Marriage Of Muslim Girl Above 15 Valid: Punjab-Haryana High Court Unites Husband-Wife
New Age Islam News Bureau
29 October 2022
• Imran Khan Begins Long March For ‘Real Freedom’,
Brands ISI Chief 'Dirty Harry'
• Infighting Between Taliban And Haqqanis Have
Potential To Ignite Civil War In Afghanistan: Report
• 5 Former European Foreign Ministers Accuse Israel Of
Being 'Apartheid State'
• Halloween Revellers Experience Glory And Gore On
Riyadh Boulevard
India
• Tamil Nadu ‘suicide bomber’ planned to hit temple,
homes: NIA sleuths
• Rise Above Political Differences To Address
Terrorism, 26/11 Will Never Be Forgotten: India At UN Meet
• India plays Pakistani terrorist and 26/11
conspirator Sajid Mir's tape at UNSC CTC meet in Mumbai
• Key conspirators and planners of 26/11 attacks
continue to remain protected and unpunished: Jaishankar
• Organisation of Islamic Cooperation reiterates
'self-determination' for J&K
• MP: Bajrang Dal Activists Nab Man From Hotel, Hand
Him Over To Cops Citing ‘Love Jihad’
• As Hindutva Has Grown, So Have Websites Reporting On
India’s Embattled Muslims
• Marathi, non-Marathi Muslims back Uddhav’s inclusive
Hindutva
--------
Pakistan
• Islam A Religion of Peace, Security, Moderation:
Pakistani Official
• Speakers call for efforts to promote science studies
in Urdu
• Pakistan ex-PM Imran admits he offered extension to
army chief Bajwa
• $10bn Saudi investment on the cards, says PM
• Pro-PTI protester held near Nawaz’s home in London
• Pakhtun leaders vow not to tolerate terrorists on
their soil
• Hazara ATC grants bail to 80 TLP workers
--------
South
Asia
• Afghanistan: Taliban Uses Hamas Meeting To Send A
Message To The Muslim World
• Christians decry lack of justice in Bangladesh
• Taliban Approves Conservation Work On Historic Afghan
Synagogue, Mikveh
• Two senior TTP commanders killed in Afghanistan
--------
Europe
• UK rights group slams broad 'illegality',
anti-Muslim trait of govt.’s anti-terror plan
• Russia announces trilateral meeting with Azerbaijan,
Armenia on Monday
• Bosnia and Herzegovina has a place in the EU: EU
Commission head
• Far-right wants to profit from energy crisis, says
German domestic intelligence agency
--------
Arab
World
• ‘Out Of Question’: Lebanon’s Aoun Rules Out Peace
With Israel
• Saudi Arabia’s King, Crown Prince Send Well Wishes
ToIraq’s New Government
• Saudi Arabia, China foreign affairs ministers
discuss expansion of ties
• Lebanon’s president hits out as failing nation heads
toward political vacuum
• Iraq’s new government unlikely to solve crises
• Independent, strong Iraq will promote regional
security: President Raeisi
--------
Mideast
• Iran Blasts So-Called Human Rights Advocates for
Silence
• Hamas, Islamic Jihad vow Palestinian resistance will
continue until Israel defeated
• Türkiye’s Diyanet Opens Its First Mosque InHouston
• Iran is an ever more ‘relevant’ problem, nuclear
watchdog chief says
• Election polls predict Israel’s Netanyahu just shy
of victory
• Demonstrators in Iran’s Zahedan chant ‘death to
Khamenei’ as protests persist
• Two killed after police open fire at demonstrators
in Iran’s Zahedan: Activists
• Iran withholding bodies of protesters from families:
UN
• Protests over death of Mahsa Amini continue across
Iran
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Tackling Religious Discrimination In Indonesian
Schools
• Former Malaysian A-G sues govt as his memoir becomes
election fodder
• Mossad Presence In Malaysia: Let's Increase
Vigilance, Activism
• Shadow puppet enthusiasts hope robotics can save
ancient art of wayang kulit
• Divisions persist among coalitions led by Anwar,
Muhyiddin and Mahathir as Malaysia election looms
--------
Africa
• Morocco Arrests 32 Migrants Heading To Spain, Jails
80
• Ethiopia condemns atrocities allegations against its
gov't
--------
North America
• Catholicism Wanes As More Quebecers Report Being Muslim
Or Having No Religious Affiliation
• US to put United Nations focus on Iran protests
• US sanctions Iranian foundation that offered Salman
Rushdie bounty
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
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Marriage Of Muslim Girl Above 15 Valid: Punjab-Haryana
High Court Unites Husband-Wife
October 29, 2022
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has
allowed the custody of a 16-year-old girl to her husband while reiterating that
a Muslim aged 15 and above can marry a person of her choice and such a marriage
will not be void.
A Bench of Justice Vikas Bahl heard a habeas corpus
petition of Javed (26), seeking custody of his 16-year-old wife who was kept at
a children's home in Haryana's Panchkula.
The petitioner had stated that at the time of their
marriage, his wife was more than 16 years of age and the marriage was performed
out of their free will and without any pressure.
The petitioner through his counsel had submitted that
both were Muslims and they performed 'Nikah' on July 27 at a mosque in Mani
Majra here.
The petitioner's counsel, while relying upon the
judgment of a coordinate Bench of the High Court in Yunus Khan vs State of
Haryana case, argued that the custody of the girl should be handed over to the
petitioner.
However, the state's counsel had opposed the petition
and submitted that she was a minor, therefore, she was being kept at Ashiana
Home.
The state's counsel had prayed for the dismissal of
the petition.
While going through the judgment in the Yunus Khan
case, the judge in his September 30 order said its perusal "would show
that a coordinate Bench of this court in the above said judgment had observed
that the marriage of a Muslim girl continues to be governed by the personal law
of Muslims." The court said the HC Bench had "relied upon the
principles of Mohammedan Law" and after considering the same, it has been
observed that "15 years is the age of puberty of a Muslim female and on
her own willingness and consent, after attaining puberty can marry a person of
her choice".
"Such a marriage would not be void in terms of
Section 12 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006," the court said.
"The law laid down in the above said judgment
would apply to the facts of the present case," said the Judge in his
order.
The judge then allowed the handing over the custody of
the girl to the petitioner.
"Keeping in view the above said facts and
circumstances and law laid down in the above said judgments, the present
petition is allowed and the incharge, Ashiana, Sector 16, Panchkula, is
directed to hand over the custody of the detenue, as mentioned in the headnote
of the present petition, to the petitioner," the order said.
Source:NDTV
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Imran Khan begins long march for ‘real freedom’,
brands ISI chief 'Dirty Harry'
Oct 29, 2022
ISI Chief Nadeem Anjum, Imran khan
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ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan Friday
kick-started his long march from Lahore to Islamabad with a "Dirty
Harry" dig at ISI boss Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum, a day after the latter's
unprecedented appearance at a presser to accuse him of trying to lure army chief
Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa into backing his erstwhile government.
"ISI DG, listen carefully. The things I know, I
am silent for the sake of my institutions and the country. I don’t want to
damage my country," Imran said to cheers from the throng of supporters
accompanying him on the 380km trek from the country's political and cultural
hub to the capital in a purported quest for "haqeeqi azadi (real
freedom)".
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf said the march with Imran
leading a tail of thousands of supporters would enter Islamabad on November 4
after passing through a dozen-odd cities along the historical Grand Trunk Road.
Rallies starting simultaneously from the north and northwestern parts of the
country will meet and merge with Imran's march at a designated point before
entering the capital, the party said.
PTI is in government in two of Islamabad's
neighbouring provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the nominally
self-governing regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK (the local nomenclature for
PoK).
There are fears that provincial police personnel
assigned to provide security to the marchers could be on a collision course
with forces deployed by the Shehbaz Sharif government along the route.
At the start of his journey from Lahore's Liberty
Chowk, Imran stood atop a container to recall a presser by his party colleague
and senator Azam Swati, in which he named the military officers allegedly
responsible for his torture in custody.
"Azam Swati took the names of two people. One is
Faheem and one is Faisal. This Dirty Harry (a reference to ISI chief), ever
since he has come to Islamabad, he's been torturing people," the
cricketer-turned-politician said. "The Dirty Harry first picked up 75-year
old Azam illegally, stripped him naked and then tortured him in front of his
grandchildren."
Imran claimed his aide Shahbaz Gill was subjected to
similar treatment. "These people (ISI officials) are defaming you; we
don’t," he then said, alluding to Gen Bajwa.
On the ISI chief's allegation that he made
unconstitutional demands through "backdoor contact" with Gen Bajwa,
the ex-PM said, "I want free and fair elections, and this was discussed
with Gen Bajwa. I want the people to decide who will lead the country – not
Washington or anyone else."
Before his ouster from office in April, Imran had been
looked at as the blue-eyed boy of the military brass. He has lately been
accusing the military of supporting his rivals in collaboration with the US.
Source: Times Of India
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Infighting Between Taliban And Haqqanis Have Potential
To Ignite Civil War In Afghanistan: Report
28 October, 2022
Representative Image
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Kabul [Afghanistan], October 28 (ANI): The infighting
between the Taliban and Haqqani shows that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
is a divided house and it could result in a renewed civil war in Afghanistan.
While this intra-Afghanistan conflict is a reality,
the other more significant rationale for targeting Sirajuddin Haqqani in the 5
October attack is his pro-Pakistan and anti-education stance. Essentially, what
we are witnessing today is a rift within the Taliban, i.e., between those loyal
to Mullah Baradar and those with the Haqqani Network, reported Al Arabiya Post.
The suicide bomber who carried out the attack on the
Al-Fatah Mosque within the compound of the Interior Ministry in Kabul on 5
October 2022 knew very well who his target was; Afghanistan’s Interior Minister
Sirajuddin Haqqani, who had inaugurated (14 August 2022) the Al-Fatah Mosque at
the cost of 18 million Afghanis at his personal expense.
Some reports suggest that Sirajuddin Haqqani had come
to pray at the site but left ten minutes prior to the blast. According to
UK-based media, reports indicate that four people were killed in the suicide
blast, carried out by a bomber with a prosthetic leg.
The Haqqani have differed from the top Taliban
leadership in the past and it is likely that this could happen again, only this
time violently!
The latest attack has come when fissures within the
Taliban are growing and its contestation with the Islamic State of Khorasan
Province (ISKP) have only intensified, reported Al Arabiya Post.
“The mosque was used by visitors and sometimes by
interior ministry employees,” said interior ministry spokesman Abdul NafiTakor,
who confirmed the casualty toll.
Moreover, an explosion at an education centre in West
Kabul killed 53 people, most of them young women, according to the United
Nations Mission to Afghanistan.
While no one has claimed responsibility for the
suicide attack, initial reports suggest that the ISKP may have been
responsible. The ISKP has been at the forefront in the war against the Taliban
and carried out a number of suicide attacks on Taliban leaders in the last few
months, reported Al Arabiya Post.
The Taliban, made up predominately of Pashtuns, is
divided along ethnic, regional, and tribal lines. There are also differences
among the militants over policy.
Pertinently, the Taliban is divided on the issue of
girls and women’s education. In the broader sense, one faction believes that
restrictive decrees will make international recognition and sanctions removal
harder to achieve.
The other faction believes that compromises will not
lead to better ties with the West and the group should instead focus on
bolstering its Islamist credentials and consolidate its control, reported Al
Arabiya Post.
Earlier in August, a prominent Afghan cleric who
supported the Taliban and was in favour of female education was killed. Sheikh
Rahimullah Haqqani reportedly died in a suicide bomb blast in Kabul.
Sheikh Haqqani was a supporter of Taliban government
and a prominent critic of the jihadist militant group ISKP, an ISIS affiliate
that operates in Afghanistan and opposes the Taliban’s rule.
He is one of the highest profile figures to have been
killed in the country since the Taliban returned to power, reported Al Arabiya
Post.
Meanwhile, a bombing (August 18, 2022) at a mosque in
the Afghan capital of Kabul during evening prayers killed at least ten people,
including a prominent cleric. The slain cleric was Mullah Amir Mohammad Kabuli,
a prominent Hanafi cleric.
In July, a top Salafist cleric who had pledged
allegiance to the Taliban was mysteriously killed at his home in Kabul. Sardar
Wali Saqib was stabbed to death just days after attending a gathering of
pro-Taliban clerics.
In November, a little-known ISKP ideologue Abu Mustafa
Darveshzadeh was killed. He had written a highly critical book about the
Taliban’s approach to implementing Islamic Shari’a law.
The incidents suggest that the infighting within the
Taliban as well as between the Taliban and ISKP could result in renewed civil
war in Afghanistan, reported Al Arabiya Post.
With the economic and humanitarian situation quite out
of control, Afghanistan’s political masters must get their act together. Across
the border, Pakistan awaits such a return to instability so that they can
control the sinews of power.
It is well known that the Haqqani Network is a
creation of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence and, they will do the
bidding of their masters at the appropriate moment, reported Al Arabiya Post.
(ANI)
Source: ThePrint
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5 Former European foreign ministers accuse Israel of
being 'apartheid state'
Rabia Iclal Turan and Umit Donmez
28.10.2022
PARIS
In an open letter, five former European ministers
labeled Israel's policies against Palestinians as "the crime of apartheid."
"We see no alternative but to acknowledge that
Israel’s policies and practices against the Palestinians amount to the crime of
apartheid," they said in a letter published by French daily Le Monde on
Thursday.
The letter was signed by former Foreign Minister of
Denmark Mogens Lykketoft, former Foreign Minister of Finland Erkki Sakari
Tuomioja, former Foreign Minister of Slovenia Ivo Vajgl, former Foreign
Minister of France Hubert Vedrine and British Cabinet Minister Sayeeda Warsi.
The ministers criticized the silence of the
international community, which "failed to act in the face of serious
violations of international law" when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
"As the world is watching in horror events
unfolding in Ukraine, conversation around the urgency of protecting a
rules-based global order is dominating political and public discourse. The
international community has rallied behind multilateralism and the need to
adhere to international law and protect human rights. Indeed, it is the only way
forward in an increasingly polarized global landscape," they said in the
letter.
"At the same time, we are reminded how the
international community has too often remained silent and failed to act in the
face of grave violations of international law and impunity for serious abuses
in other contexts," the letter added, while also stressing the importance
of "applying principles uniformly and consistently."
"The same standards and commitment to protecting
Ukrainian civilian population and demanding accountability for Russia’s
international law violations should be applied globally, including to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict," it continued.
The former ministers reminded the EU member states of
their two-state solution approach based on sovereignty and equality for both
Israelis and Palestinians.
"Yet the reality on the ground in Israel and the
Occupied Palestinian Territory is moving in the complete opposite direction.
And our inaction could have wide-reaching implications in the region as well as
for the validity and efficacy of European diplomacy globally," they added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Halloween Revellers Experience Glory And Gore On
Riyadh Boulevard
NADA ALTURKI
October 28, 2022
Spooky season festivities began in Riyadh after the
Boulevard was transformed into a venue-wide costume party during the “Scary
Weekend” event. (AN Photo/Saleh AlGhannam)
------------
RIYADH: Spooky season festivities began in Riyadh
after the Boulevard was transformed into a venue-wide costume party during the
“Scary Weekend” event, which took place on Thursday and Friday.
Dressed-up visitors were granted free entry to the
Boulevard on the condition that they wore scary costumes.
The event was dedicated to showcasing terrifying
disguises and parading the creative designs of Saudis and residents. The goal
was to create an atmosphere filled with fun, thrills and excitement as people
discovered the stories behind various character costumes.
One attendee, Abdulrahman, showcased a costume of the
North American mythological creature Wendigo. The legend says that the
folkloric creature is a malevolent spirit that possesses human beings, calls on
feelings of greed and hunger, and cannibalizes people, feeding on their flesh.
This was Abdulrahman’s first time celebrating Halloween in the country.
“It’s a great celebration, honestly, and there’s a
spirit of joy… In terms of haram or halal, I don’t know about it. We celebrate
it just for the fun of it and nothing else. We don’t believe in anything,” he
told Arab News.
While Halloween has long been shunned across the Gulf,
attendees at the event described the occasion as a form of harmless entertainment.
One eventgoer, Khaled Alharbi, said: “Actions are
based on intentions. I’m just here to have fun.”
Alharbi came with his family, with members dressed as
a bloodied doctor, nurse and consultant. They created a backstory behind their
costumes, arriving at the Boulevard just in time for the city’s biggest costume
party. Alharbi carried a two-year old family member dressed as witch, who
playfully cast an insanity spell on the rest of the family.
This was also the family’s first time celebrating
Halloween.
Nearby, another witch sat with velvety red hair and a
festive hat, accompanied by her friend, dressed as Catwoman. Sitting on a
sidewalk, completing their costumes with temporary tattoos, the two told Arab
News about their experience.
“I tried to create a mix of jewelry and eyeliner
tattoos. I think makeup inspires me as well. This is my first time celebrating
Halloween. Last year I missed the date, so I will not miss it this time,” the
witch, Ameera, said.
The pair added that the event was a great occasion to
express their creativity and celebrate with the Saudi public. Both work in a
hospital and said that dressing up was a great way to relieve stress and enjoy
themselves.
“I support it. There’s an energy inside of us — we
have to let it out. This celebration is the place to channel this energy. If
there’s someone really creative and talented, who has a vivid imagination, they
can let it out these days. For example, through drawing or cinematic makeup,”
Ameera said.
Another attendee, Abdulaziz bin Khaled, decided to
represent his love for Western movies and zombie gore, combining the two as he
dressed as a decayed cowboy carrying a sign that read: “Be Careful It’s A
Zombie.”
Bin Khaled said: “That’s my favorite type of movie:
Cowboys, American wars, scary movies and Westerns. I love the Denzel Washington
movie ‘The Magnificent Seven.’
“This is the second costume event they’ve had at the
Boulevard. It’s really great and all the young men and women are out in amazing
costumes. Everyone’s creating cool things inspired by movies and horror, and
others. It’s so good that we can see this during Riyadh Season,” he added.
The event was complete with a fireworks show, enhanced
sound effects and spooky decorations. A similar event took place earlier this
year at Boulevard Riyadh City and Winter Wonderland on March 17 and 18.
Source: Arab News
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https://www.arabnews.com/node/2189941/saudi-arabia
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India
Tamil Nadu ‘suicide bomber’ planned to hit temple,
homes: NIA sleuths
Oct 29, 2022
COIMBATORE: The 29-year-old engineering graduate
killed at the wheel of a car that exploded in front of a temple in Coimbatore
last Sunday was possibly a suicide bomber whose relative inexperience in
handling explosives spared the locality the damage he might have intended to
cause, investigators said Friday as the NIA chased more evidence to connect the
dots.
A witness told the police that the car blew up soon
after Jameesha Mubin, whom the NIA had interrogated in 2019, stopped in front
of the Sangameswara temple at Kottaimedu at 4am on Diwali-eve. He stepped out
of the vehicle covered in flames before slumping on the ground a few feet away,
a source privy to the probe quoted the witness as saying. The body was charred
before anyone in the vicinity, including cops at a nearby checkpoint, could
react.
Rows of houses along the road leading to the shrine
could have been affected had the explosion, caused by one of two LPG cylinders
in the vehicle, occurred in the manner it had been planned, investigators said.
The hypothesis they are going by is that Mubin was
radicalised after being exposed to IS literature, but hadn’t received training
in terrorist tactics. Whatever he knew about handling explosives was by reading
material available on the internet about bomb-making.
Based on the interrogation of the six alleged IS
sympathisers arrested in the case so far, Mubin thought his suicide bombing
mission would devastate an area with a radius of 50 to 100 metres, including
the temple and some residential buildings in the vicinity.
Late Saturday, Mubin and two of his alleged
accomplices – Mohammed Azarudheen and K Afsar Khan – placed three steel drums
stuffed with potassium nitrate, aluminium powder, sulphur, charcoal, nails and
ball bearings in the car along with two LPG cylinders. CCTV cameras captured
the act, an official said.
Footage from other cameras purportedly shows the
movements of Mubin and his alleged accomplices prior to the explosion.
The trio did a recce of Koniamman temple on Big Bazaar
Street as well as the Puliyakulam Mundhi Vinayagar shrine, the official said.
Source: Times Of India
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Rise above political differences to address terrorism,
26/11 will never be forgotten: India at UN meet
Oct 29, 2022
NEW DELHI: The UNSC Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC)
Special Meeting Friday saw India renewing its push to bring the 26/11
perpetrators to justice as foreign minister S Jaishankar said the key
conspirators and masterminds remained ``protected and unpunished’’ and that the
Security Council had been unable to act against some of them because of
political considerations.
The 2-day CTC meeting started in Mumbai with all UNSC
member-states participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the 26/11 Memorial
at the Taj hotel, one of the main targets of the Mumbai attacks.
Jaishankar specified 5 points before the CTC to block
financial resources that allow terrorism to thrive, one of which was to ensure
effective and transparent functioning of the UNSC sanctions regime and make
sure they are not rendered ineffective for political reasons. This is important
in the context of China’s repeated forestalling of UN sanctions on Pakistan
based terrorists. While highlighting in a presentation Pakistan’s links with
the attacks that left more than 170 dead, Indian authorities played the
recording of one of these terrorists, Sajid Mir, directing the 26/11
perpetrators as they wreaked havoc on the city. China blocked a proposal for a
UN ban on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Mir last month.
"Objective and evidence-based proposals for
listing of terrorist groups, especially those that curb their access to
financial resources must be seen through," said Jaishankar, as he called
for rising above political differences to address the scourge of terrorism. He was
speaking at the informal briefing on combating terrorism-financing.
His proposal included a call for effective and
sustained efforts at countering terror-financing, and also international
cooperation and concerted action against terrorists and their sponsors,
including through ``dismantlement of terrorist safe havens, sanctuaries,
training grounds and financial and ideological as well as political support
structures’’.
Jaishankar called for strengthening action against
terrorism’s nexus with transnational organized crime, illicit drugs and arms
trafficking. Also among the 5 points he highlighted was the need to address the
issue of exploitation by terrorists of the anonymity afforded by new and
emerging technologies such as virtual currencies for fundraising and finances.
Jaishankar recalled how the UNSC met and in one voice
condemned the act of cross-border terrorism that was 26/11 even while the
attacks were still unfolding. As some of the victims recalled their horror
stories in the Meeting, the minister said it was incumbent on all, as
responsible members of the international community, to persevere in their
efforts to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice. ``We owe this to
every victim of terrorism across the world,’’ he said, adding 26/11 will never
ever be forgotten.
``We, in India, understand its (terrorism) cost more
than others. But with that experience comes the steeling of national resolve.
Decades of cross border terror has not and will not weaken our commitment to
fight back,’’ said Jaishankar.
``Our real tribute to the victims will be to
rededicate ourselves to combating and eliminating the menace of terrorism. The
battle against terrorism must be fought resolutely at all fronts, all
situations, and all places. We cannot be found wanting in our efforts,’’ he
added.
Jaishankar recalled how it wasn’t just an attack on
Mumbai, but an attack on the international community as people of specific
nationalities were identified before being murdered. As a result, he said, the
commitment of each and every member state of the UN to combat terrorism stood
publicly challenged.
Source: Times Of India
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India plays Pakistani terrorist and 26/11 conspirator
Sajid Mir's tape at UNSC CTC meet in Mumbai
Oct 28, 2022
MUMBAI: In an unprecedented public expose at the
Mumbai UN counter-terror meet, India on Friday revealed in detail Pakistan's
role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack by playing Pakistan-based terrorist
Sajid Mir's audiotape.
In the audio clip, he is heard directing the attack on
Chabad House during Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks.
Playing the audio clip, India presented undeniable
evidence against Pakistan. The clip was played by a senior Intelligence Bureau
officer, Pankaj Thakur at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) meeting at Taj Mahal Palace.
It exposed Sajid Mir directing terrorists from
Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir where he is giving instructions to
terrorists who were at Chabad House during Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks.
Thakur made this revelation in the presence of several
foreign ministers and diplomats from over 15 countries.
Notably, Sajid Mir, one of India's most wanted
terrorists, is wanted for his involvement in the 2008 terrorist attacks in
Mumbai, India.
"Beginning on November 26, 2008, and continuing
through November 29, 2008, ten attackers trained by the Pakistan-based foreign
terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) carried out a series of
coordinated attacks against multiple targets in Mumbai, including hotels,
cafes, and a train station, killing approximately 170 people. Six Americans
were killed during the three-day attacks," the FBI website reads.
Mir served as the chief planner of the attacks,
directing preparations and reconnaissance, and was one of the Pakistan-based
controllers during the attacks.
Shortly after the harrowing attack, CIA Station Chief
met ISI Analysis Directorate Major General Akhtar and presented him with charts
and communication intercepts that proved conclusively that the attack was
carried out from Pakistan and had clear support from ISI.
Meanwhile, China, in recent months, has blocked
several bids to designate several terrorists based in Pakistan. Beijing this
month put on hold a proposal to list Talha Saeed, son of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)
chief Hafiz Saeed. This bid was moved by India and co-supported by the US,
under the 1267 sanction regime.
It was the fifth time that China has blocked an
India-US proposal in recent months, Lashkar-e-Taiba member Shahid Mahmood in
October, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Sajid Mir in September, LeT and
Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) leader Abdul Rehman Makki in June, as well as Abdul Rauf
Azhar in August, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JEM) chief Masood Azhar, were
protected by Beijing.
Further, many Indian officials raised the issue of
delisting Pakistan from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and
said that Pakistan delisting from FATF can increase terror attacks.
Source: Times Of India
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Key conspirators and planners of 26/11 attacks
continue to remain protected and unpunished: Jaishankar
Oct 28, 2022
MUMBAI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on
Friday said the key conspirators and planners of the 26/11 Mumbai terror
attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished, which undermined the
collective credibility.He also said that when it comes to proscribing some
terrorists, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has
"regrettably" been unable to act in some cases because of
"political considerations".
The minister was speaking at a special meeting here on
'Countering the Use of New and Emerging Technologies for Terrorist Purposes'.
The first leg of the event is being held at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in south
Mumbai. This hotel was one of the places attacked by the terrorists during the
November 2008 attacks.
"The key conspirators and the planners of 26/11
terror attacks continue to remain protected and unpunished," Jaishankar
said.
This undermines the collective credibility and
collective interest, he added.
Jaishankar said the "shocking" terror attack
was an attack not just on Mumbai, but on the international community.
"In fact, this entire city was held hostage by
terrorists, who had entered from across the border," he said without
naming Pakistan.
As many as 140 Indian nationals and 26 citizens from
23 countries lost their lives in the attacks, he said.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation reiterates
'self-determination' for J&K
Oct 28, 2022
After a month-long lull, the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) has once again issued a statement reiterating its solidarity
with the people of Jammu and Kashmir in their “quest for the right to
self-determination”.
The OIC timed its statement with October 27, which is
observed as Infantry Day to commemorate the landing of the Indian Army at
Srinagar airport in 1947.
On this occasion, the OIC urged India to halt and
reverse the actions taken on August 5, 2019, and subsequent steps to change the
internationally recognised disputed status of the territory and alter the
demographic structure of the “occupied territory”.
The OIC General Secretariat also demanded respect for
basic human rights of the inhabitants of Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated its
call to the international community to step up its efforts to resolve the
matter in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
On September 24, egged on by Pakistan, the OIC had
issued a statement in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly,
seeking the right to self-determination. Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal
Bhutto Zardari had chaired the Annual Coordination Meeting (ACM) of the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Foreign Ministers.
Source: TribuneIndia
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/oic-reiterates-self-determination-for-jk-445007
--------
MP:
Bajrang Dal activists nab man from hotel, hand him over to cops citing ‘love
jihad’
October
28, 2022
A
24-year-old man was handed over to the police in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on
Friday by Bajrang Dal activists who claimed he had booked a hotel suite under a
fake identity to spend time with a Hindu woman, an official said.
In
a press statement, Bajrang Dal local unit convener Tannu Sharma said the man
had booked the hotel in Lasudia area with a fake identity card and had lured
the woman to his room with the “intention of love jihad”.
Additional
Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Vyas said the man has been taken into
custody for further probe.
Source:IndianExpress
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/madhya-pradesh-bajrang-dal-love-jihad-8235968/
--------
As
Hindutva has grown, so have websites reporting on India’s embattled Muslims
Aishwarya
Iyer
Oct
29, 2022
Aslah
Kayyalakkatth was 18 years old when he started sending out the messages in
2012. The SMSs with news about marginalised groups were meticulously crafted to
fit the 140-word limit and sent out to 100 people every day. Kayyalakkatth and
three of his friends would take time out after their lectures at Farook College
in Kerala’s Kozhikode town to type them out.
Within
months, they had started to make a name for themselves in colleges across
Kozhikode. “We came to be known as the students who would share news,” said
Kayyalakkatth. “We would sign off with our trademark, Maktoob.”
They
had got the name from Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist. In Arabic, Urdu and
Persian, the word means “it is written” or “destiny”.
After
starting out as an SMS service, Maktoob became a blog in 2014 and a website in
2016. “We made the website ourselves on our mobile phones,” Kayyalakkatth said.
“We did not have laptops or money then.”
For
Kayyalakkatth, the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which
spread across the country in December 2019, were a watershed moment. Before
that, the website had covered all marginalised groups. The protests cemented
Maktoob’s identity as a website documenting the condition of Muslims in India.
“The
violence across university campuses left a huge mark,” said Kayyalakkatth, who
is now 28. He is the only one of his college friends still soldiering on with
Maktoob Media.
Maktoob
is not the only digital publication doing this. As Hindu majoritarianism grew
entrenched in Indian politics and news in the mainstream media demonised
Muslims, TwoCircles.net, Clarion India and Milli Gazette, as well as a number
of YouTube channels, have also devoted themselves to offering Muslim
perspectives on developments.
With
lakhs of impressions and views, these websites and YouTube channels have built
a loyal audience over the years. They report on how Muslim youth are targeted
by law-enforcement agencies, on lynchings, hate crimes and communal riots. But
that is not all. As many of the journalists involved pointed out, they portray
a world where Muslims are not always victims but a part of everyday Indian
life.
“The
sad reality is that this development is a response to the complete abdication
of the mainstream media,” said Mohammad Ali who works as a freelance
journalist. “Television studios have become peddlers of hate speech and calls
for genocide, where else does the average Muslim go?”
He
added that the process of watching news channels has itself become traumatic as
Muslims are constantly being demonised. “The only job they have done perfectly,
especially post-2014, is to alienate Muslims further from the mainstream,” Ali
said. “They’ve pushed them on the margins, to the physical and mental ghettos
that most of us never wanted to go to.”
Shaheen
Nazar, who has had over three decades of experience across newsrooms and is now
a visiting professor at a media institute in Noida, agreed: “If you want to
know the Muslim sentiment, you will not find it in The Times of India or other
newspapers. You will only find it here.”
‘As
if the community does not exist’
Ali
began his reporting career with TwoCircles.net in 2008. The website had been
launched by Boston-based scientist Kashif al-Huda two years earlier, in the
charged atmosphere post the suicide attacks on the World Trade Centre in New
York on September 11, 2001.
“9/11
had happened and America had started its war on terror,” Ali said. “India
became its [America’s] ally and banned the Students Islamic Movement of India
soon after. They started picking up Muslim youth on fabricated charges. Then
the Batla House encounter happened, for which queries were raised.”
In
September 2008, the Delhi Police had tried to storm a house in the national
capital’s Jamia Nagar area. According to the police, four men accused of
unleashing bomb blasts in the city just days earlier were hiding in the
building. It had led to a shootout killing two of the men and a police officer
as well as lingering allegations that the “encounter” or extra-judicial
execution had been staged and at least one of the accused framed.
In
the media, Muslims were tagged as terrorists and in the eyes of the Indian
middle class, they were associated with words like “Urdu”, “hajj”, “kabristan”
[graveyards], “triple talaq”, “fatwa”, Ali explained – “as if Muslims continued
to live in the mediaeval age”.
At
TwoCircles.net, reporters tried to fight these stereotypes. “The idea was to
not report on religious aspects at all, but on economic and social aspects [of
the Muslim community in India],” said Ali.
For
instance, in October 2008, Ali wrote an article about Khushboo Mirza, an
engineer from Aligarh Muslim Univeristy who was part of the Chandrayaan
mission, India’s ambitious lunar probe. “This was to show how Muslims are as much
part of India’s growth story” as any other community, he said.
The
website has a section called “TCN Positive” devoted to such stories. It has
carried reports on the residents of Okhla and Batla House starting reading
spaces because there are no public libraries in the area. It also had a story
on how more Muslim girls were enrolling for higher secondary education in West
Bengal’s Murshidabad.
Over
time, TwoCircles.net started documenting stories of young Muslim men who were
acquitted by the courts after several years in jail. One of them was Mohammad
Aamir, who was charged in 19 terror cases. After he was acquitted in January
2012 in all cases after 14 years in prison, he went on to become an activist
and an author.
The
website had a powerful effect on young Muslims whose voices were seldom heard
in the public sphere, spurring others to do similar work. Irfan Mehraj, the
current editorial lead at TwoCircles.net, said it was Ali’s work that drew him
to work for the website. “Only now do you see a mushrooming of websites
covering such issues,” he said. “Back in the mid-2000s, TCN was a class apart.”
Zafarul
Islam Khan, who launched the Milli Gazette in print and online on January 1,
2000, said that websites exclusively covering Muslim issues had emerged out of
necessity because the concerns of the 200-million strong Indian Muslim
community were seldom portrayed positively and objectively. “It seems the
community does not exist or was sleeping the previous day,” he said.
The
same indignation drove Khushboo Akhtar and her younger brother, Nadeem Akhtar,
to start PalPal News, a YouTube channel that reports primarily on violence
against Muslims and Dalits. The channel, launched in 2016, has acquired over
two million subscribers in six years.
The
siblings were born and raised in a family with a Hindu mother and a Muslim
father. For Khushboo Akhar, hate along religious lines cut deep. “This is
against everything I have learnt since I was a child,” she said. “So how can I
just see people being killed in the name of religion and be quiet?”
She
gave up a job at the national broadcaster, Doordarshan, to start the Youtube
channel. “In one month we had a lakh subscribers, we earned Rs 28,000 then,”
she said. “We thought we had made Rs 28 lakh.”
The
question of objectivity
As
Kayyalakkatth of Maktoob explained, while the media in India is quick to brand
Muslims as extremists, Hindu fundamentalism or state excesses are rarely
criticised. It is important to write things as they are, he said, “that is why
we are here”.
Over
the past decade, 400 people have written for Maktoob of whom 250 are Muslim,
including 150 Muslim women. “About 150-200 people are writing in English for
the first time ever,” Kayyalakkatth said. “Many others write in vernacular
languages and we take the help of our friends to translate their work.”
For
Meer Faisal, a 21-year-old reporter with Maktoob, working for the website was
an act of public service. “I want Maktoob Media to be that place for Muslims
where their issues are comprehensively covered,” he said. “So that eventually
Maktoob [reaches] a level where one knows about them.”
Mehraj
of TwoCircles.net said that the organisation consciously tried to bring in
people from marginalised communities and give them leadership positions. In
most media organisations, he pointed out, upper-caste journalists decided what
the news should be. “There is an imbalance, then, as it is their perspective
that decides how a story must be told,” he said. “We want to change that.”
But
while websites like Maktoob showed a zeal for portraying Muslim perspectives
and criticising biases, journalistic objectivity was sometimes a challenge,
Kayyalakkatth admitted.
“The
reporters know the facts but do not know how to present them,” he said. “Many
of them are doing this for the first time, so we have to tell them how to
report, talk on calls or face to face. Often when they write, they would put a
lot of opinion in the story.”
Websites
such as TwoCircles.net could do with more robust editorial systems, Mehraj
admitted, but they were always short on resources. “We have a small team, but
we could do better with more reporters, editors and freelancers,” he said.
Nazar,
who headed Clarion India for a year and a half, through the 2020 communal
violence in Delhi and the Covid-19 pandemic, said there was a lack of
professionalism in such media houses. “Many of those who are running such
websites lack professional training in newsrooms,” he said. “However serious,
however well-intentioned, they have not had the exposure of working among more
experienced people to learn their perspective.”
But
how relevant is journalistic objectivity – often interpreted as giving all
sides and all voices equal weight in a story – when a community that has either
been demonised or erased from the public sphere tries to write about itself?
“See,
we have other reporting to get the general news out,” said Nazar. “However, to
get the sentiment of the community cross, such websites play an important
role.”
For
Khan of Milli Gazette, “objectivity is the hallmark of good journalism”, but
“it is also a luxury”.
“It
becomes difficult to be objective when lies are spread and a community is
unjustly criminalised as part of a well-laid political agenda,” he said. “It
becomes difficult to be “objective” when issues of life and death are involved,
it is difficult to be objective when your people are raped, burnt and killed in
riots, it is difficult to be objective when people are lynched for alleged
consumption of beef or in fake ‘love jihad’ cases.”
Love
jihad – a conspiracy theory popular with the Hindu Right and often peddled in
mainstream news channels – implies a so-called plot by Muslim men to lure Hindu
women into Islam through marriage.
‘They
refuse to speak to a Muslim journalist’
Even
as they try to highlight developments that are not getting the attention they
deserve, it has not been easy for young journalists working with such websites
to get all sides of the story in present-day India. Often, they do so at
considerable risk, silently bearing heckling and harassment.
Take
21-year-old Faisal, who often dashes to the spot to cover communal clashes.
When he tries to speak to Hindu “rightwing extremists”, Faisal said, they often
refuse to speak to a Muslim journalist. “They ask us our name, then it goes
into a tangent,” he said. “If they talk then the way they talk is not worth
quoting.” He added that he often faced the same problem with police officials.
When
he tells them he is from Jamia Nagar in Delhi, he is no longer a “mullah” but a
“jihadi”. “They do not want to see a Muslim reporter,” he said. “They do not
want to accept we exist.”
Kayyalakkatth
said he understood these concerns as an editor. “We used to call a lot of the
people from RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] and Bajrang Dal, but we cannot go
there directly and meet them,” he said. “This is a limitation, our stories
don’t have all the inputs as we want to have conversations with such people to
understand why they do such things. We have to find a way to solve that.”
For
Khushboo and Nadeem Akhtar, as recognition of their YouTube channel grew, so
did the threats. “I was continuously getting rape threats and being trolled on
social media,” Khushboo Akhtar said. “Then I changed the way I worked… and we
decided that Nadeem would front the news.”
But
making her brother the face of the channel did not help. People still threaten
both sibings that will be shot dead. Many of the threat calls they recieve are
on WhatsApp, “so they cannot be recorded”, she said.
Twice,
the threats felt very real – in August and then in September, Hindutva groups
surrounded Nadeem Akhtar’s car at a CNG pump in Noida. Complaining to the
police did not feel like an option. “Muslims do not go to police stations,”
Khushboo Akhtar said. “Nadeem only steps out selectively to report now.”
She
remembered the worst call she ever got – sometime in 2020, someone called to
say she would be raped and pieces of her body would be put in a bag so no one
would even be able to identify her. “I’ll be honest, I get scared,” she said.
“However, I am also aware that if I do not go there then it will not be
reported at all.”
Brother
and sister keep a bag ready in case they need to flee at short notice.
Damned
by association?
Tagged
as terrorists in the national media and constantly under suspicion, the
community and the publications that cover it often assert their Indian
identity.
On
its website, TwoCircles.net has different sub-heads dedicated to news about
different groups – “Dalits”, “Adivasis”, “Women” and “Indian Muslims.” When
asked why not just “Muslims”, Mehraj said because there was an impression that
Muslims were not Indian enough.
Ali,
however, felt that Muslims are different across countries and cultures, so to
bracket them as one big community would amount to negating crucial cultural and
historical differences.
It
is perhaps no surprise that websites such as these are perennially short on
resources.
Ali
held the the community leadership accountable for failing to successfully show
that India’s Muslims can have media outlets of their own. “Almost no one from
the community’s elite and leadership funded an independent media venture,” he
said. “Most initiatives it supported, turned out to be mouthpieces of the
organisations which started them.”
He
added that after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014, Muslims
began to shy away from donating to such publications or even subscribing to
them because they feared being targeted for their sympathies. “All the
information is now online and there is a record of it,” he said. “You do not
know who will be issued a notice when to be asked about contributing to these
minority-focussed digital platforms.”
Khan
said that many avoided being publically associated with the Milli Gazette.
“Yes, it is much more difficult today to report and comment on the lines we did
before 2014,” he said. “Reporters and even letter writers routinely ask us to
remove from our website their names, stories and letters because they fear
repercussions in areas like Kashmir and Manipur.”
It
is not only monetary resources that are hard to find. Just finding an office
space can be an ordeal. It took Khushboo Akhtar six-and-a-half years to find an
office. There were few landowners that would rent to them. “We tried in Noida,
but [we were refused] because we were Muslims,” she said. “In other places,
when they found out my surname is Akhtar, then they would cancel everything.”
They
finally found an office in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. “Even now, we do not put up a
board recognising ourselves as PalPal News,” she said.
Source:Scroll
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Marathi,
non-Marathi Muslims back Uddhav’s inclusive Hindutva
Oct
29, 2022
By
Jyoti Punwani
“Ever
since we met Uddhav Thackeray last week, I’ve been besieged with calls from Muslims
from all over Maharashtra welcoming our decision to support the (Uddhav) Shiv
Sena,’’ said Faqir Thakur, head of the Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh (MMSS). “These
include Marathi Muslims belonging to the Congress and NCP,” he added.
The
MMSS comprises 180 organizations working among Muslims of all sections, from
fisherfolk to teachers, across Maharashtra.
Last
Friday, a 22-member delegation of the Sangh, representing all the regions of
Maharashtra, met former CM Uddhav Thackeray to assure him of their support in
the forthcoming municipal elections in the state. They also told him that “As
Maharashtrians, we too are hurt at the way you were betrayed. Together, we must
teach these traitors a lesson.”
The
next day, Sena newspaper Saamna reported the meeting on Page 1 with the
headline: “Marathi aahot..ekatra kaam karu!” (”We are Marathis...we shall work
together!”).
The
MMSS has always emphasized its Marathi identity and distanced itself from the
Urdu-speaking North Indian Muslim bloc that has for decades dominated Muslim
politics in Maharashtra. Despite these Muslim leaders knowing nothing about the
lives of Muslims in Maharashtra, they have been cultivated by the Congress and
NCP, and even the BJP, says the Sangh, that also accuses them of pursuing the
UP-Bihar brand of identity politics. Former CM A R Antulay was an exception to
this rule.
Yet,
said Thakur, after their meeting with Thackeray became news, even non-Marathi
Muslims began calling him to welcome this initiative.
“That’s
because of the personality of Uddhav Thackeray,” said Thakur. “Muslims see in
him not just someone who broke away from the BJP and took on the powerful
ruling party, but also as a genuine individual, whose attitude towards Muslims
is open and welcoming.”
The
meeting with Thackeray, arranged by former Sena MP and Union Minister Anant
Geete, lasted half-an-hour, said Thakur. The delegation told Thackeray that
having worked with Muslims at the grassroots in the interiors, they knew that
their problems were no different from those of Hindus and Dalits: roads, water,
electricity.
Thackeray
told them that the BJP was sure to make an issue about his meeting Muslims, but
he added that “our Hindutva remains steadfast; it does not mean opposing other
religions.”
Interestingly,
the MMSS comes to the Sena after having supported the BJP in the 2014 Assembly
elections. “At that time, we decided to give Narendra Modi’s ‘Sab ka saath Sab
ka vikas’ a try,” said Thakur. “We were tired of the false promises and
inaction of the Congress and the NCP.”
The
Maharashtra BJP had at the time accepted the MMSS’ demand of recovery of
encroached Wakf lands, and then revenue minister Eknath Khadse had started
acting on it. He had also increased the scholarships for Muslim students under
the Maulana Azad Financial Corporation. However, after he resigned in 2016,
then CM Devendra Fadnavis ignored the Sangh, said Thakur.
In
2018, the Sangh approached Prakash Ambedkar, but his alliance with Asaduddin
Owaisi put paid to that relationship. Despite their disappointment with the
Congress and NCP, in the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the Sangh
campaigned for the two parties.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Pakistan
Islam
A Religion of Peace, Security, Moderation: Pakistani Official
October
23, 2022
Pakistani
Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Interfaith Harmony and Middle East
Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi made the remark while addressing an
‘International Tahzeem-e-Harmain Al-Sharifain Conference’ in Abuja (Nigeria).
He
said to get rid of these social evils, it was necessary to disseminate the
message of Islam in its actual context, which we received from the holy lands
of Mecca and Medina.
Ashrafi
who is also the Chairman of Pakistan Ulema Council and Secretary General of
International Tahzeem-e-Harmain Al-Sharifain Council said there was no room for
such myths in Islam as it was a religion of peace, security, and moderation.
He
said the situation of unrest in some Islamic countries was due to external
interference which could be stopped by forging unity in the Muslim Ummah.
He
said the union would help contain Islamophobia and resolve the issues
confronting the Muslim Ummah on the global level.
Ashrafi
said Kashmir and Palestine were the two burning issues of Muslim Ummah, and
they should be resolved as per the will of the Kashmiris and Palestinians.
Source:IQNA
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://iqna.ir/en/news/3480962/islam-a-religion-of-peace-security-moderation-pakistani-official
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Speakers
call for efforts to promote science studies in Urdu
OCTOBER
29, 2022
The
speakers at a ceremony held at National Language Promotion Department (NLPD) in
connection with the sixty-year celebrations of the Urdu Science Board
emphasized on initiating serious efforts for promoting science studies in Urdu
language.
The
ceremony was presided over by renowned dramatist, poet and columnist and former
Director General Urdu Science Board Amjad Islam Amjad while Prof. Oriental
College Punjab University Dr. Zia ul Hassan was the chief guest on the
occasion.
Amjad
Islam Amjad said that translation was an important tool of promoting foreign
literature in the country.
The
Urdu Science Board has rendered valuable services for the publication of
science and technology related studies in Urdu language through translations.
There
is a general impression that Urdu language is not capable of becoming the
language of science, medicine, engineering and other important sciences despite
a fact that all these disciplines were being taught in Jamia Usmania in Urdu
Language, a century ago.
Urdu
language is the language of communication between people living in different
parts and provinces of Pakistan. There is no need to translate the term, names
and words of scientific inventions into Urdu language.
Source:DailyTimes
Pakistan
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://dailytimes.com.pk/1019528/speakers-call-for-efforts-to-promote-science-studies-in-urdu/
--------
Pakistan
ex-PM Imran admits he offered extension to army chief Bajwa
Oct
28, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan has admitted that he offered an
extension in the tenure of Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in March amid
the opposition's attempt to topple his government.
Khan's
remarks came after Pakistan's ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Najum revealed at an unprecedented
press conference on Thursday that the army chief was given a "lucrative
offer" for an indefinite extension in his tenure in March this year.
"It
was made in front of me. He (Gen Bajwa) rejected it because he wanted the
institution to move forward from a controversial role to a constitutional
role," the ISI chief said, without naming former premier Khan.
Khan
told 92 News TV in an interview on Thursday that he told the army chief that if
the then opposition was offering him an extension, then he could do the same,
The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
“I
repeatedly warned Gen Bajwa that if this no-confidence motion succeeds, it will
have a direct impact on the economy and no one would be able to control it as
the economy will go into a tailspin,” he said.
Khan
said he also asked the top military leaders “as to why did they hold a press
conference to discuss political matters if they were apolitical”.
Gen
Anjum addressed the first-ever media interaction by any ISI chief in Pakistan's
history on Thursday.
The
press conference came as the country was grappling with different versions
about the killing of journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya and indirect allegations
against the armed forces.
Sharif
was shot dead at a police checkpoint at an hour's distance from Nairobi on
Sunday night, creating a storm in the country. The Kenyan police later said it
was a case of “mistaken identity” during a search for a similar car involved in
a child abduction case.
Spoke
about the killing of Sharif, Khan said the killing of the senior journalist was
not an accident and his murder was planned in Pakistan.
"I've
made a video and named people... If I'm killed the personalities involved will
also be killed in three to five hours," he said.
Separately,
Khan reiterated his claim that a foreign conspiracy was hatched to topple his
government.
Addressing
the PTI social media team and a video statement on the eve of his long march
towards the federal capital, Khan urged people to join his movement for real
freedom of the country.
“Mir
Jafar and Mir Sadiq hatched a foreign conspiracy to topple my government.
Through social media, show every citizen what they did with the PTI
government,” Khan told the party's social media team.
Khan,
who came to power in 2018 with promises to create a ‘Naya Pakistan', apparently
lost support of the powerful Army after he refused to endorse the appointment
of the ISI chief last year.
Finally,
he agreed but it soured his ties with the army, which has ruled the coup-prone
country for more than half of its 75 years of existence and has hitherto
wielded considerable power in the matters of security and foreign policy.
Source:
Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
$10bn
Saudi investment on the cards, says PM
Syed
Irfan Raza
October
29, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud would soon be visiting Pakistan during which he
would announce a $10 billion investment for establishing an oil refinery in
the country.
While
criticising the last Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government for not availing
an opportunity given by the Saudi government for launch of several projects in
the country through grant, soft loans and investment, the prime minister said
the projects offered by Saudi Arabia had been ignored and put in the doldrums
by the last government, but he revived them within 48 hours.
“Saudi
Crown Prime Mohammad bin Salman will come to Pakistan soon for $9 to $10
billion investment in oil refinery,” Prime Minister Sharif said while
addressing the passing-out parade of the Specialised Training Programme (STP)
batch of the National Police Academy (NPA).
He
said the crown price expressed willingness to support development projects in
Pakistan. “He (crown prince) was ready to do anything for [the betterment of]
people of Pakistan,” he added.
Slams
PTI govt for ignoring projects; says efforts being made to mend ties with US
The
premier’s remarks came days after he concluded a two-day trip to the kingdom
during which the two leaders resolved to upgrade bilateral ties and fraternal
bonds.
“Earlier
this year, a team from the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) visited Pakistan. During
a meeting with me, they complained about delays in projects in Pakistan caused
by the previous government,” he said.
He
said one of the projects was about the establishment of a hospital through
Saudi grant, but even that was not availed by the PTI government due to the
fear of National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
“The
hospital was to be completed within six months and some more such projects were
to be executed on soft loans but they were kept in cupboards,” he said, adding
that he requested the SDF team to stay for another two days in Pakistan and he
got sanctioned the stalled projects in 48 hours.
“Trust
me, it was very embarrassing. But I asked for some time and got approvals for
all the delayed projects within 48 hours,” the PM said.
Mr
Sharif said that during his meeting with Prince Salman, he apologised for the
delay in execution of the projects. Prince Salman said the people of Pakistan
and Saudi Arabia had close ties, he quoted him as saying. “We are like one
family and I am ready to do everything, […] these were his words. The Saudi
prince also told us to work on projects and to facilitate them without any
worries,” PM Sharif said, elaborating that the projects included an oil
refinery worth $10bn.
The
prime minister said in the last few years, Pakistan’s relations with friendly
countries had suffered and promised that he was making all-out efforts to mend
ties. When Prince Salman visits Pakistan, he said, “I want all of you to
welcome him warmly because he comes from a brotherly country”.
He
added that he was visiting China soon. “China has been an all-weather friend to
us and always stood by Pakistan.”
PM
Shehbaz also briefly said there was no reason to “ruin ties with the US”,
promising that the government was trying to mend that relationship as well.
At
the outset of his address, the prime minister appreciated the sacrifices
rendered by the police in protecting the country from terrorism and crime and
urged the police force to make the counter-terrorism department of Islamabad an
example for other provinces.
About
flood survivors, PM Sharif said he was actively working on providing them with
relief, and hundreds of billions of rupees were being arranged to fund
rehabilitation through international avenues.
Later,
Prime Minister Sharif appointed Tariq Mahmood Pasha as Special Assistant to the
Prime Minister on Revenue, with the status of a minister of state, while PM’s
focal person Ahmed Jawad quit and left politics.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1717492/10bn-saudi-investment-on-the-cards-says-pm
--------
Pro-PTI
protester held near Nawaz’s home in London
Atika
Rehman
October
29, 2022
LONDON:
A young man was detained and later released by Scotland Yard on Friday when
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf activists protested outside Avenfield House, the
residence of PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif.
PTI
supporter Shayan Ali was held down by police officials, who appealed to the
activists for calm as they came face to face with PML-N supporters on Dunraven
Street.
Dozens
of PTI protesters had gathered outside the apartment building on Friday
evening, to coincide with the party’s long march in Pakistan. As they gathered
at the site and chanted slogans, PML-N workers and supporters reacted and
chanted counter-slogans.
Protesters
on both sides accused the leaders of the two parties of being behind the murder
of journalist Arshad Sharif, who was shot dead by the police in Kenya.
At
least, three officers were seen holding Mr Ali and handcuffing him as his
mother protested his detention. Mr Ali was later released.
The
PTI youth is a supporter of Imran Khan and is often seen outside Mr Sharif’s
residence or Hussain Nawaz’s office protesting against the Sharifs.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1717475/pro-pti-protester-held-near-nawazs-home-in-london
--------
Pakhtun
leaders vow not to tolerate terrorists on their soil
Fazal
Khaliq
October
29, 2022
SWAT:
Pakhtun leaders from across the country gathered here on Friday to protest the
recent incidents of terrorism in the region and said members of their community
wouldn’t tolerate terrorists on their land.
The
rally was organised by Swat Olasi Pasoon and Swat Qaumi Jirga in Barikot tehsil
to demand ‘durable’ peace in Pakhtun areas, especially Malakand division.
People
from all walks of life attended it in large numbers. Political parties from
across the country were also in attendance.
The
speakers included Pashtun Tahafuz Movement chief Manzoor Pashteen, MPA Ahmad
Kundi, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Qaumi Watan Party provincial president
Sikandar Sherpao, Awami National Party leader Salim Khan, Mukhtiar Yousafzai of
the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Ayub Khan Asharey, Attaullah Jan, Idrees
Bacha, Aftab Khan, Zahid Khan, Khushal Kakar, Dr Khalid Mahmood, Sher Shah
Khan, Adalat Khan, Engineer Sharafat Ali and Syed Mohammad Ali Shah.
Another
peace rally staged in Swat
They
said street protests by Swat residents for their region’s peace and prosperity
encouraged Pakhtuns all over the world to raise voice for their rights.
Khushal
Kakar, a Balochistan resident, said history would remember the ongoing Swat
rallies in ‘golden words’ as they not only shook state institutions but also
inspired all oppressed Pakhtuns.
He
said it was high time for Pakhtuns to stand united to claim their rights.
The
speakers said Pakhtuns had sent out a message to the world that they were
peace-loving nation and not terrorists.
Senator
Mushtaq said billions of rupees were being spent on the country’s defence and
law and order, but the life and property of Pakhtuns continued to be unsafe.
“We
demand peace and say no to terrorism, targeted killings, extortion, checkpost
humiliation and search operations on Pakhtun soil,” he said.
The
lawmaker said Pakhtuns won’t tolerate the disgracing of their elders and
values, and killing of their community members.
He
said MNA Ali Wazir was an elected representative of Pakhtuns but ‘state
institutions’ treated him unfairly.
Mr
Mushtaq said the courts, which opened even on weekends, hadn’t heard the
detained MNA’s lawyers for six months.
ANP
leader Salim Khan said all Pakhtuns were grateful to the people of Swat for
uniting them to protect their interests.
“The
Pakhtun youth have to carry the progressive movement of their great elders
forward and stand untied to protect peace and claim their resources,” he said.
Mr
Khan said the supporters of Taliban militants selected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to
enforce Sharia though the province’s residents were true Muslims.
MPA
Ahmad Kundi said the entire Pakhtun belt was rich in resources but its people
were marginalised, underdeveloped and poor.
He
said of the country’s total 90,000 barrels oil, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produces
50,000 barrels, whose value is Rs1 billion daily and Rs365 billion annually.
Also, our province produces cheap hydel power than but its supply is controlled
from Punjab. We also have vast reserves of minerals, forests and water but the
centre doesn’t give us our due rights,” he said.
The
lawmaker said he was happy to see Pakhtuns rise up from Chitral to Gwadar to
claim rights.
PTM
head Manzoor Pashteen said all Pakhtuns recognised and followed the
Constitution of Pakistan, but they’re not recognised by the state.
He
said Pakhtuns were oppressed but street protests by them had made it clear that
they won’t allow anyone to take away their lives or resources.
“All
Pakhtuns understand that the state wants Pakhtuns to stay underdeveloped, but
they are now united and will snatch their rights from those at the helm,” he
said.
The
PTM leader said Pakhtuns would not take up arms for peace and their safety as
the state spent billions of rupees for the purpose.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1717409/pakhtun-leaders-vow-not-to-tolerate-terrorists-on-their-soil
--------
Hazara
ATC grants bail to 80 TLP workers
October
29, 2022
HARIPUR:
The Anti-Terrorism Court Hazara here on Friday granted bail to 80
Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan workers arrested for arson attacks, firing, damage
to public property, and other acts of terrorism.
ATC
judge Sajjad Ahmad Jan accepted the bail petition of TLP workers and ordered
their counsel to produce security bonds for their release from the Haripur
jail.
Barrister
Yousuf Hinjra, legal adviser to the TLP, appeared before the court leading an
eight-strong team of lawyers for the detainees. Public prosecutor Arif Khan
appeared for the state.
The
Havelian police had arrested TLP workers on Oct 16 night and next morning over
a clash with their personnel deployed at the Chamba Bridge entrance to Havelian
from Haripur.
Thousand
of party workers led by their chief Allama Saad Rizvi attempted in vain to
cross that bridge to attend a Miladun Nabi procession in Havelian despite a ban
on rallies.
The
police registered a criminal case against the TLP leadership and workers for
carrying weapons, catapults and sticks, and attacking the policemen at the
Chamba Bridge.
The
police claimed that those attacks injured their 33 personnel, including an
inspector, and damaged several public and private vehicles as well as property.
In
the FIR, they nominated 90 attackers, including TLP chief Allama Saad Rizvi,
local leaders Mufti Umair al Azhari, Shafiq Amini, Saleh Awan, Hanif Jadoon,
Shaukat Rizvi and others.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1717408/hazara-atc-grants-bail-to-80-tlp-workers
--------
South Asia
Afghanistan:
Taliban uses Hamas meeting to send a message to the Muslim world
By
Ali M Latifi in Kabul
28
October 2022
Earlier
this week, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted out a
picture of him meeting with Hamas leaders in Istanbul. In the tweet, Mujahid
said that he discussed issues of Afghanistan and Palestine, including the
status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, with a delegation that included Ismail Haniyeh,
Hamas's political chief.
Mujahid
has been in Turkey for more than one week now, where he has been attending a
conference of Islamic scholars and meeting with Afghan businessowners, whom he
hopes to convince to invest back in their cash-strapped home country.
Though
Ankara does not yet officially recognise the Taliban's Islamic Emirate as the
government of Afghanistan, Turkey has maintained ties with the Taliban that
date back to when they were an armed opposition movement fighting the former
western-backed Islamic Republic administration.
However,
the news of Mujahid's meeting with Haniyeh has caught experts in Afghanistan
and the Middle East by surprise.
Still,
Haniyeh has expressed his apparent support of the Taliban in the past. Shortly
after the group returned to power in August 2021, the Hamas leader shared
details of a phone call he had with senior Taliban official Abdul Ghani
Baradar.
In
his congratulatory phone call, Haniyeh said that the end of the western
occupation of Afghanistan was "a prelude to the demise of all occupation
forces, foremost of which is the Israeli occupation of Palestine".
The
following October, Haniyeh had a similar phone call with the Taliban's acting
foreign minister, Amir Muttaqi. In that conversation, Haniyeh urged the Islamic
Emirate to keep "Palestine present in the speeches of the Afghan foreign
ministry, especially Jerusalem and the ongoing [Israeli] violations there".
Haroun
Rahimi, an Afghan academic and author currently based in the US, says the most
recent in-person meeting could be a part of the Taliban's efforts to secure
some sort of international recognition, and that standing with Palestine would
send a very specific message.
"The
Taliban is trying to tap into the anti-imperialist and anti-western sentiment
amongst [some] Muslims as a way to put pressure on other Muslim leaders,"
Rahimi told Middle East Eye.
Rahimi
says Mujahid's face-to-face meeting with Haniyeh is also important for its
symbolism: "Being associated with the Palestinian cause, and gaining the
endorsement and support of Palestinian leaders, could help improve the
Taliban's standing in the Muslim world."
The
Taliban may also be seeking to link Afghanistan and Palestine as two occupied
countries, as Haniyeh had done.
"The
Taliban also saw Afghanistan as being occupied by western powers, and would
like to portray themselves as the freedom fighters who have freed the country
from American imperialism," Rahimi said, an idea he believes the Taliban
could use in an effort to bolster support among other Muslim communities.
Ultimately,
though, Rahimi says the Taliban is still very much driven by its desire to be
seen as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, which was also likely a
factor in Mujahid's decision to meet with the Hamas leaders.
"The
Taliban wants to have as much diplomatic activities as possible and having
interactions with Palestine also makes ideological sense for [the group],"
Rahimi says.
'What
problem do we have with Israel?'
Authorities
in Afghanistan have repeatedly expressed support for the Palestinian cause over
the past 20 years.
In
2019, Afghanistan's then ambassador to Turkey donated $1m in aid to Palestinian
refugees, following on from $500,000 given to the people of Gaza five years
earlier.
The
Afghan senate denounced Israel's war on Gaza in 2014, and the western-backed
government also criticised the 2021 Israeli attacks on worshippers and
civilians at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The
Taliban, meanwhile, has even had to distance itself from Israel.
In
August, Taliban spokesman Muhammad Naeem came under criticism when he refused
to rule out ties with Israel during an appearance on Al Jazeera Arabic. When
asked if the Islamic Emirate would be willing to engage with Israel, Naeem said
the Taliban was open to relations with anyone who was receptive to the idea.
"What
problem do we have with Israel? Next thing someone will ask whether we are
willing to have a dialogue with Mars," he said during the appearance.
However, Naeem soon retracted his statement, saying his words had been
misinterpreted.
Source:
MiddleEastEye
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/afghanistan-taliban-hamas-meeting-send-message-muslim-world
--------
Christians
decry lack of justice in Bangladesh
October
28, 2022
Bangladesh’s
failure to deliver justice to religious minorities like Christians for cases of
violence and killing amid lack of effort to establish the rule of law continues
to tarnish the image of the country, Christian leaders say.
The
reactions came as Bangladesh was ranked 127th out of 140 countries in the Rule
of Law Index 2022 by Washington DC-based World Justice Project (WJP). The index
published on Oct. 26 saw the South Asian country slip two notches from the
previous ranking.
Bangladesh
was ranked fourth among South Asian nations. Nepal was the top performer in the
region, followed by Sri Lanka and India. Afghanistan had the lowest score in
South Asia.
Globally,
Denmark, Norway, and Finland topped the WJP Rule of Law index. Venezuela,
Cambodia, and Afghanistan had the lowest overall scores.
The
WJP said Bangladesh’s poor show reflects the continued deterioration of the
rule of law, weakening in constraints on government powers, erosion in
fundamental rights, caused by growing authoritarianism, and the shrinking of
civic space.
Father
Anthony Sen, a member of the Catholic bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission,
noted the index shows the state of affairs in terms of justice and rule of law
in the country where religious minorities like Christians struggle to get
justice for violation of rights.
“Christian
community like other religious groups suffer from injustice, denial of
fundamental rights, or lack of the rule of law. Our cases of violence and
rights abuses are now in deep freeze while Christians struggle for survival
amid land grabbing. More than 20 years passed but no justice for the bombing of
a church. The demand for justice is still being made on the streets,” Father
Sen, based in the northern Dinajpur Diocese, told UCA News.
The
priest referred to the 2016 violent attacks on ethnic Santal Christians by a
Muslim mob over a land dispute in the Gaibandha district that left 3 killed and
thousands evicted. The same year, a Catholic grocer, 60-year-old Sunil Gomes
was hacked to death allegedly by Islamic extremists. In 2001, a Catholic Church
was bombed by terrorists leaving 10 dead and about 50 injured.
“These
cases have made no progress. Initially, the government and law enforcement
agencies were very active but later there was no result. That is, the
government only promises but does not deliver accordingly. The government no
longer needs votes from minorities to win elections, so it keeps silent when
party men grab the lands of minorities. People are suffering,” Father Sen
added.
Bangladesh
Christian Association (BCA) secretary Hemanta Corraya said that Christians
enjoy religious freedom but agreed in cases of legal justice Christians lag
behind.
“In
many cases, Christians are more deprived than others. There are plenty of cases
of the grabbing of the land of ethnic Christians and mostly ruling party men
are involved. Justice is delayed and denied, so many people do not go to court
even if they face persecution,” Corraya told UCA News.
Corraya
insisted that Church leaders including bishops and priests need to be vocal
about justice for Christians.
The
ruling Awami League, in power since 2008, is gripped by an ‘autocratic mindset’
which denies the party from practicing democracy and empowerment from the top
to grassroots level, said a Catholic politician on condition of anonymity.
"I
have been in politics for almost 20 years but still at the sub-district
level," the politician from Gopalganj district, the home of Prime Minister
Hasina, told UCA News. “This is because I am a Christian but the majority are
Muslims and the second reason is that I have no money [to please senior
leaders], ” he said.
Source:UCANews
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/christians-decry-lack-of-justice-in-bangladesh/99231
--------
Taliban
Approves Conservation Work On Historic Afghan Synagogue, Mikveh
By
JACKIE HAJDENBERG
28
October 2022
JTA
— Though the Jews of Herat in western Afghanistan haven’t lived there in decades,
the city’s historic synagogue, thought to have been built around the turn of
the 20th century, is set to undergo a conservation project with the backing of
the Taliban government, according to the Art Newspaper.
The
16-month project, set to start in November, is aimed at preventing the collapse
of the Yu Aw synagogue’s structure. It is being planned by the Herat
municipality and other local organizations, and it is being funded with nearly
$500,000 from the Aliph Foundation, a Swiss group aimed at protecting cultural
heritage sites in conflict areas. The community mikveh, known as the Hammam-e
Mosaie, will also be repaired as part of the project.
The
synagogue last underwent a two-year restoration project that was completed in
2009, with funding from another Swiss organization. For a few years, it served
as an educational center for women and children, but it was shut down again in
2014 due to seepage from a “poorly constructed, UN-funded municipal drainage
channel in the adjoining road,” the Art Newspaper reported. It is also not
explicitly a Jewish heritage project.
“This
is a cultural and historic site, which is not used as a place of worship, and
the local government will support its preservation,” Zalmay Safa, the head of
Herat’s monuments department, told the Art Newspaper. “Despite the change in
government our historic sites remain protected and they are not in any way
connected to religious matters.”
By
1948, Herat’s Jewish population, that once numbered in the tens of thousands,
had dropped to about 280 Jewish families. With the establishment of the State
of Israel, many of these families moved to Israel or the United States, and the
local Jewish community had completely left by the 1970s.
In
the following decades, nearly all of the Jews of Afghanistan left the country,
with one notable exception — Zebulon Simantov, who was born in Herat, refused
to leave the country despite numerous security risks until September 2021, one
month after the Taliban, a radical Islamist regime that the United States considers
a terrorist group, returned to power.
Simantov
went to Israel, where his ex-wife had been living with their two daughters,
waiting for him to grant her a religious divorce document that he had been
withholding.
Source:TimesOfIsrael
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Two
senior TTP commanders killed in Afghanistan
October
27, 2022
KARACHI:
Two
senior commanders of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed
in separate incidents in Afghanistan on Thursday.
Local
sources told The Express Tribune that TTP commander Bismillah alias Asadullah
Pehelwan has been assassinated by unknown gunmen in Spin Boldak in Kandahar.
The
sources said that 35-year-old Pehelwan belonged to the militant wing of the
radical group and had moved to Kandahar to avoid target-killing alongside
others.
The
renowned Taliban commander was killed by unknown gunmen who left them on the
spot.
Another
militant Mudasir Iqbal, who hails from Sialkot in Punjab province, was picked
up by unknown gunmen a few days earlier and his body was found on the roadside
today in Nangahar.
Mudasir
was the terrorist had released a video after the APS school attack.
Earlier
this month, TTP commander Maulvi Abdullah was critically injured in a targeted
attack in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.
The
former chief justice of the Bajaur tribal district was inside a vehicle when an
improvised explosive device (IED) attack resulted in him getting critically
wounded, sources confirmed to The Express Tribune.
The
driver of the vehicle and two aides of Abdullah onboard were also seriously
injured, while a passerby was killed in the attack.
Source:Tribune
Pakistan
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2383628/two-senior-ttp-commanders-killed-in-afghanistan
--------
Europe
UK
rights group slams broad 'illegality', anti-Muslim trait of govt.’s anti-terror
plan
29
October 2022
A
British rights group has expressed alarm over the UK’s controversial Prevent
strategy, insisting that the purported anti-terror plan has led to unlawful
collection of personal data and facilitated “widespread illegality.”
Describing
the government policy as "confused, secretive, and illegal," a report
published this week by Rights and Security International (RSI) further
emphasized, "Prevent, like other aspects of the government's national
security strategy, operates largely in secrecy. The handling of people's
personal data under Prevent is no exception."
The
report also pointed out that the holding of information in Prevent databases,
which is accessed by the police, intelligence services and other public bodies,
appeared to be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
"We
conclude that, despite an abundance of general government guidance about
Prevent, little information exists about how the government believes agencies
such as police, schools, hospitals and local authorities should treat people's
personal information under Prevent," it added as cited in a Friday report
by the London-based Middle East Eye (MEE).
"To
put it bluntly, the government has not established a sufficient evidence base
to justify data gathering, storage and sharing under Prevent as effective in –
let alone necessary to – stopping acts of terrorism," the report noted.
Muslims,
other minorities mostly targeted by Prevent
Meanwhile,
RSI’s Jacob Smith – who helped compile the alarming report – told MEE that
"since Prevent’s introduction, the strategy has negatively affected Muslim
and other minority communities, activists or individuals who hold different
political or religious opinions."
Smith
further expressed concerns that the hoarding of Prevent data would
disproportionately impact Britain's Muslim community and lead them to be
targeted by British police and other security agencies.
"Official
government statistics indicate that Muslims are more likely to be referred to
Prevent unnecessarily, yet the police and other public authorities still want
to hoard this data – putting the person under constant suspicion and impacting
their daily life," Smith emphasized.
He
then cited an example of a 2020 High Court case in which a mother filed a claim
against the London Metropolitan Police, which insisted on retaining her
11-year-old son's data for six years despite admitting that his referral was a
mistake.
“While
in theory this applies to all individuals referred to Prevent, the fact remains
that more Islam-related referrals are classed as mistaken than any other
category of extremism that the government identifies,” Smith reiterated.
“As
such, they are more likely to have their data held unnecessarily – when they
have been held, by the government’s own reasoning, to not require
intervention.”
While
the RSI report acknowledges that British law allows the collection and
retention of data by the intelligence services "potentially on a massive
scale" on national security grounds, it also points out that the UK
government has not demonstrated that the retention of data gathered through
Prevent was a necessary or effective means of stopping terrorism.
Meanwhile,
UK’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed during his campaign for the
leadership of the ruling Conservative Party that Prevent should be reformed,
suggesting he would treat those who "vilify Britain" as extremists.
"There
is no more important duty for a prime minister than keeping our country and our
people safe," Sunak insisted. "Whether redoubling our efforts to
tackle Islamist extremism or rooting out those who are vocal in their hatred of
our country, I will do whatever it takes to fulfill that duty."
Sunak
further claimed that Islamist extremism was "the single largest threat to
the UK's national security," noting that the Prevent strategy failed to
address it.
According
to the RSI report, it was also likely that the British government was sharing
data gathered through Prevent with other countries.
The
Prevent Duty, introduced in 2015, requires all public bodies including
universities, schools and hospitals to refer people to the program if they are
assessed to be vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Russia
announces trilateral meeting with Azerbaijan, Armenia on Monday
Elena
Teslova
28.10.2022
MOSCOW
The
Kremlin on Friday announced a trilateral meeting of Russian, Azerbaijani and
Armenian leaders in the resort city of Sochi on Monday.
"On
the initiative of the Russian side, trilateral talks between Russian President
Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister
Nikol Pashinyan will take place in Sochi on Oct.31," a Kremlin statement
said.
Putin,
Aliyev and Pashinyan plan to review the implementation of the trilateral
agreements on Karabakh signed in 2020 and 2021 and further steps to strengthen
stability and security in Southern Caucasus, the statement said.
"Issues
of restoration and development of trade, economic and transport ties will also
be discussed," it added.
Relations
between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the
Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally
recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Bosnia
and Herzegovina has a place in the EU: EU Commission head
Talha
Ozturk
28.10.2022
BELGRADE,
Serbia
The
European Commission president on Friday reaffirmed support for Bosnia and
Herzegovina’s aspirations for EU membership.
“Bosnia
and Herzegovina has a place in the EU. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a part of
Europe. The EU's view on candidate country status is also an indicator of
Bosnia and Herzegovina's success,” Ursula von der Leyen told a press conference
at the Army House in the capital Sarajevo.
“The
doors of the EU are always open. Take the opportunity given to you now. It is
in your hands to act together, and we will always be by your side,” said Von
der Leyen.
The
top EU official announced an emergency grant of €70 million ($69.7 million) to
help Bosnia and Herzegovina deal with the spiraling energy crisis in Europe,
adding that the disbursement process should be finalized by January.
"Russia
is not just waging a war against Ukraine. There is a war in the field of energy
as well. Being united is important not only for the EU but also for you. Many
people are worried about the war in Ukraine, but united we will be strong,”
said Von der Leyen.
Von
der Leyen then departed for Serbia to continue her tour of the Western Balkans.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Far-right
wants to profit from energy crisis, says German domestic intelligence agency
28.10.2022
BERLIN
Far-right
groups are spreading conspiracy theories about an imminent total blackout and a
collapse of the state order, a senior German intelligence officer warned on
Friday.
Bernhard
Witthaut, president of domestic intelligence agency in the German state of
Lower Saxony, said particularly the right-wing Querdenker (lateral thinkers)
movement is spreading conspiracy theories in connection with the energy crisis.
"These
people are concerned with destabilizing society and the political system as a
whole. The aim is to deliberately stir up hatred and fear to instrumentalize
these emotions for their own purposes,” he told the German Press Agency (dpa).
Witthaut
believes that "in these times, dealing with disinformation is one of the
key challenges for our security authorities."
Witthaut
said he was particularly concerned that extremism was becoming
"delimited," with the trajectories of extremist radicalization
increasingly shifting to the digital world.
"The
days when extremists organized themselves into clearly definable groups are
long gone," the top official said.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Arab World
‘Out
of question’: Lebanon’s Aoun rules out peace with Israel
28
October 2022
Lebanese
President Michel Aoun has ruled out peace with the “Israeli enemy,” a day after
the sides signed a deal that demarcates their maritime border in the
Mediterranean Sea.
Aoun
held a meeting with journalists on Friday to say farewell as he is set to leave
Baabda Palace on Sunday, at the end of his term.
“The
idea of peace with the Israeli enemy is out of the question,” he said, noting
that the talks with the Israeli regime were indirect and that the deal was
brokered by US mediation.
He
also said that the regime “cannot withdraw” from the maritime deal.
Lebanon
and Israel separately signed the US-brokered deal on Thursday. The final
paperwork was submitted to the United Nations in Naqura, South Lebanon,
concluding a long path of indirect negotiations of 12 years with the Israeli
regime.
Separately
on Friday, the outgoing president told LBCI that Lebanon “demarcated the
borders to avert war,” and that the agreement was “the outcome of national
interests and stability.”
“There
are no papers, signatures, or anything else in the process of signing the
demarcation agreement that could indicate a peace agreement [was made],” he
said.
Israel
and Lebanon have technically been at war for decades. Israel invaded Lebanon in
1982 during the latter’s civil war and occupied Lebanese territory until 2000.
Israel’s last military aggression against Lebanon was in the summer of 2006.
On
Thursday evening, the secretary general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance
movement called the deal a “very big victory for Lebanon and its people and
resistance.”
“Our
mission is complete,” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said, emphasizing that the deal
“is not an international treaty and must not be viewed as recognition of
Israel.”
“Israel
received no security guarantees,” the Hezbollah chief asserted.
The
remarks came as Amos Hochstein, the US mediator, admitted on Thursday that
Washington and Tel Aviv made concessions to Lebanon out of fear of war.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/10/28/691733/Lebanon-Aoun-rules-out-peace-with-Israel
--------
Saudi
Arabia’s King, Crown Prince send well wishes to Iraq’s new government
28
October, 2022
Saudi
Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have
sent their well wishes to Iraq on the formation of the country’s new
government.
The
Saudi leaders sent their cables of congratulations to the Prime Minister of
Iraq, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.
King
Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in their cables, said: “On the
occasion of your government’s winning of the confidence votes by the Iraqi
parliament, we are pleased to send… our sincere congratulations and best wishes
for success and prosperity, and to the people of the fraternal Republic of Iraq
further progress and prosperity.”
Iraqi
lawmakers approved a new government Thursday after a year-long crisis triggered
by contested elections, the office of the prime minister said.
“The
government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has obtained the
confidence of the National Assembly,” his office said in a statement after the
vote.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Saudi
Arabia, China foreign affairs ministers discuss expansion of ties
28
October, 2022
Saudi
Arabia and China discussed ways to expand bilateral relations in a meeting
between the foreign ministers of the two countries.
Saudi
Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan chaired the
virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the Kingdom’s foreign
ministry said in a statement.
The
meeting was held as part of the fourth edition of the Political and Foreign
Affairs Committee under the China-Saudi High-Level Joint Committee.
The
ministers reportedly signed off on the “executive work program of the Political
Affairs Committee.”
Deputy
Foreign Minister Walid al-Khuraji and Undersecretary at the Ministry for
Political Affairs Dr. Saud al-Sati were also present during the meeting.
China’s
state news agency Xinhua reported on Thursday that the country “appreciates
Saudi Arabia's pursuing of an independent energy policy and making active
efforts to maintain the stability of the international energy market.”
The
remarks come after OPEC+, the producer group comprising the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) plus allies including Russia, announced
oil output cuts after weeks of lobbying by US officials against such a move.
The
US accused Saudi Arabia of kowtowing to Moscow, which objects to a Western cap
on the price of Russian oil in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
Saudi
Arabia maintains that the OPEC+ decision was “purely economic.”
“China
stands ready to step up communication and coordination with Saudi Arabia on
hotspot issues in the Middle East, jointly safeguard regional peace and
stability, and strengthen coordination with Saudi Arabia on multilateral
platforms such as the United Nations, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization and the G20,” Xinhua reported after the two foreign ministers
spoke.
The
latest interaction follows a call between Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and China’s National Energy Administrator Zhang
Jianhua, earlier this month.
The
duo discussed global energy security and agreed to work together to support the
stability of the international oil market.
They
also highlighted the importance of “long-term and reliable” oil supply to
stabilize a dynamic global market that is currently facing “complex and
changeable international situations,” according to a Saudi Press Agency report.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Lebanon’s
president hits out as failing nation heads toward political vacuum
NAJIA
HOUSSARI
October
29, 2022
BEIRUT:
Lebanon’s president settled scores with political opponents as he prepared to
leave office, criticizing parliament for failing to elect his replacement and
stating that the caretaker government was happy to see the country remain
paralyzed.
Michel
Aoun also railed against a “hostile” media, claimed he was “conspired against”
in efforts to tackle corruption, and held Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister,
responsible for failing to form a government before the end of his presidential
term.
“Everyone
conspired against me at home and abroad to prevent me from fighting
corruption,” he told journalists at the presidential palace, 48 hours before he
was due to leave.
He
criticized parliament for failing to elect his successor, and stated that calls
by Speaker Nabih Berri for dialogue between opposing factions to find a
candidate would fail.
“Berri’s
call for the parliamentary blocs to consult each other will fail because Berri
does not have the right to call for dialogue,” Aoun said.
Lebanon’s
parliament remains paralyzed after a May election that returned a house with no
one commanding a clear majority. Hezbollah and its allies have the largest
number of seats, and are leading a caretaker administration. Aoun’s Free
Patriotic Movement and its allies are the second largest bloc and a third
includes non-aligned independents. None of the blocs can agree on a working
coalition, and none can command enough votes for a presidential nominee to be
elected outright.
Aoun
accused Mikati of having no serious intention of forming a government through
negotiation.
He
demanded that FPM head Gebran Bassil get to choose his ministers like other
parties. “Mikati does not adopt the same standards with the Strong Lebanon Bloc
and the FPM that he adopts with the Amal Movement, Hezbollah, the Socialist
Party, and the rest of the parties. They always blame Bassil.”
Aoun
hinted at being “on the verge of signing the decree for the resignation of the
caretaker government” — contradicting statements by his media office days ago
that he had no such intention.
“If
a government is not formed, a caretaker government cannot rule, and I cannot
accept a caretaker government,” he said.
Mikati
hit back, saying that “Aoun’s memory is betraying him. He is confused between
facts, wishes and illusions.”
Aoun
will leave the presidential palace on Oct. 30, one day before his term
officially ends. He will be accompanied by a convoy of his supporters from the
FPM to his villa in Rabieh.
The
outgoing president lamented the constant crises he faced while in office,
stating that not one official in the country helped him fight corruption. “I
did not accept any tutelage state, nor did I accept bribes from any state like
many officials have,” he said.
“I
have faced hostile media and major and harmful financial, natural, and health
disasters. The Beirut port explosion, the closed borders with Syria with 1.8
million refugees in Lebanon, an empty treasury, and now we are facing a cholera
outbreak.
Of
the financial crisis, Auon said that those responsible “are responsible for the
country’s fiscal and monetary policy, all of which must be investigated.
“But
those controlling the judicial authority are protecting them.”
The
president described the relationship with Hezbollah as serious, saying: “We
have a problem with the party regarding the fight against corruption. Hezbollah
and the Amal Movement are twins, and separating them may lead to bloodshed.”
Hezbollah
chief Hassan Nasrallah reportedly met Bassil on Wednesday to discuss the
potential presidential and government vacuum.
Samir
Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces party which opposes the Hezbollah
parliamentary bloc and is a rival of the FPM, noted: “Violating the laws and
the constitution has brought us here.”
Geagea
accused Hezbollah and the FPM of not wanting to agree on a presidential
candidate. “Meanwhile, we have our candidate and we will continue to vote for
him. We will respond to Berri’s call for dialogue, provided that he calls for a
session to elect a president as soon as possible,” he said.
As
a presidential vacuum looms, legal experts stressed that a Mikati government
could indeed continue to operate in caretaker mode.
Michel
Qlimous, a lawyer, said: “No one can prevent it from operating because Article
64 of the constitution is clear and explicit — until a new government is
formed, following constitutional principles and Article 53.”
Should
FPM ministers refuse to continue to be part of the caretaker government, its
work will not be disrupted and it will still be able to operate within limits
if two-thirds of the quorum is secured, he said.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2189951/middle-east
--------
Iraq’s
new government unlikely to solve crises
October
28, 2022
BAGHDAD:
Iraq’s parliament has approved the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia
Al-Sudani after more than a year of political paralysis, but the war-ravaged
country is far from reaching safe shores.
Sudani
now faces the gargantuan task of delivering on pledges to fight corruption and
offer job opportunities to the country’s disaffected youth, all while grappling
with an unpredictable political opponent.
In
a bid to dispel criticism over his pro-Iran political backers in parliament, he
has also vowed not to “adopt the polarized politics” of the past that saw Iraq
split among fiercely rival camps.
But
oil-rich Iraq has for years suffered rampant corruption preventing the adequate
distribution of funds, and analysts predict no imminent end to the country’s
protracted crises.
Sudani
and his 21-member cabinet gained the confidence of lawmakers Thursday, in a
vote that came more than a year after the country’s last legislative election.
The
key step was welcomed by UN chief Antonio Guterres, his spokesman Stephane
Dujarric said Friday.
The
legislature is dominated by the Coordination Framework, a bloc made up mainly
of pro-Iran factions including the former paramilitary Hashed Al-Shaabi.
Also
part of the Framework is former premier Nuri Al-Maliki, the longtime rival of
firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, who has been involved in heated duels
with the bloc all year.
Sadr,
who has the ability to mobilize tens of thousands of his supporters with a
single message, has already refused to join Sudani’s government.
Under
a power-sharing system adopted in Iraq in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led
invasion, cabinet posts are shared between Iraq’s ethnic and confessional
communities.
As
such, 12 ministers are Shiites hailing from the Coordination Framework, six are
Sunnis, two are Kurds and one is a Christian, with two other ministries
reserved for Kurds yet to be filled.
The
new government has come to power “via the same methods as previous governments,
with the same blocs and the same parties” that have dominated politics since
the 2003 toppling of dictator Saddam Hussein, political analyst Ali Baidar
said.
And
these parties “view the country’s resources and capabilities as spoils that
they can divide between themselves.”
But
the new cabinet lacks the support of a crucial faction — that of Sadr.
Tensions
between the Coordination Framework and Sadr came to a head in late August, when
more then 30 of the cleric’s supporters were killed in clashes with Iran-backed
factions and the army.
Sadr
has repeatedly demanded early elections, but the Framework sought to ensure
that a government was in place before any polls were held.
Sudani
has promised to “modify the election law within three months and organize
elections within a year,” in an apparent response to Sadr’s demands.
Granting
concessions to the Sadrists could guarantee a “relative stability,” according
to Ihsan Al-Shammari, a political scientist at the University of Baghdad.
In
contrast, Lahib Higel of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group think
tank, believes “the parties behind the current government are not interested in
holding early elections” and that “a year is unrealistic.”
But
Shammari pointed to the possibility of an “extreme reaction” if the Sadrists
feel “isolated” or that “there is a plan to undermine their political future.”
Sudani
has said he will urgently work on improvements and developments that “affect
the lives of citizens.”
Memories
are fresh of the nationwide anti-government protests against endemic corruption
that erupted in October 2019, and on Friday, hundreds gathered to demonstrate
against the new government in the southern city of Nasiriyah.
In
terms of foreign policy, Sudani has reiterated vows not to “allow Iraq to be a
base for attacks on other countries.”
He
has added that he would not engage past power struggles between rival camps,
and instead pursue a policy of “friendship and cooperation with all.”
Higel
said she expects that Sudani “will make internal issues such as unemployment,
water and electric scarcity his priority rather than focusing on foreign
policy.”
In
an Iraq desperately in need of foreign investment, he “will try to seek a
balance between the West and Iran,” despite his staunchly pro-Iran support
base, the analyst said.
But
in a country often caught in the crosshairs of regional conflicts — having
recently been the target of both Turkish and Iranian strikes — “balance” may
not be enough, Shammari said.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2189871/middle-east
--------
Independent,
strong Iraq will promote regional security: President Raeisi
28
October 2022
Iranian
President Ebrahim Raeisi says a developed, independent and strong Iraq with a
positive and constructive role can help promote security in the region.
In
a message on Friday, Raeisi extended his congratulations to Mohammed Shia
al-Sudani over his election by Iraqi lawmakers as the country's new prime
minister and the establishment of a new government headed by him, ending a
year-long stalemate.
The
Islamic Republic has always supported the political process in Iraq based on
people's votes and would spare no efforts to expand cordial relations with the
Arab country, the Iranian chief executive added. He hoped amicable ties between
Tehran and Baghdad would be further developed in all fields based on
deep-rooted civilizational and cultural commonalities.
Raeisi
reiterated Iran's determination to strengthen cooperation with Iraq.
The
Iraqi legislatures voted in favor of the premier's 21-member cabinet on
Thursday.
The
vote was held precisely one week after the parliament elected Abdul Latif
Rashid as the Arab nation’s new president, who immediately named Sudani as his
premier.
Rashid's
election took place against the backdrop of three failed attempts by the
legislative body to pick a head of state.
The
country held general elections last year. Popular Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr
won the contest, but failed to rally enough support to form a government.
Sudani
has pledged to hold early elections "within a year."
The
new premier is, meanwhile, expected to tackle the country's deep-rooted
corruption.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Iran
Blasts So-Called Human Rights Advocates for Silence
2022-October-28
The
statement said that an armed terrorist entered the holy shrine of Shah Cheragh
and started shooting at pilgrims and worshippers, which left 15 martyred and
more than 30 injured people, including a few women and three children among the
victims.
One
of the child victims is named Artin Seraydaran, who has lost his father, mother
and brother in the atrocious attack, the statement mentioned, adding that the
terrorist clashed with security forces and was injured; then, he lost his life
despite some surgeries at a hospital in Shiraz; although, Iran’s judiciary
system continues probing into the terrorist’s affiliations and nationality.
Since,
the terror attack is an apparent violation of international rights, the perpetrators
and those who have been behind the attack should be brought to justice, the
statement said.
The
silence of the international community, specially those states who claim to be
supporters of human rights when it comes to terrorism in Iran shows discrimination
in facing the terrorist acts and separating such heinous moves into good and
bad ones promotes terrorists to keep on their crimes throughout the world, it
warned, adding that the governments and international organizations, who
neglect assassination of more than 17k innocent people in Iran and even give
them amnesty are considered as promoters of terrorism.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010806000370/Iran-Blass-S-Called-Hman-Righs-Avcaes-fr-Silence
--------
Hamas,
Islamic Jihad vow Palestinian resistance will continue until Israel defeated
28
October 2022
The
Gaza-based Hamas and Islamic Jihad resistance movements have slammed the fatal
Israeli shooting of two Palestinian men at a military checkpoint south of
Nablus, vowing that the resistance of the Palestinian nation will continue
until the Israeli regime is defeated and an independent Palestinian state is
created.
Hamas
on Friday called on all Palestinian security services and resistance fighters
to follow the path of the fallen victims, identified as 47-year-old Imad Abu
Rasheed and Ramzi Sami Zabara, 35, in defense of Palestinian people and to aim
their rifles at Israeli troops, who keep killing Palestinians in cold blood and
do not shy away from desecrating sacred places and shrines.
The
movement added that the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the Askar refugee
camp on the eastern outskirts of Nablus, and elsewhere across the West Bank
serve as fields of confrontation with Israeli soldiers.
The
Palestinian people are undertaking a campaign of resistance that will never
subside unless the occupying regime is defeated and an independent Palestinian
state with East al-Quds as its capital is established, Hamas said.
The
Islamic Jihad movement also said that Palestinian people will unleash their fury
against the occupying Tel Aviv regime and will keep up resistance against
Israeli soldiers and settlers.
It
pointed out that Israel is going to great lengths in order to maintain its
so-called security apparatus, which is going down in the face of valiant
resistance fighters carrying out operations across the West Bank.
The
Palestinian Health Ministry announced just before 2 a.m. local time on Friday
(2300 GMT Thursday) that Abu Rasheed was killed due to bullets that hit his
stomach, chest and head.
Palestinian
officials later reported that Zabara succumbed to his wounds from a bullet to
the heart on Friday morning.
Another
man, whose identity was not immediately known, was also wounded. He was
reported to be in a stable condition after undergoing surgery at Rafidia
Surgical Hospital in Nablus.
Both
Zabara and Abu Rasheed worked for the Palestinian Authority’s Civil Defense and
lived in the Askar refugee camp.
Israeli
forces have also recently been conducting overnight raids and killings in the
northern occupied West Bank, mainly in the cities of Jenin and Nablus, where
new groups of Palestinian resistance fighters have been formed.
Israel
has killed at least 183 Palestinians since the start of 2022 in the occupied
West Bank and Gaza Strip, including 26 since the start of October, the
Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a new report yesterday.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Türkiye’s
Diyanet opens its first mosque in Houston
OCT
28, 2022
Presidency
of Religious Affairs (DİB or Diyanet) inaugurated its first mosque in Houston,
the biggest city in Texas, United States. Turkish officials attended the
opening ceremony on Thursday.
The
mosque, built on two-acre land donated by a Turkish citizen, was converted from
a house owned by the same donor with the aid collected from the Turkish
community in the city. DİB’s deputy president, associate professor Selim Argun,
Türkiye’s Houston consul general Serhad Varlı, consulate’s religious affairs
attache associate professor Bilal Baş and other guests attended the ceremony.
Baş
said at the ceremony that it was the first mosque opened with the support of
DİB in southern states of the United States. “This is a modest, small but
landmark step,” he said.
Leaders
of the Turkish community and other Muslim communities in Houston attended the
opening, which began with the recitation of the Quran and collective prayers.
Source:
DailySabah
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dailysabah.com/turkey/diaspora/turkiyes-diyanet-opens-its-first-mosque-in-houston
--------
Iran
is an ever more ‘relevant’ problem, nuclear watchdog chief says
28
October, 2022
Iran
is a problem that is ever more “relevant,” the UN nuclear watchdog’s chief,
Rafael Grossi, said on Friday, in an apparent reference to the growing number
of advanced centrifuges the Islamic Republic is using to enrich uranium.
The
International Atomic Energy Agency has said in recent confidential reports to
member states seen by Reuters that Iran has been installing and enriching with
more cascades, or clusters, of advanced centrifuges at its underground
enrichment plants at Natanz and Fordow.
At
the same time, indirect talks with the United States on reviving a largely
hollowed-out 2015 nuclear deal with Iran are stalled, with officials saying one
important sticking point has been Iran’s demand that the IAEA end an
investigation into uranium traces found at undeclared sites.
Asked
in an on-stage discussion in Washington how he sees the world today, Grossi
started with Iran rather than Ukraine and said it “continues to be a problem.”
“I
see every day through my inspectors how this problem is getting more and more
relevant, and I’m choosing a word which is neutral. It’s an even more relevant
problem every day,” Grossi told the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy
Conference, without elaborating.
He
added later that he would not cave to political pressure over his investigation
of the uranium traces and his efforts to obtain explanations from Iran on how
they came to be there.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Election
polls predict Israel’s Netanyahu just shy of victory
28
October, 2022
Polls
on Friday predicted Israel’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would
come within a single seat of an outright majority in his quest to return to power
in next week’s election, the fifth in less than four years.
Netanyahu,
on trial for corruption charges he denies, has been vying for a comeback, aided
by an alliance between his Likud party and far-right party Religious Zionism -
a pact that could test Israel's foreign relations if it wins the ballot.
Two
polls - one released late Thursday by Israel’s Kan public broadcaster and
another published on Friday by the Maariv newspaper - both showed the Netanyahu
bloc of four parties winning 60 of parliament's 120 seats in Tuesday’s vote.
“Netanyahu
arrives at election day in good shape, but the battle has not been decided,”
wrote Haaretz newspaper’s political analyst Yossi Verter.
A
deadlocked election could mean Israel would go to the polls again within months,
with Prime Minister Yair Lapid remaining in office as caretaker.
Israel
has been caught in an election cycle since 2019, the year Netanyahu, now 73,
was charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases which he
describes as a “rigged” political witch-hunt meant to keep him out of office.
After
four inconclusive votes, Israel’s longest-serving leader was ousted in June
2021 by a fragile coalition of liberal, rightist and Arab parties, which
included Lapid’s centrists.
In
Netanyahu’s bid for a record sixth term, he has allied with ultranationalist
lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose inclusion in a Netanyahu cabinet could upset
Israel’s Western allies, as well as the Palestinians and Arab countries with
which Israel has diplomatic relations.
The
campaign has largely center around Netanyahu with security and diplomacy
issues, including conflicts with the Palestinians and Iran, taking a back seat.
Netanyahu’s
rivals, left right and center, have vowed to keep him out of office, fearing
that if Netanyahu's bloc wins, it will bend Israel's legal system to avoid a
conviction.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Demonstrators
in Iran’s Zahedan chant ‘death to Khamenei’ as protests persist
28
October, 2022
Anti-government
protests resumed in the Iranian city of Zahedan on Friday with demonstrators
chanting against Iran’s supreme leader as the protests sparked by the death of
Mahsa Amini in police custody continued across Iran.
Videos
posted on social media by the activist group 1500tasvir showed protesters
chanting “death to Khamenei” in reference to Iran’s highest authority, Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei.
Security
forces opened fire on protesters, killing at least five, 1500tasvir said.
Authorities
on Thursday sacked Zahedan’s police chief and the head of a police station in
the city over deadly clashes last month.
Security
forces killed at least 66 people, including children, and injured hundreds of
others in a crackdown after Friday prayers in Zahedan on September 30, Amnesty
International said earlier this month.
It
was the deadliest incident in the unrest that erupted on September 16 after the
death in custody of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman detained by
Tehran’s morality police for allegedly not complying with the regime’s strict
hijab rules.
Zahedan
is the provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchestan province. Iran’s military has
in the past clashed with Sunni militants in Sistan-Baluchestan, which is mostly
populated by Sunni ethnic Baluchis, a minority in predominantly Shia Iran.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Two
killed after police open fire at demonstrators in Iran’s Zahedan: Activists
28
October, 2022
Iranian
security forces opened fire on Friday on demonstrators in a southeastern city
that has seen weeks of unrest amid nationwide demonstrations, activists said.
Activists
said the shooting in Zahedan killed at least two people, threatening to ignite
further tensions.
Located
in Iran’s long-restive Sistan and Baluchestan province, Zahedan has seen the
deadliest violence so far in the weeks of protests that have gripped Iran.
The
demonstrations in the city erupted in part over a rape allegation against a
senior police officer there, dovetailing the protests over the September death
of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini that have inflamed most of the country.
Activists
estimate that in Zahedan alone, nearly 100 people have been killed since a
September 30 rally there set off a violent police response.
On
Friday, soldiers surrounded a key Sunni mosque in the area where residents
rallied against the Iranian government, while also shooting at demonstrators,
activists said.
The
protests across Iran have become the greatest threat to the country’s
theocratic government since the 2009 Green Movement demonstrations, evolving
from focusing on women’s rights and the state-mandated headscarf, or hijab, to
calls to oust Shiite clerics who have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic
Revolution.
Video
filmed by HalVash, a group with advocates for the rights of Baluch citizens in
Iran, showed demonstrators and security forces gathering on the streets around
a mosque with fires burning and gunshots and explosions ringing out.
At
one point, someone shows off spent bullet cases from what he claims were live
rounds fired by the security forces.
Iran’s
Sistan and Baluchestan province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan on the Gulf
of Oman, is a majority Sunni region.
Its
Baluch people long have complained about being treated as second-class citizens
by Iran’s Shiite theocracy.
The
state-run IRNA news agency carried a statement by the province’s security
council earlier on Friday saying that the police chief in Zahedan and another
police official have been sacked over their handling of the September 30
protest.
The
statement for the first time acknowledged that police shot and killed people
praying at the time at a nearby mosque.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
withholding bodies of protesters from families: UN
28
October, 2022
The
UN human rights office on Friday voiced concern about Iran's treatment of
detained protesters and said that authorities were refusing to release some of
the bodies of those killed.
The
death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody last month has ignited protests
in one of the boldest challenges to Iran's clerical leadership since the 1979
revolution. Rights groups have said at least 250 protesters have been killed
and thousands arrested.
“We've
seen a lot of ill treatment ... but also harassment of the families of
protesters,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson of the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing, citing multiple
sources.
“Of
particular concern is information that authorities have been moving injured
protesters from hospitals to detention facilities and refusing to release the
bodies of those killed to their families,” she said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Protests
over death of Mahsa Amini continue across Iran
Haydar
Sahin
29.10.2022
TEHRAN,
Iran
Mass
protests over the death of young Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody
continued on Friday across the country, including universities.
A
group of people gathered in the Chitger area of the capital Tehran and chanted
anti-government slogans, while women danced and clapped in a park, social media
footage showed.
Protesters
in the western city of Sanandaj, as well as in Urmia and Bukan furthern north,
took to streets and lit fires.
More
footage reported shot in Merivan city showed protesters setting burning car
tires on a road, while gunshots were also heard.
Clashes
between demonstrators and security forces were reported in the city of Mahabad,
where the situation was tense on Thursday.
A
group of protesters marched through the streets in Arak city, chanting
anti-government slogans.
Meanwhile,
students at Pars University in Tehran staged a protest over the detention of
their classmates.
Mahsa
Amini, 22, died in mysterious circumstances last month after being detained by
the country's morality police for wearing "inappropriate dress."
Angry
protests which first broke out in Sanandaj in western Iran later spread across
the country.
Wednesday
marked 40 days since her death and saw fresh protests in several cities,
including the capital Tehran, amid heavy deployments of police on the streets.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/protests-over-death-of-mahsa-amini-continue-across-iran/2723859
--------
Southeast Asia
Tackling
religious discrimination in Indonesian schools
October
28, 2022
Aprilia
Inka Prasasti made history when she became the first Muslim to be elected
chairperson of the Intra-School Student Organization (OSIS) at St. Francis
Xavier Senior High School of Ruteng in Indonesia’s Catholic-majority Island of
Flores.
Inka,
16, is one of only four Muslim students in the church-run school under the
Ruteng Diocese founded in 1987. During the student election on Oct. 5, she
defeated five candidates, all of them Catholics. She garnered support from
students and teachers alike.
The
school has 1,147 Catholic, 19 Protestant, 4 Muslim, and 3 Hindu students.
Achmad
Nurcholish from the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace said the
Catholic students who sincerely accepted the victory of a Muslim student had
shown a mature attitude.
"This
is a good example in the context of our diversity, to be able to live together
with different brothers and sisters," he said.
Father
Martin William, the school's principal, said Inka’s victory was a
"rebuke" against the existing practice that "glorifies religion
and overrides rationality" while choosing leaders.
He
said his school fully supports any students who are elected, because the most
important thing is "leadership capability, namely having good intellect
and character."
Fransiska
Widyawati, a lecturer at the Indonesian Catholic University of St. Paul in
Ruteng, said Inka’s victory sent an important message to break away from the
tendency to "look for one's own religious group."
However,
in the education system, she said, "many students from minority groups are
victims of bullying," which was a matter of concern.
Inka’s
election has drawn widespread appreciation, but examples of discrimination
against non-Muslim students in various public schools are common in Indonesia.
Discrimination
against minority students
In
August, the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in Jakarta,
which opened a hotline on acts of discrimination and intolerance in schools,
reported at least 10 cases of intolerance in schools in Jakarta.
On
Oct. 19, the deputy principal and three other teachers at Public Senior High
School 52 in capital Jakarta reportedly blocked a non-Muslim student from
running for an election to the student council.
In
a recorded conversation with teachers, the deputy principal said "don't
let non-Muslim students" be candidates.
A
similar case also occurred at Public Senior High School 58 in Jakarta in
August. A teacher shared a message via the school's WhatsApp group asking
Muslim students to be careful while choosing the two non-Muslim candidates in
the fray, "because we have to choose candidates who share our faith."
Last
month, Christian students at a public school in Depok, West Java province were
barred from using the school's rooms for faith-building activities, leading
them to do so in the school hallways.
In
2020, in Depok city, Public Senior High School 6 decided to conduct a
re-election after a non-Muslim student won the OSIS chair election, which led
the non-Muslim student to resign, claiming it was a form of discrimination.
In
the message to the colleagues, the student said, "let this be a lesson...
in the future."
Some
schools even force non-Muslim students to wear Muslim attire, such as the
hijab, behave like Muslims, starting from greeting to reciting the prayers.
In
2021, a non-Muslim female student at Public Vocational School 2 2 Padang, West
Sumatra province, was forced to change her school after a teacher allegedly
asked her to wear a hijab.
Bonar
Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of the Setara Institute for Democracy and
Peace, said such cases are clear evidence of creeping intolerance in
educational institutions.
"This
is the result of conservative ideas that are continuously propagated by certain
groups who believe school-age children to be an important factor in the
future," he said.
These
groups not only penetrate existing schools, both public and private, but even
establish their own schools, Naipospos added.
Battling
the rising wave
In
2020, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology termed
intolerance as one of the three major problem areas in educational
institutions, besides sexual violence and bullying.
The
stance warrants the government to take strong action against cases of
intolerance. In proven cases of intolerance, the local Education Office imposes
sanctions on teachers and principals in public schools.
Naipospos
said, in addition to such measures, what needs to be done in the school is to
teach students to reason, and question ideas that are not compatible with
diversity.
"Education
on Pancasila (state’s secular ideology) in classrooms should not only be
memorized but complemented by critical discussion and praxis," he said.
Meanwhile,
Father William said even though Catholics are the majority at the St. Francis
Xavier Senior High School in Ruteng, they provide opportunities for students of
other religions to lead prayers according to their beliefs every Monday.
On
every Friday, he said, teaching and learning activities end at 12 pm to allow
Muslim students the opportunity to worship.
This
can ward off the seeds of radicalism and intolerance, the priest believes.
Inka
appreciated that the school’s open environment gives her confidence.
Source:
UCANews
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/tackling-religious-discrimination-in-indonesian-schools/99229
--------
Former
Malaysian A-G sues govt as his memoir becomes election fodder
Nadirah
H. Rodzi
OCT
28, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR - A controversial memoir by Malaysia’s former attorney-general Tommy
Thomas has become an unlikely election issue, with Umno-led Barisan Nasional
(BN) blaming its rival Pakatan Harapan (PH) for appointing someone whose book
is being investigated for elements of incitement, sedition and defamation.
Tan
Sri Thomas is now suing the government for setting up a task force that
recommended investigations into his memoir, alleging that it was unlawful and
illegal as the task force members were not appointed under the authority of any
written law.
In
his originating summons on Thursday, Mr Thomas named the eight members and the
Malaysian government as defendants.
“The
establishment of this illegal special task force to purportedly enquire into my
conduct and make findings and recommendations against me is without legal basis
and its conduct ultra vires,” Mr Thomas said in a statement.
He
added that the task force was unlike a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) whose
members would be appointed by the King and its process transparent and open. He
also said the task force has no power to order an investigation into possible
offences, unlike an RCI.
Mr
Thomas was appointed as A-G in June, 2018, shortly after PH came to power after
defeating BN in the general election. He was the first non-Malay and non-Muslim
A-G and held the position till the PH government collapsed in Feb 2020.
Mr
Thomas published his book, My Story: Justice In The Wilderness, on Jan 30,
2021, triggering an uproar particularly from the ruling pact, with at least 244
police reports lodged by various parties against him.
The
book recounts how Mr Thomas’ appointment, as well as those of former finance
minister Lim Guan Eng and Tan Sri Richard Malanjum as the first non-Muslim Chief
Justice, drew fire for placing non-Malays and non-Muslims in senior government
posts..
He
also describes the civil service – more than three-quarters of which comprise
Malays – as lacking in commitment and incompetent, on top of questioning the
discretionary powers of the King, who is revered as the guardian of Malay and
Islamic interests.
The
task force was then formed to examine whether the publication had violated any
laws or regulations applicable to the office of the A-G, as well as to
determine whether it had disclosed potential abuse of power by the author,
breach of professional ethics or conduct by him.
Based
on its declassified report, which was made public on Oct 21, the task force
found that Mr Thomas, as A-G, had wanted then Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad,
who headed the PH at the time, “to do his bidding in a manner contrary to the
law”, in the appointment of three lawyers as Court of Appeal judges.
Since
then, ruling party Umno has been drumming up the issue. It had also questioned
PH’s initial silence on the matter. In fact, its criticism of Mr Thomas began
when he was appointed as A-G and initiated the corruption cases against Umno
leaders such as Najib Razak and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
In
response, the opposition said it does not have to answer for Mr Thomas as he is
not a PH leader or a member of any political party.
Analysts
saw the move to investigate the book as designed to deepen the perception that
PH, the opposition pact led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, is anti-Malay,
anti-Islam and unpatriotic.
“Umno
wants to show to the public that PH practises hypocrisy. One of the things that
PH has always played up against Umno is it can’t be trusted, it interferes in
the judiciary,” Professor James Chin of Asian Studies at the University of
Tasmania told The Straits Times.
“So
if it can point out (to the public) that Tommy, who was supported by PH, was
involved in monkey business, it can ‘show’ PH is not as ‘clean’ as it claims to
be and that all key positions in the government have to be held by Malays or
Muslims,” he added.
With
the population of Malay bumiputeras and Muslims in Malaysia standing at 69.4
per cent and 63.5 per cent, respectively, academic Awang Azman Awang Pawi said
it is impossible for the dominant party in the ruling pact to “pass on the
opportunity” to play up the issue.
“It’s
a weapon for Umno. People know his appointment (as A-G) was on the advice of
DAP’s top gun Lim Kit Siang, it will cost PH support,” the Universiti Malaya
associate professor of Malay studies told ST. He was referring to the
multiracial but Chinese-dominant party Democratic Action Party.
But
the Malaysian Bar on Oct 25 questioned the government’s move to declassify the
report, with Bar president Karen Cheah noting that caretaker Prime Minister
Ismail Sabri Yaakob had admitted that he declassified the findings so that they
could be used as political “ammunition” to attack the opposition.
Former
premier Najib, who is serving a 12-year prison sentence for graft over funds
linked to state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, has also sued Mr Thomas over
allegedly defamatory statements. He claimed that the latter had defamed him as
the statements allegedly implicated him in the murder of Mongolian woman
Altantuya Shaariibuu.
Ms
Altantuya, who was 28, was shot and her body blown up with explosives in a
gruesome murder in 2006 by police commandos. Two men have been convicted of the
murder. Both officers were then part of Najib’s security detail, but he has
consistently denied links to the murder.
Timeline
of events
June
2018
Tan
Sri Tommy Thomas is appointed as the attorney-general by then ruling pact
Pakatan Harapan.
February
2020
He
resigns after the PH administration collapses due to party defections.
Jan
2021
Mr
Thomas publishes My Story: Justice in the Wilderness. It sparks controversy for
describing the civil service - more than three-quarters of which comprises
Malays - as lacking in commitment and incompetent. It also questions the
discretionary powers of the King, who is revered as the guardian of Malay and
Islamic interests.
Oct
5
The
full report by the taskforce investigating the memoir is leaked online
Oct
21
The
report is declassified and made public on the Legal Affairs Division of the
Prime Minister’s Department website
Oct
25
Caretaker
prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said Mr Thomas is believed to have committed
four offences, and urged Barisan Nasional’s election machinery to capitalise on
the report’s findings.
Oct
26
The
Malaysian Bar questioned if Datuk Seri Ismail’s orders to declassify the report
to use it as political ammunition is a form of power abuse.
Source:StraitsTimes
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Mossad
presence in Malaysia: Let's increase vigilance, activism
By
Dr Mohd Nazari Ismail
October
28, 2022
IN
late September, a group of men tried to abduct two Palestinians who were
visiting Kuala Lumpur.
Fortunately,
one escaped and reported the incident to the police, who acted quickly to
rescue the abducted man from a chalet in Hulu Langat.
The
'New Straits Times' later reported that the group of men were locals whom
Mossad, the Israel spy agency, had allegedly recruited to obtain information
from the Palestinians.
The
NST also reported that they were in the middle of interrogating and torturing
him when policemen broke into the chalet and arrested them.
This
incident raises important points. Firstly, Mossad is getting increasingly
desperate and willing to jeopardise Israel's image internationally. Even though
Israel is trying its hardest to establish diplomatic relationships with Muslim
countries, its desperation has made it engage in criminal activities here.
If
the police had failed to rescue the Palestinian, there was a real possibility
that his abductors would have killed him. That was the fate of Dr Fadi AlBatsh,
the Palestinian academic and imam whom Mossad agents assassinated in April
2018.
A
point to note is that just like Dr Fadi, an engineering expert, the two
Palestinians were technically knowledgeable.
Israel
seems to consider such Palestinians a threat to its security.
We
can assume that Mossad will continue to hire Malaysian citizens to commit
murders, abductions, torture and other heinous crimes here to weaken the
Palestinian resistance.
In
that regard, we must increase efforts to educate Malaysians on the crimes
committed in Palestine by the Israel apartheid regime. Awareness of the gross
injustice in Palestine will make it more difficult for Mossad to hire locals.
The
Malaysian government should also treat the presence of Mossad in this country
very seriously. It is a real threat to security.
Its
willingness to murder and kidnap in this country reflects recklessness and
utter disregard for the sovereignty of other countries. It's state-sponsored
terrorism.
Lastly,
NGOs and individuals working in the cause of justice, freedom and equality in
Palestine must not be intimidated by the knowledge that Mossad is operating in
this country.
Any
reduction in activism due to this knowledge helps the Zionist regime to isolate
the Palestinians from international support.
Source:NST
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Shadow
puppet enthusiasts hope robotics can save ancient art of wayang kulit
OCT
28, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR – Malaysian college lecturer Ahnaf Hakimi Ahmad hopes to save the ancient
tradition of shadow puppetry using 3D-printed figures controlled by robotics
instead of people.
“Wayang
kulit”, a theatrical art form once popular across South-east Asia, particularly
in Malaysia and Indonesia, is traditionally performed with figurines crafted
from buffalo skin, whose shadows are cast onto a screen.
Mr
Ahnaf, 33, hopes his invention, which is funded by a RM20,000 (S$6,000) grant,
can allow people to enjoy the rapidly fading art form “whenever and wherever”.
“Most
of the teens and youth today lean more towards social media and television
programmes. So, with this animatronic shadow puppet show, it will be a new
phenomenon for these youth,” he said at a performance at a mall in Penang.
Wayang
usually depicts epic Hindu tales such as the Ramayana in hours-long theatrical
and musical performances, but some in Muslim-majority Malaysia consider them
un-Islamic.
There
are only about eight active wayang troupes in the country today.
Source:StraitsTimes
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Divisions
persist among coalitions led by Anwar, Muhyiddin and Mahathir as Malaysia
election looms
Amir
Yusof
29
Oct 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: In the months leading up to the 15th General Election (GE15), Malaysian
media reported that there might be a “big-tent strategy” adopted by the
coalitions of Pakatan Harapan (PH), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Gerakan Tanah
Air (GTA), led by Mr Anwar Ibrahim, Mr Muhyiddin Yassin as well as Dr Mahathir
Mohamad respectively.
According
to the strategy, the three coalitions would work together to block Barisan
Nasional (BN) from clinching victory in the upcoming polls.
Yet,
with just a week to go before nomination day on Nov 5, any prospects of PH, PN
and GTA adopting a united front to square off against BN appear bleak.
Analysts
interviewed by CNA said that the divisions between these three main coalitions
are likely to persist going into the campaigning period, and this could benefit
BN and its lynchpin party United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
LITTLE
PROGRESS IN TALKS
There
has been little progress between the three coalitions to form any electoral
pact or agreement.
Last
Friday, GTA chief Dr Mahathir posted a video on social media, seemingly
extending an olive branch to Mr Anwar.
He
said in the video: “Personal views, pride, ego and self-importance have no
place in one’s struggle, especially when it’s linked to religion, race and our
country.”
“I
am prepared to meet Anwar because I believe we have the same objectives. If I
have to make the first gesture, I will do it,” added the former prime minister.
Subsequently,
Mr Anwar told reporters at a fundraising event in Penang that this was not the
time to “bring private (political) game plans to the table”.
“It
is better for us to listen to the problems of the rakyat (people) and see how
we can help them,” he was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.
Talk
of a political alliance between GTA and PN have also been denied by PN
secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin.
“Officially,
no (discussions) so far but there may be informal discussions between
representatives. The party leadership has yet to decide whether discussions can
be held officially,” Mr Hamzah was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Back
in GE14, Mr Anwar, Mr Muhyiddin and Dr Mahathir worked together to capture
Putrajaya under the PH umbrella. At that time, Dr Mahathir had promised to hand
over power to Mr Anwar.
However,
the PH administration collapsed 22 months later, due to infighting.
IRRECONCILABLE
DIFFERENCES
Analysts
said that the three coalitions have been unable to make any headway in
alliances due to irreconcilable differences between them.
Professor
Ahmad Martadha Mohamed of Universiti Utara Malaysia told CNA that certain
parties within the three coalitions are not ideologically aligned, and this
will make it difficult to sign election pacts.
He
cited how Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), a component party of PN, has said that
it will not work alongside the Democratic Action Party (DAP) of PH.
Prof
Ahmad Martadha added that PAS would also not be willing to work alongside Parti
Amanah Negara (Amanah), another PH component party, as the latter comprises
former PAS politicians who had defected.
He
added that PH and Mr Anwar would also be unwilling to partner Parti Pribumi
Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), a component party of PN, due to the role played by
the latter during the “Sheraton Move” which led to the toppling of the PH
government in 2020.
Prof
Ahmad Martadha added that the three coalitions will likely want their
respective leaders - Mr Anwar, Mr Muhyiddin and Dr Mahathir - as prime minister
candidates, and this would be a major stumbling block to forming any “formal
alliances”.
“Looking
ahead to nomination day (on Nov 5), there will be a lot of multi-cornered
contests for this election - between BN, PH, PN and GTA. This seems unavoidable
at the moment,” he added.
James
Chin, who is a Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Tasmania, argued
that there was “no possibility” of the three coalitions and their leaders
working together in time to avoid multi-cornered contests. He said that this is
likely to benefit BN which has a strong grassroots presence and voter base.
“Obviously
disunity and multi-cornered fights will benefit BN, (as) they have a strong group
of core voters. If the opposition is divided into as many segments as possible,
they will gain,” added the political analyst.
He
recalled that these same dynamics happened in the recent Johor and Melaka state
polls. In both instances, BN clinched comfortable two-third majorities in the
state legislatures.
Ms
Nia Astira Taufik, a voter from the Seremban constituency in Negeri Sembilan,
told CNA that the divided coalitions have left her confused about who to vote
for.
The
27-year-old said she does not support UMNO and BN, but is uncertain about which
coalition or candidate she will cast her ballot for.
“There
could be 4-5 candidates contesting and it’s very confusing who is representing
what party,” she said.
PKR’S
ATTACK ON BERSATU SEATS COULD FURTHER SOUR RELATIONS
A
key factor that could further widen the chasm between PH and PN is PKR’s
aggressive strategy to field big hitters in seats held by its defectors who are
now with Bersatu, analysts said.
During
a party event in Gombak in September, Mr Anwar, who is also PKR president, said
that the party’s election strategy was to focus on constituencies held by
former PH politicians who defected following the Sheraton Move.
“In
our election strategy, the constituencies that we will attack the most are those
that have been chosen by the people to look after them but they were betrayed.
“That’s
the reason why we are focusing on these areas to punish and topple them,” Mr
Anwar reportedly said.
In
the so-called Sheraton Move, Bersatu withdrew from PH while several PKR
lawmakers also quit the party. Dr Mahathir then resigned as prime minister,
creating a power vacuum.
Subsequently,
the king determined that Mr Muhyiddin, the Bersatu leader, likely commanded the
support of the majority of lawmakers in the Lower House. Mr Muhyiddin was sworn
in as prime minister, leading the PN coalition.
Prof
Chin said that PKR’s strategy to “go after Bersatu” and PKR members who
defected was key for the coalition as it “reinforces the narrative that voters
must vote for PH to restore the mandate that was lost after the Sheraton Move.
He
added that this was important in principle, even though it might be beneficial
for PKR and PH to work alongside PN in a bid to form the next government.
“PKR’s
argument is that we were not able to do much during the 22 months because we
did not have enough time. If you give us a five-year term, we will be able to
deliver. Going after Bersatu is consistent with the message they are trying to
deliver to the electorate,” Prof Chin added.
Mr
Anwar himself has announced that he will contest in Tambun, Perak, whose
incumbent is Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Bersatu deputy president and caretaker Youth
and Sports Minister, a PH defector.
On
Friday (Oct 28), it was announced that Selangor chief minister Amirudin Shari
will be fielded as a candidate for the Gombak parliamentary seat.
The
incumbent for Gombak is Azmin Ali, former PKR deputy president who is
reportedly one of the key architects of the Sheraton Move. Mr Azmin has
confirmed that he will defend Gombak in the upcoming polls under PN.
Mr
Ishak Rasid, a voter in Gombak, Selangor, told CNA that he is looking forward
to the contest between the two heavyweights.
However,
the PH supporter voiced concerns that the split in votes could eventually
benefit BN, who is likely to also name a candidate to contest the constituency.
“I
think the battle between Amirudin and Azmin will be fascinating, but we must
also not forget BN. They have many supporters in Gombak,” he added.
While
it seems highly likely that PH, PN and GTA will head into the GE15 campaign
with no electoral pacts, Prof Chin did not rule out the possibility of the
three coalitions working together after the election results are announced on
polling night on Nov 19.
He
posited that GE15 may be an avenue for the three coalitions to confirm the
level of support they have among the voters, before heading to the negotiation
table to perhaps form a new government if they have the numbers.
“There
is talk that GTA under Mahathir and Bersatu under Muhyiddin will do badly in
the upcoming polls,” said Prof Chin.
Source:ChannelNewsAsia
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
Morocco
arrests 32 migrants heading to Spain, jails 80
29
October, 2022
Moroccan
police on Friday arrested 32 migrants as they tried to set sail for Spain,
authorities said, including six Moroccans and 26 from other African nations to
the south.
The
group were arrested on the coast with an inflatable boat near the southern town
of Tantan, which lies some 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Spain’s Canary
Islands, the DGSN security service said.
At
least 11,500 migrants made their way to the Canary Islands this year, according
to Spain.
Caminando
Fronteras, a Spanish group that helps migrant boats in trouble at sea and
families searching for missing relatives, says 978 people have died while
trying to reach Spain so far this year.
Moroccan
police have arrested dozens of migrants as well as several people smugglers
since June, when some 2,000 mostly Sudanese nationals tried to enter the
Spanish enclave of Melilla.
At
least 23 people died in the attempt, the worst toll in years of such attempted
crossings, and rights groups accused both Spanish and Moroccan authorities of
using excessive force.
The
Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta have long been a magnet for people
fleeing violence and poverty across Africa hoping to find a better life in
Europe.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Ethiopia
condemns atrocities allegations against its gov't
Mohammed
Dhaysane
28.10.2022
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
The
Ethiopian government on Friday said it can no longer tolerate the “defamatory falsehood
being spread against Ethiopia by some Western entities."
A
statement by the Ethiopian Communication Service described the allegations as
shameful that they parrot Tigray Peoples Liberation Front's “irresponsible”
propaganda.
“It
is regrettable that few institutions of repute could not resist joining this
orchestrated campaign against Ethiopia,” the statement said without naming the
institutions.
The
intention of the allegations is to force the country into submission, it added.
“The
government acknowledges that some venerable organizations and well-meaning
actors could be unwitting participants in this campaign. It is very
irresponsible and shameful that allegations of the most reprehensible and the
gravest of all crimes is being made for political ends,” the Ethiopian
government said.
It
also said Ethiopia is forced to weigh its options and consider its relations
with some states and entities that are making unsubstantiated and politically
motivated accusations of such gravity against the country.
“It
cannot continue to tolerate such extreme slander unanswered,” the statement
said.
The
Tigray conflict has killed thousands and displaced millions more since November
2020. There have been allegations that Ethiopian forces committed atrocities
during the conflict, which are denied by Addis Ababa.
There
has been intense fighting in the northern Ethiopian region since a months-long
truce was shattered in late August, with reports of mass casualties and other
rights violations.
A
report released by UN rights experts last month accused both sides of
committing abuses that border on war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The
statement came as peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray
rebels opened in South Africa while fighting continues in Tigray region.
According
to Friday’s statement, the government is committed to the African
Union-convened peace talks because it is determined to end the conflict
peacefully in a durable fashion.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/ethiopia-condemns-atrocities-allegations-against-its-govt/2723586
--------
North America
Catholicism
wanes as more Quebecers report being Muslim or having no religious affiliation
Andy
Riga
Oct
27, 2022
Quebec
is still Canada’s most-Catholic province, but people are increasingly stepping
away from the faith, with a growing number saying they have no religious
affiliation.
At
the same time, there has been a big increase in Quebec’s Muslim population, who
now makes up five per cent of the province’s people, two percentage points more
than a decade ago.
Those
are among the findings of the 2021 census. Statistics Canada released data on
religious diversity this week.
Some
key numbers:
In
2021, 4.8 million Quebecers (54 per cent of the population) declared themselves
Catholic, compared with 5.8 million (75 per cent) in 2011.
There
are now 421,710 Muslims in the province, up from 243,430 a decade ago, a
73-per-cent jump.
The
number of Hindus and Sikhs also grew. Hindus now number 47,390 (a 41-per-cent
increase), and there are now 23,345 Sikhs (an increase of 152 per cent).
The
number of Jews in Quebec remained stable, seeing a drop of 570 for a new total
of 84,535.
Jack
Jedwab, a researcher and president of the Association for Canadian Studies,
said the 22-per-cent drop in the number of Catholics between 2011 and 2021
represents “a massive shift.”
During
part of that period, Quebec was in the grips of a debate over the place of
religion in society — from the Parti Québécois’ “charter of values” to the
Coalition Avenir Québec’s secularism law (Bill 21)
The
move away from identifying as Catholic may reflect “extensive messaging about
secularism — messaging which pounds away at how we’re secular, that wearing
visible crosses is not something (Quebec society) values,” Jedwab said.
“Those
types of things will have an impact on people’s own perception of where this
identification fits into how they define themselves and who they are.”
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Quebec
has long been a paradox.
In
terms of religious institutional expression such as church attendance and
marriage, Quebecers have long been one of North America’s least religious
populations, Jedwab noted.
Yet
a majority of Quebecers still identify as Catholic.
Jedwab
said many Quebecers “see being Catholic as a cultural marker as opposed to a
religious one.”
Immigration
is fuelling the increase in adherents of Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism, Jedwab
said.
The
vast majority of Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs live in Greater Montreal. For
example, only 355 Sikhs live in other parts of Quebec.
Speculation
that Quebec’s drive toward secularism would discourage people from minority
religions from coming to the province may be unfounded, he added. Bill 21
forbids the wearing of religious symbols such as the Muslim hijab and the Sikh
turban in some government jobs.
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Will
the growing number of Muslims boost that community’s political clout in Quebec?
“Not
necessarily,” Jedwab said.
“I
don’t think we can necessarily align the demographic growth of a particular
group with increasing political importance. We risk making assumptions about
the priorities of those communities, which are not monolithic.”
The
2021 census also found growth in religions with tiny followings. There are now
810 Satanists in Quebec (a 423-per-cent increase) and 1,445 Wiccans (a jump of
158 per cent).
The
rest of Canada is also seeing a decline in the number of people who say they
are Christian, the census showed.
In
2021, 53 per cent of Canadians reported a Christian religion, down from 67.3
per cent in 2011 and 77.1 per cent in 2001.
Source:
Toronto Sun
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US
to put United Nations focus on Iran protests
28
October, 2022
The
United States will next week put the United Nations spotlight on protests in
Iran sparked by the death of a young woman in police custody and look for ways
to promote credible, independent investigations into Iranian human rights
abuses.
The
United States and Albania will hold an informal UN Security Council gathering
on Wednesday, according to a note outlining the event, seen by Reuters. Iranian
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi and Iranian-born actress and activist
Nazanin Boniadi are set to brief.
“The
meeting will highlight the ongoing repression of women and girls and members of
religious and ethnic minority groups in Iran,” the note said. “It will identify
opportunities to promote credible, independent investigations into the Iranian
government’s human rights violations and abuses.”
Independent
UN investigator on human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, is also due to address
the meeting, which can be attended by other UN member states and rights groups.
Iran
has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa
Amini in police custody last month. The unrest has turned into a popular revolt
by Iranians from all layers of society, posing one of the boldest challenges to
the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.
Iran
has blamed its foreign enemies and their agents for the unrest.
“The
meeting will underscore ongoing unlawful use of force against protesters and
the Iranian regime’s pursuit of human rights defenders and dissidents abroad to
abduct or assassinate them in contravention of international law,” read the
note about the planned meeting.
Rights
groups have said at least 250 protesters have been killed and thousands
arrested across the country. Women have played a prominent part in the
protests, removing and burning veils. The deaths of several teenage girls
reportedly killed during protests have fueled more anger.
UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Iranian security forces to
refrain from unnecessary or disproportionate force against protesters and
appealed to all to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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US
sanctions Iranian foundation that offered Salman Rushdie bounty
Michael
Hernandez
28.10.2022
WASHINGTON
The
US sanctioned on Friday the Iran-based foundation that placed a multi-million
dollar bounty for the killing of acclaimed author Salman Rushdie.
The
15 Khordad Foundation has been added to the US blacklist after a lone assailant
attacked Rushdie in August while he was preparing to deliver an address at the
Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York.
“The
United States will not waver in its determination to stand up to threats posed
by Iranian authorities against the universal rights of freedom of expression,
freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of the press,” said Brian Nelson,
the Treasury Department's top official for financial intelligence said in a
statement.
“This
act of violence, which has been praised by the Iranian regime, is appalling. We
all hope for Salman Rushdie’s speedy recovery following the attack on his
life," he added.
Rushdie
is the author of several novels that won widespread acclaim, including
Midnight's Children, which won the Booker Prize in 1981.
But
his book, "The Satanic Verses," which was published in 1988, stirred
protests across the Muslim world with Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran's former supreme
leader, issuing a death fatwa against the author.
Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, Khomeini's successor, said the fatwa was still valid in 2019.
Hadi Matar, 24, who is charged of attempted murder, pleaded not guilty at a
court hearing in August.
The
15 Khordad Foundation is subordinate to Iran's supreme leader, and was
"inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini’s order calling for Rushdie’s
execution," according to the Treasury. The bounty on Rushdie's head sits
at roughly $3.3 million, it said.
Rushdie
has lost sight in one eye and the use of one hand following a stabbing attack
in New York in August, his agent said this month.
"(His
wounds) were profound, but he's (also) lost the sight of one eye," Andrew
Wylie, a New York-based literary agent, told Spanish newspaper El Pais in an
interview published on Saturday. "He had three serious wounds in his
neck."
Wylie
also said that Rushdie's one hand was incapacitated because the nerves in his
arm were cut.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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