Islamist Attacks on Bangladeshi Mystics like Harez Fakir Condemned
New Age Islam News Bureau
07 September 2022
A baul singer performs
during a festival in Bangladesh in 2016. (Photo: Stephan Uttom/UCA News)
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•Lawyer, For One of the Convicts in the Bilkis Bano
Case Says, 'Remission of Convicts after Centre Approval'
• Saudi-Chaired GCC Panel Asks Netflix to Remove
Content That Violates Islamic Values
• China Calls On International Community to Play
'Constructive Role' For Peace in Afghanistan
• Syrian FM: US Sanctions Against Damascus, Tehran
Most Wicked Kind of Terrorism
South
Asia
• Hundreds of Hazaras Killed By ISKP Since Taliban
Took Power, Say Rights Group
• Taliban General Directorate of Passport to Expand
Passport Printing and Distribution Capacities
• Afghan Delegation to Discuss Political Crisis in
Afghanistan at UN Office in Vienna
--------
India
• Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Backs UP Government's Decision to
Survey Unrecognized Madrasas
• In Assam, Now Local Residents Demolish Madrasa after
Imam’s Arrest for Terror
• AIMPLB’s Rahmani expresses concern over action on
madrasas by UP, Assam govts
• Sheikh Hasina visit: Teesta elephant in room,
positive signs elsewhere
• India, Bangladesh to start economic partnership
talks, boost regional connectivity
• India, Bangladesh discuss ways to fight cross-border
crimes
• Adani on Hasina’s radar for Bangla investments
• Boy’s Death at Mosque Leaves Family in Shock:
‘Thought He’ll Be Safe’
• Hyderabad: Muslim Uber driver alleges he was robbed,
forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’
• Pakistan breaches truce along international border,
fires at BSF patrol party
• Two Hizbul terrorists killed in Anantnag encounter
--------
Arab
World
• AlUla inks agreement with Louvre Museum to show
Saudi Arabia’s cultural legacy
• Cash from new deal with Iran will give boost to
Lebanon’s Hezbollah: Report
• TotalEnergies could help Lebanon in maritime
demarcation with Israel: President Aoun
• Egypt withdraws from Arab League meeting amid Libya
presidency row
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Protests across Indonesia as anger mounts over fuel
price increase
• International Buyers Exploring Halal Industries in
M’sia
• Appellate court dismisses IGP, govt’s bid to strike
out Indira Gandhi’s suit
--------
Mideast
• Top IRGC Commander: White House Fate under Impact of
Iran's Political Decisions
• 27 Dead As Al-Qaida Launches Attack on Yemen
Separatists
• Iran Urges Taliban to Ensure Security of Diplomatic
Missions in Afghanistan
• Israel reveals secret document about bombing Syrian
nuclear site
• Palestinian, Egyptian presidents discuss Mideast
peace talks
--------
Pakistan
• Gen Bajwa’s Role Vibrant in Serving Islam,
Democracy, Defence: Elahi
• Pakistan's devastating floods endanger
Mohenjo-daro’s world heritage tag
• Five Pakistan soldiers killed in clash with Taliban
• WHO warns of worsening situation in Pakistan
• Police refusal to book Imran for ‘army bashing’ irks
Lahore court
• IHC sets aside ban on Imran’s live coverage
• US delegation meets COAS, offers support for
flood-hit people
--------
Europe
• Türkiye Warns Greece to Stop Refusing To Recognize
Muslim Clerics
• Israeli president addresses German parliament, calls
for all-out war on racism
• Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina agree on
passport-free travel: Erdogan
• Balkan countries want to improve economic ties with
Türkiye: Officials
• Families accuse EU of ‘ignoring’ Europeans
imprisoned in Iran
• Legal process for French cement giant Lafarge's
alleged Daesh/ISIS link still unclear
• German broadcaster DW’s sacking of Palestinian
journalist was unlawful, court rules
• Türkiye, Sweden, Finland continue talks on two Scandinavian
countries' NATO bid
--------
Africa
• Dozens of Terrorists Drown While Fleeing Military
Airstrikes In Nigeria: Sources
• Malnutrition has killed hundreds of children in
drought-hit Somalia: UNICEF
• Muslim-Muslim ticket: Abort suicide mission, APC
Christian youths beg Tinubu
--------
North
America
• US Refrains From Directly Addressing Greek
Harassment Of Turkish Jets
• US citizen in Iran needs surgery, family pleads for
son's release
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/islamist-bangladeshi-mystics-harez-fakir/d/127898
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Islamist Attacks on Bangladeshi Mystics like Harez
Fakir Condemned
A baul singer performs
during a festival in Bangladesh in 2016. (Photo: Stephan Uttom/UCA News)
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September 06, 2022
Rights campaigners and cultural activists marched on
the streets in southwestern Bangladesh to deplore and demand justice over the
latest Islamist attack on a mystic singer, which they called an infringement of
religious freedom in the Muslim-majority country.
“The situation in our country has reached such a stage
where we are not able to practice our religion properly, even those who sing
mystic songs are being insulted only because they are a minority,” said Moloy
Kundu, a Hindu and president of Sommilito Sangskritik Jote (The United Cultural
Alliance) in Narail district.
The group joined a protest rally in front of the Press
Club in the district town on Sept. 4 to condemn the attack on a Baul (mystic
singer) in Purulia village of Narail on Aug. 27.
A Muslim mob led by Ali Mia, a local leader of
Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, physically and verbally abused Harez Fakir,
70, a Baul and follower of Lalon Shah, a 19th-century Bengali mystic,
philosopher, and social reformer.
The next day, the attackers stormed into an ashram of
Baul singers and threatened to evict a group of singers while destroying their
musical instruments including ektara (a one-stringed instrument), alleged Moin
Fakir, an aide of Harez Fakir.
Kundu said religious minorities are facing increasing
attacks from Islamist hardliners in Bangladesh.
“I am very sad to say today that minorities in
Bangladesh are being prevented from practicing their religion by Muslim
fundamentalists. They are attacking minorities on religious grounds, killing
followers of Fakir Lalon, and insulting them,” Kundu told UCA News.
Since the attacks Baul singers have been living in
fear, said Moin Fakir.
“We are now living in fear. All we want is to live by
singing songs as our own, and we do not want to harm anyone. So why attack us?”
he asked.
“We want the freedom to practice our lifestyle and
philosophy. The state has given the freedom to practice one's religion or to follow
one's ideology but has failed to provide opportunities to practice it,” he told
UCA News.
Harez Fakir lodged a complaint at Kalia police station
following the attack.
Sheikh Tasmim Alam, officer-in-charge of Kalia police
station said a case has been filed against 20-25 people including Ali Mia over
the attack.
“We would take legal action after investigation,” he
said.
There are no exact data on the number of cases
involving attacks on Baul singers. However, local media have reported a series
of attacks including lawsuits on Bauls as hardline Islamists consider them
heretics and term their singing and other activities un-Islamic.
In January 2020, police arrested prominent Baul singer
Shariat Bayati after Islamists filed a case against him under the country’s
draconian Digital Security Act. He was charged with hurting the religious
sentiments of Muslims by defaming Prophet Muhammad.
He came under Islamist ire for declaring in one of his
performances that the “Holy Quran does not bar songs and music."
He was detained for nearly two months which sparked
protests from civil society groups. He was granted bail only after the High
Court issued a rule.
In May that year, unknown miscreants set ablaze the
ashram of Baul Ranesh Thakur in northwestern Sunamganj district. The fire
gutted all his belongings including his books, notebooks and musical
instruments.
In 2011, an Islamist mob assaulted a group of 28 Baul
singers in the Rajbari district and forced them to shave off their long hair
and mustaches to socially humiliate them.
In 2014, a Baul singers’ program in Jessore district
was bombed and a knife attack left a Baul killed. Another attack was reported
in 2016.
Lalon researcher Surbala Ray says continuous attacks
on Bauls are a huge blow to the non-sectarian, liberal and humanitarian culture
of Bengalis as a whole.
She said that Bauls are attacked repeatedly, but often
the news does not reach the media.
“Bauls are peaceful, non-communal so they don't even
protest about it. But we have to come forward to protect them,” Ray told UCA
News.
“The conscious citizens of the society have a moral
responsibility to stand by the Bauls, the state should not under any
circumstances take a stand in favor of the fanatical groups, and should create
the space for religious freedom and respect for different opinions rather than
the security of these minorities,” she added.
Father Patrick Gomes, secretary of the Bangladesh
Catholic Bishops' Inter-Religious Dialogue Commission said: “All citizens of
Bangladesh are entitled to freedom of religion literally but in reality the
minorities including Lalon followers struggle to practice amid pressure from
religious hardliners.”
Originating in Bengal of India in the 17th century,
Bauls constitute both a religious sect and musical tradition. Lalon Shah
popularized the tradition in the 19th century with his moving songs of humanism
and religious tolerance.
Most of the Bauls are ascetics. They travel on foot
from town to town singing and begging for alms, staying at ashrams and akharas
(cells) but having no fixed address. Some choose to remain in their homes but
live a quiet, secluded life of music and worship.
In 2005, the UNESCO listed Baul tradition as a
"masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity."
Source: UCA News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/islamist-attacks-on-bangladeshi-mystics-condemned/98670
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Lawyer, For One of the Convicts in the Bilkis Bano Case Says, 'Remission of Convicts after Centre Approval'
Convicts of the Bilkis
Bano gang rape case of the 2002 post-Godhra riots, being welcomed as they come
out of the Godhra sub-jail. (Photo | PTI)
----
07.09.22
The lawyer for one of the 11 rape-and-murder convicts
in the Bilkis Bano case has said “with full responsibility” that the Centre’s
approval was “absolutely, absolutely” taken before the Gujarat government
granted them remission.
The repeated assertions by Rishi Malhotra, the lawyer,
came at a panel discussion hosted by journalist Barkha Dutt on the Mojo digital
news platform.
So far, none from the central government has publicly
commented whether permission was sought before freeing the 11 men. They had
been convicted of gang-raping a five-month-pregnant Bilkis during the 2002
Gujarat riots and killing several members of her family, including her three-year-old
daughter.
Although the panel discussion featuring Malhotra’s
unequivocal declaration has been in the public domain for nearly 24 hours, a
Union home ministry spokesperson did not reply to this newspaper’s calls or a
WhatsApp message seeking his response to Malhotra’s claims.
The convicts’ release had cast Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in the direct line of a backlash as the remission was in sharp contrast
with his stress on “Nari Shakti (women power)” in his speech to mark the 75th
anniversary of Independence.
Malhotra, whose representation on behalf of one of the
convicts had prompted the Supreme Court to ask the Gujarat government to decide
on the remission pleas, was part of a panel discussion that also had CPM leader
Subhashini Ali who has moved the Supreme Court against the remission.
Excerpts from the panel discussion, hosted by Dutt on
Mojo, follow:
Dutt: Under the rules, it also says that the central
government has to give its approval (for such release, as a central agency —
the CBI — had probed the case). Are you aware that the central government has
given its approval?
Malhotra: That was taken. Absolutely, absolutely taken
under Section 435 CrPC (which mandates that the state government act after
consultation with the Centre in certain cases).
Dutt: You are saying the central government has given
its approval?
Malhotra: Please record my statement. I am making the
statement with full responsibility — the central government concurrence as
required by the law was taken….
Dutt: I just want to take this statement on record
because it is the first official confirmation we have that the central
government approval, as mandated under the 1992 law, was taken. Mr Malhotra,
can you reconfirm that?
Malhotra: Absolutely.
Dutt: Absolutely. So both the consent of the trial
court presiding judge and the consent of the central government was taken. You
are saying that with all responsibility.
Malhotra: Yes. And I believe that when the state
government as well as the Union of India will file their affidavits, these
things will be on record.
On August 25, the Supreme Court issued notices to the
Centre and the Gujarat government, while hearing a PIL from Ali and others
challenging the remission, and told them to reply within four weeks.
When Dutt asked whether the 11 men would be available
if the Supreme Court needed them to be sent back to prison, Malhotra replied:
“100 per cent. In fact, again the same thing. If…. It has to be the policy that
is applicable at the time of conviction. And at that time, the policy said 14
years on…. They were released after 15-and-a-half years of actual sentence….”
Other than the PIL by Ali, academic Roop Rekha Verma
and journalist Revati Laul, Trinamul Congress MP Mahua Moitra has petitioned
the Supreme Court challenging the release of the 11 convicts. They have
underlined that the Centre’s permission was needed because the case had been
investigated by a central agency, the CBI.
Source: Telegraph India
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original story:
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Saudi-Chaired GCC Panel Asks Netflix to Remove Content
That Violates Islamic Values
The committee and Saudi
Arabia’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) demanded Netflix to
remove the infringing contents and warned that they would take all legal
measures against Netflix if it failed to adhere to the regulations.
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September 06, 2022
RIYADH — The Committee of the Electronic Media
Officials in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, chaired by Saudi
Arabia, voiced serious concern over the content broadcasted by Netflix, saying
that they flagrantly contravene Islamic and societal values and principles.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, the committee
and Saudi Arabia’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) demanded
Netflix to remove the infringing contents and warned that they would take all
legal measures against Netflix if it failed to adhere to the regulations.
The committee reaffirmed that the materials
broadcasted by Netflix contradict Islamic and societal values and principles.
The statement noted that Netflix is broadcasting infringing content and visual
materials that violate the media content regulations that are in force in the
GCC countries.
The committee and GCAM have confirmed that they have
contacted the streaming platform to remove infringing content. In addition,
they have also demanded to remove contents that are directed to children as
these contain infringing materials.
While noting that they are following up on the
platform’s adherence to the directives, the committee and GCAM renewed their
demand to Netflix to strictly comply with the regulations.
Source: Saudi Gazette
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original story:
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China Calls On International Community to Play
'Constructive Role' For Peace in Afghanistan
Photo: aa.com
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Riyaz ul Khaliq
06.09.2022
A day after at least six people, including two Russian
Embassy workers, were killed in the Kabul blast, China on Tuesday called on the
international community to play its “constructive role” for peace in
Afghanistan.
“China strongly condemns the terrorist attacks on
diplomatic organizations and personnel,” Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesperson, told a news conference in Beijing.
She said Beijing hopes that the “institutions in
Afghanistan will take effective measures to ensure the safety of foreign
diplomatic organizations and personnel.”
“The international community should jointly play a
constructive role in maintaining peace, stability, and security in
Afghanistan,” Mao said.
At least six people, including two employees of the
Russian Embassy, were killed after a blast hit Afghanistan's capital Kabul on
Monday.
Afghan interim Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan
Muttaqi held a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on late
Monday, according to Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi.
After conveying condolences to his Russian counterpart
on the death of two Russian Embassy staffers, Muttaqi assured Lavrov of a
“comprehensive investigation.”
“The two sides should not allow such negative actions
by the enemy to negatively impact the close and positive relations between the
two countries,” Muttaqi told Lavrov.
“The Russian foreign minister called this attack the
work of international criminal syndicates, emphasizing the need to fight
against them,” Qahar said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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original story:
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Syrian FM: US Sanctions Against Damascus, Tehran Most
Wicked Kind of Terrorism
Photo: Faras News
----
2022-September-6
Mekdad made the remarks in a meeting with Iran’s Vice
President and Head of the Administrative and Recruitment Affairs Organization
Meysam Latifi in Damascus on Monday.
The top Syrian diplomat said the unilateral sanctions
form real obstacles to attempts aimed at achieving administrative reform and
comprehensive development.
“These unilateral measures are immoral and are the
most wicked kind of terrorism,” he added.
Over the past years, the US has been maintaining an
illegal military presence on Syrian soil, collaborating with anti-Damascus
militants, and stealing the country’s crude oil resources. Washington has
slapped rounds of crippling sanctions on Damascus as well.
Washington also restored its sanctions against Tehran
after unilaterally leaving the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
The US, under former president Donald Trump, launched what it called a maximum
pressure campaign against Iran at the time, targeting the Iranian nation with
the “toughest ever” sanctions.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Syrian foreign minister
said Iran has managed to act wisely and courageously in dealing with the
nuclear issue. He expressed his country’s determination to stand firmly by
Tehran in this regard.
Mekdad added Iran and Syria enjoy deep relations in
political, economic, and development fields, adding that Damascus would make
more efforts to remove all obstacles in the way of enhanced coordination and
cooperation with Tehran.
The Iranian vice president, for his part, stated the
two nations are keen to improve their deep-rooted relations in all fields.
Latifi also reiterated Iran’s unwavering support for
Syria’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He noted that the two countries are interested in
taking necessary steps to improve administrative cooperation and implement the
agreements already signed between them.
The senior Iranian and Syrian officials exchanged
views about the prospects of cooperation to exchange their experience in the
field of administrative and professional development.
Source: Fars News Agency
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South
Asia
Hundreds of Hazaras killed by ISKP since Taliban took
power, say rights group
Weronika Strzyżyńska
Tue 6 Sep 2022
Hazara communities in Afghanistan are being targeted
in violent attacks by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), Islamic
State’s affiliate in Afghanistan, with more than 700 people killed in 13
attacks in the past year, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
In the report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the
Taliban of doing little to protect Hazara and other religious minorities from
suicide bombings and deadly attacks, and failing to provide adequate medical
care and assistance to victims and their families, despite pledging to do so
when they took power in August 2021.
A Taliban spokesperson said that the government had
taken the “necessary measures” to protect the Hazara and that the report did
not reflect the reality on the ground.
The ISKP have been behind attacks on Hazara mosques,
schools, and workplaces across Afghanistan, said HRW.
“The issue isn’t that the Taliban is responsible for
the violence. They’re responsible for not providing adequate security to their
own people,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at HRW. “If they’re going
to act as the governing authorities, their first priority should be protecting
their own people from violence by this insurgent group.”
The Hazara, a predominantly Shia Muslim ethnic
minority group in Afghanistan, have been historically persecuted by the Taliban
and other groups.
Sifton said that while the new Taliban government has become
comparatively more accepting of the Hazara and other religious minorities, the
ISKP, who have been rapidly gaining power in some areas of the country,
continue to view all Shia groups as heretics and “enemies of Islam”.
ISKP has claimed responsibility for a series of
attacks in April that targeted Hazara-majority schools as well as the largest
Shia mosques. HRW said it fears that many attacks in the provinces are going
unreported due to the Taliban’s tightened grip on media.
On 19 April, six people were killed and least 20
injured in a suicide bomb attack at Abdul Rahim Shahid high school in west
Kabul. “There were dead bodies everywhere,” said a survivor.
Two days later, 31 people were killed and 87 injured
when ISKP bombed Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-e Sharif, one of Afghanistan’s
largest Shia mosques, which has now shut down.
Later that month, 14 people were killed and 13 injured
in multiple attacks targeting Hazara at their workplaces and in public in
Samangan province and in Mazar-e Sharif city.
In Kabul, 120 people were killed and injured on 7
August while celebrating the Shia holiday of Ashura, UN Assistance Mission in
Afghanistan reported.
The ISKP attacks on Hazara and other Shia and Sufi
communities have become more systematic, Richard Bennett, the UN special
rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, said in May. He
added that they reflect “elements of an organisational policy” and bear
“hallmarks of crimes against humanity”.
Taliban troops continue to fight ISKP forces, however
no security measures have been implemented to protect Hazara from further
attacks, Human Rights Watch said.
“We are not contesting that the Taliban is fighting
ISKP. We’re simply asking that they do more to protect the community that is
most at risk,” said Sifton.
The attacks have also effectively excluded Hazara from
participating in public life, practising their religion or accessing education.
“Most of my classmates have stopped attending school after the tragedy,” said
an 18-year-old survivor of the Abdul Rahim Shahid high school bombing. “When
the Taliban took power, instead of a class of 50, there were only 25. Now, only
10 to 15 kids are attending classes.”
One of his injured classmates is determined to return
to school, but bullet shards in his feet have made it difficult to walk even a
short distance. “If I am supposed to die, I will die, but so long as I am
alive, I will go to school,” he said.
Source: The Guardian
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Taliban General Directorate of Passport to Expand
Passport Printing and Distribution Capacities
By Saqalain Eqbal
06 Sep 2022
The General Directorate of Passports of the Taliban
government’s Ministry of Interior announced that the office has stepped up
processing the passport applications and that it will increase its capacity to
print and distribute up to 4,000 passports in a day.
The General Directorate which functions under the
umbrella of the Ministry of Interior tweeted on Tuesday, September 6th, that
the number of passport applications being processed had increased and that
4,000 copies of passports will now be printed and distributed in a single day.
Officials from the Taliban say that the decision to
advance the printing and distribution of passports was made in response to the
enormous numbers of applicants who have been patiently waiting in line for
their passports for a very long time.
The provincial passport offices have resumed
processing online passport registration services, as the passport office
previously announced, in order to reduce the workload and overcrowding at the
central office.
The Taliban passport official further stated that
services for foreign nationals to renew their visas will also be provided
online.
The official stated that in an effort to achieve their
goal of minimizing corruption, some of the corrupt passport office staff had
been fired.
Source: Khaama Press
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Afghan Delegation to Discuss Political Crisis in
Afghanistan at UN Office in Vienna
By Saqalain Eqbal
07 Sep 2022
The Vienna meeting on the current situation in
Afghanistan, solutions, and challenges will be convened on September 15th, with
the presence of 31 political figures opposed to the Taliban at the United
Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), in the capital of Austria.
The Taliban in Afghanistan have established what they
claim to be a structured administration and an inclusive cabinet within the
first year of its rule. Military and political figures have, however,
established structures overseas parallel with the Taliban’s efforts and often
in the opposite direction.
This is a continuation of the activities of parties
outside of Afghanistan that have a critical perspective toward the Taliban’s
rule. These groups have also had meetings, but the Vienna meeting, which will
feature at least 31 political and intellectual figures from Afghanistan, is set
to take place on September 15 at the UN office of the country’s representative.
In a statement that assesses one year of Taliban rule,
they argue that the Taliban’s practices and ideologies have not changed and
that the Taliban’s presence is putting the values that have been attained over
the past two decades in danger of being completely destroyed.
Participating members of the Vienna meeting:
1- Ahmad Massoud, leader of the National Resistance
Front (NRF)
2- Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, former Minister of
Foreign Affairs
3- Rahmatullah Nabil, former Director of the Afghan
National Directorate of Security (NDS)
4- Fawzia Kofi, women’s rights activist and former
member Afghan Delegation for Peace Negotiation
5- Shukria Barekzai, former Afghan Ambassador to
Norway
6- Sayed Sadat Mansor Naderi, former State Minister
for Peace
7- Mirwais Balkhi, former Minister of Education
8- Alia Yilmaz, women’s rights activist
9- Shahgul Rezai, a former member of the lower house
of the parliament
10- Khalil Mujahid
11- Afzali –
12- Abdul Sattar Hussaini, a former member of the
lower house of the parliament
13- Said Tayeb Jawad, former Afghan Ambassador to the
Russian Federation
14- Harun Najafizada, journalist
15- Rasool Faryabi, a former member of the lower house
of the parliament
16 Masooma Khawari, former Minister of
Telecommunications and Information Technology
17- Fazel Ahmad Manawi, former Minister of Justice
18- Nazif Shahrani, professor of anthropology
19- Noor Rahman Akhlaqi, former Minister of Refugees
and Repatriation
20- Pirbakhsh Gardiwal, a former member of the lower
house of the parliament
21-Jawed Ludin, former Afghan Ambassador to Canada
22- Amir Mohammad Khaksar, a former member of the
lower house of the parliament
23-Zala Zadran
24- Said Taha Sadeq, a former member of the lower
house of the parliament
25- Musadiq Faqiri, member of the Jamiat-e-Islami
political party
26- Dr. Hussain Yasa, journalist
27- Abdul Karim Khudam, the former governor of
Samangan province
28- Bashir Ahmad Ansari, religious scholar
29- Daud Shah Saba, former Minister of Mines and
Petroleum
30- Davood Moradian, General Director of Afghan
Institute for Strategic Studies
31. Zalmi Rasool, the former presidential candidate of
Afghanistan
These political figures believe that sustainable peace
will be possible with the installment of a legitimate government supported by
the people of Afghanistan and the international community.
Torture, killing, brutality, intimidation, suppression
of the media, forced displacement, and the issuance of stringent restrictions
have summed up the reality of Afghanistan today.
They claim that the Taliban has no intention to fight
terrorism and that the assassination of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the chief of the
al-Qaeda network in Kabul, demonstrates the Taliban’s clear association with
al-Qaeda.
The Taliban not only did not come to an agreement but
also took control of district by district, province by province, day by day,
until the group finally took the capital, overthrowing the republic regime and
ushering in a new era of Islamic Emirate as the Afghan Peace Process proved
futile since negotiations between the defunct Afghan government and the Taliban
reached a stalemate.
Even though the government had released over 5,000
Taliban prisoners as a signal of its willingness to participate in dialogue and
even though a power-sharing arrangement was being considered during the Doha
peace talks, the Taliban nonetheless took control of the country.
After a year under Taliban rule, political figures
from Afghanistan, including women’s rights activists, former members of the
parliament representing different provinces, journalists, and researchers,
assemble at the office of the Afghan representative at the UN in Vienna.
Source: Khaama Press
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India
Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Backs UP Government's Decision To
Survey Unrecognized Madrasas
September 06, 2022
New Delhi: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a leading body of
Islamic scholars held a meeting today where it decided to back the Yogi
Adityanath government's decision to survey unrecognized madrasas in Uttar
Pradesh.
All persons responsible for UP madrasas were present
at the meeting.
Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani (National President,
Jamiat Ulama-E-Hind) in a press conference said, "Today madrasas are not
looked at in a good way. I appeal to the government to understand us. We will
always follow our duty. We are always ready to talk but not with force. We
should be given time and we are ready to meet with the concerned
authorities."
Expressing concerns over the actions taken against
madrassas in Assam, Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani said, "You saw what happened
in Assam. It is illegal if that method is taken up. We will send an application
to concerned authorities, seeking time to meet them."
"Nothing should be done in a wrong manner, even
if it is good work. There's always room for improving something. The manner in
which it's being portrayed is wrong," the Maulana added.
Uttar Pradesh government on September 1 announced that
it would conduct a survey of unrecognized madrasas in the state to ascertain
the number of students, teachers, curriculum, and affiliation with any
non-government organization of these institutes.
There was a unanimous protest from all members over
interference in the working of madrasas in the state. Future strategy is also
being discussed.
An executive order was passed to transfer the teaching
and non-teaching staff of aided madrasas with the consent of the managers of
the madrasas concerned along with the approval of the Registrar and the UP
Madrasa Education Council.
The survey will be carried out as per the requirement
of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in connection with
the availability of basic facilities to the students in madrasas, Minister of
State for Minorities Affairs Danish Azad Ansari said.
Source: ND TV
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In Assam, now local residents demolish madrasa after
imam’s arrest for terror
Sep 06, 2022
GUWAHATI: Residents of Darogar Alga village in Assam’s
Goalpara district on Tuesday demolished a private madrasa that was used by an
imam arrested by the police for alleged links to the Bangladesh-based terror
outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), police said.
This is the first instance of the public pulling down
a madrasa in Assam in recent weeks. So far, the authorities have demolished three
private madrasas in Barpeta, Morigaon and Bongaigaon districts after arrests of
its functionaries on terror charges over the last month
“Residents of Darogar Alga in Pakhiura Char destroyed
the madrasa and a residence next to it on Tuesday morning as resentment against
jihadi activities. The madrasa was used by Jalaluddin Sheikh, an imam of a
local mosque who was arrested by police last month,” said VV Rakesh Reddy,
superintendent of Goalpara police.
Jalaluddin Sheikh was one of the two imams arrested on
August 20 by the police in Goalpara about 150km east of Guwahati on charges
that they were linked to terror cells busted in Barpeta and Morigaon districts
earlier. Authorities had then alleged that the two were linked to ABT and Al
Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), gave and received logistical support to
other terrorists and recruited people for what was described as “new jihadi
sleeper cells in Goalpara”.
According to police, Jalaluddin Sheikh also engaged
two AQIS/ABT cadre from Bangladesh, Aminul Islam and Jahangir Alom, as teachers
in the madrasa at Darogar Alga in Pakhiura Char that was brought down by local
residents on Tuesday.
“Both Bangladeshi nationals entered India illegally,
stayed in the madrasa and the nearby residence for almost a year. They had set
up a jihadi network in the area under the garb of teaching in the madrasa,”
said Reddy.
Reddy said that some madrasas linked to alleged terror
operatives had been demolished in other parts of Assam but “there was no plan
to demolish the Darogar Alga, Pakhiura Char madrasa by the local
administration”.
According to local residents, they were not aware that
the madrasa was being used for terror activities and that it was a collective
decision to remove the madrasa and the residence.
“We came to know about the happenings here only after
the arrest of Jalaluddin Sheikh and decided to remove both structures. The two
Bangladeshi nationals were engaged as teachers in the madrasa. Both fled before
we came to know about their antecedents and activities,” said a local resident.
Videos of the demolition made available by the Assam
Police showed residents pulling down the bamboo walls and removing the tin
sheets used to construct the roof.
To be sure, the official reason cited for the
demolition of the three madrasas by the authorities after the arrest of madrasa
functionaries was not their alleged terror links.
According to official orders for the demolitions, the
buildings were either structurally vulnerable, unsafe for human habitation,
violated building guidelines, built on public land or had an illegal power
connection.
The madrasa demolished in the Bongaigaon district on
August 31, for instance, was pulled down on grounds that it was “structurally
vulnerable, unsafe for human habitation” and not built as per specified norms.
It took the administration several bulldozers and nearly two days to demolish
the concrete structure.
Lok Sabha MP and president of All India United
Democratic Front (AIUDF) Badruddin Ajmal has called the use of bulldozers to
demolish these madrasas illegal.
According to police records, there are around 3,000
private madrasas in Assam.
On Sunday, office bearers of several organisations
operating madrasas in Assam had a detailed discussion with senior Assam police
officers where it was decided to set up a committee to come up with norms for
regulating private madrasas.
Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma last month said
that madrasas were the hub of all jihadi terror detected in recent months and
announced that the government will make it mandatory for imams and teachers
from outside the state to register with the administration.
Source: Hindustan Times
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AIMPLB’s Rahmani expresses concern over action on
madrasas by UP, Assam govts
5 September, 2022
Jalna, Sep 5 (PTI) All India Muslim Personal Law Board
(AIMPLB) general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani on Monday expressed
concern over what he said was interference in the working of madrasas in states
like Uttar Pradesh and Assam.
The Constitution gives equal rights to all minorities
and the action of the governments in UP and Assam was violative of these
rights, he told reporters.
He said the UP government was carrying out a survey of
madrasas while the ruling dispensation in Assam was demolishing these
facilities citing various reasons, including alleged links with criminals etc
of some functionaries.
“Interference in the working of madrasas and targeting
them is against the fundamental rights of minorities. It is against the
Constitution. The government cannot decide what type of education will be
imparted in madrasas,” Rahmani, who is on a tour of Maharashtra’s Marathwada
region, said.
Speaking on a writ petition filed in the court to end
the practice of ‘Talaq-e-Hasan’, he said the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act
1937 deals with marriages and personal laws and there was no need for any
interference in them.
‘Talaq-e-Hasan’ is a form of divorce in Muslims by
which a man can divorce his wife by pronouncing talaq once every month over a
three-month period.
Source: The Print
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Sheikh Hasina visit: Teesta elephant in room, positive
signs elsewhere
Devadeep Purohit And Anita Joshua |
New Delhi/Calcutta
07.09.22
India and Bangladesh on Tuesday signed a water-sharing
agreement — the first such arrangement since the two countries agreed to share
water from the Ganga in 1996 — in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.
Prime Minister Hasina reposed faith in the leadership
of the Indian Prime Minister in resolving the pending issues, including a
much-awaited agreement on the sharing of the Teesta’s waters.
The water-sharing agreement involves a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) for the withdrawal of 153cusec water from the Kushiyara
river, which flows into the neighbouring country from Assam, at Rahimpur in
Sylhet by Bangladesh.
The two sides signed MoUs on six other areas, from
cooperation in space technology to collaboration for IT solutions for
Bangladesh Railways, and unveiled a host of infrastructure projects on the
second day of Hasina’s Delhi visit.
But the water-sharing deal is the biggest takeaway for
Hasina as it marks a breakthrough on an issue that has been politically
sensitive, not only between the two countries but also within Bangladesh.
Dhaka has since 2011 been waiting for the conclusion
of an agreement on sharing the Teesta’s waters, which got stuck because of
opposition from Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. Dhaka has also been
insisting on a framework for water-sharing from 54 rivers that the two
countries have in common.
“I appreciate the visionary leadership of Prime
Minister Modiji that continues to provide added momentum to our bilateral
relations,” Hasina said in her statement after 90 minutes of delegation-level
talks between the two countries at Hyderabad House.
“...I recalled that the two countries have resolved
many outstanding issues in the spirit of friendship and cooperation and we hope
that all outstanding issues, including the Teesta water-sharing treaty, will be
concluded at an early date.”
Although Modi spoke about the Kushiyara breakthrough
and how livelihoods in both countries depend on the 54 common rivers, besides
touching upon subjects like cooperation in flood mitigation, he did not mention
the Teesta in his statement.
The Indian Prime Minister’s silence on the Teesta — a
tributary of the Brahmaputra that originates in the Teesta Kangse glacier and
flowing through Sikkim and Bengal before entering Bangladesh — is likely to
give the Bangladesh Opposition a handle to attack Hasina, who is often
criticised for being pro-India.
Bangladesh has always contended that its claim on the
Teesta’s waters is legitimate and that it desperately needs its share since
about 60 per cent of an estimated 90,000 hectares of land on the river’s banks
remain unutilised in the dry season.
Reports from Bangladesh on Tuesday evening suggested
that Opposition parties such as the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami have already
begun talking about the “futility of the visit”. Such a narrative will not only
go against Hasina but could affect India’s image in the Muslim-majority
country, which has witnessed the rise of fundamentalist forces in the past few
years.
The Indian establishment has often been unhappy at
Bangladesh’s dalliance with China — especially on infrastructure projects — but
Hasina is New Delhi’s preferred choice in Dhaka.
“It is in our interest that her visit to India is seen
as a success back home,” a source in India’s foreign policy establishment said.
The Bangladeshi side took care to explain that the
agreement on water-sharing from the Kushiyara was a welcome beginning and that
they were hopeful of a resolution on the Teesta in the coming days.
At a news conference later in the day, Bangladesh
junior foreign minister Shahriar Alam said the relationship between the two
countries was not based solely on the logic of “lena-dena (give and take)”.
“On the issue of the Teesta, we think that even if
there is some delay, it will be delivered,” he said, lauding the Kushiyara deal
as a success.
Economic talks
While Modi’s silence on the Teesta disappointed the
visitors, the Indian Prime Minister won accolades for his pledge to begin
discussions on another key bilateral issue -- a comprehensive economic
partnership agreement (CEPA), which promises to increase bilateral trade.
“Our bilateral trade is growing rapidly. Today, India
is the largest market in Asia for Bangladesh’s exports. To further accelerate
this growth, we will soon start discussions on the bilateral comprehensive
economic partnership agreement,” he said.
Later in the day, Indian foreign secretary Vinay Mohan
Kwatra said the discussions would begin soon and were likely to be concluded
before 2026, when Bangladesh is expected to graduate from the UN’s Least
Developed Countries (LDCs) list.
Multiple sources from both sides said that although
the Teesta stalemate hadn’t been resolved — “We were not expecting any
resolution during this trip, anyway,” a member of the Bangladeshi delegation
said — the outcome of the visit had till now been “positive” for Bangladesh for
several reasons.
The most visible reason, the source said, was the
Indian Prime Minister’s comments and his gesture of receiving Hasina at
Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.
“The India-Bangladesh relationship will achieve new
heights in the coming time(s).... Today, Bangladesh is India’s biggest development
partner and our biggest trade partner in the region. There is a continuous
improvement in people-to-people cooperation,” Modi said.
He announced his government’s decision to cooperate
with Dhaka in IT, space, nuclear sectors, and power generation and
transmission.
A Bangladeshi source said the focus of the MoUs was on
“capacity building” in Bangladesh, which is a recognition of the country’s
ability to grow even faster in the coming days.
Statement wait
For over six hours after Hasina’s meeting with Modi,
the release of the joint statement was withheld amid indications that Hasina
wanted India to do more for the Rohingya refugees.
On Monday, at a reception hosted by the Bangladesh
high commission, she had said that India was a very big country and could do
more for the Rohingyas.
Source: Telegraph India
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/teesta-elephant-in-room-positive-signs-elsewhere/cid/1885072
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India, Bangladesh to start economic partnership talks,
boost regional connectivity
September 06, 2022
NEW DELHI/DHAKA: India and Bangladesh agreed on
Tuesday to start talks on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement and to
strengthen regional connectivity, as their leaders meet in New Delhi to boost
bilateral ties.
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is on a
four-day visit to India as part of a trip that is seen as politically
significant ahead of her country’s general elections next year. Hasina and
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed investment, water resources, and
border management during their meeting in the Indian capital.
Bangladesh is India’s biggest development and trade
partner in the region, Modi said, as he announced the beginning of talks for a
new economic pact.
“We will soon initiate discussions on a bilateral
economic comprehensive partnership agreement,” Modi said during a joint press
conference.
“We both believe we have to learn lessons from the
COVID pandemic and recent international events and we have to strengthen our
economies further.”
The two countries have a significant trade imbalance,
however. Bangladesh imported goods worth around $14 billion from India, while
exports ran lower at $1.8 billion, according to official figures from the
2021-22 fiscal year.
India and Bangladesh are working on “connecting power
transmission lines” between their countries to address the growing cost of
energy around the world, and signed various agreements to further cooperation
in rail connectivity and sharing of water resources, among others.
The neighbors share a 4,000 km border and long
historical ties dating back to 1971, when New Delhi played a major role in the
Bangladesh Liberation War.
Hasina said India is “the most important and closest
neighbor” of Bangladesh.
“Bangladesh-India bilateral relations are known to be
a role model for neighborhood diplomacy,” she said.
Infrastructure projects between the two countries will
likely play a key role in boosting bilateral relations, according to experts.
“The kind of work India and Bangladesh are doing in
terms of collaborative projects, whether it be cross borders or other joint collaboration,
it is something South Asia has never seen before,” Sreeradha Dutta, of New
Delhi-based think tank Vivekanand International Foundation, told Arab News.
“Many of the infrastructure projects that we are doing
actually have laid the foundation for a much larger transport corridor which we
are thinking of in terms of sub-regions of South Asia. India and Bangladesh are
working on projects which are very critical for the whole region.”
Munshi Faiz Ahmad, former Bangladesh ambassador to
China, told Arab News that as Bangladesh’s main priority is economic
development and the country is faced with a shortage of funds, investments from
abroad as well as technology assistance to build infrastructure are also
important.
Hasina met Indian businessman Gautam Adani, who
recently became the world’s third-richest person, as part of her visit, and is
scheduled to meet with more business leaders in India on Wednesday.
“We have come to a point in economic development where
further development will stagnate if we do not act quickly on improving our
infrastructure,” Ahmad said.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2157496/world
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India, Bangladesh discuss ways to fight cross-border
crimes
Sep 7, 2022
NEW DELHI: PM Narendra Modi called for together
fighting forces looking to "attack" mutual trust between India and
Bangladesh, while also stressing the need to intensify cooperation against
terrorism and radicalism, in a meeting Tuesday with his visiting counterpart
Sheikh Hasina. Amid concerns over rising extremism in Bangladesh, Modi said
such cooperation is important to keep the spirit of 1971 alive.
The summit saw the 2 sides signing 7 agreements,
including 1 for sharing water of the Kushiyara river, as they agreed to ramp up
cooperation in trade, energy, connectivity, water resources, security and
defence. The 2 leaders also inaugurated a thermal power plant – unit 1 of $ 2
billion 1320 MW Maitree project in Khulna - and announced 4 connectivity
related projects.
Bangladesh assured India it remained committed to
ensuring security for its minority communities and the 2 sides also agreed to
remain mindful of each other's security concerns and ``strategic priorities’’.
Underlining that India is the largest market in Asia for Bangladesh's exports,
Modi said in his remarks after the meeting that the 2 countries will soon start
discussions for a free trade agreement or CEPA to further speed up growth in
bilateral trade. India is also Bangladesh’s second largest trading partner.
As expected, Hasina raised the Teesta river issue and
said in her remarks to the media that Bangladesh was hopeful the much delayed
water sharing agreement will be concluded at an early date.
Modi’s remarks on terrorism and radicalism are
important as Bangladesh, despite its economic growth, continues to witness
increasing radicalisation. India believes more efforts are required to also
confront extremist forces ideologically. The discussions focused, among other
things, on border management and also on ways to combat cross-border crimes.
Asked about the attacks on Hindu minorities, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra
said Dhaka had both publicly and privately assured India that it’s committed to
security of minorities. Acknowledging the global appreciation for Bangladesh’s
role in handling of Rohingya refugees, Kwatra said India will support all
efforts for their ``safe, steady and quick’’ repatriation to Myanmar.
Asked about China’s presence in Bangladesh, Kwatra
said the strategic priorities, interests and concerns of both India and
Bangladesh``are all factored in our cooperative matrix of engagement".
"Our relationship stands on its own merits,
focuses on its own priorities, and looks at our shared concerns, whether they
are related to safety issues or security issues," he said.
Hasina, who said there was an unbreakable bond between
the 2 countries, also described India as the most important and closest
neighbour of Bangladesh and relations between the 2 countries as a ``role model
for neighbourhood diplomacy’’. ``We focused on possible ways to materialise our
commitment and accommodate each other’s priorities in a mutually beneficial
manner,’’ said Hasina, adding Modi’s ``visionary leadership’’ continued to add
momentum to the relationship.
Source: Times Of India
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Adani on Hasina’s radar for Bangla investments
Devadeep Purohit
| Calcutta
07.09.22
Dhaka expects Sheikh Hasina’s India visit to boost
bilateral trade and investment, speeding the growth of the Bangladesh economy.
That attracting Indian investment — especially in
infrastructure — is a priority with Bangladesh became clear on Day One of the
visit when Hasina met Indian business leader Gautam Adani, chairman of the
Adani Group, on Monday evening.
Although details of the meeting were unavailable,
Adani tweeted a picture with the Bangladesh Prime Minister on Monday
evening.“It is an honour to have met Hon PM of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina in
Delhi. Her vision for Bangladesh is inspirational and stunningly bold. We are
committed to commissioning our 1600 MW Godda Power Project and dedicated
transmission line to Bangladesh by Bijoy Dibosh, 16 Dec 2022,” Adani tweeted.
Bijoy Dibosh commemorates the defeat of the Pakistani
armed forces in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. Adani Power is
developing the 1.6GW Godda ultra supercritical thermal power project in
Jharkand with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore. The company signed a memorandum
of understanding with the Bangladesh Power Development Board in September 2018
to develop the project on a build-own-operate basis and supply the generated
power through a dedicated transmission line.
Bangladesh, faced with a foreign exchange crisis after
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raised oil prices, recently shut down all its 10
diesel-run power plants to save on foreign currency. The decision has led to
largescale power cuts across the country.
“It can be presumed that the Prime Minister wanted
some updates on the company’s plans about power transmission to Bangladesh,” a
source on the Bangladeshi side said.
He suggested that the Ad¬ani Group might also explore
opportunities in the Bangladesh port sector, which has seen significant Chinese
investments in recent times. Dhaka is focusing on modernising its port
infrastructure to try and come out of the Covidinduced slowdown of its exports.The
$416billion Banglad¬esh economy has for several years been one of the fastest
growing in the world, but the dwindling foreign exchange reserves, ravaged by
inflated import bills, have suddenly compounded the Hasina government’s
problems.
Dhaka recently approached the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank for loans to tide itself over the crisis. A source in
the Bang¬ladeshi side told this corre¬spondent that the government was
confident about overcom¬ing the sudden headwind and that efforts were on to
create infrastructure — such as an increased power generation capacity and
better rail and road linkages — that would help accelerate growth.On Tuesday,
Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually unveiled the 1,320MW Maitree
super thermal power project at Rampal in Khulna and four other projects,
including a railway bridge over the Rupsha river and the Khulna Darshana and
Parbatipur Kaunia rail link projects. The two Premiers also inaugurated
supplies of road construction equipment and machinery in 25 packages to the
Bangladesh road and highways department.
“If you look closely, the focus of the trip is on
augmentation of infrastructure, which is a must for a growing economy. We think
the visit will accelerate the growth of our economy,” another source in the
Bangladesh delegation said.
Source: Telegraph India
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Boy’s Death at Mosque Leaves Family in Shock: ‘Thought
He’ll Be Safe’
By Pavneet Singh Chadha
September 7, 2022
Barely 30 metres from the hall where he studied at a
madrasa, the decomposed body of an 11-year-old boy, partially covered in sand
with a wooden ply lying on his face and upper body, was found in a small room
inside a mosque in Nuh on Monday. Police said the boy, suspected to have gone missing
from the madrasa on Saturday evening, was found murdered. No arrest has been
made so far as mystery shrouds the circumstances that led to the death.
His family said they received information that he had
gone missing from the madrasa at 7.05 pm on Saturday.
“We have a madrasa in our village too, but we sent him
last year here as it has better facilities… and a better environment. We
thought he would be safe and taken care of there, but…,” said his uncle.
He said he got a call from a haji on Saturday evening
asking if his nephew had returned home. “They said he is missing. We started
looking for him in the village and nearby areas and put out messages on social
media. We went to the madrasa and checked the premises. The search continued
into the night. The room in the eidgah (mosque), from where the body was
eventually recovered, was locked. The workers there told us they had already
searched the room and found nothing. They refused to allow us to check CCTVs…
then, at 11.50 am on Monday, we heard his body had been found from that room,”
he alleged.
Police said that on Monday morning, a woman who works
at the nearby Dargah noticed foul smell coming from an enclosure and found the
body when she went inside to check.
“We want justice. It is strange that for almost two
days, he could not be found and later his body was found from an enclosure on
the same premises. From the adjacent room, announcement for Azam (call for
prayer) is made five times a day and none of the workers at the madrasa could
spot the body for two days,” said a relative.
The madrasa’s caretaker said that at least 15 students
stay there.
At the boy’s house in his village, hundreds had
gathered on Tuesday afternoon to offer their condolences. His family said the
boy’s father, a labourer, died of an illness a couple of years ago. His uncle,
who filed the police complaint, works as a labourer, earning Rs 300-400 a day,
while his mother is a home-maker raising three daughters. “On festivals or
during a function in the village, he would return home. He had visited on Eid
recently…I have lost everything,” she said.
Nuh SP Varun Singla visited the madrasa on Tuesday
afternoon and questioned the caretaker and staff.
Source: Indian Express
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Hyderabad: Muslim Uber driver alleges he was robbed,
forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’
September 7, 2022
An Uber driver in Hyderabad has alleged that a group
of men robbed him and forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram”, the Deccan Chronicle
reported.
The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday near the
Tolichowki area. The cab driver, Syed Lateefuddin, said that it was his first
day on the job.
The driver said that he accepted a ride in the
Alkapuri area and was going there with the help of a map. He added that when he
slowed down near Tolichowki, a group of six men stopped near his car and hit
his vehicle with their hands. Two of the men were on a bike and four others on
a scooter, he said.
“I rolled down the window to ask them what the issue
was,” Lateefuddin said, according to the Deccan Chronicle. “Upon noticing my
accent, the men, who were drunk, asked me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and started
to pull my door open.”
The Uber driver said that he subsequently pulled back
the door and drove away, after which the men followed him for about three
kilometres. Lateefuddin said that he then fled the vehicle and hid himself in
nearby bushes, The News Minute reported. He then reportedly called the police.
According to Lateefuddin, the men damaged the vehicle
severely before the police arrived.
Narsingi Station House Officer V Shiva Kumar said that
the police are checking all the close-circuit television cameras along the
route that the driver took.
An unidentified police official told the Deccan
Chronicle that Lateefuddin’s allegation about being asked to chant “Jai Shri
Ram” could only be ascertained after an investigation.
Source: Scroll
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Pakistan breaches truce along international border,
fires at BSF patrol party
Sep 7, 2022
JAMMU: Pakistan Rangers on Tuesday morning breached
the truce and fired at a Border Security Force (BSF) patrol party along the
international border in Jammu’s Arnia sector.
A BSF spokesman said that a befitting reply was given
by the Indian troops to the unprovoked firing. “No loss or injury to BSF troops
was reported,” he said.
Following the breach of truce, BSF and Pakistan
Rangers held a flag meeting along the international border and agreed to
respect “existing norms”.
“A company commander-level meeting was held at 1.45pm
and it ended in a cordial atmosphere. The issue of unprovoked firing was
discussed and both sides agreed to exercise maximum restraint on the border,”
BSF DIG S P S Sandhu said.
Pakistan has time and again been trying to push
intruders or drone-dropped arms, ammunition or drugs into Jammu and Kashmir.
On June 13, BSF successfully foiled an infiltration
bid when troops observed suspicious movement close to the international border
in Arnia sector. On June 9, BSF troops fired at a suspected drone and pushed it
back into Pakistan. On June 7, police and BSF shot down a drone and recovered IEDs
packed in tiffin boxes in Jammu’s Kanhachak sector.
Source: Times Of India
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Two Hizbul terrorists killed in Anantnag encounter
Sep 7, 2022
SRINAGAR: Two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed
in an anti-terror operation in Poshkreeri village of Bijbehara in south
Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a possible attack was
averted with the recovery and destruction of an IED weighing around 30-35kg in
Srinagar’s Khonmoh area.
The slain terrorists were identified as Danish Ahmad
Bhat alias Kokab Duree from Jablipora Bijbehara, and Basharat Nabi Lone of
Fatehpora Anantnag. As per police records, both were categorised terrorists
active since 2019, with a history of terror crimes against security forces as
well as civilian atrocities. The Hizbul duo was involved in killing two
Territorial Army personnel in separate attacks in 2019 and 2021 in Anantnag.
They also murdered two civilians in Bijbehara in 2021, ADGP (Kashmir Zone)
Vijay Kumar said.
Acting on intelligence inputs about the presence of
terrorists in Poshkreeri, a joint team of the Army’s 3RR and J&K Police
launched a cordon-and-search operation there. As the security forces approached
a suspected hideout, holed-up terrorists opened fire at the search party,
triggering a gunfight in which the Hizbul duo was killed, said ADGP Kumar.
Incriminating materials along with arms and ammunition
— including an AK-56 rifle, 35 AK rounds, two AK magazines, one pistol, a
pistol magazine and two pistol rounds — were seized from the spot of the
encounter. The recovered items were taken into custody for further probe. A
case was registered under relevant sections of law and an investigation was
initiated, said the ADGP.
Source: Times Of India
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Arab
World
AlUla inks agreement with Louvre Museum to show Saudi
Arabia’s cultural legacy
07 September, 2022
The Royal Commission of AlUla Governorate (RCU) has
announced the signing of a five-year-agreement with the Louvre Museum in Paris,
which includes the display of a sculpture dating back to the Lihyanite period.
According to the agreement, the Louvre will show the
historical and cultural legacy of Saudi Arabia and AlUla, the official Saudi
Press Agency (SPA) reported Wednesday.
The agreement between the RCU and the Louvre will also
embody the “vital partnership between Saudi Arabia and France in the cultural
field”, it said.
The sculpture is made of sandstone that weighs more
than 800kg and exceeds more than two meters, and has been affected by erosion
factors over hundreds of years.
Through the Lihyanite sculpture, the museum shows the
details of human creativity and the historical depth and cultural legacy of the
antiquities in AlUla, in addition to the RCU’s work, which seeks to preserve
the natural and cultural heritage while preparing AlUla to attract visitors
from all over the world, SPA reported.
The excavation team in the Kingdom of Dadan is
continuing to carry out its work with the aim of garnering more information
about the civilizational history of the Kingdom, which spanned more than 2,500
years and has been under the rule of Lihyan civilization for several centuries.
The RCU seeks to show historical legacy and preserve
it, in addition to transfer and analyze artifacts in order to create a
scientific story that would aim in attracting residents and visitors.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Cash from new deal with Iran will give boost to
Lebanon’s Hezbollah: Report
06 September, 2022
Critics of the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal between
world powers - mainly the US - and Iran cite the weak provisions in the
agreement that fail to curb Tehran’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon.
But more than that, fears are again rising that Iran
will be flush with cash not to invest in its own people and infrastructure but
rather to supply to its proxies and militias around the region.
The State Department said in 2020 that Iran was
providing Hezbollah with about $700 million per year.
A new report suggests that Iran would be on the
receiving end of $275 billion of sanctions relief in the first of a new deal
and more than $1 trillion by 2030.
The Washington-based Foundation for Defense of
Democracies (FDD) sounded the alarm in a recent report that a significant
portion of Iran’s new funds would go to Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Pointing to the 2015 deal, the original Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), FDD said Iran’s military budget increased
by 90 percent, “enabling the regime to shower its regional proxies, including
Hezbollah, with billions of dollars.”
Biden administration officials have defended efforts
to reach a new agreement with Iran, saying that problems in the Middle East
would not become easier to solve without a nuclear deal with Tehran.
US officials under the current administration had
previously said they were looking to strike a “longer, stronger deal” than the
original agreement.
However, recent reports show little difference between
the text being discussed now and the initial 2015 deal.
In addition to greenlighting Iran’s work towards a
nuclear weapon, the current discussions fail to address Iran’s support for
regional proxies and terrorist groups and its ballistic missile program.
“Hezbollah is now assessed to have a military that is
on par with several European armies. The group is now also amassing precision-guided
munitions with help from Tehran,” said Jonathan Schanzer, senior VP for
Research at the hawkish FDD. “The international community has stood by and
watched amidst a massive arms buildup. This is a significant threat to the
stability of the region.”
Hezbollah officials and supporters have previously
publicized their appetite for a nuclear deal, which would ease pressure on the
militant group.
And in 2015, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said
his group’s ties with Iran were based on “ideological grounds and come before
the political interests,” batting down the potential for Iran to distance
itself from supporting Hezbollah.
Tony Badran, a fellow at FDD, said that cash from a
new nuclear deal with Iran would enable Hezbollah to increase its arms buildup,
“especially precision-guided munitions and unmanned aerial vehicles.”
Iran-backed Hezbollah has also boasted of having
100,000 fighters, a naval unit, drones, thousands of precision-guided missiles
and rockets and air-defense missile systems.
Source: Al Arabiya
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TotalEnergies could help Lebanon in maritime
demarcation with Israel: President Aoun
06 September, 2022
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday that
France-based oil and gas company, TotalEnergies , could help his country solve
maritime demarcation issues with Israel, according to a post from the
presidency office on Twitter.
Aoun would make “contacts to help in this regard, will
increase communications this month,” the office added.
Lebanon and Israel are locked in US-mediated
negotiations to delineate a shared maritime border that would help determine
which oil and gas resources belong to which country and pave the way for more
exploration.
Amos Hochstein, the US diplomat mediating the talks,
will be in Beirut at the end of the week to follow up on discussions with the
Lebanese side.
Source: Al Arabiya
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Egypt withdraws from Arab League meeting amid Libya
presidency row
Ibrahim El-Khazen
06.09.2022
Egypt withdrew from an Arab League meeting on Tuesday
in protest of chairing the session by the Libyan foreign minister in the
outgoing government of Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.
The 158th ordinary session of the Cairo-based Arab
League opened earlier Tuesday in the Egyptian capital under the presidency of
Najla al-Mangoush.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry left the
meeting over al-Mangoush’s chairing the meeting, Foreign Ministry spokesman
Ahmed Abu Zeid told the state news agency MENA.
“This topic has been discussed in the consultative
meeting of Arab foreign ministers before the start of the official session,” he
said. “We have to wait for the outcomes of the meetings throughout the day in
this regard.”
Al-Mangoush, for her part, termed the Egyptian
withdrawal as a “violation” of the Arab League charter and UN Security Council
resolutions.
“We respect the withdrawal of the Egyptian foreign
minister, but disagree with it as it violates the Arab League charter and UN
Security Council resolutions,” she told a press conference.
"The National Unity Government is supported by
international conventions, and it is the last national transitional government
till holding elections," al-Mangoush added.
Egyptian media earlier reported that the government of
Fathi Bashagha, who was appointed by the east Libya-based parliament as prime
minister in March, has protested al-Mangoush’s chairing of the Arab League
meeting.
Dbeibeh, the head of the Tripoli-based National Unity
Government, has refused to step down, insisting he will only cede authority to
a government that comes through an "elected parliament," raising
fears that Libya could slip back into a civil war.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Southeast
Asia
Protests across Indonesia as anger mounts over fuel
price increase
September 7, 2022
JAKARTA: Thousands of people rallied in Indonesia’s
biggest cities on Tuesday, demanding the government reverse its first
subsidised fuel price increase in eight years amid soaring inflation.
Under pressure to control a ballooning energy subsidy
budget, President Joko Widodo on Saturday said he had little choice but to cut
the subsidy and let fuel prices rise by about 30pc in the country of 270
million people. Oil prices are about 32pc higher than a year ago.
Protests took place in and around the capital,
Jakarta, and in the cities of Surabaya, Makassar, Kendari, Aceh, and
Yogyakarta, among a series of demonstrations led by students and labour groups
that police say could draw big crowds this week.
Thousands of police were deployed across Jakarta, many
guarding petrol stations, fearing they could become targets of mounting anger
over a price increase that unions say will hurt workers and the urban poor the
most. “Workers are really, really suffering right now,” said Abdul Aris, a
union official, vowing to keep fighting until the government gives way.
Small rallies took place at the weekend and on Monday,
with tyres burned and some roads blocked as demonstrators vented their anger
over the decision, which comes amid rising food costs and with the economy
still reeling from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Thousands gathered in Jakarta on Tuesday, marching and
chanting slogans denouncing the government’s decision and calling for an
increase in the minimum wage.
Source: Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1708805/protests-across-indonesia-as-anger-mounts-over-fuel-price-increase
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International buyers exploring halal industries in
M’sia
09- 07- 2022
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is hosting one of the world’s
largest halal products exhibitions and buyers are exploring opportunities to
import products from the Southeast Asian nation.
“Malaysia has a variety of food products. And
Malaysian cuisine is world-class,” Azmi Mustafa, the owner and founder of
Dreiha Handels, a food supplier in Germany told Anadolu Agency.
Mustafa portrayed the 18th Malaysia International
Halal Showcase (MIHAS) in Kuala Lumpur as a promising for Malaysia that he sees
as the pioneer of the halal industry.
He noted that the halal food sector in Europe,
particularly in Germany, is booming, creating opportunities for manufacturers.
“The total value of the halal market in Germany is
around €4 billion (US$3.9 billion) annually. So, the halal market is very big in
Germany as the country has a sizable number of Muslims, particularly Turks and
people from other Muslim countries. So, they want to get Halal food items in
supermarkets, especially in those markets run by Muslims.”
His company has been supplying instant noodles and
specialty noodles, vegetarian meals, jackfruit snacks, creamer, milk, powder,
dishwasher, soap, utensils, and kitchen appliances to supermarkets across
Germany.
Mustafa said that not only Muslims, but Germans are
also keen to get halal products. Because halal is not only related to a
religion but “halal means clean, halal means hygienic, halal means every step
of the production procedure is monitored carefully.
Halal means you know every single ingredient of the
product you are consuming. Because halal products need to get halal
certifications that are too tough and very strict.
“Halal means food safety; halal means clean and
quality so anybody can consume. Halal is the future not only in the Muslim
countries but in non-Muslim countries,” he said. “This sector is growing
everywhere and is growing in a very fast way. Halal would be a very big
industry. In the near future, food safety would be curricula matter for
consumers.”
“MIHAS is one of the pioneer exhibitions for the halal
sector,“ he said.
However, he mentioned that it is not easy for halal
products to enter supermarkets run by Germans.
But to enter western markets, halal products need
other European certifications for food products. The halal food production
industries must be well-equipped and completely ready for the rapidly booming
halal market.
A businessman from India said he was excited to see
innovations and vast opportunities for businesses with Malaysian manufacturers.
“I have seen Malaysian products. They are very
world-class. A lot of new and exciting innovations are happening here,” Prince
Chatterjee, vice president for consumer brands for Reliance Retail Limited, a
personal care and toiletries supplier in India said.
Chatterjee told Anadolu that he was “feeling very
excited to see the kind product innovation, new concepts, combination of
products and packaging initiatives” in Malaysia during his meetings with
producers at MIHAS r.
As a subsidiary of one of the largest conglomerates in
the South Asian nation with a population of 1.3 billion, Reliance Retail
Limited is seeking opportunities to get skin care, hair care, makeup color
cosmetics, bath and shower products from Malaysian manufacturers.
“With the right quality of products and the right
business partners, if we can establish a good business relationship, I think it
could be a really good opportunity for us to look into manufacturing some of
our products in Malaysia,” he said.
“Among the Far East countries, Malaysia could be one
of the most interesting destinations for us,” he added, as he appreciated the
halal showcase.
MIHAS began Wednesday at the Malaysia International
Trade and Exhibition Centre and is poised to be a networking powerhouse for
international and local businesses.
Considered one of the most prominent and longest-running
halal trade events in the world, MIHAS is expected to achieve US$423 million in
trade during the three-day event.
The expo, organised by the Malaysian External Trade
Development Corporation (MATRADE), draws participants from local and international
buyers, entrepreneurs, retailers, brands, media, researchers and industry
influencers.
It has attracted nearly 400 companies from across the
globe through conventional and virtual exhibition formats.
This year, it features 13 clusters including food, pharmaceuticals,
e-commerce, media and recreation, Islamic finance, modest fashion, personal
care and cosmetics, Muslim-friendly tourism and Islamic arts and culture,
Qatar, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, US and India have been
premium buyers at the INSP, while Malaysia and Singapore are top sellers.
Bhutan, Vietnam, and Thailand are top buyers.
The halal industry is one of the fasted-growing
markets in the world as products and services in the sector gain momentum among
non-Muslim consumers worldwide.
Source: The Sun Daily
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https://www.thesundaily.my/home/international-buyers-exploring-halal-industries-in-m-sia-CG9787730
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Appellate court dismisses IGP, govt’s bid to strike
out Indira Gandhi’s suit
07 Sep 2022
PUTRAJAYA, Sept 7 — The Court of Appeal today
dismissed an appeal by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and three others
to strike out a nonfeasance lawsuit filed against them by a kindergarten
teacher over their alleged failure to arrest her ex-husband and return her
daughter who was abducted by him.
A three-member panel comprising Justices Datuk Hanipah
Farikullah, Datuk M. Gunalan and Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim held that the suit
filed by M. Indira Gandhi should be dealt by way of a trial.
Besides the IGP, the other named as defendants in the
suit are the police, the Home Ministry and the government.
"We are of the considered view that based on the
facts and circumstances of this case, there are complex issues of law including
issues on interpretation of Section 7 (2) of the Government Proceedings Act,
Section 20 of the Police Act and also on the common law position on the tort of
nonfeasance by a public officer," said Justice Hanipah.
She said Indira Gandhi's claim was not an obviously
unsustainable case to warrant it to be struck out.
There was no error by the High Court in its decision
to dismiss the striking-out application brought by the IGP and three others,
she said, adding that there was no merit in the government's appeal.
She also ordered the defendants to pay RM10,000 cost
to Indira Gandhi and set Sept 14 for the case management at the High Court.
On July 16, last year, then High Court judge Datuk
Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali (now Court of Appeal judge) dismissed the government's
application to strike out Indira Gandhi's suit that claimed the IGP had
deliberately and negligently disregarded a mandamus order issued by the Federal
Court in failing to investigate or take appropriate action to return her
youngest child Prasana Diksa.
She alleged that the IGP, the Home Ministry and the
government had a role to play in making decisions or ordering the police to execute
the committal warrant against Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, formerly known as K.
Pathmanathan, as ordered by the Federal Court on April 29, 2016.
She is seeking general, aggravated and exemplary
damages and a declaration that the IGP had committed the tort of nonfeasance in
public office, and that the Home Ministry and the government were vicariously
liable for the tort of nonfeasance committed by the IGP.
Prasana Diksa was taken away by Muhammad Riduan when
she was 11 months old, shortly after he converted to Islam.
In 2009, Muhammad Riduan unilaterally converted their
three children to Islam without Indira Gandhi's consent before going to the
Syariah Court to obtain custody of the children, but in 2018 the Federal Court
ruled the unilateral conversion of the three children as null and void.
The Ipoh High Court in 2010 granted full custody of
the children to Indira Gandhi.
In 2016, the Federal Court affirmed the mandamus order
issued by the High Court directing the police and the appellants to apprehend
Muhammad Riduan and retrieve Prasana Diksa to be returned to Indira Gandhi.
Source: Malay Mail
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Mideast
Top IRGC Commander: White House Fate Under Impact of
Iran's Political Decisions
2022-September-6
Speaking at a Basiji professors' gathering in Mashhad
on Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Salami said that "Iran’s political decisions have a
defining role in the United States elections and the fate of the White House is
influenced by the Imam Khomeini Hussainia", where the Supreme Leader holds
public meetings and delivers speeches.
“The US has 50 percent of the world’s military power
but it is facing many internal problems,” he added.
The senior commander said certain videos circulating
online show the “collapse of humanity” in the United States.
“There is no one to pay attention to the [people’s]
problems,” he continued, adding that many European countries also face similar
problems.
“Today, the US cannot implement whatever plot it has
in the region and its plots will definitely fail,” the IRGC commander stressed.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Major General Salami
maintained that Iran is a frontrunner in many technologies, saying, “We have
even surpassed the world’s top powers in the field of air defense, to the
extent that some superpowers are buying our weapons and offering joint
cooperation [with Iran].”
"Iran has the top rank in many technologies in a
way that even some great powers are purchasing Iranian arms and offering
cooperation," the top commander noted, adding that Iran has exceeded great
powers in air defense.
"Building modern systems has been as easy as
manufacturing bicycles for us today," Salami said.
"Today, the accuracy of our weapons in hitting
fixed and mobile targets is 100%," the senior commander stated, noting
that Iranian drones are capable of hitting any target they want.
General Salami added that "Iran won’t be happy if
the sanctions are lifted and won’t be upset if they’re kept because the country
is independent".
He stressed that sanctions have caused few
difficulties for Iran, emphasizing that the country enjoys great capacities and
potential and is able to overcome all of its problems by relying on its beliefs
and the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali
Khamenei.
Iranian officials say what the enemies and ill-wishers
had predicted on the fate of the Islamic Republic has not materialized, adding
that the Islamic establishment has come from strength to strength.
Back in August, President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi noted
that the Iranian nation's progress has made it stronger compared to the past,
while the enemies have grown weaker.
Source: Fars News Agency
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27 dead as al-Qaida launches attack on Yemen
separatists
Sep 6, 2022
ADEN: Twenty-one separatist fighters and six members
of al-Qaida's Yemen branch were killed Tuesday as an attack by the jihadists
punctured months of relative peace in the war-torn country, government and
security sources said.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) attacked
positions held by the UAE-trained Security Belt group in Abyan province in
Yemen's south, the sources told AFP.
The violence came just days after the jihadist group
released a video of a United Nations worker whom it abducted in the same
province more than six months ago.
About three hours of fighting "left 21 dead among
the (Security Belt), including an officer, and six among the Al-Qaeda
combatants", a government official said on condition of anonymity. Two
security sources confirmed the death toll.
Yemen has been gripped by conflict since Iran-backed
Huthi rebels took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led
military intervention in support of the beleaguered government the following
year.
AQAP and militants loyal to the Islamic State group
have thrived in the chaos.
The Security Belt, a powerful southern Yemen
separatist force, has played a decisive role in the fight against the jihadists,
forcing them to retreat from towns into rural areas.
Tuesday's fighting comes as the Huthis and forces
supporting the ousted government observe a shaky ceasefire in the years-long
civil war.
Riven by divisions, the groups opposing the Huthis,
who originate from the north, include southern separatists who support the
re-establishment of South Yemen.
The country was divided into North and South Yemen
until reunification in 1990.
Kidnapped UN worker
Underlining Yemen's parlous security, on Saturday AQAP
released a video showing a United Nations worker who was abducted more than six
months ago, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.
Five UN staff members were kidnapped in Abyan in
February while returning to the port city of Aden after a field mission, UN
spokesperson Eri Kaneko told AFP at the time.
In Saturday's video message, apparently recorded on
August 9, Akam Sofyol Anam urges "the UN, the international community, the
humanitarian organisations, to please come forward... and meet the demands of
my captors", without outlining the demands.
Formed in a merger of Al-Qaeda's Yemen and Saudi
branches, AQAP has carried out attacks on both rebel and government targets in
Yemen as well as foreigners.
It has been accused of plotting attacks beyond the
Middle East and its leaders have been targeted by a US drone war for more than
two decades, although the number of strikes has dropped off in recent years.
Yemen's UN-brokered ceasefire has drastically reduced
fighting since the truce began in April, but outbreaks of violence continue.
Last week, 10 Yemeni soldiers were killed in a Huthi
attack near Taez, the country's third biggest city which has been blockaded by
the rebels since 2015.
The assault, which also left several soldiers wounded,
was aimed at cutting off a key route to the southwestern city of about two
million, the government said.
Source: Times Of India
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Iran
Urges Taliban to Ensure Security of Diplomatic Missions in Afghanistan
2022-September-6
Two
Russian embassy workers were among many people killed on Monday in a blast
outside the country’s diplomatic mission in the Afghan capital. Daesh Terror
group (also known as ISIS or ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the suicide
bombing.
Kana'ani
on Monday expressed his sympathy with the Russian government and the families
of the two victims, as well as those Afghans targeted in the terrorist attack.
He
called on the Afghan authorities to take more serious measures to ensure the
security of embassies and diplomatic premises in the country.
Despite
the Taliban’s assertion that they have brought security to the nation,
Afghanistan has seen regular attacks by armed groups, many of them claimed by a
Daesh affiliate known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K),
in recent months.
In
Afghanistan, Daesh attacks have resulted in around hunreds of deaths since the
Taliban came to power last August, according to the United Nations. The
militants have primarily targeted religious and ethnic minorities, as well as
schools, mainly with suicide bombings.
Back
in late April, Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Rayeesi warned that the war in
Ukraine should not make the international community forget the crisis in
Afghanistan.
“The
US and NATO presence in Afghanistan meant nothing more than destruction and
killing, and it did not provide security for Afghanistan or the region,”
Rayeesi said.
The
president added that the war in Ukraine must not divert international attention
from the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan, the problems facing its people and
the large number of refugees leaving the country.
He
also warned about a surge in threats against Afghanistan and other regional
nations.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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Israel
reveals secret document about bombing Syrian nuclear site
Abdelraouf
Arna'out???????
06.09.2022
Israel
on Tuesday revealed a secret document from 2002 that helped the bombing of what
it said was a Syrian nuclear site in 2007.
A
military statement said Israeli warplanes on Sept. 6, 2007 struck a Syrian
nuclear reactor in the Deir Ezzor area in a mission that was code-named
"Outside the Box."
The
secret document included a warning from the Israeli military intelligence that
Syria was attempting to begin pursuing a nuclear program.
"Recently
it became known that secret projects previously unknown to us are being
conducted [or at least were being conducted] within the framework of the Syrian
Atomic Energy Commission," the Times of Israel newspaper said, citing the
cover sheet of the secret document.
The
army also published photos and videos of targeting the Syrian nuclear site, and
photos of the site before and after the bombing.
The
release of the secret document comes as Israel tirelessly seeks to convince
Western powers, including the US, to refrain from signing a deal with Iran over
its nuclear program.
Israel
accuses Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb, a claim denied by Tehran,
which says its program is designed for peaceful purposes.
Former
US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the 2015 Iran
nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions as part of a "maximum
pressure campaign" on Tehran.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Palestinian,
Egyptian presidents discuss Mideast peace talks
Awad
Rajoub
06.09.2022
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas held talks in Cairo on Tuesday with his Egyptian
counterpart Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
The
talks dwelt on the situation in the Palestinian territories and Israeli violations
against the Palestinians, the state news agency Wafa reported.
Discussions
also took up efforts aimed at reviving the moribund peace talks between the
Palestinians and Israel, it added.
In
1993, the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel signed
the Oslo Accords which gave Palestinians a form of self-rule.
Years
of peace negotiations between the two sides, however, failed to achieve the
Palestinian goal of establishing an independent state.
US-sponsored
peace talks collapsed in 2014 over Israel’s refusal to halt settlement building
and release Palestinians imprisoned before 1993.
Abbas’
visit to Cairo came a few weeks after Egypt managed to broker a cease-fire
between Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and Israel that brought a three-day
Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip to a halt.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Pakistan
Gen
Bajwa’s Role Vibrant In Serving Islam, Democracy, Defence: Elahi
Sep
7, 2022
LAHORE –
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi has said that the Pakistan
Army and scholars have saved this country from chaos, civil war and all kinds
of situations. “General Qamar Javed Bajwa has always served the leaders of all
sects, religious schools and all religious groups,” the CM said while
addressing a grand gathering of the Pakistan Conference on the Protection of
the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) at the at Jamia Ashrafia here yesterday. He said,
“Yes, not only me, everyone who loves this country and cherishes national
security always puts Pakistan’s religious identity and religious matters
first.”
The
chief minister said that he knows the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan very well.
“I have seen General Qamar Javed Bajwa very closely; he is always in the
forefront for the defence and protection of Islam and Pakistan, his efforts in
the service of Islam, democracy and national defence are commendable,” he
asserted.
Chaudhry
Parvez Elahi said that when the decision was taken to operate on the
Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan and the country started to be pushed towards civil
war, the role played by General Qamar Javed Bajwa in stopping the operation and
violence and bringing it to reconciliation was a great success.
“It
is worth writing in golden words, if General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the scholars
had not reached an agreement at that time, the whole nation would have faced
many difficulties,” he remarked. Similarly, the issue of Maulana Fazlur
Rehman’s sit-in was also resolved with the special efforts of General Bajwa.
He
said that when Tablighi Jamaat was banned in Saudi Arabia, a delegation
consisting of Maulana Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, Maulana Muhammad Hanif
Jalandhri, members of Raiwind’s Shura and our colleague MPA Hafiz Ammar Yasir
met General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the army chief took personal interest and sat
down with the Saudi ruler and convinced him that this is a religious party. He
played a role and with his personal interest this problem was also resolved.
Chaudhry
Parvez Elahi said that these occasions were mentioned only as an example,
“otherwise you are more familiar than me with the role of Pakistan Army and
General Qamar Javed Bajwa for the nation.”
Source:
Nation Pakistan
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://nation.com.pk/2022/09/07/gen-bajwas-role-vibrant-in-serving-islam-democracy-defence-elahi/
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Pakistan's
devastating floods endanger Mohenjo-daro’s world heritage tag
Sep
7, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
In flood-stricken Pakistan where an unprecedented monsoon season has killed
hundreds of people, the rains now threaten a famed archeological site dating
back 4,500 years, the site’s chief official said on Tuesday. The ruins of
Mohenjo-daro — located in southern Sindh province near the Indus River and a
Unesco World Heritage Site — are considered among the best preserved urban
settlements in South Asia. They were discovered in 1922 and to this day,
mystery surrounds the disappearance of its civilisation, which coincided with
those of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The
swelling waters of the Indus, a major river in this part of the world, have
wreaked havoc as heavy rains and massive flooding unleashed devastation across
much of Pakistan. At least 1,325 people have been killed and millions have lost
their homes in the surging waters, with many experts blaming the unusually
heavy monsoon rains on climate change. The flooding has not directly hit Mohenjo-daro
but the record-breaking rains have inflicted damage on the ruins of the ancient
city, said Ahsan Abbasi, the site’s curator. “Several big walls, which were
built nearly 5,000 years ago, have collapsed because of the monsoon rains,” he
said. He said dozens of construction workers under the supervision of
archaeologists have started the repair work. Abbasi did not give an estimated
cost of the damages at Mohenjo-daro.
Pakistan’s
department of archaeology has called for urgent attention towards conservation
and restoration work at Mohenjo-daro, apprehending that the site may be
removedfrom the world heritage list if such work was not carried out, media
reports said. The site’s landmark “Buddhist stupa” — a large hemispherical
structure associated with worship, meditation and burial — remains intact,
Abbasi said. But the downpour has damaged some outer walls and also some larger
walls separating individual rooms or chambers. Abbasi said the civilisation at
Mohenjo-daro, also known as “Mound of the Dead” in the local Sindhi language,
built an elaborate drainage system, which has been critical in flooding in the
past.
Source:
Times Of India
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--------
Five
Pakistan soldiers killed in clash with Taliban
Sep
6, 2022
PESHAWAR:
Pakistan's Taliban accused the military Tuesday of breaking a fragile
ceasefire, after the army said five soldiers and at least four militants died
in a gun battle in the country's northwest.
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) declared an indefinite ceasefire in June to facilitate peace
talks being brokered by neighbouring Afghanistan, but there have been regular
clashes since then despite both sides saying the truce was still on.
In
the latest clash on Monday, the Pakistan military said it raided a militant
hideout in Boyya, North Waziristan, following an intelligence tip-off.
"Intense
fire exchange took place between own troops and terrorists," the
military's public relations wing said in a statement.
It
said four militants were killed, and five soldiers, including an officer,
"embraced martyrdom".
On
Tuesday a TTP commander confirmed the clash and accused the government of bad
faith, saying troops had attacked them in six districts recently, including
Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
"The
government was not honouring its commitment regarding the ceasefire," the
commander told AFP.
A
government official who has been party to negotiations with the group accused
them of "targeted killings" and "increasing their
movements" in parts of the country.
Since
the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan last year Islamabad has regularly
complained of attacks by the TTP, especially along their porous frontier.
The
Pakistan and Afghanistan Taliban are separate groups, but share a common
ideology.
Afghanistan
insists it will not allow its soil to be used by foreign militants, but
hundreds of Pakistan Taliban fighters are believed to be in the country, as
well as much of the group's leadership.
Source:
Times Of India
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WHO
warns of worsening situation in Pakistan
Amin
Ahmed | Anwar Iqbal
September
7, 2022
ISLAMABAD
/ WASHINGTON: Amid the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) warning that the
humanitarian situation in flood-ravaged Pakistan is expected to get worse,
Japan pledged to give emergency aid of $7 million, Qatar launched an air bridge
and the UN refugee agency mounted a huge airlift operation from Dubai.
More
than 33 million people in Pakistan have been affected by the flooding, brought
on by record monsoon rains amplified by climate change.
The
WHO said over 1,460 health centres had been damaged, of which 432 were fully
wrecked, mostly in Sindh. More than 4,500 medical camps have been set up by the
WHO and its partners, while more than 230,000 rapid tests for acute watery
diarrhoea, malaria, dengue, hepatitis and chikungunya have been distributed.
Such
diseases are already circulating in Pakistan, alongside Covid-19, HIV and
polio, and “now all these are at risk of getting worse”, WHO spokesman Tarik
Jasarevic said. “We have already received reports of increased number of cases
of acute watery diarrhoea, typhoid, measles and malaria, especially in the
worst-affected areas,” he said.
Greta
Thunberg terms Pakistan ‘very clear example’ of European apathy to climate
crisis
“The
situation is expected to worsen,” he warned, as it was still difficult to get
to areas hit hard by the floods.
Japanese
Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, while announcing the emergency assistance
in Tokyo, noted that rain and flooding in Pakistan had led to over a thousand
of deaths besides infrastructure damage.
Editorial:
The floods are spawning a certain, and deadly, health crisis
Meanwhile,
the UNHCR is scaling up support in Pakistan by mounting a huge airlift
operation from Dubai meant to focus on Larkana and Sukkur. The first three of
nine scheduled flights have already arrived here, with the other five on their
way.
Aid
includes 40,000 sleeping mats, nearly 15,000 kitchen sets and some 5,000
multi-purpose tarpaulins. An additional six flights are also scheduled from
Dubai for Wednesday and Thursday, with 4,500 sleeping mats, 400 tarpaulins, and
nearly 5,000 kitchen sets.
Global
response to floods
Meanwhile,
a host of international visitors are expected to Islamabad this week while some
senior Pakistani leaders, possibly including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, may
also visit world capitals for consultations later this month.
The
most prominent among the visitors to Islamabad is the UN Secretary General,
Antonio Guterres, who is arriving on Sept 9 to review the devastations caused
by the floods.
Then
on Sept 22, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is expected in New York to
attend the UN General Assembly. He will then visit Washington on Sept 15 for
talks with US officials.
Meanwhile,
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg complained in an interview to
Reuters that politicians and the media in the West had “chosen not to
communicate” that disasters like the floods in Pakistan and the climate change
“are very closely interlinked”.
“Just
take Pakistan now, as an example, a very clear example,” she said.
Fatima
Bhutto, in a piece she wrote for The News York Times, stressed that “climate
change very likely played a role in the extremely heavy rains” in Pakistan.
“So, you can call these people climate refugees,” she argued.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1708848/who-warns-of-worsening-situation-in-pakistan
--------
Police
refusal to book Imran for ‘army bashing’ irks Lahore court
Wajih
Ahmad Sheikh | Malik Asad
September
7, 2022
LAHORE/ISLAMABAD:
While a sessions court in Lahore sought reply from police on a petition
challenging their refusal to book Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran
Khan for allegedly ‘ridiculing’ the army, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on
Tuesday asked the ex-premier to join the investigation against him over his
alleged threats to a judge.
The
sessions court sought a reply from SP investigation and additional district
complaint officer by Sept 10 on a petition challenging police refusal to
register a case against Mr Khan on the charge of ridiculing the institution of
army in his recent power show in Faisalabad.
Ex-officio
justice of peace and additional district and sessions judge Ghulam Hussain
Bhinder was hearing the petition filed by one Sheikh Muzaffar Hussain, under
Section 22-A and 22-B of the criminal procedure code.
The
petitioner through a counsel contended that he filed an application with the
Samanabad police for registration of a criminal case against the PTI chief for
‘scandalising’ senior army officers. He alleged that Mr Khan through his
statement attempted to create a rift among the senior army officers and tried
to portray them as ‘less patriotic’. He said the PTI chief’s act amounted to
the offence of ‘sedition’ under the law, which was liable to be prosecuted
following registration of a case.
IHC
orders PTI chief to join probe into alleged threats against Islamabad judge
However,
he said, the SHO flatly refused to act in accordance with law on the
application of the petitioner without any legal justification. He argued that
the police were legally bound to register a case against the accused person
nominated in the application in accordance with the provision of Section 154 of
the CrPC. He requested the court to order police to register a case against Mr
Khan under relevant provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Probe
into threats to judge
Meanwhile,
the IHC asked the PTI chief to join the investigation in the case registered
against him for allegedly hurling threats to an additional district and
sessions judge and top officers of Islamabad police.
The
IHC division bench comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Saman
Rafat Imtiaz heard the petition seeking to quash the FIR against Mr Khan.
Barrister
Salman Safdar, counsel for the PTI chief, argued before the court that the
police incorporated some more section of law into the FIR.
On
the court’s query, Advocate General for Islamabad Barrister Jahangir Khan Jadoon
said police had not yet filed challan before the anti-terrorism court, as Mr
Khan had not joined the investigation.
When
the court asked if the investigation officer had ever tried to approach Mr
Khan, the AG replied that the officer had served notice at his residence, but
the IO was not given access to the PTI chief.
The
court asked the counsel for Mr Khan to advise their client to join the
investigation since the case is at the preliminary stage.
The
chief justice remarked that the IO represented the state and in case of any
lapse, the court were always there to watch over. He said this was a test case
for the police itself, adding that the IO should scrap the FIR if the case was
not made out.
The
court asked the AG to inform the court in case the police would face any issue
to access Mr Khan.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1708853/police-refusal-to-book-imran-for-army-bashing-irks-lahore-court
--------
IHC
sets aside ban on Imran’s live coverage
September
7, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The Islamabad High Court issued a detailed order a petition of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf
(PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, setting aside the Pakistan Electronic Media
Regulatory Authority (Pemra) ban on his live coverage.
The
media regulatory body had imposed a blanket ban on live coverage of Mr Khan’s
speeches on August 20, after he allegedly threatened Additional District and
Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Zeba Chaudhry, and the Islamabad Police IG and DIG, of
‘consequences’ after the judge handed over physical custody of the ex-PM’s
aide, Shahbaz Gill, to police for two days.
IHC
Chief Justice Athar Minallah issued the detailed order on the petition filed by
Mr Khan against the ban on his live coverage on electronic media.
Setting
aside the Pemra notification, the IHC asked the media regulatory body to
enforce its Code of Conduct in the light of Supreme Court’s judgement to ensure
effective enforcement of its directions. The apex court had previously directed
Pemra to devise a standard operating procedure for live coverage, in pursuant
to which the electronic media had introduced a time-delay mechanism.
In
his petition, the PTI chairman contended that under the Pemra Ordinance,
one-third of the total members of the watchdog were supposed to constitute a
quorum for the meetings requiring a decision by the authority, which comprised
a chairman and 12 members.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1708859/ihc-sets-aside-ban-on-imrans-live-coverage
--------
US
delegation meets COAS, offers support for flood-hit people
September
6, 2022
RAWALPINDI:
A five-member US delegation led by Congress Representative Sheila Jackson Lee
on Tuesday met Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and offered
American support for the flood-hit people of Pakistan.
According
to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), matters of mutual interest, regional
security situation and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed
during the meeting.
The
US delegation expressed grief over the devastation caused by the flash floods
in Pakistan and offered sincere condolences to the families of the flood
victims. They offered US support for people of Pakistan at this hour of need.
Meanwhile,
the US officials appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for regional stability and
pledged to play their role in enhancing cooperation with Pakistan at various
levels.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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--------
Europe
Türkiye
warns Greece to stop refusing to recognize Muslim clerics
SEP
06, 2022
Türkiye
on Monday again urged Greece to respect the rights of the Turkish minority in
its Western Thrace region and to stop denying recognition to elected Muslim
muftis.
Speaking
with the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board, the Foreign Ministry
said that Türkiye expects Greece to respect the right of the Turkish minority
to elect their religious leaders, "which is guaranteed by international
agreements, especially the Lausanne Peace Treaty, and to end its pressures in
this regard."
In
a statement, the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board, on behalf of
the Turkish minority, stressed that it will stand by its rights to elect its
religious leader and protect its elected muftis.
The
statement also called on minorities to fill all mosques this Friday to show
solidarity and to protect their identity, religion, muftis and usurped rights.
Greece's
Western Thrace region – in the country's northeast, near the Turkish border –
is home to a substantial, centuries-old Muslim Turkish minority numbering
around 150,000.
The
rights of the Turks of Western Thrace were guaranteed under the 1923 Treaty of
Lausanne, but since then the situation has steadily deteriorated.
After
a Greek junta came to power in 1967, the Western Thracian Turks started to face
harsher persecution and rights abuses by the Greek state, often in blatant
violation of European court rulings.
The
Turkish minority in Greece continues to face problems exercising its collective
and civil rights and education rights, including Greek authorities banning the
word "Turkish" in the names of associations, shuttering Turkish
schools, and trying to block the Turkish community from electing its muftis.
In
addition to violating longstanding treaties, these policies are also often in
blatant violation of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings.
Elected
muftis in Greece
In
Western Thrace, muftis have legal jurisdiction to decide on family and
inheritance matters for the local Turkish Muslim community.
The
issue of mufti elections has been an issue since 1991.
The
election of muftis by Muslims in Greece was regulated in the 1913 Treaty of
Athens with the Ottoman Empire and was later included in Greek law.
However,
Greece annulled this law in 1991 and started appointing muftis itself.
Source:
Daily Sabah
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--------
Israeli
president addresses German parliament, calls for all-out war on racism
Ayhan
Şimşek
06.09.2022
BERLIN
Israeli
President Isaac Herzog Tuesday called on German lawmakers to take a stronger
stance against hate speech, racism and anti-Semitism.
“We
have to fight anti-Semitism and racism wherever we counter it, decisively, and
without any compromise,” he said in a speech at the German parliament.
Herzog
addressed lawmakers at a special parliamentary session as part of his three-day
official visit to the country.
Expressing
concern over a worrying increase in the number of racist and anti-Semitic
incidents, he said hate speech should not be ignored but countered everywhere,
on the internet, social media, in the streets or political platforms.
Herzog
also underlined that it is a moral obligation and responsibility to continue
learning and teaching about the Holocaust.
“Remembering
the Shoah (the Holocaust) is part of our national identity,” he stressed.
“You
cannot do away with the past, but the future is in our hands. It belongs to
both of us. It belongs to us, it belongs to you. Because only together we can
give meaning to remembrance,” he added.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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--------
Türkiye,
Bosnia and Herzegovina agree on passport-free travel: Erdogan
Diyar
Guldogan and Talha Ozturk
06.09.2022
ANKARA
/ Belgrade, Serbia
Ankara
and Sarajevo decided to allow their citizens to travel to each other’s
countries without passports, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on
Tuesday.
"We
have now made the decision to (enable) travel between Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Turkey with identity cards," Erdogan told a news conference in
Sarajevo with the three members of the Presidential Council of Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Erdogan
said Türkiye and Bosnia and Herzegovina are currently working on passport-free
travel, adding that it will become effective soon.
The
president said the relations between Türkiye and Bosnia and Herzegovina are "exceptional,"
voicing support for the country's territorial integrity and stability.
Erdogan
reiterated that Türkiye is ready to do its best to overcome the current
difficulties in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
"Being
here on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations
has given our visit a historic character," he said.
For
his part, the Bosniak member and the current chairman of the Presidency of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sefik Dzaferovic said Türkiye and Bosnia Herzegovina
enjoy friendly relations, and their historical and cultural ties are strong,
adding that they want to enhance ties with Ankara.
Dzaferovic
said Bosnia and Herzegovina wants to expand bilateral trade volume with Türkiye
to $1 billion.
He
also appreciated Türkiye's role in mediation between Russia and Ukraine for
allowing grain exports.
Serb
member Milorad Dodik hailed Erdogan, saying: "His attitude towards us in
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of emotion and sympathy. The best proof is
precisely President Erdogan, who comes here with an aid package to Bosnia and
Herzegovina, without making any political conditions."
Croat
member Zeljko Komsic said the policies of Erdogan and Türkiye's are one of the
"rare things" on which they agree in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Tension
with Greece
Erdogan
reiterated the warning to Greece, saying: "All of a sudden, we can come
overnight."
"They
have islands, there are bases on these islands ... and if these illegitimate
threats against us continue, there is an end to our patience," he said.
Turkish
jets engaged in NATO missions over the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean seas on
Aug. 23 were harassed by a Russian-made S-300 air defense system stationed on
the Greek island of Crete.
According
to Turkish National Defense Ministry sources, Greece violated Türkiye’s
airspace and territorial waters over 1,100 times in the first eight months of
this year alone.
Türkiye,
a NATO member for over 70 years, has complained of repeated provocative actions
and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, including arming islands
near Turkish shores that are demilitarized under a treaty, saying that such
moves frustrate its good faith efforts for peace.
Elections
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Regarding
the general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina that will be held on Oct. 2,
Erdogan said: "The fact that the elections are held in a fair,
transparent, and constructive environment is of vital importance not only for
Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also for our entire region."
Erdogan
added that encouraging an election atmosphere that will contribute to the
welfare of the country in the lead-up to the elections is particularly
important for the peace and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
About
a question on possible amendments to the nation’s election law and constitution
by the Office of the High Representative, Erdogan said presidential council
members in Bosnia and Herzegovina should decide on the election law, adding
that High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt
"should not interfere in the process."
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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--------
Balkan
countries want to improve economic ties with Türkiye: Officials
06.09.2022
BELGRADE,
Serbia
Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia are aiming to improve their economic
relations with Türkiye, officials of the three countries said ahead of this
week's Balkan tour by the Turkish president.
Zdravko
Marinkovic, head of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Chamber of Foreign Trade, told
Anadolu Agency that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Balkan tour is important
for the region.
"Türkiye
invested $265 million in Bosnia and Herzegovina last year. Türkiye is one of
the most important investment powers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The trade
volume increased to approximately $600 million last year," said
Marinkovic.
Marija
Sepi, head of the Center for Europe at Serbia's Chamber of Commerce, said
economic relations with Türkiye are at the highest level.
"The
economic relations between Türkiye and Serbia have made great progress in
recent years. The foreign trade volume reached $1.73 billion in 2021,"
said Sepi.
Moreover,
imports from Türkiye increased by 43%, she added.
"We
have come a long way in terms of foreign trade volume and investment, but we
are below the real potential. Thanks to good political relations, the economic
relations of the two countries are at the highest level," said Sepi.
Sepi
added that there are 699 Turkish companies registered in Serbia and these
companies employ approximately 10,000 people.
Silva
Stipic, director of the International Employment Center at Croatia's Chamber of
Economy, said the bilateral trade volume reached $845 million in 2021.
"We
reached $501 million in the first five months of this year. I can say that we
are getting closer to the target," said Stipic.
During
Erdogan’s Balkan visit, business forums are planned in Sarajevo, Belgrade and
Zagreb with the cooperation of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Türkiye
(DEIK).
In
recent years, the Balkans region has become an attractive market for Turkish
investors with its qualified workforce, business-friendly investment
environment, and tax and financial incentives.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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--------
Families
accuse EU of ‘ignoring’ Europeans imprisoned in Iran
06 September,
2022
The
families of four Europeans imprisoned for several years by Iran on Tuesday
accused the European Union of ignoring the plight of their loved ones who they
say are held hostage by the Islamic republic.
The
open letter by the families to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell comes as
little sign emerges of a breakthrough in talks on the Iranian nuclear program
which activists believe could speed their release.
“We,
the families of French, Swedish, German, and Austrian citizens, who have been
illegally detained by the Iranian regime, are outraged that the European Union
seems to be ignoring these crimes,” the families said in the letter.
“All
of them wonder whether EU officials have forgotten them and how much longer
they will have to endure this ordeal,” they added.
The
letter was signed by the sister of French citizen Benjamin Briere, the wife of
Austrian Kamran Ghaderi, the wife of Swede Ahmadreza Djalali and the daughter
of German citizen Jamshid Sharmahd.
Briere
has been detained for two years while Ghaderi has been held for almost seven
years.
Djalali
has been in jail for six years and sentenced to death on espionage charges
while, after some two years in jail, Sharmahd is being tried on charges that
may see him sentenced to death.
“These
European citizens have been subjected to torture, grossly unfair trials based
on fabricated charges, without access to legal counsel or proper medical care,”
said the letter.
“All
of them are held hostage by a dictatorial regime that does not even abide by
the minimum standard of international legal and human rights.”
Iran
insists the foreign nationals are being held fully in line with the law but
campaigners counter that in the past the Islamic republic has readily released
foreigners in prisoner swaps or in apparent exchange for funds.
Borrell
said on Monday he was “less confident” about efforts to restore the 2015
nuclear deal, which was abandoned by former US president Donald Trump in 2018.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Legal
process for French cement giant Lafarge's alleged Daesh/ISIS link still unclear
Feiza
ben Mohamed, Alaattin Dogru
06.09.2022
It
has remained unclear when the trial would begin regarding the case over the
French cement giant Lafarge's alleged link to the Daesh/ISIS terror group.
Despite
the decision by a French court in September 2021 that the company should be
investigated on charges of complicity in crimes against humanity -- followed by
the Court of Cassation's indictment this May -- no date has been announced yet
for the trial.
It
has been five years since the case that Lafarge provided financing to terrorism
to continue its activities in Syria was submitted to the judiciary.
Also,
no official statement was made on whether the investigation file was
transferred to new judges, despite the defendant's request and the court's
decision.
Cannelle
Lavite, a lawyer from one of the civil parties in the case -- European Center
for Constitutional and Human Rights -- told Anadolu Agency that it is unknown
where the money from the alleged link between Lafarge and the terror group was
spent.
'Lafarge
issue is not uncommon in France'
She
stressed that there is no evidence showing that the Daesh/ISIS terrorist
attacks in France were not carried out with the money Lafarge allegedly gave to
the terror group.
Commercial
activities of the companies will not exempt them from their responsibilities
and Lafarge should be seen as "a partner in the crime against
humanity," added Lavite.
Revealing
of the documents in the media will shed light on the case, she stressed, saying
the Lafarge issue is not uncommon in France.
Inconclusive
judicial processes against companies involved in crimes do not have a deterrent
effect, Lavite noted, adding that Lafarge is using all possible opportunities
to slow down and postpone the hearing.
"At
this stage, we don't even know if Lafarge will be prosecuted for the
charges," she said, referring to the current situation that a date has yet
to be announced for the trial.
Paying
to foreign groups
Lafarge
is a French industrial company that specializes in cement, concrete, and
construction aggregates. The company was accused of paying almost €13 million
($13.68 million) to foreign groups, including the terrorist organization
Daesh/ISIS, to maintain their factory presence in the city of Jalabiya in
northern Syria during the civil war.
CEO
Bruno Lafont and eight Lafarge executives were also accused of financing a
terror group and endangering the lives of others.
In
2019, the Paris Court of Appeals dismissed the charges of crimes against
humanity, accepting the defense that payments made by Lafarge were not used in
aiding or abetting the war effort. The other charges stood though, including
that of violating an EU embargo.
Lafarge
has denied any wrongdoing in the allegations that it negotiated with terrorist
organizations, and has continued to fight all charges.
Documents
obtained and published by Anadolu Agency earlier had revealed that Lafarge
constantly informed the French intelligence agencies about its ties with the
Daesh/ISIS terror group.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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--------
German
broadcaster DW’s sacking of Palestinian journalist was unlawful, court rules
06.09.2022
BERLIN
A
labor court in Berlin has ruled that the dismissal of Palestinian-Jordanian
journalist Farah Maraqa by Germany's state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) on
charges of anti-Semitism was not legally justified.
Maraqa's
lawyer hailed the court's judgment on Monday and called on DW to issue a public
apology and reinstate Maraqa.
"The
court ruled totally in our favour in the case of the unlawful dismissal of Farah.
It held that Deutsche Welle is obliged to reinstate her, so Farah is now
entitle to return to her work," Hauke Rinsdorf said in an e-mailed
statement to Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
"It's
not just a relief for Farah in the difficult situation, Deutsche Welle brought
her into, but also a proof for the strength of the rule of law,” he stressed.
Rinsdorf
criticized Deutsche Welle for making false accusations against the journalist
and damaging her reputation.
"Now
we have the court's decision which speaks for itself. One may see this as an
important step to restore Farah's professional reputation as a
journalist," he said.
DW
fired several journalists from its Arabic service following a two-month
internal investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism.
However,
a separate investigation conducted by Euro-Med Monitor found that Maraqa’s
articles in question had been taken out of context and that the inquiry itself
contained several instances of embracing a pro-Israeli narrative against
Palestinians.
In
July, a former colleague of Maraqa, Maram Salem, won her case against DW for
unlawful termination.
A
court then ruled that Salem’s dismissal was illegal, and said her Facebook
posts were not anti-Semitic.
DW
has long been criticized for biased coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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--------
Türkiye,
Sweden, Finland continue talks on two Scandinavian countries' NATO bid
Ahmet
Gencturk
06.09.2022
Türkiye,
Sweden, and Finland continue to talk about the two Scandinavian countries' NATO
bid, said a Swedish daily on Tuesday in reference to the meeting held between
the three countries on Sept.2.
The
Turkish delegation argued that Sweden has not fulfilled what the countries
agreed upon in the settlement during the NATO summit held in Madrid in June,
said the Swedish daily Aftonbladet, citing Swedish officials.
The
daily added that the Turkish delegation also showed photographs from
demonstrations in Sweden where terrorist group PKK's flags were waved.
"The
meeting was constructive and was held in a good spirit, but the Turkish
delegation continued to criticize several points which the Swedish side partly
thinks are incorrect. Therefore, these meetings have been partly about clearing
up misunderstandings," told the officials daily.
Türkiye
gave no information whatsoever about when the country might approve Sweden's
and Finland's NATO applications, the daily reported.
In
May, Sweden and Finland formally applied to join NATO, a decision spurred by
Russia's war on Ukraine.
However,
Türkiye, a NATO member for more than 70 years, opposed the two countries'
membership aspirations due to their tolerance and even backing for terrorist
groups, including PKK and FETO.
In
its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a
terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, EU, and the UK -- has been
responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women,
children, and infants.
FETO
orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Türkiye, in which 251
people were killed and 2,734 injured.
Ankara
accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state by
infiltrating Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and
judiciary.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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North
America
US
refrains from directly addressing Greek harassment of Turkish jets
Michael
Gabriel Hernandez
06.09.2022
The
US continued to refrain from directly addressing Türkiye's statements that
Greece locked on to Turkish jets using its S-300 anti-air system during a NATO
exercise.
A
Pentagon spokesman declined to address the matter directly during a daily press
briefing, saying that he is "aware of those reports."
Brig.
Gen. Patrick Ryder reiterated what the Pentagon told Anadolu Agency last week,
specifically that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken with his Turkish
and Greek counterparts to urge a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing row.
"Secretary
Austin has talked in the past with both his Turkish and his Greek counterparts
and emphasized the need for continued efforts to reduce tensions in the Aegean
through constructive dialogue. So I'll leave it at that," he told reporters.
Ankara
maintains that Turkish jets engaged in NATO missions over the Aegean and
Eastern Mediterranean seas on Aug. 23 were harassed by a Russian-made S-300 air
defense system stationed on the Greek island of Crete. Greek military
officials, however, have denied the Turkish account of the actions, which are
described as "hostile" under the NATO Rules of Engagement.
"On
the issue of radar-lock, our sensitivity persists with determination. Greece is
aware of this and has thus chosen to clean up its act," Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier on Tuesday.
Erdogan
said Turkish officials continue to raise this issue with NATO.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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US
citizen in Iran needs surgery, family pleads for son's release
06
September, 2022
The
family of a US citizen detained for nearly seven years in Tehran pleaded
Tuesday for his furlough to be with his father, who it said needs a new, urgent
surgery and cannot leave Iran.
Baquer
Namazi, 85, requires surgery within weeks to clear life-threatening blockages
in his left carotid artery, which supplies blood to the brain, the family said.
He
underwent a similar operation in October last year for blockages on the right
artery, with Iran declining appeals to let him return to the United States for
the treatment.
The
family of his son Siamak Namazi, who is serving a 10-year sentence, pleaded for
him to be allowed to leave Tehran's notorious Evin prison to be with his
father.
“I am
begging Iran to show the smallest amount of humanity by allowing Siamak to be
with my dad and help take care of him during his recovery,” Baquer's other son
Babak Namazi said in a statement.
“I
also call on the US to drastically increase its efforts to obtain my family's
freedom before it's too late. Time is not on our side.”
Namazi
is one of at least three Americans detained in Iran, with the United States
saying it is insisting on their release as it holds indirect negotiations with
the clerical state on reviving a nuclear deal rejected by former president
Donald Trump.
Siamak
Namazi, a businessman, is accused of collaborating with a hostile government, a
charge strenuously denied by his family, which says he was harshly interrogated
about his past fellowships with US institutions.
Baquer
Namazi, a former UNICEF official originally from Iran who is a naturalized US
citizen, was taken into custody in September 2016 when he traveled to Tehran in
hopes of assisting his son.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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