Crowd Baying For Suspended BJP Legislator T Raja Singh's Beheading over Prophet Remarks; Mobs Keep Hyderabad on Edge
New Age Islam News Bureau
24 August 2022
Photo: The
Times of India
-----
• Taliban Impose ‘Harsh’ Limits on Hazara and Shia
Afghans’ Religious Freedom: US Panel
• Supreme Court of Pakistan Grants Post-Arrest Bail to
Christian Blasphemy Suspect
• Authorities Hand Ten-Year Prison Sentence To Former
Imam Of Mecca's Great Mosque For Sermon On The Duty Of Muslims To Speak Out
Against Evil In Public
• US Muslims Five Times More Likely To Face Police
Harassment Due To Their Religion, Study by Rice University Shows
India
• Prophet Remark Row: Muslim Bodies Call For Strict Action
As Suspended BJP MLA Gets Bail
• Indira Jaising, Senior Human Rights Lawyer Slams
Gujarat Govt for Releasing Bilkis Bano Convicts
• Allahabad HC Turns down Petition Against Removal Of
Mosque, Shahi Masjid, Situated At GT Road in Saidabad, Prayagraj
• Central Intelligence Agencies Hunt for India Contact
of Arrested IS Jihadi, Azamov Mashrabkhon
• Non-Assam imams told to register themselves on govt
portal
• Gyanvapi mosque Waqf Board property, reiterates AIMC
• BJP asks Nitish to apologise for visiting temple
with Muslim minister
• Two terrorists killed during infiltration bid along
LoC
• Top BrahMos unit officer, 2 others sacked for
‘accidentally firing’ missile into Pakistan
--------
South
Asia
• “Honour Killing”: Afghan Man Kills His Married
Sister and another Man for Extramarital Affairs
• Taliban warns of 'stern stance' if UNSC refuses to
extend travel ban waiver
• Islamic Emirate must remove pro-Pakistan people from
its ranks: Taliban official
--------
Pakistan
• Barelvi Clerics, Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan and
Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi Condemn Attacks on Minorities in Pakistan
• Pakistan: Sixteen Graves of Ahmadi Community
Desecrated
• Become ‘Tigers’ for true freedom, Imran tells youth
• Pakistan can attract around $30 bln investment from Islamic
world: Ashrafi
• Muslim cleric in India condemns abduction, forced
conversion of Sikh girl in Pakistan
• New cases filed against former Pakistan PM Imran
Khan
• Islamabad High Court issues show-cause notice to
ex-PM Imran Khan, summons him on August 31
• Pakistan strongly condemns Indian lawmaker’s
‘reprehensible’ remarks against Holy Prophet
• PM Shehbaz reaches Qatar, invites investors to
explore CPEC opportunities
--------
Arab
World
• Egypt's president meets Iraq's caretaker PM
• Iraq’s judiciary suspends activities as al-Sadr
supporters launch sit-in
• Sadr’s supporters launch sit-in outside Iraq’s top
judicial body
--------
North
America
• Biden administration defends potential Iran nuclear
deal as Israel hits out
• Nobel laureate Turkish-American chemist makes
advance in fight against brain cancer
• Terrorism charge on Imran Khan: US says it does not
side with any political party in Pakistan
• US carries out airstrikes against Iran-backed groups
in eastern Syria
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Optimistic Indonesia Will Become Global Muslim
Fashion Hub: Minister
• Malaysia Top Court Upholds Ex-PM Najib Razak’s Graft
Conviction
• DAP To Lodge Report over Hadi’s Remarks against Non-Muslims
• No special treatment for Najib, says prisons department
--------
Mideast
• Turkey Says No Preconditions for 'Goal-Oriented'
Dialogue With Syria
• Gazans call for probe into Islamic Jihad missiles
that killed civilians
• Nuclear Chief Stresses Iran's Tough Stance against
IAEA's Israeli-Driven Attitude
• Iran's Envoy Voices Doubt about US Seriousness on
Nuclear Disarmament
• Iran Hails Triangle of Lebanese People, Army,
Resistance in Face of Israeli Threats
• Turkey to welcome Palestinian President Abbas after
restoring Israel ties
--------
Europe
• Bosnia Unearths Remains of Missing Person From 90s
War
• Russia Says Turkey’s Military Action In Syria Would
Be 'Unacceptable'
• Russia’s Lavrov condemns Israeli missile strikes on
Syria
• Türkiye extends helping hand to Georgia over forest
fire
• Greek citizen converts to Islam in northwestern
Türkiye
--------
Africa
• Algeria: Muslim Scholars Distance Themselves From
Their International Union
• Sheikh Goni Aisami: Police parade 2 soldiers who
allegedly killed Islamic cleric
• Third Algerian ex-pm detained over graft
• UN warns Libya threats to use force to resolve
political crisis
• Militant attacks fuel fear of ethnic violence in
Burkina Faso
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/raja-singh-beheading-prophet-hyderabad-mob/d/127790
--------
Crowd Baying For Suspended BJP Legislator T Raja
Singh's Beheading over Prophet Remarks; Mobs Keep Hyderabad on Edge
Photo: The
Times of India
-----
Aug 24, 2022
HYDERABAD: Telengana’s capital city was on the edge on
Tuesday over suspended BJP legislator T Raja Singh's remarks alluding to the
Prophet, with a nearly 1,000-strong crowd baying for his beheading as they
marched towards Hussaini Alam police station in the old city.
Protesters swelled outside Dabeerpura police station
and laid siege to the Hyderabad police commissioner's office at Basheerbagh
earlier in the day, prompting the administration to deploy quick-reaction and
task force teams to prevent violence. Security was beefed up around the Hindu
residential pockets of Mangalhat and Dhoolpet in the old city. Rapid Action
Force, Greyhound and special reserve police units had to be requisitioned from
neighbouring districts for deployment in potential trouble spots.
There were also tense moments outside Nampally court
in the evening, where Raja's bail hearing was underway. Police baton-charged
protesters and supporters of the MLA who had gathered there to break the
barricades and charge at each other.
The gathering storm, reminiscent of the backlash in
the wake of suspended BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma's remarks on the
Prophet in May, led Hyderabad MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to allege
that BJP was deliberately trying to polarise voters ahead of the high-stakes by
poll in Munugode.
"Does BJP want Telangana to burn for a
by-election?" he said, claiming eight years of "harmony" in the
state had made the party desperate to spark unrest and "sabotage
investments coming to India's software and pharma capital". "Aren't
they satisfied with one Nupur Sharma that they are forcing other MLAs to heap
insults on the Prophet? People are angry. It's become an official policy of BJP
to unleash hatred, and the party should put a stop to this," he added.
The MP also condemned calls for Raja's beheading by
protesting Muslims, saying the community must not make the mistake of taking
the law into its own hands.
He said PM Modi and the BJP leadership should clarify
whether it's their ""official policy to torture Muslims emotionally
and mentally, make them feel insecure and force them to hit the roads".
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Taliban Impose ‘Harsh’ Limits on Hazara and Shia
Afghans’ Religious Freedom: US Panel
A Hazara woman holds her
child as she attends an event on International Women’s Day in Bamiyan province,
Afghanistan, on March 8. WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
----
August 24, 2022
WASHINGTON: Conditions for religious freedom in
Afghanistan have “drastically deteriorated” since the Taliban seized power last
year as the last foreign troops pulled out after 20 years of war, a bipartisan
US commission said on Tuesday.
The group’s “harsh enforcement” of their hardline
version of Islam “violates the freedom of religion or belief” of a wide range
of Afghans, said the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The congressionally created panel issued its report
nine days after the Taliban marked a year since they overran Kabul, returning
to power almost two decades after their ouster by the 2001 US-led invasion.
The report noted that the Taliban pledged to protect
all ethnic and religious groups.
Yet, it said, “Religious freedom conditions in
Afghanistan have drastically deteriorated,” with the militants reintroducing
“harsh restrictions on all Afghans” based on their hardline interpretation of
Islam.
Those negatively affected include religious
minorities, Afghans “with differing interpretations of Islam,” women, the LGBTQ
community and those who follow no faith, the report said.
The Taliban, the report said, are responsible for the
deaths of dozens of Hazaras, an ethnic minority that follows Shi’ite Islam, and
failed to protect them from attacks by the regional branch of Islamic State, a
Taliban rival.
They re-established a ministry that includes morality
police who have targeted women by enforcing a strict code of dress and
behaviour, including covering their faces, and limited their movement,
education, participation in sports and right to work, it said.
The Taliban and Islamic State have both targeted
sufis, practitioners of mystical Islam, it said.
“The Taliban’s seizure of Afghanistan has led to a
rapid decline and near extinction of the already small Afghan Hindu and Sikh
communities” and the militants deny “the existence of a Christian community,”
which must worship in hiding, the report added.
Source: Pakistan Today
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Supreme Court of Pakistan Grants Post-Arrest Bail to
Christian Blasphemy Suspect
Supreme Court of Pakistan
----
Aug 24, 2022
ISLAMABAD
– The Supreme Court of Pakistan
Tuesday accepted the bail application of an accused who allegedly committed
blasphemy.
A two-member bench of the apex court, comprising
Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah conducted hearing of
the post-arrest bail of Salamat Mansha Masih, who has been charged for
blasphemy under Sections 295-A/295-B/295-C/34 of Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). He
was accused of having preached Christianity to young Muslims and of having
publicly dishonoured Islam, the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) at Model
Town Park in Lahore.
The Supreme Court said that the State show
responsibility in the cases of blasphemy in religion, and in such cases the
police should protect the accused.
Justice Faez said that the punishment in blasphemy
cases is death sentence. He said that one person commits blasphemy but we
spread this in the whole world. He noted that the incident took place in a
public park, but no one including the guard was made witness in this case.
Justice Mansoor noted that there is contradiction in
the FIR, as the accused has been declared as preacher, while he is not a
preacher.
Justice Faez enquired from the complainant counsel
that why Pakistan was come into being? The lawyer replied, “According to
Quaid-e-Azam Pakistan is laboratory of Islam.” Justice Faez further asked him
when Quaid-e-Azam had said it.
He remarked that many generals had stated many things
in the past by taking name of Quaid, and told the counsel that he was doing the
same. He further asked the counsel not to do it. Justice Faez said that
Quaid-e-Azam said that everyone in Pakistan is free to go his worship place. He
added that already the society is divided in the name of religion and sects.
East Pakistan separated and asked the counsel do not divide it further. He
said that he never heard that a Christian had filed blasphemy case against any
Muslim.
The learned judge enquired from the complainant’s
lawyer that what is the profession of the accused Salamat Masih. The counsel
replied Salamat Masih is working as sweeper in Lahore Waste Management
Company. Upon that Justice Faez said, “We should be thankful to the Christians
for cleaning the country.”
Salamat Masih is in jail since January 4, 2021. Four
students, who used to visit Lahore Model Town Park had got registered a
blasphemy case against Salamat Masih.
Source: Nation Pakistan
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://nation.com.pk/2022/08/24/top-court-grants-post-arrest-bail-to-blasphemy-suspect/
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Authorities Hand Ten-Year Prison Sentence To Former
Imam Of Mecca's Great Mosque For Sermon On The Duty Of Muslims To Speak Out
Against Evil In Public
The imam of one of Islam's
holiest mosques has been sentenced to ten years in prison [Getty]
-----
23 August, 2022
The former imam of the Great Mosque of Mecca, Islam’s
holiest site, has been sentenced to ten years in prison by Saudi authorities,
according to rights groups.
The Court of Appeals overturned an initial decision by
the Specialised Criminal Court that had acquitted Sheikh Al-Taleb, instead
giving him a formal jail sentence, according to rights group Prisoners of
Conscience.
Sheikh Saleh al-Taleb was initially arrested in August
2018. There was no official explanation for the 48-year-old’s detention, but
rights groups say his arrest came after he delivered a sermon on the duty of
Muslims to speak out against evil in public.
Saudi Arabia is known for routinely imprisoning
activists, journalists, and preachers without a clear cause.
Dozens of preachers have reportedly been arrested
since 2017, including some who called for reconciliation between the Gulf
States when Saudi Arabia orchestrated a siege against neighbouring Qatar.
Many of those clerics are still in jail, despite
relations between the neighbours since being normalised.
Last week, Saudi authorities sentenced doctoral
student Salma Al-Shehab to 34 years behind bars for tweets critical of the
government, triggering outrage worldwide.
Source: The New Arab
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/channel-migrant-crossings-hit-new-daily-record-1295-uk
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US Muslims Five Times More Likely To Face Police
Harassment Due To Their Religion, Study by Rice University Shows
Women wear American Flag
headscarves at an event at City Hall for World Hijab Day in New York City, on 1
February 2017 (AFP)
-----
23 August 2022
Muslims are five times more likely to experience
police harassment because of their religion compared to those of other faiths,
a study by Rice University shows.
More specifically, Muslim adults who identify as
Black, Middle Eastern, Arab or North African are more likely than Muslims who
identify as white to report that they have been harassed by the police because
of their religion, according to the study published in the Society for the
Study of Social Problems.
“It is worth noting that the overall rate among US
adults was estimated at 3.8 percent, so Muslim individuals are about five times
as likely to say they have been harassed by the police due to their religion,”
the report states.
The data for this study came from the survey component
of the 2019 Experiences with Religious Discrimination Study (ERDS), a project
examining individuals’ experiences with interpersonal hostility,
discrimination, and victimisation due to their religion.
The relationship between Muslim communities and the
police has always been tense. While the community looks to the police for
protection during times of harassment, many Muslims also distrust the police
because of the post-9/11 surveillance that was conducted by the police.
In July, the Arab American Action Network (AAAN)
obtained 235 “Suspicious Activity Reports” (SARs) through the Freedom of
Information Act.
The reports were made between 2016 and 2020 by the
Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police. In the reports, they found
that over 50 percent of "suspects" reported to the police, primarily
for doing mundane things like texting or taking photos, were described as
people of Arab descent in Chicago.
“The post-9/11 geopolitical environment has created a
tense relationship with law enforcement for Muslim American communities. Many
Muslim Americans fear state-sanctioned police surveillance through actions such
as online tracking, airport security, routine stops, or monitoring within
religious spaces,” the Rice University study states.
Individuals identifying as Mena-origin are more likely
to say they have experienced religion-based police harassment, the study notes.
Just over 35 percent of the individuals in this group, regardless of their
individual religions, have encountered such harassment, which is nearly 10
times the percentage seen among US adults overall.
Almost no Muslim adults who identified as white
reported experiencing police harassment due to their religion. But over 23
percent of Black Muslims experienced religion-based police harassment. The
percentage increases to nearly 40 percent among Muslim adults identifying their
race or ethnicity as Mena-origin.
“Sociologists understand how race impacts experiences
with police. However, there is less work examining how religion specifically
shapes people’s experiences with police,” said Jauhara Ferguson, the lead
author of the study and a PhD student in sociology at Rice University.
“We believe it’s an important topic to explore, and it
can help us understand the connections between religion and race in experiences
with police harassment.”
Source: Middle East Eye
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
India
Prophet remark row: Muslim bodies call for strict
action as suspended BJP MLA gets bail
August 24, 2022
Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA T Raja
Singh from Goshamahal stoked a major controversy on Tuesday for his alleged
derogatory comments on Prophet Muhammad. Though the party suspended him, he was
granted bail within hours of arrest after a court returned his remand and
ordered his release. Prominent Muslim bodies called for strict action against T
Raja Singh over his controversial remarks.
On Monday, the BJP MLA released a video criticising
stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui, who recently performed in the city and also
against the religion.Raja Singh said Munawar Faruqui hurt the religious
sentiments of Hindus and made remarks against the artist and his mother. He
also allegedly made derogatory remarks on the Prophet in the video.
PROTESTS OVER PROPHET REMARKS
Protests erupted in Hyderabad which were triggered by
a video on social media, in which T Raja Singh was heard making offensive
remarks about Islam and Muslims. Protests took place in front of city police
commissioner CV Anand’s office and other parts of Hyderabad against Singh. The
protesters demanded his immediate arrest, claiming that he had hurt the
religious sentiments of the Muslim community.
Many All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM)
legislators and corporators of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC)
reached the police stations and sought stringent action against T Raja Singh.
An FIR was lodged against him after massive protests
erupted at several locations in Hyderabad on Monday night demanding action
against him. Raja Singh was booked under IPC Sections 153a (promoting enmity
between different groups), 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with
intent to insult the religion) and 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC).
BJP MLA ARRESTED
The Telangana Police arrested Raja Singh on the basis
of a complaint filed against him for remarks on the Prophet. He was sent to
14-day judicial custody. After being arrested, the BJP MLA asked why there was
an FIR filed against him when jokes had also been made about Hindu religious
figures.
During the arrest, the Goshamahal MLA told reporters
that his video was pulled down by the social media platform on which it was
uploaded and that he will upload “part 2” of the clip after his release.
MUSLIM BODIES CALL FOR STRICT ACTION
Prominent Muslim bodies called for strict action
against T Raja Singh over his controversial remarks. All India Muslim Personal
Law Board (AIMPLB) slammed his remarks as 'very shameful' and shocking' and
said the government must take action against such people.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said this was a
deliberate attempt by the BJP to hurt Muslim sentiments. He also called the
issue a continuation of the Nupur Sharma case. He asked if the Prime Minister
agreed to the statement made by the BJP MLA, and urged the state government to
take stern action on the issue.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind demanded exemplary punishment
against T Raja Singh. Maulana Mahmood Asa’d Madani, president of Jamiat
Ulama-i-Hind, called it a disgraceful act for the country, causing its
disputation at the international fora.
BJP SUSPENDS MLA
The BJP suspended Raja Singh over his alleged
derogatory remark against Prophet Muhammad and also issued a show-cause notice
to Singh, asking to explain why he should not be expelled from the party.
T Raja Singh was granted bail within hours of arrest
after a court returned his remand and ordered his release.The court ordered his
release after it noted that section 41 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)
was not followed during the arrest.
AIMIM Corporator from Moghalpura Division, Nasreen
Sultana staged a protest against bail granted to MLA Raja Singh. Nasreen
Sultana also lodged a complaint at Bhavani Nagar Police Station. A police
patrol car was allegedly damaged by the protestors in the Moghalpura area of
Hyderabad.
BJP MLA T Raja Singh is no stranger to controversies.
Even before his arrest for remarks against the Prophet, he was known for making
polarising statements.On August 19, Raja Singh was taken into custody by the
police here when he tried to reach the venue of a show held to be held next day
by stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui.
Source: India Today
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Indira Jaising, Senior Human Rights Lawyer Slams
Gujarat Govt for Releasing Bilkis Bano Convicts
24.08.22
Senior human rights lawyer Indira Jaising has said
“Bilkis Bano’s gang rape cannot be seen as an isolated crime by a group of
individual criminals, but one committed as part of a coordinated strategy of an
attack with intent to eliminate a minority community”.
Jaising, a former additional solicitor-general, tore
into the BJP government in Gujarat for the August 15 release of the life
convicts, accusing it of “condoning a crime against humanity” and granting
remission to “mass murderers”.
“Under any dispensation of law, remission is not an
indefeasible right, but a matter for the State or the executive to decide from
case to case. When the jail committee recommends the remission of the accused
persons in this case, who is stated to have undergone a sentence of 15 years
and four months, what it is in effect doing is condoning a crime against
humanity,” she wrote in an article published in The Leaflet, a legal portal of
which she is a co-founder.
Jaising expressed sadness that rather than the
statutory law, apologists for the remission were pointing to the May 13 Supreme
Court judgment that had asked the Gujarat government to decide on the
application for remission.
The apex court, hearing a plea for remission by one of
the 11 convicts, had set aside a Gujarat High Court order saying remission
cannot be granted by the Gujarat government.
The high court had pointed out that the authority to
grant such reprieve lay with the Maharashtra government as the Bilkis Bano gang
rape and mass murder case had been tried there. But the apex court had said the
policy of the Gujarat government would apply.
“‘To decide’ implies a decision in accordance with the
law. Before one gets lost in the legalese and the notorious loopholes which
threaten to swallow the very law they proclaim, let us remember that this is
above all a moral issue. An immoral decision cannot get the support of the
law,” Jaising wrote.
“What is even more surprising is the fact that the
petitioner in the Supreme Court matter had earlier approached the High Court of
Gujarat, and the high court had correctly held that the appropriate government
to grant remission was the Maharashtra government,” she said.
In 2004, the Supreme Court had transferred the Bilkis
Bano case to the CBI following allegations of bias on the part of Gujarat
police, and the trial was shifted to Maharashtra.
“When his (one of the 11 convicts’) petition was filed
in the Supreme Court, the Gujarat High Court order passed in 2019 remained
unchallenged, yet it has been set aside by the Supreme Court through its
judgment dated May 13,” Jaising wrote.
According to the senior counsel, the decision of the
two-judge Supreme Court bench was in “complete violation” of the principle laid
down by a nine-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court in the Naresh
Shridhar Mirajkar & Ors. versus State Of Maharashtra & Anr. (1966) case
to the effect that a judicial order cannot be challenged under Article 32 of
the Constitution.
Jaising pointed out that according to the nine-judge
bench verdict, a person can challenge a conviction or seek other reprieve under
the CrPC or penal code sections he or she had been charged with, not under
Article 32 of the Constitution that deals with remedies for the enforcement of
fundamental rights.
The Gujarat convict had moved the Supreme Court under
Article 32, making a constitutional appeal instead of a statutory appeal
related to the CrPC sections under which he had been charged, and the court
allowed it, Jaising pointed out.
“An entire community was targeted with communal
violence. No less than nine clusters of murders in nine different districts of
Gujarat were investigated by a special investigative team set up by the Supreme
Court, and many have been convicted of having committed mass murders,” she
wrote.
“The rape of Bilkis Bano and the murders of her family
members formed part of this coordinated response in the post-Godhra carnage in
Gujarat. Hence, Bilkis Bano’s gang rape cannot be seen as an isolated crime by
a group of individual criminals, but one committed as part of a coordinated
strategy of an attack with intent to eliminate a minority community.
“It is worth mentioning that sexual violence, when it
occurs in this context, has been categorised as a crime against humanity by the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Although India is not a party
to the Rome Statute, the statute draws on customary international law and
humanitarian law to formulate crime and punishment. The remission, therefore,
must be considered as the remission of mass murderers, who set out to eradicate
a minority community. The gang rape of Bilkis Bano and the murder of her family
members must be looked at from this perspective as to whether there is a case
for remission, and the answer must be a loud and resounding No,” Jasing
asserted.
She contested the argument from certain quarters that
all convicts have a right to remission.
“This is, strictly speaking, not true. Under any
dispensation of law, remission is not an indefeasible right, but a matter for
the State or the executive to decide from case to case. When the jail committee
recommends the remission of the accused person in this case, who is stated to
have undergone a sentence of 15 years and four months, what it is in effect
doing is condoning a crime against humanity,” Jaising wrote.
“Whispers have been heard that after all they were
Brahmins and well-behaved prisoners, and hence remission is required to be
given since they were doing their duty by their religion. Such blatant defiance
of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to non-discrimination
based on religion, caste and sex, has not been seen in our country before and
must be condemned,” the human rights lawyer contended.
Jaising referred to the Rome Statute and its Article
77 that says a person convicted of crimes against humanity can be made to
undergo a sentence of up to 30 years.
“Even considering that remission is possible, the
question is why was it felt necessary to release them in 15 years and four
months, rather than allowing them to complete at least 30 years?” she asked.
“After all, the crimes for which they were convicted
were punishable with death, but they were given life imprisonment. The Supreme
Court has held that life imprisonment means imprisonment for the remainder of
one’s natural life. If an exception to this rule is made out, we must surely
know the reasons for the same, especially when it is in relation to crimes
against humanity, by the very State in which the crimes have occurred.
“Not only does the release send out a signal — a dog
whistle — that it is okay to kill and rape people of the minority community, it
also has a devastating impact on Bilkis Bano herself, who has expressed the
fear that her life and her family members’ lives are in danger.
“The sooner the remission is challenged, the better
for our commitment to the morality of democracy, which is the constitutional
morality courts too are expected to follow,” Jaising wrote.
Referring to the May 13 judgment of the Supreme Court
asking the Gujarat government to consider the remission plea of one of the
convicts, Jaising said the two-judge bench had ignored the binding precedent
set by a five-judge constitution bench in the Union of India versus V. Sriharan
@ Murugan & Ors. (2015) case.
The five-judge bench had laid down that the test to
pinpoint the appropriate government permitted to grant remission under Sections
432 and 433 of the CrPC is to locate the state in which the accused was
convicted and sentenced, and the government of that state would be the
appropriate authority to take a call.
Source: Telegraph India
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Allahabad HC Turns down Petition Against Removal Of
Mosque, Shahi Masjid, Situated At GT Road in Saidabad, Prayagraj
TNN | Aug 23, 2022
PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court has dismissed a
writ petition moved against the proposed removal of the Shahi Masjid situated
at GT Road in Saidabad, Prayagraj, for widening of highway, saying that the
issue couldn't be entertained within the scope of the petition.
The high court further clarified that as per
government report, the masjid had been constructed by encroaching the
government land. Besides, the issue of title over the land can be decided by
the civil court. The Intezamia Committee of the Shahi Masjid, Saidabad, had
filed this petition on the basis of a revenue department report that the
structure was in existence for a long time, i.e., since pre-independence time.
Dismissing the writ petition filed by the Intezamia
Committee, a division bench comprising Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Om
Prakash Shukla observed: “Looking into the stand taken by the authorities in
the written instruction supplied today and the enclosure appended therein and
in view of the categorical stand of the respondents that the existing
construction of Shahi Masjid situated on Prayagraj to Handia stretch of State
Highway 106 is an encroachment on the government land namely 'gata No 402' as
per the report of the sub-divisional officer, Handia, Prayagraj, we are not in
a position to issue mandamus as claimed by the petitioner herein.”
Declining to entertain the masjid committee's
arguments quoting the revenue department report, the court in its decision
dated August 16 further said, “a perusal of the said report indicates that it
is based on the statement made by the people of the locality and there is no
data or material which was looked into by the reporting officer before making
the above statement with regard to the existence of Shahi Masjid.”
Source: Times Of India
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Central Intelligence Agencies Hunt For India Contact
Of Arrested IS Jihadi, Azamov Mashrabkhon
Aug 24, 2022
NEW DELHI: Central intelligence agencies and Delhi's
anti-terror unit, special cell, have begun an informal investigation to
ascertain the identity of the India-based contact of the Islamic State
terrorist held in Russia and are checking whether the network being used by
IS-Khorasan Province, in this case, is the same as the one used by the Afghan
Abdul Rehman al Logari, an IS terrorist who was caught just a week before he
was to blow himself up in Delhi in 2017, reports Rajshekhar Jha.
The Afghanistan connection stems from the
interrogation of IS terrorist Azamov Mashrabkhon wherein he reveals having
pledged his allegiance to the IS on the command of Yusuf Tajiki, a prominent
propagandist believed to have been killed a few months ago by the Taliban in
Afghanistan.
Source: Times Of India
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Non-Assam imams told to register themselves on govt
portal
Umanand Jaiswal
| Guwahati
24.08.22
Imams and madrasa teachers planning to work in Assam
will have to register themselves on a portal being developed by the state
government.
The decision to keep track of imams and religious
teachers from outside the state has been prompted by the arrests of at least 32
people since March with alleged links to terror outfits such as the Ansarullah
Bangla Team (ABT) and al Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). Two imams
were arrested on Saturday from Goalpara district with suspected links to AQIS.
Assam chief minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa
Sarma said on Tuesday that residents of the state would have to inform police
if they wanted to hire any imams or madrasa teachers.
“They can be hired once the police verification of
their antecedents is complete. We are also developing a portal where imams and
others will have to register their details. This way, it becomes easier for all
of us to keep track or hire them. The Muslim population is extending its
support to the move,” Sarma said.
Source: Telegraph India
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Gyanvapi mosque Waqf Board property, reiterates AIMC
Aug 24, 2022
The Varanasi district court will continue on Wednesday
the hearing on the plea by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC)
challenging maintainability of Shringar Gauri—Gyanvapi case.
On Tuesday, the counsels for the AIMC again presented
their counter arguments before the court of district judge Ajay Krishna
Vishvesha, stating that Gyanvapi masjid is registered as a waqf property and
therefore civil court has no jurisdiction to hear the case and it is the waqf
tribunal only that has the authority to hear the case.
The AIMC counsel also submitted proof of the Gyanvapi
mosque being a Waqf Board registered number 100 property, in the court. They
also cited orders issued in the year 1944 and 1936 stating that the site is a
property of the Waqf Board.
The counsels of Muslim side will continue with their
submissions on Wednesday.
Hindu side lawyer Madan Mohan Yadav said that the
Muslim side repeated the same submission made by deceased lawyer Abhay Nath
Yadav, that the Gyanvapi Mosque is property of the Waqf Board.
The Shringar Gauri Gyanvapi Case was filed by five
women, including Rakhi Singh, last year in August seeking permission for daily
worship at Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in Gyanvapi Complex. Senior advocate Hari
Shanker Jain and Vishnu Shanker Jain along with Sudhir Tripathi and others were
present from the Hindu side.
Source: Hindustan Times
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BJP asks Nitish to apologise for visiting temple with
Muslim minister
Aug 23, 2022
The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday
criticised Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar for hurting Hindu sentiments by
visiting Gaya’s Vishnupad Temple, where entry of non-Hindus is prohibited, a
day earlier with his Muslim Cabinet colleague. It warned of protests if he
failed to apologise.
Mohammad Israil Mansuri, who is in charge of the Gaya
district, was among the ministers who accompanied Kumar to the temple to review
the preparations for Pitri Paksha Mela from September 9. He told reporters he
felt blessed to have visited the temple.
BJP’s state chief Sanjay Jaiswal demanded a public
apology from Kumar. “If [he] refuses to apologise, he would face protests in
the state assembly.”
Mahesh Gupt, a member of the temple committee, said
they could not recognise Mansuri as they had not seen him before. “...he did
not appear different from others. But this could have been avoided. There is a
notice board at the temple, saying clearly that non-Hindus are not allowed.”
He referred to cleaning at the temple and called it a
routine affair. “Cleaning has to be done thrice in a day. Often the devotees
leave behind lots of puja materials...and things have to be cleared to maintain
cleanliness.”
The temple committee chief Shambhu Lal Vitthal was
unavailable for comments.
Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav said nobody pays
attention to the BJP when was asked for comments on the controversy.
Ashok Choudhary, another minister, said the BJP
believes Hindus and Muslims must not go to each other’s places of worship. “We
visit temples and Muslim shrines with the same spirit.” He added Mansuri may
not have been aware of the bar on the entry of non-Hindus into the temple. “But
it is not something over which a fuss should be made.”
Source: Hindustan Times
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Two terrorists killed during infiltration bid along
LoC
Aug 24, 2022
JAMMU: Two Pakistani terrorists were killed during an
infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Laam sector of Naushera in
J&K’s Rajouri district late Monday.
“The reconnaissance of the general area of the
attempted infiltration site is in progress. A military scrutiny scan of the
area was done by a quadcopter on Tuesday morning and the bodies of two
infiltrators were observed lying there. The area is being scanned further,” a
defence spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Source: Times Of India
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Top BrahMos unit officer, 2 others sacked for
‘accidentally firing’ missile into Pakistan
Aug 24, 2022
NEW DELHI: The commanding officer (CO) of a BrahMos
unit that "accidentally fired" a supersonic cruise missile that crashed
124-km inside Pakistan on March 9 and two other officers have been summarily
sacked by the government.
The IAF on Tuesday said the court of inquiry (CoI),
headed by an Air Vice Marshal, found that "deviation from the standard
operating procedure (SOP) by the three officers" led to the accidental
firing of the 290-km-range tactical or conventional (non-nuclear) missile.
Apart from the CO, a Group Captain-rank officer
(equivalent to a Colonel in the Army), the other two officers dismissed are a
Wing Commander (Lt Col) and a Squadron Leader (Major).
"These three officers have primarily been held
responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the
central government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served
upon the officers on August 23," the IAF said in a brief statement.
TOI had earlier reported that the Group Captain and a
couple of other officers would face strict disciplinary action for the grave
operational lapse that could have triggered a retaliation.
The CoI report was submitted to the defence ministry
for further action after it examined the entire sequence of events as well as
the acts of omission and commission that led to the missile, jointly developed
with Russia, being inadvertently launched from near an IAF base in north India
at about 7 pm on March 9.
TOI had also reported that "human error" -
which included overriding the in-built mechanical and electronic locks of the
missile system - and not "any technical malfunction" was responsible
for the incident.
The Group Captain was in charge of mobile command post
of the BrahMos unit when the missile, which flies at almost three times the
speed of sound at Mach 2.8, was launched by mistake during an exercise being
audited by Command Air Staff Inspection.
Source: Times Of India
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South
Asia
“Honour
Killing”: Afghan Man Kills His Married Sister and another Man for Extramarital
Affairs
By
Saqalain Eqbal
23
Aug 2022
Using
a Kalashnikov rifle, a man shot and killed his married sister and another
married polygamous man for engaging in extramarital sexual intercourse in the
absence of her husband, according to local Taliban officials in the northern
province of Faryab.
A
man and a woman were allegedly shot in the Kohistan district of Faryab province
for engaging in an affair, according to local sources.
According
to Mohammad Ismail Furqani, Taliban’s Counter-Crimes director of the Faryab
Chief of Police, the “honour killing” event occurred on Monday night, 22nd of
August in the Kohistan district of Faryab province as the killer caught his
sister and the man “red-handed”, having sex.
According
to the Faryab police, the woman’s brother used a Kalashnikov to shoot both of
the victims as they were having consensual sex. They were both married, but not
to each other.
The
man, who was shot, according to local sources in the province of Faryab, was
already married to two other women, had 11 children, and had an affair with
another married woman.
The
murderer has turned himself into the police in Faryab, according to Taliban
official Furqani, and is currently in their custody.
Source:
Khaama Press
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Taliban
warns of 'stern stance' if UNSC refuses to extend travel ban waiver
August
23, 2022
In
the wake of disagreements among the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
member states regarding the travel ban waiver, the Taliban officials warned
that if the UNSC refused to extend the travel ban waiver, the decision would
provoke them to maintain which will not be in the interest of anyone.
The
United States, the United Kingdom, and France the three permanent members of
the UNSC want to impose travel restrictions on Taliban officials whereas Russia
and China, the other two permanent members of this council, are in favor of
waiving up to 13 Taliban officials from their travel bans, Khaama Press reported.
The
UN Security Council (UNSC) will reportedly vote on whether to extend the 13
Taliban officials' travel exemptions soon as the travel exemptions for the
Afghan Taliban officials were set to expire on August 19.
However,
the UNSC is reportedly sceptical over whether to extend the travel ban waiver
or not.
Notably,
the Taliban's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, tweeted on
Saturday that under the Doha Agreement all the sanctions against the Taliban
should be rescinded and the Taliban officials warned that if the UNSC refused
to extend the travel ban waiver, the decision would provoke them to maintain a
stern stance which will not be in the interest of anyone, according to Khaama
Press.
Even
though 13 other Taliban officials had their travel ban waivers extended earlier
for at least two months, which expired on August 19, two Taliban education
officials had their travel rights revoked because the Taliban restricted
women's and girls' access to education, last time.
Earlier,
the UN Security Council (UNSC) gave leaders of the Islamic Emirate exemptions
to travel bans to facilitate their negotiations with the US despite its
long-standing international travel ban on the Taliban leaders.Since the Taliban
seized power in Kabul last year, the human rights situation has been
exacerbated by a nationwide economic, financial and humanitarian crisis of
unprecedented scale.Acts of terror, killings, blasts and attacks have become a
regular affair with unabated human rights violations involving ceaseless murder
of civilians, destroying mosques and temples, assaulting women, and fueling
terror in the region.
The
Taliban dismantled the system to respond to gender-based violence, created new
barriers to women accessing health care, blocked women's aid workers from doing
their jobs, and attacked women's rights protesters.
Source:
Business Standard
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Islamic
Emirate must remove pro-Pakistan people from its ranks: Taliban official
23
August, 2022
Kabul
[Afghanistan], August 23 (ANI): A Taliban official on Tuesday advised the
Islamic Emirate to remove pro-Pakistan people from its ranks in order to save
Afghanistan from international isolation.
Mufti
Abdul Hakim, a member of the Taliban press, said, “The government agencies in
the Taliban regime are full of people who are either citizens of Pakistan or
have close ties to Pakistan. If the Taliban don’t remove pro-Pakistan people
from their ranks, they will be further isolated,” reported South Asia Media
Research Institute (SAMRI).
Hakim,
who now analyzes the benefits of the group in television debates, has recently
said that the government institutions in the Taliban regime are filled with
people who are either citizens of Pakistan or have close ties with Islamabad.
He
admitted this issue in a discussion on Shamshad TV and said that if the Taliban
does not change its policy and does not remove people committed to Pakistan
from its ranks, there is a possibility that this group will be isolated.
Notably,
Pakistan and its ally Taliban are at loggerheads. Pakistan has committed a
strategic blunder in thinking that the Taliban, which the country helped in
fighting a US-backed Afghanistan for over two decades, will fulfil Islamabad’s
wishes.
Both
the allies are at loggerheads with the threat of a bloody skirmish along the
Durand Line on the anvil, reported the Afghan Diaspora Network.
The
ties between Taliban-led Afghanistan and Pakistan have been frosty of late and
matters have been exacerbated by recent border tensions. Last month, a number
of videos emerged from border standoff in Balochistan and the Nimroz provinces
of two countries.
Earlier,
the Taliban-appointed Defence Minister said that Afghanistan will not allow any
other country to act aggressively against its interests.
The
refusal to accept the status of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan by
the Taliban regime has clearly shown the cracks in the relationship between the
two countries.
The
Taliban have so far not shown any signs of acceding to these wishes. Rather, on
several occasions, they have rejected Pakistan’s demands, including the one to
recognise the Durand Line.
‘Borders’
that have remained porous for centuries have suddenly been shut down, dividing
clans and families, according to Toronto-based think tank International Forum
For Rights And Security (IFFRAS).
Source:
The Print
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Pakistan
Barelvi
Clerics, Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan and Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi
Condemn Attacks on Minorities in Pakistan
23rd
August 2022
Bareilly:
Ittehad-e-Millat Party chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan and Maulana Shahabuddin
Razvi Barelvi, general secretary of Ulma-e-Islam, have expressed concern over
the attacks on minorities in Pakistan.
Referring
to the recent incident wherein a Sikh girl was allegedly forced into marriage
and conversion, the clerics said that no one can be made to adopt Islam through
force or greed.
The
clerics asked Pakistan to stop such activities and added that some outfits were
working against the principles of Islam and such activities should be termed
“anti-Islam”.
They
said that Islam had spread across the world because of its tenets and
co-existed with other religions that together form the ‘Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb’
of India.
“There
is no rule of law in Pakistan and people indulge in activities in the name of
religion, bringing a bad name to Islam. If they had true knowledge of the
religion, they would not have done such activities. Suh people should read
books written by Ala Hazrat in order to gain knowledge,” they said.
In
the press release, the clerics further said that breaking of temples and other
shrines in Pakistan was a highly condemnable act which is not permitted in
Islam.
Source:
Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/barelvi-clerics-condemn-attacks-on-minorities-in-pakistan-2396496/
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Pakistan:
Sixteen graves of Ahmadi community desecrated
24th
August 2022
Lahore:
Sixteen graves of the Ahmadi community in Pakistan’s Punjab province have been
allegedly desecrated by religious extremists for using Islamic symbols on
gravestones at a cemetery, a spokesman of the minority community said on Wednesday.
According
to Jamaat Ahmadiya Punjab spokesperson Aamir Mahmood, on August 22,
unidentified persons desecrated 16 graves of Ahmadis in a walled communal
graveyard in Chak 203 RB Manawala, Faisalabad district, some 150 kms from
Lahore.
The
Islamic verses are inscribed on the tombstones of a number of graves in the
graveyard of the community.
Talking
to PTI, Mahmood said this graveyard is 75 years old and no such incident had
taken place before this. He alleged that Muslim clerics of the area were stoking
hatred against Ahmadis that resulted in the desecration of their graves at the
hands of religious extremists.
“This
act has caused immense grief amongst the bereaved families who are looking to
the government for justice. This act is not only illegal but is clearly against
all human values,” he said.
There
had been a number of such incidents in different parts of Pakistan in which the
graves of the Ahmadi community members were desecrated by religious zealots in
the past. “A total of 185 Ahmadi graves were desecrated this year alone,”
Mahmood said.
He
further said, “this continuous persecution” testifies to the utter disregard of
Ahmadi community rights and creates a sense of deep insecurity among the
minority people. He urged the government to take effective measures to stop
this onslaught and hold the culprits accountable.
Pakistan’s
Parliament in 1974 declared the Ahmadi community as non-Muslims. A decade
later, they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. They are banned from
preaching and from travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage.
Source:
Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/pakistan-sixteen-graves-of-ahmadi-community-desecrated-2397059/
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Become
‘Tigers’ for true freedom, Imran tells youth
Ikram
Junaidi
August
24, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan condemned the arrest of Leader
of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh and the ongoing
crackdown against the opposition in the province.
Talking
to former governor of Sindh Imran Ismail and newly elected member of the
National Assembly from NA-245, Mahmood Moulvi, who met him here on Tuesday at
Banigala, the PTI chairman congratulated Mahmood on his historic success in the
by-poll.
According
to a statement issued by the PTI on the occasion, Mr Khan also felicitated Mr
Ismail and PTI Karachi organisation for the successful election campaign to
trounce the joint candidate of the government allied parties in NA-245
elections.
During
the meeting, they also discussed the country’s political situation and the
devastation caused by the flood and the relief activities in Sindh.
Mr
Ismail briefed the PTI chairman on the “ill-treatment” meted out to the
opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly and about the ongoing crackdown against
the opposition in the province.
In
the meeting, the chairman was also informed about the Pakistan Peoples Party’s
(PPP) efforts to escape from the upcoming local government elections in Sindh.
Meanwhile,
the PTI chairman invited the youth to join the “Imran Tigers” in order to
convey his message of real freedom door to door. “Imran Tigers will be the
passionate youth of my country who will take my message to every nook and
corner of the country,” he said in a video statement.
He
said there was a ‘system of ignorance and injustice’. For this, he said, he
needed the youth to spread the message of true freedom everywhere.
Explaining
the process of joining “Imran Tigers”, he said that just send ‘Yes’ on WhatsApp
number 0300-1119444 and become a part of “Imran Tiger” immediately. After
writing ‘Yes’, he explained, a website name would appear in the message and get
themselves registered there.
Source:
Dawn
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of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1706517/become-tigers-for-true-freedom-imran-tells-youth
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Pakistan
can attract around $30 bln investment from Islamic world: Ashrafi
August
23, 2022
DOHA:
Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and Middle East
Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi on Tuesday said Pakistan could attract around $30
billion investment from the Islamic world by promoting ease of doing business.
Talking
to media, Ashrafi who is on an official visit to Qatar these days, said
Pakistan was focusing on trade and investment instead of loan or aid. He said
the friendly countries such as; Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
(UAE) were providing assistance to Pakistan in a bid to get rid of the
prevailing economic crisis.
He
said Pakistan was expecting $2 billion from Qatar in bilateral support to help
ease the South Asian nation’s funding crunch and the consequent risk of a
default adding it would also get $ one billion in oil financing from Saudi
Arabia and a similar amount in investments from the UAE.
Ashrafi
said it was a matter of pride for Pakistan that it would provide troops for
security of the Federation Internationale de Football Association(FIFA) World
Cup in Qatar later this year.
He
made it clear that Pakistan-Qatar relations were between the two nations and
countries so that the regime change or present political situation in Pakistan
would not have any negative impact on their fraternal ties.
He
said Prime Minister Shehbaz’s visit to Qatar would impart a renewed impetus to
deepening the cooperation between the two countries in diverse fields and
further strengthen their growing economic partnership.
He
said Qatar was home to more than 200,000 Pakistanis, who were contributing to
the progress, prosperity and economic development of the two brotherly
countries.
To
a query, Ashrafi said ‘Pakistan Charter’ was need of the hour for economic
stability of the country. It was the high time to avoid all differences and
take part in nation-building activities across the board.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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Muslim
cleric in India condemns abduction, forced conversion of Sikh girl in Pakistan
23
August, 2022
Bareilly
(Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 23 (ANI): A Muslim cleric in India has
condemned the abduction, forceful conversion and marriage of a Sikh girl in the
Buner district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“In
the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a Sikh girl was abducted and
forcibly married off and in another city, Rahim Yar Khan some temples were
vandalised. This is an extremely sad and shameful incident. Islam never allows
such acts,” the national general secretary of Tanzeem Ulama-e-Islam, Maulana
Shahabuddin Razvi said.
Sikh
community in Buner organised massive protests after Dina Kaur, daughter of
Gurucharan Singh was forcibly abducted and converted to Islam on the evening of
August 20.
“Islam
promotes peace and teaches love and affection. The prophet has not allowed
anyone to convert others’ religion either through temptation or through force,
nor does it allow the destruction of religious buildings of others’ faith”,
said Razvi, who is based in Bareilly city of Uttar Pradesh.
He
added: “These acts are being done by the elements who have nothing to do with the
principles of Islam and who have not read the history of Islam. They have not
read the teachings of the Prophet. I condemn these acts in strong words.”
The
minority community, including the Sikhs, Hindus and Christians from different
parts of Pakistan have been facing persecution and their girls are regularly
being kidnapped, raped and married to their abductors.
Many
families from Pakistan have already migrated to India and other countries to
protect their daughters and other family members.
Source:
The Print
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New
cases filed against former Pakistan PM Imran Khan
Aug
23, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
In a big blow to former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, fresh cases were
registered against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief for violating section
144 by organizing a rally in Islamabad to show solidarity with Shahbaz Gill.
The
federal government on Tuesday lodged two cases against PTI Chief Imran Khan and
other PTI leaders, ARY News reported.
According
to details, the federal government has lodged a case against PTI Chairman Imran
Khan and other PTI leaders including Murad Saeed, Fawad Chaudhry, Faisal Javed,
Sheikh Rasheed and Asad Umer.
PTI
leaders Raja Khurram Nawaz and Ali Nawaz Awan have also been named in the cases
filed in the Aabpara police station of Islamabad, reported ARY News.
The
case had been lodged against Imran Khan and other PTI leaders for violating
article 144 by organizing a rally in Islamabad on Saturday night that continued
on Sunday too, reported ARY News.
The
PTI chair had staged a rally in the federal capital on August 20 to express
solidarity with his chief of staff Shahbaz Gill after claims of torture in
custody.
Gill
was arrested on charges of colluding with a private PakistTV news channel in
carrying out propaganda against the state. Police said that he was arrested for
making statements against the state institutions and inciting the people to
rebel.
The
Pakistani publication claimed that the PTI leader had attempted to incite
hatred in the Pakistan Army while speaking on ARY News a day prior, which has
been restricted in certain parts of the country.
Notably,
regulatory watchdog PEMRA has alleged that the ARY News channel was airing
"false, hateful and seditious" content based on "absolute
disinformation with a clear and present threat to national security by
instigating rebellion within the armed forces."
Meanwhile,
Imran Khan was booked for threatening a judge and two top police officials in a
public meeting held at the F-9 Park late Saturday evening. Khan was booked
under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
He
warned the Islamabad inspector-general and deputy inspector-general that he
would "not spare" them, vowing to file cases against them for
subjecting Gill to alleged inhuman torture, according to Geo News.
Earlier
today the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a show-cause notice to the former
prime minister and PTI chairman after taking up contempt of court proceedings
against him for allegedly threatening Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.
On
August 22, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted pre-arrest bail to Imran Khan
until August 25 in a terrorism case.
Source:
Times Of India
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Islamabad
High Court issues show-cause notice to ex-PM Imran Khan, summons him on August
31
Aug
23, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to PTI chairman
Imran Khan after taking up contempt of court proceedings against him for
threatening Additional Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry during a public rally.
The
IHC bench comprised Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Babar Sattar and
Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Geo tv reported.
Meanwhile,
the court summoned Imran Khan in personal capacity on August 31 and forwarded
the case to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, seeking inclusion of more judges in
the bench.
Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman was booked for threatening a judge and two top
police officials in a public meeting held at the F-9 Park late Saturday
evening.
Khan
was booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).
The
PTI chair had staged a rally in the federal capital on August 20 to express solidarity
with his chief of staff Shahbaz Gill after claims of torture in custody.
He
warned the Islamabad inspector-general and deputy inspector-general that he
would "not spare" them, vowing to file cases against them for
subjecting Gill to alleged inhuman torture, according to Geo tv.
Earlier
Imran's lawyers, Babar Awan and Faisal Chaudhry, filed a petition seeking
pre-arrest bail on his behalf in a terrorism case registered for 'threatening'
a female judge and senior police officers in a public rally.
The
pre-arrest bail plea contended the case was based on "surmises and
conjectures" and that no evidence was available on record against Imran in
connection with the case. It also contended that there was no "direct or
indirect" evidence available on record against Imran in the case.
Another
point which was highlighted in the plea was the assurance that if granted
protective bail there will be "no likelihood" of Imran absconding or
tampering with prosecution evidence.
It
should be noted that a terrorism case was registered against Imran Khan for
using derogatory language and threatening Additional Session Judge Zeba
Chaudhry in his speech in Islamabad on August 20. Sources say that the text of
the PTI chief's August 20 speech has also been included in the FIR.
Imran
Khan, addressing a PTI rally in Islamabad, had said that they would file cases
against Inspector General Islamabad Police, Deputy IG Islamabad Police and
magistrate Zeba Chaudhry for the torture of PTI leader Shahbaz Gill.
Source:
Times Of India
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Pakistan
strongly condemns Indian lawmaker’s ‘reprehensible’ remarks against Holy
Prophet
Naveed
Siddiqui
August
24, 2022
Pakistan
on Wednesday strongly condemned the “highly provocative and sacrilegious
remarks” made by a BJP leader against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and called upon
the international community to take urgent cognisance of the aggravating
Islamophobia in India.
Indian
police had on Tuesday detained BJP leader T. Raja Singh, a lawmaker in the
southern state of Telangana, on suspicion of “promoting enmity in the name of
religion” after Muslim groups demanded his arrest for his comments about the
Prophet (PBUH).
Condemning
the remarks, the Foreign Office said it was the second time in the last three
months that a senior BJP leader made disrespectful comments against the Holy
Prophet (PBUH).
“These
highly derogatory remarks have gravely hurt the feelings of the people of
Pakistan and billions of Muslims around the world.”
The
FO spokesperson pointed out that “the token and perfunctory disciplinary action
taken by the BJP against the said official cannot assuage the pain and anguish
caused to the Muslims of India and around the world”.
Pakistan
also condemned the release of the lawmaker hours after his arrest and said the
decision of setting free the BJP leader was “highly reprehensible”.
The
spokesperson said the current incident once again highlighted the incumbent
Indian regime’s “obsessively spiteful demeanour” towards the Muslims and “the
worrying trajectory” of Islamophobia in India.
“The
fact is that India is nothing more than an undeclared ‘Hindu Rashtra’ where
Muslims are routinely denigrated, dispossessed and marginalized and their
religious beliefs are trampled under majoritarian hegemonism.”
The
FO also called out the “deafening silence” of the top BJP leadership on the
abhorrent incident, saying it manifestly reflected their approval and complete
support to the radical Hindu zealots within and beyond the BJP.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
PM
Shehbaz reaches Qatar, invites investors to explore CPEC opportunities
Syed
Irfan Raza
August
24, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
In view of the severe reaction from the general public and traders, the
government on Tuesday exempted over 17 million electricity consumers from fuel
adjustment charges (FAC) and traders from the fixed tax.
Prime
Minister Shehbaz Sharif, soon after arriving in Qatar’s capital Doha on a
two-day official visit on Tuesday, announced that 17.1 million power consumers
will be exempted from paying the high FCA in their electricity bills.
He
said he had formed a committee to fix the responsibility on those who had
imposed the fixed tax on traders against the government’s decision and policy.
The government will bear a gap of Rs42 billion by withdrawing the fixed tax, he
added.
“Of
the total 30 million electricity consumers, 17 million have been removed from
FAC bracket and the rest of 13 million are well-off people but the government
will also facilitate them,” the prime minister said.
Accompanied
by a group of federal ministers at the Doha Airport, PM Sharif said Energy
Minister Khurram Dastgir will apprise the nation in a press conference on
Wednesday (today) how the benefit of a decline in fuel prices at the
international level will be passed on to the consumers.
Meanwhile,
Mr Dastgir told a private TV channel that the FAC will be adjusted for 17
million consumers in their next month’s power bill.
The
prime minister said the FAC was imposed because of high fuel prices in the
international market in June, thus the impact was reflected in the July and August
bills.
“Unfortunately
we have to consult over everything with the IMF [International Monetary Fund]
under an agreement [inked by the last government]. We thus consulted IMF, PML-N
supremo Nawaz Sharif and other coalition leaders and it was decided that 17.1m
electricity consumers should not pay the FCA,” he added. The exemption would
also apply to 300,000 tube well users.
Qatar
visit
Earlier,
PM Sharif was accorded a red-carpet reception in Doha on his first visit to the
country since assuming the office, for holding “in-depth consultations” with
the leadership and interacting with the business community to highlight
Pakistan’s investment potential. He was received by Qatar’s Minister of
Transport Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti.
According
to the Foreign Office, the two sides will review the entire spectrum of
bilateral relations, with a particular focus on advancing energy-related
cooperation, deepening trade and investment ties, and exploring greater
employment opportunities for Pakistanis in Qatar.
The
PM also invited investors from Qatar to invest in Pakistan’s energy, aviation,
agriculture, livestock, maritime, tourism and hospitality sectors. He also
urged the investors to explore the opportunities presented by CPEC.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1706515/17m-power-consumers-exempted-from-fuel-adjustment-charges
--------
Arab
World
Egypt's
president meets Iraq's caretaker PM
23
August, 2022
President
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt met Tuesday with Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister
Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in the Mediterranean city of el-Alamein.
The
meeting comes one day after a summit between leaders of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan,
the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as world powers and Iran seek to end 16
months of negotiations over the revival of Tehran's landmark nuclear deal.
On
Monday, al-Sisi and Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan received
King Abdullah II of Jordan, Al-Kadhimi and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al
Khalifa at the airport.
The
UAE leader arrived at the coastal city a day earlier and held separate talks
with his Egyptian counterpart on ties between the regional allies, al-Sisi's
office said.
The
five-party talks focused on consolidating ties and cooperation between their
countries, according to an Egyptian statement, which did not elaborate.
Iraq
has hosted several rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose ties
worsened considerably in 2016.
That's
when Saudi Arabia removed its diplomats after protesters attacked its embassy
in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad.
Later
in the day, al-Sisi accompanied Al-Kadhimi to the airport before his departure.
There
were also talks recently between Iran and Egypt as both governments explore
ways to ease decades-long tensions.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iraq’s
judiciary suspends activities as al-Sadr supporters launch sit-in
23
August, 2022
Iraq’s
judiciary suspended its activities on Tuesday after supporters of Shia cleric
Muqtada al-Sadr stepped up pressure on it to dissolve parliament, as one of the
worst political crises since the US-led invasion dragged on.
Al-Sadr
has in recent weeks commanded thousands of followers to storm and occupy
parliament, preventing the formation of a government nearly 10 months after
elections.
Iraqi
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who cut short a trip to Egypt to deal with
the crisis, has urged all sides to remain calm and renewed calls for a national
dialogue.
Al-Sadr’s
followers began gathering for protests outside the headquarters of the Supreme
Judicial Council and Federal Supreme Court in Baghdad. The followers have sent
threats by phone, the judiciary said in a statement.
“(We)
will suspend court sessions as a protest against this unconstitutional behavior
and will hold the government and political parties which are backing this move
fully responsible for all the results,” the statement added.
Al-Sadr
has called for early elections and unspecified changes to the constitution
after withdrawing his lawmakers from parliament in June.
His
political opponents, mostly fellow Shias backed by Iran, have refused to accede
to his demands, raising fears of fresh unrest and violence in a conflict-weary
Iraq.
Iraq’s
10-month standoff since the election is the longest stretch without a fully
functioning government in the nearly two decades since Saddam Hussein was
overthrown in a US-led in 2003.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Sadr’s
supporters launch sit-in outside Iraq’s top judicial body
23
August 2022
Supporters
of prominent Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have launched a sit-in outside
the country’s highest judicial body, weeks after they breached Baghdad's
heavily fortified "Green Zone" and occupied the legislature.
Several
hundred supporters of the cleric gathered in front of the Supreme Judicial
Council (SJC) in the capital Baghdad on Tuesday, reiterating their calls for
the dissolution of the Iraqi parliament and holding early elections, the Iraqi
News Agency (INA) reported.
Images
released by Sadr’s movement showed people setting up tents outside the gates of
SJC’s headquarters, as they carried placards demanding the non-politicization
of the judiciary and ending corruption.
The
latest development comes as the top judicial body has said it lacks sufficient
authority to dissolve the country's parliament, urging all parties to refrain
from getting the judiciary involved in political rivalries.
The
SJC made the announcement on August 14 in response to Sadr’s ultimatum, who
warned of unspecific consequences if the judiciary did not heed his call to
dissolve the parliament by the end of the week and pave the way for early
elections.
Iraq's
judiciary suspends activities
Separately
on Tuesday, Iraq's judiciary said it decided to suspend its activity after
Sadr’s supporters began their protests in front of the SJC building earlier in
the day in an attempt to further step up pressure on it to dissolve the
parliament.
"(We)
will suspend court sessions as a protest against this unconstitutional behavior
and will hold the government and political parties which are backing this move
fully responsible for all the results," the authority said in a statement.
Iraq
has been grappling with a political crisis in the absence of a functional
government since October when it held its last legislative elections.
Sadr’s
political bloc emerged as the biggest parliamentary faction in the election but
fell short of an absolute majority needed to form a government, prompting the
current political deadlock.
In
June, all 73 legislators of the bloc quit their seats in a move seen as an
attempt to pressure political rivals into expediting the formation of a
government.
Sadr
has demanded dissolution of parliament and early elections. Earlier this month,
he called on his supporters to continue a sit-in inside the parliament until
his demands were met.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
Biden
administration defends potential Iran nuclear deal as Israel hits out
23
August, 2022
Iran
would be prohibited from enriching uranium above 3.67 percent and stockpiling
more than 300 kilograms until 2031 under a new nuclear deal, a senior US
official said Tuesday.
Meanwhile,
Israel appealed to the Biden administration to refrain from signing an
agreement with Tehran.
The
deal would deny Tehran the material needed for a bomb, the US official said in
a statement to Al Arabiya English. “Iran would need to get rid of or render
unusable the 20 and 60 percent-enriched uranium that it is stockpiling today,”
the official said.
After
more than a year of indirect talks and stalling mechanisms by Iran, the EU
proposed a final text to Iran and the US at the start of this month, asking for
a response within a few weeks.
Despite
the EU saying there was no more room for negotiations, Tehran made several
remarks and sent back its response to the EU, which in turn passed along the
comments to the US.
Washington
has yet to respond.
“Gaps
still remain, but should we reach an agreement to return to the deal, Iran
would have to take many significant steps to dismantle its nuclear program,”
the administration official said on Tuesday.
The
official said that “thousands” of advanced centrifuges Iran is using to enrich
today would be stopped and removed, including all of the centrifuges enriching
at the fortified underground facility at Fordow. “Strict limits on Iranian
enrichment would mean that even if Iran left the deal to pursue a nuclear
weapon, it would take at least six months to do so,” the official claimed.
Further
defending a potential deal, which has been criticized by both Democrats and
Republicans at home, the official said any Iranian pathway to a
“plutonium-based nuclear weapon” would also be blocked. The official pointed to
what would be the prohibition on reprocessing and redesigning a reactor that
could be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium.
The
Biden administration has repeatedly stated its belief that reviving the 2015
nuclear deal would be the best way to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear
weapon, something which US officials have said was “weeks away” for several
months now. But critics of the administration’s approach to
Iran
have now said the deal will be different than the original 2015 pact.
On
Tuesday, the senior US official suggested that under the new deal Iran would be
bound by nuclear constraints as well as allow the UN nuclear watchdog to be
able to implement “the most comprehensive inspections regime ever negotiated.”
‘Iran
made concessions,’ not us
The
US official pushed back on the narrative pushed by Tehran that Washington had
made several concessions to reach a new deal.
Last
week, London-based Iran International published a list of reported concessions
the Biden administration had agreed to in a bid to get Iran to come back into
full compliance with the deal. The outlet said these included the removal of
sanctions on 17 banks, the immediate release of $7 billion worth of Iranian
assets frozen in South Korea and the annulment of multiple Executive Orders
signed by former US President Donald Trump.
“To
be clear: reports that we have accepted or are considering new concessions to
Iran as part of reentering the 2015 nuclear deal are categorically false,” the
official said on Tuesday. “It is Iran that has made concessions on critical
issues. Most notably, the President has been firm and consistent that he will
not lift the terrorism designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. Iran’s
demand that we do so has been removed from the latest versions of the text.”
But
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett quickly called on the Biden
administration not to sign a deal with Iran, “even now at this last minute.
Bennett
took to Twitter to voice Israel’s opposition to the deal, claiming the deal
would send “approximately a quarter of a trillion dollars to the Iranian terror
administration’s pocket and to its regional proxies.”
The
former Israeli premier said his country was able to convince the White House
not to give in to Iranian demands over the last year. “Israel is not committed
to any of the restrictions stemming from the agreement and will utilize all
available tools to prevent the Iranian nuclear program from advancing,” he
tweeted.
Jason
Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), said the Biden
administration felt like they were behind the message curve amid the deluge of
Iranian leaks on concessions Tehran reportedly won.
“The
US is focusing on what it did not cave on, what Iranians reportedly retracted
on, but not acknowledging that they are reentering an agreement that has
already started to expire,” Brodsky told Al Arabiya English. He also pointed to
the lack of bipartisan support, the opposition of Washington’s closest ally in
the region, and the absence of a clear pathway forward on deterring Iran as
“ingredients for unstable agreements.”
Brodsky
said the US officials that were speaking out about potential benefits in the
deal were “circulating recycled talking points from 2015” as part of their case
to revive the JCPOA. “No mention of the sunset clock already ticking for years
-- while, according to press reports, Iran is receiving more sanctions relief
in exchange for a shorter and weaker nuclear deal.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Nobel
laureate Turkish-American chemist makes advance in fight against brain cancer
Islam
Dogru
24.08.2022
NEW
YORK
A
Nobel Prize-winning Turkish-American chemist recently discovered that a special
molecule can be used to help treat brain cancer.
Aziz
Sancar, whose study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, told Anadolu Agency that the EdU molecule has been one of the most
used chemicals in molecular biology since 2008.
“I
worked for 10 years over the DNA mechanism, which brought me the Nobel
Prize," said Sancar, who was born in Türkiye but has lived and worked in
the US for decades.
He
said that researchers started studies on the EdU molecule in January and
discovered it kills the cells in February.
"We
have done all the checks and have proven that it is certain," he said.
The
study found that EdU's ability to cross the blood-brain barrier makes it a
"potential candidate for treating cancers of the brain."
"Most
drugs cannot cross from the blood to the brain. For example, the drug called
cisplatin, which is used in the treatment of cancer patients, cannot cross
through this barrier, so brain cancers cannot be treated with it. This EdU gets
in easily (into the brain) with no problem," he said.
The
discovery will be tested first on mice, then on patients.
The
experiments on mice would take two years, said Sancar.
At
this stage, he sees the success rate of discovery in human treatment at 3%,
Sancar said to cancer patients, "My message is, be optimistic, try to do
the best with the current possibilities."
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Terrorism
charge on Imran Khan: US says it does not side with any political party in
Pakistan
Aug
23, 2022
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON:
The US has made it clear that it does not side with any political party in
Pakistan and supports the "peaceful" upholding of democratic,
constitutional, and legal principles in the country, days after authorities
slapped terrorism-related charges against ousted prime minister Imran Khan.
Khan,
69, was booked on Sunday under the Anti-Terrorism Act. On Monday, he moved to
the Islamabad high court (IHC) seeking pre-arrest bail in the case. He has
secured transit bail till August 25.
Responding
to a question on terrorism charge imposed on the chairman of the Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said
that he was aware of the reports about the charges.
But
Price said this is a matter of the Pakistani legal and judicial system.
"It
is not directly a matter for the United States, and that's because we don't
have a position on one political candidate or party versus any other political
candidate or party," Price said, explaining Washington's stand on the
political situation in Pakistan.
The
State Department spokesperson added that the US supports the "peaceful
upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles in Pakistan and
around the world".
Khan
was booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) after he threatened an additional
sessions judge, Zeba Chaudhry, and senior officers of the Islamabad Police at a
rally in the federal capital's F-9 Park last week.
The
Islamabad high court has also taken notice of the threats issued by the PTI
chairman and will take up a contempt of court notice to the former prime
minister on Tuesday.
The
political temperature in the country has been high since April — when Khan was
ousted from the prime minister's office. Since then, he has been rallying
supporters against the government and political matters are being regularly
taken up with courts.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
US
carries out airstrikes against Iran-backed groups in eastern Syria
Vakkas
Dogantekin
24.08.2022
The
US military announced early Wednesday that it carried out airstrikes against
Iran-affiliated groups in eastern Syria.
“At
President (Joe) Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces conducted precision airstrikes
in Deir ez-Zor, Syria today. These precision strikes are intended to defend and
protect U.S. forces from attacks like the ones on August 15 against U.S.
personnel by Iran-backed groups," a statement by US Central Command said.
"The
U.S. strikes targeted infrastructure facilities used by groups affiliated with
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," it added.
US
action against Iran comes at a time when a draft agreement to revive a 2015
nuclear deal with Tehran has been proposed by the European Union.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
Optimistic
Indonesia will become global Muslim fashion hub: minister
AUGUST
24, 2022
Jakarta
(ANTARA) - Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan has said he is optimistic that
Indonesia will become a hub of the world's Muslim fashion with the help of its
cultural diversity, local wisdom, and human resources.
"A
variety of traditional Indonesian fabrics with philosophical values have become
sources of creativity for Indonesian Muslim fashion designers and business
players that other countries do not have. This is the key to realizing
Indonesia as the world's Muslim fashion hub by 2024," he said at the Road
to Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week (JMFW) 2023 event here on Tuesday.
JMFW
is a platform created by the Trade Ministry's Directorate General of National
Export Development in collaboration with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (Kadin).
According
to Hasan, the market potential for Muslim and modest fashion is quite large.
Thus, Indonesia's role must be even greater, considering that the world's
Muslim population is equivalent to 25 percent of the total global population.
Moreover, by 2060, it is predicted to increase to 30 percent.
In
addition, purchases of modest fashion products have increased by 6.1 percent in
the past four years.
At
the event, the minister also held a dialogue with designers regarding the
development of the Muslim fashion industry in Indonesia, the development of
competence of designers and Indonesian Muslim fashion business players, as well
as the support and role of the Ministry of Trade for realizing Indonesia as the
world's Muslim fashion hub through JMFW 2023.
“The
domestic market is important, but this is time to go global," Hasan
remarked.
He
affirmed that his ministry is ready to fully support efforts to turn Indonesia
into a global Muslim fashion hub.
Based
on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the export value of Muslim fashion in
the first half of 2022 reached US$2.85 billion, up 39.86 percent compared to
the same period in 2021, when the figure was recorded at US$2.04 billion.
Meanwhile,
in 2021, the country's Muslim fashion exports reached US$4.68 billion, an
increase of 12.49 percent from US$4.16 billion in 2020.
Source:
Antara News
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of the original story:
--------
Malaysia
top court upholds ex-PM Najib Razak’s graft conviction
Aug
23, 2022
PUTRAJAYA:
Malaysia’s top court has upheld ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s conviction and
12-year jail sentence in a graft case linked to the looting of the 1MDB state
fund. Najib’s loss in his final appeal means he will have to begin serving his
sentence immediately, becoming the first former prime minister to be jailed.
The
five-member Federal Court panel said it unanimously found the high court judge
was right in his judgment and that Najib’s appeal was "devoid of any
merits." The court affirmed Najib's conviction and sentence.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
DAP
To Lodge Report over Hadi’s Remarks against Non-Muslims
August
23, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: DAP will be lodging a police report against PAS president Abdul Hadi
Awang for his recent statement claiming non-Muslims and non-Bumiputeras were at
the root of corruption in the country.
Hadi
had also accused them of being the majority of those involved in ruining the
country’s politics and economy.
Kepong
MP Lim Lip Eng said his party colleagues would be giving a statement to the
police tomorrow, stating that Hadi’s remarks could disrupt peace and harmony in
a multiracial Malaysia.
He
said the PAS president’s statement infringed on Section 504 and 505 of the
Penal Code, for making statements with intent to incite any community and for
intentionally making an insult, despite knowing that it would disrupt public
peace.
Lim
also said that Hadi might have broken other laws as well and that Hadi’s
statement only “fuels the flames of racism” and did not help in addressing the
issue of rampant corruption in the country.
“Yet,
till today, no action has been taken against Abdul Hadi Awang,” Lim said in a
statement.
“If
the remarks were made by another individual, he would have been arrested and
authorities would have acted on him. As a politician, what he (Hadi) did was
wrong.”
Lim
is the latest political figure to condemn Hadi for his remarks. Two days ago,
three Malay DAP leaders – Syahredzan Johan, Young Syefura Othman and Sheik Umar
Bagharib Ali – slammed Hadi for associating non-Muslims and non-Bumiputeras
with corruption in Malaysia.
The
trio, who are also DAP central committee members, then questioned why Malaysia
was still unable to perform well in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI)
ranking despite having PAS in the government since 2020.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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--------
No
special treatment for Najib, says prisons department
SK
Devi
August
24, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: The prisons department has rubbished rumours that former prime minister
Najib Razak will receive special treatment at Kajang Prison.
In
a Facebook post today, the department said: “Stop the spread of fake information.”
Accompanying the post was a picture of a clean, spacious, nicely equipped room
with IKEA-like shelves and a table.
Social
media has been flooded with comments about Najib’s potential VIP treatment in
jail since the Federal Court upheld his conviction and sentence in the SRC
International case.
He
was taken to Kajang Prison late yesterday evening following the decision of the
apex court.
The
department told FMT there will be no such special treatment accorded to Najib,
stressing that all prisoners will be treated the same.
FMT
has also reached out to the home ministry for comments.
Allegations
on preferential treatment for “well-connected” prisoners are not new as there
had been reports of such treatment being given to some inmates.
On
Aug 11, 1989, Malay Mail carried a report of corporate figure Abdullah Ang who,
while being held in Kajang Prison, was allowed to commute regularly between
jail and the city.
Ang
was said to have been sighted at his family’s factory at Jalan Ipoh, Kuala
Lumpur, without guards two days before he was supposed to be released.
The
report said stall owners operating near the factory would see him having lunch
and tea, often accompanied by “tycoon-type men” in luxury cars. Ang also
occasionally packed food to be taken back to the Kajang Prison, it said.
His
presence would be the talk of office workers and labourers, who wondered how he
managed to get out of prison regularly.
He
was supposed to be working at an orchid farm in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan, set up
by the prisons department.
Ang,
a former managing director of the now-defunct Malaysian Overseas Investment
Corp, had been sentenced to eight years’ jail by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on
Dec 15, 1986 after he pleaded guilty to criminal breach of trust.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Turkey
says no preconditions for 'goal-oriented' dialogue with Syria
23
August 2022
Turkey
does not have preconditions for dialogue with the Syrian government, Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced on Tuesday, stressing that talks
should be goal-oriented.
Ankara
cut its diplomatic relations with Damascus in 2011 in the initial stage of the
protracted foreign-backed war and backed forces that sought to topple the
democratically-elected government of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
However,
in recent months, Turkey has made soft overtures to the Assad government in an
attempt to open a new chapter in their relations.
“There
cannot be a condition for dialogue but what are the aim of these contacts? The
country needs to cleared of terrorists... People need to be able to return,”
Cavusoglu said in his remarks.
“No
conditions for dialogue but what is the aim, the target? It needs to be
goal-oriented,” he hastened to add.
There
also confirmed reports doing rounds about contact between the Syrian and
Turkish intelligence services.
The
top Turkish diplomat, however, said no meeting will take place between Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Syrian counterpart during the upcoming
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in September, “because the
latter will not be attending the Shanghai summit”.
Last
week, reports said Dogu Perincek, a close ally of Erdogan, will travel to the
Syrian capital Damascus within the next 10 days. He will be accompanied by
Turkish businessman Ethem Sancak, who is considered to have close ties with
Erdogan.
The
developments reveal the softening of Ankara’s stance towards the Syrian
government after more than a decade of tensions.
Speaking
to reporters last week, Turkish President said it is Washington and its allied
forces that “primarily feed terrorism” in Syria.
Countless
reports have emerged over the years revealing the US military’s support for
terrorist groups, including Daesh, in Syria and Iraq.
“They
did it brutally and they still do it,” Erdogan said. “They did not get tired of
it, and they also made the same feeding in Iraq. To whom? Again to terrorist
organizations. If there is unrest in Iraq today, unfortunately, America lies
behind it.”
He
claimed that Ankara’s main contention is the fight against terrorism in
northern Syria, adding that Turkey is ready for a military operation against
terrorist groups in the Arab country.
Turkish
president also said Ankara is not eyeing Syria and that Syria’s territorial
integrity is important to Turkey.
Ankara-backed
militants were deployed to northeastern Syria in October 2019 after Turkish
military forces launched a long-threatened cross-border invasion in a declared
attempt to push YPG fighters away from border areas.
Ankara
views the YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in
Turkey since 1984.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Gazans
call for probe into Islamic Jihad missiles that killed civilians
August
24, 2022
Gaza
— On second day of the recent round of fighting in Gaza, as the sun set in the
overcrowded Jabalia camp, the children played outside. They were not afraid of
rocket fire, as they had long grown used to the ongoing military operations in
Gaza. As the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement launched rockets from an
area near the Imad Aqel mosque, one missile veered off course and struck
civilians in the crowded camp. It killed seven people, including four children,
and injured 21, according to the Ministry of Health.
The
incident, most of whose victims were children, angered many Gazans. Though they
initially blamed Israel for the massacre, the Israeli army reported that five
rockets fired toward Israel had fallen inside Gaza. The PIJ fired 1,100 rockets
toward Israel, 200 of which fell inside Gaza, killing 15 civilians altogether.
While
PIJ officials refused to talk to Al-Monitor, Al-Monitor’s team went to talk to
the residents of the Jabalia camp, where a PIJ rocket fell. It found the street
where the rocket had hit children was a small and crowded alleyway.
A
resident of a nearby street told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “On
Saturday, the second day of the military operation, at 9 p.m., we were startled
by the sound of a huge explosion hitting the next street. My brothers and I
rushed to see what happened. I saw people trying to extinguish a fire with
water as they waited for the civil defense and ambulance cars to arrive. I saw
a 12-meter-long missile that exploded horizontally. I thanked God that it did
not explode vertically. Otherwise, a very big massacre would have ensued.”
He
lamented, “Everyone knows that the missile that fell on Saturday was a local
missile, but no one dares talk about it, especially to the media and the press,
let alone name names. Here, there is no freedom of opinion and expression.
There is no respect for others’ points of view, and whoever holds the PIJ
responsible for the missiles that veered off course is deemed unpatriotic and a
partner in Israeli crimes against us. Whoever they are, they would be arrested
by the authorities and investigated. This is why no one would dare talk about
this.”
On
the third day, Sunday, missiles struck a cemetery and killed five children
there, sparked debate over their origin. Israel reported that the missiles were
its own.
The
man went on, “We are well aware of our struggle with Israel, and we are all for
the Palestinian resistance, but we must stand up to this crime and demand an
investigation, as this is not the first time that the rockets have fallen on
civilians. During the four previous wars, a lot of rockets fell on fields and
rooftops, even on people, killing them or seriously injuring them. In 2008, I
lost my best friend in one of the explosions caused by resistance rockets, and
in 2014 one of them fell on my aunt’s house and left her child totally
disabled. But what is new this time around is that the PIJ movement alone
responded without Hamas, and our society is very partisan, so many rushed to
blame the PIJ.”
A
journalist from the Gaza Strip told Al-Monitor, “I covered all the wars in the
Gaza Strip, took a lot of photos and videos, and in every war I saw a number of
local rockets falling on civilians. In the massacre in the Jabalia camp, I saw
with my own eyes a local missile strike. We only want the truth and a clear
investigation into the matter. They want us not to talk about this matter,
because if we talk, they describe us as collaborators with the occupation. We
condemn the occupation and its crimes against our people, but what is happening
is a grave crime against civilians and children.”
The
Israeli army shared photos and videos in which activists from Gaza documented
the PIJ's rocket launches. Israeli radar also showed some rockets veering off
course and landing inside Gaza with three landing in the Jabalia camp, in Beit
Hanoun and in the Bureij refugee camp. However, PIJ and Hamas both held Israel
fully responsible for the incident, asking journalists in the Gaza Strip not to
circulate allegations about Palestinian missiles killing Palestinians.
The
media office of the Hamas government issued a strongly worded statement to the
correspondents of international newspapers that published coverage of the
deaths due to local shelling, accusing them of adopting the narrative of the
occupation.
Palestinians
circulated the footage of the missile strikes, some of them commenting that the
PIJ rockets were old and unusable. Some of them called for an urgent
investigation, but others disagreed, claiming that Israeli agents must have
either sabotaged the rockets so they exploded prematurely or used its new laser
weapon to make the PIJ missiles explode over Gaza.
Farid
al-Khatib, whose child was injured in this horrific incident, told Al-Monitor,
“An explosion suddenly shook the camp. My child, who was playing with the
neighbors’ children, was injured. We cannot tell whether the missile was
Israeli or Arab. International and human rights workers have to visit Gaza and
look into the matter because as citizens we can never tell for sure.”
According
to Israeli evaluations, there is no comparison between the PIJ and Hamas’
ballistic capabilities. The vast majority of PIJ missiles are short-range
rockets and mortar shells. Israel also claims that its Iron Dome defense
systems intercepted 96% of the rockets during this round of fighting.
Source:
Al Monitor
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Nuclear
Chief Stresses Iran's Tough Stance Against IAEA's Israeli-Driven Attitude
2022-August-23
Eslami
rejected as "uproar" comments by Grossi over "unexplained traces
of uranium" amid efforts to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, officialy known
as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The
nuclear chief advised the IAEA director general not to raise accusations
against Iran based on claims made by the Tel Aviv regime and anti-Tehran
groups.
“We
will never accept that the Zionist regime’s positions and pressures will be
followed upon as an agenda for the director general of the UN agency,” Eslami
stressed.
The
AEOI head said Iran has provided adequate response for the claims regarding the
origin of the enriched uranium at three Iranian sites, warning other parties
not to use the issue as a political tool.
Eslami
noted that Iran is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and
all its nuclear activities are according to the safeguards agreement, adding
that Tehran’s activities are under strict supervision by the IAEA.
Iran
believes the IAEA chief's recent remarks have been distorted for political
purposes, and cautions that Israel's pressures have deviated the UN nuclear
watchdog's reports from technical approach. Tehran stresses the IAEA should not
allow the political influence of certain countries affect its decisions, and
expresses the hope that the nuclear watchdog would be released from the
"Zionists' captivity".
Iran
has always had full cooperation with the IAEA and allowed it to visit the
country’s nuclear sites, but calls the nuclear agency's approach unconstructive
and destructive.
AEOI
Chief: Iran Not to Turn On Beyond-Safeguards Cameras Before JCPOA
Revivalhttps://t.co/F8mPcX9SwL pic.twitter.com/hUZSdmKC2S
—
Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) July 25, 2022
In
early June, the IAEA's Board of Governors adopted a resolution, accusing Iran
of not cooperating with the nuclear agency.
Iranian
officials criticized the US and the European trio for pushing a resolution
against the country at the UN atomic body’s board of governors, calling the
move irresponsible. Tehran stressed that the IAEA is directly influenced by the
Israeli regime, and the measure has undermined the country's constructive
cooperation with the nuclear watchdog.
Back
in June, Eslami said that heightened propaganda against Tehran's peaceful
nuclear program, including the recent resolution at the UN nuclear watchdog, is
part of the Western states' maximum pressure policy against the Iranian nation.
Iran
has 3 percent of the world's nuclear capacity, but more than 25 percent of
inspections have been carried out in Iran, he added.
The
Iranian nuclear chief referred to the recent resolution proposed by the US and
E3 to the IAEA Board of Governors, stressing that it was the last test by the
enemies.
In
response to the IAEA's move, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian
stated that the recent resolution approved by the UN nuclear watchdog against
Tehran was a US plot to force Tehran to make concessions in the Vienna talks.
Iranian
President Blasts West for Hampering N. Deal Revivalhttps://t.co/olt9Uc9cJS
pic.twitter.com/f6UosQxMdw
—
Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) July 27, 2022
Iran
and the five remaining parties to the nuclear deal have held several rounds of
negotiations since April last year to restore the agreement, which was
unilaterally abandoned by Donald Trump in May 2018.
In
quitting the agreement, Trump restored sanctions on Iran as part of what he
called the “maximum pressure” campaign against the country. Those sanctions are
being enforced to this day by the Joe Biden administration, even though it has
repeatedly acknowledged that the policy has been a mistake and a failure.
Iranian
officials say the ball is in the US' court, and the Biden administration should
assure Tehran that it will not repeat Trump's past mistakes.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran's
Envoy Voices Doubt About US Seriousness on Nuclear Disarmament
2022-August-23
Speaking
at the Tenth NPT Review Conference on Tuesday, Takht Ravanchi share Iran’s deep
concern of the NNWS regarding the lack of progress in the implementation of
nuclear disarmament obligations and commitments.
"My
delegation has contributed constructively to the discussions and draft reports.
However, regrettably due to some imbalanced contents of draft reports, none of
them garnered consensus," he noted.
"My
delegation underlines that the positions of the nuclear weapon States echoed
and supported by the so-called umbrella states, including their attempt to
replace nuclear disarmament with nuclear risk reduction are contrary to their
explicit legal obligations concerning nuclear disarmament," the envoy
underscored.
"I
would like to add that establishing a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass
destruction is long overdue after the consensual adoption of the resolution
1995. To implement this resolution, the 2010 Review Conference adopted by
consensus a detailed plan of action and agreed that the Secretary-General and
the co-sponsors of the 1995 resolution, in consultation with the States of the
region, convene and exert their utmost efforts to ensure the success of a
conference in 2012 that was to be attended by all States of the Middle East, on
the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other
weapons of mass destruction. However, after delays in convening the Conference,
at the first, second and third sessions of the Preparatory Committee, in 2012,
2013, and 2014, the NAM and regional countries warned that any further delay in
convening the 2012 conference would seriously jeopardize the overall
implementation of the conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions and
would represent a major setback in that regard," he added.
"We
are firmly convinced that the Conference was postponed indefinitely because of
the US’ opposition and this has been the persistent policy of the US to turn a
blind eye to the nuclear arsenals of the Israeli regime while not supporting
the convening of the Conference," the official stressed.
"Now,
we expect the current Conference to reject the impediments to convening the
conference. The failure to convene the conference in 2012 contradicts and
violates the collective agreement of the States parties contained in the
conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions adopted by the 2010
Review Conference and contravenes the letter and spirit of the 1995 resolution
on the Middle East," Takht Ravanchi said.
"Despite
the lack of required inclusivity and transparency in developing the SB II draft
report, once again we reiterate our main proposals in this regard, and would
like to emphasize that any document without embracing the ideas contained in
our proposals, any glimpse of consensus will be faded away. In accordance with
our proposals which are fully consistent with the NAM positions, the
Conference, inter alai, Expresses concern about the lack of progress towards
the implementation of the 1995 resolution and the 2010 action plan on the
Middle East; and Calls upon Israel to renounce possession of nuclear weapons
and eliminate its entire stockpile of nuclear weapons," he stressed.
"It
Reaffirms that the accession of Israel to the Non-Proliferation Treaty without
precondition and further delay and the placement of all of its nuclear
activities and facilities under the comprehensive IAEA safeguards is essential
in realizing the goal of universal adherence to the Treaty in the Middle East
and the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East,"
he said.
He
added, "It Expresses its strong support for the other process launched by
the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear
Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction convened by the
Secretary-General, pursuant to General Assembly decision 73/546, to elaborate a
legally binding treaty on the establishment of the zone on the basis of
consensus."
Tehran
has repeatedly stressed the necessity for countries which possess atomic
weapons to take practical steps towards disarmament. Iran has also proposed the
creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
Hails Triangle of Lebanese People, Army, Resistance in Face of Israeli Threats
2022-August-23
"The
equation of the people, the army, and the resistance is the guarantor of the
independence and authority of Lebanon and the protector of the country against
the greed of the Zionist regime," Kan'ani wrote on Twitter on the occasion
of the 40th anniversary of Hezbollah's establishment.
"We
congratulate the 40th anniversary of Lebanon's Islamic Resistance and its
continuous victories to Seyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary General of
Hezbollah, the government, and the nation of Lebanon," he said
"We
send our greetings to the martyrs of the Resistance, the army, and the Lebanese
nation," the senior diplomat added.
Iran
describes Israel as the root cause of the region’s instability, but also
stresses Israel's US-supported barbarity will not change the inevitable fate of
the Tel Aviv regime. Tehran believes the Israeli regime is on a fast-track
towards decline because of the resistance of the Palestinian people in the
besieged enclave.
Early
in August, Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force Commander Esmayeel
Qaani said that at least 15 operations are carried out against the Israeli
regime every day, adding that Palestinian fighters are preparing to strike the
final blow on the Tel Aviv regime in appropriate time.
“At
least 15 operations are carried out against the positions of the Israeli regime
every day, as they (Zionists) have built fences even inside the settlements for
the fear of their lives,” Brig. Gen. Qaani said.
"The
Palestinian fighters are making plans to hit the final blows to the rotten body
of the Zionist regime in the right time," he added.
He
underlined that the United States and the Israeli regime are "treacherous
and murderous regimes" and would get the answers to the crimes they have
committed "in the shortest time".
The
top commander underscored that Iran along with allied resistance movements,
including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, are well-prepared to give decisive response to
“the mischievous acts and crimes committed by the US and the Zionist regime
against the Iranians and other oppressed people of the world".
On
Friday, Major General Hossein Salami has also said that there is no safe place
for the Zionists in the occupied lands of Palestine, adding that the people in
the West Bank are arming themselves similar to Gaza to confront the Zionist
regime.
"The
Zionists have no safe haven in occupied Palestine and all parts of the land are
within the reach of Palestinians resistance movements’ firepower," the top
commander noted on Friday.
"When
Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah is added to this equation, the
conclusion is the deployment of hundreds of thousands of missiles that are
pointed at the Zionist regime," the IRGC commander stressed.
Earlier,
Maj. Gen. Salami had warned the Israeli regime that 100,000 missiles are
prepared in Lebanon to create an inferno for the Zionists.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Turkey
to welcome Palestinian President Abbas after restoring Israel ties
23
August, 2022
Turkey
said Tuesday that its restoration of full diplomatic relations with Israel did
not mean a shift in Middle Eastern priorities as it prepared to welcome
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.
The
Palestinian leader was due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan later
on Tuesday on his second visit to Turkey in a year.
The
talks come just a week after Turkey and Israel sealed a rapprochement from a
decade of rocky relations by announcing plans to reappoint ambassadors for the
first time in four years.
Erdogan
has been a fervent supporter of the Palestinian cause who has branded Israel a
“terrorist state.”
Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu argued on Tuesday that an open dialogue with
Israel will help Ankara better defend Palestinian rights.
“The
fact that we normalize our relations does not mean that we will make
concessions on Palestine,” Cavusoglu said in a television interview.
“Dialogue
should continue even if you do not agree on everything.”
The
veteran Palestinian leader’s visit is widely seen as an attempt by Turkey to
show that it stood by old allies even as it repairs relations with more recent
rivals.
Turkey
has gradually mended fences across the volatile region as it seeks new deals
and investments to help recover from its most profound economic crisis in more
than two decades.
The
warming with Israel is being accompanied by plans to restore direct flights by
Israeli airlines between the two countries that could bring in more tourists to
Turkey’s resorts.
Turkey
is also hoping to revive an east Mediterranean natural gas pipeline project that
won tentative backing from the United States last year.
Cavusoglu
said Palestinian leaders also “want our relations with Israel to be
normalized.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Europe
Bosnia
unearths remains of missing person from 90s war
Mustafa
Talha Öztürk
23.08.2022
BELGRADE,
Serbia
Bosnia
and Herzegovina on Tuesday unearthed the remains of at least one person killed
during the Bosnian War.
The
Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia Herzegovina, a state body which keeps a
count of the missing persons of the 90s conflict, said the remains found in the
Kacelj region near the city of Foca are thought to belong to a Bosniak
civilian.
The
remains were transferred to the city of Gorazde for judicial proceedings.
Also,
bone samples were taken to determine the identity of the victim by DNA
analysis.
Personal
items such as shoes and keys thought to belong to the victims were also found.
Between
April 1992 and December 1995, an estimated 100,000 people were killed and 2.2
million displaced in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And as many as 50,000 women,
mostly Bosniak, were raped.
The
Bosnian War was sparked by the break-up of Yugoslavia, which led Bosnia to
declare independence in February 1992.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/bosnia-unearths-remains-of-missing-person-from-90s-war/2667971
--------
Russia
says Turkey’s military action in Syria would be 'unacceptable'
23
August 2022
Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lambasted Turkey’s declared plans to launch
a new military campaign in northern Syria, stressing that an escalation of
military actions in the war-ravaged Arab country would be "unacceptable.”
Lavrov
made the remark at a press conference alongside his visiting Syrian
counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, in the Russian capital of Moscow on Tuesday as he
censured any foreign interference in Syria’s internal affairs.
Underlining
the necessity of finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis, Lavrov said
Russia and Syria were looking to negotiate with Turkey to "prevent the
outbreak of new military actions" in the Arab country.
“Russia
is working for a rapprochement between Syria and Turkey… on the basis of United
Nations resolutions that affirm the preservation of the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Syria,” the top Russian diplomat said.
“With
regard to the situation in northern Syria, the main thing is to prevent the outbreak
of new military actions and the need to negotiate through diplomatic channels
on the basis of the existing political principles in relations between Syria
and Turkey,” he added.
Mekdad,
for his part, warned that the Turkish military should withdraw its forces from
the Syrian territory, abandon support for terrorist organizations and stop
interfering in Syria’s domestic affairs.
The
remarks come against the backdrop of Ankara’s stepped-up threats to launch a
massive military operation against Kurdish militants in northern Syria to
establish what it calls a “secure line” along Turkey’s border with the Arab
country.
On
August 8, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again hinted at a plan
for a cross-border operation in Syria to remove members of the Kurdish People’s
Protection Units (YPG) militant group.
Turkey
has deployed forces in Syria in violation of the Arab country's sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
Ankara-backed
militants were deployed to northeastern Syria in October 2019 after Turkish
military forces launched a cross-border invasion in a declared attempt to push
YPG fighters away from border areas.
Ankara
views the YPG as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), which has been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in
Turkey since 1984.
Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials have said Damascus will
respond through all legitimate means available to Turkey's ongoing ground
offensive.
Russia
slams Israeli missile attacks against Syria
During
the press conference, Lavrov also condemned the Israeli regime’s shelling of
the Syrian territory and expressed Russia’s concern over the attacks on the
Arab country’s infrastructure.
"We
strongly condemned the dangerous practice of Israeli strikes on Syrian
territory," the Russian foreign minister said. "We demand that Israel
respect the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and, above all,
respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria."
Last
Sunday, the Syrian military said three servicemen had been killed as the Arab
country’s air defenses confronted “hostile” Israeli targets over the city of
Tartus and the nearby mountain range of Qalamoun.
Lebanese
media outlets said the attack had been carried out by Israeli warplanes from
the Lebanese airspace. The Israeli regime’s Channel 12 confirmed that the
aggression had been perpetrated by the regime’s assault aircraft.
Syria
and the Israeli regime are technically at war due to the latter’s
1967-to-present occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights.
Israel
maintains a significant military presence in the territory, which it uses as
one of its launchpads for attacks against the Syrian soil.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Russia’s
Lavrov condemns Israeli missile strikes on Syria
23
August, 2022
Russia’s
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday condemned Israeli missile attacks
against Syria, in comments that underline a chill in once-warm Russian-Israel
relations.
Lavrov
was speaking at a joint news conference alongside his Syrian counterpart,
Faisal Mekdad. Russia is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and
his government.
“We
strongly condemned the dangerous practice of Israeli strikes on Syrian
territory,” Lavrov said.
“We
demand that Israel respect the resolutions of the United Nations Security
Council and, above all, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Syria.”
Israel
hit Iranian targets in a series of strikes on August 14 near Assad’s ancestral
home region and also close to Russia’s main Syrian bases on the Mediterranean
coast, regional intelligence and Syrian military sources said.
Speaking
at the same news conference in Moscow, Mekdad gave Lavrov his backing to
Russia’s actions in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”
to disarm and “denazify” its smaller southern neighbor.
Israel
has spoken out against Moscow sending troops into Ukraine and bilateral
tensions have grown in recent months.
In
May, Lavrov said Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish roots - a statement which
triggered outrage in Israel and forced a rare apology from Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Türkiye
extends helping hand to Georgia over forest fire
Diyar
Guldogan
24.08.2022
Turkish
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu lent support to his Georgian counterpart as
the country tries to battle a forest fire.
In
an phone call with Ilia Darchiashvili, Cavusoglu expressed concern over the
forest fire and offered help to extinguish the blaze, Turkish Foreign Ministry
said in a statement late Tuesday.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkiye-extends-helping-hand-to-georgia-over-forest-fire/2668099
--------
Greek
citizen converts to Islam in northwestern Türkiye
Burak
Akay
23.08.2022
A
Greek citizen converted to Islam in Canakkale province in northwestern Türkiye,
a local official announced on Tuesday.
For
Serakau Emilia, a conversion ceremony was held at the local mufti’s office,
during which she recited the Kalima Shahadat – the declaration of belief in the
oneness of Allah and the acceptance of Holy Prophet Muhammad as his messenger.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text of
the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/greek-citizen-converts-to-islam-in-northwestern-turkiye/2667976
--------
Africa
Algeria:
Muslim Scholars Distance Themselves From Their International Union
August
22, 2022
The
Association of Algerian Muslim Scholars (AOMA) has announced that it has
suspended its activities in the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS)
in protest at recent statements by the union's president and his failure to
apologise, Al Quds Al Arabi has reported.
Abdul
Razzaq Qasoum, the head of the AOMA, told Radio Algeria that the decision will
remain in place unless IUMS President Ahmad Al-Raysuni makes an explicit
apology or resigns. Qasoum called on all Muslim scholars affiliated with the
IUMS to back the AOMA decision and do the same.
The
dispute revolves around the issue of Western Sahara. Algeria supports the
Polisario Front and its call for independence. Al-Raysuni appeared to back
Morocco in its claim of sovereignty over the territory.
Many
Algerians believe that the scholar's explanation of his remarks exploited the
IUMS platform to promote the Moroccan view of the conflict. Moreover, he did
not include any apology to Algeria and Mauritania, as promised by the IUMS
Secretary-General Ali Al-Qaradaghi.
AOMA
members are also involved in the activities of the IUMS due to intellectual
rapprochement within the framework of what is known as the school of moderation.
Qasoum is part of the IUMS secretariat.
Al-Qaradaghi,
meanwhile, made it clear that Al-Raysuni's comments did not represent the IUMS
position on Western Sahara. He pointed out that the union's positions are taken
by consensus between the president and the secretary general, and the president
is not entitled to take a decision alone. He also expressed his reservations
about Al-Raysuni's statements saying that they contradict the union's rules
calling for the avoidance of anything that provokes discord among Muslims.
Source:
Middle East Monitor
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Sheikh
Goni Aisami: Police parade 2 soldiers who allegedly killed Islamic cleric
August
23, 2022
By
Shehu Usman
Yobe
State Police Command said it has paraded two army personnel who allegedly
killed a renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Goni Aisami last Friday.
DSP
Dungus Abdulkarim, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, disclosed this in a
statement made available to DAILY POST in Damaturu.
He
disclosed that on 19th August, 2022 detectives from Karasuwa Divisional Police
Headquarters in response to a distress call apprehended N/A13/69/1522 Lance
Corporal John Gabriel and N/A13/70/6552 Lance Corporal Adamu Gideon both
attached to 241 Recce Battalion, Nguru, Yobe state.
Part
of the statement read: “One of the assailants L/CPL John Gabriel, whose
intention was to rob unsuspecting motorists of their vehicle, left the barrack
on the said date in mufti having concealed his rifle in a camp bed for military
checkpoint at Nguru at about 2200hrs.
“Meanwhile,
one Sheikh Goni Aisami, a prominent Islamic scholar based in Gashu’a who was
travelling alone from Kano to Gashu’a in his Honda Accord car with Reg. No KBT
31 AE arrived at the military checkpoint in Nguru.
“L/CPL
John Gabriel requested the Islamic cleric to offer him free ride to Jaji Maji
which he obliged. While driving and before reaching Jaji-Maji town the
assailant asked him to park that there was an unusual noise at the rear tyre.
“When
the cleric came down, while checking the tyre, the suspect brought out his
rifle, shot and killed him. He dragged the body and hid it in the bush.
“The
suspect took possession of the vehicle with intention of taking it away but the
vehicle refused to start after several attempts.
“The
suspect called his accomplice L/CPL Adamu Gideon from 241 RECCE Battalion,
Nguru and auto-electrician from Jaji Maji to assist in starting the car”.
DSP
Abdulkarim, added that a passerby in the morning sighted a corpse, a vehicle
and some unidentified persons then alerted police personnel from Jaji-maji who
promptly mobilized and raced down to the scene.
According
to him this led to the arrest of the two soldiers and recovery of the corpse,
deceased vehicle and the rifle used in the commission of the offence as well as
recovery of a Volkswagen Sharon bus found at the scene of crime.
“In
the course of investigation the culprits confessed to the crime. Investigation
is still ongoing, suspects are in police custody and as soon as investigation
is concluded they will be charged to court”, he said.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Third
Algerian ex-pm detained over graft
23
August, 2022
A
former prime minister under Algeria’s late president Abdelaziz Bouteflika has
been detained, according to media reports, making him the third ex-premier to
face jail on corruption charges.
An
Algiers judge had placed Noureddine Bedoui, 62, under court supervision and
confiscated his passport after his detention on Sunday, but on Tuesday another
court decided to detain him.
Bedoui
briefly served as prime minister in early 2019 after being appointed to replace
unpopular premier Ahmed Ouyahia as streets across Algeria were rocked by
unprecedented protests against Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term in office.
But
Bouteflika’s moves did little to placate anger, and just three weeks later he
resigned under pressure from the public and the army, bringing an end to two
decades of rule.
Ouyahia
and fellow ex-premier Abdelmalek Sellal have both been handed long prison
sentences on charges of corruption under Bouteflika.
Bouteflika
died in September at the age of 84 and was quietly buried without the honors
accorded to his predecessors.
Bedoui,
who served for nearly four years as interior minister, was seen as an
unwavering Bouteflika loyalist and was despised by the Hirak protest movement
that toppled them both.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2022/08/23/Third-Algerian-ex-pm-detained-over-graft
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UN
warns Libya threats to use force to resolve political crisis
23
August, 2022
The
United Nations Libya mission said on Tuesday it was deeply concerned by what it
called an ongoing mobilization of forces and threats to use force to resolve
the country’s political crisis.
Libya
has been enmeshed in a stalemate for months after the eastern-based parliament
swore in a new prime minister despite the incumbent in Tripoli refusing to cede
power, leading to a standoff with armed factions backing each side.
Several
shootouts have already taken place this summer between rival forces in the
capital, raising the prospect of wider clashes and a return to sustained
warfare after two years of comparative peace.
In
Tripoli, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah was installed last year through a UN-backed
process to head the new Government of National Unity and oversee an election
that was scheduled to be held last December.
After
the election process collapsed with rival factions refusing to agree on the
rules, the eastern-based parliament said Dbeibah’s term had expired and it
appointed Fathi Bashagha to lead a new government.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Militant
attacks fuel fear of ethnic violence in Burkina Faso
August
23, 2022
OUAGADOUGOU:
Militant attacks in Burkina Faso have inflamed accusations against the Fulani
community, sparking warnings the troubled country may spiral into ethnic
conflict — even civil war.
The
impoverished Sahel state is battling a seven-year-old insurgency that has
claimed thousands of lives and prompted nearly two million to flee their homes.
The
militants have drawn some of their recruits from the Fulani minority, causing
the group as a whole to be stigmatized, say specialists.
Audio
messages posted mainly on WhatsApp have urged “native” Burkinabe to attack the
Fulani, especially in the southwest region bordering Ivory Coast.
The
government last Thursday issued a fierce condemnation.
It
likened the posts to Radio Mille Collines — a notorious radio station in Rwanda
that in 1994 urged its Hutu listeners to slaughter “Tuti cockroaches.”
The
calls amount to “active and direct calls for murder, mass killings, ethnic
cleansing and sedition — the tone and words used send shivers down the spine,”
said government spokesman Lionel Bilgo.
The
country had to act “firmly and resolutely” against “speech that is hateful,
subversive, dangerous and unacceptable in a country as rich and diversified as
Burkina Faso,” he said.
The
Fulani, also known as Peul, account for around 1.5 million out of Burkina
Faso’s 20.5 million people.
They
have been singled out in the past for association with massacres.
On
Jan. 1, 2019, unidentified assailants attacked the village of Yirgou in
northern Burkina Faso, killing six people, including the village elder.
The
attack triggered instant reprisals against Fulani that led to 50 deaths,
according to the official toll, while civil society groups say fatalities
numbered at least 146.
Three
months later, at least 116 unarmed men, accused of supporting or housing
militants, were believed to have been killed by the security forces in the
village of Arbinda, Human Rights Watch said.
“With
few exceptions, the victims were members of the Fulani ethnicity,” it said,
after sending investigators to the location.
Other
massacres in 2020 in the villages Dinguila and Barga left dozens of dead, most
of them also Fulani.
Last
month, a man was arrested for allegedly distributing an audio message directed
at two Fulani traditional and religious leaders.
Source:
Arab News
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of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2148906/world
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