Biden, At Muslim Voters Summit, says ‘I Wish We Taught More in Our Schools About the Islamic Faith’
New Age Islam News Bureau
21
Jul 2020
• Afghan
Cleric Saved Minor Sikh Girl 'Abducted' By A Muslim Boy
• UK Police
Consider Dropping ‘Islamist’, ‘Jihadi’ Terms When Describing Terror Attacks
• Engineers
Survey 200-Year-Old Old Masjid Mubarak Begum Which Was Damaged in Rain in Delhi
• Indonesia
Vows to End Practice of Bride Kidnapping
• Egypt Denies
Destroying Ancient Islamic Cemeteries to Build Bridge
• Omar
Al-Bashir Faces Trial Over 89 Coup In Sudan
---------
North America
• Biden, At
Muslim Voters Summit, says ‘I Wish We Taught More in Our Schools About the
Islamic Faith’
• US
Elections: Joe Biden Vows to Include Muslim-Americans In His Administration
• US sanctions
11 Chinese firms over Uighur rights abuses
• In Canadian
law, ‘terrorism’ seems to be the hardest word – and it’s going to get harder
• Muslim-American
leaders endorse Biden for president
-------
South Asia
• Afghan
Cleric Saved Minor Sikh Girl 'Abducted' By A Muslim Boy
• Taliban Led
Violence Absolutely Unacceptable: NATO SCR in Afghanistan
• Rohingya
Refugees in India Battling Starvation Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
• 72 Taliban
militants killed as violence rages in Afghanistan
• Taliban
truck bomb kills eight Afghan troops in Wardak province
• Russia
bounties story in US media aimed at spoiling peace deal: Taliban
• US, Taliban
Urge Afghan Leaders to Complete Prisoner Swap
--------
Europe
• UK Police
Consider Dropping ‘Islamist’, ‘Jihadi’ Terms When Describing Terror Attacks
• Russian
Muslims Happy with Hagia Sophia Status Change
• Russia's
Chechnya ruler sanctioned by US for human rights violations
• Austria to
launch Muslim profiling scheme
--------
India
• Engineers
Survey 200-Year-Old Old Masjid Mubarak Begum Which Was Damaged in Rain in Delhi
• To Harass
Hindu-Muslim Couples, Right-wing Activists Are Now Using Their Marriage
Documents
• Lashkar’s
terror-funding module busted in Jammu, one arrested with Rs 1.5L cash
• Murli
Manohar Joshi, LK Advani to appear via video in Babri Masjid demolition case
--------
Southeast Asia
• Indonesia
Vows to End Practice of Bride Kidnapping
• Indonesian
court sentences Jemaah Islamiah leader to 7 years’ jail for inciting terrorism
• Indonesia
jails leaders of Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group
--------
Arab World
• Egypt Denies
Destroying Ancient Islamic Cemeteries to Build Bridge
• US Sanctions
on Syria Leave Hezbollah More Isolated in Lebanon
• US says
'dubious' elections in Syria excluded a quarter of the population
• Yemen’s
prime minister accuses Qatar of supporting Houthis
• Israeli air
strikes hit regime and Iran-backed militias in Syria
• Five dead,
85 wounded in car bomb attack in Syria's Azaz: Turkish state media
• Monitor: Car
Blast Kills 7 Near Syria-Turkey Border Post
• SDF Launches
2nd Phase of 'Deterring Terrorism' Campaign
• World
praises UAE on successful launch of Mars Hope probe
--------
Africa
• Omar
Al-Bashir Faces Trial Over 89 Coup In Sudan
• Reports shed
light on mercenaries, terrorists sent by Turkey to Libya
• Gunmen kill
18 wedding guests in northern Nigeria
• Egypt’s
parliament approves possible troop deployment to Libya
• Boko Haram
Terrorists Attack Chibok, Kill Three Farmers
--------
Mideast
• Yemeni PM
Accuses Qatar Of Backing Houthis, Spreading Chaos In Yemen
• Turkish
police detain 27 people over links to Islamic State
• Israel
Approves Cellphone Tracking Of COVID-19 Carriers For Rest Of Year
• Iran-linked hackers
mistakenly leak videos of their operations in action: Report
• Ukraine
president says those responsible for downed plane would be held accountable
• Outsiders
seeking to sell arms in Middle East: Iran's mission in Kuwait
• Tehran,
Baghdad will jointly sue US for assassinating Gen. Soleimani: Iraq
• Houthis
intensify clampdown on opponents
--------
Pakistan
• IHC To Hear
Pleas Against SAPMs’ Appointment
• Caritas
Pakistan launches Covid-19 awareness campaign
• At least 1
dead, 7 injured in explosion in Balochistan'sTurbat
• Justice
Isa’s wife seeks review of apex court order
• Treasury
side opposes bill for increasing high court benches
• Qureshi
defends dual nationalities of SAPMs
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/biden-muslim-voters-summit-says/d/122430
--------
Biden, at
Muslim voters summit, says ‘I wish we taught more in our schools about the
Islamic faith’
21 July 2020
Joe Biden
speaks at the Emgage Action's Million Muslim Voters Summit.
-----
Presumptive
Democratic nominee Joe Biden spoke to a summit of Muslim voters Monday, telling
them he wished U.S. schools taught more about Islam.
"I wish
we taught more in our schools about the Islamic faith. I wish we talked about
all the great confessional faiths. It's one of the great confessional
faiths," Biden said Monday at the “Million Muslim Votes” summit hosted by
Emgage Action.
Emgage Action,
the country’s largest Muslim American PAC, endorsed Biden in April after
endorsing Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary.
Biden told the
voters he would end President Trump's travel ban affecting Muslim-majority
countries on day one of his presidency and blamed the White House’s current
occupant for “an unconscionable rise in Islamophobia.”
Biden also
said he “won’t write love letters to dictators,” and would work to “meet the
moral demands of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Yemen, and Gaza.” He said he
would champion the rights of Palestinians and Israelis to have a state of their
own, among other priorities.
A number of
Muslim American officials, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Minnesota
Attorney General Keith Ellison, Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., signed a letter
organized by Emgage Action endorsing Biden on Monday.
"Our
number one goal is to remove Donald Trump from office and to replace him with
someone who can begin to heal our nation," the letter said. "A Biden
administration will move the nation forward on many of the issues we care
about," it said, citing racial justice, affordable healthcare, climate
change and immigration.
Hillary
Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee, did not attend any Emgage events in 2016
and former President Barack Obama was “cautious” to do so, The Washington Post
notes.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-muslim-voters-summit-taught-schools-islamic-faith
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Afghan Cleric
Saved Minor Sikh Girl 'Abducted' By A Muslim Boy
Jul 20, 2020
A minor Afghan
Sikh girl safely returned home on Monday after the maulvi of a mosque refused
to solemnize her marriage
-----
AMRITSAR: A
minor Afghan Sikh girl safely returned home on Monday after the maulvi of a
mosque refused to solemnize her marriage with a Muslim boy after finding out
that she was a minor and informed the police about the same.
The president
of Afghan Sikh Hindu Welfare Society, Khajinder Singh told TOI that the Muslim
boy had allegedly lured the girl to accompany him to his village.
According to
sources in Kabul, Salmeet Kaur, 13, lived with her visually impaired mother and
a younger brother in Gurudwara Baba Sri Chand, Shoor Bazar, and was handed over
to her family by the police.
Salmeet Kaur
had lost her father and uncle in a terrorist attack on Kabul’s Gurdwara Har Rai
Sahib on April 25 in which 25 Sikh men, women and children had died.
“In a recent
decision, India has decided to facilitate the return of Afghan Hindu and Sikh
community members facing security threats in Afghanistan to India”, a
spokesperson of the external affairs ministry said.
Meanwhile a
video of Nidan Singh, a Sehajdhari Sikh, who was released on July 18, is being
circulated on social media wherein he is being welcomed by his friends and
family members. Nidan Singh Sachdeva was kidnapped from Gurdwara Talha Sahib in
Chamkani district of Paktia province of Afghanistan on June 22.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/afghan-cleric-saved-minor-sikh-girl-abducted-by-a-muslim-boy/articleshow/77070211.cms
--------
UK police
consider dropping ‘Islamist’, ‘jihadi’ terms when describing terror attacks
July 20, 2020
Assistant
Commissioner Neil Basu acknowledged the issue at an event last month
DANIEL
LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/GETTY
------
LONDON: Police
in the UK are considering replacing terms such as “Islamist terrorism” to
describe acts of terror with phrases such as “adherents of Osama bin Laden’s
ideology,” The Times reported on Monday.
If
implemented, officers would stop using phrases such as “jihadi” when describing
attacks by those claiming Islam as a motive for terror because their usage was
not helpful for community relations.
The head of
counter-terrorism policing in the UK, Neil Basu, discussed the use of language
to describe acts of terror during an online forum in June with attack
survivors, relatives of victims and experts.
During the
event it was pointed out that right-wing extremists such as Anders Breivik, who
killed 77 people in an attack in Norway in 2011, had often cited protecting
Christianity as part of the motive for their actions, but were not described as
“Christianist” or “crusaderist” by the police or the media.
A change in
the use of language was requested by the National Association of Muslim Police,
which said the use of words such as “Islamist” fostered negative connotations
of the UK’s Muslim community and could lead to a rise in discrimination and
Islamophobia.
Representatives
from the organization, which numbers 3,000 members, argued that “jihad” should
not be used because it means “struggle” or “effort” in Arabic and can refer to
being a devout Muslim and carrying out good deeds.
Other
alternatives to currently used phrases included “terrorists abusing religious
motivations” or the Arabic word “irhabi,” which is not connected to religion
but often used in the Middle East to describe terrorism.
The national
coordinator of the UK’s de-radicalization program Prevent, Nik Adams, said
counter terrorism officers had said, after receiving advice from Muslim
officers, they were “concerned” that terminology currently in use could lead to
“stigmatizing of innocent Muslims in the UK.”
However, Adams
told The Times that any change in language used was not certain to be
implemented, adding: “We have no plans to change the terminology we use at
present but welcomed the debate and contributions.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1707436/world
--------
Engineers
Survey 200-Year-Old Old Masjid Mubarak Begum Which Was Damaged in Rain in Delhi
VatsalaShrangi
Jul 21, 2020
A team of
engineers on Monday surveyed the 200-year-old Masjid Mubarak Begum in Old Delhi’s
Hauz Qazi chowk, whose central dome was reduced to rubble due to heavy rain a
day ago.
Technicians
and engineers of the Delhi Waqf Board, which maintains the mosque, said the
loss is “irreparable” in terms of its heritage. Entry to the prayer hall beneath
the dome has been restricted. Prayers were offered in the courtyard on Monday.
“It is tough
to reach the roof, which has become vulnerable, and collect the rubble. The
rubble has not been cleared as we are waiting for it to be inspected by
experts, whom we are trying to get in touch with. We will preserve the malba
(rubble) for research and see if it could be used for restoration,” Mehfooz
Mohammad, section officer, Delhi Waqf Board, said.
Mohammad said
it was not just the lightening and rainfall that led to the damage, but the
dome and the roof had started developing cracks over the past few years.
“For the past
few years, cracks were observed here, which could possibly be because of
construction carried out discreetly by shopkeepers on the ground floor and also
because of digging work for construction of a Delhi Metro station. During the
digging work, many old structures, including houses, had developed cracks,”
said Mohammad.
The official
said the board has contacted the Archaeological Survey of India’s Delhi chapter
to seek its expertise and help in restoration. “We plan to write to ASI-Delhi
formally tomorrow to help us. We do not have any experts or architects within
the board as such and would like to appeal to conservation agencies if they would
like to come forward to help us with the task,” he said.
Officials from
ASI, Delhi said the mosque does not come under their purview.
According to
historian Rana Safvi, the double-storeyed mosque was built in 1822 and is one
of the many mosques built by women in that era.
Heritage
activist and author Sohail Hashmi said the mosque has historical and
architectural importance. “The 1958 Act under the provisions of which the ASI
functions needs to be amended to bring all such structures of immense
historical importance under its purview. The mosque requires the attention of
experts, who could lead its restoration,” said Hashmi.
Hashmi said
historically it is important as it was built by a courtesan at that time.
Mubarak Begum was a courtesan married to David Ochterlony, the first British
resident in Delhi in the Mughal court.
The mosque was
mentioned in the list of 3,000 heritage structures that existed in Delhi, which
was prepared in 1920 by historian Maulana Zafar Hasan for the then
British-ruled ASI to study.
“She was the
senior-most of the 13 wives of the British resident. She was sharp and
ambitious and Ochterlony would often seek her advice in various matters,” he
said.
The design of
the mosque is similar to those from the times of Shah Jahan. “The design would
typically have three domes, of which the central dome is larger than two
others. The structure needs to be preserved well to retain its heritage value,”
Hashmi said.
Abu Sufiyan, a
local who runs a group named ‘PuraniDilliWalokiBaatein’, which conducts
heritage walks and cultural programmes in the area, said, “The mosque was not
being maintained properly for years. It had been developing cracks from long
before but it wasn’t looked into even once. I have got many messages from
random people asking to contribute money for repair. We will help as much as we
can to restore it,” said Sufiyan.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/engineers-survey-200-year-old-old-delhi-mosque-which-was-damaged-in-rain/story-m2WLTUKV2kMdqeOpaJeHWK.html
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Indonesia vows
to end practice of bride kidnapping
By Liza
Tambunan
July 21, 2020
Indonesian
officials are vowing to end the controversial custom of bride kidnapping on the
remote island of Sumba, after videos of women being abducted sparked a national
debate about the practice.
Citra* thought
it was just a work meeting. Two men, claiming to be local officials, said they
wanted to go over budgets for a project she was running at a local aid agency.
The then
28-year-old was slightly nervous about going alone but keen to distinguish
herself at work, so she pushed such concerns aside.
An hour in,
the men suggested the meeting continue at a different location and invited her
to ride in their car. Insisting on taking her own motorbike she went to slide
her key into the ignition, when suddenly another group of men grabbed her.
"I was
kicking and screaming, as they pushed me into the car. I was helpless. Inside
two people held me down," she says. "I knew what was happening."
She was being
captured in order to be wed.
Bride
kidnapping, or kawintangkap, is a controversial practice in Sumba with disputed
origins which sees women taken by force by family members or friends of men who
want to marry them.
Despite
long-standing calls for it to be banned by women's rights groups, it continues
to be carried out in certain parts of Sumba, a remote Indonesian island east of
Bali.
But after two
bride kidnappings were captured on video and widely shared on social media, the
central government is now calling for it to end.
'It felt like
I was dying'
Inside the
car, Citra managed to message her boyfriend and parents before arriving at a
traditional house, with its high peaked roof and solid wooden pillars. The
family who kidnapped her, she then realised, were distant relatives from her
father's side.
"There
were lots of people waiting there. They sounded a gong as I arrived and started
doing rituals."
An ancient
animist religion, known as Marapu, is widely practised in Sumba alongside
Christianity and Islam. To keep the world in balance, spirits are appeased by
ceremonies and sacrifices.
"In
Sumba, people believe that when water touches your forehead you cannot leave
the house," Citra said. "I was very aware of what was happening, so
when they tried to do that I turned at the last minute so that the water didn't
touch my forehead."
Her captors
told her repeatedly that they were acting out of love for her and tried to woo
her into accepting the marriage.
"I cried
until my throat was dry. I threw myself on the ground. I kept jabbing the motorbike
key that I was holding into my stomach until it bruised. I hit my head against
the large wooden pillars. I wanted them to understand I didn't want this. I
hoped they would feel sorry for me."
For the next
six days she was kept, effectively a prisoner in their house, sleeping in the
living room.
"I cried
all night, and I didn't sleep. It felt like I was dying."
Citra refused
to eat or drink anything the family offered her believing it would put her
under a spell: "If we take their food, we would say yes to the
marriage."
Her sister
smuggled food and water to her while her family, with the support of women's
rights groups, negotiated her release with village elders and the family of the
potential groom.
No position to
negotiate
Women's rights
group Peruati has documented seven such bride kidnappings in the last four
years, and believe many more have taken place in remote areas of the island.
Just three
women, including Citra, ended up being freed. In the two most recent cases that
were captured on video in June, one woman stayed in the marriage.
"They
stayed because they didn't have a choice," says activist AprissaTaranau,
the local head of Peruati. "Kawin tangkap can sometimes be a form of
arranged marriage and women are not in a position to negotiate."
She says those
that do manage to leave are often stigmatised by their community.
"They're
labelled as a disgrace and people say they will not be able to get married now
or have children. So women stay because of a fear of that," she says.
That is what
Citra was told.
"Thank
God I am now married to my boyfriend and we have a one-year old child,"
she says with a smile, three years on from her ordeal.
Promises to
outlaw the practice
Local
historian and elder Frans WoraHebiargues the practice is not part of Sumba's
rich cultural traditions and says it is used by people wanting to force women
to marry them without consequences.
A lack of firm
action by custodial leaders and the authorities means the practice continues,
he says.
"There
are no laws against it, only sometimes there is social reprimand against those
who practice it but there is no legal or cultural deterrent."
Following a
national outcry, regional leaders in Sumba signed a joint declaration rejecting
the practice early this month.
Women's
Empowerment Minister Bintang Puspayoga flew to the island from the capital,
Jakarta, to attend.
Speaking to
the media after the event she said: "We have heard from custodial leaders
and religious leaders, that the practice of capture and wed that went viral is
not truly part of Sumba's traditions."
She promised
that the declaration was the beginning of a wider government effort to end the
practice that she described as violence against women.
Rights groups
have welcomed the move but described it as "a first step in a long
journey".
Citra says she
is grateful that the government is now paying attention to the practice and
hopes, as a result, no one will have to go through what she did.
"For some
this may be a tradition from our ancestors. But it's an out of date custom that
must stop because it's very damaging to women."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53418099
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Egypt denies
destroying ancient Islamic cemeteries to build bridge
July 21, 2020
CAIRO: The
Egyptian government on Monday denied claims circulating on social media that
ancient Islamic cemeteries and artifacts were being destroyed to make way for a
bridge-building project.
Antiquities
dating back five centuries in Cairo’s City of the Dead were among treasured
items online posters said had been wrecked.
However, in a
statement, head of the Islamic, Coptic and Judaic Antiquities Sector, Osama
Talaat, said that the rumors were “completely untrue” and images of tombs that
had appeared on social networking sites were not historic registered monuments.
He added that
although the pictured tombs were from more recent times, the secretary-general
of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities had still ordered the formation of a
scientific technical committee to examine the tombstones and look into the
possibility of displaying some of them in museums.
An online
campaign, launched on Facebook, has been critical of the scheme to build a
bridge through the Mamluk Desert Cemetery.
Activist and
journalist Khaled Abdel-Hadi said that the Mamluk tombs were part of Egypt’s world-famous
Islamic architecture and destroying them would be to erase key aspects of the
country’s history.
Archaeologist
Hisham Auf pointed out that the cemeteries being demolished to make way for the
bridge were in an archaeological site registered since 2009 and as such it was
against the law to damage them.
He said the
cemeteries dated back to the 1920s and contained the bodies of pashas, former
Egyptian prime ministers, and members of the Egyptian intelligentsia who fought
during the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 against British occupation.
This, he
noted, “made the area a part of modern history as well as ancient history. The
region as a whole went through changes, all of which were against the law as
this tampered with Egyptian history and Egypt’s international pledge to UNESCO.
“It is true
that during the construction of the Salah Salem Road during the time of
(Egyptian) President Gamal Abdel Nasser parts of graves were removed, but this
does not legitimize what is happening now and does not mean anything in the
debate about the graves.”
Auf added: “We
were informed only 10 days ago of the decision to demolish. It was an official
report and was conducted by the person responsible for my mother’s family tombs
in El-Ghafir, in which its two-room reception and large vacant space will be
destroyed.
“As the tombs
are on a side street, the cemeteries themselves are still safe. I don’t know if
we have to move the remains of the dead. The state did not provide us with
alternate graves.”
He said some
people had been able to arrange for remains to be moved but others were
struggling. “My great grandfather had bought a second cemetery in the same
area, but he donated it. This second cemetery will most likely end up being
destroyed and no one will move any of the bones located there.”
He said that
to date there had been no offer of compensation.
“This is not a
process of moving the graves. This is the demolition of the graves, which is
untenable behavior. I am disgusted by the attempts to defend this sad day in
the history of Cairo,” Auf added.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1707656/middle-east
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Omar al-Bashir
faces trial over 89 coup in Sudan
20 July 2020
Sudan’s former
President Omar al-Bashir faces trial over a military coup against a
democratically elected government that brought him to power more than three
decades ago.
He will be in
the dock with ten military personnel and six civilians, including his former
Vice Presidents Ali Osman Taha and Bakri Hassan Saleh, as well as former
ministers and governors at 0800 GMT on Tuesday.
Sudan’s
post-Bashir transitional government had launched a series of reforms to soothe
public anger.
MoazHadra, one
of the lawyers who led the push to bring the case to court, said Bashir and
Saleh “have totally refused to cooperate with the commission of enquiry, but
they will be present at the court.”
The accused,
he added, are charged over crimes that carry the death penalty for attempting
to “destroy” the constitutional order.
“This is the
first time someone who launches a coup will be brought to justice” in Sudan, he
said.
Sudan has seen
three coups since 1956.
“This trial
will be a warning to anyone who tries to destroy the constitutional system.”
Hadra defended
the trial as a means of safeguarding “Sudanese democracy.” He hoped the legal
proceedings will eventually end “the era of putsches in Sudan.”
Hashem
al-Gali, a defense lawyer, argues that Bashir’s overthrow of the government of
Prime Minister Sadek al-Mahdi took place so long ago that it was beyond the
statute of limitations and should therefore no longer be dealt with by a court.
Bashir, 76,
who is already behind bars for corruption, could face the death penalty if
convicted over his 1989 coup.
Sudan has
pledged to hand him over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face
trial on war crimes and genocide charges related to the 2003 Darfur conflict,
which left 300,000 people dead and millions displaced.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/20/630046/Omar-Bashir-trial-Sudan
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North America
US elections:
Joe Biden vows to include Muslim-Americans in his administration
20 July 2020
US
presidential candidate Joe Biden vowed Monday to include Muslim-Americans in
his administration if he wins the November elections.
“You [Muslim
Americans] deserve to have a president that will work with you in these
efforts— not scapegoat you...If I have the honor of being elected president of
the US, we will work together to...see better, with our hearts, with our hands,
with our votes,” Biden said during a webinar with Muslim-American voters.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The former
vice president added that he would end the travel ban seen as targeting
Muslim-majority countries. “If President, I will end the Muslim ban on Day 1.
Day 1,” he said, referring to the 2017 ban issued by the Trump administration.
The original
travel ban barred nearly all immigrants and travelers from seven countries with
majority Muslim populations. The policy was revised amid court challenges, but
the US Supreme Court ultimately upheld it in June 2018.
Trump has made
cracking down on immigration a focus of his 2020 re-election campaign. His
travel ban policy is popular with Republican supporters.
Biden, during
the “Million Muslim Votes Summit” webinar, said that “Muslim Americans were the
first to feel Donald Trump’s assault.”
Biden said he
wished “we were taught more in our schools about the Islamic faith.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/07/20/Joe-Biden-vows-to-include-Muslim-Americans-in-his-administration.html
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US sanctions
11 Chinese firms over Uighur rights abuses
BeyzaBinnurDonmez
20.07.2020
US Commerce
Department on Monday restricted 11 Chinese entities' access to US technologies
over their involvement in human rights abuses against Uighur minority in
Xinjiang, northwest China.
The department
said in a statement that this action "will result in these companies
facing new restrictions on access to U.S.-origin items, including commodities
and technology."
It accused the
companies of implicating in "human rights violations and abuses in the
implementation of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) campaign of
repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, involuntary collection of
biometric data, and genetic analyses targeted at Muslim minority groups from
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR)."
Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross said the step was taken to ensure that American goods are
not used by the "repressive" Beijing regime.
"Beijing
actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labor and abusive DNA
collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens," Ross said.
"This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in
the Chinese Communist Party’s despicable offensive against defenseless Muslim
minority populations.
The
restrictions hit ChangjiEsquel Textile Co. Ltd., Hefei Bitland Information
Technology Co. Ltd., Hefei Meiling Co. Ltd., HetianHaolin Hair Accessories Co.
Ltd., HetianTaida Apparel Co., Ltd., KTK Group, Nanjing Synergy Textiles Co.
Ltd., Nanchang O-Film Tech and Tanyuan Technology Co. Ltd., over forced labor.
Xinjiang Silk
Road BGI and Beijing Liuhe BGI were also sanctioned over conducting genetic
analyses.
Xinjiang
region is home to around 10 million Uighurs. The Turkic Muslim group, which
makes up around 45% of Xinjiang’s population, has long accused China's
authorities of cultural, religious and economic discrimination.
Up to 1
million people, or about 7% of the Muslim population in Xinjiang, have been
incarcerated in an expanding network of "political re-education"
camps, according to US officials and UN experts.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-sanctions-11-chinese-firms-over-uighur-rights-abuses/1916833
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In Canadian
law, ‘terrorism’ seems to be the hardest word – and it’s going to get harder
21 July 2020
On July 2,
Corey Hurren allegedly rammed his truck into the gates of Rideau Hall and, with
a loaded firearm, advanced on the grounds where both Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau and Governor General Julie Payette reside with their families.
The RCMP
swiftly intercepted Mr. Hurren. He reportedly threatened the Prime Minister but
never raised his weapon in the two hours between leaving his vehicle and his
arrest. In his truck, the RCMP says it discovered additional firearms and a
two-page note apologizing for the undefined actions he was about to take. The
force’s specialized counterterrorism unit, the Integrated National Security
Enforcement Team, continues to investigate, while further reporting paints a picture
of a man with grievances and an interest in online anti-government conspiracy
theories.
And yet he has
only been charged with numerous firearms offences and uttering threats – and
not, to the shock of some, with terrorism.
In Canada,
terrorist activity is specifically defined in the Criminal Code, and for Mr.
Hurren to face such charges, the RCMP and federal prosecutors must believe that
there is enough evidence to convince a judge or jury beyond a reasonable doubt
of three things. First, that Mr. Hurren intended to endanger someone else’s
life; second, that his actions meant to compel Mr. Trudeau to do or not do
something; and third, that he was driven to take those actions, in whole or in
part, for a political or ideological reason.
This
definition creates a high bar, and rightfully so. The stigma and consequences
that stem from a terrorism conviction are far broader than a mere prison
sentence.
No less
important, the “I know it when I see it” approach to defining terrorism is
dangerous. U.S. President Donald Trump’s description of Antifa and anti-racism
protesters as “terrorists” highlights how the powerful can sweepingly deploy
this label to discredit and criminalize their critics.
However,
Canadian authorities are historically much quicker to “know and see” terrorism
when an individual’s motivations resemble those of al-Qaeda or the Islamic
State. There is a reason for this: Parliament added terrorism offences and the
corresponding law enforcement powers to the Criminal Code in direct response to
the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Later amendments responded to the 2014 attacks
on Parliament Hill and in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and to the foreign
fighter phenomenon. This history is why terrorism offences align neatly with
the behaviours and tactics employed by adherents of violent jihadist extremism;
indeed, 56 of the 58 people charged with terrorism offences in Canada since
2001 have been linked to Islamic-inspired extremism.
In one sense,
this statistic is troubling. In recent years, deadly incidents – such as the
Toronto van attack that killed 10 and the Quebec City mosque shooting that left
six dead – did not lead to terrorism charges, even though the accused met the
definition so clearly that even the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)
refers to the events as such. However, this also reflects Canadians’ instinct
to generally resolve political grievances through democratic or peaceful means
rather than through violence. As a result, acts of civil disobedience, when
they occur, are rarely life-threatening. But the alleged actions of Mr. Hurren
may signal a dangerous shift in Canada’s political and national-security
landscape.
Indeed, the
economic and political responses to the pandemic have further fuelled
conspiracy-theory groups such as QAnon, which prey on people’s legitimate
grievances and fears. As Canadians face increasing personal strain, these
theories threaten to corrupt people’s perception of reality and drive them to
violent action.
This emerging
threat presents a host of challenges for Canada’s security agencies. To start,
they must decide whether violence motivated by QAnon-type conspiracy theories
is terrorism. CSIS can only investigate terrorism, and many preventative
criminal and administrative tools are only available if terrorist activity is
involved. If these resources can be deployed, it will take time and resources
to retool them to fit this new threat. Perhaps the most difficult challenge
will be how agencies would identify who poses an actual threat; holding
conspiratorial views or government grievances isn’t a crime, nor is it clearly
associated with any particular demographic or region within Canada.
Reducing the
threat, whatever we label it, will ultimately demand engagement with the
broader population: challenging the fears and narratives at the root of these
conspiracy theories, and providing education on how to identify a person who
might be radicalizing toward violence. It may seem easy to dismiss such
Canadians as nut jobs on the political fringe. But the grievances are real –
and marginalizing them will only further cement the institutional distrust
that’s at the heart of the problem.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-in-canadian-law-terrorism-seems-to-be-the-hardest-word-and-its/?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
--------
Muslim-American
leaders endorse Biden for president
Michael
Gabriel Hernandez
21.07.2020
WASHINGTON
A group of
prominent Muslim-American leaders endorsed Monday presumptive Democratic
nominee Joe Biden as he prepares to challenge President Donald Trump in
November's nationwide election.
Those who are
lending their support including Reps. Ilhan Omar and Andre Carson, as well as
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, according to the Associated Press,
which obtained a copy of a letter they authored announcing their support.
All of those
who signed the letter are Democrats. Omar was previously a prominent supporter
of Sen. Bernie Sanders' progressive campaign, but signaled last week that she
would be supporting Biden.
“Our number
one goal is to remove Donald Trump from office and to replace him with someone
who can begin to heal our nation,” the letter said, according to the AP. “A
Biden administration will move the nation forward on many of the issues we care
about,” it said, citing racial justice, affordable health care, climate change
and immigration.
The missive is
part of a campaign being launched by Emgage Action, a Muslim-American advocacy
group seeking to increase voter turnout ahead of the Nov. 3 polls. It did not
immediately respond to a request for a copy of the letter sent by Anadolu
Agency.
Addressing
Emgage Action's Million Muslim Votes virtual summit, Biden cast the upcoming
election as "the most important in modern American history."
"Muslim
communities were the first to feel Donald Trump's assault on black and brown
communities in this country with his vile Muslim ban. That fight was the opening
barrage in what has been nearly four years of constant pressure and
insults," he said.
"What
message does this send to the rest of the world? We have led the world not just
by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. And he's making a
mockery of what we stand for," added Biden.
The former
vice president is continuing to lead Trump is successive nationwide polls, with
some indicating he could have a double-digit lead with less than four months
remaining until ballots are cast.
If Trump is
unseated in November he will be the first single-term president since George
H.W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton in 1992.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/muslim-american-leaders-endorse-biden-for-president/1916911
--------
South Asia
Taliban led violence
absolutely unacceptable: NATO SCR in Afghanistan
21 Jul 2020
The NATO
Senion Civilian Representative in Afghanistan Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo
described the Taliban-led violence as unacceptable as efforts are underway to
find a negotiated political settlement to the war in the country.
“I would say
that now the main obstacle to peace now is the unacceptable level of violence
from the part of Taliban. This has been mentioned by everybody who takes an
interesting Afghanistan and beyond,” Ambassador Pontecorvo told Khaama Press.
He also added
“Taliban’s level of violence are absolutely unacceptable, they are not creating
the conditions for getting the Peace table. Taliban have to demonstrate that
they are serious about peace, I mean fighting and talking is not an option also
because you have a lot of Casualties, the ANDSF which are showing their worth
they are getting better and better by the day and already very very good.”
“They have the
wants that have driven the Taliban to the negotiating table as they have
demonstrated that there is no possibility for the Taliban to win this war. And
the violence has to go down. Its confidence-building measures, which there are
no conditions to get to the peace” Ambassador Pontecorvo added.
“But as the
situation, creating a situation, which will make us to look to the Taliban and
make the Afghan government look to the Taliban as more crosswordly progress and
then there is the part of the tragic Casualties on both sides, both of the
Taliban side, on the ANDSF side and the civilians who are in it,” he said,
adding that “But as I say when there are levels of violence unfortunately
civilians die and that is not simple.”
This comes as
Washington and Taliban signed a peace deal late in February this year in a bid
to end the 19-year war in the country, mainly focusing on the launch of
intra-Afghan peace talks.
However, the
Taliban group has increased attacks across the country during the recent weeks
and months, launching major attacks against the security forces which also
inflicted heavy casualties on ordinary civilians, according to Afghan
officials.
https://www.khaama.com/taliban-led-violence-absolutely-unacceptable-nato-scr-in-afghanistan-08971/
--------
Rohingya
Refugees In India Battling Starvation Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
20 July 2020
Munawar Zaman
In India
almost all the Rohingya refugees living in various parts of the country camps
have been left to fight the COVID-19 pandemic on their own. The lockdown has
mounted their miseries with many facing starvation due to lack of work and
government apathy.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/20/630057/Rohingya-refugees-in-India-battling-starvation-amid-COVID-19-pandemic
--------
72 Taliban
militants killed as violence rages in Afghanistan
JUL 17, 2020
As violence
surges across Afghanistan, Afghan security forces on Friday said at least 72
Taliban militants, including four top commanders, have been killed in
operations in three provinces.
In a
statement, the Afghan National Army said 32 more insurgents were also injured
in ground and air offensives in northern Balkh, Faryab and Sar-i-Pul provinces
over the past 24 hours.
Earlier this
week, at least 36 security personnel were killed and over 60 others wounded in
northern parts of the country amid a rise in Taliban-claimed attacks.
On Sunday, the
Taliban rejected growing calls for a cease-fire by the Afghan government and
international community, saying they are yet to find "an alternative"
to the ongoing insurgency.
In a series of
tweets, the group's spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said the implementation of
the Doha agreement with the U.S. and the start of intra-Afghan negotiations
were necessary for an end to the violence.
Days prior to
that, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani warned the peace process could face
"serious challenges" if the Taliban continued their attacks.
According to
the latest figures by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission,
1,213 civilians have been killed and 1,744 injured in 880 security incidents in
the first six months of 2020.
The figures
mean that around 16 civilians have been killed or injured every day in
Afghanistan this year.
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/asia-pacific/72-taliban-militants-killed-as-violence-rages-in-afghanistan?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
--------
Taliban truck
bomb kills eight Afghan troops in Wardak province
20 July 2020
At least eight
soldiers have been killed after a bomber detonated an explosives-packed truck
close to an Afghan military convoy in Sayed Abad district of Wardak province
near the capital Kabul, the defense ministry says.
The bomb
attack, which took place on Monday, also wounded nine soldiers.
The Taliban
militant group claimed responsibility for the assault, saying the assailant had
targeted a convoy of Afghan commandos in the troubled region.
In recent
months, the Taliban have carried out near-daily attacks against Afghan forces
across various parts of the country.
Last week,
nearly a dozen Afghan security personnel were killed in clashes with the
Taliban militants following a car bombing at a government compound in the
northern province of Samangan. Local officials said the bomb attack was carried
out in the provincial capital Aybak close to an office of the National Security
Directorate (NDS), the country's main intelligence agency.
Official data
shows that Taliban bombings and other assaults have increased 70 percent since
the militant group signed a deal with the United States in February.
Under the
agreement, the US will withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, and the Taliban
will refrain from attacking international occupying forces.
The militants
have made no pledge to avoid attacking Afghan forces and civilians.
The Taliban
militants refused to recognize the Afghan government until they reached the
deal with the United States on February 29.
The Afghan
government was a party neither to the negotiations nor to the deal, but it has
been acting in accordance with its terms, including by agreeing to free Taliban
prisoners. The militants have not stopped attacking government targets and
civilians.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/20/630053/Taliban-Afghanistan-Kabul-Wardak-Sayed-Abad-Samangan-
--------
Russia
bounties story in US media aimed at spoiling peace deal: Taliban
20 July 2020
A Taliban
official has dismissed as fake a recent report in the US media that accused
Russia of paying the militant group to kill American troops in Afghanistan,
saying the report was a byproduct of US political infighting and aimed at
spoiling a Taliban-Washington peace deal.
In a report
last month, the New York Times, citing an unnamed source, claimed that a
top-secret unit within the Russian military intelligence, or the GRU, had
allegedly offered monetary rewards to Taliban-linked militants to kill US
troopers in the country last year.
Russia
dismissed the report as a bunch of “lies.”
In an
interview with Russia’s RT news channel released on Sunday, Taliban
spokesperson and US-Taliban negotiator Suhail Shaheen said the story “has to do
with internal politics” in the US.
“This Russian
bounties, it is not true,” he said. “We are not fighting for anyone for money.”
He did not
deny that the Taliban attack US troops in Afghanistan, but said that the group
do so based on “ideology.”
A peace deal
was signed between the Taliban and the US in late February, in the Qatari capital,
Doha, for a phased US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Taliban
reshuffle team of negotiators
Meanwhile, the
leader of the Taliban militant group is reported to have reshuffled his team of
negotiators ahead of long-awaited peace talks with the Afghan government,
sources with the group said Saturday.
Mullah
Haibatullah Akhundzada, added four close aides to the group and removed three
to four earlier members of the team, AFP reported.
According to
the sources, the newly-appointed negotiators are all members of the militant
group’s leadership council, which should help the team make quicker decisions.
US, Taliban
urge Kabul to complete prisoner swap
On Sunday,
acting US ambassador to Afghanistan, Ross Wilson, called on President Ashraf
Ghani and his coalition partner, Abdullah Abdullah to complete the exchange of
prisoners and launch talks with the Taliban without delay.
“The Afghan
people have made clear their impatience,” he said in a series of tweets. “Start
intra-Afghan negotiations now so that discussions on a permanent and
comprehensive ceasefire can begin.”
The peace
negotiations hinge on the prisoner swap, in which Kabul pledged to free about
5,000 Taliban prisoners in return for around 1,000 Afghan security forces held
by the militants.
Afghan authorities
have so far released about 4,400 Taliban prisoners, according to officials. The
Taliban accused Kabul on Sunday of “creating hurdle” in the way of negotiations
by refusing to release the remaining prisoners.
Kabul has
refused to release around 600 prisoners, whom it says are “too dangerous.”
The
intra-Afghan talks have repeatedly been delayed as the Taliban continue their
attacks across the nation. The peace talks, which were abandoned by the Taliban
back in April, were initially supposed to have started in March in Doha.
US Special
Representative on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, said last week that “large
numbers” of Afghans continue to die without a reason.
“Violence has
been high, especially in recent days and weeks,” he said.
US cuts down
troops, closes 5 bases in Afghanistan
Last week, the
Pentagon announced that it had closed five military bases in Afghanistan as
part of the agreement reached with the Taliban.
“US forces in
Afghanistan remain in the mid-8,000s and five bases formerly occupied by US
forces have been transferred to our Afghan partners,” said Pentagon chief
spokesman Jonathan Hoffman.
The bases were
in Helmand, Uruzgan, Paktika and Laghman provinces.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/20/630011/Afghanistan-Taliban-Russia-bounty-fake-peace-deal-
--------
US, Taliban
Urge Afghan Leaders to Complete Prisoner Swap
By Ayaz Gul
July 19, 2020
ISLAMABAD -
The United States is calling on leaders in Afghanistan to conclude an ongoing
prisoner swap and launch a peace dialogue with the Taliban insurgency without
delay.
In a series of
tweets Sunday, acting U.S. ambassador to Kabul Ross Wilson also stressed the
need for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival-turned-coalition
partner, Abdullah Abdullah, to implement a power-sharing deal which the two
signed in May.
“We urge this
country’s leaders promptly to establish the new government, create the High
Council for National Reconciliation, complete the exchange of prisoners, and
move to the opening of intra-Afghan negotiations,” said the American charge
d’affairs.
Under his
power-sharing deal with Ghani, Abdullah has been appointed as the head of the
High Council for National Reconciliation, which is tasked to lead a team of
Afghan negotiators in still-unscheduled talks with the Taliban.
The proposed
negotiations, however, hinge on the prisoner swap, in which Kabul is required
to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners in return for around 1,000 Afghan security
force captives held by the insurgent group.
Afghan
officials have said that about 4,400 prisoners have been freed. But the
government has refused to release the last batch of around 600 inmates,
describing them as “too dangerous" and insisting some foreign governments
also want them to remain in jails.
“The Afghan
people have made clear their impatience. Start intra-Afghan negotiations now so
that discussions on a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire can begin,” said
the ambassador, underscoring Washington’s apparent frustration at Kabul’s
refusal to move forward with more prisoner releases.
The prisoner
exchange was agreed to in a landmark deal signed by Washington and the Taliban
in February to end the nearly 19-year-old Afghan war, America’s longest.
The Taliban
says it has already released 845 Afghan security force captives from its
custody and is working to free the remainder. However, insurgent officials have
ruled out participation in peace talks until all 5,000 Taliban prisoners are
set free.
On Sunday, the
Taliban criticized Kabul for “creating hurdles” in the way of intra-Afghan
talks by not releasing the remaining prisoners. The insurgent group’s statement
dismissed as “lame excuses" the claim by Afghan officials that foreign
governments opposed the prisoner releases. It noted that the U.S.-Taliban
agreement has been endorsed not only by the United Nations but also by a number
of countries.
The completion
of the prisoner exchange process was “one of the most fundamental issues” of
the Afghan peace process, the Taliban said.
“If the Kabul
administration officials truly seek intra-Afghan negotiations then they must
execute their responsibilities related to completion of the prisoner exchange
process,” the group said.
Under its deal
with the Taliban, the Trump administration has committed to withdraw all
American and allied troops from Afghanistan by July 2021.
In return, the
insurgents have pledged to prevent al-Qaida and other terrorist groups from
using Afghan soil for international attacks, and promised to seek
reconciliation with other Afghan groups through a dialogue process.
The Taliban
also pledged in its deal with the U.S. to cease all attacks on international
forces in the country. But insurgent battlefield raids against Afghan security
forces have spiked in recent weeks, killing scores of government personnel and
civilians.
The May 17
power-sharing deal gave Abdullah the right to appoint half of the cabinet. But
the political situation in Kabul remains tense.
The
Ghani-Abdullah deal grew out of last September’s fraud-marred presidential
election, which both leaders claimed to have won. The two formed parallel
governments in March before reaching the deal, mainly under pressure from the
United States and other international partners of Afghanistan.
https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/us-taliban-urge-afghan-leaders-complete-prisoner-swap?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
--------
Europe
Russian
Muslims happy with Hagia Sophia status change
Elena Teslova
20.07.2020
MOSCOW
Restoring
Hagia Sophia's status as a place of worship is a great joy for the believers of
the three monotheistic religions -- Muslims, Christians, and Jews -- first
deputy head of the Spiritual Board of Russian Muslims said on Monday.
Hagia Sophia
will once again become a place where the name of God will be honored and
praised, DamirMuhetdinov told Anadolu Agency.
"We
welcome the fact that there is one more place of worship in which the name of
God is commemorated on Earth. We see this as another historic victory for
monotheism," Muhetdinov said.
From the very
beginning of the discussion over Hagia Sophia's status, the Spiritual Board of
Russian Muslims assumed a position of non-interference in the matter of a
sovereign state, while stressing the importance of preserving inter-religious
peace and the monument itself, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, he
said.
"Being an
object of culture of world significance, in our opinion, Hagia Sophia should be
accessible to people of all faiths and religious views," he said.
Muhetdinov
expressed confidence that the Turkish people and their political leadership
will find "the right ways" to preserve this object and not violate
the rights of other religious groups and confessions.
"With the
example of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, we know that anyone, regardless of their
religion, can come to this place -- to pray or see its beauty and get
acquainted with the Muslim prayer. Therefore, the proposals voiced to date to
preserve the historical appearance of Hagia Sophia as an architectural monument
are correct and will serve to preserve peace, harmony, and understanding
between different peoples and cultures," he said.
Cooperation
with Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate 'constructive', 'brotherly'
Turning to
relations with Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate, Muhetdinov said their
exchanges have been "constructive" and "brotherly" for
decades.
"The
Turkish side took part in such important projects as, for example, the
construction of the Cathedral Mosque in Moscow. The decoration of the mosque
was largely a gift from the Turkish side and his Excellency Recep Tayyip
Erdogan as a sign of respect and fraternal solidarity with the Muslims of
Russia," he said.
These days, a
large project translating the encyclopedia of Hadith from Turkish into Russian
consisting of seven volumes is being completed, and Russian and Turkish
scientists have been working on its publication in Russian for the last five
years, Muhetdinov added.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/russian-muslims-happy-with-hagia-sophia-status-change/1916427
--------
Russia's Chechnya
ruler sanctioned by US for human rights violations
20 July 2020
The United
States on Monday slapped the regional strongman leader of Russia’s republic of
Chechnya with sanctions over human rights violations.
Ramzan
Kadyrov, 43, has run Chechnya like his personal fiefdom, relying on his
security forces to quash dissent. International human rights groups have
accused Kadyrov and his lieutenants of abductions, torture and killings of
their opponents.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
In a statement
announcing the sanctions, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed at
“extensive credible information that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous gross
violations of human rights dating back over a decade, including torture and
extrajudicial killings.”
Pompeo said
the restrictions would apply to Kadyrov’s wife and two daughters and he
encouraged US allies to take similar measures.
The Kremlin
has relied on Kadyrov to stabilize Chechnya after two separatist wars, providing
generous federal subsidies and dismissing international criticism of his rule.
The Kremlin
also has stood by Kadyrov amid Russian opposition claims of his involvement in
the 2015 killing of prominent Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, which the Chechen leader
has rejected. An officer in Chechnya’s security forces was convicted of
shooting Nemtsov on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin and received a 20-year
prison term.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/07/20/Russian-Chechnya-.html
--------
Austria to
launch Muslim profiling scheme
AskinKiyagan
20.07.2020
The
center-right People's Party (OVP) and Green Party government in Austria is
preparing to institute a controversial surveillance program on Muslims in the
country in a supposed bid to fight against so-called "political
Islam."
In the
initiative announced by the government in January, various groups continued to
push back against the continued pursuit of anti-Muslim and foreign policies
that had begun under the previous far-right government.
The OVP
announced that a planned documentation center would be established for
"combating anti-Semitism, racism and religion-motivated extremism"
and would only carry out suspicionless surveillance on elements of
"political Islam." The announcement drew much criticism from
academics, rights groups and coalition partner Green Party lawmakers.
With these
centers, the government, which plans to observe all Muslim associations,
mosques and cultural activities, will decide which institutions to cooperate
with.
The first and
only documentation center was established in Austria in 1963 to combat Nazism
and conduct research on Neo-nazi formations.
The move has
been denounced by various circles, which said it placed Nazism and Islam on the
same scale.
Speaking to
Anadolu Agency, political scientist from Georgetown University, Farid Hafez
said Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz was known to cite supposedly
academic research in a bid to bolster his political goals. Hafez said the
center would conduct "scientific" studies to serve his government.
Warning that
the government intentionally avoided sufficiently grounding its concept of
"political Islam" to make it a more useful tool against Muslims, he
noted that previous mosque closures and headscarf bans had also been associated
with political Islam.
With this
logic, any institution, person or religious activity could be associated with
political Islam and subjected to various restrictions and obstacles, added
Hafez.
He pointed out
that Lorenzo Vidino, one of the experts leading the documentation center,
defined supposed "political Islamists" as non-violent groups, acting
under the law but in a way that was harmful to society.
The fact that
Muslims have any independent or self-managed institution or organization in
their field is considered dangerous by Sebastian Kurz and his team, said Hafez,
adding that the government wanted Muslims to be dependent on elements
controlled by the state and should not create anything new themselves.
Social Austria
of the Future (SOZ) party chairman HakanGordu also said the documentation
center would attack Islamic values and be led by purely biased experts, adding
that it was established to serve activities that would lay the groundwork for
Kurz's political goals.
Gordu said the
government could easily label a person or institution with "political
Islam".
"A person
who is interested in politics and defends the rights of Muslims can be
considered as a manifestation of political Islam in their eyes. It is a very
dangerous situation to be used to silence and suppress these people."
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/austria-to-launch-muslim-profiling-scheme-/1916489
--------
India
To Harass
Hindu-Muslim Couples, Right-wing Activists Are Now Using Their Marriage
Documents
Shiba Kurian
Jul 21, 2020
Aswathy* and
Rahman* got married on July 15 under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, in Kerala.
They were in the thick of starting their lives together, when Aswathy’s friend
called to inform her about a disturbing message he received on a WhatsApp
group.
The forwarded
message had 13 images. These images were the Notices of Intended Marriage of
Aswathy, Rahman and 12 other interfaith couples, who got married or whose
marriages were yet to be registered under the Special Marriage Act. Aswathy
realised that it was the same notice that the couple had signed at a
Registrar’s office in Kerala, and which, as a procedure, was put up on the
notice boards of the registration offices in their respective native places,
for 30 days starting June 9. These notices, which solemnise marriages per
section 5 of the Special Marriage Act, contain the name, address, age,
occupation, photos and signatures of the bride and groom — essentially, the
personal details of two private citizens.
All the images
had one factor in common: the bride is Hindu and the groom is Muslim, and
thereby, their relationship is branded as ‘love jihad’.
Aswathy and
Rahman were shocked as the WhatsApp forward also contained a message: “These
are love jihadis. We are the next scapegoats of these people. If you know these
people, you should help them.”
Many couples
initially suspected that the staff from registrar offices, who may be biased
against certain religious communities, might have leaked the notices to certain
groups. But one groom pointed out that these scanned documents are available on
a public domain, on the website of the Kerala government’s Registration
Department, and anyone can download them.
This calls for
urgent attention on two pertinent issues: the constitutionality of making
personal information available online; and the scourge of stoking communal
hatred using the reprehensible tag, ‘love jihad.’
Vile messages
on social media
Apart from the
WhatsApp group, Aswathy-Rahman’s marriage notice was posted on Facebook, along
with 11 other notices. With its spiteful posts, the Facebook page, named
‘Kavipada’ (saffron army), is evidently dedicated to targeting the Muslim
community. Their recent post on marriage notices roughly read: “Sacrificial
lamb this month (July) ready to be sacrificed in the name of love jihad, after
deceiving their parents. Save them if you can.”
A few months
ago, a Facebook user by the name Ranjith Kaattumundakkal attached 120 marriage
applications in one post, announcing that these are cases of ‘love jihad’ that
took place in September, October and November 2019.
“A man named
Jayakrishnan Menon on Facebook had uploaded close to 100 marriage applications
of interfaith couples on his feed and tagged it as ‘Love Jihad back in Kerala’.
Soon, scores of others (like Ranjith) started sharing those pictures with
hateful comments and statuses about how women like me are the Hindus who are
ruining their religion, falling for jihadis, how we will eventually become
terrorists,” says Athira, who got married to Shameem under the Special Marriage
Act in December 2019.
Their marriage
notice, too, was posted on social media a few days after it was put on the
notice board. “Not for a moment did these people think about our feelings,
security, choices, our pictures and personal details, our privacy… Nothing
mattered to them,” says Athira.
When many
affected couples flagged these accounts and reported the posts for harassment
and bullying, the same people started WhatsApp groups, asking social media
users to join the group.
Incidentally,
using marriage notices to bully couples has been a tactic used by right wing
groups and individuals for the last few years.
“Our notice
seems to be only the latest,” says Aswathy. “The message that came with images
also said that ‘these two couples (Aswathy-Rahman and another couple) are the
latest examples (of ‘love jihad’) this month.’ So I am guessing these groups
are collecting such notices every month.”
Violation of
right to privacy
As per the
Special Marriage Act, the notice of intended marriage is put up on the notice
boards of the registration offices in their respective hometowns or place of
residence, for one month. Within the period of 30 days, any person can express
objection to the union of the couple. For example, a third person can object
because the groom or bride is already married. After one month, the marriage is
formalised by the marriage officer.
It takes only
a few clicks on the Kerala Registration website’s page to find couples who have
registered their marriages under the Special Marriage Act across Kerala. The
website currently shows documents of special marriages dating from April 2020.
These notices are automatically removed once the marriage is solemnised, or
they expire if the marriage is not solemnised within three months, as the law
states.
An official
from the Registration Department tells TNM that apart from notice boards, they
also started uploading these notices on the website in early 2019 when there
were minor amendments in the Act (although unrelated to the online system).
“The Act does not specify that these notices should be put online, although it
says, ‘public at large’,” he says.
However, the
official adds that a few months ago, a loophole in the existing system was
brought to their attention. “When the notices were published, it showed full
details, which technically included demographic data, of the two individuals.
Many groups had exploited this lacuna, especially to target interfaith couples.
We plugged this flaw immediately. We are putting only notices signed by the two
parties, which is within the framework of the law,” the official said.
Though the
official claims it is within the legal framework to put these documents online,
the harassment caused due to it seems to have gone unaddressed.
Moreover, any
personal data published without explicit consent is a violation, points out
Srinivas Kodali, an independent researcher working on data, governance and the
internet. “Every department wants to go digital without understanding the
consequences of implementing these measures, especially in the absence of
safeguards of privacy legislation. We need rules and laws in place before such
measures are implemented.”
On August 24,
2017, the Supreme Court identified an individual’s right to privacy as a
fundamental right under the Indian Constitution. This also means protecting a
person’s personal information from public scrutiny.
A retired
employee of the Department of Registration tells TNM that there were certain
provisions under the Special Marriage Act that allow an individual to approach
a registration office and collect data on interfaith marriages. There is a fee
for searching such data on the site, which was earlier accessible only to the
registration office staff.
“There was
misuse even then,” he says. “Hindu and Muslim groups would approach us, asking
for religion-based marriage data. While the Hindu groups wanted the data to
prove the practice of ‘love jihad’, Muslim groups sought data to counter this.
We used to turn them away because the religion of the couples is never sought
under this Act and hence we never classified data accordingly. These groups,
nevertheless, used to persistently go to each district and attempt to collect
data. Some officers relented,” says the retired staffer, adding that even the
police sought the data for their reports.
Anivar
Aravind, a Bengaluru-based software engineer who runs a non-profit initiative
that deals with people’s rights and software freedom using technology, policy
and law, concurs.
“The listings
on the website have much more possibility for misuse than the listing in an
office notice board. This is a data governance failure while building systems
handling citizen data, and it needs a fix,” he says.
“Personal data
and its governance need significant changes for current times, while migrating
to digital from paper. Its misuse possibilities are rampant as we can see in
this case, and create a greater level of harm,” says Anivar, who has also
played a leadership role in a free software collective, Swathanthra Malayalam
Computing (SMC).
Of course, one
can argue that the marriage notice under the Special Marriage Act is a public
document, and is required to be published on notice boards for people to raise
objections and to duly solemnise the marriage.
However, the
Act and the rules only provide for the notice to be exhibited in a conspicuous
place in the office of the marriage officer; it cannot be extended to the
internet, points out advocate Prasanth Sugathan, who is also the legal director
of Software Freedom Law Centre, which works towards protecting freedom in the
digital space.
“Publishing
the photographs along with the address of the prospective bride and groom on
the website is definitely problematic. Any individual in any part of the world
can view and access these details. The fact that these notices are used by
right-wing organisations to further their agenda should be an eye-opener to the
government to stop this practice,” he says.
In this case,
experts point out that the affected parties can approach the courts of law and
press for damages against the sub-registrar and the department concerned.
Meanwhile, the
Registration Department tells TNM that they are considering doing away with the
existing system by invoking certain laws, such as the IT Act, in the wake of
misuse of public data.
A coordinated
effort to harass interfaith couples
Notwithstanding
that these notices are on the government platform or notice boards, these could
not have surfaced on social media platforms without the coordinated effort by
certain religious fanatics, who pulled up marriage applications of Hindu
brides-Muslim grooms across Kerala.
On poring over
some of the comments of Facebook, Athira realised that some even made plans to
visit their houses — because the notices lay bare the addresses — to “educate”
their parents about how Hindu girls are allegedly converted to Islam and
recruited for ISIS activities.
“We are
adults. I don’t want anybody to save me from anything, or create any problems
for my parents. They are spreading hate speech. It is devastating. We are newly
married but this has been on the back of our minds,” says Aswathy.
Athira says
that her mother even received a WhatsApp message from her neighbour. “It has a
PDF document of all the 150 applications and a clarion call to stop ‘love
jihad’. This was forwarded to her by our neighbour who is a teacher, who, in
turn, got it from a student. Fortunately, my mother didn’t panic but instead
asked me to file a police complaint,” she says.
It is
important to note that no term called ‘love jihad’ is defined in current Indian
laws. During the Parliamentary session in the Lok Sabha in February 2020,
Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy pointed this out and had even
acknowledged that no case of ‘love jihad’ has been reported by any of the
central agencies.
“Article 25 of
the Constitution provides the freedom to profess, practice and propagate
religion subject to public order, morality and health. Various courts have
upheld this view, including the Kerala High Court,” he said in his reply at the
session.
Despite this,
there seems to be no end to the torture meted out to interfaith couples, with
this noxious trend serving as the latest example.
Basheer’s*
marriage is yet to be solemnised. In early July, his relatives and friends,
including those from Canada, alerted him when his marriage notice started doing
the rounds of social media. At first, he ignored it. When the post started going
viral, he informed the cybercrime department, but received no help.
Last week, his
fiancée’s mother confronted their neighbour when the latter left an offensive
comment against the post. This led to an altercation when another neighbour
stepped in and allegedly threatened to beat up Basheer if he ever came to the
neighbourhood.
“My fiancée is
anxious that this could flare up communal tension. I cannot even meet her at
this point because of this threat,” he says.
Both
Athira-Shameem and Aswathy-Rahman are planning to file complaints with the
police and pursue the matter legally. Basheer hopes to file a police complaint
once he allays the fears of his fiancée and their families.
But all
through this, these couples reiterate and demand one thing: “This has to end”.
https://thewire.in/communalism/hindu-muslim-couples-love-jihad-rightwing-marriage-notice
--------
Lashkar’s
terror-funding module busted in Jammu, one arrested with Rs 1.5L cash
Jul 20, 2020
JAMMU: A joint
team of Army and J&K Police on Monday busted a terror-funding module of
Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which was tasked
to activate its cadres in Jammu region, and arrested a LeT operative with Rs
1.5 lakh hawala money concealed in a tiffin box.
“Intelligence
inputs revealed that LeT had activated a module of its members for carrying out
terror activities in J&K, particularly in Jammu region, and in furtherance
to this, a delivery of funds was to take place in Jammu. On this information,
the joint team apprehended one Mubashir Bhat, a resident of Sazan in Doda, who
is part of the same module,” IGP (Jammu zone) Mukesh Singh said. The Lashkar
affiliate had been ordered by his handlers from across the border to visit
Jammu and collect a consignment of hawala money for use by terrorists and their
supporters.
“During a
search of his belongings, a packet containing Rs 1.5 lakh was recovered, which
was concealed in a tiffin box. Initial questioning revealed that the money was
sent from Pakistan by one Haroon, a self-styled commander of LeT, to be
delivered to terrorists through their overground workers in Doda,” a police
officer said.
The IGP added
that a case was registered against Mubashir Bhat in Peer Mitha police station
and an investigation was underway to unearth further linkages.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/lashkars-terror-funding-module-busted-in-jammu-one-arrested-with-rs-1-5l-cash/articleshow/77073559.cms
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Murli Manohar
Joshi, LK Advani to appear via video in Babri Masjid demolition case
Jul 21, 2020
The special
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Monday issued dates for
appearance of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders LK Advani, Murli
Manohar Joshi and Shiv Sena leader Satish Pradhan in court through video
conferencing to record their statements in the Babri Masjid demolition case.
There are 32
accused in the case.
Surendra Kumar
Yadav, CBI Judge (Ayodhya case), ordered Pradhan, Joshi and Advani to record
their statements through video conferencing on July 22, 23 and 24 respectively.
The court also
ordered video links to make available for online hearing to the lawyers of all
three accused.
“The CBI court
has issued dates for online appearance of BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar
Joshi and Satish Pradhan in court via video link,” said lawyer KK Mishra, who
is representing BJP leaders in court.
“In case they
are not able to appear on dates fixed by the court due to some reason then new
dates will be issued,” added Mishra. The court is conducting day-to-day
hearings to complete the trial by August 31 as directed by the Supreme Court.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/joshi-advani-to-appear-via-video/story-W4StKrjQVghq4gr2LaInsO.html
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Southeast Asia
Indonesian
court sentences Jemaah Islamiah leader to 7 years’ jail for inciting terrorism
July 21, 2020
JAKARTA — The
top leader of Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) was sentenced
to seven years’ jail on Monday (July 20) by an Indonesian court for inciting
others to commit an act of terrorism.
Para
Wijayanto, 56, was named as the emir of JI in 2009.
Prosecutors
said he was instrumental in recruiting, training and raising funds for
Indonesian militants who went to Syria between 2012 and 2018 to fight alongside
those opposed to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
He and his
wife were arrested on the outskirts of Jakarta in July 2019.
“The defendant
purposely incited others to commit terrorism,” presiding judge Alex Adam Faisal
said at a hearing room at East Jakarta district court. Wijayanto was not in
court for the verdict and followed proceedings through video conference from a
lock-up at the Jakarta police station.
The judge, who
described Wijayanto as being educated, knowledgeable and having good
communication skills, stressed that JI was banned by the Indonesian government.
The JI
network, which is affiliated to terror group Al-Qaeda, was behind the most
deadly terror attack in the country – the Bali bombings in 2002 which killed
more than 200 people, many of whom were foreigners.
Prosecutors
said Wijayanto, who is also known as Abu Faiz, sent two fellow militants,
Patria and Askary, to Syria in 2012 to establish contact with the Free Syrian
Army and Jabhat al-Nusra, a terror organisation fighting government forces in
the Syrian civil war. Both militants were tasked with evaluating and mapping
out possible routes for other Indonesian militants to travel to Syria. It is
not known how many Indonesian militants were eventually sent to the war-torn
country.
The objective,
said prosecutors, was for those militants to eventually return to Indonesia and
use their battle experience to establish an Islamic state at home.
“The
defendant… had wished to proclaim an Islamic state based on syariah law in a
region where the people accept Islam as the national principle… and to expand
the territory worldwide… and to free any country under control of infidels,”
the indictment read. “With such a plan, JI would some day want to create chaos
in Indonesia that would in turn induce fear and insecurity among the general
public.”
Police believe
the JI has been reconstituted and are calling it “Neo-JI” as it goes about
recruiting members to achieve its aim of setting up a caliphate in Indonesia,
former police spokesman DediPrasetyo said in 2019.
Security agencies
say the original JI was decimated in Indonesia following a series of
operations, but counter-terrorism experts have warned that young militants are
continuing to be recruited and the terror network may have expanded in the
country to a 2,000-strong force. The “Neo-JI” term was coined by the police to
describe this new threat.
Under
Wijayanto’s leadership, JI was active in courting local clerics and was setting
up Islamic boarding schools. It was also running businesses to raise funds
while providing entrepreneurship training for members.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1309831/indonesian-court-sentences-jemaah-islamiah-leader-to-7-years-jail-for-inciting-terrorism
--------
Indonesia
jails leaders of Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group
July 20, 2020
Indonesia on
Monday jailed two top leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) -- an Al-Qaeda-linked
extremist group behind the 2002 Bali bombings -- on terror charges linked to
sending militants to fight in Syria.
JI leader Para
Wijayanto and deputy Budi Trikaryanto were handed seven and six-and-a-half year
sentences, respectively, at a Jakarta court hearing done by videoconference due
to coronavirus concerns.
"The
defendants prepared cadres to go to Syria as well as supported them financially
while on the mission," presiding judge Alex Adam Faisal told the East
Jakarta District Court.
The court said
Wijayanto, 56, who took over JI's top job in 2009, recruited Indonesians to
fight and train with groups, including an Al-Qaeda linked organization, opposed
to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad between 2012 and 2018.
The case
against Wijayanto and Trikaryanto also included charges of belonging to a
banned organization.
Indonesia
outlawed JI in 2008, making it illegal to belong to the group, and cracked down
on its network as the world's biggest Muslim majority nation grappled with a
string of extremist attacks.
JI has been
overshadowed in recent years by militant groups loyal to Islamic State.
But the
organization was once synonymous with terrorism in Indonesia and has begun to rebuild
its membership, according to security experts.
The 2002
bombings in a popular Bali entertainment district, which killed over 200
people, remains Indonesia's deadliest terrorist attack.
Most victims
were foreign holidaymakers from more than 20 countries but Australia suffered
the biggest loss, with 88 dead.
In subsequent
years, JI carried out a string of deadly attacks, including a 2003 car bombing
at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed a dozen and a deadly suicide
car bomb the following year outside the Australian embassy.
Monday's
ruling comes weeks after a married couple with links to Islamic State were
jailed over a failed assassination bid to kill Indonesia's former chief
security minister Wiranto last year.
The Southeast
Asian nation's last major militant attack was in 2018 when a family of suicide
bombers attacked several churches in its second-biggest city Surabaya, killing
a dozen.
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/20/indonesia-jails-leaders-of-al-qaeda-linked-extremist-group-.html
--------
Arab World
US Sanctions
on Syria Leave Hezbollah More Isolated in Lebanon
By Nisan
Ahmado
July 19, 2020
WASHINGTON -
New U.S. sanctions targeting the Syrian government appear to also undermine
Hezbollah in Lebanon. Experts say the measures are alienating Hezbollah from
its political allies in Lebanon and weakening its usage of state institutions
to assist the Syrian regime.
The sanctions,
introduced on June 17 and known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act,
have been described by the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah as an “economic war”
that aims at “starving both Syria and Lebanon." He has called on the
Lebanese government to ignore them.
While the
sanctions may not be devastating for Hezbollah, they could deter other parties
in Lebanon’s governing coalition from following the Iran-sponsored group’s wish
to improve ties to Bashar al-Assad’s administration, according to HaninGhaddar,
a senior fellow at the Washington Institute.
“Hezbollah has
been calling the Lebanese government to normalize Lebanon’s relations with the
Assad regime,” Ghaddar told VOA. But, he said, none of Hezbollah’s allies
“wants to challenge Caesar Act, especially when there are negotiations going on
with the international community to salvage the country from its devastating
economic crisis.”
Hezbollah has
been classified by the U.S. as a terrorist organization since 1997. The group
is sanctioned under the 2014 Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act,
which prevents entities associated with Hezbollah from gaining access to
international financial and logistics networks and blocks its ability to fund
global terrorist activities. The U.S. Treasury earlier this year announced
further sanctions, blacklisting 15 Hezbollah-affiliated entities in Lebanon.
Political
control
Lokman Slim, a
Beirut-based analyst, told VOA that Hezbollah has been working for years to
strengthen its infiltration of the Lebanese state and army by weaving a network
of alliances across the Lebanese multi-sectarian spectrum.
The group’s
control over the political scene in Lebanon reached its peak in 2016, when it
successfully backed Michel Aoun, a Maronite Christian and head of the Free
Patriotic Movement party, to become president.
However, the
group’s allies are now starting to distance themselves from Hezbollah to
guarantee their political survival, said Slim.
“When
Hezbollah’s main ally (Shia) speaker Nabih Berri champions the defense of the
banking sector, and when voices from within the Free Patriotic Movement, the
party of President General Michel Aoun, start calling into question the
feasibility of blindly following Hezbollah, and when Patriarch Rahi, the
highest Christian authority in Lebanon, calls on the U.N. to help Lebanon
assert its neutrality, we can’t say that Hezbollah is in its glory days,” he
said.
Hezbollah’s
transactions
In addition to
financial support from Iran, Hezbollah has been using smuggling routes across
Lebanon’s border with Syrian, while at the same time exploiting Lebanese state
institutions to collect revenue.
Experts say
the Caesar Act might not curb Hezbollah’s underground activities, but it will
disrupt the group’s ability to use those state institutions to support the
Syrian government.
“Hezbollah is
forcing the Lebanese government, through the Lebanese central bank, to import,
at a subsidized price, quantities of some basic goods, mainly fuel, wheat, and medical
supplies, which exceed Lebanon’s needs. Portions of the excess goods are
forwarded to Syria via its traditional smuggling routes,” said Slim.
Hezbollah
observers say that despite its threats, the group may not be ready to increase
tensions with the U.S., especially when its main backer Iran is facing its own
harsh sanctions.
“Hezbollah is
tied by the current financial situation in Lebanon, and they know that any
escalation when it comes to the U.S. will be dangerous,” Ghaddar of the
Washington Institute said. She said the priority for Hezbollah and Iran now is
to wait and try to survive the upcoming few months until the U.S. elections.
US aid
While trying
to curb Hezbollah, the United States has been providing military assistance to
the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) since 2006, including arms, training and
advisory support.
The U.S.
CENTCOM commander Gen. Frank McKenzie, earlier this month visited Beirut, where
he stressed the need for continued U.S. cooperation with the Lebanese army to
preserve the country’s stability and sovereignty. The visit came just after the
army announced it had shut down three routes used to smuggle stolen vehicles
and other goods into Syria.
The United
States has been the biggest donor to Lebanon, providing $1.8 billion in
humanitarian funds, since the start of the Syrian refugee crisis. Last year
alone, the U.S. government contributed $750 million to Lebanon.
Meanwhile,
Lebanese officials have frequently said they welcome any improvement in relations
with the U.S., especially as they struggle to rescue their economy.
Impact on
economy
Lebanon is
facing its worst economic crisis since the end of its 15-year civil war in 1990
and Lebanese officials say they fear the U.S. sanctions on Syria could
exacerbate the crisis.
Last month,
during an international conference on humanitarian assistance for Syria held in
Brussels, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab appealed for international donors
to help his country escape the negative consequences of the sanctions.
Officials in
Washington say the Caesar Act does not target Lebanon’s legitimate economic
activities and will have no impact on the Lebanese people.
However, “If
the Lebanese government or Lebanese businesses were to enter into transactions
with the Assad regime to purchase Assad regime fuel, then that’s a very risky
transaction, and that would expose them to sanctions,” warned U.S. Deputy
Assistant Secretary Joel Rayburn on June 17.
https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/us-sanctions-syria-leave-hezbollah-more-isolated-lebanon?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
--------
US says
'dubious' elections in Syria excluded a quarter of the population
20 July 2020
Syria’s
parliamentary elections held over the weekend have been described as “dubious”
and nearly a quarter of Syria’s population was not permitted to vote, a senior
US official said Monday.
“Yesterday,
the Assad regime held so-called Parliamentary Elections in Syria. Bashar Al
Assad is seeking to present this dubious election as a success against alleged
Western plotting, but in reality it is simply another in a long line of Assad’s
stage-managed, unfree votes in which the Syrian people have no real choice,”
State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
On Sunday,
parliamentary elections saw people vote across government territory at more
than 7,000 polling stations, including for the first time in former opposition
bastions that the army has recaptured over the last two years.
Assad’s
opponents denounced the vote as a farce, nearly a decade into a war that has
killed hundreds of thousands of people and made millions refugees.
Ortagus said
that Syria had not seen any free and fair elections since “Assad’s Baath party
came to power, and this year was no exception,” citing “credible reports of
polling staff handing out ballots already filled in with Baath party
candidates.”
Read more:
Coronavirus forces Syria to postpone election for second time
The US
official also said that there were reports of citizens being pressured to vote
and that voter privacy was not guaranteed.
“In addition,
Syrians residing outside the country – comprising nearly one quarter of Syria’s
pre-revolution population – were not permitted to vote. This disenfranchised
population includes the more than 5 million refugees driven out of the country
by the regime’s relentless war against its own citizens.”
Ortagus said
the elections were another attempt by the Assad regime to “confer false
legitimacy on itself.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/07/21/US-says-dubious-elections-in-Syria-excluded-a-quarter-of-the-population.html
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Yemen’s prime
minister accuses Qatar of supporting Houthis
July 21, 2020
DUBAI: Prime
Minister Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed accused Qatar of working to spread chaos in
Yemen by supporting the Houthi militia, the Middle East News agency reported on
Tuesday.
The prime
minister claimed that “Doha supported the Houthi militia with money, arms,
media, and relations, and worked to destabilize Yemen.”
Saeed, who is
currently visiting Egypt, said that Qatar’s support of the Houthis became clear
when after the Gulf countries boycotted Doha.
Qatar’s policy
is to weaken the internationally recognized government, prevent efforts to
restore the state, Saeed said.
On June 5,
2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar,
closing borders and airspace, and imposing an economic blockade that still
remains in place. Qatar’s alignment with Iran was of special concern to states
wary of Tehran’s ambitions in the Gulf.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1707826/middle-east
--------
Israeli air
strikes hit regime and Iran-backed militias in Syria
20 July 2020
Syrian air defenses
intercepted Israeli missiles over the capital Monday, state media reported,
during an attack which a war monitor said hit several positions of regime
forces and Iran-backed militias.
“Air defenses
intercepted Israeli missiles” over Damascus's skies, the official SANA news
agency said.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
AFP
correspondents in Damascus said they heard several loud blasts.
A military
spokesman in Israel told AFP that its army “does not comment on foreign
reports.”
According to
the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Israeli attack hit
several targets.
“At least six
Israeli missiles hit several positions belonging to regime forces and pro-Iran
militias south of Damascus,” Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.
“Air defenses
did not intercept a single target,” he said, adding it was unknown if there
were casualties and the extent of damage remained unclear.
Israel has
launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of its civil war in 2011.
It has
targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from the
Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, saying its goal is to end Tehran’s
military presence in Syria.
It rarely
confirms details of its operations in Syria but says Iran’s presence in support
of the regime is a threat and that Israel will keep up strikes.
The
nine-year-old conflict in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people and
displaced more than half of the country’s pre-war population.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/07/21/Israeli-air-strikes-hit-regime-and-Iran-backed-militias-in-Syria.html
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Five dead, 85
wounded in car bomb attack in Syria's Azaz: Turkish state media
JULY 19, 2020
ISTANBUL
(Reuters) - A car bomb attack in northwestern Syria’s Azaz region killed five
people and wounded 85 others, a local hospital in Syria and Turkish state media
said on Sunday.
The incident
took place in the village of Siccu, across the border from Turkey’s southern
province of Kilis, Turkey’s Anadolu agency said.
It said 15 of
the wounded had been taken to a hospital on the Turkish side of the border and
that some were in critical condition.
Azaz has been
under the control of rebels backed by Turkey since Ankara’s first incursion
into Syria in 2016, in an operation that aimed to drive away Islamic State
militants and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia from its border with Syria.
Ankara regards
the U.S.-backed YPG as a terrorist organisation. The operation ended in 2017.
Syria held a parliamentary
election across government territory on Sunday. The country is struggling
against a collapsing economy and new U.S. sanctions after President Bashar
al-Assad clawed back control of most of the country.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-azaz/five-dead-85-wounded-in-car-bomb-attack-in-syrias-azaz-turkish-state-media-idUSKCN24K0P2?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
--------
Monitor: Car
Blast Kills 7 Near Syria-Turkey Border Post
July 19, 2020
BEIRUT - At least
seven people were killed and scores wounded on Sunday when a car bomb exploded
in northern Syria near a Turkish border crossing, a war monitor said.
"A car
bomb exploded at a roundabout leading to the entrance of the Bab al-Salam
border post," Syrian Observatory for Human Rights chief Rami Abdel Rahman
told AFP.
"Seven
people were killed, including five civilians, and more than 60 wounded,
including women and children."
The area in
northern Aleppo province, controlled by the Turkish army and allied Syrian
forces, regularly sees deadly attacks and targeted killings.
The
Observatory blamed the Islamic State group for Sunday's attack, saying it was
possibly in retaliation for a surge in operations by Turkish and Turkish-backed
forces against IS cells in the region.
The Bab
al-Salam crossing was a key entry point for cross-border humanitarian aid into
northern Syria, but it was closed earlier this month after Russian pressure at
the United Nations Security Council.
The Turkish
official news agency Anadolu reported that a car bomb in the Azaz area, near
Bab al-Salam, had killed five people and wounded 85. It accused the Kurdish YPG
militia of being responsible.
In April, at
least 46 people including Turkish-backed rebel fighters were killed when a fuel
truck bomb went off in Afrin, a city controlled by Ankara's proxies.
The Syrian
conflict has killed more than 380,000 people since 2011 and forced more than
half of the country's pre-war population from their homes.
https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/monitor-car-blast-kills-7-near-syria-turkey-border-post?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
--------
SDF Launches
2nd Phase of 'Deterring Terrorism' Campaign
18 July, 2020
The Syrian
Democratic Forces (SDF) announced launching the second phase of its ''Deterring
Terrorism" campaign to track down and pursue ISIS cells in northeastern
Syria, along the Euphrates River basin and areas on the Iraqi border.
The SDF Media
Center issued a statement saying that the operation has kicked off in cooperation
with the international coalition, adding that it targets several cities along
the northern Euphrates River Basin in Deir Ezzor.
The statement
explained that the campaign involved the Special Anti-Terrorism Units (YAT), in
coordination with the international coalition and air support forces,
reiterating that it will continue until the goal set by the General Command is
achieved.
The
spokeswoman of Deir Ezzor Military Council, Lilwa al-Abdullah, announced that
the campaign was launched at the request of the tribes’ notables in the region,
after meeting with the Commander of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, stressing that it
aims to establish security and stability in the region.
Recently, ISIS
terrorist attacks increased against civilians, posing a direct threat to their
lives.
Meanwhile, the
commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Kenneth McKenzie, said that
the threat of ISIS attacks is increasing in Syrian areas under the Russian and
regime control.
“The
conditions that led to the rise of ISIS still obtain out there in the west,
that's unfortunate, and I am worried about that,” he added.
In an
interview with Voice of America (VOA), McKenzie explained that there's always
going to be some form of insurgency with these factors in this area.
"We want
to establish local systems that will be able to handle (the insurgency) so they
won't need us to do it, except with very, little support,” he noted.
Last week,
McKenzie met with Abdi in Syria during his visit to the eastern Euphrates River
Valley and informed him that they remain partners.
“We have tasks
that remain to be accomplished against ISIS up and down the Euphrates River
Valley. … We also talked about SDF management of the IDP (internally displaced
persons) and the prison population that's there.”
McKenzie said
that CENTCOM is not directly involved in the issue but highlighted some
concerns.
“We're
concerned from a security perspective and we're concerned from a humanitarian
perspective.”
https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2396721/sdf-launches-2nd-phase-deterring-terrorism-campaign?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
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World praises
UAE on successful launch of Mars Hope probe
July 20, 2020
DUBAI: The UAE
has received global praise for the “historic” launch of its Mars space probe.
The Hope probe
blasted off early Monday from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, making the
Emirates the first Arab and Islamic country to attempt planetary exploration.
President
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed led the celebrations, saying the Emirates Mars Mission
“constitutes a national and Arab achievement and an advanced Emirati push in
the process of building global knowledge in space.”
He said the
Hope probe idea was developed within the UAE’s “national and research
institutions and was designed and manufactured with the effective participation
of a young national elite of bright minds — highly qualified and trained and
sincere young Emiratis.”
The mission is
a joint project between the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center and the UAE Space
Agency, with the help of contributors and experts from leading universities.
The UAE will
be the ninth country to explore the Red Planet, joining an exclusive club of
nations.
Prior to the
launch, the United Nations said the UAE’s mission is a “contribution to the entire
world” and the Emirates is becoming “a main player in the space arena.”
“The UAE is
always looking forward to the future; it is our wonderful partner,” said
Simonetta Di Pippo, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space
Affairs (UNOOSA).
The Arab
League secretary-general said the launch is a “unique event and a milestone in
UAE and Arab achievements as it embodies a message of hope, ambition and
motivation for all the peoples of the region to overcome challenges.”
“This
achievement is an Emirati-Arab contribution to shaping and making a promising
future for humanity, and a message to future generations that nothing is
impossible.” Ahmed AboulGheit said.
NASA
congratulated the UAE on the successful launch, describing the mission as a
“culmination of tremendous hard work and dedication.”
“This mission
is aptly named since it’s a symbol of inspiration for the UAE, the region, and
the world,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said.
“We are in awe
of the speed and commitment the UAE, through both the Mohammed bin Rashid Space
Center and the UAE Space Agency, has demonstrated in developing its first
interplanetary spacecraft.”
The UAE plans
to share all its data with the world, not just academics and scientists and the
research findings will be updated regularly and made publicly available.
GCC Secretary
General Nayef Al-Hajjraf also praised the UAE’s scientific achievements,
expressing his pleasure at witnessing such a “unique event.”
He said “the
Hope Probe comes to fulfill the hopes of millions of future generations.”
The probe will
travel almost 500 million kilometers and is set to reach the orbit of Mars in
February 2021, which would coincide with the 50th anniversary of the UAE’s
establishment.
The data from
the mission will be publicly available.
The mission is
also the first of three international missions to Mars this year, including
NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover, China’s Tianwen-1, which will launch next
month, and ExoMars, a collaboration between the European Space Agency and the
Russian space agency Roscosmos.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1707536/middle-east
--------
Africa
Reports shed
light on mercenaries, terrorists sent by Turkey to Libya
18/07/2020
WASHINGTON /
TUNIS--In a development that is bound to cause alarm in Tunisia and other North
African nations, Turkey is reported to have dispatched to Libya during the last
few months thousands of Islamic extremists, including 2,500 Tunisian ISIS
members.
The ISIS
extremists were sent to back other militants and mercenaries dispatched by Ankara to fight on the side of the Libyan
Government of National Accord (GNA).
According to
the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), “Turkish intelligence have
transferred Jihadist groups and Islamic State (ISIS) members of different
foreign nationalities, from Syria to Libya in the past few months.” These,
according to SOHR, included “over 2,500 Tunisian ISIS members” out of thousands
of other ISIS-affiliated Tunisians operating in Syria.
If confirmed,
the transfer of Tunisian extremists from the remote Syrian battlefield to
neighbouring Libya is bound to spark serious concerns in Tunis. The small North African country has suffered
major terrorist attacks in 2015 perpetrated by Tunisian ISIS-affiliated
extremists after they spent time in Libya.
Since the attacks, which caused the death of scores of civilians and
foreign tourists, Tunisia has built a 200-km sand barrier and electronic fence
on its border with Libya.
SOHR said
Friday the most recent batch of jihadist fighters was sent to Libya “a few days
ago”.
According to
the watch group, “the number of recruits who arrived in Libya rose to 16,100
Syrian mercenaries, including 340 children under the age of 18.”
A new report
published Thursday by the Pentagon said Turkey has sent between 3,500 and 3,800
Syrian mercenaries to back the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) over
the first three months of the year.
The report,
published by the US Defense Department’s inspector general, does not detail the
nature of mercenary contingents dispatched by Turkey after the end of March
even though Ankara has intensified its intervention in Libya since then.
During the
last few weeks, the US military seemed to green-light the Turkish military
intervention in Libya over growing concerns about Russia’s influence in the
North African country, where hundreds of Russian mercenaries were said to be
stationed. The White House has however distanced itself earlier this week with
Ankara over Turkish naval moves in the Mediterranean denounced as “aggressive”
by France.
The quarterly
report on counter-terrorism operations in Africa by the Pentagon’s internal
watchdog, published Thursday, says Turkey paid and offered citizenship to
thousands of mercenaries fighting alongside militias aligned with the GNA,
headed by Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj, against troops of the Libyan National
Army (LNA) led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Despite
widespread indications of many of the fighters’ extremist links, the report
says the US military found no evidence to suggest the mercenaries were
affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) or al-Qaida terrorist groups. The US
report says the fighters were “very likely” motivated by generous financial
packages offered by Ankara.
Later reports
by regional sources, including the SOHR watch-group, did however document the presence of Islamic
extremists among the fighters sent by
Turkey.
The report
covers only the first quarter of the year, until the end of March — two months
before a string of Turkish-backed advances by the GNA-allied forces in the
capital’s suburbs, the stronghold at Tarhuna and a key western airbase.
Haftar’s
setbacks trained the spotlight on Turkey’s deepening role in the Libyan war.
The latest
report says the Turkish deployments likely increased ahead of the GNA advances
in late May. It cites the US Africa Command as saying that 300
Turkish-supported Syrian rebels landed in Libya in early April. Turkey also
deployed an “unknown number” of Turkish soldiers during the first months of the
year, the inspector general adds.
To the
consternation of regional rivals and NATO allies like France, Turkey is staking
its hopes for greater leverage in the eastern Mediterranean on the
Islamist-controlled government in Tripoli. Ankara’s open military intervention
stands in contrast to covert support from foreign backers on the other side of
the conflict.
The Pentagon
inspector general had reported in its last quarterly review that Russia brought
in hundreds of mercenaries to back Haftar’s months-long siege of Tripoli. A
private Kremlin-linked military company known as the Wagner Group first
introduced skilled snipers and armed drones last fall, inflicting “significant
casualties” on GNA-allied forces.
SOHR puts the
number of Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries who were killed in the Libyan war
at about 470, including 33 minors and a number of group commanders.
https://thearabweekly.com/reports-shed-light-mercenaries-terrorists-sent-turkey-libya?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
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Gunmen kill 18
wedding guests in northern Nigeria
July 21, 2020
KANO: Gunmen
have killed 18 guests at a wedding in northern Nigeria’s Kaduna state, local
officials said Monday, in the latest violence in the region.
The gunmen on
motorcycles stormed Kukum-Daji village in Kaura district late Sunday and opened
fire on the guests, they said.
“The gunmen
killed 18 people at the wedding party and injured 30 others, most of them young
men,” BegeKatukaAyuba, the administrative head of the district told AFP.
“Fifteen died
on the spot while three more died at the hospital,” he said.
It was not
immediately clear who was behind the attack but the area has been a hotbed of
deadly violence between Muslim Fulani herders and ethnic Christian farmers.
The state
police spokesman confirmed the attack without giving a toll.
“There have
been reports of loss of lives in the attack but we don’t have a definite
casualty figure yet,” Mohammed Jalinge told AFP.
The
mainly-Christian Southern Kaduna area has been wracked by a long-standing
dispute between farmers and herders over grazing and water rights.
There has been
an upsurge in tit-for-tat killings between the two groups in recent times,
prompting the state authorities to initiate an unsuccessful truce.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2020/07/21/gunmen-kill-18-wedding-guests-in-northern-nigeria/
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Egypt’s
parliament approves possible troop deployment to Libya
20 July 2020
Egypt’s
parliament has authorized on Monday the deployment of troops outside the
country after the president threatened military action against Turkish-backed
forces in Libya.
“The House of
Representatives unanimously approved deploying members of the Egyptian armed
forces on combat missions outside the country’s borders, to protect Egyptian
national security… against criminal armed militias and foreign terrorist
elements,” the parliament said in a statement after its closed session.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had said on June 20 that his country has a legitimate
right to intervene in Libya and ordered the army to be prepared to carry out
missions if necessary.
Libya has
plunged into chaos since the 2011 toppling of dictator Moammar Gaddafi.
Clashes
between the two main warring parties in the North African country, the Libyan
National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar and the Government of National
Accord (GNA), led by Fayez al-Serraj, have intensified recently.
Many foreign
powers have backed different sides of the conflict with varying degrees of
support, with the most prominent countries being Turkey backing the GNA and
Egypt backing the LNA.
The Egyptian
parliament’s greenlight for troop deployment overseas could potentially put
Turkey and Egypt into direct confrontation in Libya.
Last week,
Sisi hosted dozens of tribal leaders loyal to Haftar in Cairo, where he
repeated that Egypt will “not stand idly by in the face of moves that pose a
direct threat to security.”
Libya’s
east-based parliament, the sole elected body in the oil-rich country, also
urged Sisi to send troops.
Earlier on
Monday, Sisi spoke with US President Donald Trump and emphasized that Egypt
aims to “prevent further deterioration of security in Libya,” according to a
statement from the Egyptian presidential spokesman. It said the two leaders
agreed on maintaining a cease-fire and avoiding a military escalation in Libya.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/07/20/Egypt-s-parliament-approves-troop-deployment-to-Libya.html
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Boko Haram Terrorists
Attack Chibok, Kill Three Farmers
JUL 18, 2020
Suspected Boko
haram terrorists on Saturday attacked Boftari, Kuburmbula ward of Chibok Local
Government Area of Borno State, killing three farmers.
Sources said
the insurgents, who were all armed with assault rifles, came on motorbikes at
about 3pm and started shooting sporadically in area where the villagers were
farming.
They said the
insurgents have been coming in the past two weeks to loot without any
resistance but were shocked they came shooting on Saturday.
About 10 other
farmers were also said to have sustained injuries from the gunshots.
The source
said most villagers were now scared of going to the farm.
http://saharareporters.com/2020/07/18/breaking-boko-haram-terrorists-attack-chibok-kill-three-farmers?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
--------
Mideast
Yemeni PM
accuses Qatar of backing Houthis, spreading chaos in Yemen
21 July 2020
Yemeni Prime
Minister MaeenAbdulmalik Saeed accused Qatar of backing the Iran-backed Houthi
militia and spreading chaos in Yemen, in a speech delivered during his visit to
Egypt on Tuesday, the Egyptian Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.
“From an early
stage, Doha has supported the Houthi militia with funds, weapons, media, and
networks and worked to destabilize Yemen,” the prime minister said, according
to MENA.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Since the
beginning of the Qatar boycott – when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,
Egypt, and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Doha over its ties to extremism –
Qatari foreign policy has become more clear, Saeed said.
Qatar has made
its support for the Houthi militia public and has worked to weaken the Yemeni
government by thwarting efforts to restore the country, MENA cited him as
saying.
Doha has also
launched and financed several campaigns in some governorates as part of its
plans to sabotage peace efforts, he added.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/07/21/Yemeni-PM-accuses-Qatar-of-backing-Houthis-spreading-chaos-in-Yemen.html
--------
Turkish police
detain 27 people over links to Islamic State
JULY 19, 2020
ISTANBUL
(Reuters) - Turkish police said on Sunday they had detained 27 people with
links to the Islamic State militant group whom they suspect were preparing for
an attack.
Police said
they had learned that the people had been ordered to carry out an attack in
retaliation for social media posts that insulted Prophet Muhammad. The
operation targeted addresses in 15 districts of Istanbul, police said.
Islamic State
has conducted numerous attacks across Turkey, including on a nightclub in
Istanbul on Jan. 1, 2017 in which 39 people were killed, and a bombing in the
city’s historic heart that killed 12 in 2016.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-islamic-state/turkish-police-detain-27-people-over-links-to-islamic-state-idUSKCN24K0AU?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1372364_
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Israel
approves cellphone tracking of COVID-19 carriers for rest of year
21 July 2020
Israel’s
parliament voted on Monday to allow the country’s domestic intelligence agency
to track the cellphones of coronavirus carriers for the rest of the year amid a
resurgence in new cases.
The Shin Bet’s
surveillance technology has been used on and off to track carriers since March,
and the Knesset in a late- night decision approved the measure through Jan. 20,
2021, the Knesset news agency reported.
Visit our
dedicated coronavirus site here for all the latest updates.
The security
agency tracks location data of confirmed carriers for 14 days before they were
diagnosed. That data is used to identify anyone with whom they came into
contact, which proponents say is crucial to infection chains.
The
surveillance has drawn challenges from privacy watchdog groups, and the Supreme
Court cited worries over dangers to individual liberty in demanding Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government regulate the surveillance through
legislation.
The new law
includes additional oversight, requiring the government to renew its request
every three weeks, and it can be used only when new daily cases exceed 200.
Those ordered into isolation can appeal if they believe the data was
inaccurate.
The Knesset
also instructed the Health Ministry to roll out an upgraded cell phone app that
can be downloaded by the public to help track infection.
Israel
reopened schools and many businesses in May, lifting restrictions that had
flattened the infection curve after a partial lockdown imposed in March.
But a
second-wave surge has many public health experts saying the government moved
too quickly while neglecting to take the necessary epidemiological steps to
control the pandemic once the economy reopened.
Israel, with a
population of 9 million, reported about 1,500 new infections on Monday. In
total it has reported 415 deaths from the virus.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/coronavirus/2020/07/21/Coronavirus-Israel-approves-cellphone-tracking-of-COVID-19-carriers-for-rest-of-year.html
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Iran-linked
hackers mistakenly leak videos of their operations in action: Report
20 July 2020
IBM has
obtained hours of footage of Iran-linked hackers in action, videos that are
believed to have been unintentionally leaked by the hackers themselves.
IBM’s X-Force
security team acquired about five hours of video footage of hacking operations
by APT35, a hacking group linked to the Iranian government, the Wired reported.
Individuals
targeted by the hackers included US State Department staff, an unnamed
Iranian-American philanthropist, and US and Greek military personnel, IBM
found.
The footage,
which was directly recorded from the screens of APT35 hackers, show how the
group steals data from email accounts as well as who it is targeting, according
to the report.
The hackers
recorded their operations and uploaded the video to an unprotected server
online, the report said.
The IBM
researchers got a hold of the footage due to “a misconfiguration of security
settings on a virtual private cloud server they’d observed in previous APT35
activity,” the report said, adding that the files were uploaded to the exposed
server over a few days in May, just as IBM was monitoring the machine.
The APT35 hackers
recorded their operations to demonstrate to junior team members how to handle
hacked accounts, according to the report. The videos show the hackers how to
download the contents of compromised Gmail and Yahoo Mail accounts.
In one of the
videos seen by the Wired, the hackers logged into a compromised Gmail account,
linked it to the email software Zimbra, and used Zimbra to download the
compromised account’s entire inbox to the hacker’s machine, the report said.
Next, the
hacker deleted a Gmail alert received by the victim that said their account
permissions have been changed. The hacker then downloaded the victim’s contacts
and photos from their Google account, according to the report.
The speed at
which the hackers were able to exfiltrate the compromised accounts’ information
suggests that “they are likely carrying out this sort of personal data theft on
a mass scale,” the Wired cited Allison Wikoff, a senior analyst at IBM X-Force
whose team discovered the videos, as saying.
In another
video, the APT35 hackers exfiltrated data from a member of the US Navy and a
two-decade veteran of the Greek Navy. The Iran-linked hackers apparently stole
photos, emails, tax records, and other personal information from the two, the
report said.
The leaked
videos may force the Iranian hackers to change some of their tactics, Emily
Crose, a researcher for the security firm Dragos, was cited as saying in the
report.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/07/20/Iran-linked-hackers-mistakenly-leak-videos-of-their-operations-in-action-Report.html
--------
Ukraine
president says those responsible for downed plane would be held accountable
20 July 2020
Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday said he welcomed Iran's decision to
hand over the black boxes from the crash of a Ukrainian airliner to France,
saying those responsible would be held accountable.
For all the
latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Iran's
Revolutionary Guards shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight with a
ground-to-air missile on Jan. 8 shortly after the plane took off from Tehran.
Iran later called it a “disastrous mistake” by forces who were on high alert
during a confrontation with the United States.
Zelenskiy
added that Ukrainian experts would take part in decoding the black boxes,
alongside experts from France, the United States and Canada.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/07/20/Ukraine-president-says-those-responsible-for-downed-plane-in-Iran-would-be-held-accou.html
--------
Outsiders
seeking to sell arms in Middle East: Iran's mission in Kuwait
21 July 2020
Iran’s Embassy
in Kuwait has hit back at the US envoy to the Arab country over her criticism
of Tehran’s regional role, saying the outsiders do not care about the Middle
East’s stability and are only there to sell their arms.
Tehran’s
mission in Kuwait City highlighted the significance of maintaining security in
the region, saying this can solely be ensured through cooperation among the
region’s countries.
“No country is
more sympathetic towards regional security and stability than the region's own
countries,” it said in a tweet.
Drawing
attention to Washington’s interventionist policies in the region, the Embassy
said, “Those who have come from thousands of kilometers away are here to sell
weapons and make money.”
The tweet came
in response to recent remarks by US Ambassador to Kuwait Alina Romanowski, who
reportedly described Iran’s role in the region as evil.
The Iranian
mission further blasted Americans for assassinating Iran’s top anti-terror
commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the
second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).
It is in fact
those who killed popular anti-terrorism military commanders in the region who
are playing an evil role in the region, the tweet said. “The children of this
region will never forget such evil role.”
On January 3,
the US assassinated General Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s
Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, al-Muhandis, and a group of their companions
in Baghdad. The operation was ordered by US President Donald Trump.
Both
commanders enjoyed deep reverence among Muslim nations over their endeavors in
eliminating the US-sponsored Daesh terrorist group in the region, particularly
in Iraq and Syria.
The Iranian
mission in Kuwait also slammed Washington for violating UN Security Council
Resolution 2231 by leaving a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal between Tehran and
world states, describing the move as an instance of “unilateralism and evil
role in the world.”
“The evil role
means that for the first time in the history of the United Nations, a permanent
Security Council member violates the resolution adopted by the Council and
punishes the states that have complied with it,” the Embassy said.
On May 8,
2018, Trump announced his decision to withdraw the country from the nuclear
deal, which was endorsed by Resolution 2231.
Washington has
pressuring other signatories to quit the deal and abide by the sanctions the US
re-imposed on Iran after leaving the agreement.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/21/630073/-Iran-US-region-evil-role-
--------
Tehran,
Baghdad will jointly sue US for assassinating Gen. Soleimani: Iraq
20 July 2020
Iraq says Baghdad
and Tehran will jointly sue the US for assassinating top Iranian commander
Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and deputy head of Iraq's Popular
Mobilization Units, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
In a statement
on Monday, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said the country regards the US
assassination of General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis on its soil as a
criminal act.
The Council
said it has coordinated its legal procedure with the Iranian Judiciary and the
two countries will file a joint lawsuit against the US.
“The
investigation into the airport incident began from the first moment and the
Iraqi judiciary dealt with that incident as a criminal act that took place on
Iraqi land where some of the victims are Iraqis,” the council said in a
statement.
According to
the statement, the investigation took place according to the Iraqi Code of
Criminal Procedure starting with inspecting the scene and meeting with some of
the plaintiffs, including the legal representative of the Iranian embassy.
“The Iraqi
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers had
been informed of other details regarding the accident, and that the
investigation procedures since the time of the accident continue in accordance
with the Iraqi law,” the statement added.
The Iraqi
Judiciary’s statement comes a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamad Javad
Zarif met with Iraqi officials, including the head of the Supreme Judicial
Council, in Baghdad.
The statement
was also released ahead of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s Tuesday
trip to Tehran, where he is to hold high-level talks with Iranian officials.
A US drone
attack killed General Soleimani and al-Muhandis near Baghdad International
Airport on January 3, prompting international condemnations.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/07/20/630063/iran-iraq-sue-us-general-soleimani
--------
Houthis
intensify clampdown on opponents
July 21, 2020
AL-MUKALLA:
The Iran-backed Houthis in Sanaa have stormed properties of Yasser Al-Awadhi, a
tribal and political leader who led a military uprising against their rule in
the central province of Al-Bayda.
The move comes
amid an intensified crackdown on their opponents. They have sentenced dozens of
army commanders, tribal leaders and legislators to death and confiscated
properties in areas under their control.
Local media
said that armed men entered Al-Awadhi’s house and told its occupants to leave,
then moved to his shops around the capital.
Al-Awadhi, a
senior member of the General People’s Congress and a leader of Al-Awadh tribe,
last month led a large number of tribesmen against the Houthis after the
Houthis refused to punish local fighters who had killed a woman.
The Houthis
crushed the uprising, forcing Al-Awadhi and the tribesmen to move into
government-controlled areas in Al-Bayda.
Yemen Today
TV, a mouthpiece for, said the Houthis confiscated all the properties owned by
Al-Awadhi and his siblings.
The Houthi
official media said their security services were executing judiciary orders for
confiscating properties of Yemeni political, military and tribal figures who
opposed their rule and backed the internationally recognized government and the
Arab coalition-led military operations in the country.
At the same
time, the Houthi-controlled parliament in Sanaa has begun discussing stripping
12 MPs of their parliamentarian immunity ahead of putting them on trial for
supporting the group’s enemies.
On Monday, the
EU Heads of Mission to Yemen called upon the Houthis to immediately release the
four Yemeni journalists who were sentenced to death, urging warring factions in
Yemen to stop the harassment of journalists.
“The EU Heads
of Mission call on all parties to immediately release all detained journalists
in Yemen, including Akram Al-Walidi, AbdelkhaleqAmran, Hareth Hamid and Tawfiq
al-Mansouri who have been sentenced to death. The uncontrolled spread of
Covid-19 makes their release all more urgent,” the mission said in a statement.
In April,
Houthi triggered local and international outrage after a court under their
control in Sanaa sentenced the four journalists to death, accusing them of
espionage.
Officer killed
A security
officer and his bodyguard were killed on Monday when unidentified gunmen
attacked their military vehicle in the southern province of Abyan, Abyan
security forces said in a statement.
Captain
Abdullah Ahmed Al-Hanshi, the commander of Special Security Forces in Al-Mahfad
district, and his bodyguard Samed Abdullah Al-Hanshi were driving their armed
vehicle in Al-Haq region in Abyan’s Al-Mahfad when they came under heavy
gunfire that killed them instantly.
The Yemeni
government has many times accused local separatists of plotting attacks on its
forces heading to neighboringShouqra.
In the western
Hodeidah, fighting raged on Monday for the third consecutive day in different
contested locations in the province as the rebels sought to capture new areas
outside the city of Hodeidah. The pro-government Joint Forces said in a
statement that 12 Houthis, including nine snipers, were killed in foiled attacks
in Durihimi, Al-Jah, Al-Fazeh, Hayes and Attuhayta.
A peace
agreement signed between the government and the Houthis in late 2018 has
largely failed to halt hostilities as both sides continue to trade shelling.
Local rights
groups say more than 500 civilians have been killed in Houthi fire and
landmines in Hodeidah since December 2018.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1707576/middle-east
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Pakistan
IHC to hear
pleas against SAPMs’ appointment
Malik Asad
21 Jul, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Justice Aamer Farooq of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has clubbed two similar
petitions challenging the appointment of special assistants to the prime
minister (SAPMs) and decided to hear them in the second week of August.
During the
hearing of one of the petitions on Monday, a member of the National Assembly
belonging to the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) objected to
induction of people holding dual nationality into the federal cabinet in the
capacity of SAPMs.
Barrister
Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, the counsel for petitioner Iradat Sharif Khan, another
MNA of the PML-N, pointed out that the cabinet was being run by not only
unelected people, but also by those who held dual nationality and were not the
sole citizen of Pakistan.
In his
petition, Iradat Sharif has challenged the appointment as chairman and other
advisers to the prime minister — Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Abdul Razak Dawood and Dr
Ishrat Hussain — as members of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP).
PML-N lawmaker
raises objection over induction of dual nationals into cabinet
It may be
mentioned that a notification placed on the website of the Cabinet Division
shows that out of 19 non-elected cabinet members, four SAPMs hold dual
nationalities, including SAPM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar (US), SAPM on Overseas
Pakistanis Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari (UK), SAPM on Power Division Shahzad
Qasim (US) and SAPM on Digital Pakistan Tania S. Aidrus (Canada).
Among those
holding residency of other countries are: SAPM on Political Affairs Shahbaz
Gill (US), SAPM on National Security Moeed Yousuf (US), SAPM on Parliamentary
Coordination Nadeem Afzal Gondal (Canada) and Ms Aidrus (Singapore).
According to
Barrister Ranjha, it is a settled rule that the cabinet constitutes the prime
minister and ministers who are the elected members of parliament.
In his
petition, Iradat Sharif challenged the April 25 notification that nominated
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Hafeez Shaikh, Minister
for Communications Murad Saeed, former law minister Farogh Naseem, Minister
for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, Minister for
Privatisation Mohammadmian Soomro, Minister for Power Omar Ayub Khan, Adviser
to the PM on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood and Adviser to the PM
on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Hussain.
The petitioner
challenged the induction of Hafeez Shaikh, Razak Dawood and Dr Ishrat into the
CCoP.
Barrister
Ranjha argued that Pakistan could only be governed by elected representatives
and a person who was not a member of parliament could neither become a part of
the cabinet nor its committees.
The petition
said: “Unlike ministers, advisers are not the part of the federal
government, they do not take oath, they are not responsible to parliament in
term of Article 91(6) of the Constitution, they are not subject to the
qualification and disqualification provided under Articles 62 and 63 of the
Constitution, before and after their appointment advisers are not bound to
submit their statements of assets and liabilities…and they are not subject to
any kind of scrutiny.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1570272/ihc-to-hear-pleas-against-sapms-appointment
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Caritas
Pakistan launches Covid-19 awareness campaign
Kamran
Chaudhry
July 21, 2020
A church group
in Pakistan has launched an awareness program to help fight the Covid-19
pandemic after a study found that most villagers in the country do not use any
disinfectant.
Caritas
Pakistan, the Catholic Church's social arm in the country, launched the program
to make people aware of sanitization in the fight against the pandemic.
The program
named "Together we can stop coronavirus" runs until Aug. 31 in all
seven dioceses, Caritas officials said.
It focuses on
developing material to educate and communicate on prevention activities,
campaign through local radio stations and train field staff and volunteers in
prevention methods.
It also plans
awareness creation through loudspeakers in villages and creating and sharing
video documentaries through social media
The effort
began after a Caritas study revealed poor sanitation among villagers. Most
people — 89 percent — do not use any disinfectant, according to a survey it
conducted in 60 villages of 22 districts. The baseline survey included 197
households.
It showed that
71 percent use non-treated water and 76 percent are vulnerable to open sewerage
systems. Almost half — 49 percent — do not use a mask while going out of their
houses.
The state
welfare department has distributed some relief material in these 60 villages.
But there was no distribution of soaps, hand sanitizers, disinfectants or any
other related sanitization material.
Caritas has
already deployed field workers also to conduct door-to-door nutrition surveys
amid coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
"Our
objective is to assess food intake and nutritional deficiencies of poor
families, mostly in women and children, since the government imposed lockdown
three months ago," said Amjad Gulzar, executive director of Caritas
Pakistan.
Gulzar told
UCA News that the information will help us "in developing projects and
response plan for restoration of their livelihood."
The survey
that started in early July in all seven diocesan units in Pakistan will be
based on interviews with 175 pregnant and lactating mothers living in urban
slums and villages.
The stigma
Human rights
groups say that Hindus and Christian minorities are not being given state food
supplies in the Islamic country.
Charity group
SaylaniWelfari has faced accusations that non-Muslim families are excluded from
its door-to door-distributions. In April, more than 100 Christian families from
Punjab's Kasur district were reportedly excluded from food aid distributed by a
village committee comprising Muslims. In another incident, Christians were denied
food on April 2 in a village near Lahore.
The same
month, the National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) and Minority Rights
Group International launched an online Stigma Survey in Pakistan.
"The
reports will be presented to decision makers in Pakistan to aid larger efforts
to address the root causes of stigma," the NCJP said on its Facebook page.
The health
crisis due to the pandemic further "threatens to increase stigma and
discrimination against marginalized and underprivileged communities," it
said.
Rising
inflation has further increased challenges for middle-class non-Muslims in
Pakistan.
According to
the latest data on the Consumer Price Index, Pakistan's inflation rate soared
to 8.6 percent year on year last month. The Institute of Development Economics
estimates that a prolonged lockdown will mean short-term unemployment for as
many as 20 million people.
Meanwhile,
Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar, who also heads the anti-coronavirus
campaign, claimed a 28 percent reduction in the number of patients who require
ventilators and oxygen cylinders.
However,
health experts warned it is too early to declare victory against the virus that
has already infected 265,083 people across Pakistan with 5,599 deaths.
Last month
church workers shared Facebook posts claiming that Father Samran Anwar, the
young parish priest of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Gujranwala, Punjab
province, died of Covid-19. Lahore Archdiocese denied the news, claiming that
the priest died of cancer.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/caritas-pakistan-launches-covid-19-awareness-campaign/88842
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At least 1
dead, 7 injured in explosion in Balochistan'sTurbat
Syed Ali Shah
| Ghalib Nihad
21 Jul, 2020
At least one
person was killed and seven others injured in an explosion in a bazaar in
Turbat, Balochistan on Tuesday.
Police and
rescue teams have reached the area. The injured have been shifted to District
Headquarters Hospital, Turbat.
Officials said
that miscreants planted an improvised explosive device (IED) in a motorcycle
parked outside a shop in Turbat. A number of vehicles have reportedly been
damaged.
Police sources
said it was yet to be confirmed who was the target of the blast but all the
injured were civilians.
Balochistan
Chief Minister Jam Kamal Alyani condemned the attack, saying that "the
agenda of anti-state elements will not be allowed to succeed".
https://www.dawn.com/news/1570315/at-least-1-dead-7-injured-in-explosion-in-turbat-balochistan
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Justice Isa’s
wife seeks review of apex court order
21 Jul, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Sarina Isa, the wife of Justice Qazi Faez Isa, on Monday filed a review
petition before the Supreme Court seeking review of its June 19 majority order
requiring verification by tax authorities of three offshore properties in her
and children’s name.
Along with the
review petition, she also sought a stay saying that the Commissioner/Federal
Board of Revenue were proceeding with indecent haste against her in complete
disregard to the demise of her father and death threats to her husband. “They
have not let the petitioner grieve about the loss in her life. They are not
concerned about the death threats to her husband, and they are not waiting for
the detailed reasons/judgement.
“They are
single-mindedly pursuing the objective to deprive the petitioner of any legal
remedy, including the constitutional right to file a review under Article 188,”
argued the review petition moved in person.
This is the
fourth such review petition after the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), Supreme Court
Bar Association (SCBA), Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) moved the apex
court seeking review of the paragraphs 3 to 11 in the majority judgement by
seven judges.
The majority
order through paragraphs 3 to 11 in the short order had quashed the reference
but ordered the FBR chairman to furnish a report under his signatures to the
Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) secretary containing details of the proceedings
conducted by the FBR Inland Revenue Commissioner after seeking explanation from
the wife and children of Justice Isa about the nature and source of the funds
for the three properties in the United Kingdom.
On the receipt
of the report, the SJC will determine to initiate any action/proceedings for
the purposes of Article 209 of the Constitution, in its suo motu jurisdiction,
the judgement had explained.
The review
petition contended that the tax affairs of any private citizen were
confidential. They neither impinge on the fundamental rights of other citizens
nor were a matter of public importance, the petition said. The order,
essentially, directed investigation of the tax liability of private citizens
under the garb of public importance, the petition argued, adding this did not
satisfy the requisite preconditions of breach of the fundamental rights and
public importance that trigger Article 184(3) powers vested in the Supreme
Court.
The review
petition argued that the terms offshore assets and offshore evader were
introduced for the first time by the Finance Act, 2019, published on June 30,
2019. The petitioner pleaded that she had declared the three offshore
properties in her tax returns for the tax year 2018 and 2019, after the change
of law requiring them to be so declared and has till date not received a single
notice in respect of either tax year or in respect of her returns, let alone
that she did not declare or under declared or provided inaccurate particulars,
the petitioner contended.
The Supreme
Court by issuing the June 19 order under Article 184(3) effectively created a
class of persons and redefined the private and confidential affairs of
individual citizens falling within such class as matters of ‘public
importance’, the petition feared.
This class
includes the spouses and children of judges, with their assets and liabilities
being elevated to the status of public importance impinging on the fundamental
rights of all citizens of Pakistan. The creation of such a class backed by a
judicial order without any foundation in law may be seen to be invidious, the
petition emphasised.
Within this
class, the apex court’s treatment is discriminatory, as under Article 194 of
the Constitution all judges of the superior courts take the same oath, under
the Third Schedule, according to the petition. All judges of the superior
courts abide by the same Code of Conduct, and their violation of the same is
dealt with by the same forum, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), under Article
209 of the Constitution.
However, the
petition alleged, it was to the exclusion of all other members of this class,
created by the SC under Article 184(3), that the petitioner and her children
were being singled-out and targeted. She and her children are being made to
explain their sources of income to the exclusion of the spouses and children of
all presently 139 sitting chief justices and judges of the superior courts.
Only one
individual judge of a class created by the Supreme Court was being dealt with
in a manner completely different to the other members of the same class in a
brazen violation of the right to equal protection and guarantee against discrimination
under Article 25 of the Constitution, the petition alleged.
There was no
basis to treat the petitioner any differently from the spouses of all other
judges of the superior courts and the petitioner’s children from the children
of all other judges of the superior courts, Ms Isa contended.
In the event
that the SC decided that accountability of judges mandated accountability of
their spouses, their children, including their assets as well and that the
spouses and children of judges must present themselves before the FBR to obtain
a character certificate of good legal and moral conduct, the obligation to do
so could not attach to the petitioner and her children alone, the petition
emphasised.
If a new
obligation had been created for the petitioner due to her being the spouse of a
SC judge, such obligation must be applied and enforced strictly
across-the-board in relation to all members of this new class of judges’
spouses and children, according to the petition.
The petitioner
said that before Imran Khan’s government again stooped to making false
allegations, she wanted to clarify that she did not receive a single rupee for
her time, money and effort, did not avail of any travel and daily allowance and
did not publicise what she did. She was also not seeking gratitude or to be
acknowledged, the petition said, adding she had lived a fully occupied life in
Karachi, working, raising children and running a household, so when she
accompanied her husband to Balochistan she used the opportunity to make
peoples’ lives better.
She did not
disclose to anyone what she did and probably would never have, but when there
is no end to her persecution by the government, and people like Law Minister
Farogh Naseem had the audacity to say that the petitioner should be grateful to
receive benefits and would be entitled to get a pension when her husband died
it was hypocrisy in the extreme, which needed to be addressed. What the
petitioner did was nothing more than a wife of chief justice, governor,
president, prime minister and those of the chiefs of the armed forces would do.
She alleged
that she was being punished because she had not received a single benefit from
her husband’s position, since she and her children bought the properties from
their own money and were being asked about them.
However, the
petition said it was ironic that Mr Khan who sought and got a plot from the
government was not asked about it, but his government raised finger at the
petitioner and spread lies. The petitioner was then thrown to the FBR
controlled by the Khan government, she regretted.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1570264/justice-isas-wife-seeks-review-of-apex-court-order
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Treasury side
opposes bill for increasing high court benches
Iftikhar A.
Khan
21 Jul, 2020
ISLAMABAD: In
a move that surprised many, the government opposed in the Senate on Monday a
constitutional amendment bill seeking to increase the number of high court
benches across the country to provide inexpensive justice to the litigants.
The bill
sought to be moved by PML-N Senator Javed Abbasi was opposed by Minister of
State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan on the plea that the bill in
its present form would disturb the concept of trichotomy of powers and amount
to interference of parliament in the domain of the executive — a view rejected
by the opposition.
After a heated
debate, the bill was put to vote. Though 57 votes were cast in favour and 13
against it, the move failed as a constitutional amendment bill requires a
two-thirds majority (at least 69 senators in the 104-member house) for its
passage.
The opposition
staged a walkout from the house in protest against the government’s behaviour.
Opposition
stages walkout from Senate in protest against government’s attitude; landmark
bill seeking to raise Balochistan PA seats from 65 to 80 passed
Earlier, Javed
Abbasi, who heads the Senate Standing Committee on Law, said the bill passed by
the committee with consensus would ease the lives of hundreds of thousands of
litigants who had to travel from far-flung areas and bear the cost of hotel
bills and incur additional expenditure on their counsel.
Ali Mohammad
Khan, though hailing the spirit of the bill, insisted that there were technical
problems and asked the chair to refer the matter to the committee again. He
suggested the government and the opposition bring a consensus bill.
After the move
for bill’s passage fizzled out, Javed Abbasi said the ruling PTI stood exposed
and it had become known to all that they were not interested in providing
inexpensive justice to people. He said the bill had been defeated only because
it had been brought by the opposition.
The Lahore
High Court, besides its principal seat in the provincial capital, has benches
in Rawalpindi, Multan and Bahawalpur, and the bill had sought four more benches
in Punjab — one each in Sargodha, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Dera Ghazi Khan.
The Sindh High
Court, besides its principal seat in Karachi, has only one bench in Sukkur and
the bill had sought additional benches in Hyderabad and Larkana.
The Peshawar
High Court, besides its principal seat in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital, has
benches in Abbotabad, Mingora and Dera Ismael Khan and the bill had sought
benches in Mohmand Agency and North Waziristan as well.
The
Balochistan High Court, besides principal seat in Quetta, has benches in Sibi
and Turbat and the bill had proposed new benches in Khuzdar and Loralai.
The opposition
members were later persuaded to come to the house for voting on another bill.
The house
passed a constitutional amendment bill seeking to raise the number of seats in
the Balochistan Assembly from 65 to 80. In a rare demonstration of concord, all
the 71 members present in the house voted in favour of the bill to get it
passed unanimously.
The original
bill titled “The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (Amendment of Article 51
and 106)”, tabled by around 20 senators from Balochistan, proposed to increase
the number of seats for Balochistan in the national and provincial assemblies.
In view of the
support for the bill across the party lines, it is set to comfortably sail through
the National Assembly to become an act of parliament after the president’s
assent.
PPP
parliamentary leader in the Senate Sherry Rehman said that Article 63 of the
Constitution clearly stated that a member of the parliament stands disqualified
if he acquires the citizenship of a foreign state. Some members have been
disqualified for life from both the houses under this article. Then under what
reason and morality, special assistants to the prime minister have taken oath
of two countries, she wondered.
Senator Rehman
said that discussion on the media in this connection had exposed the
performance of the government politically and morally. She said Prime Minister
Imran Khan had himself opposed dual nationality of lawmakers, adding that only
Pakistanis should have a role in decision making. She said dual nationals
couldn’t be given jobs in sensitive organisations. She said the prime minister
used to say that Pakistanis should run the affairs of the country.
Former Senate
chairman and PPP stalwart Mian Raza Rabbani also criticised the government and
said that when a person took the oath of allegiance to another country, he gave
his loyalty to that country. He stressed that those duals nationals who were
being allowed to sit in the cabinet to make import decisions were not eligible
to become members of parliament.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1570265/treasury-side-opposes-bill-for-increasing-high-court-benches
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Qureshi
defends dual nationalities of SAPMs
21 Jul, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that every government needs
technical expertise and the inclusion of technocrats with their elected
counterparts strikes “a healthy balance”.
“One must
admit that this practice [of declaring assets and nationality details of
cabinet members] is an unprecedented one,” said the foreign minister while
speaking to a private media house on Monday.
Qureshi said
that previous regime did not ensure an open government. He credited Prime
Minister Imran Khan for the move and said that it would help in transparency
and holding them accountable.
The foreign
minister observed that the constitution made it clear that dual nationality
holders cannot become members of the parliament. “They can neither become
members of the Senate nor the National Assembly,” he said, adding: “It is clear
in the constitution. However, they are not prohibited from assuming any other
office.”
Responding to
a question about the potential conflict of interest, Qureshi said that his
party’s policy was clear on the issue. “It is binding on everyone not to do
anything that gives the perception that an individual used his office for
personal gains or financial growth,” he clarified.
In response to
a question as to whether the law should be the same for elected and non-elected
members on holding dual nationalities, the foreign minister said that both were
needed in government “to strike a healthy balance”.
“Elected
members have [their own] value. They are representatives of the people but
every elected government needs expertise,” he said. “The constitution gives
space to the prime minister to nominate four advisors who have technocratic
expertise.”
Qureshi said
that past governments have used the same relaxation. “You have to have a
balance,” he said, adding that the prime minister had set an unprecedented
example by asking his Cabinet members to declare their assets and whether they
held dual nationalities or not.
In response to
a question on whether the prime minister will ask cabinet members to let go of
their foreign nationalities, Qureshi said that a cabinet meeting will be held
on Tuesday where the prime minister will address the dual nationalities issue.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/07/20/qureshi-defends-dual-nationalities-of-sapms/
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