How Is Hijab Compulsory in Islam When Namaz, Haj, Roza, Zakat and Imaan Isn’t: Supreme Court
New Age Islam News Bureau
09 September 2022
TOI file photo
-----
• Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's Longest-Serving
Monarch, Has Died At Balmoral Aged 96, After Reigning For 70 Years
• Canadian Banks Target Accounts of Muslim
Institutions "On Suspicion of Terror Financing"
• Families of 9/11 Victims Frustrated After Architect
behind Attack Still Not Tried
• Indonesia Activists Ask Court to Allow Human Rights
Case against Myanmar Junta
India
• Plea Seeking Arrest of Nupur Sharma over Prophet
Remarks Row Withdrawn on SC Suggestion
• ‘Wearing Orange Shawl Is Belligerent Display of
Religion’, Muslim Student in SC on Hijab Row
• Hyderabad: Muslims Urged To Offer Friday Namaz in
Local Mosques during the Final Day of Ganesh Immersions
• Garbas Now Medium for ‘Love Jihad’, No Entry sans ID
Cards: MP Minister
• Supreme Court to take up CAA hearing on September 12
• India silent on US F16 sale to Pakistan
• Boy’s death inside Nuh mosque: Autopsy points to
blunt trauma
• RSS-backed Muslim Rashtriya Manch bats for madrasa
survey in UP
• Man Arrested For Threatening To Explode Mosque,
Cleric In Uttar Pradesh
• BJP says Yakub Memon grave ‘beautified’, attacks
Uddhav
--------
Europe
• Swedish Far-Right Politicians Exposed For Wanting To
'Eradicate' Muslims, Paying Tribute to Nazis
• Prayers for The Queen and Royal Family from
Bradford's Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and Jewish communities
• Turkish president offers condolences over passing of
Queen Elizabeth II
--------
North
America
• US Congress notified of proposed $450m military sale
package to maintain Pakistan’s F-16s
• US military studying plans to build testing centre
in Saudi Arabia: CENTCOM
• Canada agrees to resettle some Afghans housed in UAE
facility: Report
• Leading Chicago mayoral candidates vow to defend
rights of Arab, Muslim citizens
• Israeli premier shoots down US request to revise
army rules of engagement
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Ministry to follow up Gontor Islamic Boarding School
violence case
• UN Experts Call For Action on Findings Of Uyghur
Abuse In China
• Concept of halal is proven to be universal, says
Malaysian premier
• Stop silencing survivors of child abuse, group tells
minister
--------
South
Asia
• Department Of Vice and Virtue Officials in Nimroz
Orders Coffee Shop to Close Down
• Hope Teesta water agreement would be resolved soon:
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
• ‘Governance Shortages’ Main Reasons Afghanistan
under Acting Cabinet
--------
Africa
• Niger Governor Signs Bill Amending Sharia Law
• Empty shelves and rising prices test Tunisians’
patience
• Authorities search home, office of Nigerian train
hostages negotiator
--------
Pakistan
• Chief of Army Staff to Saudi Arabia Minister:
Pakistan Acknowledges Saudi Unique Place in Islamic World
• After 75 Years, Sikh Man Discovers He’s Muslim,
Family Settled in Pakistan
• Pakistan HC to indict Imran Khan in contempt case on
September 22
• Pakistan's F-16s to get a $450 million makeover
• UN chief in Pakistan to seek generous support for
flood relief
• FO asks Delhi to allow Yasin Malik meet family
likewise Kulbhushan Jadhav
• UAE minister announces $10 million aid for
flood-stricken Pakistanis
• US State Dept delegation calls on COAS Bajwa at GHQ
--------
Arab
World
• Syrian Tribes Condemn YPG/PKK Terror Group for
Separatist Practices
• Kurd fighters killed, extremists detained in Syria’s
al-Hol camp clashes
• ‘Global icon’: Arab leaders offer condolences on
death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth
• Saudi Arabia's King Salman, Crown Prince Pay
tributes to UK’s Queen Elizabeth
• GCC foreign ministers meet in Riyadh to discuss Iran
and counterterrorism
• Turkish forces 'neutralize' 8 PKK terrorists in
northern Iraq
• Gas to flow ‘in weeks’ from Israeli licensed field
disputed by Lebanon
--------
Mideast
• Iran Halts Double Entry Visas for Pakistani Arba’een
Pilgrims Going To Iraq
• Turkey's Erdogan Says Senior Islamic State Figure,
Bashar Hattab Ghazal Al Sumaidai, Captured
• Muslim Turkish Minority in Greece to Elect New
Religious Leader
• Iranian Army Ground Force Stages Military Drills
• Iran's Envoy Urges World Leaders to Halt Nuclear
Tests
• Iran says 25 were arrested during water protests
last month
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/hijab-namaz-haj-roza-zakat-imaan-sc/d/127913
--------
How Is Hijab Compulsory in Islam When Namaz, Haj, Roza, Zakat and Imaan Isn’t: Supreme Court
TOI file photo
-----
Sep 9, 2022
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the
Muslim side as to how hijab has become essential and mandatory for Muslim women
when the petitioners are arguing that it is not compulsory for the community to
observe the five principal tenets of Islam — namaz, haj, roza, zakat and Imaan.
This question came from a bench of Justices Hemant
Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia when petitioner Fatma Bushra’s counsel Mohd
Nizamuddin Pasha explained that in a sense there is no compulsion in Islam to
force its followers to observe the five tenets of Islam, as violations of the
tenets does not invite temporal punishment.
Pasha said, “Absence of compulsion to follow the
tenets does not mean these are not essential to Islam. The Karnataka high court
misunderstood the absence of compulsion professed in a Sura, meant to dissuade
followers of Islam from forcibly converting followers of other religions, to
rule that hijab is not an essential practice in Islam and hence could be banned
in educational institutions.”
The bench asked, “If the five principal Islamic tenets
are not mandatorily or compulsorily observed by Muslims in the absence of
temporal punishment, how a lesser religious practice in hijab, could be termed
mandatory and compulsory for Muslim women so much so that they have to wear it
even to an educational institution?”
Pasha said the Prophet had said that a women’s veil is
more important to her than the world and the things in it. “When Quran says
follow the Prophet’s words, and a Muslim girl believes in it to wear hijab
while stepping out, can the government, which is mandated not to discriminate
entry into educational institution on the basis of religion, ban her entry,” he
asked.
He said when Sikh students wear Patka or turban to
schools, banning hijab clad Muslim students from entering the educational
institution would mean targeting a single religious community.
The bench said the five ‘K’s of Sikhism have been
recognised as essential by the laws and courts and the comparison is inept.
Pasha argued, “The five ‘K’s may have been rendered essential, but Patka or
turban is not recognised as essential. Sikhism is just 500-year-old but Islam
is 1,400 years old. So if a religious practice (Patka or turban) of 500 years
is allowed in educational institutions, why ban a 1,400-year-old practice,” he
asked.
Pasha said Quran says a true follower of Islam would
not interfere in the religious practices of other communities and for
themselves, they would like to practice what the Quran says. The arguments will
continue on Monday.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
--------
Queen
Elizabeth II, the UK's Longest-Serving Monarch, Has Died At Balmoral Aged 96,
After Reigning For 70 Years
On
her Platinum Jubilee, the Queen delighted crowds by appearing on the balcony
with three generations of her family
-----
9
September 2022
She
died peacefully on Thursday afternoon at her Scottish estate, where she had
spent much of the summer.
The
Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.
Her
son King Charles III said the death of his beloved mother was a "moment of
great sadness" for him and his family and that her loss would be
"deeply felt" around the world.
He
said: "We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a
much-loved mother.
"I
know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the realms and the
Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world."
During
the coming period of mourning, he said he and his family would be
"comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep
affection in which the Queen was so widely held".
The
King and his wife, Camilla, now Queen Consort, will return to London on Friday,
Buckingham Palace said. He is expected to address the nation.
Senior
royals had gathered at Balmoral after the Queen's doctors became concerned
about her health earlier in the day.
All
the Queen's children travelled to Balmoral, near Aberdeen, after doctors placed
the Queen under medical supervision.
Her
grandson and now heir to the throne, Prince William, and his brother, Prince
Harry, also gathered there.
Prime
Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the Queen on Tuesday, said the monarch
was the rock on which modern Britain was built, who had "provided us with
the stability and strength that we needed".
Speaking
about the new King, she said: "We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just
as his mother devoted so much, to so many, for so long.
"And
with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the
magnificent history of our great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have
wished, by saying the words 'God save the King'."
The
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby - spiritual leader to the Church of
England of which the monarch is supreme governor - expressed his "profound
sadness".
He
said his "prayers are with the King and the Royal Family".
Queen
Elizabeth II's tenure as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the
transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War and the UK's
entry into - and withdrawal from - the European Union.
Her
reign spanned 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill, born in 1874,
and including Ms Truss, born 101 years later in 1975.
She
held weekly audiences with her prime minister throughout her reign.
At
Buckingham Palace in London, crowds awaiting updates on the Queen's condition
began crying as they heard of her death.
The
union flag on top of the palace was lowered to half-mast at 18:30 BST and an
official notice announcing the death was posted outside.
On
the Queen's death, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, became the Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge and Cornwall.
Few
could have foreseen she would become monarch but in December 1936 her uncle,
Edward VIII, abdicated from the throne to marry the twice-divorced American,
Wallis Simpson.
Elizabeth's
father became King George VI and, at age 10, Lilibet, as she was known in the
family, became heir to the throne.
Within
three years, Britain was at war with Nazi Germany. Elizabeth and her younger
sister, Princess Margaret, spent much of wartime at Windsor Castle after their
parents rejected suggestions they be evacuated to Canada.
After
turning 18, Elizabeth spent five months with the Auxiliary Territorial Service
and learned basic motor mechanic and driving skills. "I began to
understand the esprit de corps that flourishes in the face of adversity,"
she recalled later.
Through
the war, she exchanged letters with her third cousin, Philip, Prince of Greece,
who was serving in the Royal Navy. Their romance blossomed and the couple
married at Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947, with the prince taking the
title of Duke of Edinburgh.
She
would later describe him as "my strength and stay" through 74 years
of marriage, before his death in 2021, aged 99.
To
mark their Diamond Wedding Anniversary on 20 November 2007, the Queen and
Prince Philip re-visit Broadlands where 60 years ago in November 1947 they
spent their wedding night
Their
first son, Charles, was born in 1948, followed by Princess Anne, in 1950,
Prince Andrew, in 1960, and Prince Edward, in 1964. Between them, they gave
their parents eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Princess
Elizabeth was in Kenya in 1952, representing the ailing King, when Philip broke
the news that her father had died. She immediately returned to London as the
new Queen.
"It
was all a very sudden kind of taking on and making the best job you can,"
she later recalled.
Elizabeth
was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, aged 27, in front of a
then-record TV audience estimated at more than 20 million people.
Subsequent
decades would see great change, with the end of the British Empire overseas and
the Swinging '60s sweeping away social norms at home.
Crowds
outside Buckingham Palace on Thursday, after the death was announced
Elizabeth
reformed the monarchy for this less deferential age, engaging with the public
through walkabouts, royal visits and attendance at public events.
Her
commitment to the Commonwealth was a constant - she visited every Commonwealth
country at least once.
But
there were periods of private and public pain.
In
1992, the Queen's "annus horribilis", fire devastated Windsor Castle
- a private residence as well as working palace - and three of her children's
marriages broke down.
After
the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car accident in Paris in 1997, the
Queen drew criticism for appearing reluctant to respond publicly.
There
were questions about the monarchy's relevance in modern society.
"No
institution… should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it
their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don't," she
acknowledged.
The
Duke and Duchess of York with their eldest baby daughter Princess Elizabeth at
her christening
As
a 21-year-old princess, Elizabeth had vowed to devote her life to service.
Reflecting
on those words decades later, during her Silver Jubilee in 1977, she declared:
"Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in
judgment, I do not regret nor retract one word of it."
That
same commitment to serving was made 45 years later in a thank you letter to the
nation on the weekend of her Platinum Jubilee in June.
The
milestone was celebrated with a mix of state ceremonies and a colourful
festival of all things British, as well as lively street parties.
Although
the Queen's health kept her from some events, she said: "My heart has been
with you all."
In
a moment met with cheers from huge crowds in the Mall, she was joined by three
generations of her family on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the finale of a
pageant.
Camilla,
Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II,
Prince George of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Princess
Charlotte of Cambridge, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Louis of Cambridge on
the balcony during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on June 05, 2022 in London,
England
He
and his wife, Camilla, are at Balmoral alongside his siblings, Princess Anne,
and Princes Andrew and Edward.
They
are accompanied by Edward's wife, Sophie, as well as Princes William and Harry.
William's
wife, Catherine, remained at Windsor with their children - George, Charlotte
and Louis - as it has been their first full day at a new school.
The
Royal Family has now entered a period of mourning. In the coming days, much of
national life will be put on hold.
Official
engagements will be cancelled and union flags will be flown at half-mast on
royal residences, government buildings, across the Armed Forces and on UK posts
overseas.
Members
of Parliament will pay tribute to the Queen and take an oath to King Charles.
There
will be church bells tolling and gun salutes as local and national
organisations and charities organise ways to pay their respects, with
commemorative events and books of condolence.
A
state funeral for the Queen is expected in the next two weeks.
Foreign
leaders have paid tribute to the Queen, with US President Joe Biden recalling
how she stood in solidarity with the US in their "darkest days" after
the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
To
France's president, Emmanuel Macron, she was a "kind-hearted Queen"
and "friend of France".
For
Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, the Queen was a constant in Canadians'
lives and one of his "favourite people in the world".
Reporting
by George Bowden, Marie Jackson and Sean Coughlan, royal correspondent.
Source:
BBC
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-61585886
--------
Canadian
Banks Target Accounts Of Muslim Institutions "On Suspicion Of Terror
Financing"
Photo:
aa.com
----
Seyit
Aydogan
08.09.2022
TORONTO,
Canada
Foundations,
associations and aid groups belonging to Muslims in Canada came to a stalemate
with the authorities given to banks under Canadian financial laws that
initially aimed to prevent money laundering and financing terror groups.
Account
closure decisions taken only by bank administrations without a court order
negatively affect the Muslim organizations' global humanitarian aid efforts.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency, representatives of Muslim foundations and organizations
voiced their commotion over the excessive authority granted to banks and
believe they are subjected to extrajudicial executions.
A
detailed report titled "The Untold Story of 'De-banking' in Canada's
Muslim Community" by Steven Zhou from the National Council of Canadian
Muslims (NCCM) revealed the way numerous Muslim organizations' bank accounts
were closed and embargoed ad they experienced difficult times.
Zhou,
who is also a journalist, told Anadolu Agency that five of the country's
leading banks closed the accounts of many organizations.
Saying
that Canadian banks have the right to close suspected accounts, Zhou noted that
the legal regulations made in recent years had given banks some excessive
powers without a court order and without giving the other party the right to
defend themselves.
"There
has to be a lot more research done into this, but primarily, our country Canada
has gotten more serious about stopping and preventing criminal money laundering
using Canadian banks. So there have been laws passed to address anti-money
laundering issues," he said.
Emphasizing
that all Canadian banks "have to be very serious about whether or not
their clients are participating in any kind of illegal activities, such as
money laundering," Zhou said the banks must take this "very seriously
because they have to comply with the new, strong anti-money laundering legislation
and laws."
"Often,
that means the Muslim organizations get more scrutiny. They're the clients of
these banks. And if, let's say, a Muslim humanitarian organization in Canada
does relief work in Syria, where there are a lot of bad entities and terrorist
groups in that country, then they're going to get more attention from the bank,
where they keep their money," he added.
Zhou
stressed that Muslim institutions in Canada are under close surveillance and
that they are subjected to great injustices.
Expressing
that the perception of Muslim organizations following 9/11 continues to haunt
Muslim Canadians everywhere, Zhou stated that many Canadian Muslims were
subjected to unfair treatment by security agencies.
He
urged Canadian financial institutions to "be aware that their actions,
decisions and agendas are not biased towards Muslims."
According
to Zhou's report, the aid sent by Canadian Muslim NGOs to the communities
experiencing a humanitarian crisis in the world, which the majority of are
located in the Muslim countries, was adversely affected due to the fact that
some groups in these regions are on the Canadian Terrorist Organizations List.
Citing
an incident in 2019 related to a "major Canada-based Muslim global relief
organization" without disclosing its name, the report said "one of
the organization's managers in Pakistan" got accused by authorities
thereof using corporate funds to help terrorists.
"The
manager and his employers vehemently denied the charges and was acquitted in a
Pakistani anti-terrorism court a year later," wrote the report while
adding that "Whether the organization or their manager in Pakistan was
guilty didn't seem to factor into the decision. As with all these incidents of
severing business ties, the banks and other financial services can simply
decide to pull out whenever they want, with or without explanation."
For
his part, a leading figure in the Canadian Muslim community Sheikh Alaa Elsayed
describes the incidents as "disheartening because it's obviously racial
profiling."
"We
don't hear about any of these to any other organizations or any other religions
for that matter," Elsayed said as he urged the Canadian government on the
issue.
"The
keep here all the time is that Canada is a mosaic, not a melting pot. So we are
made of different genes, which makes us very unique indeed," he said.
Saying
that "it's a sign of hypocrisy and double standard," Elsayed said he
has "worked with quite a few of them (the NGOs) and I know that they go to
the right channels. And even if some mistakes were made in the past, nobody
should be actually penalized for something that was done unintentionally in the
past."
"But
it is, unfortunately, a way that can actually restrict the funds for Muslim
aids, to be able to be used as an excuse and it's obviously again, hopelessly
naive to think that we're not aware of what you're doing (referring to the
Canadian government)," he added.
The
report done for the NCCM displays striking finds, including "banks telling
mosques in Canada to clean out millions of dollars in reserves within weeks, as
well as online fundraising services ceasing to process donations for large
Muslim charities with little notice."
Noting
that all NGOs subject to the research are charitable organizations that comply
with Canadian law and are registered, the report stated that the directors of
these organizations "have never been charged with any crime or have any
apparent links to nefarious entities."
While
some banks did not give any justification for account closing orders, others
said they could only help by giving them additional time to withdraw funds, the
report said.
Without
disclosing their names, five major Canadian Muslim organizations, including
mosques, community centers, and humanitarian groups, shared their internal
documents with Zhou "to paint a broader systemic picture of a problem that
should alarm community in Canada."
"The
panic, difficulties, and damage that results from being dropped and effectively
banned by some of Canada's biggest financial institutions have produced lots of
fear and anxiety. And so all these organizations, most of which have shared
with me their internal financial and organizational documents, have asked not
to be named in this piece," it added.
Meanwhile,
some Muslim organizations that the Anadolu Agency tried to get opinions on the
same issue refused the interview request over fears of facing new problems in
case their names were published in the news.
Also,
the banks at the center of the incidents did not respond to Anadolu Agency's
request for comment.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Families
of 9/11 Victims Frustrated After Architect Behind Attack Still Not Tried
A
photo of the 9/11 attack. (File photo: AP)
-----
09
September, 2022
The
numerous delays and postponements of proceedings for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
have left family members of the nearly 3,000 victims of the nation’s worst
terrorist attack still searching for answers and a measure of finality after
the March 2003 capture of a man in Pakistan wanted for numerous depraved acts
of terror.
The
latest setback came last month when pretrial hearings scheduled for this fall
were cancelled, one more in a string of disappointments for those waiting to
see Mohammed pay for his crimes.
Eddie
Bracken, a carpenter whose sister Lucy Fishman was killed at the trade center
in the attacks, said he is somewhat frustrated but also understanding of the
delays a decade after he attended a 2012 hearing for Mohammed and his
co-defendants at Guantanamo.
“The
whole world is looking at us and saying, ‘What are they doing after all this
time?’“ he said.
While
Mohammed has lingered at Guantanamo, the US killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden in a 2011 raid and deputy-turned-successor Ayman al-Zawahri in a drone
strike in August. Asked whether it angers him that Mohammed is still alive,
Bracken said he focuses on the fact that Mohammed has spent nearly two decades
in military custody.
Gordon
Haberman, a West Bend, Wisconsin, man whose 25-year-old daughter Andrea was
killed in the September 11 attacks, said the delays in justice leave himself
and other families frustrated. Haberman has traveled to Guantanamo four times.
“I
have to know. I promised her I would follow this through to the end,” he said.
“And Guantanamo was one of those avenues.”
Haberman
said he’s also following civil litigation in New York federal court aimed at
holding those responsible for the attacks financially liable.
“It’s
important to me that America finally gets to the truth about what happened, how
it was done,” he said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
Indonesia
Activists Ask Court To Allow Human Rights Case Against Myanmar Junta
Photo:
Jurist Legal News and Commentary
----
Samara
Baboolal | U. Nottingham, GB
SEPTEMBER
8, 2022
Leading
Indonesian public figures Wednesday petitioned the Constitutional Court of the
Republic of Indonesia to permit a case against the Myanmar junta. The
application claims that the junta must be tried for crimes against humanity,
war crimes and genocide against Myanmar’s Muslim population.
The
Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia speaks of human rights abuses
universally. However, Article 5 of Law 26, 2000 places a restriction and
specifies that trials for human rights violations can only take place if an
Indonesian national commits the crime. Thus, the petition seeks to change this
clause and extend protection to the citizens of Myanmar. According to
petitioner and former Attorney General of Indonesia Marzuki Darusman, “the
Indonesian constitution makes it clear that everyone has the right to equal
treatment before the law.” Darusman believes that the change would expand the
scope of protections and allow the junta to be tried in Indonesian Court.
Over
two thousand people have died since Myanmar’s coup in February 2021, 15,000
people have disappeared or been arrested and 1.2 million are displaced. Myanmar
has its own court system, but petitioners believe the courts are now a
‘politicised tool’ for the Junta. Because the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) have delayed their cases
against the junta, Wednesday’s application may lead to the first universal
jurisdiction case against the Myanmar military.
Source:
Jurist
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
India
Plea
Seeking Arrest of Nupur Sharma over Prophet Remarks Row Withdrawn on SC
Suggestion
Sep
09, 2022
The
Supreme Court on Friday asked a petitioner to withdraw a plea seeking
directions to the authorities to act and arrest suspended BJP spokesperson
Nupur Sharma for her alleged controversial statement o Prophet Mohammad and
hurting sentiments of the Muslim community.
A
bench led by Chief Justice of India UU Lalit suggested to the petitioner to
withdraw the plea.
“It
looks very simple innocuous but it has far reaching consequences. Our
suggestion is to withdraw. Dismissed as withdrawn,” the bench said.
Sharma's
comments on the Prophet made on national television on March 26 had triggered a
huge controversy and violence all across the nation earlier this year. A number
of Muslim nations had also registered their protest following which the
government issued a statement in this regard. The BJP also distanced itself
from Sharma's comments in the aftermath and suspended her from the party.
Earlier,
the Supreme Court clubbed and transferred to the Delhi Police at least 10 first
information reports (FIRs) lodged across the country against Sharma for her
controversial comments, while turning down the West Bengal government’s plea to
instead set up a multi-state investigating unit, and to monitor the probe.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
‘Wearing
orange shawl is belligerent display of religion’, Muslim student in SC on hijab
row
8th
September 2022
New
Delhi: A counsel for one of the Muslim students, who has challenged the hijab
ban in government educational institutions in Karnataka, on Thursday contended
before the Supreme Court that Article 25 only protects the innocent bona fide
practice of religion — ‘wearing a hijab yes! But, wearing an orange shawl is a
belligerent display of religion’.
Senior
advocate Devadatt Kamat, representing the student, submitted before a bench
comprising Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia that Article 25 only
protects innocent bona fide practice of religion.
He
added that wearing a namam, yes! Wearing a hijab yes! Wearing an orange shawl
is not a bona fide practice. “The argument of the state is that if I wear
hijab, other students will wear orange shawl. Wearing an orange shawl is not a
genuine religious belief. It is a belligerent display of religion, that if you
wear this, I will wear this…,” said Kamat.
He
further added that every religious practice may not be essential, but that does
not mean the state can keep restricting it as long as it does not fall foul of
public order, morality, and health. Kamat said the question is whether
uniformity in public space is a ground to restrict Article 25? Whether a Muslim
girl wearing a head scarf is an insult to discipline?
Kamat
added that one can wear headgear, kara, as part of his religious belief, it may
not be a core religious practice, but as long as it does not affect public
order, health or morality, it can be allowed.
The
bench queried Kamat that wearing a hijab in street may not offend anyone,
however, wearing it in a school might raise a question, what kind of public order
school would want to maintain?
The
top court will continue to hear the matter after lunch. On Wednesday, Kamat
asked the apex court how a secular administration, allowing others to wear
bindi, kada, or cross, could restrict Muslim students’ fundamental right to
choose to wear hijab, in addition to prescribed uniforms.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Hyderabad:
Muslims Urged To Offer Friday Namaz in Local Mosques During The Final Day Of
Ganesh Immersions
Shaista
Khan
8th
September 2022
Hyderabad:
Several Muslim religious leaders and community elders urged the community to
observe restraint and show patience if anyone anti-social elements cause
provocation during the final day of Ganesh immersions in the city.
Unanimously,
all of them appealed to the community to attend prayers at local mosques in
their localities. Maulana Qubool Pasha Quadri, one of those who made the
appeal, said that the time demands all Muslims to show patience and not anger.
He asked Muslims in Hyderabad to not react violently to any attempts of
anti-social elements intending to tarnish the social fabric in Hyderabad and
Telangana.
He
requested people to avoid going far for Friday prayers and to attend prayers at
local mosques in their respective localities on Friday.
Mohd
Mushtaq Malik, president of the Tehreek Muslim Shabban, said people should set
an example of tolerance by foiling attempts of anyone who want to create
trouble. He advised people to attend prayers at the Jamia Masjid of their
locality or any other local mosques in Hyderabad. “It is a smarter move to show
tolerance than going anywhere and falling victim to game plans of radical
forces to foment trouble during the Ganesh immersion procession,” he added.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/hyderabad-muslims-urged-to-offer-friday-namaz-in-local-mosques-2408382/
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Garbas
now medium for ‘love jihad’, no entry sans ID cards: MP minister
Sep
9, 2022
BHOPAL:
A fortnight ahead of Navratri celebrations, Madhya Pradesh minister for tourism
and culture Usha Thakur on Thursday said that no one will be permitted into
Garba pandals without ID cards. While the Indore MLA maintained that garbas had
‘become a medium for love jihad’ and hence the new rule, the state BJP unit
defended the move calling it merely a ‘precautionary measure’.
Speaking
to reporters in Gwalior on Thursday, Thakur said, “Garbe mein jo bhi aaye, who
aapna identity card saath lekar aaye. Bagair pehchaan ke Garbo mein koi pravesh
nahi kar sakta. (Whoever comes to attend any Garba event, should carry their
identity cards. No one will be permitted into Garba withoutidentification. ). ”
“This is our advice and warning for all. Our cultural organisations and people
are very much aware of this. Since Garbas have become a medium for love jihad,
it has become mandatory that no one be allowed to enter Garbas by concealing
their identity,” Thakur said.
This
is not the first time she has spoken about Garba andlove jihad. In 2014, Thakur
courted controversy by warning Garba organizers not to allow nonHindus to Garba
events and to “screen participants on the basis of their voter cards”.
The
state Congress reacted strongly to Thakur’s comment, and accused BJP of
“deliberately creating an atmosphere of hatred and fear for electoral gain”.
PCC media department chairman K K Mishra said,
“With
elections approaching, these kinds of statements are being given out
intentionally. The ‘love jihad’ allegation levelled by the minister is
humiliation of Hindus and Hindu religion. Be it Usha Thakur or any other BJP
leader, such statements are coldly calculated and purposeful defamation of
Hindus and Hindutva. ”
BJP
defended Thakur and said that the BJP has only suggested that people carry
identity cards to Garba venues “as a precaution since Congress and the Popular
Front of India (PFI) are trying to create conflict”.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Supreme
Court to take up CAA hearing on September 12
R.
Balaji | New Delhi
09.09.22
The
Supreme Court will take up for hearing on Monday over 170 petitions and
intervention applications challenging the validity of the Centre’s Citizenship
Amendment Act that had triggered protests in several parts of the country.
The
matter will be heard on September 12 by a bench of Chief Justice of India U.U.
Lalit and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat. The petitions are being taken up after a
two-year gap.
The
CAA, which seeks to give fast-tracked citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Afghanistan, had been severely criticised by civil liberties
activists, the Opposition and large sections of common citizens.
Immediately
after its enactment, protests had broken out, and a peaceful vigil by women at
Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh for over 100 days had attracted attention worldwide.
The
Shaheen Bagh vigil was lifted when the pandemic began spreading in the country.
In
2019, the apex court had issued a notice to the Centre on the batch of
petitions, but thereafter the matter could not be taken up. It has now got
listed for hearing as CJI Lalit has decided to expedite the hearing of all old
matters on a priority basis.
Besides
challenging the CAA, some of the petitions had questioned the validity of the
National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR),
the three making up the Centre’s citizenship matrix.
Some
of the petitioning organisations are the All Assam Students’ Union, Muslim
Students Federation, Assam, and the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath.
The
petition filed by the All Assam Students’ Union termed the CAA as
unconstitutional on the ground that it accorded citizenship to all illegal
migrants who had entered the country on or before December 31, 2014, and that
they shall not be treated as illegal migrants for the purposes of the amended
Act.
According
to the petition, the CAA is in direct contradiction to the Assam Accord of 1985
and Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, which was inserted in keeping with
an agreement and undertaking executed by the Union of India and the state of
Assam at the time of signing of the pact.
Under
the Assam Accord, illegal migrants who entered the state from Bangladesh up to
March 24, 1971, were ultimately required to be granted citizenship of India.
Those who came after the cut-off date would have to be deported back to
Bangladesh according to the Accord, the petition said while assailing the CAA.
Source:
Telegraph India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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India
silent on US F16 sale to Pakistan
09.09.22
India
on Thursday maintained a studied silence on the Biden administration’s plans to
sell equipment worth $450 million to Pakistan to sustain its fleet of F-16s
used in the aerial dogfight with Indian Air Force after the Balakot strike in
2019.
The
US state department on Wednesday said the administration has notified the
Congress of a proposed Foreign Military Sales case to sustain the Pakistan Air
Force's F-16 programme. This is in acknowledgement of Pakistan being an
"an important counterterrorism partner" and is in keeping with the
policy to provide life cycle maintenance and sustainment packages for US-origin
platforms.
The
notification makes it clear that the proposed sale does not include any new
capabilities or weapons, and is aimed at allowing Pakistan to retain
interoperability with US and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts
and in preparation for future contingency operations.
The
announcement in Washington came on a day India and the US held a 2+2
intersessional meeting as a follow-up to the ministerial dialogue in April. The
external affairs ministry did not react to the state department’s announcement
regarding the Congressional notification. Nor did it respond to media queries
for a response as also whether the USofficials participating in the 2+2
intersessional meeting informed India about the proposed sale considering
regional issues pertaining to South Asia were discussed.
Source:
Telegraph India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/india-silent-on-us-f16-sale-to-pakistan/cid/1885447
--------
Boy’s
death inside Nuh mosque: Autopsy points to blunt trauma
September
9, 2022
Three
days after the decomposed body of an 11-year-old boy, partially covered in
sand, was found in a room inside a mosque in Nuh, police said the post-mortem
had found that the boy had suffered a blunt injury on the back of head and a
fractured nose.
Police
said swabs and viscera samples from the body and private parts have been sent
to the laboratory for forensic examination. A police officer, said, “The
post-mortem report is awaited. As per a preliminary examination of the autopsy,
it has been found that the victim had one blunt injury on the back of his head
and his nose was fractured. Since the body was decomposed, the swab samples
have been sent for forensic analysis.”
Police
said no arrest has been made so far in the case. “We have questioned more than
30 people and have got some leads.”
Police
said the boy, who had been studying at a madrasa in Nuh for over a year, had
gone missing from there on September 3 evening. On September 5, around 11 am,
his body was found from a room in a mosque on the premises. Police registered a
case of murder against unidentified persons.
Source:
Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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RSS-backed
Muslim Rashtriya Manch bats for madrasa survey in UP
Sep
09, 2022
LUCKNOW
The RSS-backed Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) has come out in support of the
statewide madrasa survey beginning from Saturday, after the proposed exercise
ran into opposition from the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and
Darul-Uloom Deoband’s Jamiat-e-Ulama, a body to which majority madrasas are
affiliated.
MRM
leaders described the survey as a step in the right direction even as the BJP
is set to launch a mini outreach of its own among madrasa owners and teachers
to justify the exercise and “allay apprehensions”.
“There
are several unregistered madrasas in U.P, and all these need to be recognised.
All those madrasas being run properly deserve government help. The idea is to
ensure modern education to students enrolled with these madrasas so that they
could help the nation after availing quality education,” said MRM leaders after
meeting principal secretary (home) Sanjay Prasad.
“The
principal secretary told us that after the survey, the madrasas that are being
run properly would be given government grant and modern education would be
ensured in their institutions,” MRM leaders said in a release.
As
the survey exercise gets underway on Saturday, the BJP would simultaneously
roll out the first of the outreach initiatives among madrasa owners in Bijnor.
This would be followed by a bigger outreach in Lucknow and would be timed
around September 24, when Darul Uloom Deoband has convened a meeting of
madrasas to discuss its strategy.
However,
the RSS-backed MRM felt that the controversy was uncalled for.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Man
Arrested For Threatening To Explode Mosque, Cleric In Uttar Pradesh
08
SEP 2022
A
25-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly threatening to blow off
a mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly and shoot its cleric if he was not
removed, police said.
A
letter, threatening to shoot Imam Mufti Khurshid Alam and explode the Jama
Masjid in Kila area here, was pasted by the accused on the wall of the mosque
on Wednesday, Superintendent of Police Satyarth Aniruddh said.
The
accused, Mohammad Samad, told police that he took the step as the Imam had not
allowed him to play DJ on Eid, they said.
Source:
Outlook India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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BJP
says Yakub Memon grave ‘beautified’, attacks Uddhav
Sep
9, 2022
MUMBAI:
A war of words broke out on Thursday between Shiv Sena and BJP over the alleged
beautification of 1993 blast convict Yakub Memon’s grave at Bada Qabrastan in
Marine Lines. BJP attacked Sena, alleging the grave was “beautified” and
attempts were made to turn it into a shrine of sorts during the Sena-led government’s
tenure.
BJP
sought former chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s apology
over the alleged beautification. However, Sena leaders maintained that the
party and the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had nothing to do with
the alleged beautification since the cemetery was privately owned.
After
the controversy escalated, the LT Marg police visited Bada Qabrastan on
Thursday, and the Qabrastan authorities in the presence of police removed the
LED lights, said a senior police official. The LED lights were installed on the
occasion of Shab-e-Baraat, a few months ago.
Memon
was buried on July 30, 2015, after he was executed in Nagpur central prison for
playing an active role in the blasts conspiracy. He was the younger brother of
one of the 1993 blast masterminds, Tiger Memon.
Denying
that Memon’s grave was “beautified”, Shoeb Khatib, president of Juma Masjid of
Bombay Trust, which manages both Juma Masjid near Crawford Market and the Bada
Qabrastan, said that LED lights were put up as part of Shabe-Baraat when
Muslims visit graveyards to pray for thedead. “There are 14 graves in the
section where Yakub Memon is buried. No special treatment has been given to his
grave,” said Khatib.
Newly-appointed
state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule demanded that Uddhav apologise to the
people of Mumbai and the state for beautification of the grave of a person
responsible for killing 250 people. Returning BJP’s salvo, Shiv Sena leader and
former minister Aaditya Thackeray asked: “Why was Yakub Memon not buried in the
sea like Osama bin Laden? Whose government was it when Memon was buried? It is
necessary to see what the true situation is while making accusations. ”
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Europe
Swedish
far-right politicians exposed for wanting to 'eradicate' Muslims, paying
tribute to Nazis
Leila
Nezirevic
09.09.2022
STOCKHOLM
Swedish
far-right politicians participating in this year's elections have been exposed
for wanting to eradicate Muslims and "blackheads,” a derogatory term for
Black people.
Anti-racist
magazine Expo, along with news outlet, Expressen, revealed Thursday right-wing
candidates who also openly pay tribute to Nazis.
Sweden
Democrats (SD) politician Björn Halldin in Amal has been expressing anger at
Muslims for years, according to the report.
He
wrote that Muslims do not belong in a civilized world and he wants to kill
them.
“It
is time we eradicate these (expletive) Muslims,” he wrote on Facebook in 2015.
Halldin
shared insulting pictures of Black people using terms such as the N-word and
has portrayed them as lazy.
He
wrote that Sweden should exterminate "blackheads."
When
a female police officer showed solidarity with the Black Life Matter movement,
he posted an image of the officer’s face on a pornographic image.
The
SD politician has also participated in a hate campaign against Center leader
Annie Loof by spreading an inappropriate message about her.
One
politician has already announced that she is resigning, according to the
report.
SD
politician Sonja Hellström, who has spread propaganda in a Nazi demonstration
resigned saying: "Consspiral? Yes, I may be, but I am not
anti-Semitic," referring to claims that she is conspiratorial.
Goran
Nordin, who is running for SD in municipal elections, has been spreading hate
speech against Muslims, and Somalis in particular.
He
wrote on Facebook that they are lazy and violent.
After
rap artist Nils Gronberg was shot dead last year, Nordin wrote: "It's no
victory to live like a Negro."
Lena
Cederlid, who is running for the SD in Falun said she is a proud member of the
racist Nazi group, DFS.
In
2018, she verbally attacked refugees in a forum when she said: "You burn,
rape, murder, plunder, steal, subsidy cheaters, and hate our country."
During
the 2014 elections, she deemed members of the Nazi Swedes' Party as "some
who dare to say what others think."
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Prayers
for The Queen and Royal Family from Bradford's Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu
and Jewish communities
By
Natasha Meek
08 September,
2022
Faith
leaders have sent a united prayer from Bradford to the Royal Family amid
concerns about The Queen’s health.
The
96-year-old monarch has been placed under medical supervision at Balmoral after
doctors became concerned for her health.
The
full statement from a Buckingham Palace spokesman reads: “Following further
evaluation this morning, the Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s
health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision.
“The
Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”
The
Bishop of Bradford, Rt Revd Dr Toby Howarth, told the Telegraph & Argus: "I
know that Christians across the Bradford District, myself included, are praying
for Her Majesty the Queen, for her family, for all involved in her care, and
for the country."
There
has been an outpouring of support and prayers for the Royal Family from the
district’s Muslim, Sikh, Jewish and Hindu communities.
Imam
Sajid Safdar of Masjid-E-Umar in Girlington said: “We the community at
Masjid-E-Umar Bradford pray that the Queen makes a steady recovery and good
health like we pray every day for all the people that are going through
difficult times.
“It
is very important during these difficult times to value and care for the elders
that have sacrificed so much for us.”
A
spokesperson for Bradford Hindu Council said: “The Hindu community in Bradford
are deeply saddened by the news that Her Majesty the Queen is not well.
“The
whole Community's thought and prayers are with the Queen at this difficult
time.
“We
all know how important a role our mothers play in the family and this must be a
very difficult situation for all family members.”
In
a message on behalf of the Sikh community in Bradford, Dr Kuldip Bharj,
president of Bolton Road's Ramgarhia Gurdwara, said: "Our thoughts and
prayers are with Her Majesty the Queen and her family, and we are praying
sincerely for her well-being.”
Laurence
Saffer of Bradford Synagogue said: "The Jewish Community sends its
thoughts and prayers to Her Majesty the Queen and all the Royal Family at this
most difficult time.”
Mowlana
Fazal Dad, senior Imam at Abu Bakr Masjid near Leeds Road, said: “May Her
Majesty be granted good health, and may she be in comfort.
“We
pray for a fast recovery for Her Majesty and all those who are ill, and all who
are experiencing difficult times.”
The
Board of Representatives of Bradford Gurdwaras - a body representing the Sikh
Temples in Bradford – said: "The Sikh Community in Bradford is deeply
concerned on hearing of Her Majesty's ill health.
“Our
thoughts are with the Royal Family at this time and we pray that Her Majesty
makes a quick recovery.
“We
are mindful and grateful for her Majesty's tireless and selfless service over
the past 70 years, not only to the Country but also to humanity around the
world.”
"It’s
very concerning news. Together with everyone in the Bradford district, the
Queen and her family are in our thoughts at this difficult time".
Source:
The Telegraph And Argus
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Turkish
president offers condolences over passing of Queen Elizabeth II
Diyar
Guldogan
08.09.2022
Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday extended his "deepest"
condolences over the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
"I
learned with sadness of Queen Elizabeth II passing today. My deepest
condolences to the Royal Family and the people, and friendly and allied
government of the United Kingdom," Erdogan said on Twitter.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
North
America
US Congress
notified of proposed $450m military sale package to maintain Pakistan’s F-16s
Anwar
Iqbal
September
9, 2022
WASHINGTON:
The US government has notified Congress of a proposed foreign military sale of
$450 million to Pakistan to sustain the Pakistan Air Force’s F-16 programme, a
US State Department spokesperson told Dawn on Thursday.
Another
official statement said the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)
delivered the required certification of this possible sale to Congress, on
Wednesday.
The
agency clarified that “the proposed sale does not include any new capabilities,
weapons, or munitions”.
The
agency also informed Congress that “the proposed sale of this equipment and
support will not alter the basic military balance in the region” and “there
will be no adverse impact on US defence readiness as a result of this proposed
sale”.
“Pakistan’s
F-16 programme is an important part of the broader US-Pakistan bilateral
relationship. The proposed sale will sustain Pakistan’s capability to meet
current and future counterterrorism threats by maintaining its F-16 fleet,” the
spokesperson told Dawn.
“In
addition, this proposed sale would ensure Pakistan retains interoperability
with US and partner forces,” the US official said, adding that “the United
States values its important relationships with both India and Pakistan.”
Asked
how Washington would react to India’s criticism of the proposed sale, the
official said: “These relationships (with Pakistan and India) stand on their
own and are not a zero-sum proposition.”
A
DSCA press release said the government of Pakistan had requested to consolidate
prior F-16 sustainment and support cases to support the Pakistan Air Force F-16
fleet by reducing duplicate case activities and adding additional continued
support elements.
The
follow-on support for Pakistan’s F-16 fleet would include participation in F-16
Aircraft Structural Integrity Programme; Electronic Combat International
Security Assistance Programme; International Engine Management Programme; and
Engine Component Improvement Programme, and other technical coordination
groups.
The
support would also include aircraft and engine hardware and software
modifications and support; aircraft and engine spare repair/return parts;
accessories and support equipment; classified and unclassified software and
software support; publications, manuals, and technical documentation; precision
measurement, calibration, lab equipment, and technical support services;
studies and surveys; and other related elements of aircraft maintenance and
programme support.
A
notification sent to Congress said, “This proposed sale will support the
foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by
allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with US and partner forces in
ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for future contingency
operations.
“The
proposed sale will continue the sustainment of Pakistan’s F-16 fleet, which
greatly improves Pakistan’s ability to support counterterrorism operations
through its robust air-to-ground capability. Pakistan will have no difficulty
absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”
The
principal contractor for this sale will be Lockheed Martin Corporation and
implementing this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any
additional US government or contractor representatives to Pakistan, the DSCA
said.
‘Finding
narrow areas of cooperation’
Daniel
Markey, a senior adviser on South Asia to the Washington-based US Institute of
Peace (USIP), described the sale as “a very basic decision, which is more
driven by technical necessity to keep the planes flying”.
Mr
Markey, however, acknowledged that “at another level” it was a significant
decision because the Biden administration “has been so dismissive of Pakistan
that it does suggest an opening of relations”.
By
agreeing to go ahead with this sale, the administration “did indicate, may be
narrow, willingness to work with Pakistan on issues of common interest”.
He
suggested that the Biden administration was still frustrated with Pakistan’s
policies towards Afghanistan but “it is recognising that it is better to try to
find narrow avenues of cooperation” with Islamabad than to stay aloof.
He
pointed out that recently Washington sent two key delegations to Islamabad,
indicating a desire to work with Pakistan.
Responding
to a question, Mr Markey said that it “will be too much to call a reset of
relations” but it did show “a willingness to open narrow areas of cooperation”.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1709178/450m-package-to-maintain-pakistans-f-16s
--------
US
military studying plans to build testing centre in Saudi Arabia: CENTCOM
08 September,
2022
The
US military is studying plans to develop a military testing center in Saudi
Arabia, according to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).
“The
idea of a ‘Red Sands Experimentation Center’ is an innovative approach to
training and readiness between our Middle East partners and the United States,”
CENTCOM spokesman Lt. Col. Dave Eastburn said in a statement to Al Arabiya
English.
While
the plans are still in their conceptual phase, the move first reported by NBC
News would allow US and coalition forces to increase their interoperability and
“counter a wide variety of unmanned aerial systems and threats.”
A
US defense official told NBC News that “with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the
center of gravity for many future regional security endeavors, this is an
opportunity.”
Eastburn
said the concept was being developed as CENTCOM looks for innovative ways to
enhance Washington’s strategic partnerships in the region and “to build on the
successful efforts of our partners to grow peace and stability in the region.”
According
to sources familiar with the matter, the testing center was discussed during US
President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia over the summer.
Ties
between Washington and Riyadh had soured since Biden was elected as US
president and made several foreign policy decisions, which were seen as
targeting Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
But
his trip to Saudi Arabia, despite significant pushback and criticism from
so-called progressive Democrats, was a sign that the US president is keen on
maintaining firm bilateral ties.
And
last month, the Biden administration approved the sale of 300 Patriot missiles
to Saudi Arabia in a deal worth $3.05 billion and another contract worth $2.25
billion to the UAE for 96 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile
rounds.
“[The
new center] is part of the process of putting defense ties back on track,” said
Bilal Saab, Defense and Security Program Director at the Washington-based Middle
East Institute (MEI).
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Canada
agrees to resettle some Afghans housed in UAE facility: Report
09 September,
2022
Canada
will accept some 1,000 Afghans who fled the Taliban takeover of their homeland
and have been housed in a makeshift refugee center in the United Arab Emirates
awaiting resettlement to the United States and elsewhere, seven sources said.
Ottawa
has agreed to a US request to resettle some of the 5,000 Afghans still in
Emirates Humanitarian City in Abu Dhabi, the sources said, and Canadian
officials were now reviewing cases to identify those who meet Ottawa’s
resettlement criteria.
It
is the first known occasion of Afghans in the facility being resettled to a
country to which they do not have direct ties with, such as by having worked
with their government in Afghanistan.
Canada’s
criteria for resettlement of those from the facility include religious
minorities, single women, civil servants, social activists and journalists, the
sources said.
Beyond
the 1,000 people that Canada is taking at the request of the United States,
Ottawa is also expected to take roughly a further 500 Afghans from the facility
who do have ties to Canada, the sources said.
“It
is happening,” said a US source, who asked not to be further identified,
confirming the Canadian resettlement operation expected to begin this month and
end in October.
Asked
about the arrangement, the Canadian embassy in Abu Dhabi shared an immigration
department statement saying Ottawa’s priority was to support vulnerable Afghans
getting to Canada.
Emirati
authorities and the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi did not respond to requests for
comment
Mohammad,
who said he was a legal adviser to US government projects in Afghanistan, told
Reuters from the facility that he had applied with his family for Canadian
resettlement because the processing of their US Special Immigration Visa
applications has taken so long.
“Because
of the delays, we decided to put our names on the list,” Mohammad said in a
telephone interview on the condition that his last name be withheld.
Mohammad
and his family are Hazaras, an ethnic minority that is overwhelmingly Shia
Muslim.
Canada’s
decision to accept the Afghans brings the temporary refugee center closer to
closing, though sources said there was about another 1,000 who were not
eligible to be relocated to the United States and would need resettlement
elsewhere.
The
UAE, a close security partner of the United States, last year agreed to
temporarily house several thousand Afghans evacuated from Kabul as the Taliban
ousted the US-backed government during the final stages of the US-led
withdrawal.
More
than 10,000 have since been relocated from the facility to the United States,
while others were resettled to nations to which they had ties such as through
working with their government in Afghanistan.
Protests
have sporadically broken out at the facility, including last month, over what
Afghans complain is a lack of communication and transparency of the
resettlement process.
The
Canadian immigration department statement said Ottawa plans to resettle at
least 40,000 vulnerable Afghans to Canada by 2024. More than 17,650 had been
resettled, it added.
The
UAE is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and typically does not
accept refugees. Foreign diplomats said some Afghans had rejected job offers in
the UAE as there was no clear pathway to citizenship.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Leading
Chicago mayoral candidates vow to defend rights of Arab, Muslim citizens
September
08, 2022
CHICAGO:
Arab and Muslim Americans have been the victims of “bad policies” by Chicago’s
mayors over recent years but two of the leading candidates running in the Feb.
28, 2023, election vow to change that if they win.
Alderman
Raymond Lopez and Dr. Willie Wilson told Arab News in separate interviews that
incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot has disrespected Arab and Muslim Americans. They
said she has failed the people of the city on major policies including public
safety, rebuilding the economy and bringing people together.
Lopez
said that whoever becomes mayor of America’s third largest city, “must fight
for everyone’s dream.” They also blasted Lightfoot’s predecessor, Rahm Emanuel,
who was named last year by President Joe Biden as the US ambassador to Japan.
“I
believe that we must fight for everyone’s opportunity to access that dream
because people are here in this country for a reason. Whether they came from
the Middle East, or Central America, or Eastern Europe or Asia, everyone came
to this country for a reason and they all came here for the same shot that I
have enjoyed in my three generations here in this country and that so many
others do as well,” Lopez said.
“That
is why I fight for communities that are oftentimes picked on or targeted by bad
policies. As we saw and you alluded to earlier with Lori Lightfoot last year
targeting several dozen Arab-owned businesses simply because they were
Arab-owned, for no other purpose other than that. So to lay violence at their
feet and not the perpetrators of the violence in the communities that those
store owners were trying to serve, that doesn’t make sense to me.
“And
as a leader, as an alderman and as a mayor, we will make sure that this city is
truly inclusive and welcoming to everyone and recognize the need to spread the
wealth to everyone among all people including to our Arab and Muslim brothers
and sisters.”
Elected
to the Chicago City Council in 2015 and reelected in 2019, Lopez represents
Chicago’s 15th Ward and was among the first to stand up with Arab American
businesses when they were being shuttered by Lightfoot in a campaign to
confront rising street gang and gun violence that was sweeping the city.
Inspectors
for Lightfoot closed dozens of Arab and Muslim stores beginning in June 2021
implying they were responsible for rising violence that has taken the lives of
hundreds of city residents.
Data
shows 448 people have been killed and 2,352 injured by gun violence in Chicago
during the first eight months of 2022.
Lopez
acknowledged Arabs and Muslims were “easy targets” to be exploited and blamed
by politicians like Lightfoot who want to shift the responsibility for the
continued violence rather than pursuing effective policies. He noted the
business owners were punished even though they all cooperated with the police
to help them pursue the crime suspects, none of whom were Arab or Muslim.
“(If
elected) as mayor of this great city, I (will) know (and take into account)
that this city is a collection of ethnic neighborhoods and communities. But
when Chicago was at its best, is when all of those ethnic communities were
engaged and connected to the fifth floor of City Hall, the mayor’s office,”
Lopez said, noting he has been accessible to every ethnic and racial group
including Arabs and Muslims. That is in contrast to Lightfoot who, in
celebrating her one-year anniversary in office last year, refused to grant
interviews to White reporters. (Arabs are included in the US Census category as
“White” and were denied interview requests, including this reporter.)
“All
I can say is this, that when I am mayor, the Arab community will have no
greater friend than they have had in the last 20 years. It won’t just be a
matter of having one or two individuals stand with me in a photo-op once a year
and say ‘look how close we are.’ There will be members of my cabinet who are
Arab American and Muslim. There will be members of my administration who will
ensure that we are representative and reflective of the Arab and Muslim
communities. And I will make sure that our ethnic councils and programs
incorporate the Arab American and Muslim traditions that have gone on under the
radar without any support from City Hall.”
Lopez
said he will reinstate the Arabesque Festival that was cancelled by former
mayor Emanuel weeks after he was sworn into office in 2011.
Wilson
agreed with Lopez that supporting Arab Americans and Muslims was critical to
making Chicago a “better city.”
“I
say about Arab Americans and Muslim Americans that, first of all, we have to
make sure that they are a part of your administration. You have got to have
someone who understands and speak(s) the language and (be) part of the administration
that you have in order that you can get things done. You must create equal
opportunity and equality for all citizens regardless of what your nationality
happens to be,” said Wilson, a wealthy Chicago businessman who has generously
provided support to people in need by distributing gas cards, groceries and
COVID-19 protective gear such as facemasks.
“We
all are brothers and sisters. We all are the same. But we need to be treated
the same. In no way in the world I would close down the Muslim businesses or
anybody else’s business because you don’t like them ... You are hurting the
city. You are hurting the neighborhood. You are hurting everybody.
“What
I would do is I will make sure that in my administration will include someone
who can represent the Arab or Muslim community to give me feedback on what some
of the issues are there ... It wouldn’t be just a token position. It would be a
paid position. A real position. It will be a respectful position. It would have
input, and somebody who is a part of my administration. It would be someone
that is genuine in fixing the problems and bringing us all together. The Arab
and Muslim community made a lot of contributions to Chicago. And they should
not be left out and they will not be left out.”
Lopez
and Wilson also both agreed that stemming the violence and strengthening public
safety in Chicago were top priorities. They said that criminals must be held
accountable, and that the city must support police and first responders. They
said that the city needs to create jobs, provide business support to attack
“the root” of the crime problem, and support and improve education.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2158876/world
--------
Israeli
premier shoots down US request to revise army rules of engagement
Zain
Khalil
08.09.2022
Israeli
Prime Minister Yair Lapid rejected US calls to the Israeli army to change its
rules of engagement after the results of an investigation on the shooting of
Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
"No
one will dictate our rules of engagement to us when we are fighting for our
lives," Lapid said on Wednesday at a navy officers' graduation ceremony.
"I
will not allow an IDF (Israeli army) soldier that was protecting himself from
terrorist fire to be prosecuted just to receive applause from abroad," he
added.
Lapid,
however, expressed "sorrow" over Abu Akleh's death, alleging that at
the incident of her shooting "there was heavy enemy fire."
On
Tuesday, US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said the Biden
administration continues "to press Israeli partners to closely review its
policies and practices on rules of engagement and consider additional steps to
mitigate the risks of civilian harm, protect journalists, and prevent similar
tragedies in the future."
The
Israeli army said on Monday that there was a "high possibility" that
the Palestinian journalist was killed by "wrong gunfire" from an
Israeli soldier shooting at Palestinian gunmen during clashes.
Abu
Akleh was killed on May 11, and the Palestinian Health Ministry said she was
shot in the head while covering an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city
of Jenin.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
Ministry
to follow up Gontor Islamic Boarding School violence case
8
September, 2022
Jakarta
(ANTARA) - Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry ensured that
requisite efforts were made to follow up and handle cases of abuse against
students that occurred at the Modern Darussalam Islamic Boarding School Gontor,
Ponorogo, East Java.
"The
Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry monitors and coordinates in
ensuring all forms of assistance needed by victims and their families,"
the deputy for child special protection at the Women's Empowerment and Child
Protection Ministry, Nahar, stated in a written statement here on Thursday.
The
ministry regretted that such an incident occurred in a religious education
institution that led to the death of AM, 17, a student, while two other people
had to receive treatment.
Nahar
said Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister, Bintang Puspayoga,
specifically requested for the case to be handled as best as possible, so that
the victims could immediately have company during their physical,
psychological, and legal recovery processes.
In
response to the news of the perpetrators being expelled from the school in
question, the ministry urged for the case to be investigated to the end, so
that the victim AM gets justice.
"We
hope that this case would continue to be investigated until clarity is found,
and the victims, especially AM, get their rights and justice," he
remarked.
Nahar
reminded parents to always monitor the teaching and learning process, although
their children were studying in Islamic boarding schools.
"Parents
can improve the quality of children's interactions with parents, optimize child
development, prevent children from deviant behavior, and also be able to detect
abnormalities in children's growth and development," Nahar stated.
Source:
Antara News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
UN
experts call for action on findings of Uyghur abuse in China
8th
September 2022
Geneva:
A collection of human rights officials said the international community must
not ignore the systematic abuses allegedly perpetrated against Uyghurs and
other Turkic minorities in northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous
Region, and repeated a call for the U.N. Human Rights Council to review the
charges, RFA reported.
The
more than 40 experts, comprising U.N. special rapporteurs, independent experts
and members of working groups under the U.N. Human Rights Council, issued their
call in response to a damning report issued on August 31 by former U.N. human
rights chief Michelle Bachelet, finding that China’s repression of the predominantly
Muslim minorities in Xinjiang “may constitute international crimes, in
particular crimes against humanity.”
Bachelet,
who travelled to Xinjiang in May, issued the overdue report on rights abuses in
the region on the day she concluded her four-year mandate as U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights.
The
report states that “serious human rights violations” have been committed in
Xinjiang in the context of the Chinese government’s application of
counter-terrorism and counter-‘extremism’ policies and practices.
China’s
Permanent Mission to the U.N. Office at Geneva dismissed the report, saying it
ignored the human rights achievements by people from all ethnic groups in
Xinjiang and the damage caused by terrorism and extremism to the human rights
of all ethnic groups there.
But
the U.N. experts supported the report’s conclusions on abuses in Xinjiang,
highlighting the finding that “the extent of arbitrary and discriminatory
detention of members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim minorities may
constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity,”
according to a news release issued by U.N. Human Rights Special Procedures in
Geneva, RFA reported.
The
experts also drew attention to the report’s finding of “credible allegations of
patterns of torture or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and
adverse conditions of detention, as well as incidents of sexual and
gender-based violence including invasive gynecological exams, and indications
of coercive enforcement of family planning and birth control policies,” the
news release said.
The
experts, who have mandates to report and advise on human rights issues, also
repeated a call from June 2020 for the Human Rights Council to convene a
special session on China to address allegations of arbitrary detentions,
enforced disappearances, and restrictions on movement, freedom of religion and
freedom of expression on the premise of national security.
Source:
Siasat Daily
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/un-experts-call-for-action-on-findings-of-uyghur-abuse-in-china-2408295/
--------
Concept
of halal is proven to be universal, says Malaysian premier
Sorvar
Alam
08.09.2022
KUALA
LUMPUR
Halal
products appeal to all consumers regardless of race and religion, as it is
related to quality assurance, environmental conservation, data integrity and
transparency as well as sustainable business practices, said the Malaysian
premier on Thursday.
Speaking
at the official opening ceremony of an international halal showcase event in
Kuala Lumpur, Ismail Sabir Yaakob said: “The concept of halal is proven to be
universal that is accessible by all.”
Globalization
trends and progress in commercialization increase the demand for halal products
and services among consumers from all walks of life, he noted.
“Halal
is not exclusive to the preparation of food and beverages, as it can also be
applied in various industries and services sectors.”
He
went on to say that there is an increase in demand for Halal products by the
international community as well as an increase in the e-commerce sector, driven
by digitalization.
The
halal industry is one of the fast-growing markets in the world as products and
services in the sector is also gaining momentum among non-Muslim consumers
worldwide.
The
Global Islamic Economy Indicator predicted that the worldwide halal market will
grow from $2.09 trillion last year to almost $3.27 trillion by 2028. And
Malaysia is the leading country in this field.
Underlining
the ongoing disruption of production and delays in deliveries driven by
geopolitical conflicts and travel restrictions, Yaakob said: “Transformation
and versatility in the Halal industry allow trade to become more competitive
and subsequently help in economic recovery.”
Business
operations need to be executed using the latest methods and approaches, he said
and added: “This is mandatory and no longer an option.”
Halal
Parks
He
also touched upon Halal Parks, specialized economic zones for manufacturing
Halal products for both local and international markets in order to make
Malaysia a global halal production hub.
“To
date, the Halal Parks have attracted a cumulative investment of more than MR16
billion ($2.1 billion), of which 59% is foreign direct investment,” according
to the Malaysian premier.
A
total of 295 companies, 42 of which are multinational, are currently operating
in 22 Halal Parks throughout the country.
“Each
of these Halal Parks offers world-class infrastructure facilities, skilled
workforce, ease of doing business, access to Halal ingredients, as well as
attractive incentives from the Malaysian government which consistently
encourages Halal development.”
Explaining
his government’s support to manufacturers of halal products, Yaakob urged
Malaysian companies to find their own uniqueness and explore untapped markets,
“consider the need to improve your branding and promotion efforts in accessing
new markets.”
The
18th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) began on Wednesday at the
Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre and is poised to be a
networking powerhouse for international and local businesses.
Considered
one of the most prominent and longest-running halal trade events in the world,
MIHAS is expected to achieve $423 million in trade during the three-day event.
The
expo, organized by the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation, draws
participants from local and international buyers, entrepreneurs, retailers,
brands, media, researchers and industry influencers.
It
has attracted nearly 400 companies from across the globe through conventional
and virtual exhibition formats.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Stop
silencing survivors of child abuse, group tells minister
September
9, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: The Joint Action Group (JAG) for Gender Equality has condemned religious
affairs minister Idris Ahmad for trying to silence a teenage actress who
alleged that she was molested by her father when younger.
Idris
reportedly said the 15-year-old should not have gone public with her experience
in a recent podcast interview, stating that she should have reported the
incident to the police to avoid shaming her family or damaging her father’s
reputation.
Calling
Idris’ response “unacceptable”, JAG said it was an “upsetting reflection of the
normalisation” of the violence women and girls experience at home.
“Such
statements shame survivors of sexual and gender-based violence into silence, leaving
many to feel that they are alone in facing the issue,” it said in a statement.
“These
remarks from someone in a position of power and trust are extremely
discouraging for all survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. It could
also contribute to the under-reporting of such cases as victims fear speaking
out over possible retaliation and being wrongly judged.
“Advising
the survivor and family members to not speak out about abuse to protect abusers
is a blatant contradiction of the core values of Malaysian laws and government
SOPs meant to eradicate sexual violence against children perpetrated by adults,
including family members.”
The
JAG member organisations include the Association of Women Lawyers (AWL), Family
Frontiers, Sisters in Islam (SiS), Tenaganita, and the Women’s Aid Organisation
(WAO).
The
group noted that the Prime Minister’s Department, which Idris came under, was a
key driver in ensuring that provisions in the Sexual Offences Against Children
Act 2017 were implemented, including by issuing a special guideline for
handling cases involving sexual offences against children.
“As
an MP and minister, it would be remiss (of Idris) not to clarify the
department’s stance on children’s rights to be safe from sexual harm,” it said.
Pointing
out that police data had revealed that most child sexual abuse cases involved
perpetrators known to the victim, most often their biological or stepfathers,
it added that a “staggering” 42% increase in child sexual abuse cases was
recorded between 2020 and 2021.
“The
power dynamics of being harmed by a trusted individual, especially a family
member, makes speaking out daunting. Hence, the routine silencing and shaming
of victims only serves to further exacerbate the issue,” it said.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South
Asia
Department
Of Vice and Virtue Officials in Nimroz Orders Coffee Shop to Close Down
8
September, 2022
Nimroz
[Afghanistan], September 8 (ANI): Department of Vice and Virtue of
Afghanistan’s Nimroz province on Wednesday ordered to close the coffee shops
and directed the wedding halls to stop playing music at wedding parties, local
media reported.
The
department said that when the prayers in the mosque were going on, the
shopkeepers were still busy with their business. Mawlawi Abdul Ghafar Farooq,
head of the Nimroz Department of Vice and Virtue said, “Within three months,
sell your coffee shops, so reform can be brought into the society.”
The
department warned that violators will face serious consequences, Tolo News
reported.
Meanwhile,
the owners of the wedding halls said that there had been no music since last
year in the wedding halls. Darwish Ahmad, one of the owners of the wedding
halls, said, “They can come and search the hall.”
“We
invested money here and now the department of vice and virtue says to close it.
We have no other job to do,” said Nisar Ahmad, the owner of a coffee shop.
According
to the department of Vice and Virtue, the owners of the coffee shops were
ordered three months ago to change their business but due to a lack of jobs,
they have not been able to find another business for themselves, reported Tolo
News.
This
is not the first time when Afghanistan released such orders. Regarding women,
the Taliban have released some regressive order which has been reflected from
time to time. Earlier, Taliban officials asked shopkeepers in Balkh province of
Afghanistan to not sell anything to women not wearing a Hijab and warned of
consequences if they fail to obey the order.
The
shopkeepers in the provincial capital of Balkh, Mazar-e-Sharif were informed of
the new order, as per Khaama Press in the famous Blue Mosque of Mazar-e-Sharif
city.
Shopkeepers
stated that serious action would be taken against them if they sell products to
women who do not wear hijab, as per the new decree.
Notably,
the Taliban’s Ministry of Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
previously declared that all Afghan women must wear the hijab and their
statement mandated hijab for Afghan women preferred the all-encompassing blue
burqa, Chadari which became a global icon of the Taliban’s prior extremist
tenure from 1996 to 2001.
The
atrocities of the Taliban against Afghan women have been on a continuous surge
since the organization seized power in Afghanistan in August last year, banning
young girls and women of humanitarian rights.
Taliban
has imposed draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression,
association, assembly and movement for women and girls.
Dozens
of Afghan women continue to protest against the Taliban’s order on women
wearing the hijab.
As
a result of this, women and girls in Afghanistan are facing a human rights
crisis, deprived of the fundamental rights to non-discrimination, education,
work, public participation and health.
Source:
The Print
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Hope
Teesta water agreement would be resolved soon: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina
Sep
7, 2022
NEW
DELHI: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday expressed her hope
that the pending Teesta water agreement would be resolved soon, just as other
pending bilateral issues between the two neighbours, after a bilateral meeting
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.
“…I
recalled that the two countries had resolved many outstanding issues in the
spirit of friendship and cooperation and we hope that all outstanding issues
including Teesta Water Sharing Treaty would be concluded at an early date,”
Hasina said on Tuesday.
While
Hasina expressed hope on “Teesta” being settled soon, West Bengal chief
minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been seen as a “stumbling block” in the deal,
is keen to visit Bangladesh, accepting Hasina's invitation to see the Padma
Bridge, according to sources.
Whether
Banerjee will be able to make a trip to Dhaka, however, will depend on the
Centre giving its clearance for such a visit. Earlier the Modi government has
on two occasions denied the Bengal chief minister permission to travel to Rome
and to China.
Hasina
had communicated with Banerjee before her Delhi visit and had invited her to
see the Padma Bridge, a major development achievement for Bangladesh. Before
that Hasina had sent mangoes to Banerjee in the summer and the Bengal CM had
congratulated the Bangladesh PM for the Padma Bridge in July.
Hasina
and Banerjee have shared a cordial relationship, even as the Teesta waters have
remained a contentious issue on both sides of the border.
Banerjee
had objected to the Teesta treaty back in 2011, on the ground that the then Manmohan
Singh government at the Centre had ignored Bengal’s interest while deciding to
share 37.5% of Teesta waters with Bangladesh, retaining 42.5% of the waters
during the lean season between December and March.
Banerjee’s
contention has been that the quantity of water to be shared should be decided
in consultation with Bengal since its people are real stakeholders in the
agreement.
However,
Banerjee has since been willing to discuss Teesta with the Centre to work out
the quantity of water that Bengal can share with neighbouring Bangladesh.
But
the Modi regime since 2014, has seen aggressive rivalry between Banerjee’s
Trinamool Congress ruled-Bengal and the BJP-ruled Centre. This political
narrative has also come in the way of sorting out the Teesta waters issue.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
‘Governance
Shortages’ Main Reasons Afghanistan Under Acting Cabinet
By
Arif Ahmadi
08
Sep 2022
KABUL,
Afghanistan – Since the takeover last August, the Islamic Emirate leadership
has not yet announced its formal cabinet, citing “governance shortages” of main
reasons the country is still running without state officials.
Islamic
Emirate’s spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid exclaimed lack of a constitution, the
inability to create a council, and a few other governance-related issues are
some of the main reasons why an official cabinet has not been announced.
“At
the moment, our cabinet is acting; however, this is still the result of some
wisdom, since there are still some governance shortages in the country that
need to be addressed,” he said, as TOLOnews quoted.
“For
instance, we do not yet have a council, the constitution has not yet been
established, and there are still some other issues,” he elaborated.
Encouraging
unity among people, the spokesman said “let us come together as a nation, and
if we achieve stability, the system will no longer be acting.”
This
came at a time world leaders, including international community, has repeatedly
denied formal recognition to the well-known terrorist group, urging the de
facto leadership to form an inclusive government in the country.
But
the Islamic Emirate officials said the government is already inclusive and they
are observing all rights in the country within the Islamic law, adding they
have to find a solution for themselves then.
“Tell
us so that we truly understand what kind of government you want,” said Amir
Khan Muttaqi, the acting foreign minister. “Believe me, they haven’t told us
what kind of government they want up until now.”
“However,
the Afghan government must be the one to find a solution to that country’s
issues,” he concluded.
Meanwhile,
political analyst different views on the topic, saying the relationship between
the people and the government could be jeopardized without a proper legislation
in the country.
“Where
there is no legislation, the relationship between the people and the government
is not established, the structure of the government is not defined, the
responsibilities, obligations, and duties of each power are not stated, it is
difficult to announce the official cabinet,” said Sayed Javad Sajadi, a
political analyst, as quoted by the local media.
“The
Taliban should construct a normal government with all the standards, with
national legitimacy, a ruler, and declare their cabinet– if the Taliban really
want to work for their country for their survival, and if they have come to
rule,” said Aziz Marij, another political analyst.
While
the Islamic Emirate continued to push for formal recognition, world leaders –
including international community – put up front conditions before granting
such an authority to the well-known militant group who is responsible for
decades of war in Afghanistan.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/governance-shortages-main-reasons-afghanistan-under-acting-cabinet/
--------
Africa
Niger
Governor signs bill amending Sharia Law
September
8, 2022
By
Priscilla Dennis
Niger
State Governor, Alh. Abubakar Sani Bello has signed into law a Bill to Amend
the Shariah Administration of Justice Law, 2021, in the State and for other
related Matters, 2022.
Bello
carried out the constitutional duty at the Government House, Minna.
The
law, which is to be cited as the “Shariah Administration of Justice (Amendment)
Law, 2021”, took effect from the 9th of August, 2022.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://dailypost.ng/2022/09/08/niger-governor-signs-bill-amending-sharia-law/
--------
Empty
shelves and rising prices test Tunisians’ patience
08 September,
2022
Food
shortages are worsening in Tunisia with empty shelves in supermarkets and
bakeries, adding to popular discontent at high prices and risking unrest as the
government tries to stave off a crisis in public finances.
There
are widespread shortages of sugar, cooking oil, milk and butter, coffee,
tobacco and bottled water, with the situation seeming worse in poorer regions
far from the capital.
Street
tea vendor Mustafa Dahech, 82, said he relied on sugar to make the sweet drink
he sells in paper cups from a metal teapot as he wanders through the narrow
alleys of a poor Tunis district.
“There
is no sugar. I swear to you there is none,” he said, making it harder for him
to raise his income beyond his state pension of $55 a month.
Small
protests have already taken place and the head of the powerful main labor
union, the UGTT, has warned repeatedly in recent months of a “revolution of the
hungry.”
The
shortages are partly due to a global commodities squeeze and price rise because
of disruption linked to the COVID pandemic and to the war in Ukraine.
Precarious
finances
However,
Tunisia may face increased disruption because its weak fiscal position makes it
harder to buy staples at elevated international rates and sell them internally
at the same subsidized rate it was already using.
The
government is seeking an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout to help it
fund its budget and debt repayments, but support will likely hinge on subsidy
and public sector wage bill cuts, and restructuring of state-owned companies.
Talks
between the government and UGTT to agree on those reforms - a likely condition
of IMF support - are still stuck.
Without
an IMF bailout, Tunisia would likely have to borrow internally, restricting
credit to local businesses in ways diplomats say could further harm the
economy, or use its foreign currency reserves, harming the dinar and raising
inflation.
The
government has blamed the shortages on the global commodities squeeze and on
domestic hoarders and speculators and denied it faces problems paying for
imports.
The
UGTT said earlier this year that the government was struggling to pay for wheat
imports. The World Bank, European Union, Japan and European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development have all given Tunisia food aid loans this year.
Dairy
producers have demanded state assistance with inflation on animal feed and
other running costs which they have blamed for shortages of milk and butter.
A
UGTT official has said the sugar shortage has caused outages at several food
factories. Workers at a soda drink factory last week protested over the threat
to their jobs.
Shortages
of coffee, which is being rationed to a single pack per customer in some shops,
have also led to some temporary cafe closures.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Authorities
search home, office of Nigerian train hostages negotiator
Ibrahim
Garba Shuaibu
08.09.2022
KANO,
Nigeria
The
Nigerian secret service searched the office and home of bandits negotiator,
Tukur Mamu, early Thursday in northern Nigeria, an offical told Anadolu Agency.
Security
operatives took laptops, phones and other documents from both locations.
Manu
was arrested for his alleged involvement in collecting ransom and taking
terrorists in exchange for kidnapped victims.
Spokesman
of the Department of State Services (DSS), Peter Afunnaya, said the agency is
questioning Mamu about security issues.
Afunnaya
said in a statement late Wednesday that Mamu is a person of interest and was
intercepted by foreign security partners in Cairo earlier that day while on his
way to Saudi Arabia.
“Mamu
has since been returned to the country, today, 7th September, 2022 and taken
into the Service’s custody to answer critical questions on ongoing
investigations relating to some security matters in parts of the country. The
public may wish to note that the law will appropriately take its course,” it
said.
Mamu
was arrested at the Aminu Kano international airport, along with his family,
shortly after he was flown back to Nigeria.
Security
sources who spoke to Anadolu Agency under the condition of anonymity said Mamu
was also arrested for his alleged “strong ties with a terror group in the Sinai
area in Egypt.”
He
has denied any wrongdoing and said he was on a legitimate journey to Saudi
Arabia.
Mamu
told a Nigerian newspaper on Wednesday that he was being investigated by the
Egyptian security agencies.
“I
don’t have anything to hide and I am not afraid of them (DSS). I swear to God,
I am not afraid of them. I just want the world to know what is happening,” he
said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Chief
Of Army Staff To Saudi Arabia Minister: Pakistan Acknowledges Saudi Unique
Place In Islamic World
September
8, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Minister of Defence Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Transformation Management
Office Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Doctor Samir bin Abdulaziz Al-Tabib called
on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday, the
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) stated.
The
ISPR said during the meeting, matters of mutual interest, bilateral defence,
security cooperation and regional peace and stability were discussed.
The
COAS told the Saudi minister that Pakistan valued its historical and brotherly
relations with the Saudi Kingdom and acknowledged its unique place in the Islamic
world. The Saudi minister expressed his grief over the devastation caused by
the unprecedented flash floods in Pakistan.
He
further acknowledged Pakistan’s defence potential and expressed the desire for
enhancing collaboration in defence and security sectors.
General
Bajwa thanked the visiting guest for his efforts to strengthen bonds between
the two brotherly countries.
Earlier,
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)
expressed their condolences and sympathies with President Dr Arif Alvi over the
loss of lives and injuries in the recent floods, inundating Pakistan.
In
his cable, the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman prayed for the
deceased and their families in the flood-hit regions of the country.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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After
75 Years, Sikh Man Discovers He’s Muslim, Family Settled in Pakistan
September
8, 2022
After
75 long years, a Jalandhar-based Sikh man got to know that his original family
was in Pakistan and they were Muslims.
According
to Kashmir Media Service, Amarjit Singh, who is learnt to be from Nurmahal area
near Jalandhar, Indian Punjab, had a tearful meeting with his sister Kulsoom
Akhtar at Kartarpur Gurudwara.
A
Pakistani journalist shared on his Twitter account the video of a
wheelchair-bound Amarjit Singh meeting his sister.
As
per reports, Kulsoom reportedly told the media that she was born in Pakistan
after the Partition and that her mother would often tell her that she had an
elder brother and a sister at Pabwan village of Jalandhar whom she could not
bring along to Pakistan.
She
said she mentioned this to her father’s friend Dara Singh who was planning to
come to Indian Punjab. She gave him their address and he was able to locate her
brother and arrange his contact. Kulsoom was told that her elder sister had
died.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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Pakistan
HC to indict Imran Khan in contempt case on September 22
Sep
9, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad high court announced on Thursday that it would indict Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on
September 22 in a contempt of court case for threatening a woman judge at a
public rally.
The
verdict was issued by a five-member HC bench headed by Chief Justice Athar
Minallah. The court had issued last month a show-cause notice to Khan following
his warning to additional district and sessions judge Zeba Chaudhry at a rally
in Islamabad on August 20 to brace herself for consequences. Chaudhry had
approved police
remand
of his special assistant, Shahbaz Gill, who has been detained on sedition
charges.
On
Wednesday, Imran had submitted a second reply in court after the first,
presented at the previous hearing, was termed “unsatisfactory”.
During
the hearing, the CJ observed that Imran Khan’s replies to the court’s
show-cause notice appeared to be “justifying” contempt of the judiciary and showed
“no remorse or regret”. At the last hearing, Justice Minallah had asked Khan to
submit another “well-
considered”
reply in seven days to the show-cause notice, otherwise the court would have
its way.
In
his first response, the PTI chief did not apologise but offered to withdraw his
remarks if they were inappropriate. In his latest response, Khan requested the
court to discharge the notice based on his explanation and follow the Islamic
principles of forgiveness.
In
both responses, the PTI chairman did not offer an unconditional apology.
Expressing disappointment at Khan’s supplementary reply, a 19-page document,
the court asked: “Even after the court’s input on the matter, is this the
response that you’ve submitted?”
The
court order stated that charges against the former PM will be framed on
September 22 at 2.30 pm. “The learned counsel for the respondent took us
through the supplementary response filed by the respondent and submitted that
it was an explanation of the speech in relation to which contempt proceedings
have been initiated,” it stated. “We are not convinced that the respondent has
purged himself of the wrongdoing alleged against him in relation to which the
show-cause notice was issued,” the HC order read.
Once
the court took a five-minute break after reserving its verdict, Khan got up and
asked the court if he could speak. At this, the chief justice said that the
court had heard his lawyers and there was no need for him to speak.
Source:
Times Of India
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Pakistan's
F-16s to get a $450 million makeover
Sep
8, 2022
WASHINGTON:
Pakistan will get upgrades to the tune of $450 million for its approximately 85
F-16 fighter jets, notwithstanding the country's perilous economic, and
environmental condition.
The
US state department on Wednesday said it had made a determination approving a
possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) for "sustainment and related
equipment" of F-16 for an estimated cost of $450 million.
A
certification from the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notifying
Congress of the possible sale said it does not include any new capabilities,
weapons, or munitions.
The
proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives
of the United States by allowing Pakistan to retain interoperability with U.S.
and partner forces in ongoing counterterrorism efforts and in preparation for
future contingency operations, the notification said, adding that the sale of
this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the
region.
The
US State Department said Pakistan had made a request to consolidate prior F-16
sustainment and support cases to support the Pakistan Air Force F-16 fleet by
reducing duplicate case activities and adding additional continued support
elements.
The
support includes Pakistan's participation in F-16 Aircraft Structural Integrity
Program, Electronic Combat International Security Assistance Program, International
Engine Management Program, Engine Component Improvement Program, and other
technical coordination groups, Aircraft and engine hardware and software
modifications and support, Aircraft and engine spare repair/return parts
Accessories and support equipment, Classified and unclassified software and
software support and Other related elements of aircraft maintenance and program
support.
The
support list offers a clue to the near obsolete nature of the F16 fighter jet,
which still occupies a near mythical status in Pakistan.
The
Pakistan Air Force has more than 900 aircraft, including 16 combat squadrons,
but the F-16 occupies a pride of place although in recent years it has been
supplanted by squadrons of JF-17 Thunder which Pakistan has jointly developed
with China.
It
is not clear if the Biden administration ran the sale proposal by India, with
which it claims a special strategic relationship, although it is not obliged
to. India too practices an independent foreign policy based on its own security
calculus.
Source:
Times Of India
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UN
chief in Pakistan to seek generous support for flood relief
Baqir
Sajjad Syed
September
9, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will seek the world’s
generous support for the country devastated by catastrophic floods and
highlight the urgency to deal with the climate change crisis, during his
two-day visit to Pakistan.
Mr
Guterres arrived in Islamabad shortly after midnight. The secretary general had
announced his plan for a solidarity trip to Pakistan soon after the launch of
the $160 million UN Flash Appeal for helping the people most affected by the
floods caused by what he had called “monsoon on steroids”. He will be back in
New York on Sept 11 where the 77th session of the UN General Assembly is
starting on Sept 13.
Foreign
Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar, at the weekly media briefing on Thursday,
said the secretary general will meet Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, visit the
National Flood Response and Coordination Centre (NFRCC), have a joint presser
with the prime minister, and hold talks with the foreign minister followed by a
joint press stakeout at the Foreign Office, besides other engagements, all related
to the floods response.
Mr
Guterres will also visit areas most affected by flooding, including Balochistan
and Sindh, where he will meet first responders and interact with people
displaced by the floods.
The
Pakistani government, Mr Iftikhar said, wanted to utilise the secretary
general’s visit to promote global awareness about the massive challenge of
reconstruction and rehabilitation facing the country.
“In
this context, the secretary general will also raise awareness about the
linkages of such mega disasters with the frightening impact of climate change,”
he further said.
Islamabad
has been urging the rich countries to help Pakistan and other poor countries
suffering from climate change because of their massive greenhouse gas emissions
that caused global warming. The rich countries have generally been reluctant to
pay for the climate loss.
Source:
Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1709175/un-chief-in-pakistan-to-seek-generous-support-for-flood-relief
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FO
asks Delhi to allow Yasin Malik meet family likewise Kulbhushan Jadhav
September
8, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Office on Thursday demanded of the Indian authorities to allow Jammu
and Kashmir Liberation Front Chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik to meet his family
in the Indian prison in a similar way Pakistan has allowed Indian spy
Kulbhushan Jadhav to meet his family.
During
a weekly briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmad
said Pakistan has allowed Kulbhushan Jadhav to meet his family. “Yasin Malik is
being illegally detained by the Indian authorities and they should also allow
his family to meet him as per international norms,” he said.
He
demanded of the international community to take notice of such inhumane act.
Responding to a query regarding US$450 million being offered from the United
States for overhauling of F-16 jets, the spokesman said that the concerned
institution could divulge details on the technical issues, however, they
welcome the initiative from the United States.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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UAE
minister announces $10 million aid for flood-stricken Pakistanis
September
8, 2022
United
Arab Emirates (UAE) minister Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan on Thursday
announced aid of $10 million for relief and rehabilitation of the
flood-stricken people of Pakistan, for which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has
thanked him.
PM
Shehbaz Sharif thanked the UAE minister for the generous donation for relief
and rehabilitation of the flood-hit population.This is the biggest ever
donation made so far at the individual level made for the flood survivors of
the country, a PM Office press release said. This manifests your deep love for
the people of Pakistan and sympathy for the suffering humanity,” the prime
minister said in his message to Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.
PM
Shehbaz went on to say that the people of Pakistan would never forget this
brotherhood as it would greatly help the country in relief and rehabilitation
of the flood-hit people.
The
premier further said the UAE minister’s love for the people of Pakistan was a
golden chapter in the brotherly relations between the two countries.
Soon
after, DG ISPR also took to its official twitter handle to acknowledge the
efforts of UAE minister regarding helping the flood stricken people of
Pakistan.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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US
State Dept delegation calls on COAS Bajwa at GHQ
September
8, 2022
A
delegation headed by Mr. Derek H. Chollet, Counselor, US State Department
called on General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) at GHQ, today.
During
the meeting, matters of mutual interests, regional security situation and
bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed. COAS said that Pakistan
desires to maintain this tradition of bilateral engagement and multi-domain
enduring relationship with United States (US).Both sides agreed upon enhancing
defence and security cooperation.
The
visiting dignitaries expressed their grief over the devastation caused by
ongoing floods in Pakistan and offered sincere condolence to the families of
the victims. They offered USA’s support to the people of Pakistan at this hour
of need.
The
dignitaries appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for regional stability and also
pledged to play their role enhancing cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/09/08/us-state-dept-delegation-calls-on-coas-bajwa-at-ghq/
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Arab
World
Syrian
tribes condemn YPG/PKK terror group for separatist practices
Eşref
Musa, Ethem Emre Özcan
08.09.2022
Syrian
tribes have condemned the YPG/PKK terror group’s targeting of the country's
territorial integrity.
The
Syrian Council of Tribes and Clans emphasized in a statement Wednesday that
YPG/PKK terrorists, using the name, SDG, have targeted the country's
territorial integrity with separatist and destructive practices.
It
is impossible to build trust and stability in the regions occupied by the
YPG/PKK, it said.
"The
only aim of terrorists is to divide Syria, to gain personal gains, not to lose
the power in their hands and to plunder the wealth of the Syrian people,"
it said.
The
statement said the terror group has to return stolen resources and wealth to
the Syrian people and the only way out of the crisis is to protect the
territorial integrity of Syria.
Arab
tribes in Jazira region also condemn YPG/PKK
Arab
tribes in the Jazira region also condemned the separatist practices of the
YPG/PKK, according to the Syrian regime's news agency, SANA.
The
tribes pointed out in a statement that the terror organization wants to divide
Syria.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Kurd
fighters killed, extremists detained in Syria’s al-Hol camp clashes
08
September, 2022
The
Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said two of their fighters were killed and
six extremists arrested Thursday following clashes in a volatile Syria camp
where a security operation is underway.
“Two
of our fighters have succumbed to their wounds following clashes” with ISISI
militants in the al-Hol camp overnight, the SDF said.
“Two
women and five men masquerading as women,” were involved in the attack on SDF
fighters in the camp, the force said.
The
ensuing fighting led to the killing of one extremist and the arrest of six
others, it added.
The
Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which houses thousands of relatives of ISIS fighters,
is the largest camp for displaced people who fled after ISIS was dislodged from
its last scrap of territory in Syria in 2019.
It
is still home to more than 56,000 people, mostly Syrians and Iraqis but also
including other foreigners linked to the Sunni Muslim extremists.
The
SDF, the de facto army of the autonomous Kurdish administration in northeastern
Syria, launched a security operation in the camp last month to flush out
hideout extremists following an uptick in attacks.
Dozens
of suspected ISIS operatives have been detained and major networks dismantled
since the start of operations, the US-led anti-ISIS coalition said on
Wednesday.
On
Monday, “the SDF liberated four women in the camp who were found in tunnels,
chained, and tortured by (ISIS) supporters,” the coalition statement said.
ISIS
seized swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014, declaring a “caliphate”
to administer the millions-strong population.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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‘Global
icon’: Arab leaders offer condolences on death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth
08
September, 2022
Arab
leaders rushed to offer condolences to the British royal family after Queen
Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died aged 96 on Thursday.
UAE
President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed tweeted: “I extend my sincere condolences to
the family of Queen Elizabeth II and the people of the UK. Her Majesty was a
close friend of the UAE and a beloved & respected leader whose long reign
was characterised by dignity, compassion & a tireless commitment to serving
her country.”
UAE
Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
tweeted: “We join the world in mourning the passing of Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth, a global icon who represented the finest qualities of her nation and
people. Her incredible lifetime of service and duty to the United Kingdom is
unparalleled in our modern world.”
Qatar’s
Emir Tamim bin Hamad tweeted: “Sincere condolences to the British Royal family
and its friendly people on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The
world lost a great symbol for humanity. During her busy career, she was a
source of inspiration and nobility, and had solid and constructive ties with
Qatar which strengthened the bonds of friendship and partnership between our
two peoples.”
Jordan’s
King Abdullah tweeted: “Jordan mourns the passing of an iconic leader. Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a beacon of wisdom and principled leadership for
seven decades. She was a partner for Jordan and a dear family friend. We stand
with the people and leadership of the UK at this difficult time.”
Egypt’s
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi tweeted: “I offer my sincere condolences, on my
own behalf and on behalf of the people of Egypt, to the Royal Family, the
British Government and the people of the United Kingdom, on the death of Queen
Elizabeth II, who led her country for decades with great wisdom.
I
affirm our determination to work with King Charles to strengthen the relations
of our two friendly countries and peoples.
My
condolences to the British nation on this great loss, and I have full
confidence in the ability of King Charles to fill the void left by Queen
Elizabeth II.”
Oman’s
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik sent a cable of condolences to Britain’s King Charles
III on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. He “expressed his sincere condolences
and sympathy to His Majesty, his family, and the friendly British people,
reflecting on the merits of Her Late Majesty the Queen and her admirable status
among the peoples of the world,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Saudi
Arabia's King Salman, Crown Prince pay tributes to UK’s Queen Elizabeth
09
September, 2022
Saudi
Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have
paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, following
her death on Thursday, describing her as a “model of leadership”.
King
Salman sent a cable of condolences and sympathy to Britain’s King Charles III,
saying: “We have learned with great sadness the news of the death of Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland.”
“Her
Majesty was a model of leadership that will be immortalized in the history. We
recall with appreciation the efforts of the deceased in consolidating the
friendship and cooperation relations between our two friendly countries, as
well as the high international status that Her Majesty enjoyed throughout the
decades during which she acceded to the throne of your friendly country.”
“We
send to Your Majesty, the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland our deepest condolences and sincere
sympathy, hoping that you do not see any harm.”
The
Crown Prince also sent a cable of condolences and sympathy to King Charles III
to mourn the passing of the treasured monarch.
In
his cable, the Crown Prince said: “I am saddened by the news of the death of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, who devoted her life to serve her country.”
“Her
Majesty was an example of wisdom, love and peace. The world remembers today the
great impact and deeds that she had throughout her reign.”
“I
express to Your Majesty, the Royal Family and the friendly people of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland deepest condolences and sincere
sympathy, wishing you permanent good health and safety, and that you may never
see any unpleasant thing.”
Leaders
from the Arab world also rushed to offer condolences to the British royal
family, with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed tweeting: “I extend my
sincere condolences to the family of Queen Elizabeth II and the people of the
UK. Her Majesty was a close friend of the UAE and a beloved & respected
leader whose long reign was characterised by dignity, compassion & a
tireless commitment to serving her country.”
UAE
Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
tweeted: “We join the world in mourning the passing of Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth, a global icon who represented the finest qualities of her nation and
people. Her incredible lifetime of service and duty to the United Kingdom is
unparalleled in our modern world.”
Qatar’s
Emir Tamim bin Hamad tweeted: “Sincere condolences to the British Royal family
and its friendly people on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The
world lost a great symbol for humanity. During her busy career, she was a
source of inspiration and nobility, and had solid and constructive ties with
Qatar which strengthened the bonds of friendship and partnership between our
two peoples.”
Jordan’s
King Abdullah tweeted: “Jordan mourns the passing of an iconic leader. Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was a beacon of wisdom and principled leadership for
seven decades. She was a partner for Jordan and a dear family friend. We stand
with the people and leadership of the UK at this difficult time.”
Egypt’s
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi tweeted: “I offer my sincere condolences, on my
own behalf and on behalf of the people of Egypt, to the Royal Family, the
British Government and the people of the United Kingdom, on the death of Queen
Elizabeth II, who led her country for decades with great wisdom.”
“I
affirm our determination to work with King Charles to strengthen the relations
of our two friendly countries and peoples.”
“My
condolences to the British nation on this great loss, and I have full
confidence in the ability of King Charles to fill the void left by Queen
Elizabeth II.”
Queen
Elizabeth died at her home in Scotland aged 96. The world’s oldest and
longest-serving head of state came to the throne following the death of her
father King George VI on February 6, 1952, when she was just 25.
“The
Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” Buckingham Palace said in a
statement. “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening
and will return to London tomorrow.”
Elizabeth’s
eldest son Charles, 73, automatically became King of the United Kingdom and the
head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.
News
that the queen’s health was deteriorating emerged shortly after midday on
Thursday when her doctors said she was under medical supervision, prompting her
family to rush to be by her side at her Scottish home, Balmoral.
The
queen had been suffering from what Buckingham Palace has called “episodic
mobility problems” since the end of last year, forcing her to withdraw from
nearly all her public engagements.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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GCC
foreign ministers meet in Riyadh to discuss Iran and counterterrorism
08
September, 2022
Gulf
foreign ministers met in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss a range of issues
including counterterrorism efforts and relations with Iran, the official Saudi
Press Agency (SPA) reported.
Chaired
by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Gulf
Cooperation Council’s 153rd ministerial meeting brought together diplomats from
the Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Regarding
recent nuclear talks between western powers and Iran, the council stressed the
need to address the Islamic Republic’s “destabilizing behavior” in the Middle
East.
It
also voiced the importance of addressing Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism and
sectarian militias, its missile program, and its threats to the safety of
international shipping and oil facilities.
Commenting
on recent developments, GCC ministers praised the US killing of al-Qaeda leader
Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul on July 31, pointing to the fact that he had been
responsible for a number of terrorist activities in Saudi Arabia and abroad.
The
council also condemned recent terrorist attacks in Afghanistan and Somalia,
which resulted in a number of deaths – including the bombing of a mosque in
Herat and a bus in Mogadishu on September 2.
On
the war in Yemen, the council condemned the large-scale attack launched by the
Iran-backed Houthi militia on the al-Dhabab area, west of Taiz.
The
area has been under siege for years and has faced renewed attacks in the past
week.
Iran’s
interference in Yemen’s internal affairs was also scrutinized at the meeting.
The
Islamic Republic allegedly supplies arms to the Houthi militia.
In
July, British officials said that a Royal Navy ship had intercepted a shipment
of Iranian missiles in the Gulf of Oman, providing “some of the strongest”
evidence to date that Iran has been smuggling weapons to the militia.
The
council also affirmed that the Palestinian cause is the “first issue of Arabs
and Muslims,” and expressed support for the establishment of an independent
state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Ministers
also hosted the first joint meeting of the GCC and representatives from Central
Asia.
Prince
Faisal stressed the importance of cooperation between the two regions,
highlighting their similarities in natural resource wealth and human capital.
The
Saudi foreign minister expressed the council’s keenness to cooperate in trade,
tourism, energy, and investment among other fields.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Turkish
forces 'neutralize' 8 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq
Merve
Aydogan
08.09.2022
Turkish
security forces "neutralized" eight PKK terrorists in northern Iraq,
near the Turkish border, authorities said on Thursday.
The
terrorists were targeted in Operation Claw-Lock zone, the Turkish National
Defense Ministry said on Twitter, while affirming to determinedly continue
"destroying terrorist hideouts."
Turkish
authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply the terrorists in
question surrendered or were killed or captured.
Türkiye
launched Operation Claw-Lock in April to target PKK terrorist hideouts in
northern Iraq's Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions, near the Turkish
border.
It
was initiated after Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle to root out terrorists
hiding in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Gas
to flow ‘in weeks’ from Israeli licensed field disputed by Lebanon
08
September, 2022
A
London-listed company licensed by Israel to extract gas from a maritime field
that is in part claimed by Lebanon announced Thursday that it would begin yielding
output within weeks.
The
“assets have outperformed our expectations and our flagship Karish project is
on track to start production within weeks,” Energean said in a statement
accompanying financial results.
Israel
and the powerful Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah fought a war in 2006 and the
two countries have no diplomatic relations.
Israel
says the Karish field is located entirely within its exclusive economic zone,
but Lebanon insists that part of the field falls within its own waters.
The
US has mediated in the dispute, which escalated in early June when Energean
brought a production vessel into the field.
Israel
announced in early July that it had downed three unarmed drones launched by
Hezbollah towards Karish.
Referring
to Karish, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned in early August that “the
hand that reaches for any of this wealth will be severed.”
Israel’s
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said late last month that any attack on its gas
assets could reignite war between the two sides.
The
border between Lebanon and Israel is patrolled by the United Nations.
The
two countries resumed maritime border negotiations in 2020 but the process was
stalled by Beirut’s claim that the map used by the United Nations in the talks
needed modifying.
Lebanon
initially demanded 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) in the disputed
maritime area but then asked for an additional 1,430 square kilometers,
including part of the Karish offshore gas field.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Mideast
Iran
halts double entry visas for Pakistani Arba’een pilgrims going to Iraq
September
8, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The Government of Iran has decided to halt double entry visas for Pakistani
pilgrims going to Iraq for observing Arba’een to avoid inconvenience due to no
permission for entry from land routes into Iraq.
The
decision was made to avoid pilgrims’ inconvenience due to no access or entry
into Iraq via land routes which was the host country for managing Arba’een (the
religious observance that occurs forty days after the Day of Ashura), a press
release issued by the Iranian Embassy on
Thursday said.
The
embassy said,”Whereas, the neighbouring and brotherly country of Iraq hosts the
Arba’een ceremony, continuous efforts have been made to issue visas of the
Islamic Republic of Iran in coordination with the host country in such a way
that the pilgrims do not stuck on the way and at the borders. Recently, the
Iraqi government has announced that Pakistani pilgrims can only enter Iraq by
air and through the airports of Baghdad and Najaf.
“As
you know, pursuant to the previous years, the diplomatic missions of the
Islamic Republic of Iran in Pakistan, by holding pilgrims of
Arba’een-e-Hussaini (AS) from the neighbourly and brotherly country of Pakistan
at high esteem, have been fully prepared well before time to provide any
facilities and cooperation, including issuance of single and double entry visas
for Iran without any delay.”
It
said the Iranian government in that regard had equipped all its land and air
borders, and provided the necessary facilities for the regular movement of
respected pilgrims.
However,
in order to avoid any inconvenience and problems, the Iranian diplomatic
missions in Pakistan had postponed the issuance of double entry visas for
Pakistani pilgrims until the issuance of a land travel permit by the Iragi
authorities, the press added.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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Turkey's
Erdogan Says Senior Islamic State Figure, Bashar Hattab Ghazal Al Sumaidai,
Captured
09
Sep 2022
ISTANBUL,
Sept 9 ― Turkish police captured senior Islamic State figure Bashar Hattab
Ghazal Al Sumaidai, President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by state-owned Anadolu
news agency as saying.
The
militant, code-named Abu Zeyd, was captured in Turkey in an operation carried
out by police and Turkey's intelligence agency, Erdogan told journalists on his
return from a trip to the Balkans yesterday, Anadolu said.
Source:
Malay Mail
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Muslim
Turkish minority in Greece to elect new religious leader
SEP
08, 2022
In
defiance of state intervention, Greece's 150,000-strong Muslim Turkish minority
is set to elect their new religious leader.
The
elections in which two candidates, Mustafa Trampa and Mustafa Kamo, are running
will be held following Friday prayer in the Xanthi (İskeçe) province of Western
Thrace.
Speaking
to Anadolu Agency (AA), Trampa stressed that the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 gave
rights to the Turkish minority to elect their religious leaders (mufti) freely.
"This
right of ours however has been grabbed by the Greek state," he said.
Referring
to the latest government regulation on the matter, Trampa maintained that it
was far from meeting the demands of the minority.
"Such
regulations, which contradict the minority's basic rights and freedom, are
unacceptable to us," he said.
Friday's
election will manifest the minority's rejection of the new regulation and the
state intervention on the matter in general, Trampa noted.
Religious
leaders, not only as religious authorities but also as historical social and
cultural entities, are crucial to the minority, Trampa highlighted.
Kamo,
for his part, agreed with Trampa on the importance of the religious leaders in
the Western Thrace.
Türkiye
has repeatedly urged Greece to respect the rights of the Turkish minority in
its Western Thrace region and to stop denying recognition to elected religious
leaders.
Most
recently, Türkiye on Monday again urged Greece to respect the rights of the
Turkish minority in its Western Thrace region and to stop denying recognition
to elected Muslim clerics (muftis).
The
Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Türkiye expects Greece to respect the right
of the Turkish minority to elect their religious leaders, "which is
guaranteed by international agreements, especially the Lausanne Peace Treaty,
and to end its pressures in this regard."
In
a statement, the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board, on behalf of
the Turkish minority, stressed that it will stand by its rights to elect its religious
leader and protect its elected muftis.
The
statement also called on minorities to fill all mosques this Friday to show
solidarity and to protect their identity, religion, muftis and usurped rights.
Greece's
Western Thrace region in the country's northeast, near the Turkish border, is
home to a substantial, long-established Muslim Turkish minority numbering
around 150,000.
The
rights of the Turks of Western Thrace were guaranteed under the 1923 Treaty of
Lausanne, but since then the situation has steadily deteriorated.
After
a Greek junta came to power in 1967, the Turks of Western Thrace started to
face harsher persecution and rights abuses by the Greek state, often in blatant
violation of European court rulings.
The
Turkish minority in Greece continues to face problems exercising its collective
and civil rights and education rights, including Greek authorities banning the
word "Turkish" in the names of associations, shuttering Turkish
schools, and trying to block the Turkish community from electing its muftis.
In
addition to violating longstanding treaties, these policies are also often in
blatant violation of European Court of Human Rights rulings.
In
Western Thrace, muftis have legal jurisdiction to decide on family and
inheritance matters for the local Turkish Muslim community.
The
mufti elections have been an issue since 1991.
The
election of muftis by Muslims in Greece was regulated in the 1913 Treaty of
Athens with the Ottoman Empire and was later included in Greek law.
However,
Greece annulled this law in 1991 and started appointing muftis itself.
Source:
Daily Sabah
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Iranian
Army Ground Force Stages Military Drills
2022-September-8
The
Iranian Army's Ground Force began the maneuvers in Central Iran on Wednesday
night, featuring overnight heliborne operations joined by teams of rapid
reaction forces and helicopters in the central part of the country.
Spokesperson
Second Brigadier General Amir Cheshak announced that the military drills seek
to assess and enhance the level of readiness of the Ground Force's units in the
face of "new threats".
"The
military drills seek to evaluate and increase the level of readiness of the
Ground Force's [various] units in the face of new threats," he said.
Various
units coming from the army's infantry, artillery, army Aviation, armored,
engineering, drone, airborne, and electronic warfare divisions, will
participate in the drills, Cheshak added.
The
drills will assess the ability of the Ground Force to mobilize its servicemen
from different countrywide areas to the location hosting the maneuvers, the
military official continued, noting that it also seeks to increase the level of
mobility possessed by the Ground Force's Special Forces and Rapid Reaction Brigades.
The
Ground Force's Specialized Units will be training on implementing their
creative indigenous tactics and various skills, according to the official.
The
professional brigades will be exercising the level of coordination among them
in performing hybrid operations, Cheshak
said.
As
for the participating forces, they would try to manage the situation on the
battleground based on the realities that have governed recent real-world
battles, the official added.
He
stated that while the approach to be taken during the drills was
practice-oriented, it was also offensive and defensive in nature.
Military
officials say Iranian forces are in the best possible conditions and ready for
defense against any possible aggression with the most state-of-the-art home-made
equipment.
Back
in April, Iranian Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Moussavi warned
enemies of Iran’s crushing response and dire consequences of any aggression
against the country.
The
Iranian Army has experienced real fighting in every geographical condition and
would respond to any threat at the highest level of capability, Major General
Moussavi said.
He
added the enemies that any aggression against Iran would cost them dearly.
The
military official stated that his forces are vigilantly monitoring threats
against the country and will confront them powerfully.
He
underscored that the Army will counter any threat targeting the Islamic
Republic and its borders, as well as the Iranian people’s tranquility.
Brig.
Gen. Moussavi added that it has made significant progress in recent years in
different fields, including equipment and training.
He
also underlined that the Ground Force has promoted its combat power and made
progress on how to apply it during military missions.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010617000254/Iranian-Army-Grnd-Frce-Sages-Miliary-Drills
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Iran's
Envoy Urges World Leaders to Halt Nuclear Tests
2022-September-8
Ershadi
made the remarks on Wednesday while addressing a meeting of the UN General
Assembly on the occasion of the International Day against Nuclear Tests.
"Pending
the achievement of this goal [stopping nuclear tests], besides the
implementation of these moratoriums by the NWSs (nuclear weapons states),
consequently, should be replaced by a legally binding instrument to effectively
prevent such tests," she said.
She
stressed the importance of the immediate implementation of Article VI of the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a "meaningful" step toward
relinquishing the world from any threat of nuclear weapons, reaffirming it as
the sole responsibility of the NWSs.
"The
international community must hold the NWSs responsible and accountable by
implementing this legal obligation and refrain from any activity inconsistent
with that obligation," the envoy added.
The
Iranian diplomat stressed the need to apply the approach to the Middle East
"where the Israeli regime, as the sole possessor of all types of WMDs,
poses the most serious threat to regional peace, security and stability".
She
criticized lack of implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
(CTBT) in the world 26 years after its signature.
Ershadi
said the international community has been and continues to be adamant about
ending nuclear tests, adding that achieving this noble goal relies on the
political will of the nuclear weapon states.
She
noted that Iran regrets the delay in halting nuclear tests and considers it a
major reason for the failure of the 10th NPT review conference.
"Should
these calls be effective, these ominous tests would not have been utilized for
the production, proliferation and even use of nuclear weapons. After all, the
world, including the NWSs, should have taken note of the devastating
consequences of nuclear tests that are nearly identical to the actual use of
nuclear weapons," the Iranian envoy added.
She
highlighted the importance and necessity of "putting an end to all nuclear
tests for not only the sake of humanity and its future generations but also
mother Earth".
She
stated the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was a
"right step in the right direction" and the only guarantee against
the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010617000424/Iran's-Envy-Urges-Wrld-Leaders-Hal-Nclear-Tess
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Iran
says 25 were arrested during water protests last month
08
September, 2022
Iran
announced Thursday the arrest of 25 people during protests last month against
severe water shortages and a lack of response from officials in a western
province, local media reported.
“During
three illegal gathering that took place in Hamadan, 25 people were arrested,”
the provincial governor was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency.
Hundreds
of Iranians took to the streets in Hamadan province in late August to protest a
lack of drinking water, complaining of officials' inability to resolve the
problem.
Parts
of Hamadan had been enduring water cuts for eight days, leading protesters to
demand the resignation of the governor and of “incompetent officials”, the
daily Hamshahri reported at the time.
The
state news agency IRNA also reported that demonstrators had shouted “slogans
against the officials” and “demanded urgent action to provide drinking water to
the city”.
Iran
has been facing increasing levels of drought that have caused water shortages
and sparked fears of worse environmental crises.
Lake
Urmia, the Middle East's largest lake located in the northwest of Iran, is at
risk of completely drying up if rescue efforts are not prioritised over the
needs of farmers, an Iranian environment official said Tuesday.
In
mid-July, police arrested several people for “destroying public property and
disturbing the security of the population” after they demonstrated against the
drying up of the lake.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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