Head of India's Deoband Islamic Seminary Urges Taliban to Be Pragmatic but Supports Complete Segregation of Men and Women in Education
New
Age Islam News Bureau
25
September 2021
A
file photo of Dar ul Uloom Deoband
------
•
Muslim Jurists Regard Mental Capacity Of A Child As Of Crucial Importance For
Conversion To Islam: LHC
•
We Were Not Threat to World in Past 20 Years: Acting Foreign Minister of
Afghanistan
•
'Big Green Jummah': UK Mosques Dedicate Friday Sermon To Climate Change
Awareness
India
•
Strange but True: Hindus Maintain, Ensure Five-Time Azan in This Bihar Village with
No Muslim Family
•
Muslim Majority Opposed Jinnah’s 2 Nation Theory, Most in Bihar: AMU Teacher
•
After 'Land Jihad' Charge by BJP Leader, Uttarakhand Govt Wants Strict Action
in 'Such Areas': Report
•
Mumbai Rewind: Built on a water body, Mumbai’s largest and oldest mosque
•
Conversion racket case: AMU students protest against arrest of Islamic scholar
Kaleem Siddiqui
•
'Afghan soil must not be used for terrorism': India, US remind Taliban of
commitments
•
India, US condemn cross-border terrorism; call for perpetrators of 26/11
attacks to be brought to justice
•
India raises tone as Pakistan appeals to work with Taliban
•
'Pak has history of supporting terrorists', India slams Imran Khan in its Right
of Reply at UNGA
--------
Pakistan
•
Protest lodged with India over targeting of Muslims in India's Assam state
•
Imran Khan paints Pakistan as victim of US' ungratefulness
•
6 suspected terrorists killed in encounter with Pakistani security forces
•
In meeting with UN chief, Qureshi calls for 'urgent action' on humanitarian
crisis in Afghanistan
•
Pakistan concerned about Afghan terror threat: PM Imran
•
6 terrorists including 2 commanders killed in Kharan operation: ISPR
--------
South Asia
•
It's almost certain Afghanistan's Taliban won't speak at UN
•
US grants licenses for more aid flow to Afghanistan despite sanctions
•
Multiple blasts: Three bodies found in Afghanistan's Jalalabad
•
Afghan Taliban defence minister orders crackdown on abuses
•
People protest in Kabul against US over frozen assets
•
Bangladesh eyes more EU action for Rohingya return to Myanmar
--------
Europe
•
UN Updates Syria War Death Toll, Says 350,000 'Certainly An Undercount'
•
Turkey's Diyanet religious body threatens secularism
•
West's failure in Afghanistan no cause for schadenfreude: German president
•
‘Hundreds of thousands of migrant children missing in Europe’
--------
North America
•
US, Pakistan Face Each Other Again On Afghanistan Threats
•
Iran must ‘move quickly’ if it wants to resume nuclear deal talks: US official
•
White House dispatching special envoy to Sudan to reaffirm US support
•
US Treasury facilitates humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan
•
Hunter Biden reportedly sought over $2M to help unfreeze Libya assets
--------
Africa
•
Suicide Bombing Near Military Headquarters in Somali Capital
•
Mozambicans Return to Uncertain Future after Islamists Pushed Back
•
Sudan needs new date for civilian leadership handover: Sovereign Council
•
Protesters block Port Sudan airport, key bridge over peace deal with rebel
groups
•
Over 100 officials from Tunisia’s Ennahda Party resign amid crisis
•
Morocco gets first batch of Turkish combat drones: Report
•
Algerian official warns of further measures against Morocco
•
Hamas calls for protection of Palestinian assets in Sudan
•
Talks between Somali president, prime minister end in stalemate
--------
Southeast Asia
•
Citizenship Ruling for Children Born Abroad To Malaysian Mums: Cabinet Agrees
To Continue With Appeal, Says Home Minister
•
Why Singapore may be reluctant to reopen its border with Johor, according to
Malaysian workers’ association rep
•
On PM’s first official visit to Johor, Sultan Ibrahim urges Putrajaya to
expedite review of MM2H
•
Pejuang, Warisan’s snub of bipartisan deal shows Pakatan still far from
unifying Opposition, say analysts
--------
Arab World
•
Iraqi Kurdistan Conference Pushes For Baghdad-Israel Normalization
•
Lebanon president Aoun tells UN big challenges await government, help needed
•
Macron urges new Lebanese PM Mikati to undertake ‘urgent’ reforms
•
Saudi Arabia FM meets US special envoy for Iran, top international diplomats at
UN
•
Saudi defence forces destroy Houthi drone heading towards Abha
--------
Mideast
•
Palestinian President Abbas Tells UN Israel's Actions Could Lead To ‘One State’
•
Israeli troops shoot dead Palestinian man during clashes at West Bank
settlement
•
Turkey calls on Greece to respect rights of Muslim students
•
IRGC: US Left with No Option, But to Leave West Asia
•
Iranian FM Criticizes Britain, EU for Inaction on US Moves against JCPOA
•
‘Soon’ for Iran differs from West’s in nuclear talks: Top Iranian diplomat
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/taliban-deoband-dar-ul-uloom-women/d/125436
--------
Head
of India's Deoband Islamic Seminary Urges Taliban to Be Pragmatic but Supports
Complete Segregation of Men and Women in Education
September
25, 2021
A
file photo of Dar ul Uloom Deoband
------
By
Abubakar Siddique
The
austere form of Sunni Islam that Afghanistan's Taliban rulers follow is rooted
in an Islamic seminary in Deoband, a town in the northern Indian state of Uttar
Pradesh.
It
is an interpretation of Islam that is used by the Taliban to justify their
clerical government and their goals for a hard-line Islamic system.
The
82-year-old principal of Darul Uloom Deoband, the Islamic school in Deoband,
tells RFE/RL he hopes the Taliban will be tolerant, just, and pragmatic. But he
says he also supports the Taliban's apparent drive to completely segregate men
and women in education.
Maulana
Syed Arshad Madani says he thinks the Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan
was a positive development because the Islamist movement liberated the country
from foreign occupation.
"We
will welcome them so long as they don't differentiate between the majority and
the minority and will protect the life, property, and honor of everyone,"
Madani told RFE/RL's Gandhara this week.
"[The
Taliban-led government] should not have two different yardsticks for the people
who are in the majority or minority as Afghanistan is a multiethnic state with
Tajiks and Uzbeks living alongside Pashto speakers," Madani said.
Since
taking over Kabul on August 15, the Taliban has appointed mostly its senior
leaders, predominantly Pashtun clerics, to top positions in the Taliban-led
government.
The
Taliban-led cabinet has only a few members from the Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara
minorities. Notably absent are women, non-Muslim minorities, or representatives
of smaller ethnic groups such as Baluch, Nuristanis, and Turkmen.
Likewise,
members of other Afghan political groups have little representation in what the
Taliban had promised would be an "inclusive" government.
Historical
Ties
Madani
is adamant that his school has no current connection to the Taliban as none of
its leaders was educated in his India-based seminary.
But
he says the Taliban has some historical ties to the Deoband Movement, whose
leaders were staunchly anti-British and established an exiled Indian government
in the second decade of the 20th century.
Its
goal was to liberate their country from the British through an armed struggle
in cooperation with the Ottoman Empire, the Durrani Amir, and the Pashtun
tribes straddling the border of British India and Afghanistan.
After
the British discovered the plot in 1916, Madani's father Maulana Syed Hussain
Ahmad Madani served a prison sentence in Malta along with his teacher and top
Deobandi cleric Maulana Mehmud Hasan.
The
elder Madani later allied with Mahatma Gandhi and opposed the founding of
Pakistan as a homeland for South Asia's Muslims, arguing that nation states
could not be founded on the basis of religion alone.
"Today,
those Afghans who call themselves Deobandis are the children or grandchildren
of those people who were associated with that movement and their exiled
government there," Madani told RFE/RL, referring to the orthodox Sunni
sect in South Asia.
Deobandis
are a prominent strain among Islamists in modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan.
But
unlike most Deobandis in Pakistan, where political parties established by
Deobandi clerics engage in peaceful political processes, Afghanistan's Taliban
have seized power twice through military conquest during the past quarter-century.
Pakistani
Sunni clerics who call themselves Deobandis have little contact with the
original Deoband school in northern India.
Still,
their schools follow Deoband's program of studies. That program focuses on
Islamic jurisprudence, interpretations of the Koran, theology, philosophy, and
the life and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.
The
major thrust of these studies is what the strict Sunni sect sees as the
purification of current Islamic practices of unorthodox additions.
Many,
if not all of the Taliban's leaders and foot soldiers, were educated at these
madrasahs in Pakistan.
Alumni
from Haqqania, one of the most prominent Deobandi schools in Pakistan's
northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, hold many prominent posts in the
current Taliban-led government.
Two
members of the Haqqanis, a prominent Taliban family, are now Taliban ministers.
Some
Deobandi madrasahs in Pakistan have received funding from Saudi Arabia since
Riyadh became a major donor of the mujaheddin guerillas fighting the Soviet
occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.
However,
Madani says he has no issue with the Taliban's clerical government.
"There
is nothing wrong with a government made up solely of religious people who want
to reform their country into a peaceful environment in the contemporary
world," Madani told RFE/RL. "If the ulema (Muslim clerics) know
Islam's teachings regarding humanity and are able to deal with everyone without
discrimination because of their faith, then that is a good thing."
Madani
says he supports the Taliban's attempts to segregate men and women.
"They
are requiring people to observe the Islamic requirement of hijab," he
said, referring to the Arabic word for veil, which denotes the Islamic concept
that members of the opposite sexes should not mix if they are not related.
"Allah
created women's bodies differently from men," he says. "They must
dress in a such a way that does not create fitnah," or temptation.
Crescendo
Of Criticism
Since
seizing power, the Taliban has faced a crescendo of international criticism and
domestic opposition.
That
includes protests by Afghan women who oppose the Taliban's restrictions and
fear they will be deprived of work, education, mobility, and public life.
The
Taliban banned women from education and work during their first stint in power
during the 1990s, when women were not allowed to even leave their homes without
a male relative to accompany them.
The
concerns of Afghan women were reinforced last week when the Taliban delayed
opening secondary schools and universities for girls after they allowed boys
and men to return to education.
Madani
cites the example of India, where scores of universities and thousands or
colleges are attended only by women.
"If
it can happen in our country, what is so wrong with the Afghan government
wanting to do the same?" he asked. "If the Afghan government can
enforce [segregated education], it will mean the door to education for girls
has opened."
Madani
encourages the Taliban to have peaceful and beneficial contact with the world.
"They
should adopt all the ways of living in the contemporary world with honor and
dignity," he said. "While embracing their religion, the Taliban
should establish relations with the world and aim to develop their
country."
Still,
Madani says he is not too keen to host Taliban leaders. He says Deoband's
school will welcome Afghan students only if they obtain student visas from the
Indian government.
He
also seems reluctant to visit Afghanistan in order to offer his advice to the
Taliban.
"I
am an 82-year-old," he told RFE/RL. "I cannot even travel to a
mosque. How would I get to Afghanistan?"
Source:
Gandhara
Please
click the following url to read the text of the original story:
https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/taliban-deoband-madani-pragmatic/31477562.html
--------
Muslim
Jurists Regard Mental Capacity Of A Child As Of Crucial Importance For
Conversion To Islam: LHC
A
file photo of the Lahore High Court. — AFP/File
-----
Wajih
Ahmad Sheikh
September
25, 2021
LAHORE:
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that Muslim jurists regard mental
capacity of a child as of crucial importance for conversion to Islam.
“There
is no exact definition of religion. It is a matter of faith…,” observed Justice
Tariq Nadeem while dismissing a petition filed by a member of the Christian
community seeking recovery of his daughter who married a Muslim man after
embracing Islam.
Gulzar
Masih, a rickshaw driver from Faisalabad, had alleged that his minor daughter
Chashman Kanwal was abducted by Mohammad Usman and his accomplices.
He
said the police found the girl but refused to hand over her custody to him
saying she had converted to Islam and married Usman. Gulzar said he approached
a local court in Faisalabad but it dismissed his application for the recovery
of his daughter.
Verdict
says neither Quran nor hadith expressly stipulates minimum age for the
conversion
In
his detailed verdict on the petition on which a short order was issued last
week, Justice Nadeem observes that the Supreme Court has held that Article 20
of the Constitution grants rights to citizens to propagate their faith but that
right does not allow anyone to convert a person to another religion by coercion
or inducement.
Justice
Nadeem maintains that forced conversion or imposing beliefs on others rather
constitutes infringement of the right to freedom of religion.
The
judge says that neither Holy Quran nor any specific hadith of Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH) expressly stipulates minimum age for conversion to Islam.
Justice
Nadeem notes that Hazrat Ali (RA) was only ten when he accepted Islam.
However,
he says, Muslim jurists regard mental capacity of a child as of crucial
importance when considering the question of his/her conversion.
The
judge remarks that the age of discernment is generally reckoned as the age when
one attains puberty.
Justice
Nadeem holds that the high court cannot undertake a factual inquiry while
exercising its jurisdiction under Article 199 of the Constitution as the
question whether a conversion is tainted or otherwise cannot be determined
without recording evidence.
The
judge notes that the petitioner mentioned the age of his daughter as 17 years
in the FIR and it divulged from the record that she had contracted marriage
with the respondent and also recorded her statement before a judicial
magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The
judge states that the girl in her statement had said that she was sui juris and
had embraced Islam on her own free will and without any coercion and no one had
abducted her.
“In
the eventuality of above discussion, the instant writ petition has no merit and
is hereby dismissed in limine,” the verdict concluded.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following url to read the text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1648248/mental-capacity-is-of-crucial-value-for-conversion-lhc
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We
Were Not Threat to World In Past 20 Years: Acting Foreign Minister Of
Afghanistan
24
Sep 2021
The
acting foreign minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Motaqi has said that the
Taliban were no threat to the world in the past twenty years and added that
they should not be pressurized now.
Amir
Khan Motaqi said that they have good relations with the world and added that
the pressures of a number of countries will not work.
Though
the acting minister did not name any country, he indirectly addressed the US as
it is putting pressure over the Taliban by freezing billions of dollars of the
central bank of Afghanistan.
“A
developed and stable Afghanistan is in the favor of the region and the world
and the international community now knows this.” Said Motaqi.
The
acting foreign minister added that their relations with the world are getting
shape and they are trying to build economic relations which will be in favor of
the entire region.
It
comes as a delegation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is reportedly
visiting Moscow.
Earlier,
Pakistani foreign minister Mahmoud Qureshi had said that the world should be
lenient with the Taliban and release the frozen assets.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following url to read the text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/we-were-not-threat-to-world-in-past-20-years-taliban-6456456/
--------
'Big
Green Jummah': UK mosques dedicate Friday sermon to climate change awareness
24
September, 2021
Mosques
around the United Kingdom dedicated their Friday sermons to raising awareness
about the environment and devastating impacts of climate change as part of
one-week initiative.
Making
the announcement on their social media pages, the Muslim Council of Britain -
the UK's largest umbrella body for Muslim-led organisations – said they teamed
up with the Muslim Charities Forum for the Great Big Green Week, or The Big
Green Jummah, which began on 18 and will finish on 26 September.
"As
Muslims, we have a religious duty towards protecting and preserving this Earth,
and all that’s in it," the MCB wrote.
Verses
from the Quran were shared to stress from a theological point of view the
importance of preserving the environment and tackling climate change.
There
are over 2.6 million Muslims of different ethnicities living in the UK, with
over 1,800 mosques.
A
landmark United Nations climate science report in August warned that human
activity has already locked in climate disruptions for decades - but that
rapid, large-scale action to reduce emissions could still stave off some of the
most destructive impacts.
So
far, governments do not plan to cut emissions anywhere near fast enough to do
that.
The
UN said last week that countries' commitments would see global emissions
increase to be 16% higher in 2030 than they were in 2010 - far off the 45%
reduction by 2030 needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following url to read the text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/uk-mosques-take-day-raise-awareness-climate-change
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India
Strange
but True: Hindus Maintain, Ensure Five-Time Azan In This Bihar Village With No
Muslim Family
Sep
25, 2021
BIHARSHARIF:
Sounds strange but true that the Hindu residents of Madi village under Ben
block in Nalanda district treat the local mosque as a living deity.
Ever
since the last of the Muslim families left the village after the 1981 communal
riots, the Hindu residents not only maintain the mosque but also ensure timely
five times ‘azan’ (call for prayers) using electronic devices. A local
resident, Uday Kumar, said the mosque is like a living deity for them as its
existence protected them from the devastation of floods and other natural
calamities. He said when the last of the Muslim families left the village, the
Hindus have taken up the upkeep of the mosque.
“Funds
for meeting the expenses of the mosque are collected from local residents.
Every sacred work in the village begins with the attendance and prayers at the
mosque,” Uday said. Even newlywed Hindu couples first visit the mosque to
receive blessings before visiting a temple. Those leaving or visiting the
village offer prayers there.
Source:
Times of India
Please
click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Muslim
majority opposed Jinnah’s 2 nation theory, most in Bihar: AMU teacher
By
Reena Sopam
SEP
25, 2021
With
the renewal of a public debate over the two-nation theory-- given by Mohammad
Ali Jinnah-- an Aligarh Muslim University teacher said that the majority of
Muslims in India, especially in Bihar, used to oppose the divisive theory which
was a major factor in the united India’s partition.
“Things
need to be cleared now as many people, even the intellectuals, seem to believe
that the two-Nation theory was the aspiration of general Muslim population in
our country at that time. On the contrary, the majority of Muslims were not in
favour of division of the country,” Dr Mohammed Sajjad from the Aligarh Muslim
University (AMU) said in Patna on Friday.
Speaking
at an online session of the Bihar State Archive, Sajjad said demonstrations and
protest meetings were held widely in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal,
however, “the resistance to the theory was strongest in Bihar.”
The
AMU teacher further said that various Muslim groups played a major role in
protests against the divisive policies of Muslim League. “Public meetings were
held and strong protests were also expressed in the journals and books
published at that time,” he said.
He
cited a book, Talash-e Manzil, written by prominent Muslim leader from
pre-Independence days, Shah Mohammed, which stated that the majority of Muslims
were against Jinnah’s two nation theory. “And to condemn this theory before the
Lahore conference, many of the nationalist Muslim groups held a conference in
Delhi in April 1940. Mohammed also wrote that before the Lahore Conference,
Muslim League had made heavy propaganda in support of the two nation theory
using religious spots and groups,” Sajjad said.
He
also said that an Urdu weekly called Naquib, published by Imarat-e- Sharia, was
strongly opposed to the theory. “In its edition on April 14, 1940, Maulana
Abdul Mohsin Mohammed Sajjad raised a difficult question before Jinnah. Maulana
questioned the rationale behind Jinnah’s hue and cry over alleged torture of
Muslims in Hindu dominated areas and his desire to create Pakistan, where
Hindus could live in Muslim-dominated areas,” the AMU teacher said.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
--------
After
'Land Jihad' Charge by BJP Leader, Uttarakhand Govt Wants Strict Action in
'Such Areas': Report
SEPTEMBER
25, 2021
Less
than a month after Uttarakhand BJP leader Ajendra Ajay wrote to CM Pushkar
Singh Dhami, objecting to the purchase of land in the hills and setting up
places of worship by “members of a certain community”, terming it “land jihad”,
the state government in an official communication, said it had come to its
notice that “rapid population growth in some areas of the state had led to a
demographic shift, whose ill-effects had started showing in the form of
migration of people of certain communities”.
According
to a report by Times of India, the official release stated, “There is a
possibility of communal atmosphere getting vitiated in some places. Expressing
concern over the situation, the government has directed the DGP, all district
magistrates and SSPs to take precautionary steps to address the problem”.
The
release added, the government has called for the formation of peace committees
in various areas.
“Police
and district authorities have been told to mark such areas and ensure strict
action is taken against anti-social elements. They have also been asked to
prepare a district-wise list of people who have come from other states and have
a criminal history,” it said.
Ajendra
Ajay, who hit the headlines in 2018 for opposing the release of the film
‘Kedarnath’ and eventually succeeded in getting the movie banned in
Uttarakhand, last month said he has taken up the matter of ‘land jihad’ with
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and urged him to take action.
Along
with the ‘land jihad’ issue, Ajendra Ajay also raised the matter of increased
migration in the hill state and the increase in the population of the same
religious community in his meeting with CM Pushkar Singh Dhami last month.
Source:
News18
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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Mumbai
Rewind: Built on a water body, Mumbai’s largest and oldest mosque
by
Zeeshan Shaikh
September
25, 2021
Most
visitors who come to Zaveri Bazaar or Crawford Market in Mumbai come here in
search of a bargain. But only a few of them are dimly aware of the
extraordinary vitality of the arabesque architecture of Juma Masjid, one of the
largest and oldest mosques in Mumbai that lies at the intersection of the city’s
premier commercial streets.
In
existence since 1802, the quadrangular-shaped Juma Masjid is built over a large
water reservoir with the help of sixteen black stone arches which rise from the
depth of the water to support its massive two-storeyed structure.
The
mosque was built as Mumbai’s principal Masjid by Konkani Muslims, a maritime
mercantile community known to be one of the early settlers in erstwhile Bombay.
The need for the mosque was necessitated after two previous Jama Masjids
located in Dongri and one close to where the existing Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj Terminus stands were dismantled in the mid-18th Century by the
erstwhile British administrators of the city.
As
per the The Gazetteer for Bombay City and Island that was compiled by S M Edwardes
in 1909, for the erstwhile British regime, it was in 1775 that the Konkani
Muslim community got together with an aim to build a new Jama Masjid. A Konkani
Muslim merchant named Kazi Hussain Pallavkar with trading links to places like
Goa and Calicut offered his land. The caveat, however, was that the large water
reservoir should be preserved for perpetuity.
Patrons
of the Masjid claim that various architects, including Britishers, were asked
to submit designs for the proposed mosque. An architect named Mehr Ali was then
selected to construct the structure on the lake. The complexity of the design
and a legal wrangle meant that the construction stretched on for a good 27
years. The first congregational Friday prayers were held in December 1802 and
the one-storey masjid that had been built on a water body and looked as if it
floated on water was allegorically named as Jahaz-i- Akhirat or the ‘The Ship
of Hereafter’.
As
the population of erstwhile Bombay grew, the need for an expansion was felt and
in 1837, Mohammad Ali Mohammad Hussain Roghay offered to fund the renovation
and extension of the masjid.
Upon
completion, it became one of the first two-storeyed mosques in India. The
highpoint of the renovation, however, was the sprawling long-span column free
congregation room and a gravity defying roof full of intricate curvilinear
motifs.
The
entire roof is held in place by no more than a dozen pillars and scissor-like
trusses hidden from view that hold the roof in place.
Over
the years, the masjid has had multiple additions, including an
intricately-carved marble pulpit which weighs more than a tonne. Its 15
feet-high almirahs carved from teak wood bristle out from its walls while a
massive half a tonne chandelier provides lighting for the sprawling space.
Source:
Indian Express
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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Conversion
racket case: AMU students protest against arrest of Islamic scholar Kaleem
Siddiqui
By
Hemendra Chaturvedi
SEP
24, 2021
Agra
The recent arrest of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui, an Islamic scholar and senior
cleric of western Uttar Pradesh, was opposed by students of Aligarh Muslim
University (AMU) and members of civil societies in Aligarh on Friday.
Maulana
Siddiqui was arrested on Wednesday from Meerut by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism
Squad (ATS) on charges of running a conversion syndicate, on the clues obtained
from the arrested activist, Umar Gautam, during an interrogation the by ATS.
A
group of students from Aligarh Muslim University took out a protest march on
the AMU campus on Friday against the arrest of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui. They
warned district administration that they would intensify their agitation if
Maulana was not released at the earliest.
AMU
students gathered at ‘Bab-e-Syed’ gate of the university and reached Jama
Masjid on the campus and offered Friday namaaz there before starting their
protest march till ‘Bab-e-Syed’ gate to press for their demand. The angry
students also raised slogans against Islamophobia.
Police
was deployed at the Bab-e-Syed gate where students read out charter of their
demand addressed to the President and called for stopping the witch hunt of
Muslim preachers, activists, Ulemas, political and community leaders. “Students
would not settle until Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui and activist Umar Gautam were
released,” said a student leader at Bab-e-Syed gate.
Meanwhile,
members of civil societies, including former president of Aligarh Muslim
University Student Union, M Salman Imtiaz, also staged a separate protest and
handed over a memorandum addressed to the governor of Uttar Pradesh to express
their anguish for uncalled arrest of Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui.
“Maulana
Kaleem Siddiqui has been illegally arrested in a false case of illegal
religious conversion. It is all part of a conspiracy hatched by the ruling
party in the state. All are free to have their religious belief and practice
religion of their choice. The Muslim preachers never force others to accept
Islam by coercion or threat,” stated Salman M Imtiaz, the former president of
Aligarh Muslim University Student Union.
In
the memorandum, they said the arrest of some Muslim clerics over alleged
unlawful religious conversions and the “harassment and eviction of Muslims in
Assam on the citizenship issue were creating an atmosphere of fear and
insecurity in the minds of Muslims”.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
--------
'Afghan
soil must not be used for terrorism': India, US remind Taliban of commitments
Sep
25, 2021
NEW
DELHI: India and US have called upon the Taliban to keeps their commitments on
human rights, women's issues, minorities and of not allowing Afghan soil to be
used for terrorism.In a joint statement after the Modi-Biden bilateral talks in
Washington on Friday, the two leaders underscored the importance of combating
terrorism in Afghanistan.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and US President Biden resolved that the Taliban must
abide by UNSC Resolution 2593 (2021) which demands that Afghan territory must
never again be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train
terrorists, or to plan or finance terrorist attacks, and underscored the
importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan.
They
also called on the Taliban to allow full, safe, direct and unhindered access
for the UN, its specialised agencies and implementing partners, and all
humanitarian actors engaged in humanitarian relief activity, including with
respect to internally displaced persons, the statement said.
India
and US said they were determined to continue to closely coordinate and to work
jointly with partners toward an inclusive and peaceful future for all Afghans.
The
Taliban swept across Afghanistan last month, seizing control of almost all key
towns and cities in the backdrop of withdrawal of the US forces that began on
May 1. On August 15, the capital city of Kabul fell to the insurgents.
Source:
Times of India
Please
click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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India
raises tone as Pakistan appeals to work with Taliban
Sep
25, 2021
WASHINGTON:
India on Friday upbraided Pakistan both in Washington and at the United Nations
as Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed to the world to work with
Afghanistan's triumphant Taliban.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi raised concerns about Pakistan during talks with US
President Joe Biden as well as a broader four-way summit with the leaders of
Australia and Japan, according to Indian officials, who said the others
concurred.
"There
was a clear sense that a more careful look and a more careful examination and
monitoring of Pakistan's role in Afghanistan -- Pakistan's role on the issue of
terrorism -- had to be kept," Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla
told reporters after the White House talks.
Khan,
addressing the UN General Assembly, said that the Taliban have promised to
respect human rights and build an inclusive government since taking over last
month, despite global disappointment in a caretaker cabinet.
"If
the world community incentivizes them, and encourages them to walk this talk,
it will be a win-win situation for everyone," Khan said.
"We
must strengthen and stabilize the current government, for the sake of the
people of Afghanistan."
Khan
spent much of his speech defending the record of Pakistan, which was the main
supporter of the Taliban's 1996-2001 regime that imposed an ultra-austere interpretation
of Islam and welcomed Al-Qaeda, triggering the US invasion after the September
11 attacks.
Khan,
a longstanding critic of the 20-year US war ended by President Joe Biden,
blamed imprecise US drone strikes for the flareup of extremism inside Pakistan
and pointed to Islamabad's cooperation with US forces.
"There
is a lot of worry in the US about taking care of the interpreters and everyone
who helped the US. What about us?" Khan said in a speech, pre-recorded by
video due to Covid-19 precautions.
"At
least there should have been a word of appreciation. But rather than
appreciation, imagine how we feel when we are blamed for the turn of events in
Afghanistan."
US
officials have long accused Islamabad's powerful intelligence services of
maintaining support for the Taliban, leading Biden's predecessor Donald Trump
to slash military aid.
Biden
has yet to speak let alone invite Khan, although Secretary of State Antony
Blinken met Thursday on the UN sidelines with his Pakistani counterpart and
offered thanks for help repatriating US citizens from Afghanistan.
Khan
accused a world eager for India's billion-plus market of giving "complete
impunity" to Modi in a speech that was loaded even for Pakistan, which
routinely castigates India at the United Nations.
"The
hate-filled Hindutva ideology, propagated by the fascist RSS-BJP regime, has
unleashed a reign of fear and violence against India's 200 million-strong
Muslim community," Khan said.
Khan
was referring to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and the affiliated Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh, a century-old Hindu revivalist movement with a paramilitary
component.
Under
Modi, India has rescinded the statehood of Kashmir, its only Muslim-majority
region, pushed through a citizenship law that critics call discriminatory and
witnessed repeated flare-ups of religious violence.
While
India often ignores Pakistan's statements, a young Indian diplomat responded
from the General Assembly floor.
Sneha
Dubey, a first secretary at India's UN mission, accused Pakistan of sheltering
and glorifying Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden -- who was killed by US
special forces in 2011 -- in the army city of Abbottabad.
Source:
Times of India
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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'Pak
has history of supporting terrorists', India slams Imran Khan in its Right of
Reply at UNGA
Sep
25, 2021
NEW
YORK: India slammed Imran Khan in its Right of Reply in response against
Pakistan Prime Prime Minister's references to Kashmir in his United Nations
General Assembly virtual speech and stated that Islamabad has an established
history of actively supporting terrorists.
Sneha
Dubey First Secretary at UNGA said, "Regrettably, this is not the first
time the leader of Pakistan has misused platforms provided by the UN to
propagate false and malicious propaganda against my country, and seeking in
vain to divert the world's attention from the sad state of his country where
terrorists enjoy free pass while the lives of ordinary people, especially those
belonging to the minority communities, are turned upside down."
"Member
States are aware that Pakistan has an established history and policy of
harbouring, aiding and actively supporting terrorists. This is a country that
has been globally recognized as one openly supporting, training, financing and
arming terrorists as a matter of State policy. It holds the ignoble record of
hosting the largest number of terrorists proscribed by the UN Security
Council," added Dubey.
She
slammed Pakistan for bringing up the internal matter of India.
"We
exercise our Right of Reply to one more attempt by the leader of Pakistan to
tarnish the image of this august forum by bringing in matters internal to my
country, and going so far as to spew falsehoods on the world stage," she
said.
Khan
had addressed the United Nations General Assembly virtually today where he
raked up the Kashmir issue during his address.
Asserting
that Pakistan desires peace with India, Khan, however, said sustainable peace
in South Asia is contingent upon the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir
dispute.
"The
onus remains on India to create a conducive environment for meaningful and
result-oriented engagement with Pakistan," Khan's statement read.
India's
secretary Dubey talking about the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks
said, "We marked the solemn occasion of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11
terror attacks a few days back. The world has not forgotten that the mastermind
behind that dastardly event, Osama Bin Laden, got shelter in Pakistan. Even today,
Pakistan leadership glorify him as a martyr."
Dubey
further said, "Regrettably, even today we heard the leader of Pakistan
trying to justify acts of terror. Such defence of terrorism is unacceptable in
the modern world."
Regarding
the Pakistani rhetoric of calling themselves as the "victim of
terrorism", she said, "This is the country which is an arsonist
disguising itself as a fire-fighter. Pakistan nurtures terrorists in their
backyard in the hope that they will only harm their neighbours. Our region, and
in fact the entire world, has suffered because of their policies. On the other
hand, they are trying to cover up sectarian violence in their country as acts
of terror."
She
also referred to the 1971 genocide of Bangladesh. She said, "This is also
the country that still holds the despicable record in our region of having
executed a religious and cultural genocide against the people of what is now
Bangladesh. As we mark the 50th anniversary this year of that horrid event in
history, there is not even an acknowledgement, much less accountability."
She
also slammed Pakistan for suppressing its minority communities.
"Today,
the minorities in Pakistan - the Sikhs, Hindus, Christians - live in constant
fear and state-sponsored suppression of their rights. This is a regime where
anti-Semitism is normalized by its leadership and even justified," added
the First Secretary.
"Dissenting
voices are muzzled daily and enforced disappearances and extra-judicial
killings are well documented," she added.
Drawing
a parallel between India and Pakistan, she said that India is a pluralistic
democracy with a substantial population of minorities who have gone on to hold
the highest offices in the country including as President, Prime Minister,
Chief Justices and Chiefs of the Army Staff.
Source:
Times of India
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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Pakistan
Protest
lodged with India over targeting of Muslims in India's Assam state
September
25, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
The Foreign Office on Friday summoned the Indian Charge d’ Affaires and
conveyed Pakistan government’s grave concern over the recent targeting of
Muslims in India’s State of Assam, where a brutal eviction drive against the
Muslim residents has been launched.
The
Indian authorities came under fire on Twitter after a video circulating on
social media showed the police opening fire on locals in Assam before a
cameraperson pounced on one of the men who had fallen motionless on the ground
as a result of the attack.
The
video shows policemen firing blindly at unseen targets behind a mass of trees.
As a man comes rushing towards them, they round him, attacking him with rods
and sticks. As the man collapses to the ground — apparently due to a gunshot —
and is lying motionless, a cameraperson runs towards him and repeatedly kicks
him and jumps on him.
At
least, two people were reported dead in the incident that took place in the
Sipajhar area of Assam’s Darrang district, where most residents are Muslims of
Bangla origin.
Meanwhile,
the Foreign Office in a statement condemned the extrajudicial killing of three
men in Uri Sector along the Line of Control in India-held Kashmir. It said the
killings were proof of India’s unabated state-terrorism against Kashmiris for
decades.
Source:
Dawn
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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Imran
Khan paints Pakistan as victim of US' ungratefulness
Sep
25, 2021
NEW
YORK: Prime Minister Imran Khan has sought to cast Pakistan as the victim of
American ungratefulness and an international double standard in his address to
the United Nations General Assembly.
In
a prerecorded speech aired Friday evening, the Pakistani prime minister touched
on a range of topics that included climate change, global Islamophobia and “the
plunder of the developing world by their corrupt elites” — the latter of which
he likened to what the East India Company did to India.
It
was for India's government that Khan reserved his harshest words, once again
labelling Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist government
“fascist.”
But
the cricketer turned posh international celebrity turned politician was in turn
indignant and plaintive as he painted the United States as an abandoner of both
Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.
“For
the current situation in Afghanistan, for some reason, Pakistan has been blamed
for the turn of events, by politicians in the United States and some
politicians in Europe,” Khan said. “From this platform, I want them all to
know, the country that suffered the most, apart from Afghanistan, was Pakistan
when we joined the US war on terror after 9/11.”
He
launched into a narrative that began with the United States and Pakistan
training mujahedeen — regarded as heroes by the likes of then-President Ronald
Reagan, he said — during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. But Pakistan was
left to pick up the pieces — millions of refugees and new sectarian militant
groups — when the Soviets and the Americans left in 1989.
Khan
said the US sanctioned its former partner a year later, but then came calling
again after the 9/11 attacks. Khan said Pakistan's aid to the US cost 80,000
Pakistani lives and caused internal strife and dissent directed at the state,
all while the US conducted drone attacks.
“So,
when we hear this at the end. There is a lot of worry in the US about taking
care of the interpreters and everyone who helped the US,” he said, referring to
Afghanistan. “What about us?”
Instead
of a mere "word of appreciation,” Pakistan has received blame, Khan said.
Despite
Khan's rhetoric espousing a desire for peace, many Afghans have blamed Pakistan
for the Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan because of close links.
The
United Nations in August also rejected Pakistan's request to give its side at a
special meeting on Afghanistan, indicating the international community's shared
skepticism.
In
his speech, Khan echoed what his foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, told
The Associated Press earlier this week on the sidelines at the UN: the
international community should not isolate the Taliban, but instead strengthen
the current Afghan government for the sake of the people.
He
struck an optimistic tone about Taliban rule, saying their leaders had
committed to human rights, an inclusive government and not allowing terrorists
on Afghan soil. But messages from the Taliban have been mixed.
A
Taliban founder told the AP earlier this week that the hard-liners would once
again carry out executions and amputated hands — though this time after
adjudication by judges, including women, and potentially not in public.
“If
the world community incentivises them, and encourages them to walk this talk,
it will be a win-win situation for everyone,” he said.
Khan
also turned his ire on that same community for what he perceives as a free pass
given to India.
“It
is unfortunate, very unfortunate, that the world's approach to violations of
human rights lacks even-handedness, and even is selective. Geopolitical
considerations, or corporate interests, commercial interests often compel major
powers to overlook the transgressions of their affiliated countries,” Khan
said.
He
went through a litany of actions that have “unleashed a reign of fear and
violence against India's 200 million strong Muslim community", including
lynchings, pogroms and "discriminatory" citizenship laws.
Source:
Times of India
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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6
suspected terrorists killed in encounter with Pakistani security forces
Sep
25, 2021
KARACHI:
Six suspected terrorists, including two top tier commanders, have been killed
in a security operation in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province.
The
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the
intelligence based operation was launched Friday by the paramilitary
Balochistan Frontier Corps after getting confirmed information about the
presence of terrorists in a hideout near Kharan district.
The
statement said that as soon as the FC soldiers entered and cordoned off the
area, the terrorists opened fire and tried to flee from their hideout.
"As
soon as (the) troops cordoned the area, the terrorists opened fire to flee from
the hideout," it said.
The
statement said that after intense exchange of fire, six terrorists, including
commanders Gul Mir alias Pullen and Kaleemullah Bolani were killed.
“A
large cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered from the area,” it said.
Source:
Times of India
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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In
meeting with UN chief, Qureshi calls for 'urgent action' on humanitarian crisis
in Afghanistan
Naveed
Siddiqui
September
25, 2021
Foreign
Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the
sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday
and stressed "urgent action" to address the humanitarian crisis in
war-torn Afghanistan, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Office
(FO).
"Qureshi
underscored the need for urgent action to address the prevailing dire
humanitarian situation in [the] country, calling for the continued political
and economic engagement of the international community to end [the]
decades-long conflict," the statement said.
It
added that the foreign minister also highlighted Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to
address the humanitarian situation and those aimed at achieving lasting peace
and stability in the neighbouring country.
Moreover,
the statement said, Qureshi briefed Guterres on the "deteriorating human
rights" situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir and shared with him a
"comprehensive dossier containing evidence of gross, systematic, and
widespread human rights violations, war crimes, crime against humanity and
genocide being perpetrated by Indian occupation forces" in the valley.
Qureshi
also expressed hope that the UN would play its role in ensuring that the people
of occupied Kashmir were able to "exercise their inalienable right to
self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN resolutions".
According
to the statement, the minister called for making the UN Security Council (UNSC)
"more representative, democratic, transparent, effective and accountable
to address the multiple challenges" faced by the world.
He
emphasised that reforms must be decided by consensus and member states must be
allowed the necessary time and space to evolve a solution acceptable to the
entire UN membership, the statement said.
Qureshi
also called for the need for stemming the rising tide of Islamophobia, ending
vaccine inequity, and ensuring adequate financing for developing countries to
respond to the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis.
After
the meeting, Qureshi briefly shared the the details of his talk with Guterres
in a tweet.
"Great
to meet Antonio Guterres at UNGA and share Pakistan’s key priorities: equitable
socio-economic development, stabilisation of Afghanistan and just resolution of
Jammu and Kashmir dispute," he tweeted.
"We
look to the UN to play central role in addressing and overcoming these
challenges."
According
to the FO, the foreign minister also met the president of the 76th Session of
the general assembly, Abdulla Shahid, on the day and congratulated him on his
election to the position.
Qureshi
expressed the hope that Shahid's presence in this important office would help
with making progress on important issues on the UN agenda.
Source:
Dawn
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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Pakistan
concerned about Afghan terror threat: PM Imran
September
25, 2021
KARACHI:
While expressing the desire to promote a comprehensive, not selective, approach
to neutralising terrorists’ threats from Afghanistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan
has highlighted the need for international community’s cooperation to help in
stabilising the country by addressing humanitarian crisis and supporting its
economic recovery.
Afghanistan
faced a difficult transition from the past 20 years of a US-Nato supported
governance structure, PM Khan said in a wide-ranging interview with Newsweek.
Since
the Taliban seemed to have gained control over the entire country for the first
time, there was a hope that security could be established across Afghanistan,
he said. “A peaceful Afghanistan will be beneficial for Pakistan, opening up
possibilities for trade and development projects,” he remarked. But Afghanistan
faced a humanitarian crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict, and
failures of the previous governments, which must be addressed as a priority, he
said.
“Also,
we need to work with the authorities in Kabul to neutralise terrorists’ groups
present in Afghanistan, particularly the TTP [Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan],
which has been responsible for thousands of terrorist attacks against
Pakistan,” the prime minister said.
In
response to a question, PM Khan said there was indeed a plethora of terrorist
groups which, taking advantage of the conflict in Afghanistan, located
themselves in that country. Pakistan was extremely concerned about the threat
of terrorism from Afghanistan, particularly from the TTP, which had conducted
thousands of attacks against Pakistan from the territory of Afghanistan with
the sponsorship and support of “certain hostile intelligence agencies”.
The
TTP, he said, had also been responsible for most of the attacks on Chinese
citizens working in Pakistan, perhaps with the support of the East Turkestan
Islamic Movement. Pakistan would work with the authorities in Afghanistan to
halt the TTP’s and other terrorism from Afghanistan, he added.
During
the Doha peace process, PM Khan recalled, the US established a working
relationship with the Taliban. There was direct cooperation between the US and
the Taliban during the evacuation process, he said. “I believe that the US can
work with a new government in Afghanistan to promote common interests and
regional stability.”
He
said if China offered economic support to Afghanistan, it was natural that the
Afghans would accept it. The Taliban welcomed the prospects of being
incorporated in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and establishing
close relations with China, he added.
PM
Khan said the US, too, could play an important and positive role in Afghanistan
by providing humanitarian assistance, contributing to Afghanistan’s recovery
and reconstruction, and cooperating in containing terrorism from Afghanistan.
Asked
if there was concern that Pakistan could be caught up in the broader US-China
rivalry, Mr Khan said Pakistan’s relationship with China was 70 years old,
covering economic, technological, military and other sectors. Throughout this
time, Pakistan simultaneously maintained a close relationship with the US as
well. He said it was Pakistan that first brought the US and China together in
1971. “We see no reason for our strategic partnership with China to erode our
ability to continue a cooperative relationship with the United States,” he
said.
The
prime minister believed the current US-China rivalry was “unnecessary and
contrary to the interests of both these global powers”. He said cooperation
between them would be beneficial to both and was essential to address the
myriad problems the world faced — the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic crisis in
the developing world and the existential threat of climate change. “We hope
that both Beijing and Washington will reach the same conclusion in the near
future,” he said.
Source:
Dawn
Please
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1648263/pakistan-concerned-about-afghan-terror-threat-pm-imran
--------
6
terrorists including 2 commanders killed in Kharan operation: ISPR
September
24, 2021
Six
alleged terrorists including two commanders were killed in an
intelligence-based operation in Balochistan's Kharan district, the military's
media wing said on Friday.
The
operation was launched by the paramilitary Balochistan Frontier Corps on
"confirmed intelligence about the presence of terrorists in a hideout near
Kharan", the Inter-Services Public Relations statement said.
"As
soon as [the] troops cordoned the area, the terrorists opened fire to flee from
the hideout," it added.
During
an intense exchange of fire that ensued, six terrorists including commanders
Gul Mir alias Pullen and Kaleemullah Bolani were killed.
A
large cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered from the area, according
to the ISPR.
Source:
Dawn
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South Asia
It's
almost certain Afghanistan's Taliban won't speak at UN
Sep
25, 2021
UNITED
NATIONS: It's almost certain that Afghanistan's Taliban rulers won't get to
speak at this year's U.N. General Assembly meeting of world leaders.
The
Taliban challenged the credentials of the ambassador from Afghanistan's former
government, which they ousted on Aug. 15, and asked to represent the country at
the assembly's high-level General Debate. It began Tuesday and ends Monday,
with Afghanistan's representative as the final speaker.
UN
spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that as of Friday, Afghanistan's currently
recognized U.N. ambassador, Ghulam Isaczai, who represents former president
Ashraf Ghani's now ousted government, is listed as speaking for the country.
The
key reason is that the General Assembly committee which decides on credentials
challenges has not met, and is highly unlikely to meet over the weekend.
Assembly
spokeswoman Monica Grayley said Wednesday the nine-member committee generally
meets in November and will issue a ruling ``in due course.''
The
Taliban, who overran most of Afghanistan last month as U.S. and NATO forces
were in the final stages of their chaotic withdrawal from the country after 20
years, argue that they are now in charge and have the right to appoint
ambassadors.
In
a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Taliban's newly
appointed foreign minister, Ameer Khan Muttaqi, said Ghani was ``ousted'' as of
Aug. 15 and that countries across the world ``no longer recognize him as
president.''
Therefore,
Muttaqi said, Isaczai no longer represents Afghanistan and the Taliban was
nominating a new U.N. permanent representative, Mohammad Suhail Shaheen. He was
a spokesman for the Taliban during peace negotiations in Qatar.
``We
have all the requirements needed for recognition of a government,'' Shaheen
told The Associated Press on Wednesday. ``So we hope the U.N., as a neutral
world body, recognize the current government of Afghanistan.''
When
the Taliban last ruled from 1996 to 2001, the U.N. refused to recognize their
government and instead gave Afghanistan's seat to the previous,
warlord-dominated government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who was killed
by a suicide bomber in 2011. It was Rabbani's government that brought Osama bin
Laden, the mastermind of 9/11, to Afghanistan from Sudan in 1996.
The
Taliban have said they want international recognition and financial help to
rebuild the war-battered country. But the makeup of the new Taliban government
poses a dilemma for the United Nations. Several of the interim ministers --
including Muttaqi -- are on the U.N.'s so-called blacklist of international
terrorists and funders of terrorism.
Source:
Times of India
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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US
grants licenses for more aid flow to Afghanistan despite sanctions
Sep
24, 2021
WASHINGTON:
The United States on Friday further paved the way for aid to flow to Afghanistan
despite US sanctions on the Taliban, who seized control of the country last
month, issuing general licenses amid concern that Washington's punitive
measures could compound an unfolding humanitarian crisis.
The
US Treasury Department said it issued two general licenses, one allowing the US
government, NGOs and certain international organizations, including the United
Nations, to engage in transactions with the Taliban or Haqqani Network - both
under sanctions - that are necessary to provide humanitarian assistance.
The
second license authorizes certain transactions related to the export and
re-export of food, medicine and medical devices.
"Treasury
is committed to facilitating the flow of humanitarian assistance to the people
of Afghanistan and other activities that support their basic human needs,"
Andrea Gacki, director of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control,
said in the statement.
She
added that Washington will continue to work with financial institutions, NGOs
and international organizations to ease the flow of agricultural goods,
medicine and other resources while upholding sanctions on the Taliban, Haqqani
Network and others.
The
United Nations said that at the start of the year more than 18 million people -
about half of Afghanistan's population - require aid amid the second drought in
four years.
UN.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week that Afghanistan is on
"the verge of a dramatic humanitarian disaster" and has decided to
engage the Taliban in order to help the country's people.
US
President Joe Biden's administration has said it is committed to allowing
humanitarian work in Afghanistan to continue despite Washington listing the
Taliban as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group.
The
sanctions freeze any US assets of the Islamist militant group and bar Americans
from dealing with them, including the contribution of funds, goods or services.
Source:
Times of India
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Multiple
blasts: Three bodies found in Afghanistan's Jalalabad
Sep
24, 2021
KABUL:
Three bodies were found in the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province in
Afghanistan on Friday morning, local media reported.
All
the deceased were taken to the hospital, according to eyewitnesses.
"Three
bodies were found in the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar on Friday morning and
were taken to the hospital, eyewitnesses said. Local officials did not comment
about the incident," TOLO News said tweet.
On
Wednesday, the eastern province of Nangarhar witnessed multiple attacks in
Jalalabad city resulting in the death of five persons, as per TOLO News.
Source:
Times of India
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Afghan
Taliban defence minister orders crackdown on abuses
Sep
24, 2021
PESHAWAR:
The Taliban's new defence minister has issued a rebuke over misconduct by some
commanders and fighters following the movement's victory over the
Western-backed government in Afghanistan last month, saying abuses would not be
tolerated.
Mullah
Mohammad Yaqoob said in an audio message that some "miscreants and
notorious former soldiers" had been allowed to join Taliban units where
they had committed a range of sometimes violent abuses.
"We
direct you keep them out of your ranks, otherwise strict action will be taken
against you," he stated. "We don't want such people in our
ranks."
The
message from one of the Taliban's most senior ministers underlines the problems
Afghanistan's new rulers have sometimes had in controlling fighting forces as
they transition from an insurgency to a peacetime administration.
Some
Kabul residents have complained of abusive treatment at the hands of Taliban
fighters who have appeared on the streets of the capital, often from other
regions and unused to big cities.
There
have also been reports of reprisals against members of the former government
and military or civil society activists, despite promises of an amnesty by the
Taliban.
Yaqoob
said there had been isolated reports of unauthorized executions, and he
repeated that such actions would not be tolerated.
"As
you all are aware, under the general amnesty announced in Afghanistan, no
mujahid has the right to take revenge on anyone," he said.
Source:
Times of India
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People
protest in Kabul against US over frozen assets
24
Sep 2021
Hundreds
of people took to the streets of Kabul on Friday, September 24, and protested
against the US and the international community over nearly ten billion dollars
of Afghanistan now frozen in the US banks.
The
all-male protest was well protected by the Taliban fighters and was staged in
the middle of Kabul city.
Protesters
asked the United States and the United Nations to unfreeze the assets of the
people of Afghanistan to avert a looming humanitarian crisis in the country.
They
accused the US of violating human rights and of waging an economic war against
the people of Afghanistan after they were so-called defeated in Afghanistan.
The
slogans carried by the protestors read that the ordinary Afghan people should
pay the price of the defeat of America.
The
United States has frozen over $9.4 billion of the central bank of Afghanistan
among them over 3 billion dollars belong to the private sector of the country.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
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https://www.khaama.com/people-protest-in-kabul-against-us-over-frozen-assets-457474/
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Bangladesh
eyes more EU action for Rohingya return to Myanmar
SM
Najmus Sakib
25.09.2021
Bangladesh
is urging the EU to take a more active role in ensuring conditions for the
return of more than a million Rohingya refugees who fled from neighboring
Myanmar, according to a statement on Saturday.
The
roughly 1.1 million Rohingya that Bangladesh is currently hosting in refugee
camps in the southern district of Cox's Bazar for humanitarian reasons have
become a heavy burden on the South Asian country, Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul
Momen told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly in New York, said the Foreign Ministry statement.
In
the meeting held on Thursday, Momen requested that the EU take more effective
measures to create a conducive environment in Myanmar for the sustainable
repatriation of the Rohingya, who had fled Rakhine State in Myanmar following a
brutal military crackdown in August 2017.
He
explained that sheltering such a large population had been "putting
enormous social, economic and environmental costs for Bangladesh."
For
his part, Borell thanked Bangladesh for its humanitarian efforts for the
Rohingya and assured him that the EU would "work with Bangladesh and the
international community to ensure sustainable repatriation of the
Rohingya," the statement added.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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Europe
UN
updates Syria war death toll, says 350,000 'certainly an undercount'
Peter
Kenny
24.09.2021
GENEVA
More
than 350,000 people have been killed in over 10 years of conflict in Syria, but
the tally is “certainly an undercount,” the United Nations human rights chief
said on Friday.
“We
have compiled a list of 350,209 identified individuals killed in the conflict
in Syria between March 2011 to March 2021,” Michelle Bachelet told the UN Human
Rights Council.
This
was the UN rights office’s first update on the Syrian conflict’s death toll
since August 2014, when the tally stood at 191,369.
“But
it is not – and should not be seen as – a complete number of conflict-related killings
in Syria. It indicates a minimum verifiable number, and is certainly an
under-count of the actual number of killings,” said Bachelet.
Over
one in every 13 was a woman – 26,727 in all – almost one in every 13 was a
child – 27,126 children, to be exact, she said.
“Behind
each recorded death was a human being, born free and equal, in dignity and
rights,” she added.
“We
must always make victims’ stories visible, both individually and collectively,
because the injustice and horror of each of these deaths should compel us to
action.”
Highest
toll in Aleppo
The
greatest number of documented killings – 51,731 – was in the northwestern
Aleppo governorate, the UN official said.
“Other
areas with heavy death tolls were rural Damascus, with 47,483 deaths; Homs, with
40,986 deaths; Idlib, with 33,271 deaths; Hama, 31,993 deaths; and Tartus,
which lost 31,369 people,” Bachelet said.
“Documenting
the identity of and circumstances in which people have died is key to the
effective realization of a range of fundamental human rights – to know the
truth, to seek accountability, and to pursue effective remedies.”
It
can also facilitate survivors’ access to education, health care, and property,
she added.
“Documenting
deaths is directly complementary to efforts to account for missing people,” she
explained.
“In
the context of Syria, we have been assisting families of missing people to
effectively engage with international human rights mechanisms.”
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Turkey's
Diyanet religious body threatens secularism
24.09.2021
Ali
Erbas heads Diyanet, Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs. He is known for
his deeply conservative interpretation of Islam, which many Turks see as
anachronistic. Indeed, Erbas blames homosexual and adulterers for the
coronavirus pandemic. And he is known for many more highly controversial
statements. Erbas has run Diyanet since 2017 and his influence on Turkish
society is growing.
Erbas
led the ceremony to reopen Haghia Sophia mosque in July 2020delivering the
Friday sermon with a sword in hand — a symbol harking back to Ottoman times.
Many ordinary Turks took offense, deeming it an affront to republican values.
Quran
lessons for preschoolers
Since
then, Erbas has become a prominent mouthpiece for Turkey's conservatives
forces. Diyanet has suggested four to six-year-olds should take compulsory
Quran lessons before starting school.
The
religious body announced it would soon be consulting the Education Ministry and
researchers to pursue the plan. Many Turks, meanwhile, reject the move — not
least because Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly called for
a "religious generation" to be raised, indoctrinated with
conservative Islamic values.
Diyanet
is expanding its influence into the digital world, too. It has published a
document on "ethics in social media," urging Islamic law to be
applied to cases of online abuse that may only be insufficiently addressed by
secular law. Erdogan has long sought to further regulate social media and
supports Diyanet's efforts.
Not
long ago, Erbas and Erdogan attended a swearing-in ceremony for new judges at
Ankara's Court of Cassation. The event was launched by a sermon held by the
Diyanet head. It was the first time in Turkish history that such a judicial
ceremony was accompanied by a religious service.
Laicism
under threat?
Turkish
opposition figures and liberals are troubled by Diyanet's growing presence in
everyday life. They worry that secularism and laicism is under threat in Turkey.
Erbas, meanwhile, has defended the role of Diyanet, saying that "as a
leader, you must have a say everywhere […] why should our faith not be felt in
the heart of society?" He has also underscored that Islam should guide all
aspects of life, including the judiciary.
Burcu
Karakas, a journalist and Diyanet expert, is concerned by the body's growing
influence. "Ali Erbas' statement shows that the government is trying to
regulate the public realm by marshalling religion," says Karakas.
"Diyanet was originally tasked with staging religious services only, but
it has taken even ever more jobs […] the government is waging war on
secularism; Diyanet is playing a key role in this war."
Source:
DW
Please
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https://www.dw.com/en/turkeys-diyanet-religious-body-threatens-secularism/a-59289180
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West's
failure in Afghanistan no cause for schadenfreude: German president
Oliver
Towfigh Nia
24.09.2021
BERLIN
Germany’s
president on Friday acknowledged that the West had failed in Afghanistan
following last month’s takeover by the Taliban, but warned others against
rejoicing over the failure as the “developments threaten us all.”
“Yes,
we failed on many things in Afghanistan. But our failure should not be cause
for schadenfreude for others,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in his address at
the UN General Assembly in New York.
“I
am deliberately using this German word that has made its way into many
languages: schadenfreude. A mindset in which loss to one is gain to another
fails to do justice to the reality of our interconnected world.”
He
emphasized that the world needs to collectively respond to a range of pressing
challenges.
“Regional
instability, weakening state structures, refugee and migrant flows, religious
extremism and terrorism, and new forms of conflict – hybrid, digital,
environmental and resource-based. Such developments threaten us all and we all
have to deal with them. Small and large alike,” Steinmeier said.
He
lamented that the West was not able to help create a genuine popular Afghan
government that could stand on its own feet.
“The
fall of Kabul marks a turning point. We achieved our goal of defeating those
who wrought horrendous terror on this city [New York] 20 years ago. But despite
immense endeavor and investment, we were not able in two decades to establish a
self-sustaining political order in Afghanistan,” he said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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‘Hundreds
of thousands of migrant children missing in Europe’
Sefa
Mutlu
24.09.2021
Hundreds
of thousands of migrant and refugee children are missing in Europe, with no one
knowing what happened to them, according to a member of the Turkish delegation
to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency on Friday, Serap Yasar said migration has been a hot topic
around the world since 2011 and the recent situation in Afghanistan shows it
will be on the agenda in the future as well.
“These
are migrations caused by wars, terrorism, and internal turmoil. We should also
not underestimate the migration caused by climate change," she said,
adding that it should gain more global attention to move toward a solution.
Report
on missing children
“We
released our report on Missing Migrant and Refugee Children in Europe at the
Council of Europe in January 2020, which was passed unanimously by the deputies
of 47 countries registered in the Council of Europe," Yasar said.
"According
to the report, hundreds of thousands of children are missing in Europe. It's
unclear what happened to them. I want to highlight the number: hundreds of
thousands of children."
“Sometimes
the figure seems large, but I did not make this up. This went into UN reports.
This was determined in the Council of Europe and finally in my report, with the
decision numbered 2,324. At least one MP from 47 countries participated in this
vote and they are aware of the situation. They probably carried it into their
own parliaments as well,” she added.
Yasar
said they did not only identify the problem, but also offered solutions in the
report.
She
said the COVID-19 pandemic started after their report, and the world's agenda
shifted to other issues.
“It
is our duty to protect these children in any case. It is their right to be
protected. They are children first, and then migrants and refugees. For every
missing child, everyone who knows is responsible. First of all, states have an
obligation to protect them,” she said.
Europol
notices
The
European Police Organization (Europol) has yellow and black notices for missing
and dead children respectively, said Yasar, adding the migrant children were
not included in any of these categories.
“Let's
say most of these children are orphans – unaccompanied, no parents with them.
The European legal system for orphans does not apply to these children. These
children also have the same rights as your own citizens, the right to benefit
from this protection,” she said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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North America
US,
Pakistan face each other again on Afghanistan threats
Sep
25, 2021
WASHINGTON:
The Taliban's takeover of Kabul has deepened the mutual distrust between the US
and Pakistan, two putative allies who have tangled over Afghanistan. But both
sides still need each other.
With
the Biden administration looking for new ways to stop terrorist threats in
Afghanistan, it will likely look again to Pakistan, which remains critical to
US intelligence and national security because of its proximity to Afghanistan
and connections to the Taliban leaders now in charge.
Over
two decades of war, American officials accused Pakistan of playing a double game
by promising to fight terrorism and cooperate with Washington while cultivating
the Taliban and other extremist groups that attacked U.S. forces in
Afghanistan. Islamabad, meanwhile, pointed to what it saw as failed promises of
a supportive government in Kabul after the U.S. drove the Taliban from power
following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as extremist groups took refuge in
eastern Afghanistan and launched deadly attacks throughout Pakistan.
But
the U.S. wants Pakistani cooperation in counterterrorism efforts and could seek
permission to fly surveillance flights into Afghanistan or other intelligence
cooperation. And Pakistan wants US military aid and good relations with
Washington, even as its leaders openly celebrate the Taliban's rise to power.
``Over
the last 20 years, Pakistan has been vital for various logistics purposes for
the US military. What's really been troubling is that, unfortunately, there
hasn't been a lot of trust,'' said U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois
Democrat who sits on the House Intelligence Committee. ``I think the question
is whether we can get over that history to arrive at a new understanding.''
Former
diplomats and intelligence officers from both countries say the possibilities
for cooperation are severely limited by the events of the last two decades and
Pakistan's enduring competition with India. The previous Afghan government,
which was strongly backed by New Delhi, routinely accused Pakistan of harboring
the Taliban. The new Taliban government includes officials that American
officials have long believed are linked to Pakistan's spy agency, the
Inter-Services Intelligence.
Husain
Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the US, said he understood ``the
temptation of officials in both countries to try and take advantage of the
situation'' and find common ground. But Haqqani said he expected Pakistan to
give ``all possible cooperation to the Taliban.''
``This
has been a moment Pakistan has been waiting for 20 years,'' said Haqqani, now
at the Hudson Institute think tank. ``They now feel that they have a satellite
state.``
US
officials are trying to quickly build what President Joe Biden calls an ``over
the horizon'' capacity to monitor and stop terrorist threats.
Without
a partner country bordering Afghanistan, the U.S. has to fly surveillance
drones long distances, limiting the time they can be used to watch over
targets. The US also lost most of its network of informants and intelligence
partners in the now-deposed Afghan government, making it critical to find common
ground with other governments that have more resources in the country.
Pakistan
could be helpful in that effort by allowing ``overflight'' rights for American
spy planes from the Persian Gulf or permitting the U.S. to base surveillance or
counterterrorism teams along its border with Afghanistan. There are few other
options among Afghanistan's neighbors. Iran is a U.S. adversary. And Central
Asian countries north of Afghanistan all face varying degrees of Russian
influence.
There
are no known agreements so far. CIA Director William Burns visited Islamabad
earlier this month to meet with Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan's army chief,
and Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, who leads the ISI, according to a Pakistani
government statement. Burns and Hameed have also separately visited Kabul in
recent weeks to meet with Taliban leaders. The CIA declined to comment on the
visits.
Pakistani
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi noted this week that Islamabad had
cooperated with U.S. requests to facilitate peace talks before the Taliban
takeover and that it had agreed to U.S. military requests throughout the war.
``We
have often been criticized for not doing enough,'' Qureshi told The Associated
Press on Wednesday. ``But we've not been appreciated enough for having done
what was done.''
Qureshi
would not directly answer whether Pakistan would allow the basing of
surveillance equipment or overflight of drones.
``They
don't have to be physically there to share intelligence," he said of the
U.S. "There are smarter ways of doing it.``
The
CIA and ISI have a long history in Afghanistan, dating back to their shared
goal of arming bands of mujahedeen - ``freedom fighters'' - against the Soviet
Union's occupation in the 1980s. The CIA sent weapons and money into
Afghanistan through Pakistan.
Those
fighters included Osama bin Laden. Others would become leaders of the Taliban,
which emerged victorious from a civil war in 1996 and gained control of most of
the country. The Taliban gave refuge to bin Laden and other leaders of
al-Qaida, which launched deadly attacks on Americans abroad in 1998 and then
struck the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.
After
9/11, the U.S. immediately sought Pakistan's cooperation in its fight against
al-Qaida and other terrorist groups. Declassified cables published by George Washington
University's National Security Archive show officials in President George W.
Bush's administration made several demands of Pakistan, from intercepting arms
shipments heading to al-Qaida to providing the U.S. with intelligence and
permission to fly military and intelligence planes over its territory.
The
CIA would carry out hundreds of drone strikes launched from Pakistan targeting
al-Qaida leaders and others alleged to have ties to terrorist groups. Hundreds
of civilians died in the strikes, according to figures kept by outside
observers, leading to widespread protests and public anger in Pakistan.
Pakistan,
meanwhile, continued to be accused of harboring the Taliban after the US-backed
coalition drove the group from power in Kabul. And bin Laden was killed in 2011
by U.S. special forces in a secret raid on a compound in the Pakistani city of
Abbottabad, home to the country's military academy. The bin Laden operation led
many in the U.S. to question whether Pakistan had harbored bin Laden and angered
Pakistanis who felt the raid violated their sovereignty.
Source:
Times of India
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Iran
must ‘move quickly’ if it wants to resume nuclear deal talks: US official
24
September ,2021
Tehran
needs to “move quickly” if it wants to resume talks on the Iran nuclear deal, a
senior State Department official said Friday.
“Our
commitment to doing this is not indefinite. Because at a certain time, the
JCPOA is no longer going to convey the non-proliferation benefits that it once
did. So, we call on the Iranians to move quickly, meet us in Vienna,” Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood said.
Speaking
to Al Arabiya, Hood suggested that the nuclear deal talks needed to include
Iran’s ballistic missile program and its militias around the region.
“We
also need to address the concerns that we and many countries in the region and
around the world have with Iran’s destabilizing activities through promoting
and funding and arming militias … as well as attacking commercial shipping and
so on,” Hood said.
Asked
if the Vienna talks being linked to Iran’s destabilizing behavior were delaying
progress, Hood said: “You have to ask the Iranians why there’s no progress
because we’re waiting on them to return to Vienna.”
“We
see it [Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic missile program and support for
militias] altogether, because Iran is engaged in destabilizing and destructive
activities, and if it were to gain a nuclear weapon, it would be even more
dangerous than before. So, we need to get the nuclear program back into a
clearly civilian track, and we need to also make sure that we address these
concerns of the international community,” the US diplomat said.
Yemen
Turning
to Yemen, Hood said the US was willing to impose sanctions on the Iran-backed
Houthis.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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White
House dispatching special envoy to Sudan to reaffirm US support
24
September ,2021
US
President Joe Biden is dispatching his envoy to the Horn of Africa to reaffirm
Washington’s support for Sudan, the White House announced Friday.
National
Security Advisor Sullivan informed Sudanese PM Abdalla Hamdok during a phone
call in which the US official voiced the Biden administration’s commitment to
support the civilian-led transition to democracy in Sudan.
Sullivan
“highlighted that US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman will
travel to Sudan next week to reaffirm US support for the civilian-led
transition and discuss regional security challenges,” a statement from the
White House read.
The
pair also discussed the importance of the transitional government making
“continued progress to stabilize the economy, reform the security sector under
civilian leadership, advance Sudan’s peace process, and ensure justice and
accountability for past abuses.”
Biden
is expected to welcome Hamdok at the White House in the “near future,”
according to Friday’s statement.
A
senior US official said Feltman was not scheduled to visit any other countries
during his trip.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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US
Treasury facilitates humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan
Ovunc
Kutlu
25.09.2021
The
US Treasury Department has issued general licenses and guidance to facilitate
humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, it said in a statement.
The
department said in a press release on Friday that its Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC) issued two general licenses "to support the continued flow
of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and other activities
that support basic human needs in Afghanistan."
The
move was meant to ensure that US sanctions "do not limit the ability of
civilians located in Afghanistan to receive humanitarian support" from the
US and the international community, while denying assets to the Taliban and
other sanctioned entities and individuals.
"Treasury
will continue to work with financial institutions, international organizations,
and the non-governmental organization community to ease the flow of critical
resources, like agricultural goods, medicine, and other essential supplies, to
people in need, while upholding and enforcing our sanctions against the
Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and other sanctioned entities," said OFAC
Director Andrea M. Gacki.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Hunter
Biden reportedly sought over $2M to help unfreeze Libya assets
Michael
Hernandez
24.09.2021
WASHINGTON
Hunter
Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, sought over $2 million in fees to
help unfreeze billions of dollars in Libyan assets while his father served as
the number two in the Obama administration, according to a recently published
report.
The
junior Biden sought $2 million annually in 2015 plus what is described in
leaked email correspondence as "success fees," Business Insider reported
on Thursday. The disclosure was made in an email from Democratic donor Sam
Jauhari to fellow Obama campaign donor and Saudi tycoon Sheikh Mohammed
al-Rahbani.
"He
wants to hire his own people - it can be close circle of people for
confidentiality. His dad is deciding to run or not," Jauhari wrote in the
alleged email as Joe Biden mulled a 2016 presidential run, which he ultimately
decided against. "He said he has access to highest level in PRC [China],
he can help there."
China
was reportedly a major obstacle to unfreezing the assets.
The
Libyan funds were locked under former President Barack Obama after the NATO-led
ouster of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and the subsequent collapse
of the country's government.
"His
positives are he is Chairman of UN World Food Program, son of #2 who has Libya
file, access to State, Treasury, business partner SofS [Secretary of State] J.
[John] Forbes K [Kerry] son and since he travels with dad he is connected
everywhere in Europe and Asia where M. Q. [Muammar Qaddafi] and LIA [Libya
Investment Authority] had money frozen," Jauhari wrote of Hunter Biden.
"His
negatives are that he is alcoholic, drug addict - kicked [out] of U.S. Army for
cocaine, chasing low class hookers, constantly needs money-liquidity problems
and many more headaches," he added.
Jauhari
was not acting altruistically, according to Business Insider. He and his
business partners sought up to 5% of the funds that they ultimately were able
to unlock, which the news website said would have amounted to hundreds of
millions of dollars.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
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Africa
Suicide
bombing near military headquarters in Somali capital
Mohammed
Dhaysane
24.09.2021
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
A
suicide bomber blew himself up near a Somali military headquarters in the
capital Mogadishu on Friday afternoon, police said.
The
attack hit the area near Villa Baidoa, the Somali military's second
headquarters in Mogadishu.
No
casualties were reported from the attack, according to Somali police.
"At
around 15.03 p.m. (1203GMT), a suicide bomber blew himself up between Madina
Hospital and Villa Baidoa. There were no casualties, except for the suicide
bomber," police spokesman Abdifatah Adan Hassan said in a statement.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/suicide-bombing-near-military-headquarters-in-somali-capital/2374136
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Mozambicans
return to uncertain future after Islamists pushed back
By
Baz Ratner and Shafiek Tassiem
September
25, 2021
PALMA,
Mozambique Sept 24 (Reuters) - (This Sept. 24 story corrects to make clear
Kagame said troops would stay as long as Mozambique requests, not until Oct. 9
in paragraph 5)
Rwandan
forces will help secure and rebuild areas of northern Mozambique destroyed by
an Islamist insurgency, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame said on Friday, as
Mozambican officials began encouraging civilians to return to the gas-rich
region.
The
United Nations has warned of a continuing militant threat in Cabo Delgado,
where Rwandan forces are patrolling burnt-out streets once besieged by the
militants.
Kagame
told a joint news conference in Maputo with his Mozambican counterpart Filipe
Nyusi that Rwandan troops would help secure and rebuild the areas destroyed by
the insurgency.
"The
mission of Rwandan troops in Mozambique continues," he said. "The new
action should be to guarantee security in the liberated areas until the
reconstruction is finished."
Kagame
said the troops would stay as long as Mozambique requests.
Nyusi
thanked Rwanda for helping fix what had been destroyed by "terrorists".
Allied
Rwandan-Mozambican troops moved in to recapture parts of northern Cabo Delgado
- an area hosting $60 billion worth of gas projects that the militants have
been attacking since 2017 - in July. read more
A
day earlier, soldiers had laid out rifles and rocket launchers seized from the
Islamist fighters, who Mozambique's government has said are on the run.
Some
local officials have encouraged civilians to return, according to media
reports, and the Rwandan military's spokesman said 25,000 people had been
brought home. "It is very safe for them to go back," Ronald Rwivanga
told Reuters on Thursday.
But
United Nations officials are not so sure.
A
document compiled in September for U.N. agencies and other aid groups, seen by
Reuters, said it was not clear whether militant capabilities had been much
reduced. "Fighting continues in certain locations and civilian authorities
have not been re-established," it added.
Children
played in the streets of the town of Palma on Thursday and vendors sold goods
from kiosks, six months after the militants attacked the settlement, killing
dozens and forcing tens of thousands to flee.
But
60 km south in the port of Mocimboa da Praia - a hub needed for cargo
deliveries for the gas projects - the streets were largely deserted, flanked by
windowless, rubble-strewn buildings and overturned military vehicles.
Graffiti,
using a local name for the militant group, read: "If you want to make
Al-Shabaab laugh, threaten them with death."
"THE
WAR THAT REMAINS IS HUNGER"
Aside
from the Rwandans, a contingent of forces from the regional bloc, the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) is also patrolling northern Cabo Delgado.
Rwivanga
said the Rwandans had been moving civilians back into the area they control
around a $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project run by oil major
TotalEnergies , which was forced to a halt by the Palma attack.
Source:
Reuters
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click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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Sudan
needs new date for civilian leadership handover: Sovereign Council
25
September ,2021
The
date for the handover of the leadership of Sudan's highest authority, the
Transitional Sovereign Council, from the military to civilians is still unclear
and requires discussion and a new legal decree, said a civilian member on
Friday.
A
failed coup attempt on Tuesday laid bare the tensions between the two sides who
make up the 11-member Sovereign Council following a sensitive power-sharing
agreement in 2019 and has for the first time brought public controversy over
when the current council head is replaced.
Council
member and former journalist Mohamed Al-Faki Suleiman described the
relationship between civilian and military council members as “unwell” in an
interview on state television, noting that joint meetings on various topics
have become unproductive in recent weeks.
Renewed
political discussions and a decree from the Justice Ministry were needed to
decide a handover date, he said.
In
a speech on Wednesday, current council head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
criticized Suleiman and other civilian leaders. Al-Burhan described the
military as a guardian for the transition, a description Suleiman rejected.
“The
goal of this is to produce a political situation where the military component
is dominant and that is unacceptable,” Suleiman said, adding that military
members need to become comfortable with the discussion and criticism inherent
to politics.
The
country's constitutional declaration, signed following a 2018-2019 uprising
that resulted in the removal of former President Omar al-Bashir, set a date for
handover of leadership of the Sovereign Council for May 2021. However, a peace
agreement signed in October reset the clock on the transition without
specifying a new date for handover.
“The
transition to civilians is not secondary and shouldn't be left to fate,”
Suleiman said, noting that he favoured a proposal to carry out the handover in
November. A simple reset of the clock would set a handover of July 2022.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following url to read the full text of the original story:
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Protesters
block Port Sudan airport, key bridge over peace deal with rebel groups
24
September ,2021
Dozens
of Sudanese demonstrators blocked Port Sudan airport in the country’s east,
days after protesters closed a crucial port to deplore a peace deal between
rebels and the government, witnesses said.
In
October last year, several rebel groups signed a landmark accord with the
transitional military-civilian government which came to power shortly after the
April 2019 ouster of long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir.
The
Hadendoa tribe, the largest subdivision of the Beja people in Sudan’s
impoverished east, have criticised the fragile peace deal saying it does not
represent them.
A
spokesman for Badr airlines, which has a daily flight between Port Sudan and
the capital Khartoum, said it has suspended operations due to the unrest.
Airport
officials were not immediately available for comment.
Witnesses
told AFP that demonstrators also blocked a bridge linking Kassala with the rest
of the country on Friday. They said public transport and motorists were barred
from entering of leaving the riverfront city of Kassala.
Since
Monday, demonstrators have impeded access to Port Sudan, the country’s main
seaport and a vital trade hub for its crippled economy dependent on exports.
The
witnesses who spoke to AFP did not identify the protesters.
But
Abdullah Abu Shar, a leader of the Beja people, confirmed the latest
developments suggesting his tribe was behind the unrest.
“Today
(Friday) there is a total closure of Red Sea and Kassala states,” Abu Shar told
AFP.
“We
have prohibited traffic in and out of Port Sudan airport and blocked Al-Batana
bridge in Kassala,” he added.
Tensions
have gripped Port Sudan since the government and rebel groups signed the deal
in October 2020, with recurrent anti-government protests taking place.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
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Over
100 officials from Tunisia’s Ennahda Party resign amid crisis
25
September ,2021
More
than 100 prominent officials of Tunisia’s Islamist Ennahda party, including
lawmakers and former ministers, resigned on Saturday in protest at the
leadership’s performance, the biggest blow yet to the party which is facing a
severe split.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Ennahda,
the biggest party in parliament, was thrown into crisis after President Kais
Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament on July 25.
In
a statement, 113 senior officials from the party said they had resigned due to
wrong choices by Ennahda’s leadership, which had led to its isolation and
failure to engage in any common front to confront Saied’s decisions.
Among
the resignations are eight lawmakers and several former ministers, including
former Minister of Health Abdellatif Mekki.
“I
feel deeply sad...I feel the pain of separation...but I have no choice after I
tried for a long time, especially in recent months...I take responsibility for
the decision that I made for my country,” Mekki said on Facebook.
Since
Saied’s move two months ago, Ennahda officials have demanded that their leader
Rached Ghannouchi, the parliament speaker, resign over the party’s response to
the crisis and strategic choices he has made since a 2019 election.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Morocco
gets first batch of Turkish combat drones: Report
25
September ,2021
Morocco
took delivery earlier this month of Turkish combat drones, the Far-Maroc
unofficial website dedicated to military news reported.
The
report, also carried by several local media outlets, comes as tensions have
spiked between Morocco and neighboring Algeria in recent weeks.
The
two countries are mainly at odds over the disputed Western Sahara territory,
and Algeria severed ties with Morocco in August claiming “provocations and
hostile” action by its neighbor.
Relations
took another blow this week when Algeria on Wednesday said it has closed off
its airspace to all Moroccan civilian and military traffic.
According
to Far-Maroc, the North African kingdom ordered 13 Bayraktar TB2 drones from
Turkey in April and a first batch of the unmanned aircraft arrived this month.
Rabat,
said the report, seeks to “modernize the arsenal of the Moroccan Armed Forces
(FAR) in order to prepare for any danger and recent hostilities”, but did not
elaborate on these topics.
It
did however add that Moroccan military personnel have trained in Turkey in
recent weeks to work with the drones.
Media
reports said Morocco signed a $70 million contract with the private Turkish
company Baykar.
The
firm is run by one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-laws and has been
exporting its Bayraktar TB2 model to Ukraine, Qatar and Azerbaijan for some
years.
According
to the company’s website, the Bayraktar TB2 is a “medium altitude long
endurance tactical unmanned aerial vehicle capable of conducting intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance and armed attack missions” with a range of up
to 27 hours.
Morocco
already uses drones for intelligence and surveillance operations along its
borders, according to military experts.
The
Western Sahara dispute pits Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front
which fought a war of independence with Rabat from 1975 to 1991.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Algerian
official warns of further measures against Morocco
25
September ,2021
Algeria
may escalate its dispute with Morocco and take more steps after having cut off
relations and closed airspace, a senior Algerian diplomat said on Friday.
“The
adoption of additional measures cannot be ruled out,” Amar Belani, the Foreign
Ministry official responsible for Maghreb countries told Reuters without saying
what other measures it may consider.
Relations
between the North African neighbors have been bad for decades and their border
has been closed since 1994, but have deteriorated since a dispute over the
territory of Western Sahara blew up again last year.
Morocco
regards Western Sahara as its territory, but the Algeria-backed Polisario Front
movement seeks the region’s independence.
Last
year Polisario said it was resuming an armed struggle after decades of truce
and the United States acknowledged Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in
return for Rabat boosting ties with Israel, a state Algeria does not recognize.
A
senior Moroccan diplomat has backed calls for the self-determination of
Algeria’s Kabylie region, something Algiers has called unacceptable
interference in its internal affairs.
It
accuses Morocco of supporting MAK, a Kabylie separatist group that the Algerian
government has labelled a terrorist organization and which it has accused,
alongside an Islamist group called Rashad, of setting deadly wildfires.
Algiers
on Aug. 24 cut off diplomatic ties with Morocco, citing the alleged support for
MAK, as well as Western Sahara and other issues.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Hamas
calls for protection of Palestinian assets in Sudan
Muhammad
Majid
25.09.2021
Palestinian
resistance movement Hamas has called on Sudanese leaders to protect the assets
of Palestinians living in the country.
“We
appeal to the head of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and
Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok to intervene personally to stop abuses against
Palestinians in Sudan regarding the confiscation of their legally acquired
investments, homes, personal funds and companies, with the knowledge and
approval of Sudanese state institutions," Hamas said in a statement.
Media
reports emerged Thursday that Sudanese authorities have seized “lucrative
assets that for years provided backing for Hamas” during the reign of former
leader Omar al-Bashir.
However,
Hamas denied any link between the movement and the ownership of the confiscated
assets.
"The
assets mentioned in the media reports are owned by Palestinian businessmen and
investors, who have no organizational connection with the movement," Hamas
said.
The
Sudanese authorities have yet to make an official comment on the matter.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Talks
between Somali president, prime minister end in stalemate
Mohammed
Dhaysane
24.09.2021
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
Efforts
to end differences between Somalia's president and prime minister have failed,
according to the country's central state president, who was serving as a
mediator.
In
a statement on Friday, President of Galmudug State Ahmed Abdi Kariye (Qoorqoor)
accused Somali President Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed for the failure.
On
Sept. 16, President Mohamed suspended Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble's
power to appoint and remove officials, accusing him of making "rash and
hasty decisions."
The
presidency said the suspension of powers would remain in place until elections
are concluded later this year.
The
prime minister has dismissed the president's move as "unlawful,"
saying he would "only abide by the decisions that are in line with the
Constitution."
"As
you are aware, President of Galmudug Ahmed Abdi Kariye (Qoorqoor) has been
working on resolving the dispute over the Ikraan Tahliil case, which has caused
a great deal of controversy between President Farmajo and Prime Minister
Roble," Galmudug State presidency minister Omar Shido posted on social
media. "All efforts ended in a stalemate, with Roble's side showing maturity."
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Southeast Asia
Citizenship
ruling for children born abroad to Malaysian mums: Cabinet agrees to continue
with appeal, says home minister
24
Sep 2021
PUTRAJAYA,
Sept 24 — The Cabinet has agreed to continue with the appeal and stay of
execution application on the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision on the granting
of automatic citizenship to children born abroad to Malaysian women married to
foreign spouses.
Home
Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said this was to enable the government not
to be subject to contempt of court, and at the same time, comply with the
provisions of the Federal Constitution.
He
said there were two different Kuala Lumpur High Court decisions, namely the
case of Suriani Kempe and six others against the Malaysian government and the
case of Mahisha Sulaiha Abdul Majeed against the Director-General of National
Registration along with two others over the interpretation of the term “father”
in the Second Schedule Part II Section 1 (b) and 1 (c) of the Federal
Constitution.
“In
the Cabinet meeting earlier, we invited the Attorney General Tan Sri Idrus
Harun to provide an explanation. The Cabinet has asked the Attorney General to
also bring the issue to the Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan of Perak
Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, in the near future,” he said during the Home
Ministry’s special press conference here today.
He
said the decision was made after taking into account the different judgments in
the two cases, and the court proceedings in the Mahisha Sulaiha case, which is
still ongoing at the Court of Appeal, and set to be heard in November.
In
the case of Mahisha Sulaiha which was decided by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on
May 21, 2020, the ruling was made in favour of the government and was appealed
by the former at the Court of Appeal, while the ruling in the case of Suriani
Kempe and six others did not favour the government.
On
September 9, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that babies born overseas to
Malaysian women who are married to foreigners are automatically entitled to
Malaysian citizenship.
Source:
Malay Mail
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Why
Singapore may be reluctant to reopen its border with Johor, according to
Malaysian workers’ association rep
24
Sep 2021
BY
BEN TAN
JOHOR
BARU, Sept 24 — A Malaysian workers’ representative today claimed that the
Singapore government is not keen to reopen the Malaysia-Singapore border as the
island republic is benefitting from an economic overflow due to the extra
expenditure of Malaysian workers who are now stuck there.
Malaysian
Workers Association in Singapore’s Johor chapter chairman S. Dayalan said an
estimated RM14 billion, which should have been spent in Malaysia, has been used
in Singapore instead, following the border closure due to the Covid-19
pandemic.
He
said based on the latest statistics, there are a total of 215,000 Malaysians
still working in Singapore.
“Because
they can’t return to Johor Baru, they have to spend in Singapore to support
themselves, and that is about SG$1,500 a month.
“Based
on the calculation, within a year, it is estimated that Malaysians in Singapore
have spent about SG$4.5 billion, or the equivalent of about RM14 billion,” said
Dayalan during a press conference held at his office in Tampoi here today.
The
Malaysia-Singapore border, which is one of the busiest in the world, has been
closed since March 18, 2020.
In
this regard, Dayalan said the Malaysian government, especially Johor’s
administration, must demand that the border be reopened immediately.
“When
the border was first closed, the world did not know how serious the Covid-19
threat was and what steps were needed to address it,” he said.
Dayalan
added that after more than a year, most people are now aware of the importance
of adhering to the standard operating procedures (SOP), apart from the need for
vaccination.
Source:
Malay Mail
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On
PM’s first official visit to Johor, Sultan Ibrahim urges Putrajaya to expedite
review of MM2H
Saturday,
25 Sep 2021
BY
BEN TAN
JOHOR
BARU, Sept 25 — Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar today asked the
government to expedite its review of the new conditions for the Malaysia My
Second Home (MM2H) programme that were imposed recently.
He
raised the matter during an audience with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail
Sabri Yaakob at Istana Pasir Palangi here today.
Sultan
Ibrahim decreed that Johor is one of the main destinations for foreign
investment, apart from the state being a key contributor to Malaysia’s economic
growth.
“Johor
is not only a neighbour of Singapore, but the MM2H programme is one of the contributors
to the state’s economic strength.
“Review
the strict conditions set and maintain the old conditions by making some
improvements for a positive balance, especially on economic growth,” added
Sultan Ibrahim in a statement posted on his official Facebook page today.
Johor
Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad was also present during the audience with
Sultan Ibrahim.
The
63-year-old state monarch said that he had also discussed other matters related
to the state’s development with Ismail Sabri.
This
is Ismail Sabri’s first official visit to Johor after he became the country’s
ninth prime minister on August 21.
The
Bera MP is on a one-day working visit to Johor where, after the audience with
Sultan Ibrahim, he will attend two closed-door meetings with state government
officials and local community leaders at the Thistle Hotel here.
On
August 30, Sultan Ibrahim expressed his disappointment with the Home Ministry
for refusing to review the strict conditions set for MM2H.
He
said Johor was one of MM2H’s popular destinations and the programme also
contributed to the state’s revenue.
Sultan
Ibrahim had also previously said that he would personally take up the matter
with Ismail Sabri.
Source:
Malay Mail
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Pejuang,
Warisan’s snub of bipartisan deal shows Pakatan still far from unifying
Opposition, say analysts
25
Sep 2021
BY
KENNETH TEE
KUALA
LUMPUR, Sept 25 — Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) goal of unifying the Opposition via
its “big tent” approach was still distant, analysts said after Parti Warisan
Sabah (Warisan) and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) both snubbed the
coalition’s historic agreement with Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s
administration.
They
said Warisan and Pejuang’s open rejection of the Memorandum of Understanding on
Political Stability and Transformation suggested fundamental differences among
Opposition parties that may not be bridged before the 15th general election
(GE15).
“As
PH signed on to support Ismail Sabri in confidence motions (if any), its albeit
vociferous criticisms of the government in Parliament and beyond have
automatically become moot and perfunctory.
“And
it may thus be said that PH is nowadays derelict of its main political duty as
the largest Opposition bloc,” said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at the Singapore
Institute of International Affairs.
“As
such, it would also render it unlikely for the co-opted PH to coordinate with
the other Opposition parties when it comes to seat allocation in the next
general election.”
Should
this persist, Oh said it was “almost inevitable” that clashes would occur when
GE15 is called as the loosely aligned parties would revert to their respective
political directions.
Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia’s Azmi Hassan further noted that the Opposition needed to
portray itself as ‘sturdy’ in order to convince the people of their intentions
in retaking Putrajaya come GE15 after having their mandate “stolen” in 2020.
“Regarding
the ‘big tent’ issue, I think there is still a problem with the Opposition in
which they are so disenfranchised and cannot come together as they did in GE14
in this case.
“If
this particular situation where the Opposition cannot come together coming into
GE15, I think they are in deep trouble because they need to be whatever the
term is called such as using one (contesting) symbol as one big coalition.
Last
month, PH reiterated its plan to adopt a “big tent” approach when cooperating
with the rest of the Opposition heading into the general election.
However,
Azmi said the absence of both Warisan and Pejuang from the MoU indicated a
fundamental difference that must be addressed in order for PH to bring them
into the fold.
“Somehow
or rather maybe the problem is because of the PM (candidate) having been
decided, which maybe Warisan and Pejuang cannot come to an agreement with Anwar
as the PM,” he said referring to PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“That
is the issue that needs to be resolved before Warisan and Pejuang can be in one
big tent with PH.”
Some
argued that Pejuang and Warisan’s refusal to support the MoU should not be
interpreted as a rejection of long-term cooperation with PH within its proposed
“big tent”.
“Warisan
and Pejuang are two relatively small parties whose absence from the MoU will
not affect the stability of this government led by Ismail Sabri.
“I
think we should differentiate their refusal to sign the MoU from a possible
cooperation back in the Opposition big tent come GE15.
“Stability
craved by Malaysians and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is achieved by the MoU,
while smaller parties continue making sure the government remains on its toes
until the expiry of the MoU in July 2022. Fair enough an arrangement,”
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said.
When
asked to clarify, Ahmad Fauzi said the Opposition was never “unified” to begin
with, noting that the existence of smaller parties is not unusual in a
situation of fractious politics where it was common for coalitions to form
prior to after an election.
On
September 13, PH said it will do its best for the sake of the future of the
people and the nation, after a historic memorandum of understanding to affirm
its bipartisan cooperation with the federal government was inked.
Source:
Malay Mail
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Arab World
Iraqi
Kurdistan conference pushes for Baghdad-Israel normalization
25
September ,2021
More
than 300 Iraqis, including tribal leaders, attended a conference in autonomous
Kurdistan organized by a US think-tank demanding a normalization of relations
between Baghdad and Israel, organizers said Saturday.
The
first initiative of its kind in Iraq, where Israel’s sworn enemy Iran has a
very strong influence, the conference took place on Friday and was organized by
the New York-based Center for Peace Communications (CPC).
The
CPC advocates for normalizing relations between Israel and Arab countries,
alongside working to establish ties between civil society organizations.
Iraqi
Kurdistan maintains cordial contacts with Israel, but the federal government in
Baghdad does not have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
Four
Arab nations -- the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan -- last
year agreed to normalize ties with Israel in a US-sponsored process dubbed the
Abraham Accords.
“We
demand our integration into the Abraham Accords,” said Sahar al-Tai, one of the
attendees, reading a closing statement in a conference room at a hotel in the
Kurdish regional capital Arbil.
“Just
as these agreements provide for diplomatic relations between the signatories
and Israel, we also want normal relations with Israel,” she said.
“No
force, local or foreign, has the right to prevent this call,” added Tai, head
of research at the Iraqi federal government’s culture ministry.
The
300 participants at the conference came from across Iraq, according to CPC
founder Joseph Braude, a US citizen of Iraqi Jewish origin.
They
included Sunni and Shiite representatives from “six governorates: Baghdad,
Mosul, Salaheddin, al-Anbar, Diyala and Babylon,” extending to tribal chiefs
and “intellectuals and writers”, he told AFP by phone.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Lebanon
president Aoun tells UN big challenges await government, help needed
24
September ,2021
Lebanon’s
President Michel Aoun told the United Nations General Assembly on Friday big
challenges awaited his country's new government and asked the international
community for funding to revive itscrisis-stricken economy.
“We
are relying on the international community to fund vital projects, whether in
the public or private sector, in order to revive the economic cycle and create
new job opportunities,” Aoun told the gathering via a recorded video message.
Lebanon
is in the throes of a financial crisis that the World Bank has called one of
the deepest depressions of modern history.
After
a year of political deadlock which has compounded the economic meltdown, a new
government was formed this month headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
“With
the formation of the new government...Lebanon has entered a new phase that we
seek to turn into a promising step on the road to resurgence,” Aoun said.
Mikati
has promised to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and to
pursue the reforms seen as a necessary pre-requisite for foreign aid to flow
in.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Macron
urges new Lebanese PM Mikati to undertake ‘urgent’ reforms
24
September ,2021
French
President Emmanuel Macron on Friday urged the new Lebanese Prime Minister Najib
Mikati to undertake “urgent” reforms to help his crisis-wracked country, as the
two men met for the first time in Paris.
After
repeating previous criticisms of Lebanon’s political class, Macron told Mikati
it was “urgent to implement measures and essential reforms.”
Macron
said France would continue to support Lebanon.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Saudi
Arabia FM meets US special envoy for Iran, top international diplomats at UN
25
September ,2021
Saudi
Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with US special envoy
for Iran Robert Malley on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week,
state news agency SPA reported.
The
two discussed joint efforts, the most recent developments of Iran’s nuclear
deal, and regional and international events.
Prince
Faisal also met several high-ranking international diplomats on the sidelines
of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Saudi
defence forces destroy Houthi drone heading towards Abha
24
September ,2021
Saudi
Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed a Houthi explosive drone launched
towards Abha in Saudi Arabia, the Arab Coalition said on Friday.
The
Iran-backed group is deliberately trying to target civilians in the Kingdom,
the coalition added.
On
Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s Defense Forces destroyed three explosive-laden Houthi
drones that were heading towards the Kingdom and a ballistic missile that was
targeting the Jazan region.
The
defense forces’ efficiency helped to thwart all the attempts by the Iran-backed
militia to attack Saudi Arabia, the coalition said.
The
coalition will be taking the necessary operational measures to target the
sources of the threat in accordance with international humanitarian law, the
coalition said in the statement.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Mideast
Palestinian
President Abbas tells UN Israel's actions could lead to ‘one state’
24
September ,2021
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel on Friday of destroying the two-state
solution with actions he said could lead Palestinians to demand equal rights
within one binational state comprising Israel, the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
Addressing
the UN General Assembly via video link from the West Bank, Abbas, 85, urged the
international community to act to save the two-state formula that for decades
has been the bedrock of diplomacy for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abbas
said Israel was “destroying the prospect of a political settlement based on the
two-state solution” through its settlements on West Bank land it captured in
the 1967 Middle East war.
Most
countries view the settlements as illegal, a position Israel disputes.
“If
the Israeli occupation authorities continue to entrench the reality of one
apartheid state as is happening today, our Palestinian people and the entire
world will not tolerate such a situation,” Abbas said. Israel rejects
accusations of apartheid.
“Circumstances
on the ground will inevitably impose equal and full political rights for all on
the land of historical Palestine, within one state. In all cases, Israel has to
choose,” Abbas said from Ramallah, the seat of his Palestinian Authority, which
has limited self-rule in the West Bank.
There
was no immediate Israeli comment on Abbas' remarks.
Critics
say internal Palestinian divisions have also contributed to the deadlock in
US-sponsored peace talks, which collapsed in 2014.
Under
interim peace accords with Israel, Abbas' PA was meant to exercise control in
Gaza as well. But his Islamist rivals Hamas seized the coastal enclave in 2007
and years of on-and-off talks have failed to break their impasse.
Israeli
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a far-rightist who sits atop a cross-partisan
coalition, opposes Palestinian statehood. His government has vowed to avoid
sensitive choices towards the Palestinians and instead focus on economic
issues.
In
his UN address, Abbas threatened to rescind the Palestinians' recognition of
Israel if it does not withdraw from the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem
within a year.
“If
this is not achieved, why maintain recognition of Israel based on the 1967
borders? Why maintain this recognition?” Abbas said.
While
some Palestinians and Israelis support the idea of a single binational state,
most have very different ideas of what that entity would look like and how it
would be governed.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Israeli
troops shoot dead Palestinian man during clashes at West Bank settlement
24
September ,2021
Israeli
troops shot and killed a Palestinian man and injured others on Friday during
clashes at a protest against Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the
Palestinian health ministry and medics said.
There
was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident, which
occurred in an area south of the Palestinian city of Nablus that has seen
frequent Palestinian protests against Israeli settlements.
At
least eight Palestinians were shot by rubber bullets during Friday’s protest,
Palestinian medics said. One of them was struck in the head, and died soon
after being rushed to hospital, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The
West Bank is among territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war
where Palestinians seek statehood. Violence has simmered there since
US-sponsored talks between the Palestinians and Israel broke down in 2014.
Palestinians
have staged near-daily protests in the village of Beita, south of Nablus, to
voice anger at a nearby Israeli settler outpost, often leading to violent
clashes with Israeli troops.
The
settlers agreed to leave the outpost in July under an agreement with Israeli
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, following weeks of demonstrations by
Palestinians lighting fires that often engulfed the outpost in smoke.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Turkey
calls on Greece to respect rights of Muslim students
SEP
24, 2021
In
response to another rights violation against the Turkish minority in Western
Thrace by Greece, Turkey urged its neighbor early Friday to cancel a circular
restricting Muslim students and teachers from performing their religious
duties.
In
a Twitter post, the Turkish Foreign Ministry invited Greek authorities to
"reverse the decision that restricts the students and teachers that go to
the elementary schools of Turkish minorities in Western Thrace from performing
their religious obligations."
The
recently issued circular is a step toward restricting freedom of religion and
conscience, the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board said in a
statement.
The
board said the practice in Rhodope and Evros prefectures is against the law and
"is cunning, to say the least, if not a snide attitude."
"We
call on all authorities to respect our sensitivities and to make the
arrangements that take these sensitivities into consideration at once," it
added.
Foreign
Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu recently urged Greece to cease its interventionist
practices and policies that pressure Muslim religious leaders elected by the Turkish
minority in Western Thrace.
Dating
back centuries, a population of 150,000 Muslim Turks live mainly in the
Komotini (Gümülcine) and Xanthi (İskeçe) areas in Greece's Western Thrace
region. The election of muftis, or Islamic clerics, by Muslims in Greece is
regulated by the 1913 Treaty of Athens, a Greek-Ottoman Empire pact that was
implemented by Athens in 1920. But in 1991, in violation of international law,
Greece annulled its law regarding the 1913 treaty and unlawfully started to
appoint muftis. The muftis appointed by the Greek state have since usurped
local Muslims' rights of jurisdiction on family and inheritance matters. Most
Turks in Western Thrace do not recognize muftis appointed by the Greek state
and instead rightfully elect their own muftis. However, since 1991, the Greek
state has refused to recognize the elected muftis, and authorities have even
put clerics on trial.
Turkey
has long decried Greek violations of the rights of its Muslim and Turkish
minority, from the closing down of mosques and letting historic mosques fall
into disrepair, to refusing to allow local associations to use
"Turkish" in their name.
These
measures violate the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, as well as European Court of
Human Rights (ECtHR) verdicts, making Greece a state that flouts the law, say
Turkish officials.
Turkey
has frequently urged Greece to comply with the ECtHR decisions upholding the
freedoms of the local Turkish minority.
Turkey
remembers 1821 Tripolice massacre
Meanwhile,
Turkey Thursday remembered the 1821 Tripolice massacre where thousands of Turks
were killed in the central Peloponnese in Greece.
Marking
the 200th anniversary of the massacre, the Foreign Ministry said tens of
thousands of Turks were "brutally murdered" in Tripolice when the
administrative center of the Peloponnese was besieged by Greek rebels in 1821.
"This
inhumane massacre, which aimed to not let a single Turk survive in the
Peloponnese, has been written as a black mark in history," it said on
Twitter.
Those
who make the mistake of educating others by distorting the facts at every
opportunity should know that their atrocities can never be forgotten, and they
should face the facts sincerely, the ministry added.
Tripolice
was the administrative center of the Peloponnese province in the southern
region of Greece and was ruled by the Ottoman Empire since the end of the 14th
century. In the three days following the city's capture, Muslims, alongside
Jewish and Christian supporters of the Ottoman regime inhabiting Tripolice,
were exterminated.
Source:
Daily Sabah
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IRGC:
US Left with No Option, But to Leave West Asia
2021-September-24
"After
41 years since the start of the imposed war, which was sponsored and supported
by the world powers, the nation has grown more resilient and the country has
solidified its defensive power," the IRGC statement said.
The
IRGC pointed out that the imposed war against Iran ended while even a handspan
of Iranian soil was not given to the enemy.
"The
western powers continued non-stop to conspire against Iran over the past 33
years since the end of the imposed war," it added.
The
IRGC reiterated that the power of hegemonic powers such as the United States,
which supported Saddam's regime, was declining while they made wrong
calculations and invaded Islamic countries of Iraq and Afghanistan.
"But
today, after more than twenty years since the occupation of Afghanistan by the
US and NATO, we are witnessing the humiliating escape of the Americans from
Afghanistan and at God's willing, we will see their expulsion from West Asia in
the near future," the IRGC statement further added.
In
relevant remarks on Tuesday, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps
(IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami said that Iran is bolstering its power to
gain victory against Washington, noting that Israel is no more counted as a
power.
"We
have built power to defeat the US. When we build power for man's largest
military empire, i.e. the US, small powers like the Zionist regime are no longer
counted in our equations," General Salami said.
He
underlined that the Iranian nation has managed to embrace victory against the
US cruel sanctions and economic war as well as the psychological pressures and
heavy media operations of Washington and other western powers, and defused
enemies’ plots.
In
relevant remarks on Sunday, General Salami said that the US has lost its power
and is a defeated, fugitive and depressed state which has been forced to
withdraw its forces from the region.
“Today
we no longer see the dangerous US, but we witness a failed, fleeing, and the
depressed US,” General Salami said.
General
Salami also expressed delight that the Iranian nation’s resistance too had
helped them weather all pressures.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14000702000441/IRGC-US-Lef-wih-N-Opin-B-Leave-Wes-Asia
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Iranian
FM Criticizes Britain, EU for Inaction on US Moves against JCPOA
2021-September-23
The
meeting was held on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General
Assembly’s 76th Session in New York.
The
European attitude was helping “the US administration keep enforcing its illegal
sanctions [against Iran], while at the same time laying claim to seeking a
return to the JCPOA”, Amir Abdollahian said.
Iran
has been given many words and promises alleging that the West intended to
revisit its JCPOA approach, the Iranian top diplomat said. There, however, have
been no actions, he added.
“Unfortunately,
the UK has been part of this inaction too, and this approach should change,”
Amir Abdollahian said.
“This
is the obvious inconsistency that is being witnessed by the Iranian nation,” he
said, adding, “For the current Iranian Administration, measurable actions on
the part of the other parties in the JCPOA form the only yardstick.”
Separately,
the Iranian official urged that the UK take action towards repaying its debt
towards Iran.
Britain
owes as much as £400m to Iran arising from the non-delivery of Chieftain tanks
ordered by Iran's former monarchical regime. An international arbitration in
2008 ruled the UK owed the debt.
Rebuilding
of the bilateral ties took serious action, Amir Abdollahian asserted, urging
London to note that taking such action on its obligations constituted the only
means of reconstructing the relations.
Tehran
responds proportionately to any positive and constructive step, he, meanwhile,
pledged.
Truss,
for her part, alleged that the UK was prepared to repay the debt.
Concerning
the JCPOA, she claimed that the main focus currently rested on resumption of
the talks.
Iran
and the other five remaining parties to the nuclear deal signed between Tehran
and world powers in 2015, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA), that is, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, have held
six rounds of talks in Vienna to salvage the faltering agreement by bringing the
US, as the violator of the deal, back into compliance.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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‘Soon’
for Iran differs from West’s in nuclear talks: Top Iranian diplomat
25
September ,2021
Iranian
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Saturday that when his
government says it will return soon to talks on resuming compliance with the
2015 nuclear deal, it means when Tehran has completed its review of the nuclear
file.
On
Friday, Amirabdollahian told reporters in New York that Iran would return to
talks “very soon,” but gave no specific date.
In
remarks broadcast on state TV channel IRINN on Saturday, Amirabdollahian said,
“People keep asking how soon is soon. Does it mean days, weeks or months?”
“The
difference between Iranian and Western ‘soon’ is a lot. To us, ‘soon’ means
really in the first opportune time - when our reviews (of the nuclear file)
have been completed. What is important is our determination to return to the
talks, but those that are serious and guarantee the Iranian nation’s rights and
interests,” Amirabdollahian said.
He
was speaking to IRINN in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
On
the other hand, he said: “I remind you of the West’s promises, such as repeatedly
promising they would ‘soon’, ‘in a few months,’ implement the Instex” - a trade
mechanism set up to barter humanitarian goods and food after the US withdrawal
from the deal.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/taliban-deoband-dar-ul-uloom-women/d/125436