in camps, fearing reprisal
from militias and tribes in their original villages.
Jadah
5, the last remaining camp in Ninevah, was expected to stay open to consolidate
all these specific cases of IDPs and its closure would have disproportionately
impacted them. It is not clear how many remain in the camp, which up until
mid-January housed some 8,800 people.
At
least four families interviewed this week in Jadah 5 said they had been told by
Iraqi security forces to vacate the camp, first by Jan. 31, and then later, by
the end of February. They rushed to pack their tents and piled up their
belongings onto lorries, uncertain where to go next.
Khalil
Mohammed, from the al-Zab area in Kirkuk, went back home despite receiving
threats warning him against returning, but was kicked out by his neighbors who
later destroyed his home. His son was an IS member.
“I
tried to prevent my son from joining IS, but I couldn’t. Was it my fault,” he
said.
The
chaos ensued after a Jan. 21 letter, signed by the head of the migration
ministry’s Ninevah department, ordered the closure of Jadah 5 to start on
Monday, Jan. 25. The AP obtained a copy of the letter; two officials confirmed
its authenticity.
Since
the government's clarification, pressure to vacate the camps has abated but the
confusion highlighted serious reconciliation challenges ahead.
Ahmed
Khedir’s entire 120-member tribe cannot return to their home in Tal Afar, he
said, because three among the family had belonged to ISIS.
“We
can’t rent a home, we don’t have money. Sometimes we asked that God take our
souls. We want to commit suicide because we can’t live in this country,"
he said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/04/Iraq-sends-mixed-signals-over-closing-camp-for-displaced
--------
‘Sad
day in Lebanon,’ says US secretary of state after Hezbollah critic gunned down
04
February 2021
The
US State Department Thursday blasted the “heinous assassination” of Lebanese
anti-Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim.
“We
condemn in the strongest terms the heinous assassination of prominent Shia
activist Lokman Slim and call for the perpetrators to be brought to justice,”
State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.
Slim
was found dead, lying in a pool of blood along in his rental car in south
Lebanon on Thursday.
He
was an activist and publisher who ran a research center in Beirut’s southern
suburbs.
“Mr.
Slim devoted his life to bringing about positive change in Lebanon and bravely
pushed for justice, accountability, and rule of law in his country,” Secretary
of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Blinken
tweeted that it was a “sad day in Lebanon.”
His
family had reported him missing late Wednesday after visiting a friend’s house
in south Lebanon.
“It
is cowardly and unacceptable to resort to violence, threats, and intimidation
as a means of subverting the rule of law or suppressing freedom of expression
and civic activism,” Blinken said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/04/US-condemns-assassination-of-Hezbollah-critic-in-Lebano
--------
Hezbollah
condemns distinguished Lebanese critic’s death, warns against political
exploitation
05
February 2021
The
Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah has strongly condemned the assassination
of prominent political activist and researcher Lokman Slim, calling on security
and judicial authorities to hold perpetrators to account.
Hezbollah,
in a statement released late Thursday, deplored the murder of 58-year-old Slim,
demanding that security and judiciary officials launch a swift investigation
and reveal the circumstances surrounding the incident, and punish the culprits.
The
resistance movement called on government authorities to “combat crimes that
have spread around Lebanon, and which have been exploited politically and by
the media at the expense of domestic security and stability.”
Lebanese
security and forensic officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line
with regulations, said Slim's body was found in his car on a rural road near
the southern village of Addoussieh on Thursday morning, with multiple wounds
from gunshots fired at close range.
Afif
Khafajeh, a coroner who inspected Slim's body, said there were several bullets
in the corpse — three in the head, one in the chest and one in the back.
A
security official at the scene said Slim's ID card, phone and gun were missing.
His phone was later found on the side of a road.
He
had been missing since late Wednesday and his family had posted social media
messages looking for him.
His
killing has raised fears that Lebanon’s political tensions could turn into a
new wave of assassinations. The small Mediterranean country has a history of
political crimes and violence.
Slim
was one the most prominent Lebanese intellectuals to be gunned down since
journalist Samir Kassir known for his anti-Syrian writings was assassinated
when a bomb exploded in his car on June 2, 2005.
Anti-Syrian
groups, most notably Samir Geagea’s Lebanese Forces (LF), were quick to blame
Damascus and its Lebanese allies, alleging the involvement of then president
Emile Lahoud who was Syria's greatest supporter in Lebanon.
In
the past, several Lebanese political figures described as critics of Hezbollah
have suspiciously been assassinated apparently with the aim of incriminating
the popular resistance movement and undermining its reputation.
Former
Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri was assassinated in a massive car bombing
in Beirut on February 14, 2005. The terrorist act was used as a pretext by
anti-resistance forces to oust Syria forces from Lebanon.
Lebanon
is currently in the throes of a political crisis over the formation of a new
government, with the West and the Persian Gulf Arab regimes and their allies
inside the country trying to sideline Hezbollah.
Hezbollah
is the most powerful resistance movement in the region, known for defeating
Israel in several wars and evicting Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.
The
resistance group is also helping the Syrian government fight foreign-backed
terrorists and prevent the spillover of Takfiri terrorism into Lebanon.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/05/644600/Hezbollah-condemns-distinguished-critic%E2%80%99s-death,-warns-against-political-exploitation
--------
US
developing military base in northern Iraq despite parliament's call for troops
pull-out: Report
04
February 2021
The
US military is reportedly expanding its base in Iraq's semi-autonomous
Kurdistan region, despite a resolution adopted by the Iraqi parliament on the
expulsion of US-led foreign forces from the Arab country.
The
pan-Arab al-Araby al-Jadeed media outlet, citing Iraqi military sources,
reported on Thursday that US forces at al-Harir base, which lies north of
Kurdistan region’s capital city of Erbil, have been conducting expansion work
inside the facility over the past two months.
An
unnamed officer with the Military Intelligence Directorate of the Iraqi
Ministry of Defense said the work includes construction of underground
shelters, warehouses and barracks.
The
officer further noted the military base has recently become the center of US
operations management in neighboring areas of northern Syria, where
US-sponsored militants affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces
(SDF) are in control.
The
report comes despite a demand from both Iraqi officials and people for the
withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
Iraqi
lawmakers approved a bill on January 5, 2020, demanding the expulsion of all
foreign military forces led by the United States from the Arab country, two
days after the assassination of top Iranian anti-terror commander Lieutenant
General Qassem Soleimani and his companions in a US strike.
General
Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC), and his Iraqi trenchmate, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy head of
the Popular Mobilization Units, along with their companions were assassinated
in a US terror drone strike authorized by former president Donald Trump near
Baghdad International Airport on January 3 last year.
Anti-US
sentiment has been running high in Iraq since the assassination of the
commanders.
Iraqis
say the continued US military presence in the country, against the wishes of
the Baghdad government and parliament, is a breach of international law as well
as the Arab country's sovereignty.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/04/644568/US-developing-military-base-in-northern-Iraq-despite-parliament-call-to-withdraw-troops-Report
--------
West
uses OPCW as weapon to serve its agenda against Syria: Damascus
04
February 2021
Syria’s
Permanent Representative to the UN Bashar al-Ja'afari has lambasted Western
countries for their continued use of the Organization for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the so-called “chemical file” of the Arab country
as a weapon in a war imposed on the Syrian nation.
In
a statement he delivered to a virtual session of the UN Security Council on
“the Situation in Syria”, Ja'afari said the Western states are using the
chemical watchdog and the so-called file of alleged “chemical attacks” in Syria
as a tool to put pressure on Syria and politically blackmail it to serve their
agendas in the Arab country and the region.
“Syria
has... engaged in serious and constructive cooperation with the relevant UN
mechanisms and OPCW and its Technical Secretariat, which has resulted in
helping Syria get rid of its chemical stockpile, substances and production
facilities, so Syria has no longer possessed any chemical weapons and
substances or the production facilities since 2014,” he said, Syria’s official
SANA news agency reported.
However,
Western governments and their allies have preferred to deny this truth and have
never stopped pointing the finger at Damascus whenever an apparent chemical
attack has taken place, Ja'afari further said.
His
comments came just a month after Syria lambasted Western pressure aimed at
forcing the OPCW and its member states to adopt a French draft resolution that
falsely claimed “Syria’s non-abidance”.
Ja'afari
asserted that the so-called French-Western draft resolution or any similar
movement is a politicized act of hostility, aiming to accuse Syria of using
chemical weapons and to absolve the terrorists who have repeatedly launched
terrorist acts.
These
Western-backed terrorists, he said, spare no effort to stage a chemical attack
in a bid to accuse Syria and provide a pretext for Western states, particularly
the US, to launch attacks on the Arab country like their attack on Shayrat
Airbase in 2017.
On
April 4, 2017, a suspected sarin gas attack hit the town of Khan Shaykhun in
Syria’s Idlib Province, killing more than 80 people. The West rushed to blame the
incident on Damascus, with the US launching a missile attack against Shayrat
Airbase in Syria’s Homs Province on April 7, 2017.
Washington
claimed that the airfield had been the origin of the chemical attack. Damascus,
however, said the Khan Shaykhun incident was a fabrication to justify the
subsequent US missile strike.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/04/644564/Syria-OPCW-chemical-file-West-US
--------
Saudi
Arabia welcomes Biden commitment to help Kingdom defend territory
February
05, 2021
RIYADH:
Saudi Arabia on Thursday welcomed Joe Biden’s commitment to help the Kingdom
defend its people and territory.
The
US president made the comments in his first foreign policy speech at the
Department of State.
“Saudi
Arabia faces missile attacks, UAV strikes and other threats from Iranian
supplied forces in multiple countries,” Biden said. “We’re going to continue to
help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and its
people.”
The
Kingdom has repeatedly been the target of missiles and drones launched by
Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen.
Biden
said that Timothy Lenderking, a long-serving US diplomat in the Middle East,
had been appointed as a special envoy to Yemen.
The
president said the war in Yemen “has to end” and that Lenderking would work
with the UN and all parties in the conflict to push for a diplomatic solution.
Saudi
Arabia, a member of the Arab coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally
recognized government, has repeatedly called for a diplomatic solution to the
conflict.
"The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the United States’ commitment, expressed in
President Biden’s speech today, to cooperate with the Kingdom in defending its
security and territory," said Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia's
foreign minister. "We look forward to working with Tim Lenderking to
achieve our joint goal of a comprehensive political resolution in Yemen as part
of our shared vision for a peaceful and prosperous region."
Saudi
Arabia's Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman welcomed the US
president's commitment to working with allies to resolve conflicts. He also
welcomed the appointment of Lenderking and said the Kingdom was looking forward
to working with its American partners to "alleviate the humanitarian
situation and find a solution to the Yemen crisis, and ensure peace and
stability."
Prince
Khalid underscored the Kingdom's commitment to Yemen in seeking a peaceful
resolution to the conflict.
"Even
before the Iran backed Houthi militants overthrew the government of Yemen in
2014, the Kingdom has spared no effort in finding a sustainable political
resolution to the conflict, including the GCC initiative, the Kuwait talks, and
numerous other UN brokered peace talks," he said.
A
foreign ministry statement said the Kingdom welcomed Biden’s pledge to help
Saudi Arabia defend itself and Washington’s commitment to a diplomatic solution
in Yemen. “The Kingdom affirmed its steadfast position in supporting a
comprehensive political solution to the Yemen crisis, and welcomed the US’
emphasis on the importance of supporting diplomatic efforts to solve the Yemeni
crisis, including the efforts of the UN envoy Martin Griffiths,” the ministry
said.
Saudi
Arabia has taken a number of steps to progress the political solution, the
statement continued, including the coalition’s declaration in April of a
unilateral cease-fire, in response to a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres.
“The
Kingdom looks forward to working with the Biden administration and with
newly-appointed US envoy to Yemen Tim Lenderking, the United Nations, Arab
coalition countries and all Yemeni parties in order to reach a comprehensive
political solution in Yemen,” the ministry added. “The Kingdom will continue
its remarkable efforts to alleviate the human suffering of the brotherly Yemeni
people, and has provided more than $17 billion over the past few years.”
Saudi
Arabia also said it wants to strengthen cooperation with the US to face “to
deal with challenges in the region” including moving forward with the Middle
East peace process.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1804081/saudi-arabia
--------
Iraq,
US-led Coalition Ramp Up Pressure on IS
By
Jeff Seldin
February
03, 2021
WASHINGTON
- Iraq and its Western allies appear to be accelerating a crackdown on elements
of Islamic State, taking more key terror group leaders off the battlefield.
The
U.S.-led anti-IS coalition Wednesday confirmed the death of Abu Hassan
al-Gharibawi and three other fighters in what it described as a “dynamic
airstrike” west of Baghdad on Tuesday.
Iraqi
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi first announced the results of the airstrike
in a series of tweets Tuesday, calling al-Gharibawi the leader of IS in
southern Iraq.
Al-Kadhimi
also said the strike killed Ghanem Sabah Jawad, an IS facilitator “responsible
for transporting suicide bombers.”
Tuesday’s
airstrike follows last week’s Iraqi-led operation that killed 39-year-old Abu
Yasar al-Issawi, an IS deputy commander and the terror group’s most senior
leader in Iraq.
Iraq’s
elite Counter-Terrorism Service killed al-Issawi following a firefight January
27, west of the city of Kirkuk, in area thought to be an IS stronghold.
The
operations come as pressure mounts on the Iraqi government to retaliate against
IS for the double suicide bombing last month of an open-air market in Baghdad.
At least 32 people were killed, and more than 100 others wounded.
"I
gave my word to pursue the Daesh terrorists; we gave them a thundering
response," al-Kadhimi said after the operation that killed al-Issawi,
using the Arabic acronym for the terror group.
He
further characterized Tuesday’s airstrikes as “victories” in the country’s
efforts against IS, saying security forces were making good on the government’s
pledge to eradicate the terror group’s leadership.
Coalition
officials tell VOA that the death of Iraqi IS leader al-Issawi has been
“another significant blow” to the group, saying that he had been responsible
for developing and orchestrating the actions of IS cells and networks across
the country.
But
they warn that the threat is far from gone, as IS appears intent on
resurrecting its self-declared caliphate.
“Daesh
is territorially defeated but resilient and remains a challenge,” Col. Wayne
Marotto, the spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, said in an email, citing a need
to “continue constant pressure” on the terror group.
U.S.
officials have also expressed concern about IS’ resilience, saying last month’s
bombing of the Baghdad market – the first of its kind since 2018 – underscores
the group’s potency.
“The
structure and cohesion of this group has allowed ISIS to sustain its influence
and, in some areas, expand on it despite ongoing CT [counterterrorism]
pressure,” a U.S. official told VOA, using another acronym for the terrorist
organization.
The
official additionally warned that in some parts of Iraq and Syria, IS has been
successful in “shaping its environment until conditions are favorable to begin
operating more openly.”
The
concerns have been most acute for northern and central Iraq, where officials
say IS has been adding to a steady pace of assassinations and attacks using
improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Just
last month, under then-President Donald Trump, the United States completed a
drawdown to just 2,500 troops in Iraq.
In
a statement, then-acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said the move was
“evidence of real progress" in the fight against IS.
The
Pentagon, under new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, has been taking a look at
troop levels in Iraq and elsewhere, although a spokesman said no decisions have
been made.
Estimates
for the number of IS fighters in Iraq and Syria vary.
The
latest estimate from United Nations counterterror officials put the number at
10,000. U.S. officials have suggested since late 2019 that there are anywhere
from 14,000 to 16,000 IS fighters in Iraq and Syria.
https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/iraq-us-led-coalition-ramp-pressure?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1968258_
--------
Mideast
Ankara
says US behind 2016 abortive coup in Turkey against Erdogan
04
February 2021
Turkey
says the United States was behind an abortive military coup against the
government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan less than five years ago.
Turkey
witnessed a coup attempt early on July 15, 2016, when rogue soldiers moved to
topple Erdogan. A few hours later, however, the coup was suppressed. Some 250
people were killed and over 2,000 others wounded in the abortive putsch.
Since
then, Ankara has been insisting that US-based opposition cleric, Fethullah
Gulen, masterminded and orchestrated the failed coup. Gulen, now 79, has
repeatedly denounced the “despicable putsch” and insisted that he had no role
in it.
The
Turkish government says the cleric mounted the coup through its transnational
religious and social movement, which is regarded by Ankara as a terror
organization and has been branded as the Fethullah Terrorist Organization
(FETO).
In
an interview with Turkish newspaper Hurriyet on Thursday, Turkey's Interior
Minister Suleyman Soylu said the US had masterminded the coup attempt while
Gulen's network carried it out.
“It
is blatantly clear the United States is behind July 15. It was FETO who carried
it out upon their orders,” Soylu said, reiterating that “Europe was
enthusiastic about” the coup, a view the Turkish minister said he had been
expressing since the failed coup.
Gulen
has been in a self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. Ankara has several
times tried to persuade Washington to extradite him, but all to no avail so
far.
Soylu’s
remarks come at a time when Ankara is trying to repair and improve ties with
its NATO ally, after they were strained when the administration of former
American president Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey over its purchase
of the advanced Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.
Trump
also refused to deliver the F-35 stealth fighter jets purchased by Ankara over
the same reason.
Shortly
after the abortive coup in July 2016, the Turkish government began to crack
down on putschists and sympathizers. So far, about 80,000 people have been
jailed pending trial, and some 150,000 civil servants, military personnel, and
others sacked or suspended from their jobs.
The
Turkish government says Gulen’s supporters have been running “a parallel state”
within the civilian and military bureaucracy and pursuing their own agenda.
Ankara ended a nationwide state of emergency, imposed since the coup, in July
2018 after seven three-month renewals.
The
international community and rights groups have been highly critical of the
Turkish president over the massive dismissals and the crackdown.
Relations
between the European Union (EU) and Turkey are also strained. They have
particularly deteriorated during the past couple of months over a dispute
between Turkey and Greece, two NATO allies, in the eastern Mediterranean.
Tensions
escalated last year between the two after Turkey began a military-backed
hydrocarbon exploration venture in waters between Greece and Cyprus.
Turkey’s
discovery of major gas deposits in the waters sparked anger in Greece, which
responded with naval drills to defend its maritime territory. Siding with
Athens, France also deployed its frigates and fighter jets to the region.
Turkey
has been attempting to become a member of the EU since the 1960s. Formal EU
accession negotiations began in 2005, but the process has been mired in
problems, and the energy rivalry has further lowered the already dim prospect
of Turkey's membership in the EU.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/04/644549/Turkey-Suleyman-Soylu-coup-US-Gulen-Erdogan-S-400-Russia-Greece-EU
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Ansarullah:
Establishment of peace possible if aggression, siege ends
05
February 2021
Yemen’s
Houthi Ansarullah says establishment of peace in the war-hit country would only
be possible if the US-backed Saudi-led coalition that has been attacking the
impoverished nation over the past many years ended its attacks and a
concomitant siege.
The
popular defensive movement made the remarks through its spokesman Mohammed
Abdul-Salam, who is also the head of the Yemeni National Salvation Government’s
negotiation team, Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television channel reported.
Speaking
on Thursday night, the official said, “Establishment of peace in Yemen depends
on cessation of the aggression and annulment of the siege.”
The
coalition began its war against Yemen in March 2015 to restore Saudi Arabia’s
favorite officials there. The officials had fled the country earlier amid a
power crisis, refusing to stay behind and negotiate.
Tens
of thousands of Yemenis have died and the entire country pushed close to the
brink of outright famine during the course of the aggression, which has been
enjoying ample arms, logistical, and political support on the part of
Washington.
The
violence-riddled nation has, however, refused so far to give up its defensive
operations and yield to the coalition’s demands.
“The
great Yemeni nation’s epic resistance has led the aggressors’ choice for
aggression and blockade to a heavy defeat,” Abdul-Salam noted.
He
underlined his country’s deterrent missile power that it has been deploying
successfully against the coalition’s attacks, reiterating that Yemen would only
stop using the firepower if the coalition ended its war and the siege that it
has been simultaneously enforcing against Yemen.
The
official’s remarks came after US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan said
US President Joe Biden was to announce an end to Washington’s support for the
war.
Sullivan
reminded that Biden had pledged to do so during his presidential campaign. He
claimed that the US president would even step further after the announcement by
trying to deploy a more active diplomacy towards resolution of the conflict.
Sullivan
said the US was to appoint a Yemen envoy, claiming that the prospect would mean
that Washington was about to give more chance to diplomatic approaches in the
area.
Observers
say if the US chief executive went ahead with acting on his pledges, his
attitude would mark a notable departure from the approach that used to be
adopted by his predecessor Donald Trump, who optimized Washington’s patronage
for the aggressors during his tenure.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/05/644583/Middle-East-Yemen-war-coalition-peace-Saudi-Arabia-United-States
--------
Coronavirus
Taking Toll from Terrorist Organization in Albania
2021-February-4
A
doctor at Tirana's Mother Teresa Hospital told the national news agency in
Albania that a member of the MKO members had been admitted to the hospital
after contacting the UK Virus Variant as the first case detected with the new
more transmissible variant in the country.
The
doctor was quoted as saying that conditions of the MKO member diagnosed with
mutated coronavirus was deteriorating.
The
doctor added that based on the tests carried out on the patient, he had been
diagnosed with the UK Virus Variant.
As
many as 20 aging members of the terrorist group have died of COVID-19 so far
and are buried in the local Manez Cemetery in Durres, Albania.
Their
burials have sparked protests by local people in the area where the terror group
camps are located. The Albanian citizens are outraged with the presence of the
group in their neighborhood and their access to water and electricity free of
charge.
So
far, as many as 80,000 people across Albania have been infected with Covid 19
and 1,400 have died. The Durres region, which is home to the MKO terrorist
group, is the second largest city in the country after Tirana which has the
biggest number of deaths due to the coronavirus. The increase in the number of
cases of COVID-19 in this Balkan country has reached a very worrying level.
The
MKO, which does not allow journalists and doctors to enter its very large base
on the outskirts of Tirana, treats its infected members without caring about
necessary health measures set by the World Health Organization and the Albanian
health officials. This has raised concerns about the large mortality rate of
the group’s members, most of whom are in their seventies.
The
MKO is listed as a terrorist organization by much of the international
community. Its members fled Iran in 1986 for Iraq, where they received support
from then dictator Saddam Hussein.
The
notorious outfit has carried out numerous attacks against Iranian civilians and
government officials for several decades.
In
2012, the US State Department removed the MKO from its list of designated
terrorist organizations under intense lobbying by groups associated to Saudi
Arabia and other regimes adversarial to Iran.
A
few years ago, MKO members were relocated from their Camp Ashraf in Iraq’s
Diyala Province to Camp Hurriyet (Camp Liberty), a former US military base in
Baghdad, and were later sent to Albania.
Those
members, who have managed to escape, have revealed MKO's scandalous means of
access to money, almost exclusively coming from Saudi Arabia.
The
MKO terrorist group has openly specified targets as martyred Lieutenant General
Qassem Soleimani, who commanded the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards
Corps (IRGC), and Iranian Judiciary Chief Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi.
The
terrorist organization said it would “welcome” their assassination, adding that
it desired for the ranking officials to “join” Asadollah Lajevardi, Tehran’s
former chief prosecutor, and Ali Sayyad-Shirazi, a former commander of the
Iranian Army’s Ground Forces during Iraq’s 1980-88 war against Iran, who have
both been assassinated.
Earlier
in June 2019, a leaked audio of a phone conversation between two members of
MKO, revealed Saudi Arabia has colluded with the MKO elements to frame Iran for
the recent tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf.
In
the audio, Shahram Fakhteh, an official member and the person in charge of
MKO’s cyber operations, is heard talking with a US-based MKO sympathizer named
Daei-ul-Eslam in Persian, IFP news reported.
In
this conversation, the two elements discuss the MKO’s efforts to introduce Iran
as the culprit behind the tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf, and how the
Saudis contacted them to pursue the issue.
“In
the past week we did our best to blame the [Iranian] regime for the (oil
tanker) blasts. Saudis have called Sister Maryam (Rajavi)’s office to follow up
on the results, [to get] a conclusion of what has been done, and the possible
consequences,” Fakhteh is heard saying.
“I
guess this can have different consequences. It can send the case to the UN Security
Council or even result in military intervention. It can have any consequence,”
Daei-ul-Eslam says.
Attacks
on two commercial oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on June 13, and an earlier
attack on four oil tankers off the UAE’s Fujairah port on May 12, 2019, have
escalated tensions in the Middle East and raised the prospect of a military
confrontation between Iran and the United States.
The
US, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE have rushed to blame Iran for the incidents, with
the US military releasing a grainy video it claimed shows Iranian forces in a
patrol boat removing an unexploded mine from the side of a Japanese-owned
tanker which caught fire earlier this month.
It
later released some images of the purported Iranian operation after the video
was seriously challenged by experts and Washington’s own allies.
The
MKO which is said to be a cult which turns humans into obedient robots, turned
against Iran after the 1979 Revolution and has carried out several terrorist
attacks killing senior officials in Iran; yet the West which says cultism is
wrong and claims to be against terrorism, supports this terrorist group
officially.
After
the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the MKO began its enmity against Iran by
killings over 17,000 Iranians and terrorist activities. Several members of the
terrorist group and its leaders are living in France now, freely conducting
activities.
The
MKO terrorist group has martyred 17,161 Iranian citizens, including late
President Mohammad Ali Rajayee, former Prime Minister Mohammad Javad Bahonar,
late Head of Supreme Judicial Council Ayatollah Mohammad Beheshti, late Deputy
Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff Ali Sayyad Shirazi, and 27
legislators, as well as four nuclear scientists.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991116000587/Crnavirs-Taking-Tll-frm-Terrris-Organizain-in-Albania
--------
Israeli
army shoots, kills unarmed Palestinian man in West Bank settlement
05
February 2021
The
Israeli military said Friday that an unarmed Palestinian man was shot and
killed in a West Bank settlement after he tried to break into a home and fought
with a guard.
The
military referred to the incident as a “terror attack,” but a spokesman was
unable to explain how it came to that conclusion, given that no weapons were
found on the suspect or in his car.
It
said the incident took place in “Sde Efraim farm,” which does not appear on
maps and is likely one of several small outposts set up by Jewish settlers in
the occupied West Bank. When Israeli officials use the term “terror attack”
they are nearly always referring to attacks carried out by Palestinians against
Jews.
There
have been a series of stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks against
Israelis in recent years, mostly carried out by lone Palestinians with no
apparent ties to armed groups.
Israel
captured the West Bank in the 1967 war, and the Palestinians want it to form
the main part of their future state. Nearly 500,000 Israeli settlers live in
the West Bank, mainly in large, developed settlements. Hard-line settlers have
established a number of smaller outposts without official authorization.
The
Palestinians view all the settlements as illegal and a major obstacle to peace,
a position with wide international support.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/05/Palestinian-Israeli-conflict-Israeli-army-shoots-kills-unarmed-Palestinian-man-in-West-Bank-settlement
--------
Turkey's
interior minister says US behind 2016 failed coup attempt: Hurriyet
04
February 2021
Turkey's
interior minister accused the United States on Thursday of being behind a 2016
failed coup that Ankara has blamed on a U.S.-based Muslim preacher, the
Hurriyet daily reported, at a time when Turkey is seeking improved ties with
its NATO ally.
More
than 250 people were killed in the attempt to overthrow President Tayyip
Erdogan and his government on July 15, 2016 when rogue soldiers commandeered
warplanes, helicopters and tanks to seize state institutions.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Ankara
has long blamed preacher Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan who lives in
Pennsylvania, and launched a widespread crackdown on his network, which Ankara
refers to by the acronym 'FETO'. Gulen denies any involvement.
Interior
Minister Suleyman Soylu told Hurriyet the United States had managed the coup
attempt while Gulen's network carried it out, adding "Europe was
enthusiastic about it", reaffirming a view he said he had been expressing
since the putsch.
"It
is blatantly clear the United States is behind July 15. It was FETO who carried
it out upon their orders," he said.
U.S.
officials were not immediately available for comment, but Washington has
previously denied any involvement. It has repeatedly rejected Turkish demands
for Gulen's extradition, citing a lack of credible evidence from Ankara.
Ankara
is seeking to repair strained ties with Washington, which last year sanctioned
Turkey over its purchase of Russian air defence systems, and with the European
Union. The EU has threatened measures against Ankara over a dispute with Greece
in the east Mediterranean.
Turkey
has said in recent weeks that it achieved a "positive agenda" with
the EU, and that it wants to improve relations with the United States under
President Joe Biden. He is expected to be tougher on Ankara over its record on
human rights, which has worried Turkey's Western allies.
Since
the failed coup, Turkey has detained some 292,000 people over suspected links
to Gulen and has suspended or sacked more than 150,000 civil servants. Hundreds
of media outlets have been shut and dozens of opposition lawmakers have been
jailed.
The
government's response to month-long protests at one of the country's top
universities has also alarmed Washington and the United Nations, with both
condemning "homophobic" rhetoric by officials.
Soylu
has referred to some protesters as "LGBT deviants" and Erdogan said
on Wednesday there was "no such thing" as LGBT.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/04/Turkey-s-interior-minister-says-US-behind-2016-failed-coup-attempt-Hurriyet
--------
Al-Qaeda's
leader in Yemen under arrest: UN report
05
February 2021
The
leader of Al-Qaeda’s Yemeni affiliate has been under arrest for several months,
according to a United Nations report released on Thursday.
The
document said Khalid Batarfi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
(AQAP) for just under a year, was arrested and his deputy, Saad Atef al-Awlaqi,
died during an “operation in Ghayda City, Al-Mahrah Governorate, in October.”
The
report -- filed to the Security Council from a UN monitoring team specializing
in extremist groups -- is the first official confirmation of Batarfi’s arrest
following unverified reports.
The
wide-ranging document, summarizing global potential terrorist threats, did not
disclose the militant’s whereabouts or reveal any further details of the
October operation.
But
the SITE Intelligence Group noted “unconfirmed reports” in October that Batarfi
had been arrested by Yemeni security forces and then handed to Saudi Arabia.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/05/Al-Qaeda-s-leader-in-Yemen-under-arrest-UN-report
--------
North
America
US
report highlights Pakistan-China ‘closeness’ in Afghanistan
Anwar
Iqbal
February
5, 2021
WASHINGTON:
A bipartisan report to the US Congress claims that there’s an understanding
between China and Pakistan on how to protect their interests in Afghanistan and
Islamabad enjoys a leading role in this strategy.
“The
increasing closeness of the China-Pakistan relationship means that, for the
most part, Beijing’s Afghanistan policy has hewed closely to that of Islamabad,
with Islamabad taking the lead,” the report adds.
The
report, sent to Congress on Wednesday, recognises Pakistan’s key role in the
Afghan peace process and urges the Biden administration to work with Islamabad
to end decades of war and destruction in Afghanistan.
The
report also urges new US leaders to postpone a May deadline for the withdrawal
of American troops from Afghanistan, warning that an early exit would allow
terrorist groups to reemerge.
A
US-Taliban agreement signed in Doha last year calls for a complete US
withdrawal from Afghanistan by May. But the report from the Afghanistan Study
Group, commissioned by Congress in 2019, recommends an “immediate diplomatic
effort to extend the current May 2021 withdrawal date in order to give the
peace process sufficient time to produce an acceptable result.”
Explaining
the change in the US attitude towards Afghanistan, the report argues that “the
Taliban are not an international terrorist organisation, and there is no
evidence that they have any intention to attack the United States.”
The
report claims that even within the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, “there is broad
regional support for a US withdrawal that is responsible rather than
precipitate and chaotic”.
Underlining
Pakistan’s role in the peace process, the report notes that “Pakistan has
generally supported the US effort to negotiate with the Taliban,” a role also
publicly acknowledged by US officials.
“Many
countries in the region, especially Pakistan, have influence over the Taliban
and other participants in the peace process,” the report claims, adding: “They
should actively use this influence to make the peace process successful because
they will ultimately benefit from its success.”
But
the report clarifies that while Pakistan has influence over the Taliban, “it
does not have total control over the movement.” The report notes that while
Islamabad has always tried to maintain a close relationship with the United
States, this did not prevent it from maintaining ties with the Taliban as well.
“There
are, however, indications that Pakistan is reevaluating some elements of its
strategy, given the economic opportunities that would arise from a more stable
Afghanistan and the possibility of the Taliban gaining a meaningful share of
power,” the report adds.
Yet,
the report argues, a fundamental change in Pakistan’s Afghan policy,
“particularly in the strategic thinking of Pakistan’s politically powerful army
and intelligence services,” seems unlikely.
According
to this report, an unstable Afghanistan risks destabilising the entire region,
particularly by “exacerbating the rivalry between India and Pakistan, two
nuclear-armed powers.”
The
report points out that Afghanistan sits in a dangerous region as “three of its
six immediate neighbors (China, Pakistan, and Iran) are actual or potential
nuclear powers. Two other regional powers, Russia and India, also possess
nuclear weapons.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1605565/us-report-highlights-pakistan-china-closeness-in-afghanistan
--------
US
condemns ‘heinous assassination’ of Lebanese activist Lokman Slim
Rawad
Taha
05
February 2021
The
United States condemned the “heinous assassination” of prominent Lebanese
activist Lokman Slim in Southern Lebanon, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
said in a statement on Thursday.
“We
join the international community in calling for his killers to be brought to
swift justice. Mr. Slim devoted his life to bringing about positive change in
Lebanon and bravely pushed for justice, accountability, and rule of law in his
country,” Blinken's statement read.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
statement released added that it is cowardly and unacceptable to resort to
violence, threats, and intimidation as a means of subverting the rule of law or
suppressing freedom of expression and civic activism.
“We
urge Lebanese officials, including the judiciary and political leaders, to hold
accountable those who commit such barbaric acts without delay or exception,”
the statement concluded.
France's
Foreign Ministry on Thursday also called the killing of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah
activist Lokman Slim a “heinous crime” and demanded a transparent
investigation.
“France
asks that the facts be clearly established and that all those who can
contribute to establishing the truth contribute fully,” Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said in a statement.
Lebanese
security forces found the body of Slim, who was shot to death after he went
missing Thursday night in the country's southern region, which is heavily
controlled by the Iran-backed extremist group. His body was transported to a
hospital in Sidon where a forensic coroner said Slim was received four bullets
to the head and one to his back, according to Lebanon's National News Agency
(NNA).
The
motive behind the assassination was not immediately clear.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/05/US-condemns-heinous-assassination-of-Lebanese-activist-Lokman-Slim
--------
Biden
says Yemen war must end, appoints former US diplomat in Riyadh as special envoy
Joseph
Haboush
04
February 2021
US
President Joe Biden Thursday announced the appointment of Timothy Lenderking as
his special envoy for Yemen, saying this would be part of Washington’s efforts
to “push for a diplomatic resolution.”
“This
war has to end,” Biden said in his first foreign policy speech since becoming
president.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Biden
had previously pledged to increase US efforts and pressure to end the yearslong
war in Yemen.
The
move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. WSJ quoted a senior
administration official as saying that the one thing missing from the US
approach on Yemen was not having “a senior US person who was empowered to work
on this full time.”
Lenderking
is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iran, Iraq, and Regional
Multilateral Affairs in the Near East Bureau and a career member of the Senior
Foreign Service.
His
experience in the region includes time at the US embassies in Riyadh and
Baghdad.
Experts
and officials praised the move.
UAE
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the Lenderking would
bring “new and needed energy and focus to help resolve the conflict and improve
stability across the region.”
“Lenderking
has a nuanced understanding of the Yemen conflict, and he has been consistently
engaged with Yemenis from all political stripes and Yemen experts for years,”
said Elana DeLozier, the Rubin Family Fellow in the Bernstein Program on Gulf
and Energy Policy at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
But
the US veteran diplomat will have a tough time creating incentives for peace
since the Iran-backed Houthis and the Hadi government have “little political
will to come to the table at the moment,” DeLozier told Al Arabiya English.
Biden
also announced an end to US support for “offensive operations in Yemen.”
Earlier
Thursday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the moves related to
Yemen were discussed with officials in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi
Arabia. “We are pursuing a policy of no surprises,” he told reporters at a
White House briefing.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/02/04/Biden-to-appoint-former-US-diplomat-in-Saudi-Arabia-as-special-envoy-for-Yemen
--------
Europe
US,
UK, France, Germany foreign ministers to discuss Iran soon: Reuters sources
04
February 2021
The
U.S., British, French and German foreign ministers are expected to discuss soon
how to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal abandoned by former U.S. President
Donald Trump, four sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
The
sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to say exactly when the
high-level call would take place, though two said it could happen as early as
on Friday and two others said it could be next week. It could also cover other
issues.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Such
a high-level conversation would be the latest step by new U.S. President Joe
Biden's administration to seek a way to revive the pact, under which Iran
agreed to limit its nuclear activities so as to make it harder to develop an
atomic bomb in return for relief from U.S. and other economic sanctions.
Iran
has long denied any intent to develop nuclear arms.
Biden
has said that if Tehran returned to strict compliance with the 2015 pact,
Washington would follow suit and use that as a springboard to a broader
agreement that might restrict Iran's missile development and regional
activities.
Tehran
has insisted Washington ease sanctions before it will resume compliance but
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hinted on Monday at a way to resolve the
impasse over who goes first by saying the steps could be synchronized.
While
the U.S. State Department reacted coolly, a U.S. official said its stance
should not be seen as a rejection.
The
State Department declined comment on whether the four foreign ministers would
meet virtually soon. The German and French foreign ministries, as well as the
British embassy in Washington, did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/04/US-UK-France-Germany-foreign-ministers-to-discuss-Iran-soon-Reuters-sources
--------
France
calls murder of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah activist Lokman Slim 'heinous crime'
04
February 2021
France's
Foreign Ministry on Thursday called the killing of Lebanese anti-Hezbollah
activist Lokman Slim a "heinous crime" and demanded a transparent
investigation.
"France
asks that the facts be clearly established and that all those who can
contribute to establishing the truth contribute fully," Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said in a statement.
"It
expects the Lebanese authorities and all Lebanese officials to allow the
justice system to act efficiently, transparently and without
interference."
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/04/France-calls-murder-of-Lebanese-anti-Hezbollah-activist-Lokman-Slim-heinous-crime-
--------
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