Kolkata Khilafat Committee Appeals Muslims Not to Bring Out Akhara, Tazia And Mourning Procession in Muharram This Year
New Age Islam News Bureau
26
August 2020
Muslim
devotees participate in procession on Muharram in Kolkata in 2018 | PTI
-----
•
Pakistani TikTok Video Calls on Christians To Convert to Islam For US$ 6,000
•
Bangladeshi Blogger, Asad Noor, Faces Death Threats for Criticizing Islamic
Fundamentalism
•
No Normalization with Israel Until Palestine Establishes Viable State: OIC
•
Outspoken Atheist, arrested in Nigeria for Blasphemy, Hasn’t Been Seen Since
•
Indian Goes on Trial for Spying on Sikhs, Kashmiris In Germany
India
•
Kolkata Khilafat Committee Appeals Muslims Not to Bring Out Akhara, Tazia And
Mourning Procession in Muharram This Year
•
Plea in SC Seeks Direction for Appointment of Govt Nominee to Ayodhya Mosque
Trust
•
In Russia, India to take part in combat drills with China, Pakistan
•
Pulwama probe: NIA used DNA, other forensic tests to trace evidence that had
'blown to pieces'
•
Pak ‘masquerading’ as a terror victim: India at UN
•
ISI wanted a Hurriyat-like body in Kashmir, says NIA
•
ISI pushed Jaish for intel on IAF bases after Balakot
•
India, Bangladesh to launch new riverine trade route on September 3
•
India indicts Pakistani militant in 2019 Kashmir bombing
--------
Pakistan
•
Pakistani TikTok Video Calls on Christians To Convert to Islam For US$ 6,000
•
Mian Muhammad Aslam Praises Role Of Non-Muslims In National Development
•
Pakistan minister claims corrupt opposition politicians are liable to be killed
•
US to probe Pak’s ISIS terrorists in Syria, may complicate Imran Khan woes
•
Opposition-ruled Senate rejects two FATF bills
•
Pakistan hopeful intra-Afghan talks will begin soon
•
Pakistan, China agree to boost industrial cooperation under CPEC
•
PPP wants CJP to take notice of minister’s ‘provocative’ statement
--------
South Asia
•
Bangladeshi Blogger, Asad Noor, Faces Death Threats for Criticizing Islamic Fundamentalism
•
Afghanistan asks Pakistan to carry out UN sanctions on Taliban
•
Taliban chief negotiator says 20-member council finalized for intra-Afghan
talks
•
Rohingya mark genocide anniversary with silent prayers
•
6 Rohingyas detained over clash, shooting at a Cox's Bazar camp
•
Afghan Film Festival Attracts Local, Int’l Nominees
•
Balkh Blast Claims 2 Lives, Injures 35 Civilians
•
Taliban stage deadly bomb attack on Afghan commandos, civilians
--------
Mideast
•
No Normalization with Israel Until Palestine Establishes Viable State: OIC
•
42 Prominent US, European Figures Sign Petition Condemning UAE’s Normalization
Deal with Israel
•
Al-Qaeda Blows Up Clinic After Executing Dentist in Yemen’s Al-Baida
•
Iran’s N. Chief Terms Talks with IAEA Head “Constructive”
•
Official: No Military Solution to Problems in Afghanistan
•
Turkey, Greece ready for dialogue on East Med energy resources dispute, says
Germany
•
Four Islamic Jihad fighters killed in bomb-handling mishap: Report
•
Hamas-Israel talks failure ‘threatens escalation of border confrontations’
--------
Africa
•
Outspoken Atheist, arrested in Nigeria for Blasphemy, Hasn’t Been Seen Since
•
Sudan PM To Pompeo: Govt. Has No Mandate to Normalize with Israel
•
For Third Day, Hundreds of Libyans Protest Corruption, Living Conditions
•
Somalia: Al-Shabaab Executes Four Men for Spying
--------
Europe
•
Indian Goes on Trial for Spying on Sikhs, Kashmiris In Germany
•
France’s Macron will return to Beirut and reiterate need for change: Le Drian
•
New IRA investigation: Six terror suspects appear in court
•
UK drone terror attack plotter accused acquitted
--------
New Zealand
•
New Zealand Mosque Shooter Will Not Speak at Sentencing Court Session
•
'The Fire Awaits You': Father of New Zealand Mosque Attack Victim Tells Gunman
•
Victims Vent Fury At ‘Devil’ NZ Mosque Shooter
•
Court hears 3rd day of testimony from grief-stricken relatives of
Christchurch’s slain
--------
Southeast Asia
•
Indonesia Leads UN Security Council Meeting on Islamic State Threat
•
Zahid jumped the gun on grand coalition in Sabah, says analyst
•
Johor religious department deputy director and officer claim trial to cheating
RM100,000
•
IS militants claim responsibility for Sulu blasts
--------
Arab World
•
In Latest UAE-Israel Talks, Defense Ministers Pledge to Strengthen
Communications
•
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Pompeo discuss strengthening UAE-Israel deal
•
UN: Over 10,000 Islamic State Fighters Active in Iraq, Syria
•
Iraqi MP: US Embassy Masterminding Unrests in Basra
•
Israel strikes Lebanon Hezbollah posts after shots fired towards troops:
Military
•
Lebanon’s leading candidate to form a new government withdraws from race
•
Lebanon central bank governor says he hopes depositors will recuperate their
money
•
A collapsing economy and a family feud pile pressure on Syria's Assad
•
Iraqi protesters brace for more violence in wake of assassinations
--------
North America
•
US Criticizes Erdogan For Meeting with Hamas Leadership, Warns of Turkish
Isolation
•
US Secretary Pompeo says he hopes for improved Israel-Arab ties during Mideast
trip
•
Pompeo pulls aerial stunt to push Sudan-Israel ties
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/kolkata-khilafat-committee-appeals-muslims/d/122727
--------
Kolkata Khilafat Committee appeals Muslims not to bring out akhara, tazia and mourning procession in Muharram this year
New
Age Islam News Bureau, August 26, 2020
Muslim
devotees participate in procession on Muharram in Kolkata in 2018 | PTI
-----
The Kolkata Khilafat Committee has appealed to the Muslims of the state not to bring out tazia, akhara and processions during Muharram this year in compliance with the lockdown rules in West Bengal. The state government has announced lockdown dates for the month and the Muharram falls on those dates. That's why, the Kolkata Khilafat Committee has appealed to the Muslims of all sects to follow the lockdown restrictions and abstain from unnecessary gathering and other un-Islamic activities. The press release said that Muharram is an occasion of mourning the martyrdom of Hadhrat Imam Hussain and other family members of the holy Prophet Pbuh and the occasion should be observed with dignity and with a sense of grief.
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Pakistani
TikTok Video Calls on Christians To Convert to Islam For US$ 6,000
by
Shafique Khokhar
08/24/2020
A
video posted on TikTok two days ago has gone viral. In it Mian Kashif Zameer
Chohadary, a Muslim textile businessman, urges Christians to convert to Islam
----
Lahore
(AsiaNews) – A video posted on TikTok two days ago has gone viral. In it Mian
Kashif Zameer Chohadary, a Muslim textile businessman, urges Christians to
convert to Islam. If they do, he will give them each 200,000 rupees (about US$
1,186), a million (US$ 5,930) if an entire Christian family converts.
The
video was posted by account n. 9999. The author, with a gold chain around his
neck (which might weigh a few kilos), says: "Hi! My name is Mian Kashif
Zameer. Here on TikTok, people issue stupid challenges to others. But now I'm
about to announce an offer that has never been made [. . .]. If a Christian
accepts Islam, I will give him 200,000 rupees; if a whole family converts to
Islam, I will give a million rupees. Please accept Islam, which is the best
religion.”
Mr
Kashif, who belongs to the MD Group, also says that everyone must help and
support those who convert to Islam because this work will help them on the day
of salvation.
Yesterday
in another video, he offers his best wishes to the Governor of Punjab,
Chaudhary Muhammad Sarwar, showing that he has important ties with the
authorities.
Many
Christians feel offended by Kashif’s proselytising. But forced conversions to
Islam also affects Pakistan’s Hindu and Sikh minorities.
In
late July, another video on TikTok went viral. It shows a group of young Muslim
men trying to force a young Christian to reject Christianity and recite the
Kalima, the Islamic beliefs.
The
video was posted on the Bilal Maher 479 account. In it, a young Christian says
that he will never recite the Muslim beliefs and that he would never reject his
Christian faith. When the Muslim men threaten him, he says he is ready to face
all the consequences, but that he will not give up his religion.
Mariyam
Kashif Anthony, a human rights advocate and teacher in Karachi, slammed these
incidents, calling on Pakistan’s telecoms authorities to find their authors
through their TikTok accounts and prosecute them in accordance with the law.
"These
hatemongers must be taught a lesson by police. We Christians are very weak and
we are not rich, but our faith in Jesus Christ is stronger than theirs,” she
said.
“Jesus
Christ has the power to save and protect us. We believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, the Living One, that no [worldly] power can defeat.”
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/TikTok-video-calls-on-Christians-to-convert-to-Islam-for-US$-6,000-(video)-50854.html
--------
Bangladeshi
Blogger, Asad Noor, Faces Death Threats for Criticizing Islamic Fundamentalism
Arafatul
Islam
24.08.2020
Bangladeshi
blogger Asad Noor
----
Asad
Noor, an outspoken Bangladeshi blogger, has been facing threats and
intimidation from both state and non-state actors for supporting minorities and
criticizing Islamic fundamentalism.
The
atheist blogger crossed the Bangladesh-India border illegally on February 14,
2019, with the help of an agent after intelligence officers confiscated his
passport. He has been living in India ever since.
"In
my YouTube and Facebook videos, I have been criticizing Islam and Prophet
Mohammad, referencing the Quran and the Hadith. At the same time, I am critical
about political Islam. That's why Islamists are angry with me," Noor told
DW.
"Local
police frequently search our house (in Bangladesh) to try and arrest me … my
family has been paying the price for my activism," he added.
Alleged
attack on monastery
In
July, Noor published several video blogs protesting the persecution of
Bangladesh's minority Buddhist community in Rangunia, a town in the
southeastern part of the country.
A
local leader of the country's ruling party Awami League (AL) sued the blogger
in July 2020 under the Digital Security Act, accusing him of "hurting
religious sentiments" and "running propaganda against the spirit of
the liberation war."
One
of Noor's video blogs featured the apparent vandalism of a Buddhist statue
under construction in a Buddhist monastery in Rangunia. Noor claimed that the
attackers were supported by forest officials and the local MP of the AL party
because they wanted to evict the monks from the area.
After
Noor published his videos, local Islamist groups protested against the blogger
and accused him of damaging religious harmony between Muslims and Buddhists.
Police
raided Noor's family house in Rangunia and allegedly harassed his family
members while he was in India. "On the early morning of July 18, police
forcefully picked up my parents as well as four other family members, and kept
them in illegal detention for nearly 48 hours," Noor said.
'Nothing
to do with religion'
Both
the Buddhist monastery and an AL leader claim ownership over the disputed land
in Rangunia.
Abu
Jafar, a former official in the disputed area, told DW that the land belongs to
the government and "has nothing to do with religion."
"The
Buddhist monastery was built two years ago without any permission from the
government. Some local political leaders also use some parts of the area
without any permission," he said.
Noor
said he wanted to support the area's minority Buddhist community and "save
Rangunia from another Ramu incident." He referred to the September 2012
attack on a Buddhist community in the southeastern town of Ramu. A mob of
Islamist fundamentalists vandalized at least four temples and set fire to
dozens of homes after a photo they considered defamatory to Islam was circulated
online.
https://www.dw.com/en/blogger-faces-death-threats-for-criticizing-islam/a-54678246
--------
No
normalization with Israel until Palestine establishes viable state: OIC
25
August 2020
The
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) says its member states would not
follow the United Arab Emirates in normalizing ties with Israel until the
regime ends the occupation of Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem
al-Quds, which Palestine wants as the capital of its sovereign state.
In
a statement issued on Monday, OIC Secretary General Yusuf bin Ahmed
al-Uthaymeen highlighted the issue of Palestine and Israeli-occupied Jerusalem
al-Quds as the organization’s raison d’être and pivotal cause.
“It
is at the heart of the OIC’s joint Islamic action and the main consensus of all
Member States, which all endeavor to end the Israeli occupation and help the
Palestinian people realize their legitimate rights,” he said.
He
further pointed to the so-called Arab Peace Initiative as “a strategic choice,
a historic opportunity, and a common reference on which a peaceful, just and
comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict must be based.”
The
Initiative calls on Israel to agree to a “two-state solution” along the 1967
borders and a “just” solution to the Palestinian refugee issue.
“The
OIC supports all efforts exerted to enable the Palestinian people to exercise
their inalienable national rights, including the right of return,
self-determination, and the establishment of their independent and sovereign
state on the borders of June 4, 1967,” he said.
He
further censured unilateral Israeli measures to annex Palestinian territories
and build settlements on occupied land, saying the illegal moves undermine the
so-called two-state solution.
The
OIC chief said normalization “will never take place until after the end of the
Israeli occupation of the Arab and Palestinian lands occupied since 1967,
including al-Quds, and the establishment of the viable Palestinian State with
East al-Quds as its capital.”
On
August 13, the UAE and the Israeli regime reached the deal for a full
normalization of their relations. The deal was apparently brokered by US
President Donald Trump.
The
intended normalization has angered Muslim nations and supporters of the
Palestinian cause against Israel’s occupation.
Palestinian
leaders have described the Emirates’ deal with Israel as a betrayal of the
Palestinian cause and a “stab in the back” of the Palestinian people.
The
Emirati officials have described the peace deal as a step toward helping
Palestinian statehood by halting annexation plans. Palestine, however, rejects
that claim, saying normalization attempts had been in the offing for a long
time.
British
FM to visit Israeli, Palestinian officials
Meanwhile,
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is due to visit Israel and the
occupied West Bank on Tuesday for meetings with top Israeli and Palestinian
officials to reportedly express London’s opposition to any future Israeli
annexation in the West Bank.
According
to a statement by the British embassy in Israel, he would “press for renewed
dialogue” between the sides.
He
is slated to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, minister of
military affairs Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.
In
Ramallah, he is scheduled to sit down with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
and Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
“Israel’s
suspension of annexation is an important step towards a more peaceful Middle
East,” Raab said in a statement released by his office.
He
was referring to Netanyahu’s agreement to suspend his plan to annex some 30
percent of the West Bank, including all the settlements and the Jordan Valley,
as one of the conditions of the August 13 normalization deal between Israel and
the United Arab Emirates.
“It
is now time for both sides to come together and engage in the dialogue that’s
needed to deliver the negotiated two-state solution that can secure lasting
peace, security and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians,” Raab said.
On
his visit to Ramallah, Raab “will reaffirm UK opposition to annexation — which
is illegal under international law,” and “call on the Palestinians to resume
cooperation with Israel and pursue direct negotiations, as a step towards a
negotiated two-state solution and a viable, sovereign Palestinian state,"
according to the press release.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/25/632547/OIC-Israel-normalization-Palestine
--------
Outspoken
Atheist, Arrested in Nigeria for Blasphemy, Hasn’t Been Seen Since
By
Ruth Maclean
Aug.
25, 2020
DAKAR,
Senegal — Amina Ahmed knew her atheist husband was taking enormous risks with
some of his Facebook posts criticizing Christianity and Islam in Nigeria, a
deeply religious country.
She
wanted him to be free to believe whatever he wanted. But she worried that if he
kept up his commentary, the staunchly Muslim community he was born into would
eventually retaliate.
“You
should just calm down,” she remembers telling him. “They don’t care. They can
just kill you and nothing happens.”
But
her husband, Mubarak Bala, president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria,
was not one to filter his words. On April 25, he logged on to Facebook again
and typed a post calling the Prophet Muhammad a terrorist.
Three
days later he was arrested by the state police after being accused of violating
anti-blasphemy laws, which can carry a death sentence. He has not been seen
since.
“We
are concerned that he may be prosecuted under anti-blasphemy laws that provide
for capital punishment in Nigeria,” wrote a group of United Nations experts who
have called for his release.
Mr.
Bala, 36, was arrested after lawyers in private practice in his conservative
birthplace, the Muslim-majority city of Kano, complained about his Prophet
Muhammad post to the police. Other nonbelievers are worried that these same
lawyers are drawing up a list of other Nigerian atheists to be prosecuted and
that more arrests may be coming.
The
Nobel Prize-winning writer Wole Soyinka wrote that Mr. Bala’s arrest was part
of a “plague of religious extremism” that has in recent decades encroached on
the harmonious Nigeria he grew up in.
While
it was Mr. Bala’s post on Facebook that led to his arrest, the social media
site was also the platform where he and Ms. Ahmed met. She messaged him there
after reading that his deeply religious family had locked him up in a
psychiatric hospital when he first came out to them as an atheist. She, too,
was from a staunchly Muslim family, and she was curious.
“I
didn’t want to judge him,” she said in an interview. “I was just like — I want
to hear his own side of the story.”
Growing
up in Kano, Nigeria’s second-biggest city and an ancient center of Islamic
learning in the country, Mr. Bala was from a highly respected family, descended
from generations of Islamic scholars.
But
as he got older, Mr. Bala came into contact with people outside Kano, and
little by little he lost his faith. And as terror attacks increased in Nigeria,
he became more vocal in his criticism.
“What
finally made me come out as atheist was a video of a beheading of a female
Christian back in 2013 by boys around my age, speaking my language,” he wrote
in an article about his personal journey that was published in 2016. “It hit me
that the time for silence is over. Either someone speaks out or we all sink.”
But
even just speaking out to his close friends and family was dangerous. His
father and elder brother thought he was sick, and got a doctor who believed
that all atheists were mentally disturbed to admit him to a hospital. He was
beaten, sedated and threatened with death if he tried to leave, he said.
Mr.
Bala has yet to be officially charged with any crime, according to Leo Igwe,
the founder of the Humanist Association of Nigeria. And in violation of a June
court ruling, he has not been allowed to see his lawyer. There have been
repeated delays in the legal proceedings, partly caused by Covid-19
restrictions. Calls to the police in Kano seeking comment went unanswered.
Mr.
Bala is believed to be the first atheist arrested in Nigeria for blasphemy, but
Muslims often fall afoul of the blasphemy laws in the Islamic legal system
adopted 20 years ago by the country’s northern states.
This
month, Yahaya Sharif Aminu, 22, a singer in Kano was found guilty of blasphemy
and sentenced to death for circulating a song he had composed, which critics
said elevated a Senegalese imam above the Prophet Muhammad. He was arrested in
March after protesters burned down his family home.
There
is also a blasphemy law under Nigeria’s nationwide customary legal system,
which operates in parallel to Islamic and common law. Blasphemy under Islamic
law can be punished by death — though such sentences are rarely carried out —
while blasphemy under customary law carries a maximum sentence of two years.
It
is still unclear under which of these laws Mr. Bala might be charged. But if
charged under either legal system, his could be a watershed case since atheists
previously had not been prosecuted on blasphemy charges.
Over
a third of the 71 countries that have legislation against blasphemy, in violation
of international human rights laws, are in Africa. Nigeria’s own blasphemy laws
would seem to clash with its Constitution, which entitles every Nigerian to
freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, and the right to freedom of
expression.
Nigeria’s
population is roughly split between Muslims and Christians.
Growing
internet access and the worlds it can open up to people pose a threat to the
power that many imams, clerics and bishops have traditionally enjoyed in
Nigeria, according to Mr. Igwe.
“They
are feeling jittery because they know they’re going to lose their power base,
they’re going to lose their credibility,” Mr. Igwe said. “That’s why they want
to do anything they can to silence Mubarak, or to make sure that nobody
emulates him.”
Mr.
Bala was living and working as an engineer in the city of Kaduna when he was
arrested. But the police told Mr. Igwe that he had been taken 150 miles away to
Kano.
Some
say Mr. Bala’s arrest may have little to do with his atheism per se. Rather, he
is being punished in ways a former Muslim from another part of Nigeria would
not be because he very publicly turned against his prominent Kano family and
his Hausa-Fulani Muslim community, the dominant ethnic groups in northern
Nigeria.
“It’s
perceived as an assault on Hausa-Fulani Muslim society and virtue, by one of
them,” said Olufemi O. Vaughan, a professor focused on African, and
particularly Nigerian, politics and society at Amherst College. “It’s not just
simply a critique coming from an atheist.”
Professor
Vaughan said Mr. Bala’s arrest should be seen in that context, not as an
indication that attacks on atheists are about to escalate.
“There’s
a personal dimension to this which is so tragic,” Professor Vaughan said. “He’s
got a family, a wife and he’s got a baby. Just set him free.”
Ms.
Ahmed gave birth to the couple’s first child six weeks before her husband was
arrested. She has cried so much since then, she said, that she has strained her
left eye. She is worried about her own safety.
Her
efforts to find out where her husband was — petitioning Nigeria’s Senate, and
traveling to the national Police Headquarters in the capital, Abuja — have
yielded no information. Her expectations have shrunk over the past four months.
“I
just need proof of life,” she said. “That is all.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/world/africa/nigeria-blasphemy-atheist-islam.html
--------
Indian
goes on trial for spying on Sikhs, Kashmiris in Germany
26
Aug 2020
FRANKFURT
MAIN: An Indian national accused of spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities in
Germany for New Delhi’s secret services went on trial in Frankfurt on Tuesday.
The
suspect, identified as 54-year-old Balvir S., is accused of working for the
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s foreign intelligence agency, since at
least January 2015.
Prosecutors
say he “obtained information about figures in the Sikh opposition scene and the
Kashmiri movement and their relatives in Germany, and passed this on to his
handlers who were working at the Indian consulate general in Frankfurt”.
A
total of 10 hearings before the regional superior court are scheduled, with the
trial due to conclude on October 29.
The
same Frankfurt court convicted an Indian couple of spying on the same
communities last December. The husband was handed a suspended prison sentence
of 18 months for acting as a foreign intelligence agent and his wife fined 180
days’ wages for aiding him.
India
and Pakistan have disputed Kashmir since they became independent in 1947, with
the nuclear rivals fighting two out of three wars over the region.
An
uprising against Indian occupation has been waged since 1989 in Kashmir,
claiming tens of thousands of lives.
Frankfurt
is of particular interest to the Indian secret services because western Germany
is home to the largest Sikh community in the country, estimated at between
10,000 and 20,000 people, and one of the largest in Europe.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576495/indian-goes-on-trial-for-spying-on-sikhs-kashmiris-in-germany
--------
India
Plea
in SC seeks direction for appointment of govt nominee to Ayodhya mosque trust
Aug
26, 2020
Posted
by: Harshit Sabarwal
A
petition has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking a direction for the
appointment of a government nominee to the Ayodhya mosque trust constituted for
the construction of the mosque.
The
petition was filed by one of the lawyers from Hindu side in the Ayodhya case,
Karunesh Shukla, through his lawyer, Vishnu Jain.
The
Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has created an ‘Indo-Islamic Cultural
Foundation’, a 15-member trust for building a mosque and other facilities on
the land allotted in Ayodhya by the Uttar Pradesh Government on the Supreme
Court’s instructions.
In
the Ayodhya-Babri Masjid land case, the Supreme Court had, on November 9 last
year, directed the Central government to hand over the site at Ayodhya for the
construction of a temple and set up a trust for the same.
The
apex court had further directed the government to allocate an alternative five
acres of land at a prominent location in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque
to the Sunni Waqf Board.
According
to a press release by the Board, “In compliance of the Judgment and order of
the Supreme Court of India, in Babri Masjid case, the Government of Uttar
Pradesh had allotted 5 Acres of land in village Dhannipur, Ayodhya and the
Board had accepted it in February 2020. The Board has created a Trust named,
Indo Islamic Cultural Foundation, for building the Mosque and other facilities
for the benefit of the general public.”
The
Trust will have a maximum of 15 trustees, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf
Board being its founder trustee, while Zufar Ahmad Faruqi will be chief
trustee/president.
In
February, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board accepted the five acres of
land provided for construction of the mosque in Ayodhya.
Apart
from this, the Trust will also construct a charitable hospital, public library
and a centre showcasing the heritage of Indo-Islamic civilisation which will
also serve as a research and study centre for the same, according to a press
release by the Board.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/plea-in-sc-seeks-direction-for-appointment-of-govt-nominee-to-ayodhya-mosque-trust/story-xa5rqxn01ElG9J1sOmMSNN.html
--------
In
Russia, India to take part in combat drills with China, Pakistan
Aug
26, 2020
NEW
DELHI: Indian soldiers will take part in combat drills with troops from China
and Pakistan, amidst the ongoing military confrontation with the former and
border hostilities with the latter, in a multi-nation exercise being organised
by Russia next month.
A
tri-Service Indian contingent of around 200 officers and troops will take part
in the Kavkaz 2020 (Caucasus 2020) “strategic command-post exercise” in the
Astrakhan region of south Russia from September 15 to 26.
With
Indian and Chinese soldiers locked in the military confrontation in eastern
Ladakh since early-May, which even led to a bloody skirmish with casualties on
both sides in Galwan Valley on June 15, India’s participation in the exercise
has raised some eyebrows. China, in fact, is learnt to be sending a large
contingent, along with three ships, for the exercise.
“But
it’s not as if our troops are going to exercise with just Chinese and Pakistani
soldiers. It’s a multilateral exercise being hosted by Russia, with
participation from at least 18 countries,” said a senior officer.
“Like
India, Pakistan and China have also been invited as members of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation. We have participated in such exercises, which have
included China and Pakistan, in the past,” he added.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/in-russia-india-to-take-part-in-combat-drills-with-china-pak/articleshow/77754565.cms
--------
Pulwama
probe: NIA used DNA, other forensic tests to trace evidence that had 'blown to
pieces'
Aug
25, 2020
NEW
DELHI: When the National Investigation Agency (NIA) began its probe into the
Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed last year, it
faced a “blind case” in the absence of any solid proof against the
perpetrators.
The
case posed unique challenges, such as a lot of evidence having blown to pieces
in the suicide attack and seven accused being subsequently killed in
encounters. However, the central agency used forensic tests including DNA
profiling of the meagre evidence to breach the dead ends.
"It
was a blind case for us. There were a lot of murmurs but everything needs to be
established beyond doubt in the court of law," a senior official, who was
part of the probe, said.
The
first challenge was to establish the ownership of the car used by Adil Ahmad
Dar, the suicide bomber, according to the chargesheet in the case filed by the
NIA in a special court in Jammu on Tuesday.
There
was nothing available from the vehicle which carried a cocktail of 200 kgs of
high-grade explosives — RDX, Calcium-Ammonium Nitrate, Gelatin Sticks and
Aluminium Powder.
As
per the chargesheet, with the help of forensic methods and painstaking
investigations, the serial number of the car that was blown into pieces beyond
recognition was extracted and within no time the ownership of the vehicle was
established - from the first to the last owner.
However,
the last owner of the car, Sajjad Bhat (named in the chargesheet) of Bijbehara
in Anantnag district, had disappeared hours before the February 14, 2019 attack
and joined Jaish-e-Muhammed. He was subsequently killed in an encounter in June
last year.
"While
it was clear that the suicide attacker was Adil Ahmed Dar, the same had to be
established with evidence. After picking up human remains from various spots,
they were sent for DNA profiling," the official, who requested anonymity,
said.
"The
suicide attacker was identified and confirmed by matching the DNA extracted
from the meagre car fragments with that of the DNA of his father," he
said.
Moreover,
seven accused wanted in the case by the NIA were killed during different
encounters in 2019.
The
chargesheet has named Mohammed Umar Farooq, the nephew of Jaish-e-Muhammed
chief Masood Azhar, as the main conspirator of the suicide mission. According
to officials, Farooq had infiltrated into India in April 2018 and was
subsequently killed in one of the encounters in South Kashmir last year.
Officials
said the role of conspirators which included Mudasir Ahmed Khan, Qari Mufti
Yasser and Mohd Kamran came to light but all of them were killed in different
encounters with security forces.
Khan
was killed on March 10, Kamran on March 29, Sajjad Bhat on June 18 of last year
while Qari Yasser was shot in an encounter on January 25 this year.
A
team led by joint director of the NIA Anil Shukla gathered evidences and
statements of terrorists and their sympathisers arrested in different cases in
order to expose the conspiracy hatched for executing the audacious attack on
the para-military convoy, officials said.
After
JeM spokesperson Mohd Hassan in a video claimed that his group was responsible
for the attack, it was sent for forensic examination and the Internet Protocol
address was traced to a computer based in Pakistan.
“A
lot of digital, forensic, documentary and oral evidence establishing a
fool-proof case against the accused for this dastardly and barbaric attack has
been collected," NIA Deputy Inspector General and spokesperson Sonia
Narang said.
"The
chargesheet has brought on record the all-out involvement of Pakistan-based
entities to carry out terrorist strikes in India and to incite and provoke
Kashmiri youth,” she said.
Culminating
its 18-month long probe into the fatal terror attack that left 40 CRPF
personnel dead in South Kashmir last year, the NIA on Tuesday filed a
chargesheet in a special court in Jammu against 19 people including Masood
Azhar, the chief of banned terror group Jaish-e-Muhammed, for planning the
suicide operation.
Giving
details of the 13,500-page chargesheet, Narang said it marks the culmination of
a year-and-a-half long "painstaking and meticulous investigation with
valuable inputs received from other central and state government agencies as
well as foreign law-enforcement agencies."
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pulwama-probe-nia-used-dna-other-forensic-tests-to-trace-evidence-that-had-blown-to-pieces/articleshow/77747640.cms
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Pak
‘masquerading’ as a terror victim: India at UN
Posted
by Susmita Pakrasi
Aug
26, 2020
India
hit out at Pakistan for its litany of lies at the United Nations after
Islamabad’s UN envoy claimed to have given a statement in a Security Council
meeting not open to non-Council members and said that the biggest sponsor of
cross-border terrorism against it now tries to “masquerade” itself as a victim
of terror.
Calling
out Pakistan’s lie that it has been a target of cross-border terrorism for
decades, India said “a lie repeated a hundred times will not become truth. The
biggest sponsor of cross-border terrorism against India now tries to masquerade
itself as a victim of terrorism by India,” India’s Permanent Mission to the UN
said on Monday. The Pakistan Mission falsely claimed that its UN envoy Munir
Akram gave a statement at a Security Council debate on Report of the Secretary
General on Threats to International Peace and Security posed by Terrorism
Actions. However, the Security Council meeting on threats to international
peace and security was not open to non-members of the Council. A photograph of
the meeting tweeted by the German Mission to the UN showed only envoys of the
15 Security Council members participating in the meeting. Pakistan is not a
member of the Council.
“We
fail to comprehend where exactly did the Permanent Representative of Pakistan
make his statement since the Security Council session today was not open to
non-members of the Security Council. Be that as it may, the five big lies of
Pakistan lies exposed,” India’s Mission to the UN said in a post on Twitter.
On
Akram’s claim that Pakistan has decimated Al-Qaeda from the region, India said
perhaps the Permanent Representative of Pakistan is “not aware that Osama bin
Laden was hiding in their own country in plain sight, and it is the US forces
which got him inside Pakistan. Nor have they heard their Prime Minister refer
to Osama bin Laden as a martyr.” Giving a strong rebuttal to Pakistan’s lies,
New Delhi termed Pakistan’s claim that India has hired terrorists as
mercenaries to hit them as “laughable”.
“Coming
from a country which is a known sponsor of cross-border terrorism which has
made the world suffer due to its actions, this claim is nothing short of being
preposterous!”, India said. India also said that Pakistan is home to the
largest number of terrorists proscribed by the UN and many of the sanctioned
terrorists and entities continue to operate with impunity inside Pakistan.
Prime
Minister Imran Khan himself had admitted at the General Assembly last year
about the presence of 40,000-50,000 terrorists inside Pakistan.
Laying
bare another lie by Pakistan about Indian nationals in the 1267 Al-Qaeda Sanctions
List of the UN Security Council, India said the Sanctions List is “public and
the world can see none of these individuals are in it. The 1267 Committee works
on the basis of evidence and not random accusations thrown in to divert their
time and attention,” India said in response to a lie made by Pakistan that it
has submitted names of some Indians to be proscribed under the Sanctions list.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pak-masquerading-as-a-terror-victim-india-at-un/story-O7KvD5kDEPCQwnMWqT4Z8I.html
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ISI
wanted a Hurriyat-like body in Kashmir, says NIA
Neeraj
Chauhan
Aug
26, 2020
Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s spy agency, sought to create a non-government
organisation (NGO) parallel to the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC)
because of a perception that Kashmiris had lost faith in the latter , according
to a charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July
against Davinder Singh, deputy superintendent of police (DSP), J&K Police,
and four others.
ISI
authorities delegated the job to Irfan Shafi Mir, 31, a lawyer from Kashmir,
who was trusted by both the Pakistani establishment and the Hizbul Mujahideen
(HM), the primary terrorist group in the Valley, the charge sheet says.
According
to the charge sheet, a copy of which has been reviewed by HT, the Central
anti-terror probe agency has named at least six ISI officials – Umar Cheema,
Eshan Chaudhary, Faizal, Sohail Abbas, Arbaaz and Sheikh Sahab – who were in
touch with Mir.
Shafkat
Jatoi alias Hussain, a Pakistani high commission official, who was repatriated
from New Delhi to Islamabad in June for allegedly engaging in anti-India
activities, paid Rs 2.5 lakh to Mir in two instalments to organise two seminars
to fuel separatist sentiment -- How to defend Article 370, and Violation of
Human Rights in the Kashmir Valley -- the charge sheet said.
These
seminars were allegedly chaired by Hameeda Bano, an academician based in
Kashmir and the wife of the separatist activist Nayeem Khan, who was charged in
2017 in the NIA’s Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) terror funding case, it added.
Professor
Bano, however, denied that she chaired these seminars. “It’s a white lie. I
have not attended any such seminar”.
Mir
is alleged to be the key person in the conspiracy to revive HM’s activities in
the Valley; he used to regularly visit the Pakistan high commission in New
Delhi “to receive instructions and money, and also facilitated the (Pakistani)
visa applications for a number of Kashmiris,” according to the charge-sheet.
He
was arrested along with Davinder Singh, deputy superintendent of police (DSP),
J&K Police, and two HM terrorists – Syed Naveed Mushtaq alias Naveed Babu
and Rafi Ahmad Rather -- on January 11 in Shopian, south Kashmir. Davinder
Singh was suspended from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) police after he was
arrested while ferrying the two HM terrorists in a vehicle on the
Srinagar-Jammu Highway.
APHC,
an alliance of 26 political, social and religious organisations from Kashmir,
was formed in March 1993 as a united front to raise the cause of Kashmiri
separatism, but has been ineffective in Kashmir for over the past two years.
APHC’s leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani , 90, the face of Kashmir’s separatist
movement for over three decades, resigned in June.
There
has been consistent action against separatist leaders by the NIA and Jammu and
Kashmir Police in the past two-three years and many of them have either been
jailed or put under house arrest.
The
NIA charge sheet stated that Mir has known senior ISI operatives since 2016
through a person identified as Majeed, who invited him to Pakistan to meet the
HM leadership.
During
his 10-day trip to Pakistan four years ago, Mir met HM chief Syed Salahuddin,
Khurshid Alam, Najar Mahmood, who are HM’s operations and finance heads,
respectively, among others.
In
2018, he made two trips – in February and September– to Pakistan, during which
he was instructed by Alam to find a contact in West Asia, preferably in Dubai,
the United Arab Emirates (UAE), for obtaining funds transferred through hawala
channels for keeping terror activities alive in Kashmir, the charge sheet said.
Mir’s
father Mohammad Shafi Mir used to be a J&K police constable who turned
rogue and joined HM and was eventually killed near the Line of Control (LoC) in
the 1990s by Indian security forces while trying to cross over to Pakistan.
Mir
used secure messaging applications such as BBM, Zangi, KiK, Just Talk, Corp
Chat, Cover Me and Sure Spot in a bid to keep in touch with HM terrorists in
the valley, the charge sheet added.
Sameer
Patil, a fellow at the International Security Studies Programme at Gateway
House, a think tank, said: “A combination of factors such as the action by the
NIA against its leaders, their inability to hold large gatherings and address
the public, a decline in stone pelting incidents etc, shows that the Hurriyat
leadership has definitely lost its sheen. This is evident from Geelani’s
decision to quit the organisation. He wouldn’t have done so if the Hurriyat had
any influence left over (the Kashmiri) people.”
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/isi-wanted-a-hurriyat-like-body-in-kashmir-says-nia/story-L3P8HlrQK5FNQTJPGkGpoI.html
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ISI
pushed Jaish for intel on IAF bases after Balakot
Neeraj
Chauhan
Aug
26, 2020
Around
the time New Delhi and Islamabad scrambled fighter jets at their borders
following India’s airstrike on a terror camp in Balakot in February last year,
Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) asked Jaish-e-Mohammed
(JeM) operatives in Jammu and Kashmir to find out and pass on information on
the location of Indian Air Force (IAF) bases, according to a charge sheet filed
by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Pulwama terror attack case on
Tuesday.
The
audacious February 14 strike by the Jaish in southern Kashmir’s Pulwama killed
40 Indian security personnel, triggered the IAF action against the terror camp
deep inside Pakistan 12 days later, resulted in a dogfight between fighter jets
of the two nations on February 27, and brought them on the brink of a war.
In
its 13,500-page charge sheet filed in a special NIA court in Jammu, NIA named
19 people, including Jaish leader Masood Azhar and four of his relatives, for
planning and carrying out the attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
convoy at the behest of Pakistan. Of the 19, six are dead, three are
absconding, and seven have been arrested. Azhar and his two brothers are
believed to be in Pakistan.
According
to the charge sheet, Azhar’s 24-year-old nephew Mohammad Umar Farooq was sent
to Kashmir in 2018 to execute the bombing. Farooq, who was killed in an
encounter by security forces on March 29, 2019, was in constant touch with
Azhar’s brothers Abdul Rouf Asghar Alvi and Ammar Alvi, and received directions
from them before, during and after the attack, the charge sheet said. It also
included transcripts of the chats between them.
Alvi
told Farooq, the key figure behind the blasts, during one of these chats after
the Balakot strike that ISI wanted Jaish operatives on the Indian side to find
out about IAF’s bases from where the fighter jets were being scrambled, said an
official who asked not to be named, sharing details of the charge sheet.
NIA’s
charge sheet also said Jaish planned to carry out a second suicide attack after
the Pulwama bombing, but aborted its plans due to international pressure for
action against the Pakistan-based terror group.
“Mufti
(a reference to Azhar) has asked for the (second) attack to be put on hold,”
read a message received by Farooq from Pakistan, according to the agency.
“The
Pakistan-based leadership of Masood Azhar, Asghar, and Ammar Alvi, alias Chota
Masood, were continuously giving directions and guidance to the JeM terrorists
(who infiltrated into India) both before and after the attack. They also
planned to carry out another suicide attack, which was averted due to Balakot
strikes and due to the killing of main conspirator Umar Farooq by the security
forces,” said NIA spokesperson Sonia Narang, who was involved in the
investigation into the case.
Farooq,
according to NIA, was the son of Azhar’s younger brother Ibrahim Athar. Athar
and four others hijacked the IC-814 Indian Airlines flight in December 1999,
seeking Azhar’s release. Azhar was freed from an Indian prison in exchange for
the 155 passengers of the hijacked aircraft, and went on to found the Jaish in
2000.
Farooq
infiltrated into India using a tunnel in the Jammu-Samba sector in April 2018,
and took over as the Jaish commander of Pulwama, according to the agency. Since
then, he spent most of his time planning, arranging for logistics and
convincing the suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dar.
Another
Pakistani terrorist related to Azhar’s family, 25-year-old Mohammad Ismail,
alias Saifullah, who is currently said to be hiding in the Kashmir valley,
infiltrated along with Farooq. He is believed to be heading the Jaish in the
Valley.
“After
infiltrating into India, Umar Farooq took over as Jaish-e-Mohammad commander of
Pulwama and along with his Pakistani compatriots — Kamran Ali, Ismail, Qari
Yasir — and local associates Sameer Dar and Adil Ahmad Dar planned and prepared
for the attack on security forces using IEDs,” Narang said.
“Investigation
also revealed a well-crafted mechanism by Pakistani establishment to push
terrorists into the Indian territory from the launch pads located in Shakargarh
(Pakistan) opposite Samba-Kathua sector in Jammu,” she added.
Apart
from Azhar, Asghar Alvi, Ammar Alvi, Farooq, Mohammad Ismail, Kamran Ali and
Qari Yasir – all Pakistani nationals – and Indian nationals Adil Ahmad Dar and
Sameer Dar, the NIA charge sheet also named Shakir Bashir Magray, Insha Jan,
her father Peer Tariq Ahmed Shah, Waiz-ul-Islam, Mohammad Abbas Rather,
Mohammad Iqbal Rather, Bilal Ahmed Kuchhey, Sajjad Ahmed Bhat, Mudasir Ahmad
Khan and Ashaq Ahmed Nengroo.
Farooq,
Kamran Ali, Sajjad Ahmed Bhat, Mudasir Ahmad Khan and Qari Yasir have been
killed in encounters. Shakir Bashir Magray, Insha Jan, Peer Tariq Ahmed Shah,
Mohammad Iqbal Rather, Mohammad Abbas Rather, Bilal Ahmed Kuchhey and
Waiz-ul-Islam were arrested. Mohammad Ismail Alvi, Sameer Ahmad Dar and Ashaq
Ahmed Nengroo are absconding.
Farooq,
a skilled bomb-maker trained in hybrid camps of al Qaeda, Taliban, Jaish and
the Haqqani network inside Afghanistan in 2016-17, prepared improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) using two jerrycans (one weighing 160kg and another
40kg), gelatin sticks, ammonium nitrate, ammonium powder and RDX on February 5
night, according to the charge sheet.
Ali,
also killed in the same encounter as Farooq, Sameer Ahmad Dar and Magray,
helped Farooq at Magray’s house. While the RDX was smuggled into India from
Pakistan, other explosives were collected by Jaish operatives and overground
workers from stone quarries in Kashmir, according to the NIA probe.
On
February 6, 2019, the jerrycans filled with explosives were loaded in a Maruti
Eeco car that would eventually ram the CRPF convoy eight days later, according
to the charge sheet.
HT
reported exclusively on March 4 this year that Jaish planned to carry out the
attack in the first week of February, but postponed its plans since roads were
closed and convoy movement stopped due to inclement weather.
According
to the NIA probe, Adil Ahmad Dar drove along with the CRPF convoy for a while
before ramming it in the bus that was carrying the maximum number of troops.
He
was inspired to become a suicide bomber after watching a vitriolic video of
Azhar, recorded in October 2018 after the killing of his nephew Usman Haider in
Tral by security forces, the NIA said. In the video, the Jaish chief exhorted
young Kashmiris to sacrifice their lives for jihad. “Lot of digital, forensic,
documentary and oral evidence establishing a fool-proof case for this dastardly
and barbaric attack has been collected. The charge sheet has brought on record
the all-out involvement of Pakistan-based entities to carry out terrorist
strikes in India and to incite and provoke Kashmiri youth,” Narang said. She
added that non-bailable warrants were issued against Azhar, Alvi, Asghar and
other absconding accused persons.
Officials
said the charge sheet was an irrefutable piece of evidence — technical,
material and circumstantial — on Pakistan’s role in the attack.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/isi-pushed-jaish-for-intel-on-iaf-bases-after-balakot/story-aVOWAlwnCil37OOKzikdGJ.html
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India,
Bangladesh to launch new riverine trade route on September 3
Rezaul
H Laskar
Aug
26, 2020
India
and Bangladesh are set to operationalise a new riverine trade route on
September 3, when a Bangladeshi vessel will transport a cargo of cement to
Tripura as part of efforts to boost connectivity between the two countries.
The
route connecting Sonamura in Tripura to Daudkandi in Bangladesh is being
operationalised under an agreement signed by the two sides in May to boost
riverine trade by adding two new routes and five more ports in order to improve
connectivity to India’s north-eastern states and reduce transportation costs.
Following
discussions between the Inland Water Authority of India and Bangladesh Inland
Water Transport Authority, the first pilot movement on the 93-km
Daudkandi-Sonamura route is expected to be conducted on September 3, people
familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.
The
Bangladeshi vessel MV Premier will carry 50 metric tonnes of cement from
Premier Cement Ltd of Bangladesh to Tripura via Gumti River, the people said.
Customs formalities will be completed at the land customs station at
Srimantapur-Bibirbazar, they added.
“The
new route will facilitate bilateral trade with improved reliability and cost
effectiveness for the business community,” said one of the people cited above.
India
and Bangladesh signed the Protocol for Inland Water Trade and Transit in 1972
for inland waterways connectivity between the two sides for bilateral trade and
to improve connectivity to India’s north-eastern states. The protocol was
expanded with the signing of a second addendum on May 20 that added two new
routes and five ports of call to takes the total number of routes to 10 and
ports of call to 11.
During
fiscal 2019-20, about 3.5 million metric tonnes of cargo were transported via
the inland waterways.
“The
connectivity provided by the existing and the newly added routes is all the
more pertinent amid the Covid-19 crisis as it will be key to economical,
faster, safer and greener transportation for the business communities of both
countries,” the person said.
The
other new route – Rajshahi-Dhulian-Rajshahi – will help augment infrastructure
in Bangladesh and reduce the cost of transporting goods such as stone chips to
northern Bangladesh. It is also expected to decongest land customs stations on
both sides.
The
new riverine trade route is being operationalised against the backdrop of
India’s concerted efforts to boost economic aid and connectivity with key
neighbours amid the border standoff with China.
Last
month, India handed over 10 railway locomotives to Bangladesh, reflecting a
renewed focus on its “neighbourhood first” policy. This came close on the heels
of the first cross-border container train reaching Bangladesh with 50
containers of FMCG goods and fabrics and the first trans-shipment of container
cargo from Kolkata to Agartala in the landlocked north-eastern region via
Bangladesh’s Chattogram port.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-bangladesh-to-launch-new-riverine-trade-route-on-september-3/story-1y2UkA6GXcg4mWXxYWwQBN.html
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India
indicts Pakistani militant in 2019 Kashmir bombing
August
26, 2020
NEW
DELHI: India’s anti-terrorism agency named a Pakistan-based militant leader as
the prime mastermind of a 2019 car bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that
killed 40 Indian soldiers and brought the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of
war.
The
National Investigation Agency filed a charge sheet on Tuesday that named Masood
Azhar, chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed, and 19 others among the accused.
“The
investigation has revealed that the Pulwama attack was the result of a
well-planned criminal conspiracy hatched by Pakistan-based leadership of
terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad,” the document says.
Jaish-e-Mohammad,
which is based in Pakistan, had claimed responsibility for the bombing, according
to media reports, even though the attacker was identified as a Kashmiri
militant. A prerecorded nine-minute video, circulated on social media, showed
the purported attacker in combat clothes and surrounded by guns and grenades
hours before he rammed an explosives-laden van into a paramilitary convoy.
The
Feb. 14, 2019, bombing was the single deadliest attack in the divided region,
and escalated tensions between India and Pakistan. In response, India launched
an airstrike against suspected militant training camps inside Pakistan, saying
it hit one and killed “a very large number” of militants. Pakistan said the
strike only damaged three trees in a forest.
Islamabad
then responded by shooting down an Indian warplane and capturing a pilot, who
was then returned to India as a peace gesture.
India
has long accused Pakistan of cultivating militant groups in a proxy war against
New Delhi. Pakistan denies the charge.
The
conflict in Kashmir dates back to the late 1940s, when India and Pakistan won
independence from Britain and fought two wars over the Himalayan region.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724811/world
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Pakistan
Mian
Muhammad Aslam Praises Role Of Non-Muslims In National Development
August
26, 2020
Islamabad:
Deputy Ameer of Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan and former member of the National
Assembly Mian Muhammad Aslam has praised non-Muslims, especially Christians,
for playing a significant role in the country's progress and said his party had
included a revolutionary programme for their development in its election
manifesto.
Addressing
a function organised by the Jamaat-i-Islami Ahle Kitab Wing here on Tuesday,
the JI leader said the Islamic State was responsible for the protection of the
lives and property of its citizens without religious distinction or
discrimination.
He
said the founder of Pakistan Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah had declared that
Muslims and non-Muslims would have equal rights in Pakistan and that the state
would guarantee the protection of life and property of both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Deputy
ameer of Jamaat-i-Islami Muhammad Kashif Chaudhry said all citizens of Pakistan
were entitled to equal rights and that the protection of their life and
property was the responsibility of the state.
"Everyone
should have equal access to education, healthcare, and employment. The only way
to eradicate terrorism is to eradicate economic and political terrorism from
the country," he said.
The
JI leader said as long as the people's rights continued to be violated, the end
of unrest and chaos would be a dream come true. He said his party had played an
unforgettable role in bridging the gap among religions.
"We
share each other's grief and joys and will work together to protect each
other's rights," he said.
President
of JI Ahle Kitab Wing Jamil Kho Khar and Bishop Shahid Mahmood also spoke on
the occasion.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/705950-role-of-non-muslims-in-national-development-eulogised
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Pakistan
minister claims corrupt opposition politicians are liable to be killed
Aug
25, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
After causing massive losses to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) by
claiming that a third of the country’s pilots had fake degrees, country’s
aviation minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has now sparked another controversy by saying
that corrupt politicians from Opposition Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N)
and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) were liable to be killed.
“PML-N
and PPP had looted the country’s wealth during their tenures in power. They
looted the national exchequer ruthlessly. All these people are ‘wajibul qatl’
(liable to be killed),” Sarwar told reporters after inspecting a Labor Complex
in Taxila, a town famous for ruins of several settlements, including remains
dating from around 1000 BCE.
Condemning
Sarwar’s statement, science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry termed it
“very inappropriate”. “It appears the aviation minister has failed to ascertain
the gravity of such statements,” Chaudhry posted on Twitter. “Politics is a war
of ideas; it’s no more the era of killing opponents. Such statements are in bad
taste and cannot be approved,” he added.
Slamming
Sarwar for his “irresponsible” statement, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb
alleged that the people who had actually looted the national wealth were all sitting
in prime minister Imran Khan’s cabinet.
Similarly,
PPP secretary general Nayyar Bukhari pointed out that Sarwar had been a part of
the PPP during its previous government and should offer himself up for
punishment as a first step. He said the language used by Sarwar did not suit a
man with the portfolio of a minister.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-minister-claims-corrupt-opposition-politicians-are-liable-to-be-killed/articleshow/77748672.cms
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US
to probe Pak’s ISIS terrorists in Syria, may complicate Imran Khan woes
Shishir
Gupta
Aug
26, 2020
The
United States has started an investigation into the role of Pakistanis in the
Islamic State movement in Syria, complicating the situation for Prime Minister
Imran Khan who is still to emerge from Tuesday’s setback to his attempt to get
two “critical” FATF-linked legislations enacted, people familiar with the
matter said.
The
US backed and predominantly Kurd Syrian Democratic Forces have shared a list of
29 Pakistanis among others who are in their custody for fighting for the
Islamic State, the ultra-conservative radical Sunni movement that swept
Iraq-Syria in the past decade. The shortlist, according to counter-terror
officials in Delhi and Washington, include four Pakistanis who had acquired
citizenship of another country such as Turkey and Sudan. Nine of the 29
captured ISIS fighters are women.
“The
American security forces are currently interrogating these Pakistani nationals
including who sent them to fight for IS in Syria and their past affiliations
with terrorist groups like the Al Qaida or any other pan-Islamic group based in
Pakistan. As the Pakistani deep state is involved with the so-called Islamic
State of Khorasan Province in Afghanistan, the interrogation will also reveal
its role if any,” said a counter-terror official in know of the list.
The
reference to the IS presence in Afghanistan is a pointer to the Islamic
State-Khorasan Province, or ISKP, which had carried out several attacks on
civilian installations including a gurdwara in the heart of Kabul. ISKP chief
Aslam Farooqui, also a Pakistani national with clear links to Pakistan’s
Inter-Services Intelligence, was arrested for this bombing. Farooqui was
earlier associated with the terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba before switching over
to the ISKP. Farooqui is currently in custody of Afghan government after it
rejected the Pakistani request to extradite him.
While
Pakistan with the help of China wants to exit out of the FATF Grey List, this
new revelation substantiates the Indian claim that Islamabad is the epicentre
of terrorism. While two Punjab based terrorist groups—Jaish-e-Mohammed and
Lashkar-e-Tayebba—target India, Rawalpindi supports Taliban through Haqqani
Network and ISKP to cause mayhem in Afghanistan. The Pakistani involvement in
attacks in US, UK and the Middle-East have come out in the open in the past.
While
the Islamic State does not hold any territory in Iraq or Syria, the remnant
fighters are operating as free-lancers in the Syrian civil war and its ultra
conservative Sunni ideology is still radicalizes the Muslim community in the
name of puritan Islam.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/us-to-probe-pak-s-isis-terrorists-in-syria-may-complicate-imran-khan-woes/story-MeMBUffYP8ObWnSxmPNLKO.html
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Opposition-ruled
Senate rejects two FATF bills
Iftikhar
A. Khan
26
Aug 2020
ISLAMABAD:
The 104-member Senate, where the opposition enjoys majority, on Tuesday
rejected two FATF-related bills after Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem
refused to tender an apology for remarks that he made against the opposition
leadership last week.
The
Anti-Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Bill and the Islamabad Capital
Territory (ICT) Waqf Properties Bill, passed by the National Assembly a day
before, were rejected through a voice vote after the opposition linked its
cooperation to retraction of Mr Waseem’s remarks and an apology by him and the
government side accused the opposition of trying to blackmail it. The bills
will now be taken up for voting at a joint session of parliament.
What
made the environment more tense was Dr Waseem’s stance that he stood by his
words and insistence that he had only narrated facts.
Not
surprisingly, the opposition’s attitude drew an immediate, strong reaction from
Prime Minister Imran Khan who issued a series of tweets to attack the
opposition parties.
Imran
lashes out at opposition, says no NRO for them; PPP, PML-N defend their stance
“Today
in Senate the opposition defeated 2 critical FATF-related bills: Anti Money
Laundering & ICT Waqf bills. From day one I have maintained that the
self-serving interests of the opposition leaders & the country’s interests
are divergent. As accountability noose has tightened,” he said, adding, “the
opposition ldrs have become desperate to save their corrupt money by trying to
prevent parliament from functioning; by seeking to undermine govt’s effective
Covid 19 strategy — a recognised global success story — & now by trying to
sabotage Pak efforts to exit FATF grey list.”
The
PM continued: “Opposition tries to hide behind facade of democracy to protect
their loot & plunder. To blackmail for NRO by defanging NAB, they would
even have Pak put on FATF black list to destroy nation’s economy & increase
poverty. They keep threatening to bring down govt unless given NRO.
“Let
me make clear: No matter what happens, my govt will not allow any NRO as it
would be betrayal of nation’s trust in holding plunderers of public wealth
accountable. Musharraf gave NROs to the 2 pol ldrs which quadrupled our debt
& destroyed economy. There will be no more NROs,” he declared.
Speaking
in the house on Wednesday, Dr Waseem had not only targeted the religious
parties, but also attacked the PPP and the PML-N despite the fact that the two
parties had supported the government on the FATF-related legislations.
Mr
Waseem had said that Pakistan was already on the FATF grey list when the PTI
came to power due to bad policies of previous governments.
Amid
noisy protest by opposition members, he had said everyone knew the people who
were facing money-laundering charges and appearing in the courts.
Responding
to the opposition’s insistence for withdrawal of his remarks on Tuesday, Mr
Waseem said he had not named anybody. Some opposition members however said he
did name Shahbaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari.
At
last Mr Waseem said he had no intention of hurting sentiments of anybody, but
the opposition was not ready to accept anything short of an apology.
The
house also witnessed a heated debate on the discretionary power of the chairman
to allow the law minister to table a motion seeking suspension of rules to
introduce the bills at once.
The
chairman finally rejected the opposition’s view that it was for the house to
decide whether this was to be allowed or not.
The
tension between the government and the opposition has been continuing for days
over allegations that top opposition leaders were seeking NRO.
Information
Minister Shibli Faraz on Sunday had posted on his official Twitter account the
drafts of the proposals made by the opposition parties for bringing changes to
the country’s accountability laws, terming them a “proof” of Prime Minister
Imran Khan’s claim that the opposition had tried to make a bargain with the
government during negotiations on the FATF-related legislation.
In
his tweet, the minister had said he was posting the documents as “the PML-N
limited” had been asking the government to tell the nation as to who had sought
an “NRO”.
Foreign
Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also recently said the opposition wanted to bargain
over FATF-related legislation.
Earlier
the opposition staged a walkout from the Senate as a mark of protest against
suspension of question hour session, saying the government was evading
parliamentary accountability.
The
opposition protested at the start of the session when Senate Chairman Sadiq
Sanjrani asked the leader of house to move the motion under the rules of
business that question hour session should be suspended for today (Aug 25).
The
Leader of the Opposition Raja Zafarul Haq was the first one who raised the
issue and said it had been an old parliamentary tradition that questions were
asked . “The leader of the house should inform why the question is being
suspended and why the government is running away from parliamentary
accountability?” questioned PPP stalwart Mian Raza Rabbani.
As
the leader of house moved the motion, the opposition staged a walkout while
raising slogans of “no, no”. Mr Sanjrani assured the members that there would
be a regular question hour session from onwards and it was suspended only for
today as the house was not scheduled to meet today but the session had to be
held because two FATF-related bills came from the National Assembly at the
eleventh hour.
Meanwhile,
PPP’s Sherry Rehman pointed out the quorum and the chairman ordered the staff
to ring bells thrice as the house was not in quorum. Later, the chairman
adjourned the house for minutes as only 24 members were present in the house
when the last count was made.
The
house resumed its business after the break as the opposition had ended its
boycott.
Soon
after the prime minister’s tweets, both the PPP and the PML-N defended their
act of opposing the legislations.
Sherry
Rehman while replying to the PM, also through tweets, said they had opposed the
bills as powers to arrest without warrants were being given to the police and
investigators, saying “this is neither required by FATF nor is it defensible in
any even the most illiberal democracy.”
“These
laws are being pushed as draconian laws,” she said. Moreover, she added, FATF
was being used “to expand the scope of NAB to witch hunt the opposition”.
PML-N’s
vice-chairman Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in a statement, said that opposition had
foiled the attempts by “puppet and selected chairman (Senate)” to get the bills
passed through illegal means. He vowed that they would not allow any
legislation against the Constitution and fundamental rights of people.
Mr
Abbasi declared that the opposition would block the bills in the present form,
if the government made attempt to bring them again in the parliament.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576499/opposition-ruled-senate-rejects-two-fatf-bills
--------
Pakistan
hopeful intra-Afghan talks will begin soon
Baqir
Sajjad Syed
26
Aug 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday looked hopeful about
intra-Afghan talks commencing soon.
“After
listening to Taliban delegation, I’m optimistic of progress in the near future
despite problems and the presence of spoilers. Hopefully a way out would be
found,” Mr Qureshi said while talking to journalists after meeting an Afghan
Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the director of Taliban’s
Doha-based political office, at the Foreign Office.
The
Taliban delegation, besides Mullah Baradar, included Khairullah Khairkhwa, Nabi
Omari, Shahabuddin Dilawar, Abdul Latif Mansoor and Qari Din Mohammad.
Mr
Qureshi was assisted in the talks by ISI Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed,
Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, Prime Minister’s Special Representative for
Afghanistan Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq and other senior officials.
This
is the Taliban’s second visit to Islamabad. A delegation led by Mullah Baradar
had visited Pakistan in October last year.
FM
Qureshi warns Taliban delegation of potential dangers of sabotage of peace process
by ‘spoilers’
The
talks at the Foreign Office were largely focused on recent developments in the
Afghan peace process and convening of intra-Afghan talks. Other issues related
to Afghan refugees were also discussed during the meeting.
The
delay in the release of the remaining 320 Taliban prisoners by the Afghan
government is holding back the start of the crucial intra-Afghan dialogue.
Kabul was to release 5,000 Taliban fighters in exchange for its 1,000 security
personnel held by the insurgents under an agreement signed between the United
States and Taliban in February. It is, however, dragging its feet on the
release of the remaining 320 prisoners despite an approval by the Loya Jirga
and a subsequent presidential decree ordering their liberation. Kabul has been
making different excuses for not setting them free.
The
FO in a statement said Foreign Minister Qureshi had stressed the need for
implementing the US-Taliban agreement in entirety for paving the way for
intra-Afghan talks. He was apparently referring to Kabul not fulfilling its
part of the deal.
The
Taliban delegation shared their view with the foreign minister on the latest
developments in the implementation of the agreement reached between the Taliban
and the US and the impediments to the start of the intra-Afghan dialogue.
“The
Taliban look ready and agreeable to moving in the direction of a settlement of
the outstanding issues through dialogue,” Mr Qureshi told journalists.
He
did not explain the basis of his optimism.
Violence
in Afghanistan has continued. Dozens were killed and injured in a vehicle-borne
suicide attack at a military base in Balkh province on Tuesday. The attack was
claimed by Taliban insurgents. Earlier on Sunday, there was another attack by
Taliban in Deh Yak district of Ghazni province in which several security
personnel were killed.
The
foreign minister noted: “It has been Pakistan’s position that a lasting and
permanent solution to the Afghan problem is possible only through an Afghan-led
dialogue. Pakistan’s sincere efforts contributed to the signing of the
agreement between Taliban and the US in Doha on Feb 29.”
During
the meeting, Mr Qureshi urged the Taliban to take full advantage of the rare
opportunity provided by the agreement with the US for peace in Afghanistan. He
said Pakistan wished early holding of intra-Afghan talks to ensure peace and
stability in the region.
Pakistan,
he said, would continue its conciliatory efforts to ensure lasting peace and
stability in the region, including the Afghan peace process.
The
foreign minister also warned the Taliban delegation of the potential dangers of
sabotage of the Afghan peace process by the “spoilers”.
According
to foreign news agency AP, Pakistan has recently issued sweeping financial
sanctions against the Afghan Taliban, just as the militant group is in the
midst of a US-led peace process in the warn-torn country. The timing of the
decision to issue the sanctions could be seen as a move to pressure the Taliban
into a quick start to intra-Afghan negotiations.
Taliban’s
political spokesman Suhail Shaheen had said on Saturday that the financial
sanctions had been in place for some time. But he said any tightening of a ban
on travel could hurt peace negotiations.
“There
is a need for a relaxation of such curbs and embargoes because we are entering
into another phase of [finding a] peaceful solution of the Afghan issue,”
Shaheen had said in an interview.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576503/pakistan-hopeful-intra-afghan-talks-will-begin-soon
--------
Pakistan,
China agree to boost industrial cooperation under CPEC
Amin
Ahmed
26
Aug 2020
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and China on Tuesday agreed to elevate the memorandum of understanding
on industrial cooperation to the framework agreement under the China-Pakistan
Economic Corridor to realise the vision for development of special economic
zones (SEZs).
Speaking
at a consultative forum on draft framework agreement on industrial cooperation
on Tuesday, Board of Investment Chairman Atif R. Bokhari said that the first
phase of CPEC required leading role of the government, while the second phase
requires a 180-degree shift in management and roles.
“It
calls for enhanced role of industrialists, private sector, and business
community, while the government’s role would only be that of a facilitator by
devising effective policies, laws and efficient infrastructure, to facilitate
business-to-business and people-to-people linkages”, Bokhari said.
He
explained that the draft framework agreement on industrial cooperation is being
aligned with the long-term CPEC framework. “A world of opportunities will open
up by setting the fundamentals of industrial cooperation under the CPEC and it
is high time for all of us to tap the right opportunities at the right time,”
he affirmed.
Bokhari
said significant progress has been achieved on development and colonization of
the SEZs in the last few months wherein four CPEC SEZs at Rashakai in Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa, Dhabeji in Sindh, M-3 Allama Iqbal in Punjab, and Bostan in
Balochistan are now in advance stage of development.
The
geographic proximity between China and Pakistan will allow these zones to
foster economic interdependence for mutual economic advantage, he added.
The
framework is being developed with a special focus to enhance industrial
competitiveness of Pakistan, ensure technology transfer, relocate Chinese
businesses and skill development and labour productivity.
The
modus operandi of the cooperation would likely enhance business-to-business and
project-to-project ties ensuring projectised mode of medium- and long-term
projects in industrial cooperation, balance and modernise existing industry,
make joint efforts to expedite SEZ development and promotion, seek technical
and financial assistance from China, enhance production capacity, facilitate
businesses by financial institutions from both sides and ensure joint marketing
and media efforts to promote industrial cooperation and SEZs.
BOI
Secretary Fareena Mazhar, while highlighting board’s role as lead agency for
industrial cooperation under CPEC, shared the corridor’s journey and its future
action plan, conceived for its second phase that includes development of SEZs,
agricultural cooperation, relocation of Chinese industries into Pakistan,
public private partnerships for business prospects and creation of vocational
training and employment opportunities.
She
said that Pakistan and China have agreed to elevate the MoU on industrial
cooperation into a framework agreement focusing on SEZs development of SEZs and
B2B joint ventures as core elements of industrial cooperation under CPEC.
Serious efforts for provision of gas and electricity are underway to ensure
these basic utilities are provided at zones, she said.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576528/pakistan-china-agree-to-boost-industrial-cooperation-under-cpec
--------
PPP
wants CJP to take notice of minister’s ‘provocative’ statement
Amir
Wasim
26
Aug 2020
ISLAMABAD:
The PPP has blasted government ministers for allegedly making “irresponsible
statements” and using harsh language against opposition parties, and has asked
the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of a statement made by Minister
for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan which, according to the party, amounts to
inciting the public to kill political opponents.
At
a news conference on Tuesday, PPP Information Secretary Dr Nafisa Shah,
accompanied by her deputy Palwasha Khan and the party’s media coordinator Nazir
Dhoki, said that Prime Minister Imran Khan had contaminated the political
environment of the country by using “container language”.
She
said it seemed that there was no law in the country as one federal minister was
“openly inciting people of killing political opponents”.
The
PPP leaders held the press conference a day after Aviation Minister Ghulam
Sarwar Khan during a media talk in his hometown Taxila, during which he alleged
that the PPP and the PML-N had stolen the wealth of the country, stating that
“all those who have plundered the national wealth are liable to be killed.”
Mr
Khan, who had previously served as the minister in one of the PPP governments,
said the politics of the PPP and the PML-N leaderships were based on corruption
and money laundering and they had looted the national exchequer ruthlessly
during their terms in government.
Referring
to the controversy over the issue of Pakistani pilots’ licences, Dr Shah said
the aviation minister through his ”irresponsible statement” had already
destroyed the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Dr
Shah also referred to the recent remarks by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi in which he had criticised Saudi Arabia and the Organisation of Islamic
Conference (OIC) for not fully supporting the country on the Kashmir issue. She
said that just one statement by the foreign minister had upset friends of
Pakistan.
In
response to a recent controversy over the health condition of former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif, Dr Shah said it was Prime Minister Imran Khan who had
himself sent him abroad and was now making hue and cry.
After
sending Nawaz Sharif abroad, she said, the prime minister was now saying that
he would not give an NRO (a term used in place of deal) to him.
“One
Niazi surrendered in 1971 [in East Pakistan] and the other has surrendered
Kashmir,” she said.
Dr
Shah also called for constituting a commission to probe the use of $11 billion
that the present government obtained through foreign loans. She criticised the
government’s economic policies, saying the prices of sugar were highest in the
last 12 years. She said the growth rate was negative for the first time in the
history of Pakistan.
The
PPP leaders said that this year, unprecedented rainfall had disturbed Karachi,
Lahore, Rawalpindi and other cities. They said the National Disaster Management
Authority should treat every area equally.
In
response to the aviation minister’s remarks, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum
Aurangzeb had also lambasted the government and said the PTI leadership was
still using the “language of containers” — a reference to the speeches made by
Imran Khan during the 126-day sit-in in Islamabad in 2014.
She
alleged that those who had plundered the national wealth were actually sitting
with Mr Khan in his cabinet. She said that for the last two years, people had
been plundered through unemployment, inflation and ever increasing prices of
sugar and wheat flour.
“If
[the PML-N] had looted the wealth then why was sugar available for Rs52 per kilogram
while its price is now Rs110 per kilogram, and wheat flour, which was available
at Rs50 per kilogram, is now being sold at Rs100 per kilogram,” she asked.
PPP
Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari, responding to the aviation minister’s
statement, said that Ghulam Sarwar Khan had also remained part of the PPP for
years and, therefore, he should face the same fate. He said the language used
by Mr Khan did not suit a man with the portfolio of a minister.
He
said if someone had committed a crime or corruption, state institutions like
the National Accountability Bureau and the courts were there and he should be
brought to justice, instead of indulging in a blame game.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576414/ppp-wants-cjp-to-take-notice-of-ministers-provocative-statement
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South Asia
Afghanistan
asks Pakistan to carry out UN sanctions on Taliban
Rezaul
H Laskar
Aug
26, 2020
Afghanistan
asked Pakistan on Tuesday to fully implement UN Security Council sanctions on
terrorist groups and individuals even as foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi
held talks with a Taliban delegation that included several sanctioned leaders.
On
August 18, Pakistan’s Foreign Office issued a statutory regulatory order to
enforce UN sanctions, which include a freeze on assets, a travel ban and
denying access to weapons, against scores of operatives of the Taliban and
Haqqani Network.
Less
than a week later, a Taliban delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the
deputy political chief of the group, arrived in Islamabad on Monday at the
Pakistan government’s invitation for talks on the Afghan peace process.
A
statement issued by Afghanistan’s foreign ministry, the notification issued by
Pakistan on implementing the UN Security Council sanctions had been “carefully
considered and thoroughly reviewed”. All nations are bound to comply with UN
Security Council Resolutions 2255, 1988, 1267 and 2253, and Afghanistan “urges
the government of...Pakistan to abide by its obligations and its international
responsibilities to implement the above-mentioned resolutions and to be
committed to their full implementation”, said the statement in Dari.
The
statement noted the Pakistan government has pledged to implement the UN
Security Council sanctions, including travel restrictions, arms embargo and
freezing of funding for individuals and groups affiliated with the Taliban.
“The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will continuously monitor and follow the
process of implementation of this document and the implementation of its
resolutions,” it added.
Implementation
of all UN Security Council sanction, “especially those that cut off funding and
equip terrorist activities and prevent war and bloodshed, is mandatory for all
governments”, the statement said.
The
Afghan government also called on the Taliban to “start peace talks as soon as
possible and not to expose themselves to international sanctions by stopping
the bloodshed and [making a] full commitment to a lasting and dignified peace”.
Pakistan
foreign minister Qureshi personally received the Taliban delegation when it
arrived at the foreign ministry on Tuesday evening. The talks between the two
sides lasted almost two hours.
At
least six members of the Taliban delegation, including Mullah Baradar, have
been sanctioned by the UN Security Council. While Baradar and three others were
allowed to travel under a special exemption to participate in “peace and
reconciliation discussions”, two members aren’t allowed to travel abroad,
people familiar with developments said.
Pakistan’s
recent move to enforce the UN sanctions, which also apply to Lashkar-e-Taiba
(LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim
and hundreds of terrorists, was widely perceived as having been taken with an
eye on an upcoming assessment of the country’s counter-terror financing regime
by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/afghanistan-asks-pak-to-carry-out-un-sanctions-on-taliban/story-xBUATyydr4fW6NNWUXL8DN.html
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Taliban
chief negotiator says 20-member council finalized for intra-Afghan talks
TAHIR
KHAN
August
26, 2020
ISLAMABAD:
The Taliban’s top commander has finalized a 20-member negotiating team for
upcoming intra-Afghan talks, the group’s chief negotiator Sher Abbas Stanekzai
told Arab News on Tuesday.
Stanekzai
said that the team, appointed by Sheikh
Hibatullah Akhunzada, would have sweeping powers, including the authority to
devise a strategy and sign agreements with President Ashraf Ghani’s government
in Kabul.
“All
decision-making powers are with the negotiation team, which has a 65 percent
representation from the Rehbari Shura (leadership council),” he said. “They
will take the process forward ... and are now involved in internal
consultations to chalk out a strategy.”
The group of 20 includes several of Akhunzada’s close aides such as
Sheikh Abdul Hakeem, Maulvi Abdul Kabeer, Maulvi Noor Mohammad Saqib, Mullah
Shireen Noorzai, Sheikh Qasim Turkmen, and Abdul Manan Omari, who is the
brother of the Taliban’s founder, Mullah Omar.
The
crucial intra-Afghan talks – the first high-level meeting between Kabul and the
Taliban after years of fighting – are part of a historic peace deal signed
between the Taliban and Washington in Doha earlier this year.
No
date has been announced for the meeting yet, but it was set to begin following
the release of all 5,000 Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government.
While
Ghani announced on Aug. 9 that he would free the remaining 400 Taliban inmates
“soon,” Stanekzai said the program had hit a snag after the Afghan government
“stopped the release of about 320 prisoners,” despite the Taliban keeping their
end of the deal by releasing all 1,000 government troops.
The
delay in fulfilling the final condition for the start of the talks is due to
France and Australia opposing the move, after it emerged that several of the
unreleased Taliban inmates were involved in attacks on their citizens in
Afghanistan. “France asks the Afghan government not to proceed with the release
of several terrorists convicted of killing French citizens in Afghanistan, in
particular soldiers and humanitarian workers,” the French Embassy in Kabul
tweeted on Aug. 16.
Stanekzai
questioned the timing of the objections, accusing France and Australia of
trying to sabotage the peace process.
“Kabul
had agreed to release prisoners but later deviated from its commitment. We will
not start intra-Afghan dialogue even if our one prisoner stays in jail. Every
prisoner is a hero as they fought invaders whether they were from Australia or
France.”
In
a tit-for-tat move, the Afghan government is now demanding that the Taliban
release nearly 20 commandos held by the group.
The
intra-Afghan talks, which have now reached a stalemate, were expected to set
the road map for post-war Afghanistan, with several countries including
Pakistan making efforts to take the peace process forward.
A
high-level Taliban delegation arrived in Islamabad on Monday to explore
options, just days after Pakistan imposed UN sanctions on the insurgents.
The
six-member Taliban delegation, led by the head of its political office in
Qatar, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, will discuss recent developments in
Afghanistan’s peace process with Pakistani leaders.
Talks
with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi are expected on Tuesday.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724591/world
--------
Rohingya
mark genocide anniversary with silent prayers
August
26, 2020
Rohingya
refugees in Bangladesh’s crammed camps Tuesday commemorated the third
anniversary of genocide with silent prayers within tents due to the coronavirus
pandemic and the host country’s embargo on gathering at camps.
More
than 1.2 million Rohingya have been living in makeshift settlements in
Bangladesh’s southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar for years.
Since
2018, the world’s most persecuted people has been observing Aug. 25 as
“Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day” as on the same day in 2017, Myanmar army
began a brutal crackdown against Rohingya civilians, forcing more than 750,000
people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh within a few days.
After
surge in coronavirus cases, the authorities imposed more restraints in the
overcrowded camps to contain the spread of the pandemic.
“Honoring
the decision of the host country and considering the pandemic, we are observing
the genocide day this year through silent prayers to Almighty Allah for our
martyrs and oppressed people,” said Rohingya community leader Rahmat Karim.
Meanwhile,
10 Rohingya rights organizations, including Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace
& Human Rights and Rohingya Women for Justice and Peace, in a joint
statement urged the UN to recognize Myanmar’s atrocities against Rohingya as
“Genocide”.
“We
still have not got our rights and still all Rohingya people and other ethnic
groups in Myanmar are continuously facing this threat. It's because still the
UN officially has not declared it as GENOCIDE,” said the statement.
Referring
to the long cycles of persecutions faced by Rohingya, it added: “We, Rohingya
people, have been under the threat of hidden genocide through a systematic plan
and the structural intention of the Burmese government and Burmese extremist
politicians since 1960 after General U Ne Win seized the power to rule the
country.”
The
statement accused the Burmese [Myanmar] government’s “joint armed brutal
groups” of mass killing, burning down the houses including villages and
seminaries, throwing the children into fire, burning people alive in houses by
locking doors, slaughtering both men and women, robbing the properties, raping
the underage girls and women and arresting people without any reason.
The
Rohingya diaspora also urged the world’s actors including the UN, EU and other
influential organizations to ensure justice for Rohingya.
"Please
stand by innocent Rohingya, and then hopefully we can return to our homes with
our denied equal rights," the statement said.
On
Aug. 25, 2019, thousands of Rohingya held a peaceful rally at the biggest
Kutupalang camps in Cox’s Bazar to mark the “Genocide Day” and pray for their
martyrs.
After
the gathering, the Bangladesh government imposed an embargo on any gathering at
any of the 34 refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar to avert any untoward incident.
Persecuted
people
The
Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced
heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in
2012.
According
to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and
children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces
launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, pushing
the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.
Since
Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s
state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development
Agency (OIDA).
More
than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires while over 114,000 others were
beaten, said the OIDA report, entitled Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold
Experience.
As
many as 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police
and over 115,000 Rohingya homes burned down, while 113,000 others vandalized,
it added.
https://nation.com.pk/26-Aug-2020/rohingya-mark-genocide-anniversary-with-silent-prayers
--------
6
Rohingyas detained over clash, shooting at a Cox's Bazar camp
Syed
Samiul Basher Anik
August
25th, 2020
Two
groups vying for supremacy was the reason behind the clash
Police
on Tuesday detained at least six Rohingya nationals from a camp in Cox’s Bazar
for their alleged involvement in an internal clash between two Rohingya groups.
They
were arrested from Unchiprang area under camp 22, confirmed Mohammad Hemayetul
Islam, commanding officer of 16th APBn.
“A
team was sent to the camp 22 following news of gunshots between two Rohingya
groups just after the Fajr prayer on Tuesday. We detained nine people from the
jungles and will take legal action against them,” said Islam.
The
gunshots were exchanged on the eve of August 25 that marks the three year
anniversary when hundreds of thousands of Rohingya started fleeing from their
homeland in Myanmar following a military crackdown, aided by local Buddhist
mobs and miscreants from other ethnic groups in northwest Rakhine in 2017.
Sources
at the camp confirmed to Dhaka Tribune that the nine people were initially
detained for their connection with arson but the three were later released.
Two
locally made arms, two sharp weapons, and seven cartridges were seized when
they were arrested.
Rashedul
Hasan, camp in charge of camp 22, said the Rohingyas were detained for an
internal clash.
But
sources said the situation was tense in the camp for a few days over two groups
trying to establish their supremacy.
The
groups are the separatist group Harakah al-Yaqin, and another group who left
the Yakin group and is trying o form a separate group.
APBn
CO Islam also said two groups trying to establish supremacy was the reason
behind the clash but failed to confirm whether it was Harakah al-Yakin or not.
He
said proceedings are underway to file a case with Teknaf police station.
Yaqin
is the former name of a group of Rohingya militants who renamed themselves
Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in 2016 and its mission is to establish
self-governance for the Rohingya.
The
detention came at a time when Indian media reports stated that the Arakan Rohingya
Salvation Army (ARSA) is active in the Rohingya camps, and training is being
conducted with the backing of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.
However,
Bangladesh officials categorically said there was no existence of ARSA in the
camps, so questions could not arise about their activities, including training
militants.
On
August 15, several Indian media outlets published reports that the
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the intelligence agency of Pakistan, was
backing ARSA in Myanmar and was aiding a Bangladeshi terrorist outfit to train
militants. The reports also said that Bangladeshi and Indian security forces
were jointly fighting back against ARSA.
These
reports were based on a report run by German news agency Deutsche Welle (DW) on
February 13. The DW report itself was based on an Indian newspaper.
However,
the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), the government body
responsible for dealing with the Rohingya crisis, including managing the camps,
and the police chief in Cox’s Bazar, dismissed the claim.
Additional
RRRC Kazi Mohammad Mozammel Hoque and superintendent of police in Cox’s Bazar,
Masud Hossain, dismissed the notion of any presence of ARSA in the camp, when
talking to Dhaka Tribune.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/rohingya-crisis/2020/08/25/6-rohingyas-detained-for-alleged-ties-to-gunshots-in-rohingya-camps
--------
Afghan
Film Festival Attracts Local, Int’l Nominees
26
Aug 2020
The
Afghan government backs its cinema to host a national film festival in the
country, in a bid to encourage the struggling cinematographers, actors,
producers, and film industry artists.
The
national film festival will be the country’s first project after decades and is
expected to be held upcoming November.
The
Festival is planned to take place Saturday 21st of November at the different
saloons across Afghan capital, with a total budget of estimated 350,000
Afghanis.
“Afghan
film definitely senses urgency for the support from both government and private
sectors,” Mariam Jahanbeen festival’s project manager said to Khaama
press. “Private sectors have held
ceremonies before but this time the persuasion comes from the government side.”
Filmmakers
from both inside and outside of the country are welcome to participate in this
iconic event.
Main
objective of the 10-day festival is to encourage the culture of film making and
promoting filmmakers to compete for the bests in the future.
The
films ready for nomination are categorized into five aspects as indicated by
the Afghan film officials, giving filmmakers two months to submit their
unlimited entries to Lajaward film festival.
“A
total number of 30 movies will be selected in the nominations,” Maryam further
said.
The
selection list will include dramatic films, short films, documentary films,
short documentary movies, and animation movies. The festival will help the
filmmakers produce good movies as they will be assessed every year and the
country’s cinema will be reviewed through it.
“By
now the Afghan film department has received 40 films which are currently under
review for selections”. Maryam added.
Movies
between 2003 and 2020 are to be selected as nominees and the festival will
continue for 10 days followed by the final awards to be given on the last day.
The
Afghan government backs its cinema to host a national film festival in the
country, in a bid to encourage the struggling cinematographers, actors,
producers and film industry artists.
The
national film festival will be the country’s first project afterdecades, and is
expected to be held upcoming November.
The
Festival is planned to take place Saturday 21st of Novemberat the different
saloons across Afghan capital, with a total budget of estimated 350,000
Afghanis.
“Afghan
film definitely senses urgency for the support from both government and private
sectors,” Mariam Jahanbeen festival’s project manager said toKhaama press. “Private sectors have heldceremonies before
but this time the persuasion comes from the government side.”
Filmmakers
from both inside and outside of the country are welcome toparticipate in this
iconic event.
Main
objective of the 10-day festival is to encourage the culture of filmmaking and
promoting filmmakers to compete for the bests in the future.
The
films ready for nomination are categorized into five aspects asindicated by the
Afghan film officials, giving filmmakers two months to submit their unlimited
entries to Lajaward film festival.
“A
total number of 30 movies will be selected in the nominations,”Maryam further
said.
The
selection list will include dramatic films, short films, documentaryfilms,
short documentary movies, and animation movies. The festival will help the
filmmakers produce good movies as they will be assessed every year and the
country’s cinema will be reviewed through it.
“By
now the Afghan film department has received 40 films which arecurrently under
review for selections”. Maryam added.
Movies
between 2003 and 2020 are to be selected as nominees and the festival will
continue for 10 days followed by the final awards to be given on the last day.
https://www.khaama.com/biggest-film-festival-yet-to-come-727378/
--------
Balkh
Blast Claims 2 Lives, Injures 35 Civilians
25
Aug 2020
BALKH,
Afghanistan – At least two civilians are killed and further 35 injured, as a
vehicle fully loaded with Improvised Explosive Devices went off early Tuesday
morning near veterinary clinic in Balkh district of Balkh province, said
Shaheen Military Corps head Mohammad Hanif Rezaie.
The
authorities identified the vehicle, saying the attacked was carried on by a
Mazda at around 8:45am local time, disrupting a relative calm morning.
Tens
of residential houses are destroyed.
A
number of victims are in severe condition, which may increase the death toll to
an unpredicted figure, the statement read.
Meanwhile,
at least one Afghan commando killed and further six suffered minor injuries.
The
officials of the defense ministry convey their condolences to victims’ families,
and wishes a swift recovery for those struggling for their lives in local
hospitals.
No
group or individual has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
https://www.khaama.com/balkh-blast-claims-2-injures-35-civilians-124344/
--------
Taliban
stage deadly bomb attack on Afghan commandos, civilians
25
August 2020
At
least three people have been killed and dozens of others injured in a truck
bomb attack near a military base in Afghanistan’s northern province of Balkh.
The
Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement that 41 people, including
civilians, had been injured in the truck bomb explosion, which occurred early
on Tuesday morning.
The
Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, saying on Twitter they had
attacked commando units.
According
to the ministry, the attack killed two members of the commando force and
wounded six others, while the rest of the casualties were civilians.
The
blast came even as Taliban representatives visited Pakistan to discuss a
promise to open talks with the Afghan government.
According
to Afghan official data, the Taliban have increased their bombings and other
assaults by 70 percent since they signed a “peace” deal with the United States
in February.
Under
that agreement, the US will withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, and the
Taliban will refrain from attacking international occupying forces.
The
militants have not been required to make a pledge to avoid attacking Afghan
forces and civilians.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/25/632564/Afghanistan-Taliban-attack-commando-units
--------
Mideast
42
Prominent US, European Figures Sign Petition Condemning UAE’s Normalization
Deal with Israel
Aug
25, 2020
The
petition released on the Facebook page of Dr. Philip Giraldi, a former CIA
officer, argues that the peace deal between the UAE and Israel is “another
black mark on the faces of some Arab rulers”.
“The
sinister alliance of the UAE with Zionist Israel, occupier of Palestine, is yet
another black mark on the faces of some Arab rulers. This agreement did not
just come from talks between Israel and the UAE. Rather, it came also out of the US' efforts
to continue its hegemony in the region.
The more than 70 years' colonization of a land, concomitant with
murdering, torturing and imprisoning its inhabitants is indeed an undeniable
crime and shouldn’t be tolerated by the international community. However, this
new chapter in the history, this new pact between the Apartheid Entity of
Israel and the UAE goes beyond the shameful past. It is, in fact, much more dangerous for the
future. It distorts and misinforms the real chronicle of the region,” the
petition said.
“The
UAE rulers and those behind the scenes have targeted the Muslims solidarity and
resistance while they try to normalize having ties with an apartheid and
illegal regime, legitimizing its presence among the area’s nations. Did the
1978 acceptance of the Zionist regime by Egypt - self-proclaimed Arab world
leader - help solve Israel's security problems? Did the Oslo Accords with the
PLO in 1993 stop Israel’s crimes? Could the peace treaty with Jordan in 1994
legitimate Israel’s existence for all the Arabs and Muslims there? And will the
recent arrangement with the UAE limit unlawful Zionist settlements? Will Trump
politicize that deal and take some benefit from it in the upcoming US
presidential elections?” it asked.
The
petition noted that this recent incident is not a strategic development in West
Asia, but a geo-strategic mistake by Abu Dhabi and its nature is now clear not
only to all governments across the globe but particularly to those nations in
the region, adding, “This is certainly an occasion to show dignity,
independence, and honor for Muslim countries as well as all free peoples and
independent thinkers globally. How can
they do this? They can declare their opposition to this disgraceful coalition.”
“Hence,
we urge you to join your voice to ours in condemning this agreement,” the signatories
demanded.
The
petition has been signed by the following 42 figures so far:
Pr.
Francis Boyle (USA); human rights lawyer, professor of international law at the
University of Illinois College of Law
Pr.
Farid Esack (South Africa); Professor in the Study of Islam at University of Johannesburg, appointed by as a
gender equity commissioner by Nelson Mandela
Pr.
Mazin Qumsiyeh (Palestine); Professor at Bethlehem University, director of the
Palestine Museum of Natural History
Pr.
Claudio Mutti (Italy); former professor of University of Bologna, Director of
“Eurasia” quarterly journal of geopolitics
Pr.
Rodney Shakespeare (UK); Political commentator & visiting professor of
binary economics at Trisakti University
Pr.
Lawrence Davidson (US) retired professor of history from West Chester
University in Pennsylvania
Pr.
Pierre Dortiguier (France); Philosopher and former University Professor
Dr.
Michael Springmann (USA); Attorney, author, political commentator, and former
diplomat
Dr.
Philip Giraldi (USA); former CIA military intelligence officer, Director of the
Council for the National Interest
Dr.
Kevin Barrett (USA); One of the best-known critics of the War on Terror, former
professor of Wisconsin University
Dr.
Maria Poumier (France); former professor of Sorbonne University, Journalist
& Documentary filmmaker
Dr.
Bruno Drweski (France); Professor at National Institute for Oriental Languages
and Civilizations
Dr.
Christian Bouchet (France); former politician, journalist, PhD in antropology
Michael
Maloof (USA); Former Senior Security Policy Analyst at the office of secretary
of Defense
Lord
Nazir Ahmed (UK); member of the House of Lords
Samu
Tamás Gergő (Hungary); former MP
Sara
Flounders (USA); Co-Director for the International Action Center, antiwar
activist
Abby
Martin (USA); Journalist, TV presenter, host of “Breaking the Set” on RT
& “The Empire Files” on Telesur
Iurie
Roșca (Moldova); former Deputy Prime Minister & president of the
Christian-Democratic People's Party
David
Rovics (USA); Singer & Songwriter, antiwar musician
Edward
Corrigan (Canada); The only lawyer certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada
as a specialist in Citizenship & Immigration Law
David
Lawley Wakelin (UK); documentary filmmaker
Greta
Berlin (USA); Co-Founder: Free Gaza movement, Author: Freedom Sailors
Isabelle
Coutant Peyre (France); International Lawyer
Muhammad
al-Asi (USA); former led prayer at the Islamic Center of Washington, religious
leader, commentator of Quran
Richard
Labévière (France); Writer and investigative Journalist, operational reserve
officer of the French Navy
Ken
O’keefe (Ireland); former US marine, antiwar activist and documentary maker
Father
Dave Smith (Australia); Anglican priest & social activist
Eric
Walberg (Canada); Writer and geopolitical expert
Jacob
Cohen (France); Writer and Researcher on Freemasonry and Israel’s secret
agencies
Gilles
Munier (France); Investigative journalist and writer
Elizabeth
Murray (USA); former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Middle East
& former CIA analyst
Imad
Hamrouni (France); Geopolitical commentator for France24, Al-Mayadeen,
professor at Paris Geopolitics Academy
Dogan
Bermek (Turkey); President of Alevi Philosophy Center, Religious Leader
Konrad
Rekas (Scotland); Chairman of the Polish Yes for Scotland Association,
Journalist
Tesha
Teshanovic (Poland); Editor-in-chief of Balkan Info, Journalist
Andrew
Korybko (USA); Political Analyst, GlobalResearch contributor
Jeff
J. Brown (France); the China Trilogy, China Rising Radio Sinoland, China Tech
News Flash! Bioweapon Truth Commission
James
Perloff (USA); author and journalist
Tony
Gosling (UK); Investigative Journalist
Bartosz
Bekier (Poland); Editor in Chief of Xportal.pl
Sander
Hicks (USA); Political Activist
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990604000199
--------
Al-Qaeda
blows up clinic after executing dentist in Yemen’s al-Baida
25
August 2020
Al-Qaeda
blew up a medical center in war-torn Yemen on Tuesday, 10 days after executing
a dentist it accused of guiding US drone strikes against its militants.
The
clinic in the Somaa district of Al-Baida province was where the dentist worked
before his execution, a local official told AFP.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
extremists shot Motthar al-Youssoufi, then crucified his body and left it
outside the health center on August 15.
On
Tuesday, they blew up the clinic.
Al-Qaeda
in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is active in Yemen, is considered by the
United States as the radical group’s most dangerous branch.
Washington
has carried out a drone campaign against its leaders for the past two decades.
But the extremist group has thrived in the war-ravaged country.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/08/25/Al-Qaeda-blows-up-clinic-after-executing-dentist-in-Yemen-s-al-Baida-.html
--------
Iran’s
N. Chief Terms Talks with IAEA Head “Constructive”
Aug
25, 2020
Salehi
made the remarks in a joint press conference with Grossi after holding
negotiations with him in Tehran on Tuesday.
“Iran
has well shown that it does not accept demands beyond its undertakings. We act
based on our undertakings and the Agency acts within the framework of the
agreements with Iran,” Salehi said.
He
appreciated Grossi and the IAEA for cooperation with a spirit of understanding,
and said, “Good agreements were made between the two sides and a statement is
due to be issued and both sides are working on it.”
Salehi
underlined the need for the IAEA to act based on principles of independence and
professionalism.
Grossi,
for his part, said that the IAEA acts based on documents and not the desires of
the director-general, and added, “We guarantee that the Agency is not
influenced but it is under pressure. We do not allow these pressures to affect
our activities as much as we can.”
Grossi
had last week declared his visit to Iran.
“I
will travel to Tehran on Monday for meetings with Iranian authorities to
address outstanding questions related to safeguards in Iran. I hope to
establish a fruitful and cooperative channel of direct dialogue. It is
necessary,” he wrote.
In
relevant remarks on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif ruled
out any relation between the visit to Tehran by Grossi and the so-called
trigger mechanism that has been requested by the US to re-impose UN Security
Council on Iran.
“The
visit of Grossi has nothing to do with the United States’ recent attempt to
apply the so-called snapback mechanism to return UN sanctions against Tehran,”
Zarif said, adding, “We will not allow the US and the Israeli regime, which
possess nuclear weapons in the region and have already used such weapons, to
ridicule the IAEA’s goals.”
Referring
to the recent failure of the US at the UN Security Council to re-impose illegal
sanctions on Iran, he said that 13 out of 15 UNSC member states are against
such a move.
The
top diplomat also touched upon the US’ unilateral and illegal pullout from the
nuclear deal in 2018 and its lack of eligibility to use the deal, saying, “They
[UNSC member states] are not only against this move, but they also believe the
US has no right to enter this issue.”
Once
again, Zarif rejected any allegations of non-cooperation with the IAEA,
insisting, “The Islamic Republic’s cooperation with the agency is based on
transparency. We have never been after weapons of mass destruction.”
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990604000684
--------
Official:
No Military Solution to Problems in Afghanistan
Aug
25, 2020
“We
support the peace process by Afghans with the participation of all Afghan
groups, including the Taliban, and without any foreign influence and
interference,” Mousavi said, addressing a meeting of the Heart of Asia -
Istanbul Process via a video conference on Tuesday.
He
underlined that the problems in Afghanistan have no military solution, adding,
“We consider the responsible withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan as a
necessary step towards peace.”
Mousavi
said that Iran invites the Taliban to join the Afghan-Afghan talks, view peace
talks as the only way to reach an acceptable political solution and avoid
violence during the negotiations.
“We
are ready to help strengthening the peace negotiations by the help of our
capacity and capability upon the demand of participants,” he said.
In
relevant remarks on Sunday, Iran's Special Envoy on Afghanistan Mohammad
Ebrahim Taherian Fard voiced concern about increased insecurities in
Afghanistan, after the Saturday blasts in Kabul, stressing Tehran’s readiness to
help the country in holding intra-Afghan talks.
“Establishment
of peace and stability not only is the general demand of people, government and
different Afghan streams but also is considered as a need on the path of
development of regional cooperation and collective security,” Taherian said.
He
referred to the recent approvals of the Loya Jirga (the grand tribal council)
in Afghanistan to establish peace, and underlined the necessity for paving the
ground for holding Afghan-Afghan talks with the aim of reaching an agreement.
Taherian
reiterated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s preparedness for cooperation in
holding the intra-Afghan talks.
Kabul
witnessed four explosions on Saturday that killed at least one security force
member and wounded six others--including a civilian--and an assault by gunmen
on a vehicle killing an MoD official and his driver, amid hopes for potential
peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Also,
in mid-July, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas
Araqchi had also underscored Tehran’s commitment to help the Afghan government
to establish peace in the war-hit country.
Araqchi
made the remarks in a meeting with Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Foreign
Affairs Mohammad Hanif Atmar in Kabul on July 15.
He
reiterated Iran’s support for the peace process in Afghanistan, led by its
government, and expressed hope that the intra-Afghan talks would soon kick off
with the participation of all political factions.
Araqchi
also stressed that the Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready to assist the
Afghan government with advancing the peace process given the mutual concerns
and interests of the two neighboring countries.
He
further said Iran attaches importance to preserving the achievements made by
the Afghan people regarding the constitution and democratic structures of their
country after four decades of war.
During
the meeting, the two sides discussed bilateral ties, peace process in Afghanistan,
regional and international issues, problems caused by the coronavirus pandemic,
and economic cooperation.
They
also agreed on a roadmap and the time schedule to finalize a comprehensive
strategic cooperation deal.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990604001065
--------
Turkey,
Greece ready for dialogue on East Med energy resources dispute, says Germany
25
August 2020
Germany’s
top diplomat said after whirlwind meetings in Turkey and Greece on Tuesday the
two were ready for dialogue to defuse an worsening dispute over energy
resources in the Mediterranean, even as the NATO allies traded new barbs.
Turkey
and Greece vehemently disagree over natural gas reserves off Cyprus and the
extent of their continental shelves. They have drawn the European Union and
nearby countries into the dispute, which earlier this month flared into a light
collision between Turkish and Greek frigates.
On
Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey both said they wanted to
solve the issue through dialogue following talks with German Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas, but each warned that they would continue to defend their rights in
the region.
Tensions
between Turkey and Greece escalated after Ankara sent its Oruc Reis survey
vessel to disputed eastern Mediterranean waters this month, a move Athens
called illegal.
After
talks in Athens and Ankara, Maas urged Greece and Turkey to turn to dialogue,
though added that Germany and the EU stood with fellow member state Greece.
“In
both meetings in Athens as well as in Ankara I kept hearing that the only way
to reach an understanding was to start a dialogue in which both differing
standpoints were put on the table,” Maas told a news conference in Ankara.
“No
one wants to settle this conflict militarily, which would be absolute madness,”
he said, speaking alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Turkey
and Greece meanwhile held rival military drills in the same theatre of the
Mediterranean. Maas likened the dispute to “playing with fire” and warned that
“every little spark can lead to catastrophe.”
Greece
on Monday issued an advisory, known as a Navtex, that it will hold naval
exercises in an area off the Greek island of Crete, after Turkey said on Sunday
the Oruc Reis would operate in the same area until August 27.
Greece’s
advisory then prompted a rival Navtex from Turkey that it would also hold
drills there on Tuesday.
Turkish
President Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece on Monday of “sowing chaos” in the
Mediterranean and warned Athens would find itself having to face the Turkish
navy on its own.
War
of words
Despite
voicing readiness for dialogue, Cavusoglu said this could only happen if Greece
abandoned its “maximalist demands,” adding it was not realistic to expect
Turkey to drop its rights with threats of sanctions.
“We
are open to talks without pre-conditions. But, when one side starts imposing
pre-conditions, then there are many things we will put forth too,” he said.
“If
you make statements like ‘We will defend our rights. We carry out drills,’ if
you take wrong steps, we don’t want to say we will make a mistake, but we will
do what is necessary without hesitation.”
Greek
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said Greece wanted to talk with Turkey but would
not do so “under threats.” Athens stood ready to defend its rights, he said,
adding the dispute was an issue for the entire EU and its security.
Germany
also intervened last month, prompting Ankara to pause operations for talks with
Athens. After Greece and Egypt agreed a maritime demarcation deal, however,
Turkey resumed operations.
EU
foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Berlin on Aug. 27-28 to discuss the
issue. A senior EU official told reporters that the bloc’s EU foreign policy
chief, Josep Borrell, would put “all options” on the table, including economic
sanctions on Turkey and formally ending Turkey’s status as an EU candidate.
Asked
about the bloc’s ties with Turkey, Maas said these were at a “crossroads” but
Germany wanted to contribute to a positive dialogue. He said the course of
EU-Turkey ties will “largely be decided” by the end of the year.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/25/Greece-ready-for-dialogue-with-Turkey-but-will-defend-sovereign-rights.html
--------
Four
Islamic Jihad fighters killed in bomb-handling mishap: Report
25
August 2020
Four
members of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad were killed in Gaza
overnight by the accidental explosion of a bomb they were handling, witnesses
and security sources said Tuesday.
A
statement from the group said that “four martyrs” died while “performing their
duty.”
It
said that those killed in the “accidental” blast included Iyad Jamas al-Jadi,
42, a commander linked to missile manufacturing units.
According
to witnesses and Palestinian security sources, the militants were preparing an
improvised bomb which went off prematurely.
Palestinian
militants have recently attacked Israel with incendiary devices attached to
balloons.
The
balloons have so far caused more than 400 fires in scrub, nature reserves and
farmland, according to a tally of daily reports by Israeli fire services.
Israel
has responded with almost nightly air strikes.
In
addition, it has banned Gaza fishermen from going to sea and closed its goods
crossing with the territory, prompting the closure of Gaza’s sole power plant
for want of fuel.
The
cross-border exchanges have caused some injuries but no deaths on either side,
according to the Palestinian and Israeli authorities.
Hamas
in a statement called the closure of the goods crossing a “crime against
humanity” and called on the international community and “decision-makers in the
region” to “break their silence to bring an end” to the blockade.
The
United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said the closure of the
Gaza power plant would have “devastating effects” on the impoverished territory
of some two million people.
“The
closure of the power plant has caused the power feed to decline to two to three
hours per day,” it said.
“Such
poor power feed will negatively impact on the wellbeing and safety of the
people of Gaza.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/25/Four-Islamic-Jihad-fighters-killed-in-bomb-handling-mishap-Report.html
--------
Hamas-Israel
talks failure ‘threatens escalation of border confrontations’
HAZEM
BALOUSHA
August
26, 2020
GAZA
CITY: The continued standoff between Hamas and Israel and the failure of
international mediation attempts to bring the two sides together threatened a
further escalation of border confrontations, officials warned on Tuesday.
Israeli
airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, and the launch of incendiary balloons and rockets
from Gaza targeting Israeli communities adjacent to the border, have
intensified in recent days despite ongoing efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the UN
to calm tensions.
With
no sign of an imminent breakthrough in negotiations, activists are now believed
to be planning a resumption of popular border protests.
A
source on the Great Return March committee told Arab News that members were
discussing options for a return to public activities on the border if Israel
continued to flout its obligations toward “truce understandings.”
Late
last year, the committee decided to limit its activities to national events
before completely suspending action at the beginning of this year due to the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Hamas
official Ismail Radwan said that international mediation attempts, although
continuing, faced severe difficulties due to what he described as Israeli
intransigence.
An
Egyptian-led security delegation which visited Gaza and Israel last week,
conveyed messages exchanged between the two parties but returned to Cairo
without securing an agreement.
A
Palestinian source told Arab News that Israel had refused to positively deal
with demands relayed by the Egyptian delegation after meeting with Hamas
leaders in Gaza and had threatened to broaden the scope of its response.
On
Tuesday, Israel strengthened its military presence along the eastern border of
Gaza with Israeli media reporting that army plans had been drawn up to combat
various scenarios regarding security tensions in Gaza.
Radwan
said: “The threats of the occupation will not frighten us, and we will break
the unjust siege with all our strength. “The resistance is ready to move
forward to the farthest extent, and it is no longer possible to remain silent
on the catastrophic situation in Gaza because of the blockade.”
Israel
moved on Sunday to block all goods from entering the enclave through Kerem
Shalom, the only commercial crossing, with the exception of food and medical
supplies.
For
more than a week, Israel has stopped fishing crews from heading out to sea, and
it has also prevented the supply of building materials and fuel which has
caused the only power station in Gaza to stop operating and electricity output
to be cut off for around 20 hours a day.
Hamas
has demanded that Israel stick to stated understandings reached last year under
Egyptian and international auspices.
However,
experts believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be engineering
the Gaza situation to detract attention from internal calls for his dismissal
and trial on corruption charges.
Ron
Ben-Yishai, military analyst for the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot, said
the recent exchange of threats were unlikely to result in a major confrontation
in Gaza.
He
questioned the seriousness of sabre rattling by Israel, attributing this to
what he called “the convictions in Hamas, that Israel will not rush into a
comprehensive confrontation in light of the worsening of the COVID-19 crisis
and its economic and political repercussions, the fragility of the government
coalition, and the possibility of heading to fourth elections in the near
future.”
The
military correspondent for the Israeli Walla website, Amir Bukhbout, said the
Israeli army was preparing for a scenario of comprehensive escalation but could
not “exclude the possibility of deterring Hamas by returning to the policy of
assassinations,” despite factions warning that such action would lead to rocket
attacks on Tel Aviv.
Bukhbout
claimed the negotiations conducted by Egyptian intelligence between Hamas and
Israel had stalled due to each party’s adherence to its position and the lack
of any concessions.
Husam
Al-Dajani, professor of political science at Al-Ummah University, told Arab
News that both sides had more important priorities than open confrontation.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724641/middle-east
--------
Africa
Sudan
PM to Pompeo: Govt. has no mandate to normalize with Israel
26
August 2020
Sudan’s
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has dashed America’s hopes for quick
normalization with Israel, saying his government has no mandate to establish
ties with Tel Aviv and any such a decision should wait until after the
transitional period ends in the African country.
During
talks in the capital Khartoum on Tuesday, Hamdok “clarified” to US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo that the country’s transitional period “is being led by a
wide alliance with a specific agenda — to complete the transition, achieve
peace and stability in the country and hold free elections,” Sudanese
government spokesman Faisal Saleh said in a statement.
It
“does not have a mandate beyond these tasks or to decide on normalization with
Israel,” Hamdok was quoted as saying.
The
Sudanese prime minister also reaffirmed the importance of separating
normalization of ties from a US decision to remove Sudan’s designation as a
state sponsor of terrorism, Saleh pointed out.
Sudan’s
interim government took power last year after longtime leader Omar al-Bashir
was overthrown by the army following mass popular protests. It is set to remain
in office until elections in 2022.
Pompeo
arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday to push for Sudan’s normalization with Israel,
two weeks the US brokered a highly contentious peace deal between the regime
and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Following
the talks, the US State Department said in a statement that Pompeo and Hamdok
discussed “positive developments in the Sudan-Israel relationship.”
Sudan
that has no formal relations with Israel has been cozying up to the regime over
the past year.
In
February, Sudan’s leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the chairman of the
ruling council in the country, met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in
Uganda, sparking anger among politicians and public at home, where anti-Israel
and pro-Palestine sentiments run high.
After
the US announced the UAE-Israel deal, Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesperson
Haidar Badawi Sadiq said in an interview with Sky News Arabic that “there is no
reason for the hostility to continue between Sudan and Israel,” in comments
that drew Netanyahu’s praise and raised speculation that Khartoum may be the
next in line to normalize with Tel Aviv.
The
Sudanese official was, however, sacked shortly afterwards over “unauthorized”
comments, with Sudanese Foreign Minister Omer Ismail saying that his ministry
“didn’t discuss the possibility of relations with Israel in any way.”
Palestinians
have derided the UAE’s decision to normalize with Israel as “backstabbing,”
with President Mahmoud Abbas warning other Arab countries against following Abu
Dhabi’s lead.
Pompeo
in Bahrain to talk normalization
Pompeo
visited the Israeli-occupied territories before arrival in Sudan.
Later
on Tuesday, Pompeo left Sudan for Bahrain as part of a tour aimed at getting
more Arab countries to follow in the UAE’s footsteps.
Palestinians
have denounced the agreement as a “betrayal” of their cause.
Meanwhile,
there are reports that an Israeli delegation and top aides to US President
Donald Trump will fly together on board an Israeli airliner directly from Tel
Aviv to Abu Dhabi on Monday for talks on cementing UAE-Israel normalization
deal.
Netanyahu
said in a video statement that White House senior adviser Jared Kushner,
national security adviser Robert O’Brien, US Middle East envoy Avi Berkowitz
and other US officials will escort the Israeli delegation led by national
security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat.
A
high-ranking US administration official confirmed the participation of Kushner,
O’Brien and Berkowitz, and said former US Special Representative for Iran Brian
Hook would also be on the flight.
Talks
will focus on ways to promote Israeli-UAE cooperation in various sectors,
Netanyahu added.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/26/632624/Sudan-Israel-normalization-Pompeo
--------
For
third day, hundreds of Libyans protest corruption, living conditions
26
August 2020
Hundreds
of young Libyans protested in Tripoli for a third consecutive day to decry
deteriorating living conditions and corruption amid a heavy security presence,
an AFP correspondent said.
Voicing
anger at extended shortages of power, water and fuel in the oil-rich North
African country, the demonstrators, including teenagers and children, marched
through the capital again on Tuesday and converged on Martyrs’ Square.
They
are also taking aim at what they say is official corruption, and some carried
signs bearing slogans including “the corrupt must be put on trial.”
The
demonstration took place even after Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the UN-recognized Government
of National Accord (GNA), sought to appease protesters on Monday by announcing
he would conduct a cabinet reshuffle.
During
a speech broadcast on the GNA’s official Al-Rasmiya television channel, Sarraj
backed Libyans’ “legitimate right” to protest and said he was determined to
fight graft.
“New
ministers will be chosen based on their competence, abilities and integrity,”
Sarraj said, vowing to take “exceptional measures” to carry out the reshuffle
if it were opposed.
“We
acknowledge... our share of responsibility” for the deterioration of the
situation, he added, but also said the crisis “has been going on for years.”
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app
Interior
ministry security personnel deployed heavily at Tuesday’s protest after men in
military uniform fired into the air to disperse demonstrators on Sunday,
prompting the UN mission in Libya to urge the government to investigate.
Interior
Minister Fathi Bashagha had called those responsible for Sunday’s violence
“outlaws who infiltrated the security forces.”
The
protests began days after the country’s warring rival administrations announced
separately that they would cease all hostilities and hold nationwide elections.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/north-africa/2020/08/26/For-third-day-hundreds-of-Libyans-protest-corruption-living-conditions-.html
--------
Somalia:
Al-Shabaab Executes Four Men for Spying
23
AUGUST 2020
Alshabab
militants have publicly executed four men on Sunday for spying for Somali
intelligence agencies, Ethiopia, the U.S. and one working for the federal
government according to the militants, which supports the Islamist group that's
linked to al-Qaeda on the group in El-Adde of Gedo region.
The
extremist group said it had publicly executed Dini Abdiqadir Mohamed, Isse
Osman Gelle, Adan Hassan Mohamed and Abdiaziz Hassan Abdi after they were
reportedly found guilty by the local militant leader of spying in a what was
described as a hurriedly constituted hearing held in front of residents and
children.
The
executions follow recent precision attack that was carried out by US drones and
killed Alshabab bomb maker in the vicinity of KunturWarey Lower Shabelle region
on Thursday.
The
militants who are affiliated to Alqaeda control much territory in rural areas
in Somalia and are fighting the internationally recognised central government
since 2008 to establish Islamic Sharia-based in their own interpretation.
The
militants are known for killing suspected informers including those accused of
spying for the U.S and the foreign countries.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202008240490.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1468106_
--------
Europe
France’s
Macron will return to Beirut and reiterate need for change: Le Drian
25
August 2020
Lebanon’s
leaders should not use the explosion that destroyed parts of Beirut earlier
this month as an excuse to hide the reality that the country was on the edge of
a precipice, France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.
“The
catastrophe should not be used as a pretext to obscure the reality that existed
before ... that is, a country on the brink of collapse,” Jean-Yves Le Drian
told reporters in the southern port city of Marseille before a ship with 2,500
tonnes of aid set sail for the Lebanese capital.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“We
hope that this moment will be the moment which allows the Lebanese authorities,
the Lebanese officials, to take the necessary leap for a government with a
mission to initiate the essential reforms that everyone knows (are needed).”
France
has been leading diplomatic efforts for almost two years to persuade Lebanon to
push through reforms and secure foreign aid needed to offset a financial
meltdown.
In
the immediate aftermath of the Aug. 4 blast that destroyed whole neighborhoods,
killed more than 170 people and made 250,000 homeless, Macron rushed to Beirut
hoping to use the leverage of international reconstruction aid to persuade
Lebanon’s factions to choose a new administration led by individuals untainted
by corruption and backed by foreign donors.
However,
progress has been slow with some diplomats increasingly frustrated over the
situation.
The
outgoing government comprised mostly technocrat ministers, but these were
nominated by sectarian leaders who exerted influence on them and obstructed
reforms. Politicians fear reforms would end their system of patronage.
When
asked whether the process to form a new government was too slow, Le Drian said
there had to be an awakening now.
“That
is what the president (Macron) indicated to the Lebanese politicians a few days
ago and it’s what he will tell them again when he returns soon,” Le Drian said.
Macron
is expected in Beirut on Sept 1.
Diplomatic
sources have said that Macron is pushing Lebanon’s political leaders to install
an interim technocratic government able to enact reforms, win back public
confidence and persuade donors to release billions of dollars in aid.
“I
think the awareness is happening and we are ready to help. But we are not going
to take the place of the Lebanese officials,” Le Drian said.
A
diplomatic source said much of the aid being sent to Lebanon this week was
food, but also healthcare goods to help the country tackle a spike in COVID-19
cases. It would be distributed directly to humanitarian groups by the French
embassy to ensure it did not fall into the wrong hands, one official said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/25/France-s-Macron-will-return-to-Beirut-and-reiterate-need-for-change-Le-Drian.html
--------
New
IRA investigation: Six terror suspects appear in court
24
August 2020
Six
people have appeared in court charged under the Terrorism Act.
They
were arrested as part of a major PSNI and MI5 investigation into dissident
republican group the New IRA.
All
six have been accused of belonging to a proscribed organisation and of
directing terrorism.
They
are also charged with being at two meetings, both held in County Tyrone, with
the intent of committing acts of terrorism.
One
of the meetings took place close to the townland of Creggan, the other about a
mile from the village of Gortin.
A
senior police officer told the court that the two meetings were filmed and
recorded by MI5, operating under the direction of the PSNI.
The
six were charged as part of Operation Arbacia, which is targeting the New IRA,
an organisation considered to be the largest dissident republican group.
So
far, 10 people have been charged as part of the investigation.
On
Saturday, two men, one from Lurgan and the other from Derry, appeared in court.
On
Monday, a 49-year-old man from the Dungannon area and a 62-year-old man from
Scotland became the ninth and 10th people to be charged. Both are due in court
on Tuesday.
The
49-year-old has been charged with offences including membership of a proscribed
organisation, directing terrorism and two separate charges of preparatory acts
of terrorism.
The
62-year-old man, who was detained at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, has been
charged with preparatory acts of terrorism.
Entrapment
claim
The
six people who appeared in court on Monday via videolink were:
Sharon
Jordan, 45, of Cappagh Road, Dungannon
Kevin
Barry Murphy, 50, of Altowen Park, Coalisland
Amanda
McCabe, 49, of Ailsbury Gardens, Lurgan
Gary
Hayden, 48, of Tyrconnell Street, Londonderry
Joseph
Patrick Barr, 32, of Cecilia's Walk, Londonderry
Damien
Joseph McLaughlin, 44, of Kilmascally Road, in Dungannon,
They
are of belonging to a proscribed organisation, of directing terrorism and of
being at two meetings with the intent of committing acts of terrorism.
Mr
McLaughlin is also charged with conspiracy to possess explosives, including a
quantity of Semtex, and conspiracy to possess 100 rounds of ammunition.
Defence
lawyers alleged there was entrapment and claimed in court that one man who has
has not been charged was operating as an undercover agent for MI5.
All
six were remanded in custody.
'Longer-term
investigation'
On
Monday afternoon, the PSNI said Operation Arbacia will continue into the longer
term.
Assistant
Chief Constable Barbara Gray told a press conference that the operation
"did not start last week, nor will it end this week".
She
added: "It is a longer-term investigation which will look into every
aspect of the activities of the New IRA in its entirety.
"Time
and time again we have seen the New IRA does not care who it hurts or what it
destroys.
"They
do not care about the communities they come from - they care for no one. They
are reckless, manipulative and they exploit."
The
New IRA has been behind numerous attempted attacks on police officers and
journalist Lyra McKee was shot dead by a New IRA gunman while observing a riot
in Derry on 18 April 2019.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-53883302?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1468106_
--------
UK
drone terror attack plotter accused acquitted
24
August 2020
A
former chicken shop worker has been cleared of planning a drone terrorism attack
after a trial at the Old Bailey.
Hisham
Muhammad, 26, was accused of having a stash of weapons and devising a
contraption with lollipop sticks to drop a projectile from a small drone.
He
was arrested in June 2018 after his landlord became suspicious after seeing
knives, a tub of wires and a soldering iron at his home in Bury.
He
had denied engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism.
His
cousin Faisal Abu Ahmad, 25, who lived with him in Victoria Avenue, Whitefield,
was cleared of failing to disclose a plot to authorities.
Fake
escort agency
A
jury last October failed to reach a verdict and following a retrial Mr Muhammad
was found not guilty of preparing for an act of terrorism.
He
admitted making £8,000 from a fake escort agency, but said most of it was sent
to his wife and family living in Senegal.
The
Old Bailey heard he had an interest in weapons and his collection included
axes, bear-claws, a tomahawk, a machete, and Japanese "ninja eggs"
packed with glass shards and chilli seeds.
Mr
Muhammad explained he liked to invent household gadgets, such as a
"coconut hammer" and a "fly zapper".
The
jury deliberated over four days before acquitting him of the terror charge.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-53891097?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1468106_
--------
New Zealand
New
Zealand mosque shooter will not speak at sentencing court session
26
August 2020
The
Australian man who killed 51 Muslim worshipers at two mosques in New Zealand
last year has opted not to speak at his sentencing.
Brenton
Tarrant, 29, who sacked his lawyers and represented himself at the first
session of a four-day hearing at the Christchurch High Court on Monday, has
decided not to personally address the last sentencing hearing, court officials
said on Wednesday.
However,
a court-appointed lawyer would make a brief statement on his behalf on
Thursday, before a final verdict is announced.
On
March 15, 2019, Tarrant opened fire on Muslim worshipers attending prayers at
two mosques in Christchurch. He live-streamed parts of the shooting rampage on
Facebook.
Shortly
before the terrorist attacks, Tarrant, an Australian national, had published an
ideological “manifesto” filled with extreme views in which he described Muslim
immigrants in Europe as “invaders.”
The
white supremacist has pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted
murder, and one of terrorism.
During
the last three sessions of the court, dozens of survivors and families of
victims recounted the horrors of New Zealand’s worst mass shooting.
Aden
Ibrahim Diriye, the father of slain three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, the youngest
victim in the attacks, told the gunman that “true justice” awaited him in the
next life, stressing that it would be more severe than prison.
“You
have killed my son, and to me, it is as if you have killed the whole of New
Zealand,” Diriye said in a statement read by a family member.
“Know
that true justice is waiting for you in the next life and that will be far more
severe. I will never forgive you for what you have done,” he said.
Ahad
Nabi, who lost his 71-year-old father in the attack, demanded that Tarrant
never be allowed to walk free.
“Allah
allowed your small plan to go ahead for the people to see the bigger picture
and to be aware of our evil surrounding,” Nabi said. “Your actions on that day
displayed what a coward you are. You shot at defenseless people that were not
aware of what was going on until they knew it was too late.”
“There’s
nothing heroic about shooting people from behind and people not having a chance
of defending themselves,” he added. “You will be remembered but as a scared
killer, and nothing more.”
Sara
Qasem, the daughter of victim Abdelfattah Qasem, said her father could have
left but he stayed behind to help others. Qasem said she wished more than
anything in the world she had been there to hold his father’s hand and tell him
it would all be okay.
“You
made a choice here — a conscious, stupid, irresponsible, cold-blooded, selfish,
disgusting, heinous, evil choice,” Qasem said, looking at Tarrant, who was
seated and surrounded by guards.
“I
never would have ever imagined that the country my parents immigrated to for
safety and for a successful future for their children would result in this,”
she added. “I urge you to take a look around this court room and ask yourself
who exactly is the other here right now? Is it us or is it you? I think the
answer’s pretty clear.”
The
Christchurch mosque attacks prompted New Zealand’s government to tighten the
country’s gun laws and review laws dealing with hate speech.
Tarrant
is expected to face an unprecedented sentence of life in prison with no parole.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/26/632629/New-Zealand-mosque-attack-sentencing-hearing
--------
'The
Fire Awaits You': Father of New Zealand Mosque Attack Victim Tells Gunman
August
26, 2020
The
father of a three-year-old boy shot dead in last year's New Zealand mosque
attacks told gunman Brenton Tarrant Wednesday that he was an "evil
man" whose atrocity had failed in its goal to sow hatred and fear.
Australian
white supremacist Tarrant is expected to become the first person in New Zealand
imprisoned for life without prospect of parole when his sentence is handed down
on Thursday at a Christchurch court.
Aden
Diriye, father to three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, the youngest person to die in
Tarrant's rampage, was among survivors and bereaved families giving testimony
on day three of his sentencing.
Diriye
told Tarrant to "know that true justice is waiting for you in the next
life and that will be far more severe (than prison). I will never forgive you
for what you have done."
Hasmine
Mohamedhosen, whose brother Mohamed was killed, called Tarrant the "son of
a devil" who she wanted to "rot in hell between the four walls of
your cell for eternity".
Ahad
Nabi, whose father Haji Daoud Nabi was killed in Al Noor mosque, called Tarrant
a coward who should never be allowed to walk free.
"While
you are in prison you will come to realise that you are now in hell and only
the fire awaits you," he said.
Tarrant,
29, has admitted 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one of
terrorism during the attacks at two Christchurch mosques on March 15, 2019.
He
has remained impassive throughout the hearing as members of the Muslim
community confront him, some furious and demanding justice and others
distraught.
"You
have killed my son and to me that is as though you have killed the whole of New
Zealand," Diriye told Tarrant with a steady voice.
"I
will never forget how he would play in the mosque and make friends with every
worshipper who attended, young and old. He was adored by all.
"Your
atrocity and hatred did not turn out the way you expected. Instead it has
united our Christchurch community, strengthened our faith, raised the honour of
our families and brought our peaceful nation together."
The
court was earlier told that as Tarrant moved through the Al Noor mosque,
shooting the wounded and ignoring their cries for help, he saw toddler Mucaad
clinging to his father's leg "and shot him with two precisely aimed
shots".
Mustafa
Boztas, who was shot in the leg, likened Tarrant to "a rotten cloth that
has been thrown away after dirty work.
"You
are not even a human, not even an animal, since animals are beneficial to the
world," he said.
John
Milne, whose 14-year-old son Sayyad was murdered, said since the killings his
mental health had suffered, leading to a spell in a psychiatric ward.
"There
is a huge hole in my heart that will only heal when I meet Sayyad again in
heaven," he said.
"I
hope to see you there too, Brenton, and if you get the chance I'd love you to
say sorry to Sayyad. I'm sure he's forgiven you too."
Showing
a photo of his son to the man in the dock, Milne implored: "Please, just
remember his name."
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/-the-fire-awaits-you-new-zealand-mosque-killer-told-1715152-2020-08-26
--------
Victims
vent fury at ‘devil’ NZ mosque shooter
26
Aug 2020
CHRISTCHURCH:
Two survivors of the New Zealand mosque massacre abandoned prepared statements
to vent their anger directly at gunman Brenton Tarrant in a Christchurch court
on Tuesday, drawing applause from fellow victims as they called him a terrorist
who deserved to die.
Tarrant,
coming face-to-face with his victims for the first time, has admitted 51
charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one of terrorism over the attacks
at two Christchurch mosques on March 15, 2019.
The
29-year-old — who is expected to be the first person jailed for life without
parole in New Zealand — has maintained an impassive demeanour throughout the
hearing, which began on Monday, as the grief-stricken survivors unleashed their
anger in an outpouring of emotion.
“I
did not see any regrets and shame in the eyes of this terrorist and he does not
regret anything, so I decided not to read my impact statement but to show him
the pain I suffered,” an incensed Mirwais Waziri told judge Cameron Mander on
day two of Tarrant’s sentencing.
Tarrant
expected to be the first person jailed for life without parole
White
supremacist Tarrant did not flinch as the gallery applauded when Waziri turned
to him and said: “Today you are a terrorist and us as Muslims are not
terrorists.” Zuhair Darwish, whose brother died in the attacks, told Tarrant:
“You act like a coward and you are a coward. You live like a rat and you
deserve that.
You’re
going to die alone, like a virus everybody avoids being with.
“The
fair punishment for him would be the death penalty. I know under New Zealand
law they removed the death penalty for humans, but unfortunately he is not a
human, he doesn’t deserve to be judged like a human.” A witness whose name has
been suppressed by the court appealed to the judge to give Tarrant “the highest
punishment that you can. I want you not to let this man see the sun, never,
ever.
“This
man has to stay in prison forever. As his mother said, something in his head,
he is a sick man, he is not a human being.” Tarrant occasionally stroked his
chin as speakers referred to him as “a devil” and a “hateful lowlife” who had
destroyed lives but made the New Zealand Muslim community stronger.
Ambreen
Naeem, hero’s wife
Ambreen
Naeem lost both her husband Naeem Rashid and son Talha in the rampage.
Naeem
Rashid was hailed as a hero who saved lives when he charged at Tarrant in
Christchurch’s central Al Noor mosque and partially knocked him down, allowing
others to escape while Tarrant stood up and shot him dead.
“Since
my husband and son passed away, I’ve never had a proper, normal sleep. I don’t
think I ever will,” Ambreen Naeem said.
“It
is an irreparable damage to me that is why his punishment should continue
forever.
“Every
time I think of him, I think of the biggest loser. For myself and my family, I
feel victorious.” There was no reaction from Tarrant when Noraini Milne, whose
son Sayyad was killed, pointed at him and said: “You are already dead to me.
Whatever punishment you are going to receive in this world will never be
enough.” Mohammad Siddiqui was shot in the arm when “the devil” arrived at Al
Noor mosque.
“Yes,
I call him a devil because you entered the house of God with evil intentions to
kill innocent people. You’ve killed the dreams of my friends and family with...
your gutless action.” Tarrant, a former gym instructor in Australia, has said
he wanted to instil fear into those he described as “invaders”, including New
Zealand’s Muslim population.
But
Raesha Ismail, who lost her brother Junaid in the attack, said it had only
strengthened her beliefs and she was now “more open with practising my faith in
the workplace”.
More
than 60 people are to give victim impact statements before Tarrant, who has
dismissed his lawyers, is allowed to address the court.
Judge
Cameron Mander expects to deliver his sentence on Thursday.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1576496/victims-vent-fury-at-devil-nz-mosque-shooter
--------
Court
hears 3rd day of testimony from grief-stricken relatives of Christchurch’s
slain
DAVID
COHEN
August
26, 2020
CHRISTCHURCH,
NEW ZEALAND: Three days of frequently wrenching victim-impact statements from survivors
of last year’s attacks at two mosques in the New Zealand city have ended at the
Christchurch’s High Court.
The
court has heard testimony from the victims who survived Brenton Tarrant’s March
15, 2019 attack, as well as the grieving relatives of those who died.
Each
has recalled how indiscriminately shot men, women – even young children as he
calmly walked through the mosques, broadcasting his trail of horror on
Facebook.
On
Wednesday the court heard a statement from Aden Ibrahim Diriye, whose three-year-old
son, Ibrahim, was killed at the Al Noor Mosque.
“I
don’t know you, I never hurt you, your father, mother and any of your friends.
Rather I am the type of person who would help you and your family with
anything,” Diriye said in a statement read by another family member.
“Know
that true justice is waiting for you in the next life and that will be far more
severe. I will never forgive you for what you have done.”
Brenton
Harrison Tarrant, 29, now faces the prospect of life in prison without the possibility
of parole. His sentencing will probably take place Thursday at the end of the
four-day sentencing hearing.
The
proceedings have been attended by hundreds of members of the local Muslim
community, some striding purposefully through the heavily guarded doors each
morning — while others have hobbled through the metal detectors or else pushed
into the building in wheelchairs.
In
local terms, it has been an outsize legal event — but so were the crimes.
Over
the last three days Tarrant has been confronted with a flow of survivors, and
the relatives of those who died.
“Allah
allowed your small plan to go ahead for the people to see the bigger picture
and to be aware of our evil surrounding,” said Ahad Nabi, the son of Haji
Mohemmed Daoud Nabi, who was killed at the Al Noor Mosque.
“Your
actions on that day displayed what a coward you are. You shot at defenceless
people that were not aware of what was going on until they knew it was too
late. My 71-year-old dad would have broken you in half if you had challenged
him to a fight. But you are weak, a sheep with a wolf’s jacket on for only 10
minutes of your whole life.”
Tarrant
pleaded guilty to all 51 murder charges, 41 counts of attempted murder and one
of committing a terrorist act that he livestreamed on Facebook. An independent
counsel with whom the self-proclaimed white supremacist has had no contact has
been in the court to assist with the law as it relates to the facts.
Nearly
80 survivors and family members, including a number of teenagers, gave victim-impact
statements — some of them pre-recorded, some given in person while facing the
defendant directly.
Some
speakers said Tarrant was beyond redemption. Others said the Quran obligated
one to leave that judgment to God.
Nobody
suggested the defendant should receive any sentence less than life in prison
without any possibility of parole, which is the most severe penalty permitted
in what has been a legally novel case.
For
the third day, Tarrant listened to the testimonies as impassively as he
appeared to have gone about his business in the mosques on March 15, 2019 when
he opened fire on his victims.
Accounts
of the carnage he wreaked have included detailed descriptions of him calmly
reloading an AR-15 rifle and pump-action shotgun before strolling back to
carefully inspect the condition of the dead and the dying, pumping additional
bullets into many of them as he went.
On
the day, Tarrant also saved some of his breath for speaking directly into the
GoPro camera he had attached pointing towards his face as though he was
narrating a reality television documentary.
This
week, however, the reality show ended. The diminutive 29-year-old appeared in
baggy prison garb — looking “like a penguin,” in the words of one of the final
testifiers — and dwarfed by four officers surrounding him as others did the
speaking.
Sara
Qasem, a 25-year-old Palestinian, said New Zealand would always be home, but
the home had changed since the murder of her father, one of six Palestinians
who died that day. “I don’t get it,” she said. She still wonders what her
father’s final thoughts as life ended for him at the “disgusting” assailant
She
said she missed the herb-infused recipes from Jenin that her father used to
whip up in the kitchen. The scent of his cologne. The stories about the olive
groves of Arabia. Their road trips along New Zealand’s curvy highways. Most of
all, the 25-year-old said, she missed “my baba’s voice.” Which along with 50
other voices had been permanently silenced because of the defendant’s “coarse
and tainted heart.”
Qasem
urged the Australian-born national who wanted to kill as many “outsiders” as
possible to take one final look around the courtroom and ask himself who the
real stranger was.
Hamimah
Tuyan, the wife of Zekeriya Tuyan, who was killed at Al Noor Mosque spoke of
the long battle her husband fought to stay alive.
“You
put bullets into my husband and he fought death for 48 days, 18 surgeries until
his last breath. His status then was uplifted to martyr from hero and for me
from wife to martyr’s widow.”
“He
deserves not a life imprisonment of 17, 20, 25 or 30 years but a life
imprisonment until his last gasp, his last breath. It will be grave injustice
if he should be ever given a second chance to walk in society again.”
Earlier,
another speaker, Ahad Nab, riffed on the father theme, said that Tarrant, the
son of a garbage collector, was himself a piece of trash who deserved to die
and be “buried in a landfill."
That
may not happen. The chances are, however, that the defendant’s death, whenever
it happens, will take place behind prison bars.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724751/world
--------
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
Leads UN Security Council Meeting on Islamic State Threat
BY
THE JAKARTA GLOBE
AUGUST
26, 2020
New
York. UN Security Council President Dian Triansyah Djani of Indonesia presided
over a meeting on the threat posed by terror network Islamic State to
international security and peace on Monday. Indonesia holds the rotating
presidency of the Council for the month.
The
video-teleconference discussed a recent report by Secretary-General António
Guterres regarding the issue and UN efforts in support of member states in
countering the threat.
Vladimir
Voronkov, the head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, told Council members
that the Islamic State and other terrorist groups continued to pose a serious
threat to the global security during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Since
the start of the year, we have seen contrasting regional disparities in the
threat trajectory. In conflict zones, the threat has increased, as evidenced by
ISIL’s regrouping and increasing activity in Iraq and the Syrian Arab Republic,
and among some of its regional affiliates,” Voronkov told the conference, using
another acronym of the terror network.
“However,
in non-conflict zones, the threat appears to have decreased in the short term.
Measures to minimize the spread of Covid-19, such as lockdowns and restrictions
on movement, seem to have reduced the risk of terrorist attacks in many
countries,” he added.
“Yet,
there is a continued trend of attacks by individuals inspired online and acting
alone or in small groups, which could be fueled by ISIL’s opportunistic
propaganda efforts during the COVID-19 crisis,” he warned.
It
remains unclear how the pandemic is affecting IS’ recruitment and fundraising
efforts, or whether there is a change in strategic direction under its new
leader, Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahman al-Mawla, Voronkov said.
The
previous IS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was killed during a US military
operation in Syria in 2019.
Voronkov
warned that the IS continues to consolidate its position in some parts of the
Middle East previously under its control, “operating increasingly confidently
and openly”.
More
than 10,000 IS fighters are estimated to be active in Iraq and Syria, moving
freely in small cells between the two countries, he said, adding that 2020 has
seen a “significant increase” in IS attacks in both countries compared to 2019.
“The
global threat from ISIL is likely to increase if the international community
fails to meet this challenge,” Voronkov said.
That
does the Secretary-General report say?
The
17-page report of the Secretary-General said that while coronavirus-related
curfews and travel restrictions “have complicated terrorist planning and
operations making it harder for terrorists to move, recruit, raise funds and
mount” in many countries, there is “a surge in ISIL activity in Iraq, the
Syrian Arab Republic and some of its regional affiliates”.
It
cautions that “terrorist groups see the uncertainty created by the pandemic as
a tactical advantage and a window of opportunity to strike while the attention
of most governments is turned towards the pandemic.”
The
report cites an estimate that the IS financial reserves stood at around $100
million.
“The
group continues to fundraise through different avenues, including kidnapping
for ransom, private donations, and some extortion of commercial activity. Funds
are also believed to accrue through crowd-sourced, online fundraising,” it
says.
“Appeals
to assist IS fighters and their families in camps are seen regularly across
social media platforms.”
The
impact from the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to humanitarian crisis related to
individuals with suspected links to IS, especially women and children, who are
stranded in camps or being held in the northeast of Syria.
“Member
states report concern among detainees and camp residents about contracting the
virus, adding to the existing problem of escapes and other uncontrolled
departures. Only limited progress has been made in overcoming legal, political
and practical hurdles for repatriation,” the report says.
“The
pandemic has diverted limited resources to address related issues and further
complicated access to and transport from holding facilities. The global threat
from ISIL is likely to increase in the medium- to long-term if the
international community fails to meet this challenge.”
Indonesian
Contribution
Many
countries are against the repatriation of IS fighters and their dependents from
Syria, but Indonesia is “working to facilitate the return of orphaned minors”,
the report says.
In
Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines have maintained pressure on IS
activities through counter-terrorism operations, many of which have succeeded
in disrupting planned attacks at early stages, the report says, warning that IS
affiliates continue to operate and find safe haven in the southern Philippines.
In
January, Indonesia hosted a regional meeting on “Gathering admissible evidence
in high-risk situations in order to bring terrorists to justice before national
criminal courts” arranged by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive
Directorate (CTED). The meeting was attended by participants from Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
In
the following month, CTED and Indonesia convened experts from Southeast Asian
member states to share regional good practices and identify gaps and challenges
in developing comprehensive and tailored prosecution, rehabilitation and
reintegration strategies.
https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-leads-un-security-council-meeting-on-islamic-state-threat
--------
Zahid
jumped the gun on grand coalition in Sabah, says analyst
Durie
Rainer Fong
August
26, 2020
KOTA
KINABALU: A political analyst said Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid
Hamidi jumped the gun by announcing his grand coalition proposal without first
speaking to Sabah political parties.
Romzi
Ationg of Universiti Malaysia Sabah said as a result, the announcement
backfired on Zahid after several Sabah parties thumbed their noses at the
suggestion.
“This
turn of events could have been avoided because it has now tarnished his image
and that of BN as well,” he told FMT.
“Sabah
politicians and parties view his call as a move to dominate them, thus,
suggesting that it is against the interest of all Sabahans in terms of greater
autonomy.
“This
also gives the impression that these leaders are not making any effort to
understand, respect and work with each other without someone trying to lead or
dominate them.
“Early
discussions should be held and only after a consensus is reached should any
announcement be made.”
Zahid,
who is also Umno president, had said over the weekend that talks were being
held with several parties in Sabah on the distribution of 73 seats ahead of the
Sabah state election.
“God
willing we will form a coalition of all these parties together with Sabah BN so
that there is only one coalition of political parties in Sabah,” he was
reported to have said.
The
parties he was referring to include Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS), STAR,
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), SAPP and Parti Cinta
Sabah (PCS).
However,
PCS, LDP and SAPP responded immediately, speaking up against his proposal.
PCS
president Anifah Aman replied that the party would contest on its own, in line
with its policy of working alone while LDP secretary-general Yong Wui Chung
said the party rejected any cooperation with BN and was adamant about remaining
an independent party.
SAPP
president Yong Teck Lee said his party has not held any talks with others,
including BN, aside from some informal meetings with Sabah PPBM chief Hajiji
Noor and STAR president Jeffrey Kitingan.
Meanwhile,
Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Pawi believes the proposal for a grand
coalition is an idea that may have come spontaneously from Zahid.
The
Bagan Datuk MP, he said, might have thought such an idea to unite the parties
would be easily accepted as it was the best way to achieve victory.
Awang
Azman said Zahid might have felt the smaller parties going it alone at the
polls next month would make it more difficult for BN to bring down their
political rivals.
“When
there is no solidarity between them, then it could be harder to go against
Warisan and its allies,” he said.
Awang
Azman, however, does not believe it is a question of parties from the peninsula
wanting to be dominant or taking charge.
“Don’t
forget DAP is also working with Warisan. This is a question of politicians
being greedy and confident but forgetting that without political cooperation,
it would be difficult to win,” he said.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/08/26/zahid-jumped-the-gun-on-grand-coalition-in-sabah-says-analyst/
--------
Johor
religious department deputy director and officer claim trial to cheating
RM100,000
26
Aug 2020
BY
BEN TAN
JOHOR
BARU, Aug 26 — A former Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ) deputy
director and officer claimed trial at the Sessions Court here today to charges
of deceiving the owner of a book printing company involving a loss of RM100,000
about four years ago.
The
two accused, attached to the department’s education division, pleaded not
guilty before Judge Kamarudin Kamsun after the charges were read separately.
According
to the charge sheet, Mohd Nasir Amir, 58, was charged with three counts of
cheating which prompted the owner of the company to hand over RM50,000
separately for payment of contributions to the Johor Religious Department
Education Division Welfare Body.
The
accused was charged with committing the offence from February 29 to September
30, 2016 between 7.30pm and 11.30pm at several different locations in Johor
Baru.
Meanwhile,
the second accused, Mohd Fauzi Arshad, 52, who is also a former JAINJ education
division officer, was charged with one count of cheating and deceiving the same
individual with a sum of RM50,000 allegedly for the royalty payment of the
authors of Buku Latihan Aktiviti (BLA) issued by the Johor Religious Teachers
Association.
The
accused was charged with committing the offence from April 18 to 20, 2016 at
the Iskandar Islamic Centre.
The
charges were under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Kamarudin
set bail at RM15,000 for both accused with one surety and the accused are
required to report to the nearest Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)
office every month.
The
prosecution was conducted by MACC public prosecutor Zander Lim, while the two
accused were represented by lawyer Rosli Kamaruddin.
The
court set September 29 for the re-mention date.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/08/26/johor-religious-department-deputy-director-and-officer-claim-trial-to-cheat/1897351
--------
IS
militants claim responsibility for Sulu blasts
Jeoffrey
Maitem
August
25, 2020
Islamic
State militants claimed responsibility for the two powerful bomb explosions
that killed 15 people and wounded 75 more – many of them civilians – on Jolo
island in Sulu on Monday. Shortly after the blasts that were blamed on Abu
Sayyaf in Jolo, Sulu, SITE Intelligence, a U.S.-based group that monitors
online communications among Muslim militant groups, reported that the IS East
Asia province had issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attacks.
The SITE also cited IS supporters across the globe rejoicing over the
casualties as a result of the bombings. Six civilians, seven soldiers, and a
police officer were killed in the blasts that went off in a busy street of Jolo
on Sunday, while 75 other people – including at least 48 civilians, 21
soldiers, and six police officers – were injured. One of the fatalities,
according to the military, was the “suicide bomber” who set off the secondary
bomb an hour after the first blast. Rommel Banlaoi, head of the Philippine
Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said the female militant
was an Indonesian national. “We suspect the female bomber was the daughter of
the suicide bomber who perpetrated the Jolo cathedral bombing last year,”
Banlaoi told a local radio station. “The Cathedral bombing happened recently,
and they are very familiar with the area. They’d known when to launch the
attack,” he added. The twin blast occurred just a few meters away from a
Catholic church where suicide bombers detonated bombs in January last year,
killing 23 people.
https://www.thejakartapost.com/seasia/2020/08/25/is-militants-claim-responsibility-for-sulu-blasts.html
--------
Arab World
In
latest UAE-Israel talks, defense ministers pledge to strengthen communications
Emily
Judd
25
August 2020
Defense
ministers of the UAE and Israel discussed peace and stability in the Middle
East during a phone call on Tuesday, state news agency WAM reported.
Emirati
Minister of State for Defense Affairs Mohammed bin Ahmad Al Bawardi and Israeli
Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed the historic peace agreement between the
two countries, which was announced on August 13.
“Both
ministers expressed their conviction that this accord will enhance the chances
of peace and stability in the region as it represents a positive step in this direction,”
WAM reported.
The
ministers also discussed strengthening communication channels as well as
establishing “solid bilateral relations” to benefit the UAE, Israel, and the
wider region.
On
Monday health ministers of the two countries discussed collaboration in the
healthcare field, especially the coronavirus pandemic.
UAE
Minister of Health and Prevention Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad Al Owais and
Israeli Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein discussed in a phone call “ways to
strengthen cooperation in the medical field,” with a focus on the
pharmaceutical industry and medical research, according to WAM.
“They
also discussed frameworks for cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19
pandemic,” the report said, adding that vaccine trials and treatments for the
coronavirus were also a topic of conversation.
Two
private companies in the UAE have already signed an agreement with two
companies in Israel to develop research and technology to fight COVID-19.
Known
as the “Abraham Accord,” the diplomatic agreement between the UAE and Israel is
set to establish bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, security,
telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, and other areas.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/08/25/In-latest-UAE-Israel-talks-defense-ministers-discuss-peace-in-the-Middle-East.html
--------
Abu
Dhabi Crown Prince and Pompeo discuss strengthening UAE-Israel deal
August
25, 2020
DUBAI:
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and the US secretary of state
have discussed how to strengthen the UAE’s peace deal with Israel.
Sheikh
Mohammed spoke with Mike Pompeo on the phone ahead of his visit to the Emirates
this week and after he met Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Monday.
They
discussed “strategic relations” between the US and the Emirates, UAE state news
agency WAM reported, as well as the deal signed with Israel on Aug.13.
The
agreement, brokered by Donald Trump, makes the UAE the third Arab country to
have full diplomatic relations with Israel in return for an end to Israeli
threats to annex Palestinian land.
In
Jerusalem on Monday, Pompeo said he hoped more Arab countries would reach
similar agreements with Israel.
In
the call with Sheikh Mohammed, they discussed the prospects for strengthening
the deal “in a way that serves the foundations of peace and stability in the
region.”
Pompeo
visited Sudan on Tuesday as part of his regional tour. He arrived in Bahrain in
the evening and, after leaving Manama, he will travel to the UAE where he will
meet UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh
Abdullah bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1724506/middle-east
--------
UN:
Over 10,000 Islamic State Fighters Active in Iraq, Syria
Aug.
24, 2020
UNITED
NATIONS — More than 10,000 Islamic State fighters are estimated to remain
active in Iraq and Syria two years after the militant group’s defeat, and their
attacks have significantly increased this year, the U.N. counter-terrorism
chief said Monday.
Vladimir
Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council that Islamic State fighters move freely
“in small cells between the two countries.”
He
said the Islamic State extremist group — also known as IS, ISIL and ISIS — has
regrouped and its activity has increased not only in conflict zones like Iraq
and Syria but also in some regional affiliates.
“However,
in non-conflict zones, the threat appears to have decreased in the short term,”
he said. “Measures to minimize the spread of COVID-19, such as lockdowns and
restrictions on movement, seem to have reduced the risk of terrorist attacks in
many countries.”
Nonetheless,
Voronkov said, “there is a continued trend of attacks by individuals inspired
online and acting alone or in small groups, which could be fueled by ISIL’s
opportunistic propaganda efforts during the COVID-19 crisis.”
He
said the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the challenges of eliminating the
threat of terrorism, pointing to actions by IS and other terrorist groups
seeking “to exploit the far-reaching disruption and negative socioeconomic and
political impacts of the pandemic.”
But
Voronkov said the pandemic’s impact on IS recruitment and fundraising
activities remains unclear, and there is no clear indication of a change in the
extremist group’s strategic direction under its leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi
al-Quraishi.
Turning
to Africa, Voronkov said the Islamic State in West Africa Province “remains a
major focus of ISIL global propaganda, and its total membership of
approximately 3,500 makes it one of the largest of the remote `provinces.’” He
said it continues to reinforce links with the Islamic State in the Greater
Sahara, “which remains the most dangerous group in the tri-border area of
Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Niger.”
While
IS only has “a few hundred fighters in Libya,” he said, they have been
exploiting ethnic tensions and represent “a potent threat capable of broader
regional impact.” He also pointed to worrying attacks by the Islamic State
Central Africa Province in Congo and Mozambique, “including complex attacks and
brief takeovers of villages.”
In
Europe, Voronkov said, the main threat comes from “Internet-driven, homegrown
terrorist radicalization,” citing three ISIL-inspired attacks in France and two
in the United Kingdom. He also noted “acute concerns ... about radicalization
and failed rehabilitation in prisons, and the imminent release of dangerous
inmates with a terrorism background or connections.”
In
Afghanistan, Voronkov said, ISIL’s affiliate has conducted high-profile attacks
in various parts of the country, including Kabul, and seeks to use Afghan
territory “to spread its influence across the region” and to attract fighters
who oppose the recent peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban.
Elsewhere
in Asia, ISIL claimed its first attack in the Maldives in April, he said, and
attacks on security forces in southeast Asia occur regularly though government
counter-terrorism operations have kept up pressure on the extremists.
Voronkov
said the COVID-19 crisis has further complicated “the already dire and unsustainable
situation” of thousands of people with suspected links to IS who are stranded
in camps in Syria and Iraq, especially women and children.
“Repatriation,
prosecution, rehabilitation, and reintegration and the protection of the
vulnerable have become ever more urgent,” he said.
While
some countries have repatriated their nationals, especially children, many have
not.
Voronkov
reiterated U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for all countries to
implement international law and bring home all their stranded women, men and
children.
“The
global threat from ISIL is likely to increase if the international community
fails to meet this challenge,” the head of the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism
warned.
U.S.
Ambassador Kelly Craft said the United States shares the secretary-general’s
concern and has brought back American citizens and prosecuted them where
appropriate.
Despite
the Islamic State's defeat on the battlefield, she said, “we must work together
to ensure that the population of detained foreign terrorist fighters as well as
their family members displaced in Syria and Iraq do not become the nucleus of
an ISIS 2.0.”
Russia’s
U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, whose country is Syria’s main ally, said the
global terrorist threat from ISIL remains high, and its leadership is planning
terrorist attacks in the border area between Syria and Iraq.
“At
the same time, the terrorists do not intend to give up plans to revive the
`caliphate' in Iraq,” he said. “ISIL continues to build up its combat potential
and is seeking to expand the area and scope of terrorist attacks in the
country.”
Nebenzia
said ISIL’s organization and tactics suggest “that it has now fully transformed
into a network structure with a high degree of autonomy of branches and
`sleeping cells’ in various countries and regions of the world.”
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/08/24/world/middleeast/ap-un-united-nations-fighting-terrorism.html?searchResultPosition=6&utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1468106_
--------
Iraqi
MP: US Embassy Masterminding Unrests in Basra
Aug
25, 2020
“The
violence and sabotage acts against the governmental bodies in al-Nasseriyah and
Basra are similar to those in al-Anbar,” Mohammed al-Baldawi was quoted by the
Arabic-language al-Ma’alomeh news website as saying on Tuesday.
He
blamed the US embassy and the CIA for designing and implementating terrorist
acts and plots to foment insecurity and chaos in Southern Iraq, warning that
Washington wants to change the equations in the country with the help of its
mercenaries.
Al-Baldawi
called on the security authorities to keep vigilant about the moves made by the
US mission in Basra and Baghdad.
Iraqi
Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi arrived in Basra to meet with security
officials on Saturday night, just hours after returning from his official visit
to the US, following days of protests in the Southern city.
The
prime minister was accompanied by a high-ranking security delegation that
included the defesce minister, and the heads of the national security agency
and Counter-Terrorism Services.
Demonstrators
clashed with security forces, hurling Molotov cocktails. At least eight
security personnel were injured in the clashes, said Ali Al Bayati, spokesman
for the Independent High Commission for Human Rights.
In
similar remarks on Sunday, al-Baldawi had said that the US and certain Persian
Gulf Arab states are involved in the chaos and unrests in Basra in Southern
Iraq.
“Those
who coax people into violence are the mercenaries of the US and the Persian
Gulf Arab states and they aim to carry out acts of sabotage and stir chaos,”
Mohammed al-Baldawi was quoted by the Arabic-language al-Mawazin news website
as saying on Sunday.
He
added that the US and its Arab allies have started plots to set fire to
Southern Iraq after implementing similar plots in the Northern and Western
provinces of the country by using the ISIL terrorist group.
“The
regional powers are behind the violence and chaos witnessed in Basra and Dhi
Qar provinces,” al-Baldawi said.
https://en.farsnews.ir/newstext.aspx?nn=13990604000424
--------
Israel
strikes Lebanon Hezbollah posts after shots fired towards troops: Military
26
August 2020
Israeli
aircraft struck posts belonging to the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah early on
Wednesday after shots were fired from Lebanon towards its troops, Israel's
military said.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
No
Israeli troops were wounded in the firing, the military said. Soldiers deployed
illumination flares, smoke shells and live fire after the shots from the
Lebanese side of the frontier, it said.
“In
response, overnight, IDF attack helicopters and aircraft struck observation
posts belonging to the Hezbollah terror organization in the border area,” the
military said in a statement, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
There
was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.
Tension
has been running high on the border. Last month, Israel said Hezbollah carried
out an infiltration attempt, which the Iran-backed group denied.
The
Israeli military said it lifted a curfew it had imposed overnight.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/26/Israel-strikes-Lebanon-Hezbollah-posts-after-shots-fired-towards-troops-Military.html
--------
Lebanon’s
leading candidate to form a new government withdraws from race
25
August 2020
The
leading candidate to form a new government in Lebanon withdrew his name and
backed out of the race Tuesday, amid growing calls by protesters for an
independent government free of traditional political parties.
Former
Prime Minister Saad Hariri asked all MPs to withdraw his name from any
potential political consultations with the president aimed at designating a new
premier.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“I
had committed not to take a political position before … having completed
contacts with friendly countries, the international community and Lebanese
political forces,” Hariri said in a statement.
Lebanon
has been without a government since Aug. 10 when now caretaker-Prime Minister
Hassan Diab announced his resignation as a result of the Beirut explosions,
which left close to 200 people dead and thousands more injured.
French
President Emmanuel Macron visited Beirut in the days after the deadly blasts
and called for a national unity government agreed upon by all political sides.
Read
more: French President Macron rips into Lebanese political elite after Beirut explosions
However,
protesters expressed their frustration with the entire ruling elite and called
for a government independent of traditional political parties, allied with
various regional and international axes.
Hariri
stepped down as prime minister in October 2019 after nationwide anti-government
protests erupted in Lebanon, demanding an end to corruption and frustrated with
a crumbling economy and dire living standards.
In
the days and weeks after the Aug. 4 explosions, the international community has
rushed to send humanitarian aid to the Lebanese people, often stressing
willingness to deal directly with the residents and not the government.
“I
consider that the renewed international interest in our country … represents an
opportunity which could be the last … to achieve a series of reforms that the
Lebanese have demanded,” Hariri said Tuesday.
Hariri
thanked those who put his name forward as a candidate to head a new government,
while he criticized “certain political forces” for still being in a state of
“several denial of the reality of Lebanon.”
“I
declare that I am not a candidate to head the new government and I call on
everyone to withdraw my name from the deliberations in this regard.,” Hariri
said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/2020/08/25/Lebanon-s-leading-candidate-to-form-a-new-government-withdraws-from-race.html
--------
Lebanon
central bank governor says he hopes depositors will recuperate their money
25
August 2020
Lebanon's
Central Bank Riad Salameh on Tuesday said that he is opposed to a haircut being
imposed on depositors, and that he hopes that Lebanese will recuperate their
money - though warning that this may take time.
Speaking
on Arab News' French edition, Salameh said he supports French President
Emmanuel Macron's proposal for a central bank audit by experts from the Banque
du France, the French central bank.
In
July, it was reported that Salameh had inflated the central bank's assets by
over $6 billion in 2018. Beginning in 2016, a series of unprecedented and
shadowy financial engineering mechanisms were used to prop up the country's
economy, with recent findings highlighting the extent of the unorthodox
financial system.
Salameh,
in the same interview, said the central bank cannot use its obligatory reserve
to finance trade.
“Once
we reach the threshold of these reserves we are obliged to stop providing
finance,” he said.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
country’s foreign reserves have remained critically low for a nearly a year now,
and, in March 2020, the country defaulted on its $1.2 billion Eurobond payment,
citing the need to pay for essential goods. The central bank had said that it
would only honor the official pegged exchange rate for imports of wheat,
medicine, and fuel. Food imports are now brought in at a rate more than double
the pegged rate of 1,507 Lebanese lira to the US dollar.
As
the country’s banking system slips further into chaos, the long-serving central
bank governor also said he opposed a haircut on depositors.
However,
because of the rapid devaluation of the currency and a series of ad hoc capital
controls on bank accounts, Lebanese have already seen the value of their
savings plummet.
Salameh
said the intention is for depositors to recuperate their money, although he
also said it could be a while before the money is returned.
Lebanon
is currently in the midst of its worst economic crisis since the end of its
15-year civil war in 1990. A deadly explosion at the Port of Beirut August 4
that left 181 dead and vast swaths of the city destroyed as added insult to
injury, with the economy expected to sink further into recession following the
blast.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/25/Lebanon-central-bank-governor-says-he-favors-French-proposal-for-central-bank-audit.html
--------
A
collapsing economy and a family feud pile pressure on Syria's Assad
26
August 2020
In
May, Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf, a cousin and long-time ally of President
Bashar al-Assad, took a once unimaginable step.
In
a video he published on social media, he lashed out against Assad's “inhumane”
state security forces. “Mr. President, the security forces have started
attacking people's freedoms,” Makhlouf said.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
outburst shocked Syrians and exposed a rift at the heart of the ruling elite.
Never before had such a senior figure spoken out against the regime from within
Damascus.
Through
Syria's 10-year civil war, Makhlouf had helped Assad evade Western sanctions on
fuel and other goods vital to his military campaign. He was part of the
president's inner circle, accused by the United States of exploiting his
proximity to power to enrich himself “at the expense of ordinary Syrians.” His
business empire spanned telecoms, energy, real estate and hotels, looming large
over Syria's economy.
But
now the two men were locked in a battle over money. Security forces had
recently raided Makhlouf's telecoms company, Syriatel, in a tax dispute and
detained dozens of employees for questioning.
Makhlouf's
public defiance showed that a threat to Assad's iron rule may ultimately come,
not from the battlefield, but from once loyal allies and Syria's collapsing
economy. In a nation where criticism of the ruler is rarely tolerated, Makhlouf
has been able to speak out, people familiar with the matter say, because of the
family connection and because he is well regarded in the Alawite Muslim
community that dominates the top echelons of Syria's leadership. Makhlouf and
Assad are both Alawite.
Reuters
spoke to more than 30 sources - including people close to the Assad and
Makhlouf families, local businessmen, and Western intelligence officials - and
reviewed official documents to chart the breakdown of a family alliance that
stretched back two generations. Many of the sources declined to be named
because of the sensitivity of the matter.
In
interviews, these sources described how:
•
In expanding his business empire over two decades, Makhlouf kept some of his
wealth hidden from the president.
•
In May 2019, Assad instructed Syria's intelligence chief to track down
Makhlouf's estimated billions of dollars of riches stashed abroad.
•
After a decade of war, Assad is so desperate for cash that in Sept 2019 the
central bank summoned Syrian tycoons to a meeting and ordered them to hand over
some of their fortunes.
“Makhlouf
has brought into the open the feud within the regime,” said a person with ties
to the Assad family.
The
Syrian Information Ministry didn't respond to detailed questions for this
story. Questions emailed to Makhlouf via his son went unanswered. Syriatel
didn't comment.
The
rise
The
financial arrangement between the Assad and Makhlouf families began with the
fathers.
Assad's
father, Hafez, an air force officer from a mountain village, seized power in a
military coup in 1970. He turned to Makhlouf's father, Mohamed, to manage the
money, derived from state-controlled industries and contract commissions, that
would shore up his rule. Mohamed, known as Abu Rami, had financial skills that
Hafez lacked.
“The
Makhlouf side was generally better educated and refined, so they could help out
with the finances, which is something the Assads were not good at and didn't
have the education for,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria specialist and head of the
Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. “They were also
better at dealing with the people of Damascus and Aleppo, who dominate Syria's
economy.”
Makhlouf
senior reaped extensive rewards from the relationship. In the 1970s, he was
appointed head of the General Organization of Tobacco, which had a monopoly
over the industry in Syria. A decade later he expanded his business interests
as chief of the state-owned Real Estate Bank and acted as middleman for
government contracts.
The
sons grew up together and were close. As a young man, Rami Makhlouf “used to go
to Assad's residence and open the fridge like any family member,” said a former
business associate of Makhlouf.
Ayman
Abdel Nour met both men at Damascus University in the 1980s when he was a
teaching assistant and they were students. Abdel Nour now lives in the United
States. Makhlouf and Assad were so close that even their mannerisms were
similar, Abdel Nour said. “Rami would sit very calmly, in a way that was
similar to Bashar. He copied his personality because they grew up together.”
Bashar's
mother, Anisa, was Rami's aunt. With a strong personality and deep political
influence, she lobbied for her nephew within the family and was instrumental in
his rise, said people who know the family. As his father aged, Rami smoothly
took over the responsibilities as money manager for the Assads.
In
the early 2000s Syria enjoyed rapid economic growth and Makhlouf's business
flourished. The jewel in the crown was telecoms firm Syriatel. The company has
grown from a few hundred thousand subscribers in the early 2000s to around 11
million, according to Makhlouf. “Rami built Syriatel into a sophisticated
business that many of Syria's best and brightest wanted to work for,” said
Landis.
Makhlouf
drew the attention of the United States. In 2008, the US Treasury imposed
sanctions on the tycoon, describing him as “one of the primary centers of
corruption in Syria.” The Treasury alleged he manipulated the justice system
and used state intelligence officials to intimidate rivals and acquire
exclusive licenses to represent foreign firms in Syria. His ties to Assad
brought him lucrative oil exploration and power plant projects, the Treasury
said.
“Rami
Makhlouf has used intimidation and his close ties to the Assad regime to obtain
improper business advantages at the expense of ordinary Syrians,” Stuart Levey,
then Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said at the
time.
Makhlouf,
who rarely spoke in public, didn't respond to the sanctions.
When
protesters took to the streets calling for Assad's overthrow in 2011, their
chants were also directed against “the thief” Makhlouf. As the popular uprising
turned into a civil war and then a multifaceted conflict, Makhlouf helped power
Assad's military campaign with fuel and other imports.
Behind
Assad's back, he was also feathering his own nest, said more than a dozen
sources with knowledge of the matter. A former business associate and a banker
said Makhlouf had created a network of front companies, including in
neighboring Lebanon, where he generated his own money separate from the funds
Assad asked him to place in safe havens on behalf of the ruling family. They
didn't quantify the sums of money involved.
In
a post on social media on July 26 of this year, Makhlouf conceded that he set
up such firms, but insisted “these companies' role and aim is to circumvent
sanctions,” not to enrich himself.
Among
Makhlouf's interests outside Syria was a Beirut law practice called Middle East
Law Firm SAL. Publicly available data show the firm was set up in 2001 by
Makhlouf, his brother and Lebanese partners. According to Lebanon's Commercial
Register, the law firm continues to operate, and its activities include the
management of companies inside and outside Lebanon and foreign trade
transactions. Reuters couldn't reach the law firm or its partners for comment,
nor could the agency determine whether Makhlouf plays any role there today.
One
former business associate with first-hand knowledge said that Makhlouf set up
entities in Jersey and the Virgin Islands. “Makhlouf would buy supplies and
equipment for the government from companies that he ultimately owns. He would
create these shell companies that would be suppliers,” said the former
associate, a shareholder in Makhlouf's Cham Holding, a real estate developer.
Makhlouf's
personal wealth has been estimated by Syrian business associates at between $5
billion and $15 billion. Its true scale is a closely held secret. In one of his
recent video appearances, Makhlouf said profits from his businesses were used
for charitable causes, such as funding injured war veterans and bereaved
families, via a holding company he owns.
The
fall
With
the help of Russia and Iran, Assad has turned the tide of Syria's war. But
victory on the battlefield has come at a cost.
Syria's
economy is in ruins. The Syrian pound has lost almost 80 percent of its value
over a decade of war. The fighting has caused tens of billions of dollars'
worth of damage, disrupted agriculture, devastated industry and wiped out
foreign currency flows from tourism and oil exports. Inflation is rampant and
many Syrians are struggling to afford even basics such as food and power. Eight
in 10 people live below the poverty line in Syria, according to the United
Nations.
While
Russia has backed Assad militarily and with food supplies, its intervention
isn't for free. Syria has to pay for much of the Russian wheat it imports and
for weaponry.
In
recent months, a banking crisis in neighboring Lebanon has cut off a vital
source of dollars for the regime, worsening the economic shock and aggravating
already strained money relations between Assad and Makhlouf.
While
much of Syria lies in ruin, two of Makhlouf's sons have been living lives of
luxury. On social media, they posted pictures, many since deleted, of fancy
sports cars, a private jet and opulent homes.
In
one video, in the summer of 2019, Mohamed Makhlouf, one of Rami's sons,
appeared driving a Ferrari in the South of France. The camera zoomed in on the
speedometer as he revved the engine. Another video showed him at a beach party
on the Greek island of Mykonos. Someone commented beneath the post: “It's been
45 years and they are still stealing from the people.”
As
the economy imploded, Assad became determined to bring home the billions of
dollars held by Makhlouf in offshore companies, said more than a dozen sources.
These sources include well-connected people in Syria's financial community, an
official with ties to Assad's government and Western intelligence sources.
In
the summer of 2019, Assad and his brother Maher, head of the Republican Guard
that defends Assad's seat of power in Damascus, met with Ali Mamlouk, the head
of Syria's intelligence agency, the General Intelligence Directorate. At that
meeting, the Assads told Mamlouk to track down Makhlouf's wealth overseas, said
a person allied with the Syrian government and a Western intelligence source
who was briefed about the meeting. Reuters couldn't independently verify this
account. Syrian authorities didn't respond to questions about the matter.
“It
was time to put the house in order” now that the security pressures on the
regime had eased after containing the insurgency, said the Western intelligence
source.
A
first sign of Makhlouf's fall from grace came in December 2019, when Syria's
customs directorate accused Makhlouf and some other businessmen of importing
goods without declaring their real value. The order, which was reviewed by
Reuters, froze the assets of Makhlouf and his wife. It was signed by Syria's
finance minister. Makhlouf has since said he paid seven billion Syrian pounds
($3 million) to settle the dispute. Syrian authorities didn't comment.
The
sums accumulated abroad by Makhlouf - estimated in excess of $10 billion by
members of Syria's business community - are of real economic consequence. One
Western diplomat said repatriating the money “is of existential importance for
the regime.”
Though
he caved in the customs dispute, Makhlouf has resisted surrendering his vast
holdings. He told the president to seek dollars elsewhere, from other tycoons,
said bankers and business associates familiar with the matter.
Starting
early this year, Syrian security forces began a campaign of arrests that netted
dozens of employees at Makhlouf's Syriatel, without legal explanation. Sources
in Syria said people were arrested, sometimes released and then re-arrested.
Reuters couldn't determine whether any charges have been brought. A Damascus
banker with knowledge of the matter said the employees were questioned about
fund transfers to front companies set up by Makhlouf in the British Virgin
Islands and Jersey.
“They
were interrogating them over the details of offshore companies that have signed
management deals with Syriatel,” said the Damascus banker. He did not
elaborate, and Reuters couldn't determine whether any money had been
repatriated.
A
businessman said the detentions were designed to send a message to those
working for Makhlouf “that he is in disgrace.”
The
rift between Assad and Makhlouf burst into public view on April 30, when
Makhlouf posted the first of three videos to social media. In the videos, he
said the government had asked him to step down from his companies, including
Syriatel. He also spoke of threats by unspecified people in the regime to
revoke Syriatel's license and seize its assets if he did not comply.
On
May 19, 2020, the finance ministry froze the assets of Makhlouf, his wife and
an unspecified number of his at least two children, according to a document
reviewed by Reuters. It also ordered that overseas assets should be seized “to
guarantee payment of dues to the telecom regulatory authority.” The government
has said Syriatel owes the telecom regulator 134 billion Syrian pounds ($60
million) relating to the terms of the company's license. Makhlouf insisted in
one of his social media posts that he stands ready to pay.
A
separate order banned Makhlouf from obtaining government contracts for five
years.
A
former business associate said years of acting as Assad's trusted money keeper
and family treasurer made Makhlouf feel like a partner. “Makhlouf was telling
his cousins (the Assads), ‘we are partners,’ and it has shocked him they are
now telling him, ‘no you are not, you are just serving us,’” said the
associate, who used to work with Makhlouf.
Hunt
for cash
As
Makhlouf has fallen, others have stepped into his place.
One
powerful man who has emerged at the top of a new elite is Samer Foz, a building
contractor turned commodities trader. Foz, a Sunni Muslim, was sanctioned by
the United States in June 2019, along with more than a dozen individuals and
companies, for providing financial support to Assad.
“Samer
Foz, his relatives, and his business empire have leveraged the atrocities of
the Syrian conflict into a profit-generating enterprise,” then Undersecretary
for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker, said in a statement.
“This Syrian oligarch is directly supporting the murderous Assad regime and
building luxury developments on land stolen from those fleeing his brutality.”
Foz
didn't comment for this article, telling Reuters: “You can write what you want.
I have nothing to say to the press.”
In
September 2019, central bank governor Hazem Karfoul assembled some of Syria's
wealthiest players for a closed-door meeting at the Damascus Sheraton. Syrian
media have previously reported that the meeting took place, but details of what
was discussed are revealed here for the first time.
On
the surface, the gathering was projected to the public as an effort to
strengthen the struggling currency through donations from Syria's wealthy
elite. But the meeting was not about charity, said three sources briefed by
people who attended.
The
central bank governor listed the businessmen's properties and other assets, and
the lucrative deals they had struck. He suggested their fortunes could be
seized if they did not give a significant contribution to state coffers.
Foz
pledged $10 million, according to the sources. The central bank governor told
him that wasn't enough, to which Foz replied, “consider it a first payment,”
one of the sources said. Foz didn't comment.
“This
was to show that these merchants of war were being pressured to do their bit
for the country,” said a business executive who is close to some of the
attendees and a personal friend of the central bank governor. “Everyone knows
who they are and how they made their wealth and who they work for.”
Syria's
central bank didn't respond to Reuters' questions about the meeting.
“We
shouldn’t disagree”
In
recent months, Makhlouf has been projecting himself as a spiritual man, in an
apparent attempt to appeal to members of the faith practiced by the minority
Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, to which Makhlouf and Assad belong.
Reuters couldn't determine how Makhlouf's messages are being received in the
community. People were reluctant to discuss the matter with Reuters by phone.
The
Alawites rose to dominate the political system in majority Sunni Syria after controlling
the army following a coup that brought the Baath Party to power in 1963. The
Alawites' influence has spread to business, undermining a Sunni merchant
establishment that had traditionally dominated commerce.
One
of Makhlouf's social media posts after the rift became public was a prayer
asking God to end the injustice against him, written in the Alawite dialect.
Commenting
on Makhlouf's social media posts and his messaging, a financial adviser
involved in transactions with him before 2011 said the videos were clearly made
to appeal to the loyalist Alawite camp.
“He
is telling Bashar, ‘We are defenders of our community, we should not
disagree.’”
In
a recent post, on July 9, Makhlouf remained defiant. Arrests of his employees,
he said, hadn't stopped. “Now it's only our women who are left,” he said. “Even
so, they didn't get what they wanted to force us to surrender.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2020/08/26/A-collapsing-economy-and-a-family-feud-pile-pressure-on-Syria-s-Assad.html
--------
Iraqi
protesters brace for more violence in wake of assassinations
Ali
Mamouri
Aug
24, 2020
Violence
against protesters in Iraq has been rising sharply in recent days, especially
after Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi traveled to Washington for the
second round of the country's strategic dialogue with the United States.
Immediately
after returning from the United States, Kadhimi traveled to Basra with a number
of his ministers to follow up on the rising violence against protesters in the
oil-rich southern province.
He
visited the family of Riham Yacoub, a female doctor and activist who was
assassinated in Basra on Aug. 19.
Speaking
to Yacoub's family during his visit, Kadhimi said, “I swear by the blood of the
martyr (Yacoub) that the criminals will not escape punishment no matter how
long it takes, and that the blood of the martyr Hisham al-Hashimi and the
martyr Tahseen Osama (a female activist killed in Basra by unidentified gunmen
on Aug. 19) will not be wasted.”
Kadhimi
had made the same promise when he visited the family of murdered Iraqi analyst
Hisham al-Hashimi on July. 6. No one has been charged with his killing, nor
have the results of any investigation been released.
This
rise in the number of assassinations comes in conjunction with dissatisfaction
expressed by some Iraqi militias with Kadhimi's trip to the United States and
the lack of a timetable for the departure of US troops. Although US President
Donald Trump repeated earlier claims that US troops will eventually leave Iraq,
those calling for an imminent withdrawal nonetheless criticized Kadhimi, and
the militias resumed their attacks inside Iraq.
The
Iraqi government's failure to bring the perpetrators of these recent
assassinations to justice has led many public figures and groups to call for
taking up arms to protect protesters and activists.
Famous
Iraqi novelist Ahmed Saadawi, who in 2014 won the International Prize for
Arabic Fiction, published a Facebook post on Aug. 20 calling on Iraqi tribes to
take up arms to defend protesters, who are being killed in southern provinces.
“O
brave warrior tribes! Where are your arms and your courage for your protesting
children who are killed in daylight and in cold blood?” Saadawi wrote. “If the
government is not undertaking its responsibility to protect the citizens, are
you unable to protect your children from these criminal gangs?!”
Omar
al-Jammal, a prominent activist, tweeted on Aug. 22, “It is now time to form
‘The Revolution Protection Brigades’ and stop the killers of the October
heroes” — referring to those participating in the ongoing protests that started
last October. He also posted on his Facebook page: “Take up your arm into your
pocket and protect yourself … they had killed Hisham al-Hashimi and Riham
Yacoub and many others before you.”
Following
the increase in assassinations and the call to take up arms, several tribal men
from Muthanna governorate appeared in a video on Aug. 23 holding weapons in
their hands, condemning the recent assassinations and declaring their readiness
to protect the protesters against the killers.
The
current situation is very similar to the Sunni uprising in 2013 before the rise
of the Islamic State that took over a third of Iraq in the middle of 2014. The
uprising started when groups of civil protesters began demanding their civil
rights in Sunni provinces in northern and western Iraq.
At
the time, the Shiite religious authority in Najaf expressed full support to the
protesters and their legitimate demands, calling upon former Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki’s government to respond to their demands and avoid using
violence against them.
But
Maliki's government not only neglected their demands but also suppressed
protests by violent methods, leading to hundreds being killed in Hawija in
Kirkuk province and other Sunni areas. This came in conjunction with a rise of
unidentified gunmen killing activists and public figures in the Sunni areas.
These developments gradually led to rising sympathy toward armed groups calling
for confrontation with the government forces and unidentified militias.
Finally, the expansion of chaos and violence prepared for the quick fall of
Sunni areas into the hands of terrorist groups.
The
current protests have also been following the same patterns. The civil,
peaceful protests that started last year have faced severe violence, and the
government turned deaf ears to it despite the support of the religious
authority in Najaf. The violence and chaos have been increasing, while the
government is unable to impose order and stop the violence, identify the
perpetrators and prosecute them.
https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/08/iraq-basra-protests-militias.html?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1468106_
--------
North America
US
criticizes Erdogan for meeting with Hamas leadership, warns of Turkish
isolation
25
August 2020
The
United States Tuesday publicly criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan for meeting with a Palestinian extremist group’s leaders who are
designated terrorists by Washington and have a $5 million bounty for any
information on their whereabouts.
Erdogan
met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and his deputy, Saleh al-Arouri, last
weekend in Istanbul and posted a picture of the meeting on the Turkish
presidency’s social media.
For
all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
“President
Erdogan’s continued outreach to this terrorist organization only serves to
isolate Turkey from the international community, harms the interests of the
Palestinian people, and undercuts global efforts to prevent terrorist attacks
launched from Gaza,” a statement from the US State Department said.
The
statement made note that this was the second time Erdogan hosted the Hamas
delegation to Turkey. The first public meeting was Feb. 1.
Read
more: Turkey provides Hamas militant operatives with citizenship: Telegraph
“The
United States strongly objects to Turkish President Erdogan hosting two Hamas
leaders in Istanbul on August 22,” the statement added.
Erdogan
has come under increased scrutiny for his political and military moves in
recent months. The European Union has expressed its frustration with Erdogan
and his policies of interference in foreign nations. France has been one of the
most outspoken critics. French President Emmanuel Macron has lambasted Turkey
for its “aggressive” behavior.
Turkey
has also defied US calls to refrain from purchasing Russian air defense
systems. This led to the US kicking Turkey out of its F-35 fighter jet program.
“We
continue to raise our concerns about the Turkish government’s relationship with
Hamas at the highest levels,” the State Department said Tuesday.
Al
Arabiya English previously reported about growing calls in Washington to
condemn Turkey's behavior. Bipartisan efforts are mounting to change US policy
toward Ankara.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/25/US-criticizes-Erdogan-for-meeting-with-Hamas-leadership-warns-of-Turkish-isolation.html
--------
US
Secretary Pompeo says he hopes for improved Israel-Arab ties during Mideast
trip
24
August 2020
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday said he hoped other Arab countries
would soon establish diplomatic relations with Israel as he kicked off a
Mideast tour to build on the momentum of the recent US-brokered deal between
Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Pompeo
spoke during a joint statement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
in Jerusalem, the first stop on a multi-country tour of the region following
the Aug. 13 agreement by Israel and the UAE to establish diplomatic ties.
“I
am hopeful that we will see other Arab nations join in this,” Pompeo said. “The
opportunity for them to work alongside, to recognize the state of Israel and to
work alongside them will not only increase Middle East stability, but it will
improve the lives for the people of their own countries as well.”
Both
Pompeo and Netanyahu criticized the lack of international support for the US
demand for the restoration of UN sanctions against Iran.
After
failing to extend an arms embargo on Iran, the Trump administration has been
pushing at the Security Council to have “snapback” sanctions imposed over what
Washington says is Iran’s violation of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
The Trump administration withdrew the US from that agreement in 2018.
“We
are determined to use every tool that we have to ensure they can’t get access
to high-end weapon systems,” Pompeo said. “The rest of the world should join
us.”
Earlier
this month, the US, Israel and the UAE announced the deal to establish full
diplomatic relations, which also requires Israel to freeze its plans to annex
parts of the occupied West Bank sought by the Palestinians as part of their
future state.
Netanyahu
called the agreement “a boon to peace and regional stability” that “heralds a
new era where we could have other nations join.”
He
also said the agreement does not include Israel’s acceptance of the sale of
sophisticated weaponry to the Emirates.
President
Donald Trump said last week that the US is now reviewing an Emirati request to
buy advanced F-35 warplanes.
Pompeo
later met Netanyahu’s partner in the government, Defense Minister Benny Gantz,
as well as Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.
After
his Israel stop, Pompeo was slated to visit Sudan, the UAE and Bahrain, with
additional stops in the Gulf possible, the State Department had said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/24/US-Secretary-Pompeo-says-he-hopes-for-improved-Israel-Arab-ties-during-Mideast-trip.html
--------
Pompeo
pulls aerial stunt to push Sudan-Israel ties
25
August 2020
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flies directly from Tel Aviv to the Sudanese
capital of Khartoum and uses the flight, which he called an “official” first,
to push the establishment of relations between the Israeli regime and the
Sudanese government.
Pompeo’s
airplane took off on a direct flight from the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to
the Sudanese capital on Tuesday, a day after he met with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu in the occupied Jerusalem al-Quds and amid Washington’s bid
to push a normalization of relations between Israel and Sudan.
“Happy
to announce that we are on the FIRST official NONSTOP flight from Israel to
Sudan!,” Pompeo tweeted midair on Tuesday, before landing in Khartoum and
meeting with Abdalla Hamdok, the prime minister of the transitional government
there.
The
Tel Aviv regime and Khartoum do not have diplomatic relations, but Sudan’s
leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who heads the ruling council in the
country, met with Netanyahu in Uganda in February.
That
meeting was not immediately made public. Public and government support for the
Palestinian cause runs strong in Sudan. The Khartoum-Tel Aviv relationship has
also historically been hostile.
Netanyahu
revealed the meeting only later, when he also spoke of an agreement he said had
been reached with Sudan to “begin cooperation that will lead to the
normalization of relations.”
Also
in February, Netanyahu said Sudan had opened its airspace to Israeli aircraft
for the first time. He said a private Israeli jet had used Sudanese airspace to
travel from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Tel Aviv.
Sudan
has long been part of a decades-old Arab boycott of Israel over its treatment
of the Palestinians and its occupation of Arab lands. Recently, however, some
Arab governments have been cozying up to the Israeli regime.
The
US recently announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had “normalized”
relations with the Tel Aviv regime, becoming the third Arab government — after
Egypt and Jordan — to establish relations with Israel.
The
announcement was met with strong backlash on the Arab street.
The
Sudanese government seems to be still testing the waters.
Last
Tuesday, Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Haidar Badawi Sadiq revealed in
an interview with Sky News Arabic that “there is no reason for the hostility to
continue between Sudan and Israel.”
He
said the ministry “does not deny the existence of communication between the
two” sides.
Netanyahu
was quick to express his enthusiasm, saying Tel Aviv would “do everything to
make this vision [of relations] a reality.”
However,
Sadiq was relieved of his duties over “unauthorized” comments a day later, with
Sudanese Foreign Minister Omer Ismail saying that his ministry “didn’t discuss
the possibility of relations with Israel in any way.”
Meanwhile,
during his stopover in Khartoum, Pompeo among other things discussed the
removal of Sudan’s name from the US government’s list of “state sponsors of
terrorism,” according to Hamdok, the Sudanese prime minister.
The
Sudanese military staged a coup in April last year, ousting long-time ruler
Omar al-Bashir.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/08/25/632581/Pompeo-flight-Israel-Sudan
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/kolkata-khilafat-committee-appeals-muslims/d/122727