Islamic State Operative Caught In Delhi Used Bitcoins to Fund Terror in India: Claims NIA
New Age Islam News Bureau
23 October 2020
People familiar with the NIA probe said this may be
the first time any terror activity in India has been linked to Bitcoins.
(Reuters)
-----
• 'If They Abuse Prophet, Put Them behind Bars':
controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik Incites Gulf Countries to Target
Non-Muslim Indians
• Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Made Special Envoy
on Religious Harmony and Middle East
• Bangladeshi Court Issues Death Warrant against 1971
War Crimes Convict
• Canadian MPs Deem China’s Actions Vs Uyghurs
‘Genocide’
• UK: World Mustn’t ‘Turn Away’ From Rohingya’s
Suffering
• Human Rights Watch Denounces Egypt’s Mass Executions
• Iranian Speaker's Advisor Expects Future of Region
without Israel, US
India
• Islamic State Operative Caught In Delhi Used
Bitcoins to Fund Terror in India: Claims NIA
• UP Muslim Cop Suspended For Keeping Beard without
Permission, He Says Plea Pending For A Year
• Delhi HC Directs Police To Erect Barricades At Least
10 Meters Away From 130-Year-Old Mosque Entrance In Delhi, For The Convenience
Of The Devotees
• Pakistan still a haven for terror, India says on
FATF decision eve
• Pakistan resorted to 3,800 ceasefire violations
along LoC this year: MEA
• Aligarh Muslim University to extend tenure of two
doctors 'terminated' for remarks on Hathras case
• BJP fields 17 Muslim candidates in civic polls in
Rajasthan
--------
Southeast Asia
• 'If They Abuse Prophet, Put Them behind Bars':
controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik Incites Gulf Countries to Target
Non-Muslim Indians
• Loudspeaker Rule for Mosques, Suraus Being
Politicised, Says Penang Mufti
• Orang Asli education programmes must involve
community input, says think tank
• Govt policies on religion need to be constantly
reviewed: Yaacob
• Regulators urged to create supportive environment
for Islamic finance
--------
Pakistan
• Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Made Special Envoy
on Religious Harmony and Middle East
• IBA Karachi Cancels Dr Atif Mian's Lecture after
'Threats from Extremists'
• Karachi Incident Vindicated Nawaz's 'State above The
State' Stance: Maryam
• Only democracy can resolve people’s problems:
Bilawal
--------
South Asia
• Bangladeshi Court Issues Death Warrant against 1971
War Crimes Convict
• Afghan air strike hits religious school as Taliban
mount attacks, officials say
• Mortar Attack Claims 4, Hurts 10 in Faryab
--------
North America
• Canadian MPs Deem China’s Actions Vs Uyghurs
‘Genocide’
• How Iranian hackers were caught seeking to interfere
in US elections
• US says Russia, Iran aim to influence November
election
--------
Europe
• UK: World Mustn’t ‘Turn Away’ From Rohingya’s
Suffering
• Turkey Sends Militants To Fight For Azerbaijan:
Armenia’s President to EU
• Mosques in Southern France Placed Under Protection
amid Threats
• Turkey commemorates diplomat martyred in Vienna
• Turkey, Greece meet at NATO headquarters on daily
basis
--------
Arab world
• Human Rights Watch Denounces Egypt’s Mass Executions
• Lebanese criticize Saad Hariri as new Prime
Minister-designate amid low vote-count
• Suspected Islamist was under observation on day of
Dresden attack
• US sanctions Iranian ambassador to Iraq, two senior
Hezbollah officials
• Senior mufti in Syria assassinated by car bomb:
State media
• Car bomb explosion kills Damascus mufti west of
Syria’s capital
--------
Mideast
• Iranian Speaker's Advisor Expects Future of Region
without Israel, US
• Palestinian lawyers to sue UK for Balfour
Declaration
• Iran summons Swiss envoy over 2020 US election
interference claim
• US allegations of Iranian interference is ‘nothing
but a scenario’: Iran UN mission
• Israeli warplanes attack Gaza Strip
• Hamas decries Israeli decision to reduce charges
against Palestinian’s killer
• Iran's Rouhani: Karabakh crisis should be resolved
through dialogue
--------
Africa
• African Union Slams Police Violence against
Protesters In Nigeria
• Nigeria's president urges protesters to leave
streets
• Nigeria: Buhari worried protests may turn into
'anarchy'
• 20 dead as terrorists storm Tanzania border region
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/islamic-state-operative-caught-delhi/d/123240
--------
Islamic State Operative Caught In Delhi Used Bitcoins to Fund Terror in India: Claims NIA
Neeraj Chauhan
Oct 23, 2020
People familiar with the NIA probe said this may be
the first time any terror activity in India has been linked to Bitcoins.
(Reuters)
-----
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has claimed in
a charge sheet filed last month that Islamic State operative Jahanzaib Sami had
arranged a Bitcoin wallet address, through a British contact, on which he asked
associates to deposit funds -- the first documented allegation of the use of
cryptocurrency in terror activity in India.
Sami, 36, and his wife Hina Bashir were arrested in
Delhi on March 8 for allegedly planning to carry out attacks in India.
According to the charge sheet, they received the Bitcoin address on Threema, an
instant messaging app, from an account called Caged Pearls, which belongs to a
British woman based in Syria.
“She had given her Bitcoin wallet address to Sami and
requested him to deposit money in that account. He had asked his associates to
deposit funds in this wallet address,” reads the NIA charge sheet, which HT has
reviewed.
He also got in touch with a Libya-based IS operative
who possessed an ID ‘Sech Tech’, to discuss arranging funds through “blockchain
technology”. Cryptocurencies such as Bitcoins leverage a technology known as
blockchain, a decentralised, distributed ledger that tracks transactions. These
are anonymous and nearly impossible to track, and are commonly used in dark web
transactions. The charge sheet said Sami discussed the possibility of using
this to source weapons and explosives raw material.
According to the charge sheet, Sami planned to carry
out 100 bombing in a single day.
Sech Tech, a member of IS’s intelligence and media
unit, told Sami that he works in dark web and provides Bitcoins for funding of
the outfit, the NIA said.
“They also discussed arranging funds through stolen
credit cards for procuring weapons,” the charge sheet said.
The increasing use of cryptocurrency by terror
organisations like IS and Al-Qaeda to fund their activities has worried
security and intelligence communities across the world. The US Department of
Justice, on August 13 said it seized millions of dollars’ worth of
cryptocurrency this year, and 300 of the accounts belonged to IS, Al-Qaeda, and
the military wing of Hamas.
People familiar with the NIA probe said this may be
the first time any terror activity in India has been linked to Bitcoins.
“We are trying to unearth more details,” said an
officer who asked not to be named.
The NIA charge sheet also alleges that Abdullah
Basith, a key IS member lodged in Tihar jail since August 2018, was using
smartphones inside the prison for almost 10 months between June 2019 and
February this year to interact with Sami and several ISIS commanders abroad –
including Maulvi Abdullah, head of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP),
handler Huzaifa-al-Bakistani, Abu Usman-Al-Kashmiri (Head of Indian affairs of
ISKP), Abu Umar, Munasib Bhai and Abu Algama from inside Tihar jail.
Huzaifa and Umar were killed in Afghanistan while
Afghan security forces arrested Kashmiri earlier this year after an attack on a
Gurudwara in Kabul in March. NIA is investigating the Kabul attack as well and
is likely to visit Afghanistan soon.
The charge sheet states that Basith, from Hyderabad,
had strong connections in IS since 2016, and first procured a phone with a SIM
belonging to an Indian service provider in June 2019. He used it to contact Abu
Umar, the in-charge of Nida-e-Haq (the official Urdu media of IS) on Telegram
app. This phone was detected by jail authorities in September and seized. Then,
in November 2019, he was transferred from Jail number 8 to 3 where he obtained
another phone with a SIM card. This phone was traced in February this year by
jail authorities, according to charge sheet.
From jail, he radicalised some young Muslims selected
by Sami, and motivated them to make graffiti at public places against CAA/NRC
(Citizenship Amendment Act/National Register of Citizens), according to the
charge sheet.
“Investigation also revealed that Basith’s wife
received funds sent by Huzaifa Al Bakistani while he was in jail,” chargesheet
said. While in jail, Basith had also told Sami that he had plans to radicalise
Muslim persons in prison to join the ISIS, it added.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nia-charge-sheet-alleges-bitcoins-used-by-is-operatives-to-fund-terror-activity/story-1qVgzJ5Ipj3t2DCrPmWpvO.html
--------
'If
They Abuse Prophet, Put Them behind Bars': controversial Islamic preacher Zakir
Naik Incites Gulf Countries to Target Non-Muslim Indians
Oct
23, 2020
Zakir
Naik incites Islamic nations to target non-Muslim Indians
-----
New
Delhi: The controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has instigated the gulf
countries to put non-Muslim Indians in jail as and when they arrive there in
case they insult Islam or the Prophet. He also asked them to create a database
of such Indians so that they can be booked when the visit their countries.
In
a video accessed by the Times Now, the Naik can be heard urging the Islamic
countries to create a database of all the negative remarks and abuses from the
non-Muslims in India and store in a computer.
"Next
time if they come to a gulf country, whether it's Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Dubai
or Indonesia, check if they have abused the Islam or insulted Prophet and then
bring them to the task and file a case against them and put them behind the
bars," he said.
Adding
that, "Make it public that we have a database and do not reveal names. The
moment they come, arrest them, take them to the court of law and give them
punishment. Believe me, most of the people who are BJP bhakts spreading venom
against Islam and Muslims will get scared."
Zakir
Naik, a fugitive economic offender, is facing charges of inciting communal
disharmony and committing unlawful activities in India. The authorities here
believe that the 53-year-old Islamic preacher has been “promoting enmity and
hatred between different religious groups in India through public speeches and
lectures.”
The
preacher has been living in Malaysia, where he has permanent residency since
India started investigating him, but he has kept a low profile over the past
few years amid criticism that he is a threat to peace in multi-ethnic Malaysia.
Naik had fled India in the wake of Dhaka cafe blast of July 2016.
Earlier
in September, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had named Zakir Naik and
two hardline preachers of Pakistan origin as accused in an FIR pertaining to a
high-profile "love jihad" case.
The
high-profile case involves the daughter of a Chennai-based businessman and the
son of a top Bangladesh politician, belonging to former Prime Minister Khaleda
Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/if-they-abuse-prophet-put-them-behind-bars-zakir-naik-incites-islamic-nations-to-target-non-muslim-indians/671616
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Pakistan
Ulema Council Chairman Made Special Envoy on Religious Harmony and Middle East
23
Oct 2020
Pakistan
Ulema Council (PUC) chairman Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi
-----
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) chairman Hafiz Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi was on
Thursday appointed Special Representative of the Prime Minister on Religious
Harmony and the Middle East.
Talking
to reporters, Hafiz Ashrafi said Pakistan wants unity of Ummah and it has
brotherly relations with all Muslim as well as Arab countries.
He
said more than five million Pakistanis are working in the Muslim countries and
Prime Minister Imran Khan has assigned him the task of strengthening the
country’s relations with the Middle East countries and addressing the problems
faced by the countrymen in these countries.
Hafiz
Ashrafi speaks Arabic fluently and is among very few individuals in the country
who has personal relations with the top leaders, including the Saudi crown
prince, in the Muslim world, including Palestine and Turkey.
Sources
said that the key task entrusted to Mr Ashrafi was to strengthen relations with
member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council bypassing the bureaucratic
channels.
Hafiz
Ashrafi said he would do his best to fulfil the responsibilities assigned to
him. He said he would highlight Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir, Islamophobia and
Palestine.
He
slammed those who were spreading baseless reports about strained relations
between Pakistan and Arab countries.
“Pakistan
has a stated policy to play reconciliatory role among all Muslim nations,” he
said.
Hafiz
Ashrafi announced that he would soon coordinate with the leadership of Muslim
countries and take steps on an emergency basis to strengthen Pakistan’s
relations with the Middle East.
In
reply to a question, he refuted reports that Saudi Arabia had opposed Pakistan
on the FATF issue.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1586572/ashrafi-made-special-envoy-on-religious-harmony-middle-east
--------
Bangladeshi
court issues death warrant against 1971 war crimes convict
Oct
22, 2020
DHAKA:
A special Bangladeshi tribunal on Thursday issued a death warrant for executing
an opposition party leader for committing crimes against humanity by siding
with Pakistani troops during the 1971 Liberation War.
Bangladesh's
International Crimes Tribunal (ICT-BD) issued the death warrant against
opposition Jatiya Party leader Syed Mohammad Qaiser, six years after his
conviction in the crime.
The
move comes a day after Qaiser lost his final appeal in Supreme Court's apex
Appellate Division.
"The
death warrant has been sent to prison authorities while its copies were
dispatched to the home and law ministries and Dhaka's district
magistrate," ICT-BD registrar Sayeed Ahmad told newsmen.
Qaiser
had independently raised an armed militia group having uniforms and named it
after himself in northeastern Habiganj and carried out atrocities against those
who were supportive of the freedom fighters as the Liberation War was underway.
He
challenged the death penalty before the Supreme Court's Appellate Division.
Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain chaired a four-member bench of the apex court
and issued its verdict upholding the ICT-BD judgment on January 14 this year.
Qaiser
now could seek a review of the final judgment by the apex court within next 15
days.
Qaiser
would also get a chance to seek presidential clemency.
Bangladesh
launched the process to expose to justice the war criminals in 2010.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/bangladeshi-court-issues-death-warrant-against-1971-war-crimes-convict/articleshow/78811767.cms
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Canadian
MPs deem China’s actions vs Uyghurs ‘genocide’
Barry
Ellsworth
22.10.2020
TRENTON,
Canada
A
Canadian parliamentary subcommittee on Wednesday labeled China’s treatment of
Uyghurs “genocide” and called for sanctions against top Chinese officials.
The
House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights said the
approximately one million ethnic Uyghurs in China’s northwestern Xinjiang
Autonomous Region, most of whom are Muslim, are being held in nothing less than
“concentration camps” and subjected to abuse.
“The
Subcommittee unequivocally condemns the persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic
Muslims in Xinjiang by the Government of China,” stated the subcommittee,
composed of all three Canadian political parties, including the ruling
Liberals.
“Based
on the evidence put forward during the Subcommittee hearings, both in 2018 and
2020, the Subcommittee is persuaded that the actions of the Chinese Communist
Party constitute genocide as laid out in the Genocide Convention,” it said.
The
subcommittee went on to recommend condemnation by the Canadian government of
the Chinese government for action that “constitutes genocide.”
But
it was careful to point out that the condemnation is against the Chinese
Communist government “and not the Chinese people.”
It
also recommended that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
co-operate with other countries to lobby China to allow international observers
access to the Uyghur camps in Xinjiang.
The
labelling of the Uyghur treatment as genocide was applauded by the Justice for
All Canada team, a Muslim advocacy organization.
“The
Justice for All Canada team commends the Parliamentary Subcommittee…for
releasing a list of actionable demands today for the Canadian government to
condemn China’s actions against Uyghur Muslims,” the organization said in a
press release.
The
organization backed all the subcommittee recommendations, including sanctions.
“Impose
sanctions under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act on all
Government of China officials responsible for the perpetration of grave human
rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims,” it said.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/canadian-mps-deem-china-s-actions-vs-uyghurs-genocide-/2014654
--------
UK:
World mustn’t ‘turn away’ from Rohingya’s suffering
Karim
El-Bar
22.10.2020
LONDON
British
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Thursday urged the world not to “turn away
from Rohingya’s suffering” as he announced £47.5 million ($62 million) in UK
aid to support 860,000 Rohingya refugees and help Bangladesh to deal with
coronavirus and natural disasters.
The
move follows UK sanctions on two generals in the Myanmar military who were
found by an independent UN investigation to be responsible for what amounts to
ethnic cleansing.
Hundreds
of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar since 2017 due to systemic violence.
The
British aid money will support hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people with
food, water, health care, and sanitation, as well as counselling for those who
have suffered trauma from the violence inflicted upon them.
The
aid will also improve access to education for 50,000 young people, and set up
isolation and treatment centers for those suffering from coronavirus.
Raab’s
latest announcement brings the UK’s aid commitment to the Rohingya crisis in
Bangladesh to £300 million ($262 million).
Bangladesh
will be supported as it hosts the highest number of Rohingya refugees. Around
860,000 Rohingya live in overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
As
well as helping them deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the UK will also help
Bangladesh become more resilient to natural disasters such as flooding.
Raab
said in a statement: “The people living in Cox’s Bazar face unimaginable
hardship and many have been victims of violence. We have imposed sanctions on
the perpetrators of this brutality, and this new funding will save lives in the
camp and help Bangladesh become more resilient to disasters such as
coronavirus.
“Today
I urge the world not to turn away from the Rohingya’s suffering and to take the
action necessary to allow them to safely return to the homes they fled in
terror.”
The
UK is co-hosting an international virtual conference on the Rohingya crisis
alongside the US, EU, and the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, to raise funds for the
humanitarian response.
The
UN estimates that it needs $1 billion to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh
this year, but less than half of that amount has been raised so far.
Lord
Ahmad of Wimbledon, the UK minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth, will
say at the conference that moves must be made to allow the voluntary, safe, and
dignified return of Rohingya to their homes in Myanmar.
As
well as those living in Bangladesh, there are up to 150,000 Rohingya refugees
living in other countries in the region, and around 600,000 in Myanmar’s
Rakhine State.
The
Rohingya, described by the UN as the world’s most persecuted people, have faced
heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in
2012.
According
to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and
children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar’s forces
launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, pushing
their number in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/uk-world-mustn-t-turn-away-from-rohingya-s-suffering/2015536
--------
Human
Rights Watch denounces Egypt’s mass executions
22
October 2020
The
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has strongly denounced Egyptian authorities for
executing at least 49 prisoners, including two women, in just 10 days.
The
New York-based rights group said in a statement on Thursday that it compiled
the executions between October 3 and 13 from reports in pro-government
newspapers.
According
to the HRW, of the 49 killed, 15 were convicted of alleged involvement in
political violence following the military overthrow in July 2013 of Egypt’s
first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
Some
of the executed were found guilty in three separate cases, including 10
prisoners accused of carrying out attacks in 2014 for the armed group known as
Soldiers of Egypt.
Another
three were executed for their alleged role in a 2013 attack on a police station
in a suburb of the capital Cairo, and two others for a violent protest in
Alexandria the same year.
According
to the group, over a dozen of this month’s executions took place in Cairo’s notorious
supermax facility following clashes last month inside the death row ward that
left four policemen and four inmates dead.
At
the time, authorities said the four prisoners, who had been sentenced to death
in separate terrorism-related cases, were killed during an escape attempt.
However,
the HRW statement cited an anonymous human rights lawyer who challenged the
government’s account.
The
lawyer said the four prisoners ambushed and fatally stabbed the guards during a
routine inspection. Other inmates later saw security forces enter the cell and
gunshots were heard.
Other
prisoners put to death had been sentenced for a range of crimes, including
murder and rape.
“Egypt
has had a pattern of judicial and suspicious extrajudicial killings following attacks
on security forces or civilians in recent years,” the HRW statement said.
The
rights organization also called on authorities to immediately halt carrying out
death sentences, which are not typically announced – or even the prisoner’s
family is not informed.
HRW’s
Joe Stork called Egypt’s killing of 49 prisoners in 10 days
"outrageous".
“Egypt’s
mass executions of scores of people in a matter of days is outrageous,” he
said.
“The
systematic absence of fair trials in Egypt, especially in political cases,
makes every death sentence a violation of the right to life,” he added.
Morsi
hailed from the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood. Since his removal, authorities
have banned the group and rounded up most of its leaders, including the former
president who died in June 2019.
Morsi
collapsed in a court last year and later passed away – a death that rights
activists said was evidence of the “inhumane living conditions” in Egyptian
prisons.
Egypt’s
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has long been facing international condemnation
for his crackdown on political and civil society groups since he took power in
2014, a year after a military coup spearheaded by him toppled Morsi.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/22/637002/Egypt-HRW-Joe-Stork-Morsi-Sisi-
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Iranian
Speaker's Advisor Expects Future of Region without Israel, US
Oct
22, 2020
“The
Persian Gulf littoral states have always welcomed Iranian initiatives on
regional cooperation. But, KSA and one other state have repeatedly provoked the
US to wage war against Iran. Iran is a reliable and stable state," Amir
Abdollahian wrote on his twitter page on Wednesday.
He
added that "Israel and America have no room in the future of the region”.
In
relevant remarks earlier this month, Amir Abdollahian described the US
assassination of former IRGC Quds Force Commander Lieutenant General Qassem
Soleimani as a big mistake, saying that the American forces should leave the
region now.
The
Americans must leave the region and if they do not end their presence today,
tomorrow will be late and they will sustain serious damage in the region,"
Amir Abdollahian said, addressing the Fifth International Forum on Combatants
Out of Homeland last Friday.
Elsewhere,
he said that one of the characteristics of today's world is that the US is no
longer an empire to create world order because it is facing many problems at
home and abroad and is collapsing to zero.
Lieutenant
General Soleimani was assassinated in a US drone strike on Baghdad
International Airport in Iraq on January 3.
The
airstrike also martyred Deputy Commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces
(PMF) Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. The two were martyred in an American airstrike
that targeted their vehicle on the road to the airport.
Five
Iranian and five Iraqi military men were martyred by the missiles fired by the
US drone at Baghdad International Airport.
On
January 8, the IRGC Aerospace Force started heavy ballistic missile attacks on
US Ein Al-Assad airbase in Southwestern Iraq near the border with Syria and a
US operated airbase in Erbil in retaliation for the US assassination of General
Soleimani.
Ein
Al-Assad is an airbase with a 4km runway at 188m altitude from sea levels,
which is the main and the largest US airbase in Iraq. Early reports said the
radar systems and missile defense shields in Ein Al-Assad failed to operate and
intercept the Iranian missiles. Unofficial reports said the US army's central
radar systems at Ein Al-Assad had been jammed by electronic warfare.
The
second IRGC reprisal attack targeted a US military base near Erbil airport in
Iraqi Kurdistan Region in the second leg of "Martyr Soleimani"
reprisal operation.
Iraq
said the attacks had not taken any toll from its army men stationed at these
two bases. The US army had blocked entrance into Ein Al-Assad to everyone,
including the Iraqi army.
It
was the first direct attack on the US army ever since world war two.
The
IRGC officials said none of the missiles had been intercepted.
Meantime,
Iran announced in late June that it had issued arrest warrants for 36 officials
of the US and other countries who have been involved in the assassination of
the martyred General Soleimani.
"36
individuals who have been involved or ordered the assassination of Hajj Qassem,
including the political and military officials of the US and other governments,
have been identified and arrest warrants have been issued for them by the
judiciary officials and red alerts have also been issued for them via the
Interpol," Prosecutor-General of Tehran Ali Alqasi Mehr said.
He
said that the prosecuted individuals are accused of murder and terrorist
action, adding that US President Donald Trump stands at the top of the list and
will be prosecuted as soon as he stands down presidency after his term ends.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990801000285
--------
India
UP
Muslim cop suspended for keeping beard without permission, he says plea pending
for a year
BISMEE
TASKIN
22
October, 2020
New
Delhi: A Muslim sub-inspector of Uttar Pradesh has been suspended for flouting
dress code norms by keeping a beard without permission from his superiors. But
the sub-inspector, Intsar Ali, posted at Ramala police station in Baghpat
district, claims his plea has been pending with the authorities since last
November, and that the beard was never a problem in his 25 years of service.
The
police dress code manuals state that apart from those belonging to the Sikh
community, other police personnel cannot keep a beard without permission from
the authorities.
Baghpat
SP Abhishek Singh said Thursday: “Ali was suspended yesterday as he kept his
beard without permission and even after repeated instructions, he failed to
comply with the dress code norms. Earlier, he was also issued a show cause
notice on the matter. SI Ali has been suspended for indiscipline and a probe
has been ordered against him.”
The
Baghpat police added in a statement, “Intsar Ali was earlier served with a
notice for not following uniform protocol and trimming beard in the past.
Despite this, Ali continued to flout dress code norms without any permission
from the concerned authorities/irresponsibility towards his duties.”
However,
Ali told ThePrint, “I had written the letter seeking permission in November
2019. I have served the UP Police for 25 years, and until now, nobody had
stopped me from keeping a beard.”
The
sub-inspector admitted that his seniors had told him to trim his beard multiple
times since last year, but added, “I joined as a constable in 1994; at that
time, I had a light beard. But over the last couple of years, I have always had
a beard of this length. I had gone to ask for leave last year, and the SP at
the time, Pratap Gopendra Yadav, questioned me over my beard. I have had postings
in other places too, over so many years of service, but nobody has ever stopped
me. I had given a letter seeking permission too, but I still haven’t got it.”
ThePrint
reached SP Abhishek Singh to ask why the suspended SI’s plea was pending, but
was informed by PRO Manoj Singh that he was not available to comment.
“Till
the time the inquiry is completed, Ali will not be on duty. After the probe, it
will be decided if he should be reinstated,” the PRO said.
Permission
is necessary
Former
IPS officer Abdul Rahman told ThePrint that it is mandatory for police
personnel to take permission from seniors to keep a beard.
“Apart
from Sikhs, no one else in the police services can keep a beard without seeking
permission. This comes under the police uniform rule,” Rahman said.
https://theprint.in/india/up-muslim-cop-suspended-for-keeping-beard-without-permission-he-says-plea-pending-for-a-year/528859/
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Delhi
HC Directs Police To Erect Barricades At Least 10 Meters Away From 130-Year-Old
Mosque Entrance In Delhi, For The Convenience Of The Devotees
Oct
22, 2020
NEW
DELHI: The Delhi high court has directed city police to ensure that barricades
are erected on the road at least 10 meters prior to the entrance of the
130-year-old mosque on Rao Tula Ram Marg in Delhi cantonment area, observing
that there should not obstruction for the devotees to enter through the gate of
the mosque.
"The
police shall ensure that the barricades are erected on the road at least 10
meters prior to the entrance of the Mosque or ahead of the entrance of the
Mosque,so as to ensure that in front of the Mosque there is no obstruction for
the devotees, to enter through the gate of the Mosque," the court said in
its order on Tuesday.
A
single-judge bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh also directed the mosque
management to ensure that there is no unauthorized construction or encroachment
in the mosque area, and devotees to offer prayers only use the mosque area.
Besides
this, the bench also directed that the administration of the mosque shall ensure
that in the shops run outside, there is no gathering of a crowd that would
create any obstruction to the commuters using the road, which is the exit from
Vasant Vihar towards Gurgaon.
The
court also asked the Delhi Police to ensure that if there is any checking of
vehicles which is required, adequate number of constables are posted on the
site so as to carry out the checking, either 10 metres before the vehicles
enter the mosque or 10 meters after the gate of the mosque, without impeding
the devotees from entering the mosque.
The
High Court was hearing a petition filed by the Mohd Jafar, Secretary of the
Basant Nagar mosque located on Rao Tula Ram Marg, Delhi Cantonment. Advocate
Janak Raj Rana, appearing for Jafar, submitted that in the month of November
2019, barricades were placed in front of the mosque's entrance and three
constables were posted to perform picketing duty, which is causing
inconvenience to the devotees, to access the gate of the mosque.
The
court relied on the photographs, placed on record and said that there seems to
be some variance between the version being given by the police, and the Google
Earth images which have been placed on record.
"Even
going by the Google Earth images, the barricades have been placed in a zig-zag
or staggered manner so as to ensure that each and every vehicle entering the
Mosque can be checked. However, the photographs placed by the police show that
the barricades are beyond the entrance of the Mosque," the bench observed.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/delhi-hc-directs-police-to-erect-barricades-at-least-10-meters-away-from-130-year-old-mosque-entrance/articleshow/78812513.cms
--------
Pakistan
still a haven for terror, India says on FATF decision eve
Oct
23, 2020
NEW
DELHI: With the ongoing plenary of terror watchdog FATF likely to decide on
Friday if Pakistan should remain in its grey list, India reiterated that
Islamabad continued to provide safe haven to terrorist entities and
individuals.
The
government also said Pakistan had not yet taken any action against several
terror entities and individuals, including those proscribed by UNSC like Masood
Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim and Zakir-ur-Rahman Lakhvi. All indications are that
Pakistan will remain in the grey list for not fulfilling all its commitments to
check terror financing and money laundering.
As
the MEA said in its statement, it’s understood that Pakistan has addressed only
21 action items so far out of the 27-point FATF Action Plan.
“Six
important action items are yet to be addressed,” said spokesperson Anurag
Srivastava, adding it was well known that Pakistan’s a haven for terrorists.
All six remaining points are said to be related to terror financing.
The
issue of Pakistan’s compliance is being looked at the virtual FATF plenary
meeting that will get over on October 23. As the official said, Parisbased FATF
makes public announcements of its decisions according to its rules and
procedures after its Plenary meeting.
“FATF
has well laid out standards and procedures for putting a country in its Black
List and Grey List. After a country is put on a List, an action plan is given
to it and the country concerned is expected to fully complete the action plan
within the stipulated time. Those found wanting in implementing their
obligations are held accountable and subjected to appropriate action,” he said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistan-still-a-haven-for-terror-india-says-on-fatf-decision-eve/articleshow/78818932.cms
--------
Pakistan
resorted to 3,800 ceasefire violations along LoC this year: MEA
Oct
22, 2020
NEW
DELHI: Pakistani troops have resorted to more than 3,800 incidents of
unprovoked ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and
Kashmir this year and even supported smuggling of arms and narcotic substances,
including through drones and quadcopters, the Ministry of External Affairs
(MEA) said on Thursday.
MEA
Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said Pakistani forces have continued to engage
in unprovoked ceasefire violations, often from civilian areas, to support
infiltration of terrorists across the LoC.
"This
is a clear violation of the 2003 ceasefire understanding between the two sides.
This year, till date, Pakistani forces have carried out more than 3,800
unprovoked ceasefire violations," he said at a media briefing.
The
MEA spokesperson said there have also been attempts to drop arms and ammunition
close to the LoC in the garb of civilian activities.
"We
have also witnessed that Pakistan's aid and abetment to cross-border terrorism,
smuggling of arms and narcotic substances have spilled over to the
International Boundary including through usage of drones and quadcopters,"
he said.
Srivastava
said such violations are regularly highlighted to Pakistan through diplomatic
channels and at the regular DGMO- (Director General of Military Operations)
level talks.
Asked
about the possibility of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklisting
Pakistan for failing to check terror financing, Srivastava said the global
anti-terror watchdog has laid out standards and procedures for such action.
"It
is understood that Pakistan has addressed only 21 action items so far out of
the total 27 points in the FATF action plan. Six important action items are yet
to be addressed," he said.
"As
is well known, Pakistan continues to provide safe havens to terrorist entities
and individuals and has also not yet taken any action against several terrorist
entities and individuals including those proscribed by the UNSC such as Masood
Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim, Zakir-ur-Rahman Lakhvi etc," Srivastava added.
The
FATF began its three-day virtual plenary meeting on Wednesday.
The
FATF had put Pakistan on its "grey list" in 2018 for failing to
contain terror financing in the country. The global body has been periodically
reviewing the implementation of the action plan it had recommended to Pakistan
to curb financial activities of terror groups.
Notwithstanding
the coronavirus pandemic in the region, Pakistan has been resorting to
unprovoked ceasefire violations along the LoC and making concerted efforts to
push militants into Kashmir.
Pakistani
hostilities increased after India announced its decision to withdraw the
special status of Jammu and Kashmir and divide the state into two union
territories in August last year.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pak-resorted-to-3800-ceasefire-violations-along-loc-this-year-mea/articleshow/78811807.cms
--------
Aligarh
Muslim University to extend tenure of two doctors 'terminated' for remarks on
Hathras case
October
22, 2020
Aligarh:
The Aligarh Muslim University has agreed to extend the tenure of two Jawaharlal
Nehru Medical College doctors, whose services wereallegedly
"terminated" for their remarks in connection with the case of alleged
gang-rape and death of a Dalit woman in Hathras.
"On
the request of the Chief Medical officer of the hospital, received on
Wednesday, the university has given its nod to the proposal to extend the
tenure of the two doctors," AMU spokesperson Omar Saleem Peerzada said
over phone from Aligarh on Thursday.
The
order ending the contract of the two doctors — Dr Mohamnad Azeemudin and Dr
Obaid Imtiaz — was issued by Chief Medical Officer SA Zaidi on Tuesday, a day
after the CBI team probing the gang-rape and death case visited the hospital.
The
AMU authorities have denied the allegations of termination as "highly
speculative" and said the two doctors were engaged "on a temporary
one-month vacancy from 9 September".
The
Resident Doctors Association (RDA) had written a letter to the AMU Vice-Chancellor
on Wednesday and urged him to take immediate steps to withdraw the termination
order.
The
letter signed by RDA president Mohammad Hamza Malik and general secretary
Mohammad Kaashif stated that the action against the two doctors smacked of
"vendetta politics" and was aimed at muzzling the right to freedom of
expression.
The
two doctors told reporters on Tuesday that "they were quite taken aback by
this step because they had not been given a chance to present their view to the
authorities."
In
response to a query by media persons, the two doctors had hinted that they
might have paid a price for giving their opinion to some journalists who had
visited the hospital in connection to the Hathras case.
The
19-year-old woman, who was assaulted and allegedly raped by four men, was under
treatment at the hospital before being referred to Delhi. She died at a Delhi
hospital later.
Reported
comments of one of the doctors contradicted the Uttar Pradesh Police'sstand
that the FSL report in the case found no traces of sperm, indicating that there
was no rape. The doctor had reportedly claimed the FSL report had no
evidentiary value as samples were collected 11 days after the crime.
Meanwhile,
President of the Progressive Medicos and Scientific Forum (PMSF ) Dr Harjit Singh
Bhatti also wrote to the AMU Vice Chancellor, demanding the "revocation of
the termination order of two the Medical officers".
The
letter, which was sent by mail on Thursday, states that it appears that the two
doctors have "paid the price for providing factually correct and
scientifically sound information pertaining to the samples of the Hathras rape
victim "
The
letter states that it is unfortunate that "the two doctors have been
punished because their version contradicts the police version" of the alleged
gang-rape.
The
letter states that this episode comes at a time when universities across the
country are "struggling hard to defend democratic values and the
fundamental rights" of freedom of expression.
https://www.firstpost.com/india/amu-to-extend-tenure-of-two-doctors-terminated-for-remarks-on-hathras-case-8942671.html
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BJP
fields 17 Muslim candidates in civic polls in Rajasthan
Oct
23, 2020
Jaipur:
For the first time, BJP has given tickets to 17 Muslim candidates to contest in
the municipal elections.
In
2014, four candidates were given tickets, but none of them was able to secure
any seat in the elections. According to civic polls history, no Muslim
candidate has ever won in Jaipur from BJP.
Delimitation
has changed the ground situation in most of the wards with many turning out to
be Muslim populated wards. Hence, both parties are now forced to give tickets
to more candidates from the minority community.
Sajida
Begum will be contesting from Ward No. 23 this year. There are 7,184 voters
there out of which only 400 are non-Muslims. “Municipal elections are
completely based on the liaison a candidate has in her/his area. Party politics
doesn’t play a role. You need to connect with people to get votes,” said
Sajida.
Many
of these Muslims candidates belong from BJP Alpasankhyak Morcha. “This year BJP
has given tickets to people working on the ground. Many candidates have worked
in the party for a long time and this year they have been rewarded. I am sure
that with more focused wards, victory will be ours,” said Shaheed Painter, a
candidate from Ward No. 89, Jaipur Heritage, where only 600 are from other
communities.
Around
15 candidates were given tickets from Jaipur Heritage and one from Greater as
most of the minority population wards come under Heritage.
A
senior BJP leader said, “In urban body polls, most of our voters belong to
Hindu community. Congress deliberately divided wards to keep the minority votes
concentrated in one. Hence, we also have to give tickets to minority community
members. Contrary to popular opinion, we have no shortage of minority
candidates as our workers belong to every section.”
This
is been challenged by the opposition. Giriraj Khandelwal, former Congress
councilor, said fear of losing in minority wards has forced BJP to give tickets
to Muslims.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/bjp-fields-17-muslim-candidates-in-civic-polls/articleshow/78816488.cms
--------
Southeast Asia
Loudspeaker
rule for mosques, suraus being politicised, says Penang mufti
Predeep
Nambiar
October
23, 2020
GEORGE
TOWN: Penang’s mufti Wan Salim Mohd Noor today said a decision to allow
loudspeakers at suraus and mosques to be used only for the azan (call to
prayers) was to maintain peace and harmony.
His
response came after a group of Muslim NGOs said they were planning to hold a
protest against the order at the governor’s residence at 3.30pm today.
They
claimed the ban on loudspeakers being used for other purposes was an erosion of
Muslim rights.
Speaking
to FMT, Wan Salim said the ruling on the use of loudspeakers was being
politicised by those who did not understand the reason for the ban, with some
even claiming that the DAP and Penang government were meddling with fatwas.
He
said the decision was made after those staying near mosques and suraus
complained. “These people include those who are sick and elderly, young
children and those studying.”
In
2010, he said, Penang’s Islamic authorities had issued a fatwa banning the use
of loudspeakers for the reading of al-Quran and tarhim before Subuh prayers.
In
2015, an advisory to discourage tazkirah, ceramah and wirid to be broadcast
through loudspeakers was issued by the authorities.
“But
we have yet to gazette them as fatwas, as many Muslims are unable to grasp the
reason for the ban.
“It
must be reminded that Islam does not want to see its adherents being seen as
troublesome to others, even in matters of carrying out prayers.
“Muslims
are constantly being reminded of this, but there are some who do not
understand, or plainly refuse to understand.”
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/10/23/loudspeaker-rule-for-mosques-suraus-being-politicised-says-penang-mufti/
--------
Orang
Asli education programmes must involve community input, says think tank
Imran
Ariff
October
23, 2020
PETALING
JAYA: A new report says that educational programmes for the Orang Asli must
better involve community input to ensure the initiatives meet the unique needs
of indigenous students.
The
report by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) looked at
current education programmes, assessed their limitations and recommended
changes that IDEAS believes will allow for wider and more complete Orang Asli
education.
Ya
Shin Wan, social policy research manager at IDEAS and author of the report,
said during an online presentation that indigenous consultation would allow
education systems for the Orang Asli to be guided by those who know the
community best.
“The
voice of the community and their right to self-determination must be respected
and included in the formulation of policies and programmes.
“We
do see some consultation at the national level, but it’s also important at the
state, district and school levels to find ways to work with the communities.”
She
also said there were holes in the current programmes that fail to address the
barriers faced by indigenous students, as tackling issues such as literacy and
numeracy failed to solve the underlying problems.
IDEAS
CEO Tricia Yeoh said there was a need for schools to adapt their values to
align better with those of indigenous communities.
“There
has been a mismatch between Orang Asli values and culture with mainstream
education, so there should be a re-examination of the system which currently
emphasises competition and competency. Competition may not necessarily be the
thing that Orang Asli communities aspire towards,” she said.
Ya
said there was also a lack of emphasis on getting those who had never been to
school to attend, as current evaluation methods only collected records on
dropouts, numeracy and literature rates, which did not take into account the
rate of students actually enrolling into schools.
Other
suggestions included directing better resources and training for teachers at
Orang Asli schools, auditing current programmes to make sure their targets and
methods adapt to new changes and aligning teachings outcomes with Orang Asli
values.
Yeoh
said the paper laid the foundation for future research into Orang Asli
education, with their next stage of research to involve engaging in surveys and
primary research, and talking to Orang Asli communities with regard to the
barriers they face in education.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/10/23/orang-asli-education-programmes-must-involve-community-input-says-think-tank/
--------
Govt
policies on religion need to be constantly reviewed: Yaacob
October
23, 2020
Policies
put in place to maintain religious harmony need to be constantly reviewed amid
societal changes like evolving views as seen among younger Singaporeans, said
former Cabinet minister Yaacob Ibrahim yesterday.
He
also said that faith-based debates that arise from time to time - for example,
on why certain professions forbid the wearing of tudung - cannot be swept under
the carpet but have to be managed in a way that does not compromise Singapore's
national interest.
Professor
Yaacob, who retired from politics earlier this year, was a panellist at a
webinar on religious harmony organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities and
the Institute of Policy Studies.
He
outlined three trends that could impact the existing state of religious harmony
in Singapore.
These
include the "changing orientation of younger Singaporeans" on
defining religious diversity.
"From
their perspective, everyone who professes a religious belief, no matter how
different to those in the mainstream, must have a seat at the table," said
Prof Yaacob, who had helmed several ministries, including communications and
information.
The
former Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs also cited how segments of the
Sunni group - to which most Muslims in Singapore belong - oppose the inclusion
of a "small but growing number" of Shi'ite Muslims.
Fellow
panellist Lily Kong, president of Singapore Management University, noted that
different practices of the same religion could lead to "divergent,
divisive relations".
Pointing
to the increasing diversity of the Indian Hindu population in Singapore, she
said it began with predominantly southern influences since colonial times but
is now, owing to migration, encountering differing northern traditions and
practices.
The
social sciences professor also pinpointed the challenges posed by technological
change - a trend Prof Yaacob had also highlighted.
"We
all have greater exposure to what is happening elsewhere. This means that even
without travelling somewhere else, there is the possibility that we'll import
practices from other contexts into our environment," she said.
Prof
Kong cited the emerging phenomenon of "halal-fication" in Malaysia
and Indonesia, as well as among the Muslims in China.
Besides
food, the halal concept is being expanded into daily-use items such as
refrigerators, washing machines and even Internet browsers, as well as places
like laundromats and gated communities.
Prof
Yaacob cautioned that the spread of misinformation and the rise of
"deepfakes" could have "devastating" consequences for
Singapore's religious harmony.
The
panellists were also asked how the Government could better manage issues like
tudung-wearing for front-line officers.
In
August, a woman was asked to remove her tudung to work as a promoter at Tangs
department store. The decision was subsequently reversed.
Prof
Yaacob said such efforts typically occur behind the scenes, with religious
community groups having continual dialogue with the Government and private
agencies.
Giving
the example of a Malay nurse wearing a tudung, he said: "The lady wants to
be a nurse but wants also to practise her beliefs. So how do you balance the
two in such a way… without undermining whatever concerns that we have in
society?"
Prof
Yaacob, an engineering professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology,
later told The Straits Times that even though he has left politics, people
continue to ask him about the tudung issue.
"You
need to explore it… but in a manner that preserves the trust and understanding
that the (Muslim) community has reached with the Government," he said.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/govt-policies-on-religion-need-to-be-constantly-reviewed-yaacob
--------
Regulators
urged to create supportive environment for Islamic finance
22
Oct 2020
KUALA
LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Regulators need to create a supportive environment for the
Islamic finance industry to boost the industry further, a forum was told today.
Indonesia’s
Badan Pengelola Keuangan Haji (BPKH) executive board member for foreign
investment and international relations, Hurriyah El Islamy, said the Islamic
finance industry should make it less complicated for the people to transact
using the Islamic platform.
“(This
will help) the people to be at ease. Just to share one incident: when we were
offering to come up with a sukuk structure for which a company would have
better financial gains, the company chose to take conventional loans for the
mere reason that the structure is too complicated,” she said during a virtual
panel discussion moderated by Lembaga Tabung Haji chief investment officer
Mohamad Damshal Awang Damit.
The
panel discussion was held during the Global Islamic Finance Forum 2020
organised by Bloomberg today. BPKH is an institution that manages hajj finance
in Indonesia.
Meanwhile,
Bank Islam Investment Management head of investment Abdul Razak Salimin said
the stock market was driven by liquidity rather than by the real economy.
The
surge in the stock market was driven by ample liquidity, especially when the
blanket loan moratorium was extended to Malaysians to cushion the impact of the
Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year, he noted.
Abdul
Razak said that at the start of the outbreak in March this year, the stock
market had plunged nearly 30 per cent for Malaysia and more than 30 per cent
for the global stock market but it quickly recovered as players tended to look
beyond six months.
He
noted that the sukuk and bond markets had recovered as well, despite a weak
real economy.
“There
are multiple reasons why the stock market keeps on going up regardless of what
is happening in the real economy. The biggest of them is abundant liquidity in
the market.
“For
Malaysia, we have been blessed with a loan moratorium from April until
September. Where does the money go? They go everywhere but one of them is the
stock market,” he said.
Hong
Leong Islamic Asset Management chief executive officer Noor Aini Shaik Awab
stressed that investors’ education was important to prevent the investors from
making wrong decisions when investing, especially with the transformation of
digitalisation and easy access to accounts for investment purposes.
“If
investors’ education is not emphasised, investors would tend to think that they
now have liquidity and they just put it in the stock market, without looking at
the fundamentals of the companies and the status of the economy at this
moment,” she added.
Noor
Aini said young investors had more courage to venture into the stock market,
whether in Malaysia or overseas.
“These
are areas where we, fund managers, have concerns. And furthermore, I think
(with) digitalisation, more millennials are using their e-wallets to go for
investments.
“Based
on that, the question being asked now is ‘Is the increased performance of the
stock market a true economic performance or is it because liquidity is now in
surplus in the market and investors or the mass market don’t know where to
invest?’ It is easy to go to any stockbroking house and decide what they want
to do,” she added. — Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2020/10/22/regulators-urged-to-create-supportive-environment-for-islamic-finance/1915372
--------
Pakistan
IBA
Karachi cancels Dr Atif Mian's lecture after 'threats from extremists'
22
Oct 2020
The
Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi has cancelled a scheduled
online seminar that was to feature celebrated economist Dr Atif Mian, the university
announced on Thursday, allegedly due to pressure by "extremists".
"Dr
Atif R. Mian’s lecture 'Why has economic growth fallen behind in Pakistan?'
scheduled on November 5, 2020, has been cancelled. Inconvenience is highly
regretted," read a brief post by the IBA Karachi's official Twitter
account.
In
a tweet, Mian said he was sorry to report that the seminar, which was to take
place over Zoom, had been cancelled "due to threats that the university
administration was facing from extremists".
Read
op-ed by Atif Mian: Fixing Pakistan’s financial woes
"My
very best wishes and prayers are with the students of IBA," the Princeton
University economist wrote.
A
spokesperson for IBA Karachi declined to comment when approached by Dawn.com.
Dr
Mian became a widely discussed name in Pakistan in 2018 after the PTI
government appointed him to the Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Economic Advisory
Council (EAC), an 18-member panel set up to advise the newly-formed government
on economic policy.
Less
than a month after taking office, however, the government asked Mian to step
down from the EAC amid mounting pressure from religio-political parties and a
smear campaign launched on social media seeking his removal over his Ahmadiyya
faith.
See:
Atif Mian and the kingdom of clowns
In
protest over Mian's exclusion, two other EAC members — Prof Dr Asim Ijaz Khwaja
of the Harvard Kennedy School and London-based economist Dr Imran Rasul — had
also resigned from the council.
Dr
Mian has served as a professor of economics, public policy and finance at
Princeton University and as director of The Julis-Rabinowitz Centre for Public
Policy and Finance at Woodrow Wilson School. He is the only Pakistani to be
considered among the International Monetary Fund’s ‘top 25 brightest young economists’.
Ahmadis
were declared non-Muslims in Pakistan through a constitutional amendment passed
on September 7, 1974, during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
This
measure was later followed with Gen Ziaul Haq making it a punishable offence
for Ahmadis to call themselves Muslim or to refer to their faith as Islam.
'An
opportunity lost'
Academics,
journalists and others expressed regret over the cancellation of Mian's lecture
at IBA Karachi.
"So
terrible. What a loss! We are all hostages," wrote sociologist and
academic Nida Kirmani in a tweet.
In
a message of support, US-based political science professor Adnan Rasool termed
Mian "a graceful and patient man".
"You
have shown more poise in the face [of] hate than most would ever in their
lifetime," he said.
Wendy
Gilmour, Canada’s high commissioner to Pakistan, said the development was
"an opportunity lost for the students and wider interested
community".
Journalist
Zarrar Khuhro questioned why the university had arranged the Atif Mian lecture
in the first place, saying it was "not rocket science" to predict
that the programme would receive a backlash.
"Why
do it if you cannot withstand pressure?" he wrote.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1586464/iba-karachi-cancels-dr-atif-mians-lecture-after-threats-from-extremists
--------
Karachi
incident vindicated Nawaz's 'state above the state' stance: Maryam
23
Oct 2020
PML-N
vice-president Maryam Nawaz on Friday said that former prime minister Nawaz
Sharif's stance that there was a "state above the state" in Pakistan
has been proven true through the Karachi incident".
She
was referring to her husband Mohammad Safdar's arrest in Karachi early Monday
morning — just hours after the Pakistan Democratic Movement's (PDM) successful
rally — which brought Sindh's law enforcement agency and security establishment
in direct conflict.
PPP
chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, directly addressing the military
leadership, had said on Tuesday: "I demand DG ISI Faiz Hameed and Chief of
Army Staff Gen Bajwa investigate your institution [and] how it is operating in
this province. All officers of Sindh police are wondering who were the people
who surrounded the Sindh police chief’s house in the early hours of Monday. Who
were those two men who entered into his home at 4am in the morning and took him
to an unspecified location?”
The
army chief immediately took notice of the situation and ordered an inquiry into
the “Karachi incident”. The Sindh police hierarchy, that was in low morale
following the Oct 19 episode and had submitted en masse requests for leave, set
aside their applications for ten days.
"What
happened in Karachi has shown who is actually running the government,"
Maryam said on Friday. "Imran Khan is not the government. He is simply a
dummy occupying a seat and that dummy has been silent for three days.
"The
Karachi incident has made it clear that Nawaz Sharif's stance — about 'state
above the state' and Imran Khan being nothing more than a pawn — is correct.
Nawaz Sharif only said it, you [Imran] proved it [...] showed the nation what a
state above the state is," she claimed.
When
asked about the inquiry into the incident — which both the army chief and Sindh
government said would be carried out — Maryam said that in her opinion there
was no need for an inquiry as everything was already known. "There is
plenty of video footage," she said, adding that the provincial government
was well aware of what had transpired.
"If
there is an inquiry, it should be transparent so that the nation knows
everything and the report should be made public."
She
said that given the way in which the government appeared to be scared and was
"hiding in Bani Gala", its tenure might be over even before January.
"In
a democratic set-up, a notice should be taken by the government or the
judiciary, no one else. And neither should an appeal be made to others to take
notice," she added.
A
day earlier as the war of words between the government and opposition continued
over the Safdar episode, PML-N leader and former prime minister Shahid Khaqan
Abbasi said institutions such as the Inter-Services Intelligence and Pakistan
Rangers took orders from the prime minister and hence the responsibility of the
whole Karachi incident fell on Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“This
is the reality behind this incident [and] this is the reality that the
country’s premier gave the order to violate privacy,” Abbasi said at a news
conference in Islamabad.
Violation
of privacy
Speaking
about the manner in which the arrest was carried out, Maryam reiterated her
allegation that the police had barged into her room and violated her privacy.
"They
went against the law [...] without any concern that I was in the privacy of my
room with my husband," she said. "You broke the lock of my door [...]
you had Safdar's arrest warrant, not mine. This was illegal and you will have
to answer for it."
She
asked what sort of a government treats "daughters like this", adding
that the PTI ministers where trying to cover their own helplessness by issuing
statements.
Addressing
a press conference in Islamabad shortly after, Information Minister Shibli
Faraz said that contrary to Maryam's claims about her hotel door being broken
down, video footage showed that Safdar was not agitated or distressed during
his arrest.
"There
was no anger on his face and his body language did not show that he was
disturbed," the minister said, adding that it was hypocritical of the
PML-N to talk about women's respect.
"Perhaps
they have have forgotten how they fired at pregnant women in Model Town [and]
threw pictures of Benazir Bhutto from helicopters." Did they not care
about protecting the chaddor and chaar dewari at that time, he questioned.
He
stated that the contradictory claims made by Maryam and the Sindh government
made it seem as though PPP Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari had taken revenge
for his mother.
"On
one hand, Maryam says there is no need for an inquiry. Then she says she will
present herself if an inquiry is conducted." The information minister
added that members of the PML-N appear in front of the media every day to spew
their lies.
It
is in their DNA, he said, adding that this has always been the basis of PML-N's
politics. "They talk about democracy but when they were in government,
they were the ones to violate the sanctity of the vote." They forget about
the people when they are in power, he said.
Faraz
also stated that former premier Nawaz Sharif — who is currently abroad seeking
medical treatment — would be brought back to the country by January 15.
"He
will be back in Pakistan by January 15 in some jail," he said, adding that
the PML-N supremo would not be allowed to escape without answering for his
crimes.
Baloch
students' protest
Maryam
was speaking to the media during her visit to a camp set up outside the Punjab
Assembly by more than three dozen Baloch students, who marched from Multan to
the provincial capital for restoration of their scholarships and other academic
demands.
As
many as 40 Baloch students of the Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan
had started their march from Multan on Oct 10 and reached Lahore on Oct 21.
Their
charter of demands includes restoration of scholarships for the students
enrolled at the BZU on the reserved seats for Balochistan and withdrawal of a
fee collection notification issued in this regard.
Maryam
termed it "shameful" that the government was "neglecting the
future of Pakistan".
"These
students don't belong to a political party, they are the future of Pakistan.
You [Imran Khan] may be incompetent but you can still try to do something for
them and sort the students' issues."
She
said the students' demands were legitimate and their right.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1586607/karachi-incident-vindicated-nawazs-state-above-the-state-stance-maryam
--------
Only
democracy can resolve people’s problems: Bilawal
23
Oct 2020
GILGIT:
Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said here on Thursday
that the incumbent government during the past two years not only ignored the
people of Gilgit-Baltistan but also the entire country.
Addressing
PPP workers convention in Saksa area of Ganche district, he said the federal
government wanted to destroy Sindh as it had done with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and
Punjab. He said only democracy could resolve problems of the people.
The
PPP leader has launched campaign for the upcoming elections from the district.
“PPP
is still fighting for real democracy and against the hybrid system from the
platform of Pakistan Democratic Movement,” he said. He said that
Gilgit-Baltistan lacked universities and hospitals because people sitting in
Islamabad refused to listen to demands of the people.
He
said the region was feeling pressure due to Covid-19 because it did not have a
single tertiary medical facility. He added that if voted to power, PPP would
establish hospitals in the region.
“We
will have to make sure that education up to university level is available to
everyone.
We
will establish universities and campuses all over Gilgit-Baltistan so that the
local youth can get education,” said the PP leader.
Fruit
processing plants and cold storages would be established in Gilgit-Baltistan to
facilitate local growers, he said and criticised the government for what he
called ignoring the growers of the country.
He
said Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto provided passport to the people so that they
could go abroad for employment to support their families. He added that Shaheed
Benazir Bhutto visited Siachen despite being a woman.
The
local elders, PPP workers including Mohammad Jafar, Ghulam Ali Haidari,
Mohammad Ibrahim, Raja Liaquat, Yahya Bakhtiar, Engineer Mohammad Nazir and
Ghulam Abbas participated in the convention.
The
PPP leader was accompanied by Qamar Zaman Kaira, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar
and Syed Nasir Shah.
Bilawal
Bhutto said that PPP had established a network of hospitals in Sindh where
heart and liver patients were treated free of cost.
He
added that famous singer from Punjab Shaukat Ali was treated in a hospital in
Gumbat, a small tehsil of Khairpur district in Sindh, free of cost.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1586597/only-democracy-can-resolve-peoples-problems-bilawal
--------
South Asia
Afghan
air strike hits religious school as Taliban mount attacks, officials say
Oct
22, 2020
KABUL:
An Afghan military air strike targeting Taliban fighters killed at least 12
people, including children, and wounded 14 in an attack that hit a religious
school in the northeastern province of Takhar, provincial officials said on
Thursday.
Hadi
Jamal, a spokesman for an Afghan military unit confirmed the air strike on
Wednesday evening but said it was "not clear if the attack had
accidentally killed civilians and children" and an investigation had been
launched. He did not elaborate on what kind of air attack had been carried out.
Taliban
fighters had killed at least 37 government troops in attacks over the past 72
hours as the insurgents mounted an offensive to overrun Baharak district in
Takhar, prompting government forces to call in air support, provincial
officials said.
Abdul
Qayoom Hayrat, head of the provincial health department in Takhar said that ten
of the dead were members of an Afghan special forces.
A
Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed the insurgents were engaged in
fighting with government forces in Takhar.
Afghanistan
is suffering heightened levels of violence while talks are underway in Qatar
that could help the United States find a way out of its longest war.
The
United States signed an agreement with the Taliban in February to promote a
negotiated end to the 19-year-old conflict, and talks between the insurgents
and the U.S.-backed government began more than a month ago, but have yet to
yield any major breakthrough.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/afghan-air-strike-hits-religious-school-as-taliban-mount-attacks-officials-say/articleshow/78805991.cms
--------
Mortar
Attack Claims 4, Hurts 10 in Faryab
By
Mohammad Arif Sheva
22
Oct 2020
FARYAB,
Afghanistan – At least four civilians were killed and further 10 were wounded
in a mortar attack in northern Faryab province, local authorities confirmed
Thursday.
Abdul
Karim Yourish, a spokesman for the provincial police, said the incident
occurred at around 11 a.m. after a mortar shell landed in a market in Shareen
Tagab district of the province.
“The
mortar was fired ‘by the Taliban’ to target the security forces, but all the
victims are civilians who were at the market to shop,” Yourish said.
No
group or individual has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
https://www.khaama.com/mortar-attack-claims-4-hurts-10-in-faryab-445456/
--------
North America
How
Iranian hackers were caught seeking to interfere in US elections
22
October 2020
Government
analysts and private sector investigators were able to rapidly attribute to
Iranian hackers a wave of thousands of threatening emails aimed at US voters
because of mistakes made in a video attached to some of the messages, according
to four people familiar with the matter.
Those
failures provided a rare opportunity for the US government to identify and
publicly announce blame for a malicious cyber operation in a matter of days,
something that usually requires months of technical analysis and supporting
intelligence.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“Either
they made a dumb mistake or wanted to get caught,” said a senior US government
official, who asked not to be identified.
“We
are not concerned about this activity being some kind of false flag due to
other supporting evidence. This was Iran.”
Attribution
to Iranian hackers does not necessarily mean a group is working at the behest
of the government there. Iranian officials denied the US allegations.
“These
accusations are nothing more than another scenario to undermine voter
confidence in the security of the US election, and are absurd,” said Alireza
Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York.
On
Wednesday, US Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said Russia and
Iran have both tried to interfere in the campaign for the Nov. 3 election. US
intelligence agencies are still analyzing exactly who in Iran commanded the
operation and its intent, three of the sources said.
Within
hours of the video being circulated this week, which purported to come from a
American far-right group known as The Proud Boys, intelligence officials and
major email platform providers, such as Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft, began
closely analyzing computer code that appeared in the hackers’ video.
While
the emails, which demanded that voters change their party affiliation to the
Republican Party and vote for President Donald Trump or “we will come after
you,” appeared to come from info @officialproudboys.com, the address was
inauthentic, security analysts said. In a statement to CNN, a Proud Boys
spokesman said it “is definitely not” his group.
How
security analysts used intelligence from the video to attribute the email
scheme has not been previously reported.
A
Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on the company’s collaboration with
law enforcement. A Google statement on Wednesday night said the activity was
“linked to Iran.” A Google spokesperson said on Thursday the company was in
contact with the FBI.
Attempts
to blur
The
hackers were unable to obfuscate all of the incriminating information despite
their attempts to blur aspects of the video to hide their identity, the sources
said.
The
video showed the hackers’ computer screen as they typed in commands to
purportedly hack a voter registration system.
Investigators
noticed snippets of revealing computer code, including file paths, file names
and an internet protocol (IP) address.
Security
analysts found that the IP address, hosted through an online service called
Worldstream, traced back to previous Iranian hacking activity, the sources
said.
Analysts
then cross-referenced those clues left in the video with data from other
intelligence streams, including communications interceptions, the government
official said.
“This
public disclosure of attribution to Iran by the government has been done with
breakneck speed, compared to the usual process that takes months and often
years,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, a co-founder of cybersecurity company
CrowdStrike.
Earlier
this week, the US Justice Department blamed Russia for a host of malicious
cyberattacks, some dating back to 2015.
Two
cybersecurity experts, who spoke on condition of anonymity, independently said
they had seen Iranian hackers use infrastructure from Dutch-based Worldstream
to launch cyberattacks in recent months.
Worldstream’s
chief legal operations officer Wouter van Zwieten said in a statement that the
account associated with the IP in question was suspended after Reuters got in
touch and that the Dutch National Cyber Security Center was investigating.
“They’ve
just informed us that the particular IP address is now officially registered by
them and ready for investigation under Dutch Law,” van Zwieten said. The
Natiional Cyber Security Center did not immediately return an email seeking
comment.
Van
Zwieten said the server used by the hackers was only commissioned on Oct. 6 and
had not drawn any complaints until now.
The
company said it had no access to the content on its servers.
In
addition to sending thousands of emails to voters in states including Florida,
the hackers also attempted to share links to the video via fake accounts on
Facebook and Twitter.
“We
disrupted an attempt by a single fake account to seed information related to
what appears to be an influence operation primarily focused on spreading false
claims via email,” Facebook said in a statement.
A
Twitter spokeswoman said: “We acted quickly to proactively and permanently
suspend a small number of accounts and limit the sharing of media specific to
this coordinated campaign.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/10/23/How-the-US-caught-Iranian-hackers-seeking-to-interfere-in-US-elections
--------
US
says Russia, Iran aim to influence November election
Servet
Günerigök
22.10.2020
WASHINGTON
The
US said Wednesday that Russia and Iran were attempting to influence the Nov. 3
presidential election, accusing the latter of sending "spoofed
emails" to damage President Donald Trump.
"We
would like to alert the public that we have identified that two foreign actors,
Iran and Russia, have taken specific actions to influence public opinion
relating to our elections,” National Intelligence Director John Ratcliffe said
during a press briefing along with FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Ratcliffe
said Russia and Iran have separately obtained certain voter registration
information which he said can be used by foreign actors to try to communicate
false information to voters that they hope will "cause confusion and
undermine your confidence in American democracy."
"We
have already seen Iran sending spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters,
incite social unrest and damage President Trump," he said. "You may
have seen some reporting on this in the last 24 hours, or you may have even
been one of the recipients of those emails."
He
also accused Iran of "distributing other content to include a video that
implies that individuals could cast fraudulent ballots even from overseas.”
"This
video and any claims about such allegedly fraudulent ballots are not
true," Ratcliffe said.
Wray
said there is coordination with the private sector and US election
infrastructure remains strong against any interference.
"We
are not going to tolerate foreign interference in our elections or any criminal
activity that threatens the sanctity of your vote or undermines public
confidence in the outcome of the election," he added.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-says-russia-iran-aim-to-influence-november-election/2014674
--------
Europe
Turkey
sends militants to fight for Azerbaijan: Armenia’s President to EU
Tamara
Abueish
22
October 2020
Turkey
has been sending militants to fight alongside Azerbaijan’s forces in
Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian told European Union
Minister for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell on Thursday, according to Armenian
news agency Armenpress.
The
two met to discuss the ongoing conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, where
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in an armed battle since September 27.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“Turkey
is bringing militants to the region and this represents a serious threat to
regional and international stability and security,” the Armenian president
said.
From
his side, Borrell expressed his deep concern over the ongoing military action
in the territory, according to Armenpress.
He
stressed the need for peace, a ceasefire, and negotiations to be held.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2020/10/22/Turkey-sends-militants-to-fight-for-Azerbaijan-Armenia-s-President-to-EU-
--------
Mosques
in southern France placed under protection amid threats
22
October 2020
Mosques
in two southern French cities have been placed under the protection of security
forces due to the spread of violent threats against Muslims across the country.
“Threats
or acts of violence targeted the mosques of Beziers and Bordeaux, I asked the
prefects of the departments concerned to protect these places of worship. Such
acts are unacceptable on the soil of the republic,” French Interior Minister
Gerald Darmanin said in a post on Twitter on Wednesday.
The
remarks came amid nationwide rallies to demand justice for a teacher who was
allegedly beheaded outside his school in a suburb in the French capital, Paris.
Samuel Paty, a history teacher, had raised controversy and provoked anger by
showing blasphemous cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad to his students.
Paty
was murdered on Friday by an 18-year-old assailant, identified as Chechen
Abdullakh Anzorov, who was shot dead by police soon after the killing.
Police
have made arrests as part of an investigation into the incident, without
providing any details.
French
President Emmanuel Macron said Paty was murdered because he “taught freedom of
expression.”
Macron
has recently come under fire for describing Islam as “a religion that is today
in crisis all over the world.” He made the remark on October 2 — before the
alleged beheading of Paty.
French
Muslims criticized the remark, voicing concern that the speech would trigger
hate crimes against them.
As
part of a crackdown against Muslims, French authorities have already ordered a
six-month shutdown of the Grand Mosque of Pantin in a low-income Paris suburb.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/22/636946/Mosques-in-southern-France-placed-under-protection-amid-threats
--------
Turkey
commemorates diplomat martyred in Vienna
Jeyhun
Aliyev
23.10.2020
Turkey
on Thursday commemorated its diplomat martyred in an Oct. 22, 1975 attack in
Vienna, Austria.
"We
remember with respect our martyr, Ambassador Danis Tunaligil, assassinated in a
heinous attack by the terrorist organizations ASALA [Armenian Secret Army for
the Liberation of Armenia] and JCAG [Justice Commandos of the Armenian
Genocide] in Vienna on 22 October 1975," the Foreign Ministry said on
Twitter.
Armenian
terrorist organizations have martyred 31 Turkish diplomats and family members
since the 1970s.
The
vast majority of the attacks were conducted by the ASALA and JCAG terrorist
organizations.
ASALA,
founded in 1975, was the first Armenian terrorist group to wage war against
Turkey.
It
not only targeted Turkey but also other countries and became infamous for a
1975 bomb attack on the Beirut office of the World Council of Churches.
The
JCAG was formed in 1975 in Beirut. However, it is nationalistic, not
Marxist-Leninist like ASALA.
Claiming
that it only received support from the Armenia diaspora rather than foreign
partners, the JCAG only targeted Turkey because it believed that attacking
other countries would damage the so-called "Armenian struggle."
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-commemorates-diplomat-martyred-in-vienna/2016000
--------
Turkey,
Greece meet at NATO headquarters on daily basis
Sena
Güler
22.10.2020
NATO
chief said Thursday that Turkey and Greece meet on a daily basis at NATO
headquarters in an attempt to resolve disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“Greece
and Turkey meet on the daily basis here at the NATO headquarters. I think
that's one of the advantages of NATO is that we provide a platform for our
allies to meet and to discuss on a daily basis,” Secretary-General Jens
Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels following a virtual meeting of
NATO defense ministers.
Noting
that the talks on the deconfliction mechanism was developed during the
technical meetings between the two neighboring countries, Stoltenberg said: “I
think that's important because this is for us a technical military issue, where
we need to make sure that you have the tools to prevent incidents and
accidents.”
He
said that the ministers expressed “strong support for the NATO deconfliction
mechanism” in the Eastern Mediterranean, and that avoiding loss of lives at sea
and in the air “is a heavy responsibility” which should not be placed on the
shoulders of captains and pilots operating in the region.
“It
is for us as politicians to do everything we can to resolve these disputes at
our level.”
Recalling
that the 24/7 hotline was established between the two countries using NATO safe
and secure networks, Stoltenberg added: “We are now looking into how we can
further expand and strengthen this mechanism.”
He
also welcomed the “flexibility” of Ankara and Athens to establish such
mechanism.
Stoltenberg
said the military deconfliction mechanism may not solve the disputes but that
it can provide the “space for political discussion.”
“And
I hope it can pave the way for exploratory talks under German auspices as soon
as possible,” he said.
‘Ready
to meet Azerbaijani leader’
Referring
to his meeting with Armenia's President Armen Sarkissian in Brussels on Wednesday,
Stoltenberg said he told Sarkissian that NATO is not a part of the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh.
He
also told the Armenian president that Turkey is a valued ally of NATO.
Stating
that when the president of a partner nation comes to Brussels and asks for a
meeting, it is natural to meet that leader, Stoltenberg said he had also met
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev previously at the headquarters.
“And
of course, I'm ready to talk, to meet the President of Azerbaijan,” he said,
adding that in case Aliyev makes such a request.
NATO
space center
Recalling
that last year, NATO declared space as an operational domain for the alliance,
Stoltenberg said another important step was taken during today’s meeting.
“Ministers
agreed to establish a new NATO Space Centre at Allied Air Command in Ramstein,
Germany,” he announced.
He
said the center will help to coordinate the space activities of the allies,
support NATO missions and operation from space -- including communications and
satellite imagery -- and protect the Allied space systems by providing
information about potential threats.
“What
happens in space is very important for what we can do on the earth,” he said,
adding that “communications, navigation, cell phones, military communications,
transmission of data, and a lot of activities” on Earth are dependent on
capabilities in space.
“So
this is important for our civilian societies, but also, of course, for military
capabilities. And therefore, we have to make sure that we have safe and
reliable systems in space.”
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/turkey-greece-meet-at-nato-headquarters-on-daily-basis/2015754
--------
Arab world
Lebanese
criticize Saad Hariri as new Prime Minister-designate amid low vote-count
Rawad
Taha
22
October 2020
Saad
Hariri was appointed on Thursday as Lebanon’s prime minister-designate just a
year after his resignation from office during the October 17 uprising.
Hariri
received the lowest number of votes approving his appointment in comparison to
his former nominations. Neither of the two main Christian parties of the
country, Samir Geagea’s Lebanese Forces and their rivals President Aoun’s Free
Patriotic Movement (FPM), nominated Hariri.
Hariri
received 64 number of votes for his nomination while 55 members of parliament
did not name anyone at the consultations that took place in the presidential
palace in Baabda. Hariri's nomination was primary pushed for by his own party
Future Movement, the speaker of the parliaments’ Amal Movement, and Sleiman Frangieh’s
parliamentary bloc.
In
a brief statement following the consultations, Lebanese Forces clarified that
they called for the formation of a totally independent government in September
2019 during a national dialogue table in the presidential palace. This was
before nationwide protests began in October 2019, as well as before French
President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative this September.
FPM’s
Gibran Bassil also clarified in a short statement that the French initiative
explicitly called for the formation of an independent government of experts,
and Hariri being the head of a political party debunks that condition, and for
that reason the party decided to not nominate him.
Resigned
parliamentary member and member of the Kataeb party Elias Hankash re-emphasized
his belief that Lebanon’s establishment is merely engaging in a “lousy” cover
up, despite the deep reforms needed to deal with the country’s economic
collapse and the Beirut port explosion.
“We
need an independent government of experts which can deal with the crisis and
lead the country towards transparent early elections, after which we resolve
other issues such as illegal weapons, and finally we navigate to building a new
political model,” Hankash told Al Arabiya English.
“Hariri
was toppled down by the uprising just a year ago. As if nothing happened, he
wants to return. This will only lead to more cumulative failure, even after his
designation, he will not be able to form a government, he has to wait for the
US elections and for the new status quo, sadly this is what establishment did,
they made Lebanon a struggle square for Iran and the US,” Hankash added.
Multiple
factions of the October 17 uprising – the name given to the nationwide protests
that have gripped Lebanon sporadically since October 2019 – united to give a
statement in which they stressed their commitment to the anti-government
uprising.
“We
renew our absolute rejection of reconfiguring this illegitimate power that
deserves to be described as an occupation, and we stress that the only resolution
is the formation of a transitional independent government with exceptional
powers, a government of independent figures that enjoy the legitimacy of the
people, a government capable of saving the country from inevitable collapse,
[that will] recover the stolen money and lay down the criminals are all the
criminals against the people from the war until the Beirut explosion in the
face of accountability and justice,” said Beirut Madinati, ReLebanon, Li Haqi,
Marsad, and Minteshreen in a joint statement.
The
statement pledged that the groups will continue to oppose the government and
work collectively for a new, civil, democratic social contract to build the
state of right and law.
Political
activist and law graduate Leen Mneimneh said that probably the only “good”
thing about Hariri if they let him form a government, will be the fact that he
has good relations with the international community, which Lebanon desperately
needs in its current crisis.
“Yet
no trust, zero trust to Hariri who showed his continuous failure of leading a
country over the years”, she added.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/22/Lebanon-crisis-Lebanese-criticize-Saad-Hariri-s-as-new-Prime-Minister-designate-amid-low-vote-count
--------
Suspected
Islamist was under observation on day of Dresden attack
OCTOBER
22, 2020
BERLIN
(Reuters) - A Syrian suspected of killing a tourist in the German city of
Dresden early this month had been classified as a radical Islamist and was
under observation on the day of the attack, security officials said on
Thursday.
The
20-year-old man had been categorised in 2017 as likely to pose a threat to
public safety, said Saxony state’s head of police, Petric Kleine.
Some
600 suspected Islamists are in this category in Germany, according to
authorities.
The
Syrian was released from prison, where he had served more than two years for
recruiting members to a terrorist organisation, only days before the attack.
In
an assessment months before, authorities had said it was highly likely the man
would commit more crimes once released, Kleine added.
He
was under observation on the day of the attack and the two preceding days, said
the head of the Saxony branch of the domestic intelligence agency, Dirk-Martin
Christian.
He
added that people just released from prison were not normally monitored 24
hours a day, but declined to give more details.
Investigators
accuse the Syrian of attacking two tourists, one aged 53 and the other aged 55,
from the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia with a knife. Both were
severely injured and the 55-year-old later died.
The
Syrian had come to Germany in October 2015 at the peak of the migrant crisis
and was later granted refugee status, police said. He lost this status because
of his criminal record in 2019, but could not be deported due to the civil war
in his home country.
https://in.reuters.com/article/germany-security-suspect/suspected-islamist-was-under-observation-on-day-of-dresden-attack-idINKBN2772A1
--------
US
sanctions Iranian ambassador to Iraq, two senior Hezbollah officials
Joseph
Haboush
22
October 2020
The
United States Thursday sanctioned Iranian Ambassador to Iraq Iraj Masjedi and
two senior Hezbollah officials, the Department of Treasury announced.
“A
close adviser to former IRGC-QF Commander Qassem Soleimani, Masjedi played a
formative role in the IRGC-QF’s Iraq policy,” a statement from the Treasury
Department said.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
According
to the statement, Masjedi has “overseen a program of training and support to
Iraqi militia groups, and he has directed or supported groups that are
responsible for attacks that have killed and wounded US and coalition forces in
Iraq.”
As
ambassador, the Iranian diplomat conducted financial transfers to benefit the
IRGC-QF, the US said.
In
a separate statement, the Treasury Department said two members of Iran-backed
Hezbollah’s Central Council were also sanctioned.
“The
Central Council is responsible for identifying and electing the group’s highest
decision-making body, the Shura Council, which formulates policy and asserts
control over all aspects of Hezbollah’s activities, including its military
activities,” Treasury said.
Secretary
of Treasury Steve Mnuchin said that the group needed to continue to be held
accountable for its “horrific actions as we approach the 37th anniversary of
Hezbollah’s bombing of the US Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.”
“Hezbollah’s
senior leaders are responsible for creating and implementing the terrorist
organization’s destabilizing and violent agenda against US interests and those
of our partners around the world,” the US official said.
Protecting
the Iraqi people and restricting Hezbollah’s activities
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended the move to sanction Masjedi.
“Today,
the United States is taking another step to protect the Iraqi people from
malign IRGC-QF influence by designating Iraj Masjedi, a senior IRGC-QF general
in Iraq who also serves as Iran’s ambassador to Iraq,” he said in a statement.
Pompeo
said the Iranian diplomat and IRGC general previously admitted to training
militias in Iraq and Syria.
On
the designations of the two Hezbollah officials, Pompeo said the group remains
a terrorist threat to the US, its allies and its interests in the Middle East
and globally.
Pompeo
reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to “take action to disrupt Hezbollah’s
operations and promote accountability for its terrorist acts.”
“All
responsible nations must take appropriate steps to restrict Hezbollah’s
activities and constrain its influence,” he said, hours after Saad Hariri was
designated to form a new government in Lebanon where the group exerts
significant power over the political scene.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/23/US-sanctions-Iranian-ambassador-to-Iraq
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Senior
mufti in Syria assassinated by car bomb: State media
Joseph
Haboush
22
October 2020
The
Mufti of Damascus, one of the most senior Muslim leaders in Syria, was
assassinated Thursday after a bomb was strapped to his car, state media
reported.
“Sheikh
Mohammad al-Afiouni, Mufti of Damascus and its outskirts, was martyred after a
terrorist bombing targeted his car... in Damascus’ Qudsaya town,” the state-run
Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.
SANA
said that his vehicle was planted with a bomb. No other details were provided.
Sheikh
al-Afiouni had been seen leading prayers with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
on multiple occasions.
The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said he played a key role in
reaching reconciliation deals with rebel fighters on the capital's outskirts
during the country's nine-year war.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/22/Senior-mufti-in-Syria-assasinated-by-car-bomb-State-media
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Car
bomb explosion kills Damascus mufti west of Syria’s capital
23
October 2020
A
prominent Syrian Muslim cleric has lost his life when a bomb blast targeted his
car outside the capital Damascus.
The
explosion that killed Damascus Mufti, Sheikh Mohammed Adnan Afyouni, took place
in the city of Qudsaya, located 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) west of Damascus, on
Thursday evening, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.
The
cleric was first reported wounded and then declared dead soon after.
It
was not known who had planted the bomb, and no group immediately claimed
responsibility.
Syrian
Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs, Mohammed Abdul-Sattar al-Sayed,
denounced Afyouni’s death, calling it a terrorist act.
“No
matter how hard they (terrorists) would try through firepower and abhorrence,
they would not be able to silence the voice of love which Sheikh Adnan
projected across Damascus, its countryside and Syria. They cannot stifle true
Islam, as well as the voice of truth and moderation…,” he added.
Sayed
highlighted that the war on Syria has not ended, and that his ministry and its
scholars will do their utmost to shield all religious institutions and mosques
from the invasion of extremism.
Sheikh
Afyouni had apparently been a key figure in the Syrian government's
reconciliation deals with foreign-sponsored terrorist groups on the capital's
outskirts.
He
was one of the mediators of the August 2016 deal under which militants in the
city of Daraya, situated 8 kilometers (5 miles) southwest of Damascus,
surrendered after a four-year bloody battle.
After
the evacuation, Afyouni led prayers a month later there as President Bashar
al-Assad made a rare public appearance to celebrate the Muslim Eid al-Adha
holiday.
Assad
appointed Afyouni in 2019 to head the newly-founded Islamic al-Sham Center to
combat terrorism.
US-backed
SDF militants killed in northern Syria
Separately,
three militants affiliated with the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces were
killed (SDF) in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah as well as the
northern province of Raqqa.
Local
sources, requesting anonymity, told SANA that unknown gunmen opened fire on an
SDF militant in al-Shaddadi town on Thursday, killing him on the spot.
Elsewhere
in Raqqa, two SDF militants were killed when an explosion struck their convoy
near al-Rashid Park in the city center.
Security
conditions have been deteriorating in the SDF-controlled areas in Hasakah, Dayr
al-Zawr and Raqqah provinces.
Local
Syrians complain that the SDF’s constant raids have generated a state of
frustration and instability, severely affecting their businesses and
livelihood.
Residents
accuse the US-sponsored militants of stealing crude oil and refusing to spend
money on service sectors.
Local
councils affiliated with the SDF also stand accused of financial corruption.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/23/637031/Car-bomb-explosion-kills-Damascus-mufti-west-of-Syria%E2%80%99s-capital
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Mideast
Palestinian
lawyers to sue UK for Balfour Declaration
22
October 2020
Palestinian
lawyers on Thursday filed a complaint to sue the British government for the
1917 declaration setting out London’s support for a national home for the
Jewish people in Palestine.
The
lawyers filed a complaint in the occupied West Bank town of Nablus that claimed
“the suffering of the Palestinians” stemmed from this document.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
Balfour Declaration, signed by the then British foreign secretary Arthur James
Balfour, is seen as a precursor to Israel’s creation in 1948.
“The
British mandate is at the root of the suffering of the Palestinian people and
has paved the way for the violation of their rights and the plunder of their
land,” Munib al-Masri, head of the Federation of Independent and Democratic
Trade Unions, told a news conference in Ramallah.
As
well as the trade unions group, the complaint was filed on behalf of the
International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights and the
Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.
The
Balfour Declaration was published on November 2, 1917, a year before the end of
World War I.
In
one sentence it announced the British government’s backing for the
establishment within Palestine, then a region of the Ottoman Empire, of “a
national home for the Jewish people.”
It
was a shock to the Arab world, which had not been consulted and had received
vague promises of independence of its own in the post-war breakup of the
defeated Ottoman Empire.
The
Palestinians have always condemned the declaration, which they refer to as the
“Balfour promise,” saying Britain was giving away land it did not own.
With
the Balfour Declaration, London sought Jewish support for its war efforts, and
the Zionist push for a homeland for Jews was an emerging political force.
The
British Mandate for Palestine was later set up in the wake of World War I and
ran until Israel declared statehood in 1948.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/22/Palestinian-lawyers-to-sue-UK-for-Balfour-Declaration
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Iran
summons Swiss envoy over 2020 US election interference claim
22
October 2020
Iran
summoned the Swiss envoy on Thursday to protest against what it called
“baseless” US claims that Tehran has tried to interfere with the 2020
presidential election in November.
“Iran’s
strong rejection of American officials’ repetitive, baseless and false claims
was conveyed to the Swiss ambassador.. As we have said before, it makes no
difference for Iran who wins the US election,” Foreign
Ministry
spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told state TV.
Switzerland
represents US interests in Iran because Washington and Tehran have no
diplomatic ties.
US
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said on Wednesday that Russia
and Iran have both tried to interfere with the presidential election taking
place on November 3 have risen between longtime foes Tehran and Washington
since 2018, when US President Donald Trump exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal and
stepped up sanctions on Tehran.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/22/Iran-summons-Swiss-envoy-over-2020-US-election-interference-claim
--------
US
allegations of Iranian interference is ‘nothing but a scenario’: Iran UN
mission
22
October 2020
The
United States’ allegations of Iran’s interference in its presidential elections
are “nothing but a scenario aimed at undermining voters’ confidence,” the
Iranian mission to the United Nations said on Thursday, according to the IRNA
news agency.
US
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe had on Wednesday accused both
Russia and Iran of attempting to interfere with the 2020 presidential election.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Just
two weeks ahead of the election, the announcement showed the level of alarm
among top US officials that foreign actors were seeking to undermine Americans’
confidence in the integrity of the vote and spread misinformation in an attempt
to sway its outcome.
“We
have confirmed that some voter registration information has been obtained by
Iran, and separately, by Russia,” Ratcliffe said during the news conference.
Most
of that voter registration is public. But Ratcliffe said that government
officials “have already seen Iran sending spoofed emails designed to intimidate
voters, incite social unrest and damage President Trump.”
Ratcliffe
was referring to emails sent Wednesday and designed to look like they came from
the pro-Trump Proud Boys group, according to government sources.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/10/22/US-allegations-of-Iranian-interference-is-nothing-but-a-scenario-Iran-UN-mission
--------
Israeli
warplanes attack Gaza Strip
23
October 2020
The
Israeli military has carried out several airstrikes against positions in the
central and soutthern parts of the besiged Gaza Strip.
The
Israeli army said through a statement that it had stricken two targets
belonging to the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas in the territory on
Thursday night.
Russia’s
Sputnik news agency cited Palestinian sources as saying that the Israeli
aggression targeted a number of facilities belonging to Gaza-based resistance
fighters at the al-Nuseirat refugee camp that is located in the central part of
the coastal sliver.
Israeli
warplanes were also reported to have fired two rockets towards agricultural
lands in the town of al-Qarara that is located to the northeast of the southern
city of Khan Yunis in Gaza.
The
Israeli regime claimed that the strikes were conducted shortly after two
rockets were fired from the blockaded Palestinian enclave toward the occupied
territories.
According
to Israeli media reports, Israel's Iron Dome missile system had destroyed one
of the rockets midair over the city of Ashkelon in the south of the occupied
territories.
There
have been no reports of casualties from either the alleged rocket strikes or
the Israeli aerial assaults.
Israel
took the territory under aerial assault earlier in the week too after similarly
claiming that it had intercepted a rocket from Gaza.
According
to the regime, the attack hit “an underground Hamas infrastructure.”
The
subterranean corridors serve to supply Gaza with vital items in the face of a
2006-present all-out blockade that the regime began enforcing against the
enclave in response to Hamas’ rise to power there.
The
regime has also been taking the enclave under incessant fire ever since,
including three wholesale wars in the 2000s that killed thousands of
Palestinians.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/23/637017/Israel-Gaza-airstrikes-rocket-fire
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Hamas
decries Israeli decision to reduce charges against Palestinian’s killer
22
October 2020
Hamas
has decried a decision by Israeli authorities to level a charge of
unintentional murder against a police officer who shot dead an unarmed mentally
ill Palestinian in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds nearly five months ago.
Hamas
spokesman Hazem Qasem on Thursday called on all competent international organizations
to take action to hold accountable the Israeli regime's authorities who issue
orders to kill defenseless Palestinians.
“The
occupation, with its aggressive and criminal behavior, will continue to commit
crimes against our people as long as it feels that it is above international
law,” the spokesman said.
Israeli
prosecutors on Wednesday recommended charging a police officer with reckless
manslaughter in the deadly shooting of Eyad al-Hallaq, an autistic Palestinian
man, in Jerusalem al-Qud’s Old City on May 30.
Qasem
said the Israeli decision showed that "the Zionist regime’s apparatuses
were accomplices” in committing crimes against the Palestinians.
“Such
a decision is not new to the institutions which are known for exonerating the
murderers. They have already acquitted all those who committed massacres
against our people,” the spokesman said.
“The
crime of killing al-Hallaq, who had an autism disorder, has confirmed the
occupying regime's sadism,” he added.
Al-Hallaq,
a 32-year-old Palestinian, was shot by two Israeli officers in the vicinity of
al-Asbat Gate, a main entrance to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City
of Jerusalem al-Quds. The slain man
attended and worked at a school for people with special needs in the Old City.
Israel
forces claimed in a statement following the killing that the Palestinian was
allegedly “holding a suspicious object that appeared to be a gun.”
Following
the shooting, Israeli police sealed off the Old City and local media reported
that medics were barred from entering the area. Palestinians said he was shot
by several bullets and that he was left on the ground bleeding for a while
until he died.
Al-Hallaq’s
body was transferred to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv, which
holds bodies of Palestinians killed in alleged attacks on Israelis. The
institute is notoriously known as the place where Palestinian organs and body
parts have been harvested.
Hallaq
was diagnosed with low-functioning autism as a child and had trouble
communicating with people. According to his father, Khairy Hallaq, his son had
the mental capacity of an eight-year-old – and no concept of the dangerous
reality of life under occupation around him.
The
killing of an autistic Palestinian man by two Israeli police officers had
prompted rare statements of international condemnation, but Palestinians had
little faith an inquiry would result in any accountability.
Hallaq’s
cousin said at the time that the family was not optimistic about the police
inquiry into the shooting.
“The
news of Israeli authorities ordering an investigation into Eyad’s murder means
nothing to us,” he said. “We know they’ll twist the facts and we won’t be
surprised if they concluded that the officers fired at him out of
‘self-defense’.”
Khairi
al-Hallaq, the victim’s father, said Wednesday that he believed prosecutors had
recommended an unintentional manslaughter charge only because the shooter was a
Jew and the victim an Arab. Had it been the reverse, he said, the authorities
would have urged a murder charge.
He
also complained that the commanding officer on the scene, who was closely
involved, had been cleared.
A
number of local and international human rights groups have raised concerns that
Israeli security forces have used excessive force when confronting Palestinians
who carried out attacks or were suspected of doing so.
Opening
fatal fire on Palestinians is not uncommon among Israeli forces. The shooting
takes place on accusation that the targets attempt stabbing attacks.
Human
rights groups have repeatedly criticized the Tel Aviv regime for its
shoot-to-kill policy as a large number of the Palestinians killed at the scene
of the alleged attacks did not pose serious threats to Israelis.
Israeli
troops have on numerous occasions been caught on camera brutally killing
Palestinians, with the videos going viral online and sparking international
condemnation.
The
developments come as Israel presses ahead with plans to annex large parts of
the West Bank in line with US President Donald Trump’s so-called Middle East plan,
which strongly favors Israel and was rejected by the Palestinians.
The
plan gives Israel the green light to annex Israeli settlements, illegal under
international law, and strategic areas of the West Bank.
The
Palestinian Authority has said it is no longer bound by past agreements with
Israel and the US and is cutting off all ties, including long-standing security
coordination – a controversial practice that has repeatedly been criticized by
Palestinian rights groups.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/22/636984/Palestine-Hamas-Hazem-Qasem-Jerusalem-%C2%A0al-Quds-Eyad-al-Hallaq--
--------
Iran's
Rouhani: Karabakh crisis should be resolved through dialogue
22
October 2020
Iran’s
president says the current crisis between the Republic of Azerbaijan and
neighboring Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region must be resolved
through dialogue, emphasizing that military conflict cannot help settle this
issue.
Hassan
Rouhani made the remarks in a Thursday phone call with his Turkish counterpart,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which the Iranian side highlighted the necessity
of maintaining the security of Iran’s border areas close to Azeri and Armenian
territories.
“Our
position on this issue is totally clear and we believe that war is not a
solution and [the ongoing crisis] must be resolved through dialogue and
negotiations,” Iran’s chief executive said.
As
two “powerful regional countries,” Rouhani said, Iran and Turkey can join their
forces and help, in cooperation with Russia, to restore peace and security in
the region so it can bear witness to establishment of calm on the back of
respect for the international law and regional states’ territorial integrity.
Nagorno-Karabakh
is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but is populated by Armenians
and sought after by the Armenian secessionists.
On
September 27, the separatists sparked a firefight by targeting Azeri forces.
Around
1,000 have reportedly died from the two sides during the violence. The flare-up
has proven the deadliest to erupt between the two sides since 1992, when
Armenians invaded the region with Yerevan’s backing and forced Azeris into a
retreat.
Rouhani's
call came a day after Armenia's prime minister alleged he could see no
diplomatic resolution to the conflict at this stage. "There is victory and
there is defeat. There is no middle ground," Nikol Pashinyan said in a
televised address.
The
Iranian president separately regretted that the country and Turkey’s business
ties have been suffering from the United States’ illegal and unilateral
sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic as well as the coronavirus pandemic.
He hoped that bilateral trade would claw back its former level thanks to
renewed increase in air and road freight between the two sides that would pay
full notice to standing anti-virus protocols.
Turning
to the issue of terrorism, Rouhani called the phenomenon “a great danger” for
the region. He hoped that the countries’ cooperation with Russia with the aim
of remedying Syria’s crisis help resolve the Arab country’s woes, spell an end
to terrorism, and restore Damascus’ sovereignty to the entire Syrian territory.
Tehran,
Ankara, and Moscow have been holding talks together with Syrian representatives
in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana in order to help end the foreign-backed
violence that has plagued the Arab nation since 2011. The talks have led to
creation of four de-confliction zones in the violence-hit country towards
bringing about an all-Syria ceasefire.
Erdogan,
for his part, reiterated Ankara’s support for Tehran in the face of
Washington’s pressure, saying his country would do its utmost to expand its
commercial and economic ties with the Islamic Republic.
The
Turkish head of state also expressed hope that the countries’ cooperation would
prove helpful towards restoring calm to Nagorno-Karabakh.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/22/636994/Iran-Turkey-Azerbaijan-Armenia-Nagorno-Karabakh
--------
Africa
African
Union slams police violence against protesters in Nigeria
22
October 2020
The
African Union has denounced deadly violence in Nigeria’s biggest city of Lagos,
urging all parties to “privilege dialog.”
In
a statement on Thursday, the office of African Union Commission Chairman Moussa
Faki Mahamat said that he “strongly condemns the violence that erupted on
October 20, 2020 during protests in Lagos, Nigeria, that has resulted in
multiple deaths and injuries.”
“The
Chairperson appeals to all political and social actors to reject the use of
violence and respect human rights and the rule of law,” the statement said.
A
growing wave of protests has rocked the African country since two weeks ago,
when angry Nigerians first took to the streets over abuses and brutality by
police’s loathed Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
Mahamat’s
statement came as demonstrations escalated in Lagos after security forces
earlier this week shot peaceful protesters who had also staged rallies against
deep-rooted social grievances.
According
to Amnesty International, at least 12 people were shot dead by the Nigerian
troops and police in just two locations in Lagos on Tuesday. The rights
organization also said that at least 56 people had lost their lives across
Nigeria since the protests began on October 8. Some 38 people were killed
nationwide on Tuesday alone.
“Evidence
gathered from eyewitnesses, video footage and hospital reports confirm that
between 6:45 p.m. (1745 GMT) and 9:00 p.m. (2000 GMT) on Tuesday October 20,
the Nigerian military opened fire on thousands of people,” Amnesty said in a
statement on Wednesday.
Human
Rights Watch (HRW), for its part, corroborated reports that the Nigerian army
had opened fire on the crowd in “a shooting spree.”
Anietie
Ewang, an HRW Nigeria researcher, said that “the authorities should immediately
withdraw the military from the streets.”
The
Nigerian police also maintain a heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful protests by
the country’s Shia Muslims. The demonstrators have been calling for the release
of top cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, who has been in detention since December
2015 after his residence in the city of Zaria was raided by Nigerian forces.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/10/22/636969/AU-slams-police-violence-against-protesters-in-Nigeria,-urges-dialog
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Nigeria's
president urges protesters to leave streets
Kola
Olarewaju
23.10.2020
MAIDUGURI,
Nigeria
Nigeria's
president in a nationally televised broadcast Thursday called on youths
protesting in cities throughout the country to leave the streets.
In
his first official reaction to the ongoing violent protests against police
brutality, Muhammadu Buhari said hoodlums have hijacked the genuine and
well-intended protests of some of the nation’s youth in parts of the country
and destroyed public and private property.
"Human
lives have been lost; acts of sexual violence have been reported; two major
correctional facilities were attacked and convicts freed; public and private
properties completely destroyed or vandalized," he said on Twitter.
He
said the government heard the demands of the protesters for the scrapping of
the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit "loud and clear,"
asking them to end the protests, which have turned violent in some parts of the
country.
The
president also announced that he has directed the National Salaries, Incomes
and Wages Commission to expedite action on the finalization of the new salary
structure of members of the Nigeria Police Force and other incentives.
Buhari
said the government recognized the rights of citizens to protest but warned
protesters against infringing on the rights of others.
"I
call on our youths to discontinue the street protests and constructively engage
government in finding solutions," he said.
The
mass protests, which began two weeks ago in the commercial capital Lagos, have
turned violent. Protesters have attacked police stations, set inmates free at
two prison facilities and torched a leading television station.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/nigerias-president-urges-protesters-to-leave-streets/2015976
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Nigeria:
Buhari worried protests may turn into 'anarchy'
Kola
Olarewaju
22.10.2020
MAIDUGURI,
Nigeria
Nigerian
President Mohammadu Buhari is concerned about the possibility of mass protests
against security forces degenerating into "anarchy", a top aide said
Thursday.
"This
situation, we all know is a very, very grave situation, giving a lot of concern
to everyone most, especially Mr. President," National Security
Adviser
Babagana Monguno said at a news conference after a security meeting in Abuja.
Buhari
called an emergency security meeting at the Presidential Villa with service
chiefs as demonstrations across the country have turned violent.
Monguno
said the president has directed that state governments should do "whatever
is necessary” to bring about an "agreeable resolution" to this
crisis.
Protesters
in the commercial center of Lagos on Thursday looted a government-owned
warehouse that houses packaging palliatives for the coronavirus.
At
least five people were killed in the stampede that followed, according to The
Sun newspaper.
Nigerians
have condemned the use of force on protesters by state forces.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/nigeria-buhari-worried-protests-may-turn-into-anarchy/2015790
--------
20
dead as terrorists storm Tanzania border region
Kizito
Makoye
22.10.2020
DAR
ES SALAAM, Tanzania
Hundreds
of terrorists infiltrating from northern Mozambique killed at least 20
civilians in Tanzania’s southern Mtwara region, police and local media said on
Thursday.
More
than 300 Daesh/ISIS terrorists attacked civilians and damaged properties, forcing
scores of people to abandon their homes.
A
gruesome video circulating on social media showed the terrorists beheading a
man believed to be Tanzanian.
One
of them could be heard saying in Kiswahili language that they have nothing to
do with the country’s general elections, set to be held on Oct. 28.
Police
said the attackers entered Tanzania via the Ruvuma river and raided Kitaya
village, located on the border with Mozambique’s troubled gas-rich Cabo Delgado
province.
Without
giving specific numbers, Simon Siro, Tanzania’s police chief, said some
terrorists have been arrested and others ran away.
He
said the suspects are being interrogated and a manhunt has been launched for
those who fled back to Mozambique.
He
vowed that the police and other security forces will defeat the “vicious
network of terrorists, who are Tanzanians and Mozambicans.”
“If
you kill Tanzanians, their blood cannot go in vain. We will do all we can to
bring them to justice,” said Siro.
Violence
in northern Mozambique has intensified over the course of this year, with
terrorists attacking important military targets and even seizing key towns.
Attacks
around Tanzania’s border with Mozambique have increased security risks for
investors eyeing multibillion-dollar offshore gas projects.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/20-dead-as-terrorists-storm-tanzania-border-region/2015299
--------
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/islamic-state-operative-caught-delhi/d/123240