IS Claims Bombing That Killed 60 and Wounded 200 at Shiite Mosque In Pakistan's Peshawar
New Age Islam News Bureau
05 March 2022
A general view of the
prayer hall after a bomb blast inside a mosque during Friday prayers in
Peshawar, Pakistan, (REUTERS)
-----
• Saudi Crown Prince and De Facto Ruler Mohammed Bin Salman
Says He Sees Israel as A Potential Ally with Shared Interests
• Islamist Extremist Preacher Anjem Choudhry Protests
Outside Saudi Embassy since His Public Speaking Ban Was Lifted
• Supreme Court Deals Setback to Muslims Suing FBI
over Spying On a California Mosque
• Haryana Becomes 11th State to Table 'Love Jihad'
Law, Congress Protests in Assembly
Pakistan
• PM Imran Khan Did Nothing to Enforce Islamic Law:
Jamaat-e-Islami
• Effective crackdown on terror outfits demanded amid
blast condemnations
• Peshawar blast widely condemned, termed conspiracy
against Pakistan
• Pakistan remains on ‘grey list’ as UAE also joins
the club
• Uzbek president winds up ‘productive’ Pakistan tour
• Church leaders shocked, grieved by Peshawar mosque
attack
• Govt to go after terrorists behind Peshawar attack
with ‘full force’: PM Imran Khan
--------
Arab
World
• Saudi Arabia, Russia foreign ministers review
Ukraine invasion, Middle East security
• Saudi Crown Prince Affirms To Zelenskyy Support to
Ukraine Crisis De-Escalation
• Saudi Arabia condemns suicide attack on Pakistan
mosque
• State losing stature, crime rising as economic gloom
envelops Lebanon
--------
Europe
• Russia Says US Transferring Terrorists from Syria to
Ukraine
• Ukrainian mufti fears for his country's Muslim
community
• Dutch football legend Clarence Seedorf converts to
Islam
--------
North
America
• Biden extends national emergency against Iran
• US warns Pakistan of Ukraine war consequences
• Afghan Evacuees Fleeing Taliban Face Months More
Limbo In UAE: US Official
--------
India
• After 30 Weeks, Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid Reopens For
Devotees
• AMU City School renamed after Raja Mahendra Pratap
Singh
• Hindu Youth Harass Dupatta-Clad Muslim Students Who
Wrote Exams Wearing a Dupatta and • Not Pinning It as Directed by the
Principal, In Mangalore
• Many Muslims In Eastern UP Say AIMIM's Time Mayn't
Have Come In This Poll But Is Option For Future
--------
South
Asia
• Taliban Spokesperson Condemns Peshawar Mosque Attack
• Nigeria donates $1 million to Afghanistan’s
Humanitarian Trust Fund
• Shooting at check post, Taliban gunned down boy in
eastern Afghanistan
• Pakistan donated inedible wheat, India’s far better:
Taliban official
• Taliban official urges Afghan investors to return
--------
Mideast
• Friday Imams Use Sermons to Launder Khamenei's Line
on Ukraine
• Iran condemns terrorist bombing at Shia mosque in
Pakistan
• Iran, EU officials say nuclear deal not yet done as
officials focus on ‘final’ steps
• Israeli forces injure 23 Palestinians in
anti-settlement rallies
• Top Israeli court urged to stop IDF arresting
Palestinian minors at night
• Israeli forces suppress protests in West Bank,
al-Quds
--------
Africa
• Tunisia sees UAE investments in real estate, solar
projects
• Over 50 protesters injured in anti-military rallies
in Sudan
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Sarawak Govt to Set Up University in Telaga Air to
Develop Quality Ummah, Says CM
• Rebels kill eight civilians in Indonesia's Papua
province
• PIJ Property lodges police report against Muda for
alleged trespass of asset
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/isis-bombing-shiite-mosque-pakistan-peshawar/d/126512
--------
IS Claims Bombing That Killed 60 and Wounded 200 At
Shiite Mosque In Pakistan's Peshawar
A general view of the
prayer hall after a bomb blast inside a mosque during Friday prayers in
Peshawar, Pakistan, (REUTERS)
-----
05 MAR 2022
The Islamic State says a lone Afghan suicide bomber
struck inside a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan's north-western city of
Peshawar during Friday prayers, killing at least 56 worshippers and wounding
194 people.
The Islamic State affiliate in the region known as
Islamic State in Khorasan province and headquartered in Afghanistan claimed
Friday's devastating attack in a statement translated by the SITE Intelligence
group.
(Photo: Time of India)
------
The statement was posted on the group's Amaq News
Agency. The statement identified the attacker as Afghan, posted his picture and
said “Islamic State fighters are constantly targeting Shi'ites living in
Pakistan and Afghanistan despite the intense security measures adopted by the
Taliban militia and the Pakistani police to secure Shi'a temples and centers.”
The carnage at the mosque buried deep inside the
narrow streets of Peshawar's old city was horrific.
Image: SFGATE
------
According to the spokesman at Peshawar's Lady Reading
Hospital, Asim Khan, many of the wounded were in critical condition. Scores of
victims were peppered with shrapnel, several had limbs amputated and others
were injured by flying debris.
Peshawar Police Chief Muhammed Ejaz Khan said the
violence started when an armed attacker opened fire on police outside the
mosque in Peshawar's old city. One policeman was killed in the gunfight, and
another police officer was wounded. The attacker then ran inside the mosque and
detonated his suicide vest.
People attend the funeral
prayers for the victims of Friday's suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan,
Saturday, March 5, 2022. The Islamic State says a lone Afghan suicide bomber
struck inside a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of
Peshawar during Friday prayers, killing dozens worshippers and wounding more
than 190 people.Muhammad Sajjad/AP
-------
The suicide bomber had strapped a powerful explosive
device to his body, packed with 5 kilograms (12 pounds) of explosives, said
Moazzam Jah Ansari, the top police official for Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province
where Peshawar is the capital.
The device was hidden beneath a large black shawl that
covered much of the attacker's body, according to CCTV footage seen by The
Associated Press. The footage showed the bomber moving quickly up a narrow
street toward the mosque entrance. He fired at the police protecting the mosque
before entering inside.
Men cry during the funeral
prayers for the victims of Friday's suicide bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan,
Saturday, March 5, 2022. The Islamic State says a lone Afghan suicide bomber
struck inside a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of
Peshawar during Friday prayers, killing dozens worshippers and wounding more
than 190 people.Muhammad Sajjad/AP
------
Source: Outlook India
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original story:
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Saudi Crown Prince and De Facto Ruler Mohammed Bin
Salman Says He Sees Israel as A Potential Ally with Shared Interests
Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman (Photo by AFP)
------
04 March 2022
Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin
Salman (MbS) says he sees Israel as a potential ally with shared interests, not
an enemy, as the Tel Aviv is working behind the scenes towards normalization of
diplomatic relations with the Persian Gulf kingdom.
“For us, we hope that the conflict between the
Israelis and Palestinians is solved,” the prince told US monthly magazine The
Atlantic, according to remarks carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
“We don’t look at Israel as an enemy, we look to them
as a potential ally, with many interests that we can pursue together,” Saudi
Arabia’s de facto ruler said.
“But we have to solve some issues before we get to
that,” he added.
Earlier this year, a high-ranking official at the
Israeli ministry of foreign affairs said Tel Aviv is working clandestinely towards
normalization of diplomatic relations with Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
“These are the two countries we want to reach an
agreement with, but it is a slow process that takes a lot of time and effort.
We hope for the best,” the unnamed official noted at a media briefing in early
January.
Even though Israel and Saudi Arabia do not have formal
diplomatic relations, Riyadh has taken a number of steps recently toward
normalizing relations with the Tel Aviv regime.
Saudi authorities were said to have given a
behind-the-scenes green light to the UAE forging ties with Israel in 2020 and
have since allowed Israeli aircraft to use the kingdom’s airspace for direct
flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
On January 6, an independent nongovernmental
organization advocating human rights in Saudi Arabia said the Riyadh regime is
making use of arbitrary arrest to silence vociferous opponents of normalization
of diplomatic relations between the kingdom and Israel.
The London-based rights group ALQST said Saudi
officials have kept writer and researcher Abdullah al-Yahya behind bars since
December 24 last year, after he criticized normalization with the Israeli
regime in a series of posts published on Twitter.
Iran relations
On Iran, Prince Mohammed said the Islamic Republic was
its neighbor so the two countries should find a way to coexist.
“We have had discussions, and we have heard many
statements from Iranian leaders that are very welcome in Saudi Arabia,” he
said. “I hope we can reach a position that is good for both countries, and a
bright future for Saudi Arabia and Iran.”
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says rapprochement
with Iran is possible as the kingdom is planning to schedule a fifth round of
direct talks with the Islamic Republic.
“The kingdom is interested in a positive relationship
with Iran including a relationship that delivers benefits for both of us. So we
are not just interested in some political détente, but we are interested in a
relationship,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said at the 58th Munich
Security Conference (MSC) in the German capital.
He said Riyadh is looking to schedule a fifth round of
direct talks with Iran, adding, that the restoration of Tehran-Riyadh relations
requires progress on the issues that "concern Saudi Arabia and its
neighbors."
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in
January 2016 after Iranian protesters, enraged by the Saudi execution of
prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, stormed its embassy in Tehran.
For years, the kingdom pursued a confrontational
foreign policy toward the Islamic Republic, but it appears that it has recently
changed tack.
The two Middle East heavyweights have held four rounds
of talks in Iraq since last April, including a meeting in December under the
administration of President Ebrahim Raeisi, who assumed office in mid-2021.
Source: Press TV
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original story:
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Islamist Extremist Preacher Anjem Choudhry Protests
Outside Saudi Embassy since His Public Speaking Ban Was Lifted
Islamist extremist
preacher Anjem Choudary has been protesting outside the Saudi embassy
------
4 March 2022
Islamist extremist preacher Anjem Choudary has been
protesting outside the Saudi Arabian embassy.
The protest happened in London on Friday at the Saudi
embassy near Green Park, London.
It is the first public protest since the 54-year-old's
public speaking ban was lifted last year.
It also meant he was unable to carry out social media
campaigns.
Choudary, the former leader of the banned Islamist
group Al-Muhajiroun, was jailed for five-and-half years in 2016 for inviting
support for the Islamic State.
He served less than half that term, and was out in
2018.
The cleric is free to preach but security sources have
said that if he stoked up extremism in this country, he could be put under a
form of house arrest known as Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures
and tried again in court on terrorism and hate law charges.
The extremist is known for his shocking hate speech on
topics from 9/11 to the Charlie Hebdo attacks and his wish for Buckingham
Palace to be turned into a mosque.
In May 2013 terrorist Michael Adebolajo killed soldier
Lee Rigby near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, southeast London.
After the attack Choudary said of Adebolajo: 'He is a
practising Muslim, a family man and I'm very proud of him.'
Meanwhile, although he claimed not to condone the
September 11 and 7/7 attacks, he said 'there are people that justify [them] on
the divine text'.
The Islamic preacher has also suggested he condones
the Charlie Hebdo attacks, which left 12 dead and a further 11 injured after
the attack on the French magazine's offices in Paris.
He said: 'I think that this magazine went out of their
way to insult the Prophet and they put their very nasty cartoons on their front
pages in the past. It obviously angers many Muslims.
'I think it's completely ridiculous, the idea that I
should say I don't condone the attack.'
On his plans to see Buckingham Palace made into a
mosque, he said: 'This is an image of how Buckingham Palace will look one day,
Insha’Allah.'
Just last year Britain's most fanatical hate preacher
urged the Taliban to impose a stricter form of Islamic justice – including
stoning adulterers, chopping off the hands of thieves and lashing anyone caught
drinking alcohol.
Choudary also said he wanted to ban music and mixing
between sexes and said non-Muslims should pay an 'infidel tax'.
His outpourings were included in an extraordinary
3,500-word treatise entitled Sincere Advice to the Leadership of the Taliban.
Source: Daily Mail
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original story:
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Supreme Court Deals Setback To Muslims Suing FBI Over
Spying On A California Mosque
In the years following
9/11, the FBI paid an informant to infiltrate the Islamic Center of Irvine, above,
and spy on Muslim Americans.(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
------
MARCH 04, 2022
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a setback
Friday to three Muslim men in Orange County, California, who have been suing
the FBI for spying on their mosques in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks. In a unanimous but narrowly written opinion, the high court said the
government may invoke the “state secrets” privilege to block such a lawsuit
from proceeding and ruled the current law does not authorize a judge to examine
the supposedly secret information pertaining to the case in order to determine
whether it would be relevant. The ruling in FBI vs. Fazaga rejects a compromise
set out by the 9th Circuit Court, which said a judge acting under the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act may weigh the evidence behind closed doors. This
was seen as a way to allow the lawsuit against the FBI to proceed, but without
revealing intelligence information about the basis for the surveillance. But
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the court, said that was a mistake.
“We conclude that Congress did not eliminate, curtail or modify the state
secrets privilege when it enacted” FISA, the law that regulates electronic
surveillance. He called the decision “narrow.” The court’s opinion did not
block or end the long-running lawsuit. It sent the case back to the 9th Circuit
to reconsider the core issue of whether “privileged” and secret evidence is
crucial to the case, as the government maintains.
“The 9th did not decide those questions, and we do not
resolve them here,” Alito said. University of California, Los Angeles law
professor Ahilan Arulantham, who has represented the Muslim men, said the
decision means they “can continue to pursue their claims that the FBI spied on
them because of their religious beliefs. My clients and many other members of
Southern California’s Muslim American communities have been waiting 15 years
for justice. The decision today brings us one step closer to achieving it.” But
the ruling also shows again the force of the “state secrets” doctrine as a
shield for the U.S. government. On Thursday, the court by a 6-3 vote blocked
two former CIA contractors from testifying in a Polish tribunal about the CIA’s
waterboarding and torture of supposedly high value prisoners in the Bush
administration’s war on terrorism. The justices said their testimony could
reveal state secrets, even though the basic facts have been public knowledge
for years. For a decade, the Justice Department under Presidents Barack Obama,
Donald Trump and now Joe Biden have insisted the lawsuit involving the Orange
County mosques should be blocked because it may reveal national security
secrets.
In November, the justices sounded divided and
uncertain when they heard arguments in the Orange County case. In the end, they
stopped short of deciding whether the case can proceed, and instead only agreed
that the FISA compromise was inappropriate. The case before the court began in
2006 when the FBI in Los Angeles hired Craig Monteilh and paid him to pose as a
convert to Islam. For two years, he recorded thousands of hours of
conversations and compiled names and phone numbers. When he began to talk in
the mosque about violent jihad, several of the Muslim men reported him to the
FBI. After his story was revealed, Monteilh broke with the FBI and cooperated
with the ACLU in bringing a lawsuit against the FBI. The lead plaintiff, Yassir
Fazaga, was an imam at the Orange County Islamic Foundation, a mosque in
Mission Viejo. The suit alleged the FBI’s so-called Operation Flex was a
“dragnet surveillance” program designed to “gather information on Muslims.” The
FBI said the aim of Operation Flex “was to determine whether particular
individuals were involved in the recruitment and training of individuals in the
United States or overseas for possible terrorist activity.” But the FBI and
U.S. attorneys did not explain why they targeted several mosques in Orange
County for surveillance. That was a “state secret,” they said. For more than a
decade, the lawsuit has been stuck at a preliminary stage in the federal courts
in California. Beginning with Atty. Gen. Eric Holder in 2012, top Justice
Department officials have said the suit should be dismissed on the grounds it
could reveal national security secrets. In 2019, the 9th Circuit Court of
Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, devised what sounded like a compromise. It said the
judges who meet in secret to hear the government’s requests to conduct “foreign
intelligence surveillance” should examine the FBI’s basis for undertaking the
surveillance of the mosques and decide whether the suit may proceed. Lawyers
for the outgoing Trump administration in December 2020 asked the high court to
take up the case and order the dismissal of the suit. The 9th Circuit’s
approach “poses a substantial risk that state secrets will be disclosed,” they
said.
Source: Centre Daily
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.centredaily.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article259061553.html
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Haryana Becomes 11th State to Table 'Love Jihad' Law,
Congress Protests in Assembly
Mar 5, 2022
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Haryana
government on Friday, March 4, introduced an ‘anti-conversion’ Bill in the
state assembly, becoming the 11th state in the country to bring such a law.
The Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill
was introduced in the House by Haryana home minister Anil Vij.
‘Freedom of religion’ or ‘anti-conversion’ laws are
dubbed ‘love jihad’ laws. In November 2020, Vij had announced that the state
government would be setting up a three-member committee to draft a bill against
‘love jihad’.
Last year, the inclusion of the term ‘love jihad’ in
the Bill had led to disturbance in Haryana’s ruling coalition, with deputy
chief minister Dushyant Chautala saying that his party would not back a bill
which carries the term in it, causing Vij to declare that the term would not be
present in the Bill.
The term is popularised by the Sangh Parivar and the
laws made invoking it attempt to offer legal credence to rightwing Hindutva’s
unfounded claim that there is a conspiracy among Muslim men to convert Hindu
women through marriage. The Union home ministry has earlier said it has no data
on such cases and in the 10 states where this law has been brought recently,
reports have it that it has affected women’s freedom in various ways.
Then last month, while presiding over a meeting of the
“drafting committee”, Vij had stated that the “enactment of this law will
prevent any attempt to get religious conversion by force, inducement, bluff of
marriage or by any other unethical methods by anyone in the state” and that
“strict action will be taken against the culprits”.
‘No mention of religion’
According to the tabled Bill, the onus of proof lies
with the accused.
If conversion is done by allurement, use of force,
fraudulent means or coercion, then there is a provision for imprisonment of one
to five years and a fine of not less than Rs 1 lakh.
However, Haryana chief minister Manohal Lal Khattar
appeared to soften the government’s stance on the issue by stating that “there
is no mention of any religion in the bill. The purpose is to stop forcible
conversions. No person shall be allowed to use coercion, threat or marriage as
a means to convert people.”
He said the Bill – which prohibits “religious
conversions through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion,
allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage, by making these actions
an offence” – was not designed to discriminate against any religion and only
deals with forcible conversions.
“If a person wants to change religion at will, then
its provision is written in the Bill,” he added.
The Bill provides for declaring marriages, which were
done solely for the purpose of conversion from one religion to another
religion, null and void.
If religion is concealed with an intention to marry,
then the person shall be punished with imprisonment of three years to 10 years
and shall also be liable to pay a fine, which shall not be less than Rs 3 lakh,
according to the Bill.
The mass conversion, contravening to the provisions,
shall be punished with the imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than
five years, which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a
fine not less than Rs 4 lakh, as per the Bill.
Also read: On Paper and At Odds With ‘Love Jihad’ Law,
Uttarakhand’s Interfaith Marriage Scheme Still Exists
However, the Congress has decried the move. In the
absence of Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the House, party MLA
Raghuvir Singh Kadian charged that by bringing the legislation, the BJP had
shown that it indulges in “divisive politics”.
He also tore apart a copy of the Bill for which he was
suspended from the House by the Speaker. All Congress legislators then walked
out in protest.
Prior to Haryana, 10 other states – most of them
BJP-ruled – had brought in similar legislations. These states are Karnataka,
Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. Many of these laws have also been
challenged in courts.
Gujarat among first
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act was enacted in
2003 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister. The state
government last year brought in an amendment to the Act, titled The Gujarat
Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, which sought to bring the existing law
in line with several similar laws enacted by other BJP-ruled states, including
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
The amendments sought to seek an end to conversions
through unlawful means and provided for prohibiting any conversion for marriage,
even if it was with the consent of the individual, except when prior sanction
was obtained from the state. The 2021 amendments also shifted the onus of proof
of a lawful religious conversion from the converted to his/her partner.
The Act also gave powers to the state government to
conduct a police inquiry to verify the intentions of the parties to convert for
the purposes of marriage.
Gujarat HC had stayed certain amendments to 2003 law
In August last year, the Gujarat high court stayed the
operation of several sections of this amendment Act including the provision
that termed interfaith marriages as means for forceful conversion.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and
Justice Biren Vaishnav granted interim stay on certain provisions of the
amendment, while observing that “prima-facie inter-faith marriages between two
consenting adults by operation of the provisions of Section 3 of the 2003 Act
interferes with the intricacies of marriage including the right to the choice
of an individual, thereby infringing Article 21 of the Constitution Of India”.
The Gujarat government appealed to the Supreme Court.
It argued that the apex court has in the past ruled that “there is no
fundamental right of any person to convert another person to one’s own religion
because if a person purposely undertakes the conversion of another person to
his religion, as distinguished from his effort to transmit or spread the tenets
of his religion, that would impinge on the ‘freedom of conscience’ guaranteed
to all the citizens of the country alike.”
The apex court had subsequently issued a notice in the
matter.
Source: The Wire
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Pakistan
PM Imran Khan Did Nothing to Enforce Islamic Law:
Jamaat-e-Islami
March 05, 2022
SUKKUR: Jamaat-e-Islami staged a sit-in here on Friday
against inflation. It was led by Siraj-ul-Haq, the JI chief. Reports said on
Friday hundreds of workers of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, led by Siraj-ul-Haq,
staged a protest rally and later a sit-in against inflation in front of the
Sukkur Press Club. Workers chanted slogans against the anti-people policies of
the government.
Addressing the sit-in, the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami,
Siraj-ul-Haq, and other leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami said that an ongoing
nationwide movement against inflation, unemployment and IMF slavery was
continuing under the party leadership. The participation of the people of
Pakistan in their protest against the PTI government was a victory of
Jamaat-e-Islami.
He reiterated that the JI’s struggle was for enforcing
the Islamic system and an attempt to assure that people's fundamental rights
were provided. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan was raising slogans to make
the country the state of Madina for many years but did nothing to enforce the
Islamic law or take any other concrete action to Change the interest-based
economy.
He said that protests and sit-ins of his Jamaat were
continuing against the “incompetent government”. Jamaat-e-Islami has always
raised its voice for the rights of people.
He condemned the Peshawar mosque incident and held the
PTI government responsible. Siraj-ul-Haq said that those who spent the
government resources on rallies and paid money to the people should know that
the nation was fed up with them.
Rejecting the Peca Ordinance, he said that
Jamaat-e-Islami stood by the journalists in their struggle.
He claimed that the rulers were using fascist tactics
to suppress the media. He said the PTI and PPP are holding long marches to
protect their respective political interests and governments. The country's
economy is on the verge of collapse, as the PTI followed dictations of the IMF.
Source: The News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/938805-pm-imran-khan-did-nothing-to-enforce-islamic-law-sirajul-haq
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Effective crackdown on terror outfits demanded amid
blast condemnations
March 5, 2022
PESHAWAR: Politicians and traders on Friday condemned
the Peshawar mosque bombing and demanded of the federal government to take
effective steps for the eradication of terrorist groups in the country.
They also called for the provision of the Shuhada
Package compensation to the families of those, who lost life in the suicide
blast.
In separate statements, Awami National Party chief
Asfandyar Wali Khan, Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao,
Pakistan Peoples Party provincial president Najamuddin Khan, Pakistan Muslim
League-Fazl provincial information secretary Ikhtiar Wali Khan and ANP central
general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain, and trader leaders declared the terror
attack against worshipers worst kind of barbarism in the country’s history and
sympathised with the families of the dead.
The ANP chief warned that the law and order situation
would worsen in the country if the federal government didn’t crackdown on
terrorist outfits immediately.
Politicians, traders also call for Shuhada Package for
mosque bombing victims
He said the fresh acts of terrorism in Balochistan and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces had caused a serious sense of insecurity among the
people.
Mr Asfandyar said the Peshawar mosque bombing showed
that terrorists followed no religion, so they deserved no leniency.
He said thousands of people, including personnel of
law-enforcement agencies, had lost lives during terrorist attacks in the
country.
QWP chief Aftab Sherpao complained that Prime Minister
Imran Khan wasn’t bothered about the protection for public life and property
and that his only priority was to protect his government from the combined
opposition’s bids to oust it.
He said the government should take effective measures
to protect the life and property of the people.
ANP leader Mian Iftikhar said his party had a clear
stand against terrorists and had always called for the effective implantation
of the National Action Plan on security to eradicate the menace of terrorism
from the country once and for all.
He said the government wasn’t serious about a decisive
action against anti-state elements.
PML-N leader Ikhtiar Wali Khan condemned the mosque
bombing and said the terrorist attack showed the failure of the government’s
security policy.
He said it was the duty of intelligence agencies to
monitor the activities of anti-state groups and hit them hard.
Mr Ikhtiar said interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad
should admit his failure to deliver the goods and step down.
PPP leader Najamuddin Khan condemned the killing of
people in the mosque attack and asked the government to compensate the families
of those who were killed in the bombing.
During a visit to the Lady Reading Hospital to inquire
after the injured victims of the blast, he sympathised with them and the
families, who lost members in the attack.
National Commission for Human Rights, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, chief Tariq Javed condemned the bombing and expressed sympathies
with the affected families.
In a statement, he called for a strict action against
terrorist groups without delay.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazal provincial chief Senator
Maulana Attaur Rehman, Peshawar mayor Zubair Ali, Jamaat-i-Islami provincial
chief Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan and representatives of various organisations
of business community also condemned the suicide bombing.
Source: Dawn
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Peshawar blast widely condemned, termed conspiracy
against Pakistan
Iftikhar A. Khan
March 5, 2022
ISLAMABAD: The grisly bomb explosion in Peshawar
claiming dozens of lives and injuring hundreds of people has been widely
condemned across the world, with a federal minister terming it a conspiracy
against Pakistan.
Strongly condemning the bombing, President Dr Arif
Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of
innocent lives. In their separate messages, they also extended condolences to
the families of the deceased, while the prime minister ordered an inquiry into
the inciden.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, while
condemning the incident, said it was a planned bomb attack to disrupt peace and
tranquility in the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There was no threat received
about any untoward incident in the area, he said, adding that he had directed
law enforcement agencies to ensure security in the area and sought a report
from the KP chief secretary and inspector general of police.
Mr Qureshi said that being foreign minister he knew
which forces were supporting the anti-state elements and providing them
resources to carry out terrorist activities like the attack on Peshawar’s
mosque. Such forces wanted to destabilise Pakistan, he added.
UN, OIC, Afghan Taliban also offer sympathies;
interior minister seeks report from KP officials
The foreign minister said Pakistan’s army, police,
Rangers and anti-terrorism squads had protected the people and defeated
terrorists, but this was not acceptable to some forces. “These forces don’t
want to see Pakistan’s economy taking off; the simplest way to block this
growth is to create uncertainty in the country,” he added.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the blast was
part of a big conspiracy against the country and vowed to thwart all inimical
designs of the anti-state elements effectively. “In the past, we have
effectively tackled such conspiracies, and now too by the grace of Allah
Almighty, the enemies of Pakistan will fail,” he said in a tweet.
Minister of State for Information Farrukh Habib, while
condemning the bomb blast, said terrorists were enemies of the country, nation
and Islam. “Those who have no sanctity of mosques have no right to claim
themselves human beings,” he stated.
Minister for Information Technology and
Telecommunication Syed Amin-ul-Haque termed the attack on worshipers a cowardly
act of terrorists. He stressed the need for unity and solitary to defeat the
anti-state elements.
Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith
Harmony and Middle East and Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi
termed the Peshawar blast an attack on Pakistan.
Condemning the terrorist attack, Mr Ashrafi said the
whole nation, including religious scholars of all walks of life, would do their
utmost to make Pakistan a hub of peace and interfaith harmony.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani and Deputy Chairman
Mirza Mohammad Afridi, Leader of the House in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem and
Leader of the Opposition Yousuf Raza Gilani, National Assembly Speaker Asad
Qaisar and Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, Leader of the Opposition in National
Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and various other political leaders, lawmakers and
legal fraternity also condemned the explosion.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a phone call
to Pakistan UN Ambassador Munir Akram expressed his ‘deepest condolences’ over
the terrorist attack and said this was personal for him as he knew Peshawar
very well and had been well treated by its people. Also, the Secretary-General
of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Hissein Brahim Taha called
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to condemn the attack and convey deep
condolences over the loss.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1678349/peshawar-blast-widely-condemned-termed-conspiracy-against-pakistan
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Pakistan remains on ‘grey list’ as UAE also joins the
club
Khaleeq Kiani
March 5, 2022
ISLAMABAD: With just two unmet targets out of 34
action points, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan on
its terrorism financing “grey list” and asked the country to address the
remaining deficiencies in its financial system as soon as possible.
However, at the concluding session of its hybrid
plenary meeting on Friday, the Paris-based global money laundering and
terrorist financing watchdog also appreciated Pakistan’s robust progress on its
global commitments to fight financial crimes.
The FATF added the United Arab Emirates to its
increased monitoring list, also known as the grey list, of countries with
inadequate controls over terrorism financing. The watchdog also decided to
appoint T. Raja Kumar of Singapore as its next president for a fixed two-year
term.
FATF notes two targets out of 34 not met; praises
Islamabad’s ‘robust progress’
Pakistan was placed on the list in 2018, which made
foreign firms more cautious about investing in the country.
The Friday plenary noted that Pakistan had completed
26 of the 27 action items in its 2018 action plan of the FATF and of the seven
action items of the 2021 action plan of the watchdog’s Asia Pacific Group on
Money Laundering (APG) ahead of the deadlines.
It was noted that since June 2018 — when Pakistan made
a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and APG to strengthen
its anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime
and to address its strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies —
the country’s continued political commitment had led to significant progress
across a comprehensive CFT action plan.
The FATF encouraged Pakistan to continue making
progress to address, as soon as possible, the one remaining item by continuing
to demonstrate that terror financing investigations and prosecutions target
senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups.
In response to additional deficiencies later
identified in Pakistan’s 2019 APG Mutual Evaluation Report in June 2021,
Pakistan provided further high-level commitment to address these strategic
deficiencies pursuant to a new action plan that primarily focuses on combating
money laundering.
“Since June 2021, Pakistan has taken swift steps
towards improving its AML/CFT regime and completed six of the seven action
items ahead of any relevant deadlines expiring, including by demonstrating that
it is enhancing the impact of sanctions by nominating individuals and entities for
UN designation and restraining and confiscating proceeds of crime in line with
Pakistan’s risk profile,” the FATF said.
“Pakistan should continue to work to address the one
remaining item in its 2021 action plan by demonstrating a positive and sustained
trend of pursuing complex [money laundering] investigations and prosecutions,”
it said.
Officials said Pakistan now aimed to fully comply with
the 2021 action plan on anti-money laundering and combating terror financing by
the end of January 2023.
The country had two concurrent action plans with a
total of 34 action points, of which 30 had either been fully or largely
addressed to curb money laundering and terror financing. The most recent action
plan of 2021 on money laundering from the APG had largely focused on money
laundering.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1678354/pakistan-remains-on-grey-list-as-uae-also-joins-the-club
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Uzbek president winds up ‘productive’ Pakistan tour
March 5, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Friday agreed to
promote science and technology linkages and cooperation between the youths to
benefit the people of two countries.
The bilateral ties were discussed in a meeting between
President Arif Alvi and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who visited
the Aiwan-i-Sadr on Friday before wrapping up his two-day official tour to
Islamabad.
The two leaders noted progress on collaboration in
education, culture, security and defence and reiterated commitment to continue
pursuing common goals of economic development. A wide range of issues of
bilateral interest and important regional and international matters were
discussed.
At the meeting, President Alvi highlighted prospects
of regional integration and connectivity to Uzbekistan and other Central Asian
countries through Pakistan’s seaports. He expressed satisfaction on the upward
trajectory of bilateral ties and reiterated the desire to promote multifaceted
cooperation in all spheres, including political, trade, economic, defence,
security, connectivity, education and cultural exchanges.
Tashkent, Islamabad agree to boost technology, youth
cooperation
He elaborated Pakistan’s efforts for enhanced
engagement with Central Asia within the framework of the Vision Central Asia
policy.
Trans-Afghan railway, he said, would be one such
project to establish consolidated land connectivity. The Ministry of Railways
of Pakistan and the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan had signed a memorandum
of understating a day ago. However, President Alvi said, peace and stability in
Afghanistan was vital to reap the dividends of land connectivity. A peaceful
Afghanistan would contribute to the economic progress and prosperity of the
region and beyond, he added.
He also underlined the importance of air connectivity
for boosting tourism and people-to-people exchanges.
Mr Alvi lauded the signing of the joint declaration on
‘Next Steps in Strategic Partnership between Pakistan and Uzbekistan’ as well
as the memorandum of understanding and agreements in multiple areas. The
signing of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) would open new avenues of
enhancing bilateral trade, he observed. The sides earlier signed PTA and agreed
on an action plan of practical measures (road map) to develop cooperation in
security.
President Alvi also apprised his Uzbek counterpart of
the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting was followed by a luncheon hosted in the
honour of President Mirziyoyev. The Uzbek president, who came on Thursday along
with a high-level delegation comprising ministers and businessmen on the
invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan, later returned home.
On Thursday, a number of agreements and MoUs were
signed by the two sides. An MoU was signed between Uzbekistan’s Ministry of
Tourism and Sport and Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith
Harmony to promote pilgrimage tourism. Another MoU was inked between the two
states in the field of environment and climate change.
The historic visit marked the commemoration of the
30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan
and Uzbekistan.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1678346/uzbek-president-winds-up-productive-pakistan-tour
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Church leaders shocked, grieved by Peshawar mosque
attack
March 4, 2022
LAHORE: The leaderships of the Church of Pakistan and
the global Anglican Communion have condemned the suicide attack in Peshawar,
terming it yet another attempt to sow discord in Pakistani society and disrupt
interfaith harmony in the country.
In a statement, Church of Pakistan Moderator Bishop Dr
Azad Marshall lamented the loss of lives in the terrorist attack on an Imambargah
during Friday prayers.
He said the attack had shocked and grieved the entire
nation.
“The attack on the Shia Muslim community and the
recent killing of our church leader in Peshawar appears to be a part of a
conspiracy to push Pakistan again into the abyss of religious terrorism.
“In the face of this brutality, the human family, all
people of faith and of good will, must stand together to recommit to respecting
and caring for one another, to protecting one another, and to preventing such
violence,” he said.
Bishop Marshall encouraged prayer for and solidarity
with the victims and those close to them. He acknowledged the role of the
security forces in fighting the scourge of terrorism, but urged the government
to “do more to protect all people in Pakistan, whether Christians, Muslims, or
of any other religion or belief, from the violence perpetrated by such
extremist sectarian criminals”.
“The principle of freedom of religion and belief for
all people must be affirmed and protected in Pakistan as a fundamental ethical
and legal responsibility of the government,” he said.
Bishop Marshall said that the news of the attack in
Peshawar had also shocked the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who
visited the city on Sunday, Feb 27, to condole with the family of the slain
church leader William Siraj and offer support to the families affected in the
All Saints Church suicide bombings in 2013.
“The archbishop has offered his condolences and
sympathy to the families of the people who lost their lives in today’s terrorist
attack on the Kucha Risaldar Imambargah. In a letter, the archbishop has said
that all attacks perpetrated against the innocent are anathema to our
understanding of the Grace and love of our God,” he said.
Quoting the archbishop’s letter, Bishop Marshall said:
“During my visit to Pakistan, I was reminded time and again that the health of
a nation is based upon the tolerance of the many towards the few, and that only
when all our honoured and recognised for their individual humanity and the
contribution that they bring to society, does a nation truly progress”.
He said this latest attack against worshippers from a
minority Islamic tradition, and the attacks against the Christian community,
represent utterly wicked attempts to destroy this dream.
“And these attacks will continue to fail to break the
resolve of those who boldly profess their faith. We all stand in solidarity
with you and our Muslim brothers and sisters in condemnation of this and other
criminal acts of senseless violence and murder.”
Source: Pakistan Today
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Govt to go after terrorists behind Peshawar attack
with ‘full force’: PM Imran Khan
March 4, 2022
ISLAMABAD: Reacting to the terrorist attack in a
Peshawar mosque, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that the government
has “all the information regarding the origins” of the terrorists involved in
the blast and assured the nation that the state is “going after” the culprits
with “full force”.
“Have personally been monitoring operations and
coordinating with CTD and agencies in the wake of the cowardly terrorist attack
on Peshawar Imambargah,” tweeted PM Imran Khan.
“My deepest condolences go to the victims’ families
and prayers for the recovery of the injured. I have asked CM Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
to personally visit the families and look after their needs,” said PM Imran.
Source: Pakistan Today
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Arab World
Saudi Arabia, Russia foreign ministers review Ukraine
invasion, Middle East security
05 March ,2022
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince
Faisal bin Farhan encouraged Russia to “strengthen dialogue” with Ukraine
during a call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the Kingdom’s
Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
The two ministers reportedly “discussed the latest
developments related to the crisis in Ukraine,” according to the statement.
Additionally, the duo explored ways to strengthen
bilateral ties, primarily “security and stability in the Middle East,”
according to the ministry’s report.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, with Reuters
reporting at least 9,100 deaths and one million displaced as of March 5. It marks
the biggest attack on a European state since World War 2.
This has resulted in drastic measures from NATO and
other world powers, including sanctions that sever logistics, market access,
and dealings powerful individuals with ties to Kremlin.
While these sanctions are expected to halt Russia’s
economic growth and sustenance, no direct impact has been recorded on the war
front.
In contrast, Moscow continues to maintain that the
invasion is a “special operation” to capture individuals it regards as dangerous
nationalists and has denied targeting civilians.
However, media reports and verified government
findings refute the claim. On March 4, the Ukrainian authorities reported that
47 people were killed in air strikes conducted on a residential district of the
Ukrainian city of Chernihiv.
The town of Chernihiv lies 120 kilometers (75 miles)
northeast of Kyiv, which the Russian forces have been trying to invade from the
north.
But more recently, Russia seized Europe’s biggest
nuclear power plant in a violent take over which resulted in a fire in the
vicinity of the reactors.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Saudi Crown Prince affirms to Zelenskyy support to
Ukraine crisis de-escalation
04 March ,2022
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
affirmed the Kingdom’s support to de-escalation of Ukraine’s crisis in a call with
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and told him the Kingdom is willing to
mediate to resolve the conflict with Russia, state news agency SPA reported on
Thursday.
“They discussed the crisis in Ukraine, and in this
regard, the Crown Prince affirmed the Kingdom's support to everything that
reduces the severity of the escalation of the crisis, its readiness to exert
efforts to mediate between all parties, and its support for all international
efforts aimed at resolving the crisis politically,” SPA reported.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Saudi Arabia condemns suicide attack on Pakistan
mosque
March 05, 2022
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Friday strongly condemned and
denounced a terrorist bombing that targeted a mosque in the northwestern
Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing and injuring dozens of people.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the Kingdom’s
position against “targeting places of worship, terrorizing civilians and
shedding innocent blood,” adding that it supports Pakistan against all forms of
violence, extremism and terrorism.
A suicide bomb claimed by Daesh killed at least 56
people and injured 194 at a mosque during Friday prayers, the deadliest attack
in the country since 2018.
The ministry offered condolences and sympathy to the
families of the victims, the government and the Pakistani people, wishing the
injured a speedy recovery.
The UAE issued a statement condemning the attack as
well and said it rejected all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at
destabilizing security and stability and inconsistent with humanitarian values
and principles.
Kuwait affirmed its solidarity with Pakistan and its
support for all measures it takes to maintain its security and stability, while
Egypt and Jordan also issued similar statements condemning the attack.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2036396/saudi-arabia
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State losing stature, crime rising as economic gloom
envelops Lebanon
March 04, 2022
BEIRUT: For Lebanese Culture Minister Mohammed
Al-Murtada it was a sign that sums up the attitude of the country’s people
toward the state, amid the nation experiencing one of the world’s worst
economic crises and crime on the rise: Citizens failing to stand in respect for
the national anthem.
Al-Murtada had attended a cultural celebration held in
the city of Sidon, southern Lebanon, and was astonished when the anthem was not
played. Furious, he asked for the anthem to be played, but the attendees
refused to stand.
Al-Murtada, a former judge, said in a statement: “I
repeated the request to play the national anthem so that the audience would
hear me and stand up in respect.
“Anyone who fails to play the national anthem and
deliberately ignores it, would be contributing, knowingly or unknowingly, to
neglecting a binding national duty, and this is something we will not
tolerate.”
However, nothing binds Lebanese citizens to their
state anymore, and forgetting to play the national anthem is proof; the state
is losing its stature.
Theft of state property is on the rise, despite the
security forces’ efforts to arrest criminals. Manhole covers are constantly
being stolen and sold for scrap, between $10 and $20 each, depending on their
weight.
Thieves take advantage of the electricity rationing
after midnight to dismantle electrical installations, which they later melt for
copper that they can sell for scrap.
The thievery had been anticipated because of the
economic crisis that has resulted in unprecedented rates of poverty and
unemployment on one hand, and inflation on the other. However, the strangest
items are being stolen, which reflects the dire reality experienced by
Lebanon’s citizens and residents.
The latest, most blatant theft, was of an iron railing
from a bridge in Beirut.
A civil society organization, YASA, that works to
secure and develop public safety to avoid traffic accidents, recently published
a picture on social media of the Barbir intersection bridge, the busiest
intersection in Beirut, without any handrails, captioning it: “We leave this to
the competent judiciary and the internal security forces.”
On Thursday, the Lebanese Army said: “Unknown
individuals have stolen the metal poles and the barbed wires surrounding
minefields in the southern border area to sell them. Consequently, the
minefields are no longer marked out.”
The army command warned against “committing such acts,
given the direct danger they may pose to citizens,” stressing that it would
“track the perpetrators down and arrest them.”
The Lebanese are living amid a devastating economic
crisis that has pushed two-thirds of the population into poverty since 2019.
The World Bank described the situation in Lebanon, which hosts more than a
million Palestinian and Syrian refugees, as “one of the worst crises the world
has witnessed in modern times.”
The lack of kinship between the state and citizens is
evident by the levels of absenteeism in the public sector, with workers staying
home for several days a week.
Many are now unable to buy fuel to go to work after
the government gradually raised subsidies, which caused the price of gasoline
to double within a few months, not to mention the price hike following the rise
in global fuel prices because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Public Administration Employees Association
protested “the government's failure to meet employees’ demands with effective
solutions, and its decision to only offer social aid without increasing
salaries.”
The association decided to reject this aid and carry
on with its strike, calling on employees to only attend work one day a week.
The head of the General Labor Union, Dr. Bechara
Al-Asmar, described the social aid as “peanuts.” He criticized the government
and Prime Minister Najib Mikati “who had previously agreed to the system of
rotation at work,” and blamed the government for not controlling market prices.
Al-Asmar added: “Public and private sector employees
are the most vulnerable here.” He said a general strike at all institutions
could happen soon.
Dr. Bashir Ismat, a professor of development studies
and former advisor to the minister of social affairs, said: “The policies
adopted in Lebanon, and the inability to find an alternative and root out
corruption, have led to major existential crises, the result of which (could
see) state institutions completely collapse.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2036191/middle-east
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Europe
Russia says US transferring terrorists from Syria to
Ukraine
04 March 2022
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service says the United
States has been transferring Daesh terrorists from Syria to Ukraine.
The intelligence service said in a statement on Friday
that the Daesh terrorists had undergone training in the US-held military base
of al-Tanf in Syria.
"At the end of 2021, the Americans released from
prisons… several dozen Daesh terrorists, including citizens of Russia and CIS
countries. These individuals were sent to the US-controlled al-Tanf base, where
they have undergone special training in subversive and terrorist warfare
methods with a focus on the Donbass region," the statement added.
The US military has stationed forces and equipment in
eastern and northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment
is aimed at preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of
Daesh terrorists. Damascus, however, says the unlawful deployment is meant to
plunder the country’s resources.
The Russian intelligence service also said that most
of the Daesh terrorists who have so far been deployed to Ukraine were killed
during Russia’s military offensive in the country. However, Washington
continues to form new Daesh units in the Middle East and Africa in order to
deploy them to Ukraine via neighboring Poland.
On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said US
military intelligence was stepping up a campaign to recruit mercenaries to
fight in Ukraine.
“US military intelligence has launched a large-scale
propaganda campaign to recruit PMC [private military company] contractors to be
sent to Ukraine. First of all, employees of the American PMCs Academi, Cubic,
and Dyn Corporation are being recruited… Only last week, about 200 mercenaries
from Croatia arrived through Poland, who joined one of the nationalist
battalions in the southeast of Ukraine,” the ministry’s spokesman Igor
Konashenkov said.
On February 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin
announced a military offensive in Ukraine, whose eastern regions broke away in
2014 after refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government that had
overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.
Source: Press TV
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Ukrainian mufti fears for his country's Muslim
community
Mar 05, 2022
Mufti Said Ismagilov, one of the most important Muslim
figures in Ukraine, is well versed in conflict.
The Donetsk native was forced to flee his home town
when Russian-backed separatists occupied eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region in
2014 after receiving word they were out to capture him for becoming an
outspoken activist against the takeover.
Later, when driving in a nearby area, someone shot a
rifle round through his car window. His life was only spared thanks to a
bulletproof vest.
Mufti Ismagilov then moved to Kyiv, but now, as
rockets fall around him, he fears for Ukrainians in general and the country’s
Muslim population in particular.
He said Russia's actions in Crimea after Moscow
annexed the Ukrainian province did not bode well for the Ukrainian Muslim and
Tatar communities.
Most Crimean Tatars, a Muslim people indigenous to the
Black Sea region, opposed Russia’s seizure of the territory from Ukraine in
March 2014.
Community members said they faced discrimination and
hardship as they came under pressure to align themselves with the Russia-backed
authorities.
The Tatar representative assembly, called the Mejlis,
was banned, while a Tatar-language television channel was closed down.
There are roughly 250,000 Crimean Tatars in Crimea —
about 12 per cent of its population.
Crimean Muslims deemed to be members of the Hizb
ut-Tahrir organisation — an Islamist group banned in Russia but not in Ukraine
— have been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison on terrorism charges.
If Russia takes over the rest of Ukraine, Mufti
Ismagilov told The National he worries that Muslims in Ukraine could face
repression.
In Ukraine, Muslims have enjoyed relatively normal
lives in recent years.
The Tatars were officially recognised by the
government as an indigenous group in 2014, and increasing numbers of Muslim
Russians have been immigrating to Ukraine from the restive northern Caucasus.
Until recently, Friday afternoons on the street in
western Kyiv that is home to the city’s Islamic Cultural Centre was a
carnival-like atmosphere following prayers.
Students from Turkey, Egypt and Central Asia snacked
and drank tea, locals hawked trinkets and halal goods, friends chatted.
But that is all now in the past.
On Tuesday, Russia shelled the city’s television tower
and nearby Holocaust memorial — one kilometre to the north of the Islamic
Cultural Centre — killing five people.
“It is dangerous in Kyiv every day, starting from the
first day of the war,” Mufti Ismagilov told The National in a phone interview.
The fears of some community members are built on
historical instances of repression.
During the Second World War, thousands of Tatars
living in Crimea were removed to the plains of present-day Uzbekistan and
points further east in cattle trains on the orders of Josef Stalin. Many died
on the journey.
“In Soviet times, Crimean Tatar anti-Soviet dissidents
and human rights defenders were often supported by their Ukrainian colleagues,”
said Konrad Zasztowt of the University of Warsaw’s department of European
Islam.
“The Crimean Tatars, due to their historical
experience with the Stalinist regime, which forcefully deported them from their
homeland in 1944 to Central Asia, were always anti-Soviet.”
Source: The National News
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Dutch football legend Clarence Seedorf converts to
Islam
Selcuk Bugra Gokalp
04.03.2022
The Dutch football legend Clarence Seedorf has
announced that he has converted to Islam, the 45-year-old said on Friday from
his official Instagram account.
Seedorf said: "A special thanks to all the nice
messages in celebration of me joining the Muslim family. I'm very happy and
pleased to join the all Brothers and Sisters around the world, especially my
adorable Sophia, who has taught me more in-depth the meaning of Islam. I didn't
change my name and will continue to carry my name as given by my parents,
Clarence Seedorf! I'm sending all my love to everyone in the world."
Clarence Seedorf played for many big-name clubs,
including Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan, throughout his remarkable
career.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/life/dutch-football-legend-clarence-seedorf-converts-to-islam/2524308
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North
America
Biden extends national emergency against Iran
March 5, 2022
US President Joe Biden has extended a national
emergency against Iran for another year, in yet another act of bad faith as
diplomats are engaged in the final stages of talks in Vienna.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said the national
emergency declared by former president Bill Clinton on March 15, 1995, must
continue in effect beyond March 15, 2022.
The actions and policies of the Government of Iran
continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security,
foreign policy, and economy of the United States, the statement read.
“Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the
national emergency with respect to Iran declared in Executive Order 12957,” it
added.
Earlier, the European Union’s deputy foreign policy
chief, Enrique Mora, who coordinates the Vienna talks, tweeted that “we are at
the final stages of the #ViennaTalks on #JCPOA.”
In recent days, diplomats participating in the eighth
round of negotiations in the Austrian capital have said that “a deal is within
reach” provided that the remaining, narrowed-down issues are resolved.
The Vienna talks began last April between Iran and the
other parties to the Iran deal on the assumption that the US, under the Biden
administration, is willing to repeal the so-called maximum pressure policy
against Tehran.
Former US president Donald Trump instigated the
maximum pressure campaign after he pulled the US out of the Iran deal,
officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2018 and
unleashed what he called the “toughest ever” sanctions against the Islamic
Republic.
One key issue on which Iran and the US are now in full
agreement is that the maximum pressure campaign of sanctions has failed.
However, since the beginning of the talks, the US has
taken several measures that run counter to its claim of favoring diplomacy,
including the imposition of several fresh rounds of anti-Iran sanctions.
Source: ABNA24
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https://en.abna24.com/news//biden-extends-national-emergency-against-iran_1235941.html
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US warns Pakistan of Ukraine war consequences
Baqir Sajjad Syed | Anwar Iqbal
March 5, 2022
WASHINGTON / ISLAMABAD: The United States said on
Friday it had informed Pakistan the war in Ukraine could have both regional and
global consequences, even as the Foreign Office objected to the issuance of a
press release by a group of 23 envoys earlier this week, saying the move was
undiplomatic.
“We have briefed the government of Pakistan on the
impact that Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine could have on regional and
global security,” a US State Department spokesperson told Dawn when asked to
respond to these developments.
However, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram says
that Islamabad is not only aware of the consequences of its actions, but also
“supports all efforts” to restore peace in Ukraine.
In his words, to interpret Pakistan’s position on this
issue as an expression of support for Russia “would be a perverse
interpretation, especially once seen together with our statement in the UNGA.”
FO objects to envoys’ letter issued earlier this week
urging Islamabad to denounce Moscow’s actions
“We are advocating a ceasefire and negotiations. If we
had joined the Ukraine resolution, we would have no political space for
diplomacy with the two sides,” he said.
Earlier this week, the United Nations General Assembly
(UNGA) passed a non-binding resolution, demanding the immediate withdrawal of
all Russian troops from Ukraine. Out of five South Asian nations, only Nepal
voted for the resolution while Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
decided to abstain.
Pakistan sees China as its closest ally and,
apparently, China’s strong pro-Russian stance on this issue also influenced
Pakistan’s stance on the Ukrainian conflict. Bangladesh is also building a
close relationship with China.
As for India, the country apparently did not want to
choose between an old ally, Russia, and a new strategic partner, the United
States, and that’s why it decided not to vote.
The US spokesperson, however, insisted that all 35
nations who abstained should also have taken a strong stance on this issue.
“The United States believes countries must speak out
clearly against President Putin’s flagrant aggression, and to stand with the
people of Ukraine,” he said.
Asked if the United States had discussed the
abstentions with India and Pakistan, the spokesperson said: “The United States
continues to engage with our partners around the world to discuss the
importance of a strong collective response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
As the statement indicates, the United States has been
extremely careful in responding to South Asia’s approach to the Ukrainian
conflict. While Pakistan used to be a US partner during the Cold War and the
fight against terrorism, India is now a key member in a US-led alliance to
counter China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
In an interview with the semi-official Voice of
America broadcasting service, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram explained
Pakistan’s new approach to staying neutral.
Explaining Pakistan’s abstention at the UNGA emergency
session on Ukraine, Ambassador Akram pointed out that while the resolution
addressed some concerns, it missed other key points.
“Russia is concerned about Nato’s expansion (to its
borders), and those concerns are not even mentioned in the resolution,” he
said, referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military alliance of
28 European and two North American countries.
“So it was, in a way, one-sided. We want a balanced
approach, and we believe that this dispute should be settled through
negotiations.”
Asked if Pakistan condemned civilian deaths in
Ukraine, he said civilian deaths, whether in Ukraine, Kashmir or Afghanistan,
should always be condemned.
But he also pointed out that “there’s a lot of
propaganda and fake news” on this issue. “It’s difficult to verify facts.
Difficult to say who to trust. But if civilians are really getting killed,
obviously we condemn such acts.”
He noted that the United States, China and several
other countries were engaged in peace efforts and Pakistan too would like to
contribute to this process. “All these countries need to work together to end
the war,” he said.
FO objects to envoys’ letter
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has objected to the
issuance of a press release by the heads of various foreign missions in
Pakistan, including Germany and France, urging the Pakistan government to
denounce Russian action against Ukraine as undiplomatic.
“We took note of that and in a subsequent meeting with
a group of ambassadors, we expressed our concern about that because, as I said,
that is not the way diplomacy should be practised, and I think they have
realised it,” FO Spokesman Asim Iftikhar said at the weekly media briefing on
Friday.
On Tuesday, the envoys issued a rare joint statement
asking Islamabad to condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The statement was made
at a time when UNGA’s emergency session was in progress.
It was evident from the timing and the phrasing of the
statement that it had been issued to influence Pakistani position during the
UNGA debate. The government, however, stuck to its stance and Pakistan
abstained.
Mr Iftikhar emphasised that diplomats are expected to
observe diplomatic norms and protocols. “It is not usual diplomatic practice to
say such things through media, and we have made that clear,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that engagement with European
countries on the Russia-Ukraine war was continuing.
“There have been various engagements at different
levels with various ambassadors here at the Foreign Office, at the level of the
Foreign Secretary, additional secretaries, director generals and others. The
foreign secretary is meeting some ambassadors today as well,” he said, adding
that it was the right way to undertake diplomatic activities.
The Foreign Office, he said, was engaging with foreign
envoys “very proactively” and holding meetings on short notices despite the
preparation for the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s meeting of
the Council of Foreign Ministers.
“We have engaged and continue to engage on this issue.
The [envoys’] press release was not the right way and it has been conveyed to
them,” he maintained.
He further recalled that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood
Qureshi was also engaging with his European counterparts. On Thursday, Mr
Qureshi spoke to EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell and on Friday he had a
tele-conversation with Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó. Earlier in
the week, he also spoke to his Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau.
Source: Dawn
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of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1678353/us-warns-pakistan-of-ukraine-war-consequences
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Afghan evacuees fleeing Taliban face months more limbo
in UAE: US official
04 March ,2022
Thousands of Afghans who fled when their country was
seized by the Taliban last year face months more in limbo in the United Arab
Emirates, a senior US official said Friday.
About 12,000 people have already endured a frustrating
wait in the United Arab Emirates capital since the evacuations started in
August, when the United States ended its 20-year occupation.
But a senior State Department official, who asked to
remain anonymous, said it would take months to clear the two Abu Dhabi centers,
which include accommodation built for migrant workers.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it’d be very
nice to have it finished by August,” the official said. “But honestly, I can’t
tell you.”
The process has been so slow that the exact number of evacuees
in Abu Dhabi remain unclear. A survey of the inhabitants, only cleared to go
ahead by UAE officials this year, is still being completed.
“I told them I was really sorry it was taking so long,
that I was as frustrated as they were,” said the official, after visiting the
Abu Dhabi evacuees.
“Several thousand” can hope for resettlement in the US
but “very, very, very many of the people came here with no reference to the
United States,” the official said.
Source: Al Arabiya
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India
After 30 weeks, Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid reopens for
devotees
Mar 5, 2022
SRINAGAR: After remaining closed for 49 Fridays since
last year, Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid reopened its doors for devotees for
special ‘jummah’ (Friday) prayers following 30 consecutive weeks. Chief cleric
and Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads the management
of the grand mosque, was, however, not allowed to preach sermons as a precautionary
measure to avoid law and order problems after namaaz. The Friday sermons were
held by Imam Haji Syed Ahmed Naqshbandi in the absence of the Mirwaiz, who has
been under house arrest since August 2019.
As the call of ‘azaan’ echoed from the minarets of the
grand mosque, a huge number of devotees thronged the Masjid from across the
Valley, braving the severe cold. On the occasion of “Meraj-e-Alam”, emotional
worshippers were witnessed kissing the pillars of the mosque and prostrating
before Allah, feeling fortunate for being able to offer Friday prayers here.
The Imam said that the repeated ban on Friday prayers
at the grand mosque is a cause of anxiety among the faithful and violates their
fundamental human right to practice religion. He also urged the administration
for the Mirwaiz’s immediate release as the holy month of Ramadan was
approaching and people have been keenly waiting to hear sermons from the
Mirwaiz.
Anjuman Auqaf, the mosque’s administrative body, said
that the special jummah prayers were held at the Masjid on Friday after 30
consecutive weeks of closure and arrangements for the same had been made in
advance. “There was a huge gathering on the eve of Meraj-e-Alam,” said an Auqaf
member.
Devotee Ghulam Qadir Rather said it was after a rather
long gap that he came to the grand mosque to offer Friday prayers. “Over these
years, the closure of the central masjid hurt our religious sentiments,” he
said, adding that unfortunately, he couldn’t witness the Mirwaiz at the
Masjid’s pulpit on the occasion.
The grand mosque in Srinagar’s Nowhatta area has
remained shut for devotees for most of the two-and-half-year period after the
nullification of Articles 370 and 35A on August 5, 2019, by the Centre, that
paved the way for the reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into the
Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.
The Masjid — managed and run by Kashmir’s prominent
cleric family of the Mirwaiz — had remained closed for 138 days since the
reorganisation but reopened later. It was subsequently closed by the management
on March 23, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown. It
reopened five months later in August, before shutting again on March 4, 2021,
after a stone-pelting incident, in which 39 supporters of the Mirwaiz were arrested
for organising a protest against his house arrest and fuelling unrest in the
area.
Source: Times Of India
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AMU City School renamed after Raja Mahendra Pratap
Singh
Mar 04, 2022
Agra - The AMU City School was renamed as ‘Raja
Mahendra Pratap Singh AMU City School’, with the Aligarh Muslim University
(AMU) issuing a notification in this regard on Friday.
The descendants of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh gifted
the land on which the school was built, to the AMU.
AMU spokesperson Dr Shafey Kidwai said, “The Aligarh
Muslim University (AMU) City School will now be known as ‘Raja Mahendra Pratap
Singh Aligarh Muslim University City School’. A notification was issued on
Friday by AMU registrar Abdul Hamid, after completing all required formalities
and getting clearance from the ministry of education.”
“The school has been re-named to honour Raja Mahendra
Pratap Singh, notable AMU alumnus, Indian freedom fighter, journalist, social
reformer, writer, revolutionary and president in the Provisional Government of
India, which served as the Indian Government in exile during World War I from
Kabul in 1915,” said the press statement released by the public relations office
of Aligarh Muslim University.
“The decision to rename the school was taken in the
light of resolution number 28 of the ordinary meeting of the Executive Council
held on March 22, 2021,” said AMU registrar, Abdul Hamid (IPS).
AMU vice chancellor, Prof Tariq Mansoor said: “With
the re-naming of the school, AMU pays tribute to Raja Mahendra Pratap, who
attended the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, which later became
the Aligarh Muslim University. Raja Mahendra Pratap’s name is counted among the
prominent alumni of the university. His father and grandfather were close to
educationist and reformer Sir Syed Ahmad Khan”.
The land on which AMU City School is located was
leased out to the AMU by Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh in 1928 for 90 years and
the lease expired in 2018. Tikonia Park, near AMU City School was also part of
the leased land.
The descendants of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh had even
served a legal notice to AMU but it was later decided that if AMU named the
school after Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, then the land would be gifted to the
university which would hand back the Land of Tikonia Park to the descendants of
the Raja.
Earlier this week, the gift deed was executed by
descendants of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh in favour of AMU for land on which
AMU City School stands and Land of Tikonia Park was handed back by the AMU.
Source: Hindustan Times
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Hindu Youth Harass Dupatta-Clad Muslim Students Who
Wrote Exams Wearing a Dupatta and Not Pinning It as Directed by the Principal,
In Mangalore
4th March 2022
Mangalore: As Karnataka continues to be engulfed in
the hijab row, a few female Muslim students were harassed by Hindu youth, on
Thursday, after they appeared for exams at Government First Grade College,
Mangalore, wearing a Dupatta.
Although the principal of the college had allowed the
students to take the exams in a Dupatta without pinning it like a hijab, a
group of Hindu youth, allegedly belonging to right-wing organizations, harassed
the girls.
The video of the incident was shared on Twitter
alongside the caption, “#Muslim students who wrote exams wearing a Dupatta
& not pinning it like #Hijabrow were harassed by students belonging to
right wing orgns in #Mangalore at Govt First Grade College. Principal had
granted them permission inform students. Cops intervened & controlled the
situation.”
A few youths can be seen heckling the girls inside the
premises of the college. It is to be noted that the Karnataka high court in its
recent interim order, upheld the state’s diktat and asked students to follow
dress codes (ie without the hijab) until a proper judgement was pronounced. As
of the time of writing this article, the court has reserved its judgement.
The Hijab Row:
The row erupted towards the end of last year after
Muslim students of Udupi Government Pre-University College were prohibited from
attending classes wearing hijab.
Source: Siasat Daily
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of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/hindu-youth-harass-hijab-clad-muslim-students-in-mangalore-2285352/
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Many Muslims In Eastern UP Say AIMIM's Time Mayn't
Have Come In This Poll But Is Option For Future
04 MAR 2022
AIMIM may not win many seats or may get restricted to
playing the role of "spoiler" in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls but
it has made inroads into SP and BSP bastions in the state's eastern parts with
many Muslim youth seeing it as "their own" party that could be an
option in the future. Muslims in Uttar Pradesh have traditionally oscillated
between the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and that is
unlikely to change this time round as they seem weary of a division of votes.
The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) does not appear to be a
serious contender in most seats albeit Azamgarh's Mubarakpur constituency.
However, people say that in that constituency also, it has more to do with the
strong candidate Shah Alam, alias 'Guddu
Jamali', rather than the party. Several Muslims in parts of eastern Uttar
Pradesh, while acknowledging their liking for the AIMIM, state that this
election is about ousting the BJP government and if they go for Asaduddin
Owaisi's party, their votes would get divided and hand the advantage to the
BJP. But, some Muslims argue that the AIMIM is their "own party" and
even if it loses, it needs to be supported so that it expands. Obaidullah, a
shopkeeper in Phoolpur Pawai, said Muslims got nothing in return for supporting
the Congress, the SP and the BSP as no one voices their concerns. "Owaisi
raises our voice. Why should we not vote for him. We must have our own party,
everyone else does": he told PTI.
AIMIM chief Owaisi has also been aggressively
attacking the SP and the BSP to capitalise on this sentiment and says in his
speeches that these parties have "back stabbed" Muslims, even after
they voted for them. The sentiment of the majority among the Muslims, however,
seems to be that the SP or the BSP must be supported this time as priority is
to remove the Yogi Adityanath government and votes should not get divided.
Matloob Alam, having tea in a shop at Sagri, said, "The AIMIM would have
got votes, but it will not happen this time as the main objective now is to
vote out the Yogi government. Yes, there is support for AIMIM also, but it is
not in a position to win." "It is a compulsion for Muslims to vote
for SP this time to defeat the Yogi government, otherwise Muslims would have
crossed over to the AIMIM," Alam said. In Azamgarh's Muslim-dominated
Takia locality as people congregate at a spot they call their 'adda (hangout)'
to discuss politics, they echo similar views, saying like in western Uttar
Pradesh, even if Muslims are unhappy with the SP or the BSP, they have no
option but to vote for these parties as no other party is in a position to take
on the BJP. "In rural areas more so, Muslim youngsters are looking at the
AIMIM with hope. But it is unlikely to convert into votes. Like people say,
Congress is a good party but nobody votes for it. It is the same thing
here," Shamim Agha, an agriculturist, said.
Source: Outlook India
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South
Asia
Taliban spokesperson condemns Peshawar mosque attack
Mar 04 2022
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid on Friday
condemned the attack on a mosque in Peshawar and said that there is "no
justification" for attacking people in places of worship.
Taking to Twitter, Mujahid said the Taliban government
in Afghanistan strongly condemned the reported suicide bombing that took place
at a mosque in Peshawar.
“There is no justification for the attack on citizens
and worshippers,” said Mujahid, who is
also the acting deputy culture and information minister of Afghanistan.
Mujahid expressed his condolences to the families of
the victims.
The attack
Earlier today, a suicide bomber killed 57 people and
injured close to 200 people during Friday prayers in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar
area of Peshawar.
Inspector-General of Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Moazzam
Jah Ansari, while speaking to journalists at the site of the incident, said
that a hawaldar and a police constable were on duty outside the mosque.
"The terrorist was alone and had come to the
mosque on foot," he said.
"He targeted the two police personnel stationed
at the mosque. One of them embraced martyrdom, while the other has sustained
injuries."
Ansari added that the terrorist, after targetting the
policemen, ran towards the mosque.
"The terrorist first opened fire at the
worshippers after entering the mosque and then blew himself up," the IG
said, adding that about 150 ball-bearings were recovered from the site of the
incident.
Providing further details, Ansari said that about five
to six kilogrammes of explosives were used in the blast, which took place in
the third row of the mosque.
Source: GEO TV
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of the original story:
https://www.geo.tv/latest/403026-taliban-spokesperson-condemns-attack-in-peshawar
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Nigeria donates $1 million to Afghanistan’s
Humanitarian Trust Fund
05 Mar 2022
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in a
statement announced that the Nigerian government has donated $1 million to
Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Fund, a special bank account that raises money for
the country’s humanitarian crisis.
The press release released on Friday, March 4, 2022,
reads the money will help address the situation of millions of Afghans in need
in particular women and children.
OIC’s statement further added that the organization is
committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan and that they will fully
implement the resolution on Afghanistan issued at the last extraordinary
meeting of OIC in Pakistan.
The extraordinary meeting hosted by Islamabad on
December 21 last year concluded in making a special bank account- Afghanistan’s
Humanitarian Trust Fund- to raise money for Afghanistan’s ongoing humanitarian
situation.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/nigeria-donates-1-million-to-afghanistans-humanitarian-trust-fund-765675678/
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Shooting at check post, Taliban gunned down boy in
eastern Afghanistan
04 Mar 2022
Taliban affiliates in the Shigal district of eastern
Kunar province opened fires at civilian people, killed a young boy, and wounded
another on Thursday, March 3.
The one killed named Yaseen who was in his 20s and was
hanging out with his friends after celebrating his brother’s wedding.
Local residents say that a Taliban affiliate was
mistakenly hit with the outside mirror of his car in the checkpoint that led to
his death. Yaseen was gunned by the very Taliban affiliate at the check post.
The slain Yaseen succumbed to his wounds while the
other is still in a hospital in the neighboring Nangarhar province.
Family members of the slain Yaseen asked the Islamic
Emirate of Afghanistan to bring to justice the perpetrators.
Local officials of the province said to have arrested
the culprits and pledged to hold them accountable for the crime they committed.
Source: Khaama Press
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https://www.khaama.com/shooting-at-check-post-taliban-gunned-down-boy-in-eastern-afghanistan-675876/
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Pakistan donated inedible wheat, India’s far better:
Taliban official
5 March, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], March 5 (ANI): A war of words
have ensued on the social media platform Twitter after reports emerged that a
Taliban official had slammed Pakistan for donating poor quality of wheat while
praising the quality of wheat sent by India.
A video was making rounds on the social media platform
showing a Taliban official complaining about the quality of Pakistani wheat.
“Wheat donated by Pakistan is not edible: Taliban Official,” Afghan journalist
Abdulhaq Omeri tweeted as he posted a video of the Taliban official.
Afghan people were seen thanking India on Twitter for
the “good quality wheat.”
“Thank you India for your continued support to the
Afghan people. Our Public to public-friendly relations will be forever. Jai
Hind,” Hamdullah Arbab tweeted.
Another user named Najib Farhodis said, “Wheat donated
by Pakistan to Afghanistan All Pakistani wheat is worn out and spoiled that can
not be used. India has always helped Afghanistan.”
Apparently, the Taliban official, who had made these
remarks on the poor nature of Pakistani wheat, was dismissed from his post.
Last month, India started sending wheat to the Afghan
people as humanitarian assistance.
The second convoy of India’s humanitarian assistance
carrying 2000 MTs of wheat left Attari, Amritsar on Thursday for Jalalabad,
Afghanistan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
This is part of India’s commitment of 50,000 MTs of
wheat for the Afghan people and will be distributed by United Nations’ World
Food Programme.
“India remains committed to its special relationship
with the people of Afghanistan,” MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a
tweet.
Source: The Print
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of the original story:
https://theprint.in/world/pakistan-donated-inedible-wheat-indias-far-better-taliban-official/859304/
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Taliban official urges Afghan investors to return
Mar 04 2022
Kabul, Mar 4 (IANS): The Taliban government on Friday
said that First Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has urged
Afghan investors to return to the country.
He made the remarks at the Afghan National Private Sector
Conference held in Kabul, the government said in a statement.
"Baradar called on Afghan investors living abroad
to return to the country and invest here, as security of investors and their
assets will be guaranteed," Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as
saying.
"International sanctions are being eased day by
day and we are trying to provide more facilities in industry, trade and
investment, and efforts are being made to improve the economic situation,"
Baradar was quoted as saying.
On Tuesday, the World Bank board of directors decided
to unfreeze $1 billion of the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund which was
frozen after the Taliban's takeover on August 15, 2021, according to Da
Afghanistan Bank (DAB), the country's central bank.
Source: Daiji World
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of the original story:
https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=933235
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Mideast
Friday Imams Use Sermons to Launder Khamenei's Line on
Ukraine
4 March 2022
A cluster of Iranian Friday Imams have used today’s
sermons to hammer home the earlier comments of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking in the heart of the Iranian capital, Ali
Akbari, Tehran’s acting Friday Imam, repeated Khamenei’s description of the US
as a “mafia regime”, proclaiming: “American adventurism is behind the recent
events in eastern Europe.”
Khamenei’s televised intervention on Wednesday was the
object of grim fascination for observers online. The Supreme Leader somehow
managed to speak about the war for eight minutes straight without once
mentioning Russia.
On Friday, Akbari did the same, omitting to name
either Putin or Russia in his address to the faithful. Instead, he repeated,
“the main responsibility lies with the US, which has sacrificed Ukraine to its
greed.”
He was not the only one. Yousef Tabatabaei-Nejad,
Isfahan’s influential – and infamous – Friday Imam, said: “The US is the root
of all these wars. Ukraine, a country that had all the instruments of war, even
nuclear warheads, and was one of the advanced countries in terms of armaments,
was disarmed by America, which that now wants to sell it arms again.”
Friday Imams are directly appointed by the Supreme
Leader and tasked with disseminating his views in cities across Iran. These
declarations and more were in lockstep with what Khamenei had said earlier in
the week: that the US was “controlled by all sorts of mafias” that “create
crises in the world to maximise their profits”.
Source: Iran Wire
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://iranwire.com/en/features/11415
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Iran condemns terrorist bombing at Shia mosque in
Pakistan
March 5, 2022
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
on Friday strongly condemned a terrorist bombing at a Shia mosque in Pakistani
city of Peshawar earlier in the day.
Khatibzadeh said that the bombing aimed to sow the
seeds of discord among the Muslim Ummah.
He sympathized with the families of the victims, and
wished speedy recovery for those injured in the incident.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed hope that the
Pakistani government and security officials will take the necessary measures to
prevent such criminal activities by terrorist groups.
Source: ABNA24
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of the original story:
https://en.abna24.com/news//iran-condemns-terrorist-bombing-at-shia-mosque-in-pakistan_1235925.html
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Iran, EU officials say nuclear deal not yet done as
officials focus on ‘final’ steps
04 March ,2022
Iran said on Thursday more efforts were needed to
revive its 2015 nuclear deal, while the EU official coordinating nuclear talks
between Tehran and world powers said “we are definitely not there yet” but that
talks were in the “final stages.”
“Premature good news does not substitute good
agreement. Nobody can say the deal is done, until all the outstanding remaining
issues are resolved. Extra efforts needed,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman
Saeed Khatibzadeh wrote on Twitter.
“Everybody is now focused on the final critical
steps.”
The European Union’s Enrique Mora, who coordinates
ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and world powers aimed at reviving the 2015
deal, said on Thursday that the talks were at their “final stages,” adding that
“success is never guaranteed in such a complex negotiation.”
“Some relevant issues are still open and success is
never guaranteed in such a complex negotiation,” Mora wrote on Twitter.
“Doing our best in the coordinator’s team. But we are
definitely not there yet.”
Talks between the remaining signatories to the deal –
Iran, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain – are currently taking place
in Vienna.
The US is participating indirectly in the talks due to
Iran’s refusal to negotiate directly with Washington.
Earlier on Thursday, Britain’s envoy to the talks said
negotiators were “very close to an agreement.”
“We are very close to an agreement. All parties have
negotiated constructively under the leadership of the EU Coordinator Enrique
Mora. Now we have to take the few final steps,” Stephanie Al-Qaq wrote on
Twitter.
French chief negotiator Philippe Errera tweeted a
photo of French, British and German diplomats at the talks on Thursday,
writing: “Thank you for your tireless work over the last 11 months.”
Errera’s tweet was interpreted by some on social media
as meaning that a deal was imminent.
The Vienna talks, which began in April 2021, aim to
bring Iran back into compliance with the deal and facilitate a US return to the
agreement. The deal offered Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its
nuclear program.
Washington withdrew from the deal in 2018 under
then-President Donald Trump, reimposing sweeping economic sanctions on Tehran.
That prompted Iran to breach many of the deal’s restrictions, including a 3.67 percent
cap on the purity to which it could enrich uranium.
Tehran, which insists its nuclear program is for
peaceful purposes only, has since started enriching uranium up to as high as 60
percent purity – a big step closer to the 90 percent required for weapons-grade
material.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Israeli forces injure 23 Palestinians in
anti-settlement rallies
Awad al-Rujoub
04.03.2022
RAMALLAH, Palestine
At least 23 Palestinians were injured on Friday as
Israeli forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells to disperse rallies in
different areas of the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said
medical teams treated 23 Palestinians in protests held in Nablus.
In the town of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, the
statement said the medical staff treated seven persons injured by rubber
bullets.
In the village of Beita, east of the same city, an
elderly Palestinian was wounded by rubber bullets during confrontation with the
occupying army, and another 15 suffered from tear gas inhalation.
On weekly basis, Palestinians hold demonstrations
against illegal Jewish settlements in different parts of the West Bank,
especially in Beita, Beit Dajan, and Kafr Qaddoum villages.
Israeli and Palestinian estimates indicate there are
about 650,000 settlers living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the West
Bank, including in occupied Jerusalem.
Under international law, all Jewish settlements in
occupied territories are considered illegal.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-forces-injure-23-palestinians-in-anti-settlement-rallies/2524114
“Innovative and ground-breaking scientific ideas
require the talents of both women and men,” she said. “Achieving gender
equality in science will create a balanced and holistic approach to leadership
and better-educated children in future generations.”
Dushaq was recognized for her post-doctoral research
on novel materials and structures in photonics to enhance the speed, capacity
and accuracy of conventional technologies. She said such research has the
potential to influence, and even revolutionize, other sectors such as health,
space, mobility and security.
Arij Yehya, also from Qatar University and honored at
the event, said that she believes more must be done to encourage women to
pursue a career in science as the benefits of their work can extend far beyond
the scientific community.
“Women have important social roles, such as being
caregivers,” she said. “Having more women working in the field of science can
provide an impact on the community through their social roles, and women in
science can pave the way for a more prosperous society.”
Yehya’s research focuses on identifying factors that
drive the widening of the gender gap in personality traits to further evaluate
current and future gender policies.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2036361/middle-east
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Top Israeli court urged to stop IDF arresting
Palestinian minors at night
MOHAMMED NAJIB
March 04, 2022
RAMALLAH: A legal institution has appealed to an Israeli
court to stop the Israel Defense Force from arresting Palestinian minors at
their homes at night and taking them for interrogation.
The HaMoked Center for the Defense of the Individual —
an Israeli center based in East Jerusalem — submitted a petition to the Israeli
Supreme Court against the IDF’s sweeping use of night arrests of Palestinian
minors. The petition calls for the process to be regulated, with minors
summoned for interrogation accompanied by their families.
Critics say the arrest of minors with handcuffs and
blindfolds causes shock both for those detained and their relatives.
According to HaMoked, from September to December 2021,
34 Palestinian minors were arrested in the West Bank, with only six summoned
for interrogation accompanied by family.
“It should be the last option for a soldier to invade
a family home in the middle of the night and drag a teenage boy from his bed,
as the military should exhaust all possible ways to bring someone in for
questioning before they engage in this very traumatic practice for the kid who
is being detained, and for the whole family,” Jessica Montell, director general
of HaMoked, told Arab News.
Montell said her institution has been arguing with the
Israeli military for several years on this point, and that the IDF has promised
to follow it up. But, as is evident from new data, night arrests of Palestinian
teenage boys are still the default method for bringing them for interrogation,
rather than summoning them alongside their parents.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, about 180
minors are languishing in Israeli jails.
In 2021, the IDF escalated the targeting of
Palestinian children, as cases of arrests reached 1,000, including 73 below the
age of 14.
“The increasing number of arrests of Palestinian
minors confirms that it has become a policy of the Israeli Army and is not
necessarily linked to the occurrence of events. The problem is not in the
timing, form or method of arrest, but rather in the torture and psychological
pressure that the children are exposed to after arrest, away from their
families and lawyers,” Qdura Faris, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club,
told Arab News.
Faris also expressed his deep concern over the newly
adopted Israeli policy of home confinement for minors, especially in East
Jerusalem.
In this arrangement, homes are transformed into a
prison for the child after their father pays a bail of around $6,000. If the
imprisoned child violates any procedure, the amount will be confiscated by the
Israeli authorities.
The imprisonment sentence, in some cases, is replaced
with exorbitant fines that may reach up to $3,000.
The IDF has also allegedly arrested children while
returning from school or playing near homes or at checkpoints for things such
as Facebook posts.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2036241/middle-east
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Israeli forces suppress protests in West Bank, al-Quds
04 March 2022
Israeli forces have suppressed several protests held
across the occupied West Bank and in East al-Quds, leaving dozens of
Palestinians injured.
Clashes erupted between Israeli forces and
anti-settlement protesters in the town of Beita, and the village of Beit Dajan
in the occupied West Bank province of Nablus, on Friday.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that 20
people were hit with rubber bullets fired by the Israeli troops during the
clashes in Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, adding that two emergency medical
technicians were also wounded when Israeli troops fired rubber bullets at the
ambulance car they were riding.
Six protesters were also hit with rubber bullets on
Sobeih Mountain in Beita, while 36 others suffered breathing difficulties due
to inhaling tear gas fired by Israeli troops.
Since May, Beita has seen intensified clashes between
Israeli forces and Palestinians protesting against a settlement outpost that
has been established on Sobeih Mountain by settlers under the protection of
Israeli forces.
In the village of Kafr Qaddum in Qalqilya, Two
Palestinians were also hit with rubber bullets, while tens of others suffered
breathing difficulties due to tear gas fired by Israeli forces to suppress a
weekly anti-settlement protest on Friday.
The protest was also staged to express solidarity with
the residents of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the occupied East al-Quds
and Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Also on Friday, dozens of Palestinians were injured as
Israeli forces attacked a protest in the center of the West Bank city of
al-Khalil (Hebron).
The protest was held to condemn the expansion of a
military barrier installed at the entrance to Shuhada Street, which connects
the city’s neighborhoods to one another.
Israeli settler open fire at Palestinians in al-Khalil
The city of al-Khalil also saw a shooting attack
carried out by an Israeli settler against Palestinians.
WAFA news agency said an Israeli settler used live
ammunition against four Palestinians near Shuhada Street.
The report said the attack left four Palestinians,
including three children, injured. The health condition of one of the children
was described as serious.
Israel occupied East al-Quds, the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip during the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War in 1967. It later had to
withdraw from Gaza. More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements
built since the 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West
Bank. All the settlements are illegal under international law. The United
Nations Security Council has condemned the settlement activities in several
resolutions.
Israeli forces attack protesters in Sheikh Jarrah
Also on Friday, Israeli troops suppressed a protest in
the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in East al-Quds, arresting three demonstrators.
The protesters were carrying the Palestinian flag and
chanting slogans calling for an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the
neighborhood.
“Today, We came out as Palestinians and supporters to
affirm the Palestinians right to self-determination and to stop forced
displacement in Sheikh Jarrah, in particular, and the occupied al-Quds and
Palestine, in general,” WAFA cited Member of the Knesset from the Joint List
Aida Touma Suleiman as saying.
Tensions heightened across the Palestinian territories
on February 13, when Israeli forces and illegal settlers renewed their attacks
against Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah. The neighborhood has been the scene of
frequent crackdowns by Israeli regime forces on the Palestinians protesting
against the threatened expulsion of dozens of families from their homes in
favor of Israeli settler groups.
Source: Press TV
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Africa
Tunisia sees UAE investments in real estate, solar
projects
04 March ,2022
UAE-based Bukhatir Group will revive a $5 billion real
estate project in Tunis, Tunisian sources told Reuters on Friday, the first big
project in the North African country since a 2011 revolution.
Sources said the group will officially launch the Tunis
Sports City project next week after it was halted following the revolution that
toppled former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
The project include sports academies, a golf course,
hotels and apartments covering 275 hectares in the north of Tunis. It is
expected initially to provide about 10,000 jobs in the country, where
unemployment is more than 18 percent.
Tunisian government officials were not immediately
available for comment. Bukhatir could not immediately be reached for comment.
Tunisia has been seeking foreign investment to revive
its economy which has been hit hard by the pandemic after years of stagnation,
compounded by political turmoil.
In another business development, Emirates News Agency
WAM reported on Friday that the Tunisian Government has awarded the UAE-based
AMEA Power a Concession Agreement and a Power Purchase Agreement for a 100MW
solar project in Kairouan, worth US$100 million (AED368 million).
The solar power plant construction is expected to
“begin by the end of this year,” reported WAM.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Over 50 protesters injured in anti-military rallies in
Sudan
Buhram Abdel-Menem
04.03.2022
KHARTOUM, Sudan
Over 50 people were injured in a protest demanding
full civilian rule in Sudan, a doctors group said on Friday.
In a statement, the Central Committee of Sudanese
Doctors said that 55 protesters were injured in Thursday's anti-military
rallies in the capital Khartoum, and Gadarif and Dongola cities.
The Sudanese government is yet to respond to the
statement.
Protests erupted in Sudan last October in response to
extraordinary measures taken by Army Chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan,
including the imposition of a state of emergency and the dissolution of Prime
Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government, which political forces
called a "military coup".
Source: Anadolu Agency
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https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/over-50-protesters-injured-in-anti-military-rallies-in-sudan/2523654
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Southeast
Asia
Sarawak govt to set up university in Telaga Air to
develop quality ummah, says CM
28 Feb 2022
KUCHING, Feb 28 — The Sarawak government will set up a
university near Kampung Trombol in Telaga Air as one of its efforts to develop
a quality ummah, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
“Sarawak’s goal is to become a high-income and
developed state by 2030 and that is why the government has built roads, coastal
roads, bridges, university bodies and so on.
“Soon we will develop a university near Kampung
Trombol and if the problem is scholarship, we will give a scholarship loan
through Yayasan Sarawak to make it easier for our children to enter (the)
university,” he said when officiating at the 61st Sarawak State Level Al-Quran
Recitation and Memorisation Ceremony at the Majma Hall of the Sarawak Islamic
Complex here last night.
At the ceremony, Abang Johari also invited Muslims to
deepen their knowledge of the world as well as the knowledge of the hereafter.
He said deepening the knowledge of the hereafter alone
is not enough to produce a quality ummah.
Abang Johari said in the history of Islam itself,
there are many Islamic scholars who have changed human civilisation and
contributed to the stability of the ummah in various fields.
“When I announced the policy until 2030 to use
digital, I am confident that we can explore new fields, especially the Muslims.
“Coincidentally, the top leadership of the state are
Muslims who are trusted by the people.
“With the trust and confidence of the people of
Sarawak in the current government, the Sarawak government is determined to
elevate the state to be a high-income and developed state with a more
structured economy and our position is respected by others,” he said.
Source: Malay Mail
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Rebels kill eight civilians in Indonesia's Papua
province
Konradus Epa
March 04, 2022
At least eight people were shot dead in an attack by
armed separatists in Indonesia’s restive Papua province, police said.
The shootings took place on March 2 in Beoga, a remote
village in Puncak district, Papua police spokesman Ahmad Mustofa M. Kamal said
on March 4.
All the victims worked for an agency conducting
telecommunications work for an infrastructure project of the Communication and
Information Technology Ministry.
They were making improvements to a transceiver station
in the village when they were attacked, Kamal said.
Military spokesman Aqsa Erlangga confirmed the attack,
saying there was only one survivor, who raised the alarm. “Eight of the workers
were unfortunately killed,” he said.
He said the bodies had yet to be retrieved as the
attack site was only accessible by helicopter and bad weather was grounding
aircraft.
The West Papua National Liberation Army and the Free
Papua Movement (TPNPB-OPM) later admitted responsibility for the shootings.
Group spokesman Sebby Sambom Sambom said the workers
paid the price for entering an area which the rebels had previously declared a
no-go zone for civilians.
“There was no justification for them being there since
the TPNPB has told all civilians to stay away from the area,” news portal
Tempo.co quoted him as saying.
Human rights activist Theo Hesegem called the shooting
of civilians indefensible.
“What threat did these civilians pose? They didn’t
have weapons and they were working for Papua,” the chairman of the Papua
Justice and Human Integrity Foundation said on March 4.
Source: UCA News
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https://www.ucanews.com/news/rebels-kill-eight-civilians-in-indonesias-papua-province/96347
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PIJ Property lodges police report against Muda for
alleged trespass of asset
04 Mar 2022
JOHOR BARU, March 4 ― PIJ Holdings Sdn Bhd, through
its subsidiary PIJ Property Development Sdn Bhd, has lodged a police report
against the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) for alleged trespass
and unauthorised use of its Inkubator Usahawan asset at Taman Perbadanan Islam
in Stulang Baru here.
PIJ Holdings, a Johor state government-linked company,
said the premises was developed for entrepreneurs to venture into business and
not to serve as the operations centre of any political party.
Based on the latest record, the premises was used by
an individual to run a furniture business and that person was not allowed to
rent it out to anyone, it said.
“We regret that the premises not only could not be
used for entrepreneurship purposes but more disappointing is that the use of
this asset was without the knowledge, consent and agreement between PIJ
Property and Muda,” it said in a statement today.
Therefore, PIJ Holdings asked MU Muda DA to immediately
vacate and return the premises in its original and proper state to ensure the
facility could be fully utilised by entrepreneurs in Johor Baru.
PIJ Holdings hoped that this matter could be resolved
quickly in a harmonious manner.
Meanwhile, the Muda candidate for the Larkin seat in
the Johor state election, Rasid Abu Bakar, denied that the party had committed
trespassing.
In a statement, he said Muda had been renting the
premises since February 26 for RM4,000 a month from the shop proprietor, who
issued a letter allowing the party to use it as its Larkin operations room.
“We have been operating for a week and have never
received any notice, complaint or letter from the shop proprietor or any other
party stating we have trespassed into the premises.
Source: Malay Mail
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/isis-bombing-shiite-mosque-pakistan-peshawar/d/126512