Muslim Man Forced To Chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' by a Group of Men in Mathura, UP, One Arrested
New Age Islam News Bureau
13 July 2022
The Mathura Police
arrested the main perpetrator of the incident (Representational image)
-----
• 'Top Five' IS Leader including Maher al-Agal Killed
in US Drone Strike in Syria
• International Religious Freedom Confronts Pakistan
over Persecution of Ahmadiyyas
• Malaysia: Matters On Renunciation of Islam under
Shariah Court’s Jurisdiction, Not Civil Court
• Iran Calls for Vigilance against US-Israeli Plots in
Region
India
• After Calling for Economic Boycott of Muslim
Shopkeepers in Manesar, Panchayat Organisers Seek Probe to Evict Illegal
Immigrants
• "Muslims Using Most Contraceptives":
Owaisi Counters Yogi Adityanath
• Don’t Cite Religion as Excuse to Add To Population
Boom: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
• ‘Muslim University’ Row: Uttarakhand Congress Seeks
Action against BJP Leaders
• Gyanvapi mosque: Muslim side completes arguments on
maintainability of case
• SC to hear next week pleas against Karnataka HC
order refusing to lift ban on hijab
• Udaipur killing: NIA searches premises of accused
--------
North America
• US President Biden’s Visit to Saudi Unlikely to Lead
to Lasting Relations: Luttwak, Military Strategists
• New US-Israel agreement to prevent Iranian nuclear
bomb
• Israel, US to sign strategic partnership agreement
during Biden’s visit
--------
Pakistan
• Imran declares upcoming polls ‘test of neutrality’
for powers that be
• Zardari says he wishes to see Bilawal as prime
minister in his lifetime
• Pakistani columnist claims he passed information to
ISI from his India visits
• Over two million cases pending in courts across
country
• Crypto trading: Gulf exchange seeks entry into
Pakistan
• Hindus protest girl’s ‘abduction’ in front of
Zardari House in Nawabshah
• PM Shehbaz seeks summary to slash fuel prices
• ‘Steps needed to contain population boom’
--------
Southeast Asia
• Maldivian Parliament Speaker Nasheed Negotiated
President Rajapaksa's Escape from Sri Lanka: Sources
• Malaysia eyes Middle East’s millennial, Gen Z
travellers for tourism revival
• Woman in Viral Stand-Up Comedy Video Pleads Not
Guilty To Subverting Harmony, Bail Set at RM20, 000
--------
Mideast
• Israel Increases Work Permits for Palestinians in
Gaza Ahead Of Biden Visit
• Rayeesi Slams West for Playing Major Role in
Environment Degradation
• Türkiye welcomes UN bid to extend cross-border aid
to NW Syria
--------
South Asia
• Afghanistan: Taliban Bars Humanitarian Aid from
Entering Bamyan Province
• UN Distributes Aid to the Displaced Due to Balkhab
Tensions
• Denmark Contributes $2.5 Million to Afghanistan
Humanitarian Fund: OCHA
• People with Disabilities Overlooked in the Response
to Quake-Hit Afghanistan: Human Rights Watch
• Tajikistan Concerned By Provocative Taliban
Watchtower on Border
--------
Arab World
• Millions in Middle East Face Hunger Crisis as Russia’s
War Rages On: ICRC
• Baggage of despair: Iraqi Kurd plans new escape to
Europe
• Oman authorities continue search for family swept
into sea, two members reported dead
• More than 100,000 volunteers served pilgrims in this
year’s Hajj: Saudi ministry
--------
Africa
• More Chieftains Resign in Protest over APC’s Muslim-Muslim
Ticket
• 2023: Christian politicians in APC warn against Muslim-Muslim
ticket
• Shun any form of corrupt practice – CP warns new
recruits in Jigawa
• Libya’s Tripoli government tries to oust state oil
company boss
--------
Europe
• Nine European Nations to Keep Links to Six Palestinian
NGOs Banned By Israel
• Presidents of Russia, Iran, Turkey to meet in Tehran
next week: Kremlin
• German broadcaster Deutsche Welle loses case against
Palestinian journalist
• France sees weeks to save Iran nuclear deal, but US
sets no deadline
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/muslim-chant-jai-shri-ram-bharat-mata-mathura/d/127472
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Muslim Man Forced To Chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat
Mata Ki Jai' by a Group of Men in Mathura, One Arrested
The Mathura Police
arrested the main perpetrator of the incident (Representational image)
-----
Siraj Qureshi
Agra
July 13, 2022
A group of men in Mathura forced a Muslim man to shout
'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata ki jai' slogans and uploaded the video on
social media. The Mathura police arrested the main perpetrator in the incident.
According to the police, the incident happened on
Monday while the Muslim man, identified as Mubin Ahmed, was foraging the area
near the Dharmpura canal to feed his cows. Mubin crossed paths with a few Hindu
men who forced him to shout ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' slogans.
The Hindu men also called Mubin a ‘Deshdrohi’ and blamed him for the murder of
Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur. The men made a video of the entire incident and posted
it on social media.
Mubin Ahmed filed a complaint at the Mathura Police
station and an FIR was registered in the case. The police also arrested the
main perpetrator among the men.
Mubin said he did not protest any demands made by his
assailants because he wanted to maintain the spirit of brotherhood in his
village, but when he learned that they had made a video of the incident and
posted it on social media, he decided to file a complaint.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mathura Abhishek
Yadav said that the police registered a case against all the involved for
hurting the religious sentiments of Mubin Ahmed, and one of the men, Jitendra,
has been arrested. He said that under no circumstances will the police allow
anyone to disrupt the peace and tranquillity of the district.
Source: India Today
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original story:
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'Top Five' IS Leader including Maher al-Agal Killed in
US Drone Strike in Syria
A man inspects the damage
at the site where a U.S. drone strike killed Maher al-Agal, a leader in the
Islamic State militant group, near the village of Khaltan, near Jindayris in
northern Syria, on July 12, 2022.
-----
July 12, 2022
The United States is claiming another victory over
Islamic State, saying it tracked, targeted and killed one of the terror group's
"top five" leaders during a drone strike in northwestern Syria.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) identified the senior
IS official as Maher al-Agal, describing him as the leader of the group's
Syrian province and as a critical liaison between IS core and its affiliates
around the world.
"Al-Agal was responsible for aggressively
pursuing the development of ISIS networks," CENTCOM said in a statement,
using another acronym for the terror group.
In a statement Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden
praised the strike for sending "a powerful message."
"(Al-Agal's) death in Syria takes a key terrorist
off the field and significantly degrades the ability of ISIS to plan, resource
and conduct their operations in the region," Biden said.
The U.S. shared few details about the strike outside
the town of Jindayris in Syria's Aleppo province, which also seriously injured
one of al-Agal's close associates.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a
British-based monitoring organization, said al-Agal was hit by a missile while
riding a motorcycle. It also said that he had been staying in northwestern
Syria since 2020 under the protection of Ahrar al-Sharqiya, a Syrian militant
group allegedly backed by Turkey.
VOA could not independently confirm the Syrian
Observatory's reporting.
CENTCOM said an initial review found no civilians were
harmed during the operation.
Tuesday's strike is the latest in a series of blows
against IS that appears to have whittled away at the group's core leadership.
Less than a month ago, U.S. forces swooped into the
northwestern Syrian city of Jarablus and arrested Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi,
described as a key "operational facilitator" for IS cells in Syria
and also a rising star within the terror group's ranks.
In late May, Turkish officials claimed they had
captured the new IS emir, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, during a raid in
Istanbul, less than three months after he was named as the replacement for
al-Qurashi, who blew himself up in February during a U.S. raid in northwestern
Syria.
Neither U.S. nor Western counterterrorism officials
have confirmed Turkish claims that the individual in custody is Abu al-Hassan,
but multiple officials speaking to VOA on the condition of anonymity in order
to discuss intelligence have said the person is a senior IS official.
In the meantime, the pace of anti-IS operations in the
region appears to have been picking up, with the Iraqi military and the
U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claiming success in what they have
described as a series of significant operations over the past month.
And the intelligence gathered during the successive
operations appears to be paying off, with hopes that Tuesday's strike will
yield even more dividends.
"Any successful strike like this, taking out any
ISIS leader, is going to disrupt them," a U.S. military official told VOA.
"You'll see the effects work their way down."
Former officials and other experts agree IS's core
leadership may be in significant trouble.
"The Americans and others are sort of pulling on
a thread," a Western counterterrorism expert told VOA, speaking on the
condition of anonymity to discuss classified intelligence.
"They're starting to run out of long-standing
senior leaders," the expert said. "ISIS is not able to insulate itself
from that."
Others, like Colin Clarke, director of research at the
global intelligence firm The Soufan Group, agree.
"We've eliminated so many of the leaders, we're
now down to that kind of second tier (of IS leadership)," Clarke told VOA.
This group of senior IS leaders may be running out of
places to hide.
"They keep finding these guys in northwestern
Syria, which tells me at one point, they felt comfortable there, maybe kind of
blending in," Clarke said. "Now, it's really just a matter of there's
only a few areas in the country where they can operate."
But the main U.S. partner on the ground in Syria still
worries IS has the ability to make a comeback.
"ISIS isn't over yet," Elham Ahmad,
executive president of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), SDF's political
wing, said, speaking through an interpreter Tuesday at a virtual forum hosted
by New Lines Institute.
"It is still operating in many regions," she
said, noting a growing number of attempts by the terror group to free fighters
and family members from prisons and displaced persons camps.
"ISIS is preparing for something," Ahmad
added, accusing Turkey of giving IS more space to operate by pressing ahead
with military operations targeting mainly Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria.
"Everyone can see that all the ISIS leaders who
have been targeted by the global coalition are staying and located in the
regions that are occupied by Turkey," she alleged.
Ahmad also accused Turkey of forcing the SDF to divert
resources from anti-ISIS operations.
The Turkish embassy has yet to respond to VOA's
queries regarding the latest SDC allegations, but Turkish officials have denied
such accusations in the past.
But analysts like Clarke agree there is room for
improvement.
"Could they go after these (IS) networks a lot
harder? Absolutely," he said. "But then they also face a
backlash."
"There seems to be this kind of very uneasy,
tacit, 'We won't bother you if you don't bother us,' type of unspoken
agreement," he said.
Source: VOA News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-says-drone-strike-kills-islamic-state-leader-in-syria/6655491.html
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International Religious Freedom Confronts Pakistan Over
Persecution Of Ahmadiyyas
Representational image by
Amnagondal via Wikimedia Commons
----
12 July, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], July 12 (ANI): International
Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit which was organized in Washington confronted
Pakistan on the global platform over the persecution of the Ahmadiyya community
in the country.
The IRF Summit was organized from June 28-30, 2022 and
it raised the issue of ruthless persecution of Ahmadiyya Muslims, a minority
community in Pakistan, reported JustEarth news.
The summit was convened by former US Ambassador at
Large for Religious Freedom Sam Brownback and Dr Katina Lantos Swett, President
of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice.
The IRF Summit is an annual gathering of international
freedom advocates and activists from around the world.
It highlights threats to freedom of religion and
belief by providing communities a platform to speak about the challenges to
their fundamental freedom of faith.
The event was utilized by the ‘Ahmadiyya Muslim
Community USA’ to draw global attention to the plight of this sect in Pakistan,
a country which has officially labelled its members as non-Muslims, reported
JustEarth news.
Pakistan is more phobic of the Ahmadiyya sect and its
interpretation of Islam than most other nations where the community is present.
Ahmadis number about 4 million in Pakistan, but the
community has been forbidden to call itself Muslim since 1974 by the Pakistani
Constitution which considers them “infidels”.
Resultantly, Ahmadis are not even allowed to call
their houses of prayer “mosques,” while basic religious practices associated
with Islam are forbidden for them.
Recently, three members of the Ahmadiyya community
were arrested for sacrificing animals on Eid-al-Adha in Pakistan.
The Ahmadi community faces persecution in Pakistan in
the form of hate crimes and mob violence and their schools, mosques and public
events like wedding parties are usual targets.
These incidents are further aided by institutional
apathy which prevents any action against the attackers, reported JustEarth
news.
They remain the most vulnerable prey of Pakistan’s
violent blasphemy laws, with at least 13 Ahmadis killed and 40 wounded since
2017 owing to their identity.
In 2010, twin mosque terror raids in Lahore killed at
least 94 Ahmadis. In May 2022, a 36-year-old Ahmadi man was stabbed to death by
a member of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a Sunni militant body that is
proscribed, but in talks with the government.
Earlier this year, a 70-year-old Ahmadi man who was on
trial for blasphemy died in Bahawalpur Jail due to mistreatment despite his ill
health.
The members of the Ahmadi community are not spared
persecution even in their death as there are an increasing number of cases of
their graves being dug up and desecrated. Most of these mutilations are caused
by local administrations who blame Ahmadiyyas only for using Islamic symbols,
reported JustEarth news.
In the latest case, on July 6, 2022, local police and
some extremist elements raided two graveyards in the Talwandi Khajurwali
district of Gujranwala.
According to Pakistani media, it was the fourth case
of desecration of graves in 2022. Earlier in February this year, Police
reportedly destroyed about 50 tombstones in an Ahmadiyya cemetery in the
Hafizabad district of Punjab.
Overall, around 150 graves of Ahmadiyyas have been
desecrated in the last year. Despite some local human rights groups condemning
these acts, the state institutions prefer to remain silent and complicit.
IRF Summit is not the only global institution which
has highlighted the Ahmadi plight in Pakistan. In recent years, Human Rights
Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
have demanded the Pak authorities take legal action against those responsible
for threats and violence against Ahmadis.
Other international experts highlight that Pakistani
laws against the Ahmadiyya community violate Pakistan’s international legal
obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR), which Pakistan ratified in 2010.
These include the rights to freedom of conscience,
religion, expression, and association, and to profess and practise one’s own
religion. (ANI)
Source: The Print
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Malaysia: Matters On Renunciation of Islam under Shariah Court’s Jurisdiction,
Not Civil Court
The High Court here has
ruled that the civil court has no jurisdiction over matters involving persons
seeking to renounce Islam as they come under the Shariah court. ― Reuters pic
-----
12 Jul 2022
Kuala Lumpur, July 12 — The High Court here has ruled
that the civil court has no jurisdiction over matters involving persons seeking
to renounce Islam as they come under the Shariah court.
Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid made the ruling on
June 15 via email after dismissing a legal suit filed by a 32-year-old woman
for leave to commence judicial review to renounce her faith from the religion
of Islam to Confucianism and Buddhism.
In his written full grounds of judgment made available
to the media today, Judge Ahmad Kamal said there have been many legal
precedents concerning Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution by the courts
in the last decades that the civil courts shall have no jurisdiction in respect
of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Shariah Courts.
He said the crux of the present case is the
application by the woman for judicial review against the Shariah Court’s
decisions which had rejected her request to renounce Islam.
The judge said the Shariah Court had done nothing
wrong and not acted ultra-virus in deciding the woman’s application, and the
orders were also not illegal and unlawful.
“To me, it does matter what the decision was, but the
most important issue is that the civil courts have no jurisdiction to hear
matters within the jurisdiction of the Shariah Courts, nor has it the power to
review the Shariah Court’s decision in cases involving the renunciation of
Islam,” he said.
The applicant, who was born to a Muslim convert father
and a Muslim mother, cannot be named publicly due to a court order.
On March 4, she filed for judicial review in the civil
High Court, naming the Shariah Court of Appeal, the Shariah High Court, the
Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) and the government of
Malaysia as the four respondents.
The woman is seeking at least 12 court orders as part
of her lawsuit, including declarations that the Shariah courts did not have the
jurisdiction or power to declare that a person is no longer a Muslim.
She is also seeking a declaration from the civil High
Court that she is no longer a Muslim and a declaration that she is entitled to
profess her religion of Confucianism and Buddhism.
She is also asking the civil High Court to declare the
decisions by Shariah High Court and Shariah Court of Appeal which rejected her
bid to be recognised as no longer a Muslim, as illegal, unlawful and void. —
Bernama
Source: Malay Mail
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Iran Calls for Vigilance Against US-Israeli Plots in
Region
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf
------
2022-July-12
US President Joe Biden will begin a four-day tour of
the Middle East on Wednesday with stops in the Israeli-occupied territories and
Saudi Arabia.
Qalibaf said at the opening session of the Iranian
Parliament on Tuesday Washington is the executor of the Tel Aviv regime’s plans
in the Middle East, calling it "a historical and strategic mistake"
by the White House.
"All the evidence shows that this trip was
arranged by the Zionists and that the American president is implementing the
programs and projects that the Zionist regime, as the main enemy of the nations
of the region, has designed," Qalibaf stated.
"Becoming the executor of Israeli policies in the
region will be a historical and strategic mistake by the American president,
which will end up being detrimental to the 'Biden' government before anyone
else," he added.
Referring to NATO's role in the Ukraine war by
ignoring powerful geopolitical warnings, the speaker noted that now the same
mistake is happening in the sensitive region of the Middle East and the Persian
Gulf.
Qalibaf also urged the neighboring countries that have
a common history and future with Iran to be extremely vigilant about any
US-Israeli plan that clearly aims to disturb the stability and order of the
region.
Iran is a safe and reliable supporter of all its
neighbors, he stated, but it is equally sensitive to maintaining the security
balance of the region and will not hesitate to defend the resources of the
region against any conspiracy or attempt to destabilize it.
In his article published in the opinion section of The
Washington Post, Biden claimed that his foreign policy had made the Middle East
more stable and secure in comparison with the era of his Republican
predecessor.
But, Iran says Israel is the primary source of
instability in West Asia and the United States remains responsible for the
instability in the region as long as its wrong and crisis-making policies are
not rectified.
“The Zionist regime is the main source of instability
and a major driver of the spread of organized terrorism in the region. The full
support of America for the regime is the compelling reason that invalidates the
US government’s claims of pacifism,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser
Kan’ani stated on Monday.
The Iranian diplomat dismissed Biden’s claim to create
a stable and secure Middle East, and said it was consistent with his insistence
on maintaining his predecessor’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
A safer and more stable region, he added, can only
materialize if the US ends its policy of sowing divisions among regional
countries, stops the flow of weapons to the region, respects the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of other states, abandons the policy of unconditional
support for Israel, and puts an end to its policy of Iranophobia.
Source: Fars News Agency
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original story:
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India
After
calling for economic boycott of Muslim shopkeepers in Manesar, panchayat
organisers seek probe to evict illegal immigrants
July
12, 2022
Days
after a panchayat in Haryana’s Manesar, claiming to represent the Hindu
society, had called for an economic boycott of Muslim shopkeepers and issued an
ultimatum to the administration to conduct an enquiry to evict illegal
immigrants, the organisers of the panchayat met a city magistrate on Monday to
enquire about the action taken so far and to demand a thorough probe.
The
organisers said that depending on the action taken by the administration in the
next few days, they would take a call on holding a mahapanchayat of 70 villages
in Manesar on the issue.
In
a memorandum to the deputy commissioner last week, the panchayat members had
stated that “jihadist and fundamentalist elements had infiltrated commercial
and residential spaces” in Gurgaon and Manesar and called for the eviction of
illegal immigrants. “There should be an immediate enquiry into this and those
found staying illegally should be evicted. Many here are involved in religious
conversions and strict action should be taken against them,” the memorandum had
read.
Devender
Singh, general secretary, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) said on July 3, they held
a panchayat and had asked the administration for an enquiry in a week’s time,
but no action had been taken.
“We
had gone to enquire about the action taken so far. Many Rohingyas and
Bangladeshis are illegally staying in Manesar. They hide their identities and
have set up shops in the names of Hindu deities. It is a part of a larger
conspiracy. We had asked for an enquiry and to evict those found staying
illegally. The matter is extremely sensitive. We are hopeful that the
administration will take action. Depending on the action taken by the
authorities, we will decide on holding a panchayat of 70 villages on a larger
scale,” said Singh.
Source:
Indian Express
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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"Muslims
Using Most Contraceptives": Owaisi Counters Yogi Adityanath
July
12, 2022
Hyderabad:
A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's 'population
imbalance' remark, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief
Asaduddin Owaisi said Muslims were the ones using most contraceptives.
"Are
Muslims not natives of India? If we see the reality, natives are only tribal
and Dravidian people. In Uttar Pradesh, without any law, desired fertility rate
would be achieved by 2026-2030," Mr Owaisi said to ANI today on
Adityanath's statement.
Mr
Owaisi added, "Their own Health Minister said that no law is needed in the
country for population control. It's Muslims who're using most contraceptives.
The total fertility rate which was 2.6 in 2016 is now 2.3. Country's
demographic dividend is the best among all countries."
After
a report by the United Nations on Monday said India was projected to surpass
China as the world's most populous country in 2023, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
said the population control programme must go ahead successfully but at the
same time, 'population imbalance' should not be allowed to happen.
Yogi
Adityanath also said, "It should not happen that the speed of population
growth or the percentage of some community is high and we stabilise the
population of the `moolniwasi' (natives) through awareness or
enforcement."
He
said programmes pertaining to awareness of population stabilisation have been
running for the past five decades. On one scale, population is an achievement
of the society, but this will remain an achievement only when the society
remains healthy and disease-free, he added.
According
to a report by the World Population Prospects 2022 by the United Nations
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division the world's
population is projected to reach eight billion on November 15, 2022. The latest
projections by the United Nations suggest that the global population could grow
to around 8.5 billion in 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and 10.4 billion in 2100.
In
July 2021, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath unveiled the state's
new population policy, which aims to incentivise people to help in population
control. The unveiling coincided with World Population Day, which is celebrated
on July 11 every year.
"Increasing
population can be a hurdle in way of development. Every community has been
taken care of in Population Policy 2021-2030," Yogi Adityanath said in
July 2021. He had also said that population control is directly connected with
awareness among masses and poverty.
Source:
ND TV
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Don’t
cite religion as excuse to add to population boom: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
Jul
13, 2022
NEW
DELHI: Senior BJP leader and former Union minister for minority affairs Mukhtar
Abbas Naqvi joined the debate on population control, cautioning that
“population explosion” is a problem that affects the entire country.
He
said that measures taken by most countries of the world to control population
have yielded positive results. “The people of these countries supported their
governments and administrations in efforts to control increasing population,”
Naqvi said.
In
an apparent swipe at Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq over his remarks
that giving birth to a child is up to the Almighty, Naqvi said that some people
want to create “unlimited problems on the pretext of Allah’s mercy” on the
issue of population control.
Source:
Times Of India
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‘Muslim
university’ row: Uttarakhand Congress seeks action against BJP leaders
Jul
12, 2022
A
team of Congress leaders in Uttarakhand on Tuesday met director general of
police Ashok Kumar, and sought his direction to register an FIR against some
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders who have allegedly been “trying to tarnish
former CM and senior leader Harish Rawat’s image” by linking him to a statement
about setting up a ‘Muslim university’.
Congress
claimed that Rawat rubbished these allegations on social media on several
occasions and clarified that he has no association with any such statement, but
the BJP leaders ‘continue to spread misinformation about him’.
Congress
further alleged that an FIR in this regard was registered at Kankhal police
station in Haridwar in March based on a complaint by their leader Manish
Karanwal, but no action has been taken so far.
“Despite
our repeated complaints, the police have taken no action, encouraging the BJP
leaders to continue to indulge in fake propaganda against our leader Harish
Rawat,” state Congress spokesperson Garima Dasauni told the state police chief.
She
said the “misinformation” has tarnished the image of their leader and also led
to the party’s loss in the recent assembly elections.
“Our
party has full faith in democracy and the Constitution. We are confident that
you will take cognisance of the facts presented before you, and will take
action and order for registration of FIR against BJP leaders who indulged in
spreading misinformation,” the memorandum addressed to the DGP stated.
The
Congress also attached social media and YouTube links of BJP leaders, including
that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, Uttarakhand
chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, to
support their allegations.
DGP
Kumar assured that the matter will be looked into.
Rawat
recently said that he will approach the judiciary over the matter, and that the
issue turned the victory towards BJP which used it as a weapon during the
polls.
BJP
media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan claimed that it’s a desperate effort by a
group within the Congress led by Rawat to divert attention from the voices
being raised against him after the party’s poll debacle.
The
controversy regarding the Congress leadership having agreed to set up a Muslim
university emerged in February during campaigning for the state elections.
Subsequently, Dhami too accused the Congress of engaging in appeasement
politics.
The
controversy followed a statement by the then Congress general secretary Aqeel
Ahmed, who after withdrawing his nomination from the Sahaspur seat in Dehradun,
said he had put up some conditions before the party leadership for withdrawing
the nomination, including setting up of Muslim leadership, which it has agreed
to.
Aqeel
told local media that his demands included setting up a Muslim University in
the state for the education of Muslim youth and spoke about the same to Harish
Rawat, who told him he will do so after the Congress comes to power.
BJP
shared Aqeel Ahmed’s video on its Facebook page, stating, “Those who didn’t
allow the setting up of a Sanskrit University in Devprayag have now promised of
setting up a Muslim University in the state to make a particular community
happy. Will Dev Bhumi be able to forgive such people?”.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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Gyanvapi
mosque: Muslim side completes arguments on maintainability of case
July
12, 2022
The
Muslim side on Tuesday completed its arguments on the maintainability of the
Gyanvapi mosque-Shringar Gauri complex case in the district court here.
District
Government Counsel Rana Sanjiv Singh said after Muslim side completed its
arguments, the Hindu side started its arguments that will continue on
Wednesday.
Madan
Mohan Yadav, the counsel for the Hindu side, said the Muslim side demanded from
the court to dismiss the case.
The
district court had on July 4 fixed the hearing for July 12 as the Muslim side
sought more time to present their arguments.
Earlier,
five women had filed a petition seeking permission for daily worship of Hindu
deities whose idols are located on an outer wall of the mosque. A lower court
had ordered a videography survey of the complex. The survey work was completed
on May 16 and the report was presented in the court on May 19.
The
Hindu side had claimed in the court that a Shivling was found during the
videography survey of the Gyanvapi mosque-Shringar Gauri complex.
Source:
India Today
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
SC
to hear next week pleas against Karnataka HC order refusing to lift ban on
hijab
July
13, 2022
The
Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear next week a batch of pleas
challenging the Karnataka High Court verdict refusing to lift the ban on hijab
in educational institutions of the state.
A
bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima
Kohli took note of the submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan that the matters
were filed long back but were yet to be listed for hearing.
“The
girls are losing out on studies,” Bhushan said.
Source:
Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Udaipur
killing: NIA searches premises of accused
July
13, 2022
THE
NATIONAL Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday conducted searches at the
premises of those accused in the Udaipur killing case.
“During
the searches conducted today at the premises of accused and suspects in the
case, digital devices (mobile phones, laptop and SIM cards) and other
incriminating materials were seized,” the NIA said in a statement.
Sources
said the searches were conducted at as many as nine locations.
The
case pertains to the murder of a tailor, Kanhaiyalal Teli, on June 28 for
allegedly sharing remarks made by BJP’s Nupur Sharma on the Prophet. The two
assailants, identified as Ghouse Mohammed and Riyaz Attari, were arrested the
same day by Rajasthan police.
The
case was later taken over by the NIA, which has till now arrested seven
suspects in the case.
Source:
Indian Express
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/udaipur-killing-nia-searches-premises-of-accused-8025624/
--------
North America
US
President Biden’s Visit to Saudi Unlikely to Lead to Lasting Relations:
Luttwak, Military Strategists
13
July, 2022
One
of world’s most sought-after military strategists who has advised the Pentagon,
presidents, and prime ministers across the globe has told Al Arabiya English
that US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia is unlikely lead to any
lasting strengthened bilateral relations.
Edward
Luttwak, a polyglot American born to Jewish parents in Romania and raised in
Italy and England, is the author of more than a dozen books on grand strategy,
geoeconomics, military history, and international relations, including
Strategy: The Logic Of War And Peace, The Grand Strategy Of The Soviet Union
and his famed 1968 book Coup d’Etat: A Practical Handbook.
In
an extended interview with Al Arabiya English, Luttwak discussed the US
President’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, while he also paid tribute to his
former colleague and friend Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who was
assassinated on July 8 ahead of a parliamentary election..
Through
the lens of a self-described “grand strategist,” Luttwak, who has served on the
editorial boards of Géopolitique (France), the Journal of Strategic Studies,
The European Journal of International Affairs, and the Washington Quarterly,
laid out his theory on why President Biden will head to the region outlining
his affirmative vision for US engagement in the region over the coming months
and years, his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – and the
likely outcome of that encounter.
Q:
What can we expect from President Biden’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia?
A:
This visit is actually what is called a ‘Summit meeting’; which is not usually
places or events when anyone ever decides anything. Summit meetings have to be
prepared in great detail beforehand. It’s an absolutely reckless thing to go
into a Summit meeting [without that preparation]. You only go in with things
you are negotiating. The principles, the ones that meet in the room, have been
fully briefed on what was decided by them and their governments before the
meeting. Also, because otherwise things can go wrong, and accidental things can
go wrong, each side also has to have a ‘loud voice person’; someone who will
immediately summon the media and tell the media their version of the story. So,
if now, [Crown Prince] Mohammed bin Salman and Biden are not in a good
relationship at the summit at all, the Summit is a strained and forced Summit…
that’s bad. Also, from the way the insults and messages were exchanged, it’s
not a fully preferred Summit.
Q:
What could go wrong at – in your words – a Summit meeting if things go wrong?
A:
Well, in case you want to be frightened, the last time a not fully prepared
summit happened was (former US President) John F. Kennedy’s – who thought he
was a genius - meeting in Vienna with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev… This
resulted in the Cuban Missile Crisis that almost burned the world. That is as
bad as it can go down. So, I do hope that the Saudis have the ‘loud voice
person’ who will take charge and issue the communication. I certainly hope that
President Biden will stick to his own ideas about foreign affairs with his very
long experience and his own natural moderation and will ignore the [Former US
President] Obama people and the Clinton people that are not really interested
in him being the successor but are nevertheless his staff. And that’s the reality
of life. To them [followers of Obama and Clinton], allies are highly suspect.
Enemies are not. If an American president improves relations with Cuba [a known
enemy of the US] they are applauding, if they improve relations with Iran, they
are applauding. Relations with an ally; they don’t applaud.
Q:
So President Biden will not be – in your words – applauded for meeting with
Saudi Arabia? Because they are a key ally, rather than an enemy?
A:
They believe Saudi has committed a sinful act. So, the people who are
surrounding Biden, when they’re back in Washington, they’re surrounded by
people that think that Saudi Arabia is awful. And who are indifferent when you
point out to them that nice or not nice, they are a key regional ally and the
loss of it would diminish key American power.
Q:
Is losing that key American power not an incentive for these upcoming talks
with Saudi to be fruitful?
A:
Half of them believe key American power should be diminished. After all, the
United States is the country that declared independence in 1776 in order to
preserve slavery; that is the current line, because the British were abolishing
it. So, if you go and tell them that the American power is weakened, this is
the kind of situation we are in. However, Saudi Arabia is by no means unique.
There’s a category called key American ally. Everyone one of them is under
attack. For example, the government of Indian President Modi is highly
unpopular in the Biden White House, and Trump invited Modi over and they had
the massive celebration with the Indian community; it was a massive thing at
Madison Square Garden applauding the two presidents. So Modi is suspect because
he is non secular, and he is evil because he doesn’t let people have
transgender rights or drink. So Saudi Arabia is the key regional ally – but
it’s evil. India is a key ally – because of China – but now Modi is an enemy;
he wouldn’t be invited to the White House, if he were he would be besieged by
questions. When the people who are around the American President are
anti-American, that would cause hysteria, but their priorities is not actually
enhancement of American power their priorities are varied, such as transgender
rights and abortion rights. So, these people would always welcome improving
relations with Cuba or something like that. Iran for example, if Biden were to
meet the Iranian leader – one who hangs and castrates’ people – they would be
ecstatic. If Biden announced, he was flying over Saudi Arabia to meet the
Iranian leader – they would applaud… they would say he was making a “diplomatic
breakthrough.” This is like when [former US President] Richard Nixon met
Chinese leader Mao Zedong – who at that point been responsible for 60 million
deaths – in Beijing to reset their countries’ relations. Who in Washington
criticized that? Your friends are suspects – you want to embrace your enemies.
That is a logical position, if you fundamentally believe if American power is
evil. So, this Summit meeting is an irresponsible meeting because you’re never
supposed to go to a Summit meeting which has not been fully prepared and fully
agreed and fully scripted.
There
has been, as you touched upon earlier, some choice language used by the US
against Saudi Arabia. He said he was meeting Saudi Arabia royalty as part of a
broader “international meeting” and has previously named the Saudi Crown Prince
a “pariah.” What do you think of this and how will this affect the outcome of
the visit?
A:
The language is highly disturbing. When he said, “I’m going there, I am not
sure if I am meeting him,” then, ‘I am going somewhere else but he’s going to
be there.” Then, “I won’t shake his hand.” And I think, this will be the [US]
headlines of that meeting. It will be keyed in two ways, ‘Biden avoided
embracing Mohammed bin Salman,’ if they are able to write the words ‘Biden
refused to shake Mohammed bin Salman’s hand’ they will but there’ll be
catastrophic consequences from that kind of stuff. There is another fact which
is, summits are very dangerous consequences. But Saudi need to respond to the
people that will attack them. Saudi has to say, “You have to decide if you want
us to be your friends or your enemies, if you want us to be friends this is who
we are here.”
Will
the meeting address some of the other topics that are pressing in the region,
including Iran’s stalled nuclear deal?
A:
That is where Biden’s long experience and maturity will come in. His staff,
Obama people, they pressed him very hard to meet the JCPOA (the formal name of
the Iran nuclear deal) requirement. Biden said no, which horribly disappointed
the Obama people. But he wouldn’t budge. Which is why now there isn’t an
agreement. Biden was the one who prevented the agreement.
You
were a long-term friend of the assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,
what is your takeaway from Friday’s tragic death?
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
New
US-Israel agreement to prevent Iranian nuclear bomb
July
12, 2022
JEDDAH:
US President Joe Biden will sign an agreement with Israel this week pledging
that both countries will use “all elements of national power” to ensure that
Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon, Israeli officials said on Tuesday.
The
declaration of a joint stance against Iran’s nuclear program and regional
aggression will be the centerpiece of Biden’s visit to Israel this week, after
which he will travel to Saudi Arabia.
Iran
is at the top of Israel’s agenda for meetings with US representatives at all
levels, including Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s meeting with Biden, one official
said. “Iran is continuing to violate its obligations and continues to deceive
the international community.”
The
official said Iran was “playing for time” in talks aimed at reviving the
collapsed 2015 deal to curb its nuclear program. “As long as Iran believes time
is on its side, it will not give in or make any concessions. Time has run out
and it is crucial to exert pressure on Iran.”
Collaboration
with the Biden administration on the Iran front was “very strong,” and Israel
was grateful for it, the official said, and work on a joint strategy would be
taken “to the next level” during Biden’s visit.
The
new joint declaration would be “a living testimony to the unique quality, depth
and scope of the US-Israel relationship,” an Israeli diplomatic source said on
Tuesday. “It expresses the warmth and profound commitment to the relationship
on both sides, specifically to Israel’s security, prosperity and wellbeing.”
Before
traveling to Jeddah Biden is expected to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas in Bethlehem, and visit Augusta Victoria, a Palestinian hospital in east
Jerusalem, where he will announce that the US is restoring aid to Palestinian
hospitals in the city.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2121231/middle-east
--------
Israel,
US to sign strategic partnership agreement during Biden’s visit
Ahmed
Asmar
12.07.2022
Israel
and the United States are expected to sign a strategic partnership agreement
during US President Joe Biden's visit this week.
Biden
will arrive in Israel on Wednesday as part of a regional tour that also
includes the West Bank and Saudi Arabia.
Biden
and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid will sign a joint declaration on the
future of their bilateral relationship, an Israeli official said in statements
cited by the Times of Israel newspaper.
He
said the "Jerusalem Declaration" will be "a platform for
cooperation in the coming years."
The
official, whose name was not mentioned, described the Jerusalem Declaration as
a "historic statement,” which reflects the unique nature of the relations
between the US and Israel.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
Imran
declares upcoming polls ‘test of neutrality’ for powers that be
July
13, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday warned the
‘powers that be’ that the only way to get out of the quagmire that the alleged
US conspiracy against his government had landed Pakistan into would be to hold
free and fair by-elections on July 17, which he termed their “first test” to
prove neutrality.
Addressing
back-to-back rallies in Bhakkar and Layyah, the former prime minister claimed
that the government led by PML-N cannot win by-elections without ‘massive
rigging’.
“They
could only win elections through rigging and fear,” he told a charged crowd in
Layyah and asked them to guard polling booths on the day of voting.
This
is not the first time Mr Khan has hinted at alleged manipulation in the run-up
to the by-elections on 20 seats in Punjab later this week. He has also accused
the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) of being in cahoots with the ruling
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Punjab.
“Mr
X is in Lahore … we know what he has been up to,” Imran Khan again alluded to
the mysterious person who is allegedly rigging elections on behalf of the
PML-N. He added that ‘Mr X’ has been meeting Maryam Nawaz and Hamza Shehbaz,
whereas Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja also “goes and sits in
their feet”. They are making efforts to pave way for the victory of the PML-N,
the PTI chief alleged.
“I
want to send a message to all Pakistanis and those who wield real power...
these [PTI supporters] are the people who took to streets for the future of
Pakistan… they don’t want to harm their country. The only option to undo the
consequences of the conspiracy [against PTI government] is to conduct transparent
polls,” Mr Khan said while addressing his supporters in Layyah.
“If
attempts are made to rig elections then I am sure Pakistan will face a
[political] crisis like Sri Lanka… game will be out of your hands then,” he
warned the establishment against possible fallout of rigged polls. Mr Khan said
people who cared for Pakistan also wanted free and fair polls to be held and
by-elections on July 17 will be “your first test” in this regard.
“I
have asked my youth to monitor polling stations on the voting day,” he said,
adding that on Sunday everybody will know where the nation stands.
Bhakkar
speech
In
his Bhakkar rally, the PTI chief made similar rigging allegations, referring to
a ‘Mr Y’ who had been sent to Multan by ‘Mr X’ – based in Lahore – to
manipulate the upcoming by-elections. “Mr X, I have been told that you have
sent Mr Y to Multan to rig the by-election. Mr X and Mr Y, I challenge you that
my nation will make you bite the dust and win the polls [on July 17] despite
all attempts to manipulate them,” the ousted premier stated.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Zardari
says he wishes to see Bilawal as prime minister in his lifetime
July
13, 2022
DADU:
Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari has
said that he sincerely wishes to see Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as prime minister
in his lifetime.
He
said that when Bilawal went abroad as foreign minister he received calls from
his old friends who told him Bilawal would brighten the name of the country.
He
was speaking to newly-elected candidates of local government and PPP workers at
Zardari House in Nawabshah on Tuesday evening.
He
said that when he was president, he transferred power to the prime minister and
the provinces through constitutional amendments. “Now, Islamabad says you have
weakened us but I say I have strengthened the provinces,” he added.
He
said that he would encamp in Punjab to patronise the party and strengthen it.
“This land is mine, I am yours, you are mine. We all have to work hard for the
betterment of Pakistan,” he said.
Muslim
world urged to raise voice for Kashmiris
Pakistan
Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said Kashmiri people are facing
unprecedented oppression, tyranny and barbarism and they are in dire need of
diplomatic help at the time.
Congratulating
Muslims around the world on the occasion of Eidul Azha, he said that Muslims of
India-held Kashmir should be especially remembered on the occasion of Eid. All
Muslims must remember them in their prayers, he said.
He
said that Kashmiris were in dire need of diplomatic help at this time. Muslims
around the world should raise their voice in support of their oppressed
brethern and sisters, he said.
He
asked people to help the poor and the helpless in the joys of Eid, ‘as the day
teaches to love and sacrifice’.
He
said that PPP had always raised its voice against political and social
injustices, and would continue to fight against poverty and the darkness of
ignorance
He
said: “We are fighting for a society where every citizen has economic and
social justice and the state is a paradise for them”.
He
said that they must all work together to discourage those elements who were
trying to mislead the people under the guise of religion.
The
former president offered Eid prayers at Zardari House where he met with local
party leaders and notables.
Later,
he arrived at his ancestral graveyard Baloo Ja Quba where he offered fateha and
laid wreaths on the graves of his father Hakim Ali Zardari and other family
members.
PPP
local leaders Mir Nadir Magsi, Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Ali Hassan Zardari, Ashiq
Ali Zardari and others were also present on the occasion.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistani
columnist claims he passed information to ISI from his India visits
Jul
12, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Nusrat Mirza, a Pakistani columnist who has visited India many times during the
Congress' rule, has boasted on camera that he used to pass on information collected
during his visits to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
During
a virtual interview with journalist and political analyst Shakil Chaudhary, He
shared that "usually when you apply for a visa to India, they only allow
you to visit three places. However, at that time, Khurshid Kasuri (Pakistani
politician and writer who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan
between November 2002 till November 2007) was the foreign minister who helped
me to get a visa for seven cities."
He
claimed that he had visited India on several occasions. "I was invited to
India at the time of Vice Presidentship of Mohammad Hamid Ansari." Ansari
is an Indian politician and retired diplomat who was the 12th vice president of
India from 2007 to 2017.
"I
have visited India five times. I have visited Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Patna
and Kolkata as well. In 2011, I also met with the Milli Gazette's publisher
Zafarul Islam Khan." Zafarul-Islam Khan is a former Chairman of the Delhi
Minorities Commission and Founder-Editor of the Milli Gazette, Indian Muslims'
leading news source.
Replying
to a question about Pakistan lagging behind on Urdu intellectuals and
strategists, Mirza responded in an affirmative however he also registered his
disappointment with the leadership in the Pakistan Army and said that they are
not considerate of the situation and usually ignore the work of experts.
"Do
you know what the problem in Pakistan is? When a new chief comes, he wipes out
the work done by the previous chief and starts with a clean slate. Khurshid
asked me to hand over the information I had brought to Kayani (General Ashfaq
Parvez Kayani, Pakistan's former Army Chief). I said I would not hand over the
information to him, but if you want, I am giving you the information. He handed
it over to Kayani," he said.
"Later
they called me and asked if I could get more information like this. I asked
them to work on the information I provided. They have a research wing. They
have information. They know about the weaknesses in the leadership in India.
But they do not use it," he added.
Continuing
Pakistan's 'lackadaisical' approach to handling the intelligence received by
him from India, he said, "since FATF came, Pakistan has not done any
activity. It has its hands tied up." It is worth noting that Financial
Action Task Force's (FATF) terror finance watchlist has been keeping a close
eye on Pakistan for not fulfilling the parameters to counter terrorism in the
country.
He
continued the interview by bragging about how he "fully understands"
India and its outlook. He said that though he handed down the information to
the Pakistani leadership however no one seemed to pay any attention to it due
to leadership issues.
"Though
I agree I am not an expert, I understand their (India's) culture. I know about
their weaknesses. But the problem is the experience I gathered about India is
not being used due to lack of good leadership in Pakistan," he said.
"I
think I understand how India functions. I have studied the circumstances in
which Indian Muslims live. I am friends with all the editors of Urdu papers in
India. Many news channel owners are good friends. Whenever I have visited
India, I have given several interviews."
"I
know where separatist movements are happening. But no one wants to exploit the
information. The separatist movements are happening in all regions of India.
There is no doubt about that. I used to say there were 26 movements ongoing,
but someone said now there are 67 such movements."
Mirza
has also worked as an advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh. Speaking about
former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan he said that the former premier could
not even establish himself as a leader within his own party. Pakistan has lost
its credibility on the world stage.
Source:
Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Over
two million cases pending in courts across country
Ishaq
Tanoli
July
13, 2022
KARACHI:
The country’s superior and lower judiciaries are dealing with a huge backlog of
2.144 million cases as 4.102m cases were decided and 4.06m new cases were filed
during 2021, it emerged on Tuesday.
The
overall pendency at the start of 2021 before all the courts was 2.16m.
The
Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court and five high courts of the country
disposed of 229,822 cases and 241,250 new cases were instituted during last
year and pending cases stood at 389,549 before the superior courts on Dec 31
while the same tally was 378,216 on Jan 1, 2021.
Similarly,
1,783,826 cases were pending trial at the start of last year before the
district judiciary of the country and it adjudicated 3,872,686 cases and
3,822,881 fresh cases were filed during last year and total pendency stood at
1,754,947 before lower judiciary on Dec 31.
According
to the statistics gathered by the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, at
the start of 2021, 46,695 cases were pending before the Supreme Court and at
the end of year they stood at 51,766 as 12,838 cases were decided while 18,075
new cases filed at the apex court last year.
Shariat
Court
The
Federal Shariat Court was established in 1980 by a military regime to examine
and decide the question whether or not any law or provision of law is repugnant
to the injunctions of Islam and to hear appeals in the cases of rape and
unnatural offences. However, there are only 157 cases before the FSC since with
the adoption of Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act 2006, the
jurisdiction of this court was considerably curtailed, inasmuch as,
appeals/applications for revision arising out of trial of offences were taken
out from the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance 1979, and now
such appeals are filed before the high courts.
There
were 178 cases pending at start of 2021 before FSC and it settled 139 cases and
118 new cases were submitted before it last year.
High
courts
The
Lahore High Court adjudicated 149,362 cases last year and 148,436 new cases
were instituted during the same period and total pending cases were 187,255 on
Dec 31 at the LHC.
The
Sindh High Court disposed of over 31,000 cases last year, but around 34,000 new
cases were also instituted during the same period and total pending cases stood
at over 84,000.
Similarly,
the Peshawar High Court received 23,941 cases and decided 20,528 cases during
2021 and pendency stood at 44,703 cases.
There
were 4,194 cases pending at the Balochistan High Court when the 2021 began and
it disposed of 7,287 cases and 7,182 new cases were filed during previous and
pending cases are 4,108 at the BHC.
The
Islamabad High Court adjudicated 7,918 cases in 2021 and 9,433 new cases were
instituted and pending cases were 17,456 at the end of last year.
Lower
judiciary
Likewise,
the lower judiciary of Punjab disposed of 2,904,745 and 2,826,774 new cases
were filed last year and pending stood at 1,313,669 cases.
The
district judiciary of Sindh decided 344,701 cases and 346,109 cases were filed
in 2021 and total pendency was 117,790 on Dec 31.
The
subordinate courts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa adjudicated 475,927 cases last year,
500,417 cases were instituted during the same period and total pending cases
were 256,873.
Similarly,
the district judiciary of Balochistan decided 59,652 and 59,289 cases were
filed and the total cases pending trial stood at 15,675 while the lower courts
at Islamabad disposed of 87,661 cases, 90,292 were instituted during 2021 and
total pendency is 50,940.
NJPMC
The
National Judicial Policy was formulated in 2009 to reduce the backlog of cases
in the judiciary, ensure its independence and eradicate corruption.
It
was devised in the aftermath of judges’ restoration movement (2007-2009) with a
view to improve the performance of the justice sector in order to enhance
public trust in the administration of justice.
The
NJP, formulated by the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC),
provided short- and long-term measures for expeditious disposal of the cases
and set time limits to decide the matters of different categories and it said
that priority should be given to dispose of old cases.
The
chief justice of Pakistan is chairman of the NJPMC, while the FSC chief justice
and chief justices of the five high courts are its members.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1699337/over-two-million-cases-pending-in-courts-across-country
--------
Crypto
trading: Gulf exchange seeks entry into Pakistan
Kazim
Alam
July
13, 2022
KARACHI:
Bahrain-based Rain Financial, a trading platform for cryptocurrencies, is
persuading local regulators to issue a legal framework for the formalisation of
crypto trading in Pakistan.
Speaking
to Dawn in a recent interview, Rain Financial Country General Manager Zeeshan
Ahmed said the trading in crypto assets — digital currencies in which
transactions are verified and recorded by a decentralised system — currently
exists in a regulatory “no man’s land”.
“There’s
no law that declares crypto illegal. Have the authorities frowned upon crypto?
Yes. But issuing a statement is one thing and translating it into a law is
another,” he said.
Former
central bank governor Dr Reza Baqir said in March the risks of using
cryptocurrencies outstripped benefits. Earlier, the central bank issued a
formal notice advising the general public to be cautious of, and refrain from,
trading cryptocurrencies.
“Negotiations
are taking place. These are large-impact decisions involving lots of ideas and
proposals,” Mr Ahmed said, expressing hope that the authorities will realise
the benefits of formalising an activity that’s already going on outside of the
regulatory ambit.
According
to data platform website Chainalysis, Pakistanis booked profits of more than
$604 million in crypto trading during 2021. Pakistan is also among the
top-ranking countries on the Global Crypto Adoption Index. This is despite the
fact that the central bank doesn’t recognise cryptocurrencies as legal tender
and, as such, hasn’t licensed any exchange to facilitate their trading.
Yet
Pakistanis trade digital coins on crypto exchanges like Binance in peer-to-peer
transactions. In simple words, buyers and sellers agree to trade coins on the
exchange’s app, which leads to the same assets going into an escrow/frozen
account. The buyer then transfers money to the seller within a short time
window and produces the proof of payment to the trading platform to gain
possession. Alternatively, one can use a hundi/hawala channel to buy or sell
coins on a crypto exchange. The unregulated structure of trading means the
government gets zero tax on any capital gains booked by investors.
“We
believe in regularised, licensed platforms. When we want to move into a market,
we first engage the regulator and show it the value-add and benefits (of
cryptocurrencies). Unregulated markets like Pakistan face capital flight and
risks to individuals and institutions,” said Mr Ahmed.
Rain
Financial was incorporated in the sandbox of the central bank of Bahrain in
2017 as a crypto asset company. The federal monetary authority issued a crypto
policy framework in 2018 and the company received its licence in 2019.
Mr
Ahmed said the exchange is a major crypto trading platform in the markets it
already operates in. The estimated volume of crypto trading in 2021 was close
to $100 billion. “Our share was $2bn. A regional player currently, we’re poised
to become a global one,” he said.
Crypto
enthusiasts present digital currencies as a reliable medium of exchange, store
of value, hedge against inflation, and a safe investment in the event of a
catastrophe — attributes that have conspicuously been missing from the
10,000-plus cryptocurrencies that currently exist.
Rain
Financial’s bid to enter the Pakistani market couldn’t have come at a less
opportune time. As much as $2 trillion has been wiped out of the combined
market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies over the last six months. The crash
is so big that China’s Blockchain-based Service Network, a government-linked
initiative to promote the commercial adoption of blockchain technology, has
called cryptocurrencies the biggest Ponzi scheme in the history of humankind.
Mr
Ahmed said momentary setbacks shouldn’t be construed as the final verdict of
history. The ongoing evolution of cryptocurrencies, in his view, is as
consequential an event as the industrial revolution.
“This
volatility looks excessive in the short term, but it isn’t. The global (crypto)
adoption (rate) is only seven per cent,” he said, noting that volatility will
come down in the long run.
Mr
Ahmed expects Pakistan’s will be a high-volume, low-transaction market for Rain
Financial once the regulators allow formal trading of cryptocurrencies. Around
2m Pakistanis have so far downloaded the apps of crypto exchanges. The number
will likely go up four times once the authorities grant legal cover to
cryptocurrencies, he said.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1699320/crypto-trading-gulf-exchange-seeks-entry-into-pakistan
--------
Hindus
protest girl’s ‘abduction’ in front of Zardari House in Nawabshah
July
13, 2022
DADU:
Members of Hindu community marched on main roads before staging a protest in
front of Zardari House in Nawabshah on Tuesday in protest against what they
believed was abduction of a community girl.
Police
claimed Shrimati Kareena had eloped with a Muslim boy for love and had
contacted marriage with him in a Karachi court.
The
protesters chanted slogans against police and demanded former president Asif
Ali Zardari intervene to help them recover the girl, who was allegedly kidnapped
in Unnar Muhalla, Qazi Ahmed town, six days ago.
But
Nawabshah SSP Ameer Saud Magsi said that Shrimati Kareena had not been abducted
she had eloped with Khalil Rehman Jono of Meer Mohammad Jono village and had
married to him in a court in Karachi.
He
said that Asghar Jono, father of Khalil, had been arrested after registration
of FIR under Section 365-B on a complaint lodged by Sundurmal. Khalil and his
father Asghar were nominated in FIR, he said.
The
SSP shared a nikahnama purportedly of Shrimati Kareena and Khalil Rehman Jono
and said the girl would be produced in Sindh High Court. The girl would decide
to go wherever she wanted, he said.
Hindu
Panchayat vice president Lajpat Rai rejected the SSP’s claim and said that
police had registered an FIR but were rescuing the abducted girl. A delegation
of Hindu community met the SSP but he had not helped them, he said.
Manomal,
another Panchayat leader, said that the abducted girl was under pressure to
change religion and was not being produced in any court.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
PM
Shehbaz seeks summary to slash fuel prices
Kalbe
Ali
July
13, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif sought a summary from finance and petroleum
ministries to suggest a reduction in petroleum prices in the wake of falling
global crude oil rates and a few days ahead of Punjab by-elections.
“I
have ordered the ministries of petroleum and finance to pass on the reduction
in the prices of POL [petroleum, oil and lubricant] products in the
international market to people. They have faced economic difficulties and the
relief is their right,” the premier tweeted late on Tuesday.
The
decision, according to Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, was made in
a meeting chaired by the prime minister and attended by senior officials of
the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and other ministries and departments.
According
to Reuters, global benchmark Brent crude plunged $7 to below $100 a barrel on
Tuesday on the back of a strengthening dollar, demand-sapping Covid-19 curbs in
top crude importer China, and rising fears of a global economic slowdown.
A
senior official of an oil marketing company told Dawn he expected a Rs15 and
Rs30 per-litre decrease in petrol and high-speed diesel prices “if the
government does not increase petroleum levy or impose GST on these fuels”.
“But
these are these are tentative numbers and the prices will be clear by Wednesday
(today) evening,” he said.
Finance
Minister Miftah Ismail also said on Tuesday the summary to reduce petroleum
prices would be forwarded to Prime Minister Sharif on Wednesday for necessary
action.
“After
receiving the summary from the petroleum division, we will try to send it to
the PM House,” Mr Ismail told a private television channel, according to the
state-run wire service APP.
The
premier sincerely wanted to give the benefits of low petroleum prices in the
international market to people without any delay, the finance minister said.
The
PML-N-led coalition government has been increasing petroleum prices since the
last week of May as it slashed fuel subsidies to unlock IMF funding.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1699344/pm-shehbaz-seeks-summary-to-slash-fuel-prices'
--------
‘Steps
needed to contain population boom’
Ikram
Junaidi | Amin Ahmed
July
13, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
President Dr Arif Alvi and other stakeholders have sought measures to restrict
population growth in Pakistan by “normalising family planning” as a report by
the United Nations suggests that the global population could zoom past 9.7
billion in 2050 with half of the projected increase concentrated in eight
countries, including Pakistan.
As
the global population will surpass eight billion in November this year, the
eight countries, in addition to Pakistan, responsible for this boom are Congo,
Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, the Philippines and Tanzania, the ‘World
Population Prospects 2022’ report released by the UN a day earlier to mark the
World Population Day disclosed.
As
per the latest projections, the population could grow to around 8.5 billion in
2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050, before reaching a peak of around 10.4 billion
people during the 2080s. “Half of the eighth billion added to the world
population as a result of Asia’s demographic expansion,” the report revealed.
It added that India was on its way to surpassing China as the world’s most
populous country in 2023 whereas the global population will reach eight billion
on November 15, it said.
In
1990, Pakistan was in the eighth position among the world’s 10 most populous
countries; however, in 2022, the country ranked fifth among the top 10
countries, and in 2050 Pakistan is projected to remain in the same position.
UN
says ‘Asian demographic expansion’ to tip world population over 8 billion by
November
Global
life expectancy at birth reached 72.8 years in 2019, an improvement of almost 9
years since 1990. But in 2021, life expectancy for the least developed
countries lagged 7 years behind the global average. In many developing
countries, the share of the population at working ages (between 25 and 64 years)
has been increasing.
It
took hundreds of thousands of years for the world population to grow to one
billion — then in just another 200 years or so, it grew sevenfold. In 2011, the
global population reached the seven billion mark; it stands at almost 7.9
billion in 2021.
‘Population
boom not sustainable’
Meanwhile,
in Pakistan, the burgeoning population growth is threatening the sustainable
lifestyle along with the changes in climate that are compounding the problem
faced by the country of over 225 million citizens.
To
tackle the problem, the government is exercising all options to sensitise the
the general public on negative implications of population growth.
President
Dr Arif Alvi, in his message on the population day, referred to the meagre
resources and urged awareness among the masses about the importance of
containing the population growth rate for the sake of better healthcare, a
stable economy, and sustainable social life.
The
president cautioned, “If we don’t make a serious change, this population is
likely to double in the next 30 years.”
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1699313/steps-needed-to-contain-population-boom
--------
Southeast Asia
Maldivian
Parliament Speaker Nasheed negotiated President Rajapaksa's escape from Sri
Lanka: Sources
Jul
13, 2022
COLOMBO/MALE:
Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's escape from the country to
the Maldives was negotiated by the Maldivian Parliament Speaker and former
president Mohamed Nasheed, sources said on Wednesday. The 73-year-old President
fled to the Maldives along with his wife and two security officers on a
military jet early Wednesday in the face of a public revolt against his
government for mishandling the country's economy.
In
a brief statement, the Sri Lankan Air Force said that under the Constitution
granted to an Executive President, Rajapaksa was flown to the Maldives onboard
an Air Force plane early Wednesday morning.
President
Rajapaksa's escape from Colombo was negotiated by Majlis (Parliament) Speaker
Nasheed, sources in the Maldives capital Male said.
The
Maldivian government's argument is that Rajapaksa is still the President of Sri
Lanka, and that he hasn't resigned or handed over his powers to a successor.
Therefore, if he wanted to travel to the Maldives, it could not have been
denied, sources said.
Thirteen
people accompanied Rajapaksa to the Maldives. They arrived in an AN32 aircraft,
according to TV news channels.
Reports
say that initial requests to land a military aircraft in the Maldives were
refused by the Civil Aviation Authority in Maldives, but later landing was authorised
on the request of Speaker Nasheed.
On
Saturday, Rajapaksa announced that he will step down on Wednesday after
thousands of protesters stormed his official residence, blaming him for the
unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
Rajapaksa,
who enjoys immunity from prosecution while he is president, fled the country
before resigning to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new government.
He
is expected to be in the Maldives on transit before flying to another destination
which is yet to be known.
Rajapaksa
is likely to send his resignation letter only after reaching his final
destination on Wednesday evening, Sri Lanka's The Morning news portal reported,
citing highly placed government sources.
It
is learnt that the Rajapaksa's resignation letter would be sent to Speaker
Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena at around 8 pm Sri Lanka time, it added.
Source: Times Of India
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Malaysia
eyes Middle East’s millennial, Gen Z travellers for tourism revival
NOR
ARLENE TAN
July
12, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: Malaysia is focusing its promotional efforts on millennial and
Generation Z travelers from the Middle East, the tourism minister told Arab
News, as the country sets out to revive its pandemic-wrecked hospitality
sector.
The
Muslim-majority nation, which markets itself abroad as an ideal holiday
destination, with a multi-ethnic culture, lush rainforests and pristine
beaches, suffered a heavy blow when it shut its borders to foreign visitors in
2020 and remained isolated until April this year.
Malaysia
is popular among visitors from the Middle East and has been ranked as a top
destination in the Global Muslim Travel Index since 2015.
To
boost post-pandemic arrivals, its marketing efforts are now focused on visitors
from the demographic cohorts known as Gen Z — those born between the late 1990s
and 2000s — and millennials — born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s.
Tourism
Minister Nancy Shukri told Arab News in a recent interview that millennial and
Gen Z tourists are “two of the most influential groups of Muslim travelers that
will shape the future trends of the market.”
As
she outlined the country’s promotional strategy, the minister said these groups
of travelers from the Middle East are “often categorized to be adventurous and
more open minded in their choices of holiday activities, while still observing
their religious obligations.”
Shukri
explained that the term “adventurous” extends beyond sports-related activities,
such as hiking, climbing and diving,” and also refers to “cultural exchanges
and interaction with the environment” — from tree planting and birdwatching to
participation in local festivals and learning local languages.
To
cater to millennial and Gen Z visitors from the Middle East, the country is
trying to promote niche tourism products such as ecotourism and adventure
travel, but also volunteering, and other activities that are in line with
sustainable tourism practices — travel experiences that include concern for
social and environmental issues, as well as the welfare of host communities.
“It
is observed that Muslim travelers, including (from the) Middle East traveler
market, now have a more sophisticated need for spiritually fulfilling and
transformative travel experiences that could enrich their lives,” Shukri said.
“Activities
like volunteering and socializing with the destination’s community at local
festivals, for example, can create a valuable memory that elevates their travel
experience. This is one example of how tourism can be linked to
sustainability.”
Hopes
for attracting Middle Eastern visitors are high after the Arabian Travel
Market, an annual tourism event organized in Dubai, which was held on May 9-12.
Malaysia’s
tourism ministry took part in the event with its Tourism Malaysia and Islamic
Tourism Center, as well as local tourism boards, travel agencies, and
representatives of resorts and hotels.
“Feedback
from ATM 2022 was tremendous and overwhelming,” Shukri said, adding that sales
of 34.5 million Malaysian ringgit ($7.8 million) were generated during the
four-day event.
“Middle
East industry players were intrigued with Malaysia’s Muslim-Friendly
Accommodation Recognition, developed by ITC, which helps tourists to easily
identify hotels with Muslim-friendly facilities.”
Before
the global pandemic, Malaysia received about 400,000 visitors from the Middle
East in 2019. Travelers from Saudi Arabia topped the arrivals, accounting for a
quarter of the visits.
The
number of international visits to the Southeast Asian nation, where tourism had
contributed 13 percent of the national economy, dropped significantly during
the pandemic, with fewer than 135,000 visitors in 2021, compared with 26.1
million in 2019.
As
it seeks to revive its tourism sector, Malaysia has set a 2022 target of 4.5
million visitors and a revenue of $2.5 billion.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2121146/world
--------
Woman
in Viral Stand-Up Comedy Video Pleads Not Guilty To Subverting Harmony, Bail
Set at RM20, 000
By
Zarrah Morden
13
Jul 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR, July 13 — Crackhouse Comedy Club open mic participant Siti Nuramira
Abdullah, who went viral for a performance deemed offensive to Islam, pleaded
not guilty to a charge of causing disharmony and hatred at the Sessions Court
here today.
The
26-year-old was charged before Judge Siti Aminah Ghazali with “causing
disharmony, disunity, or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will, or prejudicing
the maintenance of harmony or unity, on grounds of religion”, a crime under
Section 298A(1)(a) of the Penal Code.
The
court allowed her RM20,000 bail with one surety. She was also required to
report to the Brickfields police station once a month and must surrender her
passport to the court.
Her
next court date will be on August 18.
Siti
Nuramira’s defence counsel argued for bail to be set between RM4,000 and
RM5,000 as she was not a flight risk and because of her uncertain financial
circumstances.
They
also argued that the offence was not serious as grave acts were given
imprisonment terms of more than 10 years whereas if she were convicted, she
would face imprisonment of only two to five years.
She
was represented by Datuk Shaharudin Ali, R. Sivaraj and Ramesh MP Chandran.
Deputy
public prosecutors Najihah Farhana Che Awang and Wan Ahmad Hakimi Wan Ahmad
Jaafar, however, argued for bail to be set at RM50,000, saying that too low a
sum would affect public perception of the judiciary.
The
video of Siti Nuramira’s allegedly offensive stand-up comedy routine began with
her claiming that she had memorised half the Quran, after which she removed her
headscarf and baju kurung to reveal a spaghetti strap top and miniskirt.
It
was posted on social media, where it blew up after it was reshared with a
caption claiming that the routine had insulted Islam leading to backlash from
Muslims.
Siti
Nuramira’s partner Alexander Navin Vijayachandran, who recorded the
performance, was charged under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia
Act (CMA) 1998 for “improper use of network facilities or network service”.
Crackhouse
Comedy Club in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, which hosted the event, lodged a police
report over the incident, and the duo were banned from the venue.
The
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), however, issued an order to temporarily shut
down the venue.
Source:
Malay Mail
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Mideast
Israel
increases work permits for Palestinians in Gaza ahead of Biden visit
12
July ,2022
Israel
on Tuesday increased the number of work permits for Palestinians in Gaza, part
of a series of measures affecting Palestinians ahead of US President Joe
Biden’s arrival in Jerusalem.
An
additional 1,500 Palestinians will be allowed to leave the blockaded Gaza Strip
to work in Israel, the military said in a statement.
The
move was described as part of “a series of measures for building confidence
between Israel and the Palestinian Authority” by COGAT, the Israeli defense
ministry body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories.
The
extra permits mean a total of 15,500 Gazans will be permitted to work in
Israel, where Palestinians often find jobs as laborers on construction sites or
farms.
Some
2.3 million Palestinians live in the impoverished Gaza Strip, which has been
under an Israeli blockade since Hamas took power in 2007.
COGAT
said the latest move came “in advance of the United States president’s visit”
on Wednesday and followed a rare meeting last week between Israeli Defense
Minister Benny Gantz and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
Israel
additionally said it would add 5,500 undocumented residents to the Palestinian
Population Registry.
Inclusion
in the Israeli-controlled database is essential for Palestinians to obtain
identity documents or travel abroad.
With
no peace process in play since 2014, Israel has adopted a policy known as
“shrinking the conflict” with a series of steps to improve daily life for
Palestinians.
The
latest measures also include approving six construction plans for Palestinians
in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War.
Arab
Israelis will also be permitted to drive to the city of Jenin in the northern
West Bank, COGAT said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Rayeesi
Slams West for Playing Major Role in Environment Degradation
2022-July-12
Speaking
on Tuesday morning at the "Regional Ministerial Meeting of Environmental
Cooperation for a Better Future" which was held with ministers and
officials of 11 regional countries taking part at Darabad Museum in Tehran,
President Rayeesi thanked the activists in this field and described the concern
of environmental protection as an inevitable priority.
"Economic
and industrial development is a necessity for all countries, but this
development must be marginal compared to environmental protection," he
said.
The
president stated that until the environment is safe and peaceful for the
people, development will not be in the right place in the hearts and souls of
the people and in the economic and social system.
"If
this condition is not fulfilled, that industrial development becomes a threat
to human life, so protecting the environment is a very important and priority
issue," he added.
Expressing
his satisfaction that friendly and neighbouring countries focused their
attention on the important and intergenerational issue of the environment and
the need to protect it, Rayeesi said, "I believe that this can be a field
for extensive cooperation between countries."
Pointing
out that Iran is one of the countries that has paid attention to the issue of
the environment in its constitution and has introduced it as a requirement for
the growing social life of mankind, the Iran's president clarified, "The
destruction of the environment, which in itself is the result of social and
political inequalities, as well as the wrong use of nature, are one of the
important factors in the violation of human rights."
"Islam
considers creation beyond nature, and the humanity is not only responsible for
protecting nature, but as an agent within the system of divine creation, any
behaviour, deed and even thought is effective in the balance of this
system," Rayeesi pointed out.
The
current world is facing many environmental problems beyond geographical and
political borders, the president said, adding, "In the West Asian region,
we are facing many environmental problems, including climate change, dust
storms, and pollution of biological resources."
"Undoubtedly,
the reduction of biological and food security, the creation of pollution, the
indiscriminate harvesting of non-renewable resources and the reduction of
biodiversity have led to a decrease in public welfare and a negative impact on
the economy and health of the residents of these areas," he continued.
"On
the other hand, the greed of the domination system, terrorism, depriving the
governments and nations of the region from knowledge, technology and
participation in decision-making have caused irreparable environmental
challenges," he said.
Rayeesi
also described the hegemonic approach of Western governments during the past
centuries and their unlimited encroachment on natural resources, especially in
countries under colonisation, and the production of various pollutants in
different parts of the world to achieve the current economic development, as
one of the main factors of environmental problems.
He
emphasised that "on this basis, naturally, there is an expectation that
they take more responsibility in this field, not to use it as a path for a new
type of colonialism in technology and establish a new colonialism".
The
president stated that one of the characteristics of tyrants described in the
verses of the Quran is the destruction of nature and the human race, and noted,
"One of the most central points that I emphasised in last year's video
speech at the United Nations General Assembly was the need to preserve the
environment and the challenges and disasters that neglecting the environment
can create for the world and nature and endanger the human race, and I drew the
attention of all countries to this very important and necessary issue."
"The
important thing that needs to be addressed in this meeting today is that the
issue of environmental protection should be considered as a very important
matter, away from the usual administrative and organisational formalities and
diplomatic relations between countries," he added.
Pointing
out that official discussions between countries are often international
formalities and usual diplomacy, the president stated, "I urge the
respected head of the Department of Environment, the participating ministers
and experts who are present in this gathering to take this issue away from
formalities. They should see the usual diplomatic and political views, think
about it and design and follow effective solutions to protect the environment,
because the usual formalities prevent it from reaching the right and worthy
result".
"The
Islamic Republic of Iran, by drafting national laws, including the 50th Article
of the Constitution, as well as by establishing religious teachings and relying
on indigenous knowledge and prioritising values such as justice, equality,
contentment and respect for nature, along with membership in assemblies for
environmental issues has paid special attention to environmental protection and
has taken effective measures to promote and improve environmental conditions
and eliminate pollution created in the country," he added.
The
Iranian president stated that in the past years efforts have been made to use
the scientific and specialised power of the country in the field of achieving
sustainability and environmental justice.
"I
emphasise that one of the basic dimensions in the type of communication we have
with our neighbours and in foreign policy is to respect the right of the
neighbour," he continued.
Rayeesi
emphasised that everyone should respect the right of the neighbour, and stated,
"When it comes to rights, naturally there is also an obligation; Right
does not come without obligation. I believe that the right of the neighbour and
respecting the environment is one of the rights of the neighbour. The
neighbourhood policy and right requires attention to the issue of the
environment."
"Dealing
with some environmental challenges, including the crisis of increasing dust
storms, is a cross-border issue and requires international and regional
determination. The mechanism for solving environmental issues depends on
regional cooperation and convergence, and the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes
regional cooperation and convergence to overcome these challenges in order to
improve the environment," the president continued.
He
stated that the desire to hold this meeting is a sign of the Islamic Republic
of Iran's will to pursue the issue of environmental protection in the region,
and clarified, "I will present some suggestions to this meeting to be
examined in task forces and meetings. What is not hidden from anyone is the
need for proper cooperation of neighbours to achieve a common vision and action
on the issue of the environment".
Pointing
out that in order to achieve this view and common action, we need a division of
labour between countries, he noted, "Division of labour between countries
can strengthen the atmosphere of cooperation and more effectively deal with and
eliminate environmental hazards, including dust storms, which is the main
concern of the countries of the region today."
"As
the largest possessor of clean energy resources, the Islamic Republic of Iran
is ready to share its experience and knowledge of biotechnology with other
countries, especially its dear neighbours, in order to reduce pollution and
protect the environment," he said.
President
Rayeesi continued to explain his suggestions and emphasised, "To deal with
environmental problems in a sustainable way, the creation of a union or
organisation for environmental cooperation of West Asian countries can organise
the regional cooperation of these countries."
"Another
point of interest for this cooperation is that in order to achieve the goals
stated in the UN resolutions, many of which have been carried out with the
follow-ups of the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is necessary to establish a
regional fund for financial support of executive measures in the field of
action," he noted.
"Therefore,
the proposals of the Islamic Republic of Iran include the establishment of a
mechanism and organisation in the form of a regional union, the creation of a
financial fund as a financial support for executive actions, the need to carry
out some kind of division of labour between the member countries and the
formation of the secretariat of this union in order to diligently follow up on
the resolutions, because if there is no secretariat, the resolutions of these
organisations will not be followed and implemented as they should be," he
continued.
"Any
shortcoming in this regard will cause serious and irreparable damage to the
people and the environment, which should be avoided. The passage of time is not
in our favour and we should make firm and serious decisions in this limited
time and seek to implement these decisions and resolutions," Rayeesi said.
Ayatollah
Raisi expressed hope that in this meeting, with the serious will of the
participants, worthy decisions will be made to protect the environment, and
following these decisions, the necessary mechanism will be established with the
will of the countries in order to bring about changes in the environmental
situation of the region, and these measures can greatly help in protecting the
environment of the region.
"I
hope that holding this meeting will be a source of blessing for Iran and the
countries of the region and a manifestation of solidarity, cooperation and
companionship for other regions of the world, so that they can see that this
convergence and cooperation has been able to create a new task in the region,
to solve environmental problems and make the environment completely calm and
safe for people's life and progress," he concluded.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Türkiye
welcomes UN bid to extend cross-border aid to NW Syria
Ali
Murat Alhas
12.07.2022
ANKARA
Türkiye
on Tuesday appreciated the UN Security Council for extending its mandate for
cross-border aid to Syria by six months.
"We
welcome the extension of the UN cross-border mechanism for humanitarian
assistance to northwest Syria, albeit for a 6 month period, by the UN Security
Council on 12 July 2022," the ministry said in a statement.
The
UN mechanism played a critical role in the delivery of urgent humanitarian
assistance to some 4.1 million people desperate for aid in the region, it
added.
"Continuation
of the operations of the UN mechanism ... without interruption is essential for
an effective international response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, as
well as regional stability," it said.
For
the past two years, Bab Al-Hawa crossing near Türkiye’s border has been the
only point of entry for UN aid into Syria. The mechanism, which expired on
Sunday, was extended earlier in the day.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
South Asia
Afghanistan:
Taliban bars humanitarian aid from entering Bamyan province
13
July, 2022
Kabul
[Afghanistan], July 13 (ANI): Taliban’s atrocities continue to ascend in
Afghanistan as the organization barred humanitarian aid from entering the
Bamyan as it denied the presence of displaced people in the Province.
Many
displaced individuals are living on the outskirts of Yakawlang district,
according to sources in Bamyan, told Khaama Press that the displaced desperately
need assistance.
The
provision and distribution of shelter and food assistance for the displaced
people who live at a height of 2,700 meters in the cold places of Bamyan
province are essential and urgent, said UNHCR.
As
per the reports by Khaama Press, World Food Program (WFP), recent humanitarian
distributions sent by World Food Program (WFP) to the Balkhab were also
displaced.
Moreover,
the residents of this district have fled or were forced to leave, leaving only
the Taliban forces in place.
Taliban
forces in Balkhab district had been harassing women, reported local media,
adding that more than 27 thousand people have been displaced over the past two
weeks following recent fighting in the district of Balkhab in the Sar-e-Pul
province in the north of the country.
The
United Nations Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (UNOCHA),
too reported that more than 6,000 people from Balkhab have been displaced and
are now moving towards Bamyan where the situation is equally nasty, Khaama
Press reported.
The
situation of women and girls in Afghanistan reflects systematic violations of
rights directly resulting from the wilful adoption of measures and policies by
the Taliban, aiming at erasing them completely from all spheres of public life.
Afghan
women had enjoyed unfettered freedom in the country for so many years but are
now staring at a bleak future due to a number of restrictions imposed by the
Taliban governing aspects of their lives within ten months of Afghanistan’s
takeover.
After
the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, their forces, including
military and intelligence officers, have carried out many summary killings and
enforced disappearances.
There
is no indication that they have held forces responsible for abuses accountable
Taliban
security forces in northern Afghanistan’s Panjshir province have unlawfully
detained and tortured residents accused of association with an opposition armed
group, according to Human Rights Watch.
Since
mid-May 2022, fighting has escalated in the province as National Resistance
Front (NRF) forces have attacked Taliban units and checkpoints.
Source:
The Print
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
UN
Distributes Aid to the Displaced Due to Balkhab Tensions
By
Saqalain Eqbal
12
Jul 2022
United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced that it has
distributed relief aid to 3,800 people displaced and affected by the tensions
in Balkhab, a district in northern Afghanistan’s Sar-e-Pol province.
UNHCR
stated that relief aid including blankets, tents, and other household items are
distributed to the displaced in Bamyan province’s Yakawlang district, on July
11th.
The
provision and distribution of shelter and food assistance for the displaced
people who live at a height of 2,700 meters in the cold places of Bamyan
province, according to the UNHCR, is essential and urgent.
Recent
humanitarian distributions to the Balkhab unrest displaced were also made by the
World Food Program (WFP).
While
this is going on, the Taliban’s governor for Bamyan province has denied the
presence of displaced people there and has barred aid from entering the
province.
The
Bamiyan governor’s office, on the other hand, referred to the UN report as
“unfounded” and “far from reality.”
Many
displaced individuals are living on the outskirts of Yakawlang district,
according to sources in Bamyan, who told Khaama Press that the displaced
desperately need assistance.
However,
as seen in the circulated photographs from Balkhab, the residents of this
district have fled or were forced to leave, leaving only the Taliban forces in
place.
Some
domestic media even report that Taliban forces in Balkhab district had been
harassing women.
More
than 27 thousand people have been displaced over the past two weeks as a result
of the Taliban’s conflict with Mawlawi Mahdi, their “disgruntled” commander,
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/un-distributes-aid-to-the-displaced-due-to-balkhab-tensions-28438/
--------
Denmark
Contributes $2.5 Million to Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund: OCHA
By
Saqalain Eqbal
12
Jul 2022
Denmark
contributes $2.5 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund, according to the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (UNOCHA).
UNOCHA
tweeted its appreciation to Denmark on Tuesday, July 12th, for its commitment
of $2.5 million to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF).
A
pooled country fund managed by the UN is the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund
(AHF). During humanitarian catastrophes, UNOCHA oversees the global emergency
response to safeguard people and save lives.
The
United Nations has repeatedly asked other countries and international
organizations to contribute humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan due
to the economic disaster brought on by the Taliban’s takeover of the
government.
The
World Food Program has said that the Taliban’s takeover of the government has
resulted in hunger striking half of Afghanistan’s people.
Once
the Taliban was re-established in Afghanistan, international aid was
drastically reduced, and the World Bank’s funding for reconstruction was
severely constricted.
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/denmark-contributes-2-5-million-to-afghanistan-humanitarian-fund-ocha-57383/
--------
People
With Disabilities Overlooked in the Response to Quake-Hit Afghanistan: Human
Rights Watch
By
Saqalain Eqbal
12
Jul 2022
Human
Rights Watch stated that people with disabilities had been overlooked in
humanitarian relief to the earthquake victims in a report about the recent
earthquake in southern Afghanistan.
According
to the Human Rights Watch report, there is a paucity of post-earthquake
statistics on the needs of disabled persons in Afghanistan, and many of them
have been forgotten about when relief was being distributed.
Despite
frequently being mentioned as a population at risk, people with disabilities
frequently encounter impediments to receiving humanitarian aid such as food,
sanitation, and medical help.
Given
the Taliban government’s egregious breaches of human rights, particularly
against women and girls, since the Taliban took power, governments have struggled
to provide funds for humanitarian relief to Afghanistan.
In
the report, Human Rights Watch makes the observation that meeting humanitarian
needs should be maintained separately from the politics of Taliban legitimacy
and recognition. If not, the crisis will mostly affect people with disability
and other vulnerable groups.
According
to an Afghan woman who cofounded a group run by people with disabilities but
was forced to leave Afghanistan after the Taliban took control in August 2021,
“I think people with disabilities have been left behind during the help and
rescue programs because nobody tried to distinguish people with disabilities
among all people harmed.”
She
summed up the humanitarian assistance distribution for the quake-hit disabled
people as “a raindrop for a thirsty person.”
Source:
Khaama Press
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Tajikistan
Concerned By Provocative Taliban Watchtower On Border
July
12, 2022
A
watchtower being built on the Afghan-Tajik border that is manned by members of
the "Tajik Taliban" has caught the attention of Tajik officials.
The
Taliban and Tajik militants who have joined forces with the Taliban are
building a new observation post directly across the river from Tajikistan's
Darvaz district.
The
inscription "M. Arsalon," written in graffiti at the foot of a
mountain right next to the watchtower, is viewed by Tajik authorities as a
"deliberate provocation."
M.
Arsalon is Mahdi Arsalon, the nickname of Muhammad Sharipov, a 27-year-old
Tajik citizen from the Nurabad district who the Taliban put in charge of
managing the border along the Darvaz district.
Arsalon
has been wanted by the Tajik authorities for eight years on terrorism charges.
Officials say Arsalon and more than 200 Tajik citizens are in the ranks of the
Taliban, forming a group known as the "Tajik Taliban."
A
border-guard official in Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region, which
borders Afghanistan, told RFE/RL on July 4 that the graffiti was a symbolic
threat of unrest that the Taliban militants sent to Tajikistan.
"Mahdi
Arsalon's name has been demonstratively written in a large font that can be
easily read on the soil of Tajikistan, and with this they want to annoy and
provoke us," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The
official added that the Tajik fighters, citizens of Tajikistan and many of them
wanted by police, walk demonstratively along the banks of the Panj River that
separates the two countries.
"They
come with their cars almost every day to this new observation tower and yell
loudly and ostentatiously with a loudspeaker in a Tajik dialect, insulting Tajik
authorities," he said.
The
official said Arsalon had been responsible for the Taliban-run border guard in
five districts of Afghanistan's Darwaz Province, but that he and a group of his
fighters had since been transferred to Khwahan district, in the northeastern
Badakhshan Province.
Khawan
is located just across from Tajikistan's Shamsiddin Shahin district, which is
considered the most troublesome area along the Afghan-Tajik border.
Tajik
authorities say the Taliban's granting of official duties to the Tajik fighters
as they are doing along the border increases distrust in the militant
organization and gives the sense of a threat from Afghanistan.
The
Taliban does not confirm or deny the presence of Tajik fighters in Afghanistan
but emphasize that no groups will use Afghanistan territory to threaten
Tajikistan.
Taliban
government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an interview with RFERL's Tajik
Service on July 4 that Tajikistan should not worry about the graffiti on the
mountain or the presence of any groups there and to send its security concerns
to Kabul.
"We
will not allow Afghanistan to [be used by groups to] threaten neighboring
countries," Mujahid said. "If the Tajik side has any issues or
concerns, if they talk to us officially, God willing, they will be satisfied
and we will remove the threats.
"Secondly,
in any border post where the name [of Arsalon] is written...there is someone
who is abusing his power or causing problems. From that point of view, we want
the government of Tajikistan to enter into official dialogue with our
government, to enter into contact, so that there is trust between the two
sides."
But
Tajikistan does not recognize the Taliban government and, like other Central
Asian countries, has not announced it will cooperate with the militant group
since it came to power in August 2021 after ousting the pro-Western government.
Tajik
officials have also angered the Taliban by not returning Afghan military jets
that flew to Tajikistan last year to avoid capture by the Taliban.
Source:
Rferl
Please click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan-border-afghanistan-taliban/31939669.html
--------
Arab World
Millions
in Middle East face hunger crisis as Russia’s war rages on: ICRC
12
July ,2022
Hundreds
of millions of people are at risk of severe hunger in the coming months as
extreme poverty, inequality and food insecurity rise in the wake of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned
on Tuesday.
The
crisis will particularly felt in parts of Africa and the Middle East, following
shocks in the food, energy and finance systems, Robert Mardini, the
director-general of the ICRC, warned.
He
said that the conflict in Ukraine has contributed to a sharp increase in fuel,
fertilizer and food prices, squeezing household budgets and forcing families to
make impossible choices every day.
Despite
repeated calls from humanitarian actors, there is still no large-scale solution
to alleviate the pressure the war in Ukraine is creating on populations highly
dependent on grain exports from Russia and Ukraine, said Mardini.
“We
face an urgent and rapidly deteriorating global food security situation,
especially in parts of Africa and the Middle East,” said Mardini. “Armed
conflict, political instability, climate shocks, and the secondary impacts of
the COVID-19 pandemic have weakened capacities to withstand and recover from
shocks.”
“The
knock-on-effects of the armed conflict in Ukraine have made an already critical
situation even worse.”
Mardini
described the situation as urgent, adding that “the window of time left to act
is narrowing.”
“Without
concerted and collaborative efforts, this risks becoming an irreversible
humanitarian crisis with an unimaginable human cost.”
Nowhere
are the consequences felt more than in countries already facing humanitarian
crises and torn apart by decades of warfare or instability – including those
where the ICRC has some of its largest operations, such as Syria, Yemen, Mali,
Ethiopia, Somalia, and Afghanistan.
Mardini
said children are disproportionately affected by food crises.
In
Somalia, for example, the number of children under the age of five suffering
from Severe Acute Malnutrition with medical complications admitted to ICRC-run
Stabilization Centers has increased by almost 50 percent compared to the same
period last year.
Rising
food prices push many families to take their children out of school as they can
no longer afford the fees.
Cereal
prices in Africa have surged because of the slump in exports from Ukraine,
sharpening the impact of conflict and climate change.
Russia
and Ukraine together constitute 25 percent of the world’s production of wheat
and grains, while around 85 percent of Africa’s wheat supplies are imported.
Somalia, for example, gets more than 90 percent of its wheat from Russia and
Ukraine.
The
spike in global prices has a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable to
shocks, especially subsistence farmers and people in conflict-affected areas,
where social protection is weak.
These
same communities have seen millions of heads of livestock die this year from
drought.
In
Yemen, after years of civil war, more than 50 percent of the population – more
than 16 million people – is acutely food insecure.
An
estimated 346 million people in Africa are facing severe food insecurity, while
nearly 10 million people in Sudan and seven million people in South Sudan are highly
food insecure.
Even
before the escalation of the armed conflict in Ukraine, 90 percent of the
Syrian population lived in poverty, two-thirds were dependent on humanitarian
aid, and 55 percent were food insecure.
In
Afghanistan, the price for wheat flour is up 47 percent over compared with a
year ago, while cooking oil is up 37 percent. Afghanistan gets its largest
percentage of wheat imports from neighboring Kazakhstan, which has imposed
export restrictions due to the conflict in Ukraine.
The
World Food Programme estimates that an additional 47 million people will be
food insecure in 2022, bringing the global number to 811 million people.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Baggage
of despair: Iraqi Kurd plans new escape to Europe
July
13, 2022
SULAIMANIYAH,
Iraq: Iraqi Kurd Haresh Talib says he struggles to get paid and his children’s
schooling is disrupted in his conflict-riddled country, so he wants to try to flee
with his family to Europe — again.
“There
is no future here,” says the 36-year-old from the autonomous Kurdistan region
in Iraq’s north.
Talib,
his hair gelled back and beard neatly trimmed, lives on the first floor of a
pastel yellow house with his wife, two sons and a pet bird in a well-kept
neighborhood of Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan’s second-largest city.
Their
living room television is showing a British cartoon hit to the great amusement
of Talib’s eight-year-old son, Haudin.
Outside,
his older brother Hajjant dribbles a football.
“I
love Real Madrid. I’m a fan of Benzema,” the 12-year-old says in English,
referring to Real’s French star Karim Benzema.
On
the surface it might seem the picture of a contented middle-class family, but
Talib says they will soon be packing their belongings and hitting the irregular
migration trail.
They,
and thousands of other Iraqi Kurds, have done it before.
He
declines to reveal how he and his family will travel or by what route, but says
he wants to reach Britain where he has friends.
“But
if that doesn’t work I will go to Germany.”
In
November, at least 27 migrants, most of them Iraqi Kurds, drowned when they
tried to cross the English Channel from France to Britain in an inflatable
boat.
Despite
the risks, Talib says he wants to try again — not so much for his own sake, but
for his sons, whose schooling is frequently interrupted by teachers’ strikes
over unpaid salaries.
“In
those countries there is work. You can guarantee that children will get an
education,” he says.
Talib
holds down two jobs to help his family get by. He’s a printer and a civil
servant.
“The
government asks us to work but it hasn’t paid us on time for years,” he
complains.
While
the rest of Iraq struggles to overcome decades of war, Kurdistan has fashioned
an image of a stable region suitable for foreign investors.
But
its more than 5 million inhabitants see a different reality.
Unemployment
there last year exceeded 17 percent, against 14 percent nationwide, according
to Baghdad’s Planning Ministry.
Two
out of three households in Iraqi Kurdistan rely on a government salary or
pension, but payments are chronically late because of tensions between the
regional government in Irbil and authorities in Baghdad.
Irbil
accuses the central government of not passing along its part of the federal
budget for civil servants.
“We’ve
seen over the last several years an economic crisis, along with perceptions of
widespread corruption and soaring inequality and political stagnation” in Iraqi
Kurdistan, said Shivan Fazil, a researcher with the Stockholm International
Peace Research Institute.
These
have been “among the main drivers of the latest wave of migration” from the
area, he said.
At
the same time there is “an increasingly repressive pattern of active
curtailment of freedom of expression,” through intimidation, arbitrary arrest
and other means, a United Nations report said last year.
The
threat of conflict, too, is never far away.
In
northern Iraq, the Turkish military has been targeting what it says are bases
of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist group by
Ankara and its Western allies.
The
PKK has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.
Several
civilians died in May during strikes by the two sides.
Then
there are the local political conflicts between rival clans, the Barzanis of
Irbil and the Talabanis of Sulaimaniyah.
Their
“struggle for power has nothing to do with the interests of the people,” Talib
said, citing unspecified “threats” against him.
Last
autumn, thousands of Iraqi Kurds found themselves on the doorstep of the EU,
stuck in bitterly cold conditions on the Belarus border.
The
West accused Minsk of luring them there in revenge for sanctions against its
regime.
Talib
and his family were among the crowds after having flown to Minsk by plane.
Between
October and December, Talib twice paid a smuggler to help get him and his
family into Poland.
In
one failed effort, “a dog from the border guards jumped on my son, so I hit the
dog. Then the police beat me and we were arrested,” Talib said.
On
a third attempt they used false Greek passports. That, too, led to their
detention.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2121401/middle-east’
--------
Oman
authorities continue search for family swept into sea, two members reported
dead
12
July ,2022
The
Royal Oman Police continued their search on Tuesday for three missing expats
who were swept into the sea by strong currents on Sunday.
A
family of eight Asian expats fell into the sea after they crossed the fence at
Mughsail Beach in the Dhofar governate, Oman’s Civil Defense and Ambulance
Authority (CDAA) said on Sunday.
Three
of those who fell were rescued shortly after, the authority reported, while
emergency care was readily available.
Two
members of the family, one of who was a child, were reportedly found dead on
Tuesday by the CDAA.
Three
people are yet to be found. Photos shared by the Omani authorities show a Royal
Air Force helicopter assisting a team of rescuers in search of the missing
three.
A
national search and rescue team was also dispatched to the Dhofar governate,
where they set up an operations center to support the local authorities.
This
incident is one of many reported across Oman, where adults and kids alike were
caught by strong currents in the country’s many valleys and beaches owing to
the strong downpour of rain over the long Eid holiday weekend.
On
July 10, the CDAA announced a closure of tourist sites to avoid further deaths
or accidents.
“Due
to the large number of reports, indifference and nonadherence to instructions,
directives and warning, [the CDAA] calls upon all citizens, residents and visitors
to Oman visiting tourist attractions, that until this situation ends, such
sites will be closed, and they will not be allowed to be approached,” a
statement from CDAA said.
Numerous
valleys were on red alert and declared unsafe to cross.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
More
than 100,000 volunteers served pilgrims in this year’s Hajj: Saudi ministry
July
13, 2022
JEDDAH:
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on Tuesday
announced that 100,570 volunteers had taken part in this year’s Hajj season to
serve pilgrims in completing their rituals with ease.
The
ministry also said that more than 35, 000 volunteer opportunities were
available this year, and the initiatives are meant to contribute to achieving
the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
It
added that the forms of volunteer work and assistance provided to the pilgrims
during the Hajj season varied in a large number of areas, most notably health,
organization, services, community, education, and awareness.
The
ministry said that young men and women volunteers had been active in helping
pilgrims in more than one location from the moment of their arrival, in
coordination with the concerned authorities at land and sea ports, airports,
grouping and screening points, all the way to the Grand Mosque and the holy
sites in Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah, and the central area surrounding the mosque.
They
also aided in the pilgrims’ housing to provide them with all means of comfort
without trouble or hassle.
The
ministry is working to attract volunteers according to their experiences and
skills to participate in initiatives in the Grand Mosque and the holy sites, to
provide the best field, organizational, and hospitality services to pilgrims.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2121366/saudi-arabia
--------
Africa
More
chieftains resign in protest over APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket
13
July 2022
•
Amaechi’s ally, Princewill, Nollywood actor, Okonkwo, Bwala dump ruling party
•
Omokri: Those who tried Muslim-Muslim ticket never became president
•
We cannot campaign for Muslim-Muslim ticket in our constituencies–Northern APC
Christian leaders
•
Garba dumps YPP, returns to APC to campaign for Muslim-Muslim ticket
•
PDP’s killing of zoning dangerous than Muslim-Muslim ticket, says Nabena
•
Gombe governor backs Tinubu, says ticket best for APC
The
cacophony of voices, for and against, the all-Muslim ticket of the ruling All
Progressives Congress (APC) continued to heat up the polity yesterday ahead of
September 28, when presidential campaigns are expected to begin, officially for
the 2023 general elections.
Expectedly,
the Muslim-Muslim ticket has attracted a barrage of outcry, leading to the exit
of key members from the APC.
In
sharp opposition to the selection of former governor of Borno State, Senator
Kashim Shettima, as running mate to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a former governorship
candidate of the party in Rivers State and close ally of the immediate past
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Prince Tonye Princewill, yesterday,
dumped the party, to compound the woes that have befallen the party in Rivers,
which has seen more chieftains continue to exit.
Tonye,
in his resignation letter addressed to the Chairman of APC, Ward 3 (Royal Ward)
in Buguma city of Asari Toru Council, said he could not defend the decision of
his party to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket against public outcry by well-meaning
Nigerians.
“I
can’t argue for equity in my state and defend inequity in my country,” Tonye
said, adding that under such a situation that the country finds itself presently,
he could not continue to remain in a party that is “totally insensitive”,
adding that even if APC wins next year’s election, it “will prove bad for good
governance.”
This
is coming a day after another chieftain of the party, Daniel Bwala, joined the
league of members who announced their resignation after the party’s
presidential candidate, Tinubu, announced his running mate.
Bwala,
in a post on his Twitter account on Monday, noted that he is dumping the ruling
party on principles and convictions that he holds dear.
He
further stated that at this point, “what Nigeria needs is for us to work
towards uniting the country.”
Also,
the lawmaker representing Adamawa North Senatorial District, Ishaku Abbo, who
described Tinubu’s decision to pick a Muslim as his running mate as
irresponsible, resigned his membership of a Tinubu support group.
Abbo
said: “For Tinubu now to be given the ticket and turn around to do what he
couldn’t achieve in 2015, despite opposition from Christian leaders is
extremely irresponsible. Buhari fought a civil war and understands the
consequences of a divided nation. When Tinubu wanted to be VP in 2015, Buhari
said no because he understood the importance of unity.”
Yesterday,
popular Nollywood actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, also resigned his membership of APC,
after condemning Tinubu’s decision and asking God to “deliver the country from
the hands of power grabbers who elevate the quest for power above the pursuit
of purpose.”
He
stated that APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket would permanently destroy the political
viability of Christians in the North if allowed to stand. He added that he
resigned his membership in the interest of equity, justice, fairness and
peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.
He
said: “These ideals are now alien to the APC, with their unfortunate decision
to paint our Muslim brothers in lousy light by insinuating that the Muslims in
Nigeria will not accept or vote for a Northern Christian as Vice-President to
pair with a Southern Muslim. If Muslims could vote voluntarily for Southern
Christian presidents, it is a fallacy to insinuate that they cannot accept
Northern Christian Vice-President.”
RENO
Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and staunch critic of
the APC, has said those who had tried to be Nigeria’s leader on a Muslim-Muslim
ticket never achieved it. He, then, said Tinubu’s case would not be an
exception, stating that those who tried it in the past either lost or were
never sworn in.
Omokri
said this on his verified Twitter handle @renoomokri on Tuesday. He tweeted:
“Nobody should be too worried about the Tinubu Muslim-Muslim ticket. Everyone
who has tried it in Nigeria has either lost or was never sworn in. Everybody.
No exception. Yesterday and today are pregnant with what will happen to Tinubu.
Nigeria has left that bus-stop!”
He
added that Nigeria, currently, is too divided to operate on same religion
ticket, with an assertion that the country needs balance and peace.
“Nigeria
is too divided for a same religion ticket. It is just like a same sex marriage.
As a nation, we are not ready for both same sex marriages and same religion
political marriages. Nigeria needs peace. Nigeria needs balance!”
APC
Christian political leaders in the 19 Northern states have threatened to
withdraw their support for the party during the general elections if the
Muslim-Muslim ticket is not dropped.
In
a statement made available to journalists in Kaduna and signed by three of the
leaders, Prof. Doknan Sheni, Dr. Ishaya Bauka and Prof. Saudi Ibrahim, “the
meeting noted with concern the resignation of some high profile Christians from
the APC across the country as a consequence, with more to follow unless
concerted efforts are made to redeem our party from hate mongers and those who
seek to exploit religion to perpetuate their self-interests as opposed to
national interest.
“After
extensive deliberations, the meeting came to the conclusion that as Christians
within the APC, we cannot in all fairness to our consciences and faith go to
our various constituencies to campaign for a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Nigeria is a
multi-religious and a constitutional democracy, not a
theocracy
with religion as a major national fault line, which cannot be whimsically
manipulated without dire political consequences on our peaceful co-existence as
a people.
“If
the APC said a Muslim-Muslim ticket would be injurious to the health of our
nation in 2015, what has therefore radically changed to make it good for the
health of our nation in 2023? That the rejection of a Muslim – Muslim ticket by
Christians would undermine the electoral fortunes of the APC and its candidates
across all constituencies where Christians enjoy numerical advantage. By so
doing APC has recklessly thrown its Christian candidates under the bus.”
They,
however, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in correcting the issues
before it destroys the party.
HOWEVER,
popular businessman and politician, Adamu Garba, has returned to the APC.
Garba, who made headlines weeks ago after he defected to the Young Progressives
Party (YPP) over the N100 million nomination form, announced yesterday that he
has ‘re-decamped’ to the ruling party.
He
noted that he would do more harm to Nigeria if he does not support the
combination of a great strategist and a great tactician on a single ticket.
The
former presidential aspirant expressed his support for the presidential ticket
of Tinubu and Shettima.
He
also defended the Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying: “It’s not all together about
not having a competent Christian in the North, there are, many of them indeed.
But how many of those competent ones are able to build any political capital
beyond their immediate environment? Politics is very practical, it’s not about
whims.”
ALSO
in defence of the party, a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC,
Mr. Yekini Nabena, argued that the decision by the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) to pick its presidential candidate from the North is more harmful to the
unity of Nigeria when compared to the Muslim-Muslim ticket of APC.
GOVERNOR
Muhammadu Yahaya of Gombe State has described Tinubu’s choice of Shettima as a
masterstroke. A statement by the governor’s Director General (press affairs),
Ismaila Misilli, noted: “As a committed and loyal party man, Shettima is a
great asset to the ruling party and will add immeasurable value to the APC
presidential ticket.
Source:
Guardian Nigeria
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://guardian.ng/news/more-chieftains-resign-in-protest-over-apcs-muslim-muslim-ticket/
--------
2023:
Christian politicians in APC warn against Muslim-Muslim ticket
July
12, 2022
By
Maina Maina
Christian
politicians in the nineteen Northern States within the All Progressives
Congress, APC have warned of dire consequences of the Muslim-Muslim ticket
ahead of the 2023 presidential poll.
The
party’s presidential candidate, Ahmed Bola Tinubu had on Sunday announced
former Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Reacting
to the Choice of the former Governor of Borno State, the group stressed that
the country’s unity is of utmost importance and not any other thing.
It
further explained that without unity it would be impossible to build.
In
a Communique issued at the end of its meeting on Monday night, the Christian
politicians said it would be difficult for them to sell the party candidates to
their constituencies.
In
the document signed by Prof Doknan DD Sheni and General Ishaya G Bauka,
Chairman and Secretary respectively, the group argued that the situation of the
country now cannot be compared to what it was in 1993 when the people settled
for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
They
added, “The selection of a Moslem vice presidential candidate portrays
insensitivity to Christians in the country.
“The
fear of the Christians in the north and the nation, in general, is that the APC
will be viewed as an Islamic party.”
They
further argued that if it was not possible in 2015, now is not the best time to
introduce it.
“More
so, that we are apprehensive that the person picked might have had a hand in
the Chibok girls saga and other terror activities
“Moslem
-Moslem ticket would undermine the election chances of Christian candidates in
APC in the various states in the North.
“The
Christians in the north and the whole nation are highly aggravated.
“The
Chairman of the party is a Moslem, Deputy Chairman north, a Moslem, the
President of the Senate, a Moslem, the Speaker and Deputy, Moslems and now both
the Presidential and Vice-presidential candidates are Moslems. Apart from
violating the constitution in section 14 subsection 3, if this was to be
reversed, that all these were Christians, can any Moslem in the North sell the
APC presidential tickets to any Moslem ummah?
The
group warned that “If this selection of a Moslem Vice President candidate is
not changed, there will be serious and grave consequences.”
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
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https://dailypost.ng/2022/07/12/2023-christian-politicians-in-apc-warn-against-muslim-muslim-ticket/
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Shun
any form of corrupt practice – CP warns new recruits in Jigawa
July
12, 2022
By
Khaleel Muhammad
The
Nigeria Police Force has warned the newly recruited personnel to exhibit a high
level of professionalism and shun any corrupt practice.
Jigawa
State Police Commissioner, CP Aliyu Sale Tafida gave the warning when he
received the 344 new constables deployed to the state at headquarters, Dutse.
He
said the personnel were redeployed to Jigawa State Police Command, after having
six (6) months of intensive and rigorous training at Police College Kaduna
(PCK), and Police Training School Bauchi (PTS).
Represented
by DCP Emanuel O. Toluse psc, he warned them to be disciplined, loyal, fair,
just and dedicated.
“You
must have a high level of professionalism and shun any corrupt practice”.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://dailypost.ng/2022/07/12/shun-any-form-of-corrupt-practice-cp-warns-new-recruits-in-jigawa/
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Libya’s
Tripoli government tries to oust state oil company boss
12
July ,2022
Libya’s
western-based government has said the state oil company’s board must be
dissolved and that its long-standing chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, should step
down, according to several people familiar with the matter.
The
Government of National Unity, based in Tripoli, has appointed a new board for
the National Oil Corp., with Farhat Omar Bengdara, a former central bank
governor, as chairman, the people said.
It’s
unclear if the NOC and Sanalla will accept the decision because Libya’s mired
in political chaos and has rival prime ministers, each of which claims to be
the OPEC member’s legitimate ruler.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
Tripoli administration has tried and failed at least once in the past year to
dismiss Sanalla, who’s been in his role since 2014.
The
standoff could further destabilize Libya’s energy sector. Protesters calling
for the ouster of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the head of the GNU, have forced the NOC
to shut several oil fields and ports since mid-April.
That
has caused the country’s crude production to slump by roughly 50 percent to
600,000 barrels a day, exacerbating a supply shortage in global markets.
The
NOC, Sanalla and the GNU didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Libya
was meant to hold presidential elections in December, but they were delayed and
no new date has been set.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Europe
Nine
European nations to keep links to six Palestinian NGOs banned by Israel
12
July ,2022
Nine
European nations including Germany and France said Tuesday they will maintain
cooperation with six Palestinian human rights organizations branded “terrorist”
by Israel.
The
foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the
Netherlands, Spain and Sweden said Israeli accusations that the NGOs were
linked to the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
had been “treated with the utmost seriousness.”
“No
substantial information was received from Israel that would justify reviewing
our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli
decision to designate these NGOs as ‘terrorist organizations’,” in October
2021, the ministries said in a joint statement.
“Should
evidence be made available to the contrary, we would act accordingly. In the
absence of such evidence, we will continue our cooperation and strong support
for the civil society in the OPT (occupied Palestinian Territories).”
“A
free and strong civil society is indispensable for promoting democratic values
and for the two-state solution,” for Israel and the Palestinians, the statement
said.
Israel’s
move against the human and prisoner rights groups was strongly criticized by
the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Presidents
of Russia, Iran, Turkey to meet in Tehran next week: Kremlin
12
July ,2022
Russian
President Vladimir Putin will travel to Tehran next Tuesday where he will
attend a trilateral meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said.
Putin
will also meet separately with Erdogan while in Tehran, Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov said.
Boosting
economic ties between Iran and Russia will be the main priority of Putin’s
visit to Tehran next week, an Iranian lawmaker said.
“Planning
for the development of economic cooperation between Iran and Russia will be the
priority of the consultations between [Putin and Raisi],” Iran’s official IRNA
news agency quoted Mohammadreza Pourebrahimi, head of the Iranian parliament’s
economic committee, as saying.
US
and European sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have made Moscow
“in need of economic cooperation with Iran more than ever,” Pourebrahimi said.
Iran
views Russia as a strategic ally. Tehran did not condemn Russia’s invasion of
Ukraine and has blamed the war there on the US and its European allies.
On
Monday, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Iran was preparing to
provide Russia with “several hundred” drones to use in its war on Ukraine.
“Our
information indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to provide
Russia with up to several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs on an
expedited timeline,” Sullivan said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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German
broadcaster Deutsche Welle loses case against Palestinian journalist
Birol
Tan
13.07.2022
COLOGNE,
Germany
A
labor court in Germany's Bonn ruled against Deutsche Welle (DW) on the
dismissal of Palestinian journalist Maram Salim.
The
Bonn Labor Court on July 6 ruled that her termination of employment at Deutsche
Welle was invalid, unlawful, and that her Facebook posts were not anti-Semitic.
On
Facebook, Salim said she has been an advocate of women's rights, human rights,
animal rights, and that Deutsche Welle's accusations trembled her.
She
called on German broadcaster to publicly apologize and retract its accusations.
Deutsche
Welle has the right to appeal the decision within a month but it has to pay
court costs of €36,000 ($36,133).
In
early February, Deutsche Welle announced that it fired five journalists from
its Arabic service after a two-month investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism.
The
organization has long been criticized for biased coverage of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But
management at Deutsche Welle has argued that Germany bears special
responsibility for the country, due to Nazi crimes committed against Jews
during World War II.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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France
sees weeks to save Iran nuclear deal, but US sets no deadline
13
July ,2022
France’s
new foreign minister said on Tuesday there were only a few weeks to revive
Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, although a senior US official made
clear Washington had set no such deadline.
Catherine
Colonna told lawmakers the situation was no longer tenable. She accused Iran of
using delaying tactics and, during talks in Doha two weeks ago, of going back
on previously agreed positions while forging ahead with its uranium enrichment
program.
“There
is still a window of opportunity ... for Iran to finally decide to accept an
accord which it worked to build, but time is passing,” Colonna said, warning
that if Iran kept on its current trajectory it would be a threshold nuclear
arms state.
“Time
is passing. Tehran must realize this,” she said, adding that the US mid-term
elections would make it even harder to seal a deal.
“The
window of opportunity will close in a few weeks. There will not be a better
accord to the one which is on the table.”
Asked
if the US concurred with Colonna’s view, a senior US official pointed to
Monday’s comment by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to
reporters that “we have not marked a date on the calendar.”
Speaking
on condition of anonymity, the senior US official acknowledged that the chances
of reaching a deal were dwindling and said Washington had not heard anything
new from Tehran since the indirect talks in Doha.
“Every
day that goes by without a deal makes reaching a deal less likely,” the
official said. “We have not heard anything since Doha that is a change from
Doha.”
Last
week, the US envoy for the talks said Iran had added unrelated demands during
the latest indirect discussions and had made alarming progress on enriching
uranium.
Under
the 2015 nuclear pact, Iran limited its uranium enrichment program, a potential
pathway to nuclear weapons, though Tehran says it seeks only civilian atomic
energy, in return for a lifting of international sanctions.
In
2018, then-US President Donald Trump abandoned the deal, calling it too soft on
Iran, and reimposed harsh US sanctions, prompting Tehran to breach the nuclear
limits in the pact about a year later.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/muslim-chant-jai-shri-ram-bharat-mata-mathura/d/127472