Voice of Khorasan: First ISIS Indian Suicide Bomber Was Keralite Christian Converted To Islam
New Age Islam News Bureau
22 August 2022
First ISIS Indian Suicide
Bomber Was Keralite Christian Converted To Islam, Claims Terror Outfit;
Agencies Start Investigation (Representational image)
-----
• Yasin
Pathan, the Temple Restorer of 34 Ancient Hindu Temples, Prays
In Mosques
• Salman Rushdie Attack ‘Unacceptable’ To Islam, Says
Muslim World League
• Taliban Appoints Former Guantanamo Bay Detainee,
Mullah Zakir to Lead Fight In Panjshir
• Pakistan’s Rights Commission Condemns Persecution of
Minority Ahmadiyya Community
India
• No Indian Citizenship, 1,500 Pak Hindus Return in 18
Months
• Narendra Modi can’t be Bilkis spectator, says
Congress
• Major terror incident averted as 10-12 kgs IED
recovered in J&K's Pulwama
• Physics YouTuber Goes Off Book; Likens Sexual
Activity to Jihad
--------
Arab
World
• Rescuers pull four dead bodies from rubble of Iraq
shrine in Karbala
• US military tankers smuggle crude oil from Syria’s
Hasakah to bases in Iraq: Report
• UAE President holds talks with al-Sisi in Egypt
• Saudi Arabia’s global education competitiveness,
ranking advance in 2022: IMD report
• Turkish forces ‘neutralize’ 2 PKK terrorists in
northern Iraq
• Saudi Olympic hero Tarek Hamdi recalls golden year
after success at Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey
--------
South
Asia
• Committee to Protect Journalists: Taliban Must
Release Detained American Filmmaker and Afghan Producer
• Deputy PM Mullah Beradar Receives Australian
Professor Embraced Islam
• Islamic Law Faculties Started at Universities in 17
Provinces
• Taliban Supreme Leader Appoints Special Military
Commander for Panjshir Province
• Taliban detains American journalist, media body
reacts
• India Delivers Its 10th Consignment of Medical Aid
to Afghanistan
--------
Pakistan
• Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan booked under terror
act, arrest likely
• Unrest in Hyderabad after Alleged Desecration of
Quran
• Pakistan govt sunk to new low: Ex-PM Imran Khan
after ban on his live speeches
• Pakistan's Former PM Imran Khan Says Govt's YouTube Block
Aims To Censor Him
• Pakistani Sikh family alleges daughter abducted by
Muslim man, police 'reluctant' to lodge complaint
• Pakistan: Sit-in continues in Bajaur tribal district
amid rising killing incidents
• Imran moves IHC for pre-arrest bail in terrorism
case
• PTI to challenge ban on live telecast of Imran’s
speeches
--------
Mideast
• Al-Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre Forever Altered
Religious Life for Muslims in Hebron
• Palestinians working in Israel strike over demand
for bank accounts
• Iran reformist coalition calls for release of politician
Mostafa Tajzadeh
• Palestinians call for defending Al-Aqsa on arson
anniversary
• Abbas calls for release of all Palestinians held by
Israel
• Israeli forces do not allow hunger-striking
Palestinian inmate’s wife from visiting her husband
--------
North
America
• US Commits to Afghan Asset Talks despite Frustration
with Taliban: Sources
• Republican House members condemn Biden withdrawal
from Afghanistan in new report
--------
Europe
• Leaders of US, UK, France, and Germany Discuss Iran
Nuclear Issue
• UK foreign secretary urged to take action on Saudi
woman jailed for 34 years over tweets
• Plagued by cost-of-living crisis, UK resorts to
war-torn Syria with offer of lower tariffs
--------
Africa
• Somali Forces End 30-Hour Hotel Siege by Islamic Militants
As Death Toll Rises To 20
• Gov. Buni reacts to murder of Islamic cleric, Sheikh
Aisami, demands investigation
• OIC leads global condemnation of terror attack in
Somalia
• Army breaks silence as police nab two soldiers for
allegedly killing Islamic cleric
--------
Southeast
Asia
• PM Ismail Sabri joins almost 10,000 congregants in
‘solat hajat’ at Putra Mosque
• Enforcement against Deviationist Muslim Groups Is By
State Religious Dept: Idris
• Maria Allowed To Mount Challenge against Shariah
Court’s Contempt Order
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
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Voice of Khorasan: First ISIS Indian Suicide Bomber
Was Keralite Christian Converted To Islam
First ISIS Indian Suicide
Bomber Was Keralite Christian Converted To Islam, Claims Terror Outfit;
Agencies Start Investigation (Representational image)
-----
August 21, 2022
Thiruvananthapuram: According to an article published
in the ISIS mouthpiece Voice of Koharasan, “the first Indian suicide bomber for
them was a Keralite who had converted from Christianity to Islam”. Following
this alleged revelation by the terrorist group, Indian Central intelligence
agencies have commenced a probe into the same. The purported “suicide bomber”
is cited in the chapter “Memories of Shuhada” of the magazine’s (Voice of
Koharasan) latest issue which is a portion dedicated to the memories of those
who died fighting for ISIS.
The article did not, however, mention the exact
identity of the youth. It dwells that he was an engineering graduate from
Kerala who had worked in Bengaluru as an engineer and later migrated to Dubai.
The article further states that the youth had assumed
the name, “Aboobacker Al-Hindi” and that he got attracted to Islam while in
UAE. He later did more research on the religion through available online
portals and later converted to Islam.
After conversion, he, according to the magazine, got
attracted to the ideology of Jihad and contacted the ISIS sleeper cells in
Dubai. He was planning to go to Yemen for further training but was not able to
and hence returned to his home state, Kerala. After spending some time in
Kerala, he got a message from his ISIS contacts that there was an opportunity
in Libya and accordingly he reached there under the guise of searching for a
new job. According to the article, he fought against the Libyan Army at Sirsit,
the ISIS stronghold, and later became a suicide bomber and blasted himself to
death.
Central Intelligence agencies had earlier got some
wind of such a person and had commenced a probe into the same. Sources in the
agency told IANS that he would have committed the act in 2015-16 and that there
was some information about him with the Central agencies.
Sources in the agencies also told IANS that they have
details of 100 youths from Kerala who had left the shores of the state to reach
ISIS and officials said that there could be more people who have joined the
ISIS in Syria and Yemen.
It is to be noted that Aboobacker Al- Hindi is the
third person from Kerala who had died for the cause propagated by the
organisation, according to Voice of Khorasan.
Source: India.Com
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Yasin Pathan, the Temple Restorer of 34 Ancient Hindu
Temples, Prays In Mosques
Yasin Pathan, the temple
restorer
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Aug 22, 2022
Yasin Pathan has fought poverty, worked as a labourer,
staved off ailments, graduated to the job of a school clerk and walked hundreds
of miles across seven villages in Midnapore but never lost sight of his target.
Despite resistance from his own community, Pathan, 69,
has worked tirelessly all his life to preserve, renovate and restore 34 ancient
Hindu temples in and around his village that were in ruins. These have lived
because of his effort.
Pathan received the Kabir award from the President in
1994 for encouraging communal harmony.
Pathra mouja, not far from Midnapore town, is spread
over Pathra, Bindapathra, Ramtota, Upardanga, Kanchkala and Haatgeria villages,
spread over 25 bighas. The villages have 34 old temples dating back to the 18th
century.
In his youth, Yasin would often travel to Pathra with
his father Taharit and stare at the magnificent temples that were already crumbling.
No one cared about them although they were on the verge of destruction. Yasin
decided he would save them. Born in a lower-middle-income family, Yasin could
not study beyond Class VIII.
Being the eldest of 10 brothers and sisters, he began
to work as a labourer to support his father. Later, he got a clerk’s job in a
local school. In 1971, he started enquiring about the temples. Initially, Yasin
was not sure how Hindus would react to a Muslim youth caring for the temples.
He faced resistance in his community but never deviated from his goal.
He persuaded the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
and the district administration to compensate the families whose land had tobe
taken over for the restoration. He sought support from villagers in his
mission. They stood by him. Ninety per cent of families in the villages are
Hindus.
Residents of Halihalka, a Muslim-majority village
where Yasin lives, too, came forward to help.
Yasin brought the temples to the notice of the
district administration. Pranab Mukherjee, the late Congress veteran who went
on to become the country’s President, noticed Yasin’s work.
Yasin met Mukherjee and persuaded him to allocate Rs
20 lakh from the Planning Commission for the restoration. The ASI took over the
temples on July 16, 2003. Of the 26 temples renovated so far, 19 were done by
ASI.
The sites under restoration include a Pancha Ratna
Shivatemple, Rasmancha, Vishnutemple, Manasa temple,Shitala temple, Durga temple
nd a temple courtyard. Asutosh Mazumdar, 79, a resident of Binda Pathra, said:
“Even though Yasin belongs to a different religion, what he has done is
commendable. We have risen a b o veour religious identity for the restoration of
our cultural past. Ya s i n i s thus a family member. ”His passion for the preservation
of his to r y a n darchaeolog y of oldHindu temp l e s h a s kept him young at heart,
Yasin said. He has written a book in Bengali, titled “Mondirmoy Pathra” (Temple
Village Pathra).
“Yasin Pathan has done exemplary work for
archaeological preservation. It is hisinitiative which saved these temples from
destruction, “said a senior ASI officer.
Source: Times Of India
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Salman Rushdie Attack ‘Unacceptable’ To Islam, Says
Muslim World League
Muhammad bin Abdul Karim
Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League, speaking to Arab News in
Italy. (ANI Photo)
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August 21, 2022
RIMINI: Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa,
secretary-general of the Muslim World League, called the attack on writer
Salman Rushdie “a crime that Islam does not accept.”
In an interview with Arab News on the side of his
participation in a conference on inter-religious dialogue in the Italian city
of Rimini, he said: “Islam is against violence and can never admit any method
of violence. Religious and intellectual issues, including phrases that may read
in full or partly as offensive, cannot never be dealt with in these violent
ways.”
Al-Issa was speaking after a long and friendly meeting
with the chairman of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Matteo Maria
Zuppi.
“There are texts in the Islamic religion that are
opposed to violence. And those text are explicit,” he said.
Al-Issa, who is also president of the International
Islamic Halal Organization and a former Saudi justice minister, is considered a
leading global voice on moderate Islam as well as a key figure in the fight to
combat extremist ideology. Religious leaders and government officials alike
have commended him for his efforts to promote moderation, cooperation and
coexistence among all people.
He received a warm welcome at the 43rd “Meeting of
Friendship Between People” in Rimini, organized by Comunione e Liberazione, a
prominent Roman Catholic movement.
Al-Issa said religion “is the sense of man’s existence
in this life, the sum of values based on particular principles, at the base of
which there is not only a philosophy but also a religious source that comes
from God. For this we speak of values, both religious and human. These values
represent the sense of religion and the religious instinct. This also means the
sense of faith in the human being.”
Passion and love, he says, are “central factors in religion,”
adding: “The believer must love all others even if he does not agree with them.
The believer knows that love and mercy are needed in this life. Love is life,
coexistence, peace, harmony.”
He stressed the need for intra-faith dialogue, as it
“eliminates all misunderstandings and clarifies the truths both within and
outside the Islamic world, both for Muslims and non-Muslims. Dialogue is the
language of the reasonable, of the wise. If everyone practices it, we all get
close and this approach takes away the fears of other people.
“Even if each may be different from the other, there
is no reason to be afraid or worried about the other person: We all share life
on this earth and we must talk and understand each other. Differences between
human beings go back to the creation of humanity. If God had wanted, he could
have created only a single ethnic group or a single religion. But he didn’t,
and we have to believe in his wisdom,” he said.
Al-Issa then talked about respect for Muslims all over
the world.
“We wish for everyone to live with dignity — all
minorities — and that they are well integrated into the land where they live.
We also hope that all governments around the world respect the rights of
minorities and their cultural, religious and cultural specificities. We do not
accept any minority in the world being offended, no matter if they are Muslim
or not.”
He finally called on all nations to take care of
refugees.
“Refugees are victims and must be taken care of by
integrating them into the societies in which they live, and guaranteeing them
human rights in the countries where they have taken refuge,” he said.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2147271/world’
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Taliban Appoints Former Guantanamo Bay Detainee,
Mullah Zakir to Lead Fight In Panjshir
Representative Image
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22 August, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], August 22 (ANI): Taliban has
appointed Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir as a special military commander for
Panjshir province in northern Afghanistan and the Andarab district of Baghlan
province.
Zakir, regarded as one of the top military commanders
in the Taliban ranks, will lead the fight against the National Resistance Front
(NRF) in the restive Afghan province of Panjshir, FDD’s Long War Journal
reported.
He was held at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility
for six years, the report added.
According to the American news website, Zakir is
considered to be one of the Taliban’s most effective and dangerous military
commanders. Zakir was captured in Afghanistan in December of 2001 and later
transferred to Afghanistan in 2007.
“Zakir played a key role in organizing the Taliban’s
military and directing its strategy of contesting and seizing rural districts
in the south in preparation for the Taliban’s push to take control of the
population centers in the summer of 2021,” said American military commentator
Bill Roggio.
This latest appointment comes as clashes have
intensified in recent months between Taliban and NRF forces in Panjshir.
Back in May, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Taliban
security forces in northern Afghanistan’s Panjshir province have unlawfully
detained and tortured residents accused of association with an opposition armed
group.
Since mid-May, fighting has escalated in the province
as National Resistance Front (NRF) forces have attacked Taliban units and
checkpoints. The Taliban have responded by deploying to the province thousands
of fighters, who have carried out search operations targeting communities they
allege are supporting the NRF.
Rights groups say Taliban forces have committed
summary executions and enforced disappearances of captured fighters and other
detainees, which are war crimes.
“Taliban forces in Panjshir province have quickly
resorted to beating civilians in their response to fighting against the
opposition National Resistance Front,” said Patricia Gossman, associate Asia
director at Human Rights Watch. “The Taliban’s longstanding failure to punish
those responsible for serious abuses in their ranks puts more civilians at
risk.”
Former detainees in early June reported that Taliban
security forces detained about 80 residents in Panjshir’s Khenj district and
beat them to compel them to provide information about the NRF, according to
HRW. After several days, the Taliban released 70, but have continued to hold 10
people whose relatives they accuse of being members of the group, a form of
collective punishment.
Former detainees said the district jail held nearly 100
others who have alleged links to the NRF. None had access to their families or
lawyers. Others have been held in informal detention facilities. (ANI)
Source: The Print
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original story:
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Pakistan’s Rights Commission Condemns Persecution Of
Minority Ahmadiyya Community
Representative Image
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21 August, 2022
Islamabad [Pakistan], August 21 (ANI): Rebuking the
atrocities in Pakistan against its minority Ahmadiyya community, the country’s
Human Rights Commission on Saturday condemned the perpetuating violence and
demanded justice.
This comes as a 60-year-old man from the Ahmadiyya
community was stabbed to death in Chenabnagar city of Punjab province. This is
in continuation of the targeted killings of the Ahmadiyya community in
Pakistan.
While noting the increasing violence against the
Ahmadiyya community and the Punjab incident, the Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan (HRCP) demanded that the perpetrators must be held accountable,
reported The News International.
Dawn newspaper quoting a police officer reported that
Naseer Ahmad and his brother Munir were going shopping in the morning when an
unidentified man, who was standing at the Chenabnagar bus stand, stopped them
and asked them questions about their religion.
Police said that the suspect pulled out a dagger from
his bag and attacked Ahmad. He died on the spot.
Police said the locals gathered and nabbed the suspect
who tried to flee, and handed him over to the law enforcers.
The deceased, who belonged to Darul Rehmat Sharqi near
Chenabnagar (Rabwah), has left behind a widow and three daughters to mourn.
Victim’s brother Munir told Dawn that the suspect had attacked them on
religious grounds and was chanting slogans in favour of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik
Pakistan (TLP). He said the suspect also raised slogans eulogising TLP founder,
the late Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
In another such tragic incident in Sahiwal, a man from
the same community was assaulted reportedly because the panel outside his home
commemorating his soldier father read ‘shaheed’.
Successive Pakistani governments have failed to
protect the human rights and security of the Ahmadiyya community. The penal
code explicitly discriminates against religious minorities and targets Ahmadis
by prohibiting them from “indirectly or directly posing as a Muslim.” Ahmadis
are banned from declaring or propagating their faith publicly, building
mosques, or making the Muslim call for prayer.
The issue of persecution of the Ahmadiyya community
surfaced again in Pakistan’s Punjab province after Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid
(PML-Q) Punjab Vice President Malik Ilyas Awan’s called to have them evicted
from Khushab and their security withdrawn on the grounds that they should be
restricted to Chenab Nagar.
Awan on July 30 wrote an application to the Deputy Commissioner
of Khushab wherein he wrote that security to Qadianis/Ahmadiyyas is a mockery
of the Pakistan Constitution, which must be stopped, local media reported.
“It is requested that Qadianis cannot worship freely
in the Islamic state of Pakistan. During Bhutto Shaheed’s government, an area
in Chenab Nagar had been allocated for a particular period under an agreement.
They cannot do worship outside this area,” he wrote.
Pakistan is more phobic of the Ahmadiyya sect and its
interpretation of Islam than most other nations where the community is present.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
(HRCP) had strongly condemned PML-Q Punjab Vice President Malik Ilyas Awan’s
call to have the local Ahmadiyya community evicted from Khushab and their security
withdrawn.
“The ghettoisation of this long-persecuted community
must cease. No authority has the right to dictate where any citizen chooses to
live,” HRCP had said.
The HRCP further stressed that no authority has the
right to dictate where any citizen chooses to live.
“The state is under a constitutional responsibility to
protect the Ahmadiyya community’s right to life, to live where they choose and
to profess their faith safely,” added HRCP.
It also raised concern over the incitement to violence
implicit in the PML-Q leader’s demand. 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.
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. (ANI)
Source: The Print
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original story:
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India
No Indian Citizenship, 1,500 Pak Hindus Return in 18
Months
Aug 22, 2022
Jaisalmer: A large number of Pakistani Hindu refugees
are returning to Pakistan due to strict government rules in giving citizenship
to refugees. These Hindus had come to India from Pakistan due to the atrocities
there. Official sources said from January to July 2022, 334 Pakistani Hindu
refugees have gone back to Pakistan.
“From 2021 till this year around 1,500 Pakistani
Hindus have gone back to Pakistan. Due to the slackness of the state government
along with central government there is a lot of disappointment among the Hindus
refugees from Pakistan. Most of these Hindus do not have money or resources to
fulfil the formalities required to get Indian citizenship. Hence they are going
back to Pakistan,” said Simant Lok Sangathan president, Hindu Singh Sodha.
“Even despite spending the amount, they are not sure
of getting it. There are around 25,000 such Pakistani Hindus who want Indian
citizenship. These Pakistani Hindus are here for the last 10 to 15 years,” he
added.
In 2004 and 2005 camps were organised to give
citizenship and around 13,000 Pakistani Hindus got the Indian citizenship but
in the last 5 years only 2000 Pakistani Hindus were given the citizenship.
The Pakistan displaced Hindus have to pay a hefty
amount to avail Indian citizenship. As per the rule of the home ministry of
Government of India, to apply for the citizenship, passport of Pakistan
displaced has to be renewed and a certificate from the Pakistan embassy for
surrendering the passport also has to be submitted.
“ The Pak embassy has increased the fee, which the
refugees find difficult to pay. The renewal fee of a passport is Rs 8,000 to
10,000 at the Pakistan embassy There are many loopholes in giving citizenship
due to which Pakistani Hindus are facing several problems,” said Sodha.
Source: Times Of India
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Narendra Modi can’t be Bilkis spectator, says Congress
R. Balaji
| New Delhi
22.08.22
The silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union
home minister Amit Shah on the release of the convicted rapists and murderers
in the Bilkis Bano case cannot be guided by personal, political and ethical
choices. It has legal implications, too.
The Gujarat government’s release of the 11 convicts
will be open to legal challenge if it is established that the state had failed
to seek the Centre’s approval for the remission of the life terms despite the
case having been investigated by the CBI.
So far, neither the Gujarat government nor the
Modi-headed Centre has shed light on whether the Union government’s consent was
taken in spite of the Opposition asking the specific question on August 17.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera had asked on
Wednesday: “Both the Prime Minister and home minister Amit Shah are from
Gujarat. They should disclose whether the state government sought their
permission to release the rape-and-murder convicts. If permission was granted,
make it public…. If no approval was sought, they should explain what action
will be taken against the Gujarat chief minister.”
The Centre is yet to answer. Government sources in
Gujarat told this newspaper that they were not aware that consent had been
taken.
A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court
had in a 2015 judgment, relating to a Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict, made
the Union government’s permission mandatory for remission if the case involved
a central investigative agency.
However, on May 13 this year, the two-judge apex court
bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Vikram Nath held that the power of
remission in the Bilkis Bano case was vested with the Gujarat government as the
crime had been committed in that state.
A pregnant Bilkis was gang-raped and seven of her
family members, including her three-year-old child, were murdered during the
2002 riots.
In 2004, the apex court had transferred the case to
the CBI following allegations of bias on the part of Gujarat police, and the
trial was shifted to Maharashtra.
The May 13 verdict by the two-judge bench can be
termed “per incuriam” (showing lack of due regard to the relevant law or facts)
as it was decided without reference to earlier Supreme Court judgments,
particularly the five-judge ruling of December 2, 2015.
The five-judge bench included Justice U.U. Lalit, who
is now the Chief Justice of India-designate. It was headed by then Chief
Justice of India H.L. Dattu, and the other judges were Justice Ibrahim
Kalifullah (who authored the main judgment), Justice P.C. Ghose and Justice
A.M. Sapre. Except for Justice Lalit, the rest have retired.
In the 2015 case, involving one of the convicts in
Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, V. Sriharan aka Murugan, the Narendra Modi
government had argued successfully that only the Centre had the power to
commute the sentence since the matter had been investigated by the CBI.
This time, whether or not the Gujarat government
sought its permission, the Modi government has said or done little in public
after the remission decision was carried out. The Modi government has not
displayed the alacrity it had shown in the 2015 case when the Tamil Nadu
government, for its own political reasons, sought to release the Rajiv
assassination convict on the ground that he had completed more than 14 years in
prison.
Besides, the Gujarat government relied on a 1992 state
policy on remission to release the 11 lifers, despite central guidelines issued
in 2014 asking the states not to remit the sentences of those convicted of
heinous crimes like rape and murder.
While the May 13 judgment has complicated matters,
both Bilkis Bano and the Centre have the legal option of challenging it through
a review petition.
If Bilkis Bano does not challenge the release, it will
become a test case for the Centre to move a review petition, for the federal
structure does not give it the executive authority to rescind the Gujarat
government’s controversial decision.
The five-judge bench had in 2015 ruled that not only
did the Union government hold sole power to grant remission in cases
investigated by central agencies, it could grant the remission even if the
President or the governor had rejected appeals for the relief.
“In a case where the investigation is thus handed over
to the CBI, entire carriage of the proceedings including decisions as to who
shall be the public prosecutor, how the prosecution be conducted and whether
appeal be filed or not are all taken by the CBI and at no stage the concerned
state government has any role to play,” the bench had ruled.
“It would not then be appropriate to allow the same
state government to exercise power under Section 432 and 433 (of the CrPC,
relating to the executive’s powers of remission) on its own and in such
matters, the opinion of the central government must have a decisive status. In
cases where the investigation was so conducted by the CBI or any such central
investigating agency, the central government would be better equipped and
likely to be more correct in its view.”
The May 13 judgment by the two-judge bench was passed
on a plea from one of the Bilkis case convicts, Radhe Shyam Bhagwandas Shah,
who had challenged a Gujarat High Court ruling that said the Maharashtra
government alone had the power of remission since the sentence had been imposed
by a sessions court in that state.
The two-judge apex court bench ruled that the Gujarat
government alone had the power of remission since the crime was committed
within its territory, and that the shift of the trial to Maharashtra did not
take away this power.
But senior advocate Rebecca John told LiveLaw, the
portal, two days ago that “it doesn’t matter where the offence was committed.
The appropriate government for grant of remission is the government of the
state in which trial was held. So, the remission should have been moved before
the Maharashtra government and not Gujarat.”
John added: “I am in respectful disagreement with the
portion of the Supreme Court judgment (which held that the Gujarat government
has to consider the remission as the crime took place in Gujarat). I believe a
review petition must be filed.”
Source: Telegraph India
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Major terror incident averted as 10-12 kgs IED
recovered in J&K's Pulwama
Aug 21, 2022
PULWAMA: Police on Sunday said they averted a major
terror incident by recovering and destroying an improvised explosive device
(IED) weighing about 10-12 kilograms in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.
The IED was recovered by security forces in the
Beihgund area of Tral in the south Kashmir district.
"On a specific input of police, an IED, approx
10-12 Kgm has been recovered in Beihgund area of #Tral. Police and Army are on
the job to destroy it insitu. A major #terror incident averted.
@JmuKmrPolice," Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.
In the month of June, a similar incident was reported.
A major tragedy was averted after security forces
recovered a 15 kg IED in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir and arrested
two terrorist associates involved in the terror crime.
In this connection, the joint team also arrested two
terrorist associates identified as Mohammad Younis Mir son of Parvaiz Ahmad Mir
and Jan Mohammad Ganie son of Ghulam Nabi Ganie, both residents of the village
Armullah Pulwama.
Source: Times Of India
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Physics Youtuber goes off book; likens sexual activity
to jihad
21st August 2022
A YouTube channel run by two coaching teachers who
mainly prepare students for competitive examinations such as IIT-JEE, CET,
Banking, Railways, school syllabus and various state board exams made comments
on Islamophobia.
The channel – Sardana Tutorials – or @studyadda is run
by a husband-wife duo – Lalit Sardana and Dr Shweta Sardana.
A video was recently uploaded by Lalit Sardana where
behind the background of physics which explains the use of mirrors, and how
light travels through convex and concave mirrors, he talks about masturbation
and how this biological activity is ‘reducing the libido of Hindu men.’
The video begins with Sardana talking about Love
Jihad.
Love Jihad is a term coined by Hindu extremists who
are against inter-religion love or marriages, especially if the boy is a Muslim
and the girl is a Hindu.
Sardana says, “Apart from destroying the lives of
Hindu women, there is a huge conspiracy of destroying Hindu men.”
He further explains how Muslim men are tricking Hindu
men into showing porn movies.
“What happens when one watches porn or adult movies?
You feel excited and want to naturally have sexual relations with your partner.
Now if you have an easy access to your partner, it is a good thing, but what if
you do not have anyone around at that moment? You will start master-bullet (he
meant mastrubation),” he says.
Sardana affirmingly says that Hindu men are undergoing
this which ultimately will result in decreased libido.
He calls this ‘activity’ ‘jihad’.
“In the next 5-10 years we will see a decrease in
sexual power within our Hindu men,” he said.
Then he goes on to blame the web series. According to
him, the directors, and actors are all from the Muslim community.
“Who are their audiences? Its not from the Muslim
community but, from our own Hindu community,” he says.
Sardana says that since Muslim women are chained with
several rules and regulations of their religion, Hindu women end up watching
such series.
Source: Siasat Daily
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.siasat.com/physics-youtuber-goes-off-book-likens-sexual-activity-to-jihad-2395013/
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Arab
World
Rescuers pull four dead bodies from rubble of Iraq
shrine in Karbala
21 August, 2022
Iraqi rescue officials said Sunday they had recovered four
bodies from the rubble of a Shia shrine hit by a landslide, adding that the
search for survivors was continuing.
“We have found four bodies, including [one] of a
woman” at the site near Karbala, central Iraq, civil defense official
Abdelrahman Jawdat told AFP. At least six pilgrims had been reported trapped
under the rubble.
Iraqi rescue workers were earlier in the day battling
to free at least six pilgrims, who were trapped under the rubble.
It was feared that “between six and eight people are
still caught” under the rocks and debris of the shrine, known as Qattarat
al-Imam Ali, civil defense spokesman Nawas Sabah Shaker had told AFP.
Three children had earlier been rescued, following
Saturday's disaster, emergency services said, adding that they were in “good
condition" and being monitored in a hospital.
Rescue teams working through the night under
floodlights were able to provide supplies of oxygen, as well as food and water
to the trapped people through gaps in the rubble, said the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
Iraqi President Barham Saleh on Twitter called on the
“heroic” rescue workers to “mobilize all efforts to save the trapped people.”
The emergency responders were maintaining verbal
contact with the victims “to reassure them.”
“We are working hard, with the utmost precision, to
reach the trapped people,” Abdelrahman Jawdat, director of the civil defense
media department, told AFP.
“Any mistake could lead to further collapses.”
One man at the scene, Bassem Khazali, said his nephew
was among those buried under the rubble.
“I am afraid that all the efforts undertaken will be
in vain... We want to know what happened, why it happened,” Khazali told AFP.
Sand, rocks collapse onto the shrine building
Shaker told AFP that “sand dunes and rocks collapsed
onto the shrine building”, blaming the saturation of the earth due to humidity.
The landslide on Saturday afternoon hit the shrine
located in a natural depression about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Karbala.
The rocks and sand started sliding because of the “saturation
of the earthen embankment adjacent to the shrine”, the civil defense told INA.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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US military tankers smuggle crude oil from Syria’s
Hasakah to bases in Iraq: Report
22 August 2022
The US military has smuggled crude oil from Syria to
bases in Iraq as Washington continues to loot energy resources in the
war-ravaged country, says Syria’s official news agency SANA.
A convoy of 122 tankers laden with oil from the
energy-rich Jazira region in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah moved on
Sunday through the illegal Mahmoudiya border crossing into neighboring Iraq,
where American forces and trainers are stationed, SANA reported citing local
sources in al-Ya'rubiyah town.
Another convoy, consisting of 15 tankers, departed
Syrian territories for Iraq shortly afterwards.
Local sources added that armored vehicles belonging to
the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) escorted the convoys until they
arrived at the border crossing.
On Saturday, the Russian and Syrian Joint Coordination
Committees on Repatriation of Syrian Refugees lambasted the continued
plundering of the Syrian oil by the US occupation forces, saying that the
looting is responsible for dire humanitarian situation that Syrians are
suffering from.
In a joint statement, the committees called upon the
international community, particularly Syria’s neighboring countries, to adopt
effective measures to stop the looting of the Arab country’s natural resources
and their smuggling abroad.
They also urged UN institutions to play a more active
role in providing humanitarian assistance to Syrians, and undertake reconstruction
projects as stipulated in the UN Security Council Resolution 2642.
The two bodies also stressed the need for the removal
of sanctions slapped against institutions that contribute to the reconstruction
of Syria’s infrastructure and public facilities.
They said Moscow and Damascus strongly condemn the
occupation of Syrian territories and the plundering of Syria’s national asses
by foreign forces.
According to data released by the Syrian Ministry of
Oil and Mineral Resources, Syria produced a total of 14.5 million barrels of
oil in the first half of the current year, and the daily oil production stood
at about 80,300 barrels.
American occupation forces and their allied Takfiris
plundered 66,000 barrels of crude oil during the mentioned period.
The data further showed that just about 14,200 barrels
were available for the Syrian domestic oil refineries.
The US military has stationed forces and equipment in
northeastern Syria, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment is aimed at
preventing the oilfields in the area from falling into the hands of Daesh
terrorists.
Damascus, however, maintains the deployment is meant
to plunder the country's rich mineral resources.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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UAE President holds talks with al-Sisi in Egypt
21 August, 2022
UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed arrived in
Egypt on Sunday and met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The two leaders discussed bilateral ties, and regional
and global issues.
“The two leaders also discussed cooperation and the
many promising opportunities to expand the horizons to broader levels that
would enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries, especially
in the economic and development fields that support their aspirations towards
achieving sustainable development, progress and prosperity for their two
brotherly peoples,” state news agency WAM reported.
“They also exchanged views regarding several issues
and dossiers of mutual interest and the latest regional and global
developments. In this context, they also emphasized the necessity of resorting
to dialogue, understanding and diplomatic methods to settle disputes and crises
by peaceful means that maintain international peace and security,” WAM added.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2022/08/21/UAE-President-holds-talks-with-Sisi-in-Egypt
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Saudi Arabia’s global education competitiveness,
ranking advance in 2022: IMD report
21 August, 2022
Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in
education, research, and innovation indicators per the World Competitiveness
Yearbook 2022, a report issued by the Global Competitiveness Center for the
International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the official Saudi
Press Agency reported on Saturday.
The Kingdom’s ranking jumped to 24th place in the
report, up from 32nd in 2021.
Saudi Arabia also advanced four positions in the
education indicator, coming in 37th place compared to 41st place last year.
In addition, it advanced in the report’s scientific
infrastructure indicator, coming in 30th place compared to 32nd in 2021.
Overall, these achievements contributed to the
Kingdom’s progress in the infrastructure indicators, one of the report’s main
indexes. Up from 36th place last year, Saudi Arabia ranked 34th, maintaining a
consistent upward trajectory since 2018.
It also advanced nine places in the university
education achievements index, coming in 28th place this year, up from 37th in
2021.
First published in 1989, the IMD World Competitiveness
Yearbook is a comprehensive annual report and global reference point on the
competitiveness of countries in several indicators.
Source: Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Turkish forces ‘neutralize’ 2 PKK terrorists in
northern Iraq
Burak Dag
20.08.2022
Turkish security forces "neutralized" two
PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, the National Defense Ministry said on
Saturday.
The terrorists were targeted in the Operation
Claw-Lightning zone, the ministry said on Twitter.
Turkish authorities use the word “neutralize” to imply
the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.
PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq and
plot terror attacks in Türkiye.
Türkiye launched operations Claw-Lock and
Claw-Lightning in April to target the PKK terror organization's hideouts in
northern Iraq's Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions, near the Turkish
border.
Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle were launched in
2020 to root out terrorists hiding in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border
attacks in Türkiye.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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Saudi Olympic hero Tarek Hamdi recalls golden year
after success at Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey
MOHAMMED AL-SULAMI
August 21, 2022
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Olympic hero Tarek Hamdi
continues to make history.
Last week, the karate champion dominated a strong
field to take gold in the 75 kg kumite competition at the fifth Islamic
Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkey.
The triumph came almost exactly a year after his
silver at Tokyo 2020, when he was only denied gold after a controversial
disqualification in the final against Iran’s Sajjad Ganjzadeh.
Arab News met Hamdi to discuss his latest win and
recall those memorable, career-defining days in Tokyo.
Congratulations Tarek, tell us about your achievement
and the tournament in general.
Praise be to God, I achieved a gold medal at the
Islamic Solidarity Games in Turkey. It is a great achievement, and I am
certainly proud and honored to raise the flag of the Kingdom at this
tournament, where I hadn’t won before.
This is the second time that I participated in the
Islamic Solidarity Games. In 2017, I took part in Baku, Azerbaijan, but did not
achieve any success, and this time I was determined to win gold. I managed to win in the 84 kg
weight division to complete the set of medals at the international competitions
I’ve taken part in.
This tournament in general is a very difficult and
tough one, especially in karate. We had a target of five golds across the
weight categories, but we only achieved a gold and two bronzes. I congratulate
my brothers Sultan Al-Zahrani and Saud Al-Bashir on their success, and wish the
best of luck to Faraj Al-Nashiri and Fahd Al-Khathami in the future.
Our achievement came thanks to the hard work and
teamwork from everyone at the training camps of the Saudi Karate Federation and
the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and we will continue, God willing,
to pursue more triumphs.
A few days ago, it was the anniversary of your silver
at the Tokyo Olympics. Tell us about the pre-tournament preparations.
To be honest, before the Olympics, I was nervous, not
because of the tournament itself, but because after we had finished the
pre-Games qualifying competition in Paris, I had not trained for almost a week
or 10 days.
I was anxious, which is normal for any athlete. You’re
eager to get back in action, especially when a big championship is so close. I
said this to the coach, and he assured me: “Don’t worry, I’m sure in three or
four days maximum you will be back in form.”
Ahead of the tournament, the coach, Mounir Afkir, and
I had met to plan for the training camp for the Olympics. I told the coach that
I will turn up and give everything I have in training. The rest, like exercise
planning, schedules and scouting of opponents, I trust him with.
Initially, our schedule consisted of two to three
hours of physical exercise each morning, and then every two days would have two
hours where we would analyze our nine opponents, studying their style, their
strengths and weaknesses, and their game plans. We worked on solutions for all
these things.
After that, we would go into the karate exercises for
about two and a half to three hours. At the start of the camp, I was suffering
from fatigue, frankly. I was training hard, and I kept telling myself that it
will be worth it in the end, that any fatigue now will eventually be to my benefit.
When I was tired, I would feel satisfied and my confidence would increase at
the same time, and my focus was to achieve Olympic gold.
A week before traveling to Japan, coach Mounir told
me: “I am seeing the gold medal.” I told him that I had been seeing the gold
for a while and was confident in my abilities to achieve it, and that the
coach’s words and trust had raised my confidence further to do so.
How did you feel the day before the start of your
Olympic participation?
The night before the start of the Olympic karate
competition on Aug. 6, I could hardly
sleep at all. I managed about two hours and I was so tired that I kept it a
secret from the coach, and drank a lot of coffee in order to regain my energy.
But I couldn’t and instead had a headache on the day of the matches. There were
also suspicions that we had mixed with players who had tested positive (for
COVID-19). The concerns proved unfounded but the situation had caused confusion
for me, and we were isolated in a warm-up hall separate from other athletes.
But we overcame this issue and the warm-up exercises were good and our
confidence was high.
The group matches started uncomfortably, how did you
feel at that point?
My first match was against a Croatian fighter (Ivan
Kvesic), and when I got on the mat, I literally do not know what happened.
Although I was not cautious in my approach, the result ended 2-1 in his favor.
I couldn’t see properly, and after the fight my coach left me to my own
thoughts. I felt really tired, but said to myself “I did not come here to lose.”
I promised myself that I would return with the gold
medal, and I turned this loss turned into a positive in my next match (a win
against Brian Irr of the US).
Next, against the Iranian opponent (Ganjzadeh), the
match ended in a draw. My Canadian opponent (Daniel Gaysinsky) was then
eliminated and I qualified from my group in second place to face the Japanese
(Ryutaro Araga) in the semifinals.
After qualifying from the group stages, what were your
plans as a player and coach?
Before the semifinal, our game plan changed. We
started planning for each opponent in different ways. Mounir kept saying that
my strengths are my speed and my feet and I must take advantage of them. People
were asking me if I was more relaxed now that I was guaranteed a medal, and my
answer was “no.” When I fought Araga, I was telling myself, “I’m closer to my
dream.” The focus was on reaching the final, and thank God I won and achieved
that.
Tell us about the final.
The final match was completely different, I was in a
strange state and I was very impulsive.
I started the match by scoring three points and then I
scored another and I was leading 4-0. (Ganjzadeh) scored a point and it became
4-1.
Then came that kick, and the Iranian player fell — it
did not even cross my mind that I would be disqualified. I was even signalling
to my coach to try and calm me down because I was already so charged up.
The longer he stayed on the mat, I began to get
nervous, but even after he was carried out on stretcher I did not think that I
would be disqualified. I was thinking “this is my gold,” but when I saw the
judges gather, I started to get pessimistic. I walked over to my coach and
could see the look of concern on his face. The referees came back and took
their decision to disqualify me.
I was not expecting this decision at all, and mentally
I collapsed. My coach was distraught, my mother was distraught and so were the
Saudi people. I walked off the arena and was in state of shock of course — the
coach was talking to me but I wasn’t taking anything in.
I was walking and crying, and then I met the Minister
of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki, and his deputy.
Prince Abdulaziz grabbed me and said: “Why are you
crying? You achieved a great thing. Raise your head, the medal was taken from
you.”
You then received a surprise call from Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman. What did he say to you?
I was still sad and crying because of the loss of
gold, but then Prince Abdulaziz hands me his phone and says “the crown prince
wants to talk to you.”
I was not comprehending what was happening, and when I
grabbed the phone, the crown prince said: “You’re a hero, congratulations. Keep
your head high, you raised the flag of the Kingdom, you are the winner and you
are the gold and you shouldn’t cry.”
He was very proud. I told him that I came to achieve
the gold, and his response was, to the letter: “You did achieve gold.” I cannot
describe how the words from the crown prince made me feel.
But those words are not a surprise from Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, and as athletes we are very fortunate to have him as our
leader.
The moment of disqualification was awful, but
everything that happened after that was beautiful. Had it not been for this
scenario, maybe news of the event would not have spread so widely.
This moment has also place more responsibility on
myself and my fellow athletes, and has raised expectations and ambitions. Our
goal is to raise the flag of Saudi Arabia even higher at international
competitions. As His Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, “The sky
is the limit for our ambitions.”
After returning home, there was a reception in your
honor with the crown prince.
When we arrived in Jeddah, the reception was
wonderful, very special and festive, which I was not expecting. There was big
crowd in the arrival hall and I received a new award from the Ministry of
Sports, which had been announced before the Olympics.
I was extremely excited to meet the Crown Prince. He
said to me at the time that “you are golden in our eyes” and many other
beautiful words. I thanked him for everything he has given us and promised that
we will continue to aim for gold and to raise the Kingdom’s flag at every
international meeting, God willing.
It was a beautiful meeting and I am very proud of it.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2147191/sport
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South
Asia
Committee to Protect Journalists: Taliban Must Release
Detained American Filmmaker and Afghan Producer
By Saqalain Eqbal
21 Aug 2022
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in a
statement, demanded that the Taliban authorities immediately release the Afghan
producer Faizullah Faizbakhsh and the American journalist and filmmaker Ivor
Shearer.
According to the CPJ, Ivor Shearer and Faizullah
FaizBakhsh were detained by Taliban intelligence agents on August 17 while
filming in Kabul’s Sherpur area in the Afghan capital.
On August 17, the US CIA launched a drone attack on
the diplomatic area of Kabul, Sherpur, in an effort to kill Ayman Al-Zawahiri,
the leader of al-Qaeda.
Shearer and Faizbakhsh were placed in blindfolds and
taken to an unidentified location by approximately 50 armed Taliban
intelligence agents, according to sources who spoke with the CPJ.
The reasons for Shearer and Faizbakhsh’s incarceration
and the location of their detention, according to CPJ, are both unknown.
The CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna
stated that the Taliban arrest of the American filmmaker and the Afghan
producer “show[s] the group’s utter lack of commitment to the principle of
freedom of the press in Afghanistan.”
Shearer landed in Afghanistan in February 2022 on a
one-month visa after being granted permission to work there by the Taliban
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to create a documentary about the previous 40 years
of Afghan history.
Source: Khaama Press
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Deputy PM Mullah Beradar receives Australian Professor
embraced Islam
August 22, 2022
KABUL: Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs
Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar met with the Australian professor of the former American
University in Afghanistan, Jebrael Omar, who has recently converted to the holy
Islam, the deputy Prime Minister’s office said in a statement the other day.
Deputy PM welcomed Jebrael Omar, congratulated him on
his acceptance of Islam and called it an honor and good luck for him.
Source: The Kabul Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://thekabultimes.gov.af/deputy-pm-mullah-beradar-receives-australian-professor-embraced-islam/
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Islamic Law Faculties Started at Universities in 17
Provinces
August 22, 2022
The Ministry of Higher Education said it has recently
created the Faculty of Islamic Law in universities across seventeen Afghan
provinces.
Abdul Baqi Haqqani, minister of higher education,
added that the subject of Islamic culture in universities has increased from 18
credits to 24 credits.
"Based on the proposal of the Ministry of Higher
Education and acceptance of the leadership, the theme of Islamic culture has
been enriched in this section compared to the past. A strong curriculum has
been established for it, and three days a week have been selected for it,”
Haqqani said.
“This decision has been taken in accordance with the
national and Islamic values of the country's society,” said Abdurauf Farahi,
the Ministry of Higher Education's director of curriculum.
Meanwhile, some university professors asked the
international community to cooperate with the private universities to upgrade
the education curriculum of private universities.
Source: Tolo News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-179499
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Taliban Supreme Leader Appoints Special Military
Commander for Panjshir Province
By Saqalain Eqbal
August 21, 2022
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated that
Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, the group’s supreme leader, has appointed a
special military commander for Panjshir province in northern Afghanistan and
the Andarab district of Baghlan province.
According to the Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah
Mujahid, who made the announcement on August 21 on Sunday, Mullah Abdul Qayyum
Zakir has been appointed as the special military commander for the Panjshir
province and Andarab of Baghlan.
Abdul Qayyum Zakir, who once served as the Taliban
government’s Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Defense, is regarded as one of
the top military commanders in the Taliban’s administration.
The Taliban have appointed a military commander for
Panjshir and Andarab, where opposing factions of the group are active and in
conflict with Taliban forces, most notably the National Resistance Front (NRF)
headed by Ahmad Massoud.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Taliban detains American journalist, media body reacts
Aug 22, 2022
New York: A New York-based media watchdog has called
the Taliban to immediately release American journalist and independent
filmmaker Ivor Shearer and Afghan producer Faizullah Faizbakhsh and cease
detaining journalists. On August 17, Shearer and Faizbakhsh were filming in the
Sherpur area of District 10 in Kabul-where a US drone strike killed Al-Qaeda
leader Ayman al-Zawahiri earlier in August-when several security guards stopped
them, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Congress-funded broadcaster Voice of America-Dari and
two journalists familiar with the case, who spoke to CPJ on the condition of
anonymity, citing fear of the Taliban`s reprisal."The guards questioned
them about their activities and checked their work permits, ID cards, and
passports; they then confiscated the journalists` cellphones, detained them for
a couple of hours, and repeatedly called them "American spies,"
according to the journalists familiar with the case," said CPJ.
The security officers then called Taliban
intelligence; around 50 armed intelligence operatives arrived, who blindfolded
Shearer and Faizbakhsh and transferred them to an unknown location, the
journalists familiar with the case said. "The Taliban`s increasing
pressure and escalating numbers of detentions of journalists and media workers,
including the detention of American filmmaker Ivor Shearer and his Afghan
colleague Faizullah Faizbakhsh, show the group`s utter lack of commitment to the
principle of freedom of the press in Afghanistan," said CPJ Program
Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna.
"Taliban officials must immediately release
Shearer and Faizbakhsh and stop their intimidation and pressure on the press in
Afghanistan."In February 2022, Shearer arrived in Afghanistan on a
one-month visa after receiving a work permit from the Taliban Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to produce a documentary about the last 40 years of
Afghanistan`s history, according to the journalists familiar with the case.
Shearer`s film and video work has been shown across the US and internationally
in museums and film festivals. Faizbakhsh works as a producer supporting
international journalists in Afghanistan and was contracted by Shearer,
according to the journalists familiar with the case.
On March 3, Shearer was issued a one-year work permit
by the Taliban`s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and was able to extend
his visa to stay until September. In mid-June, Shearer was summoned to the
Taliban`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar
Balkhi questioned and asked him to present his past work, one of the
journalists familiar with the case told CPJ. According to that source, Shearer
was told that he was summoned because Taliban intelligence was suspicious of
his presence in Kabul.
In mid-July, several Taliban intelligence agents
visited a guest house where Shearer was staying in Kabul and questioned him
about his work and stay, according to a journalist familiar with the case, who
added that Shearer didn`t know if the visit was routine or if he was targeted
because of his presence.
Source: Zee News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://zeenews.india.com/india/taliban-detains-american-journalist-media-body-reacts-2499919.html
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India Delivers Its 10th Consignment of Medical Aid to
Afghanistan
By Saqalain Eqbal
August 21, 2022
As part of its continued humanitarian assistance to
Afghanistan, India provided 32 tons of essential medical aid in 10 batches; the
tenth batch, according to a press statement from the Indian Ministry of
External Affairs, arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday.
“Today, India supplied the tenth batch of medical
assistance as part of India’s ongoing humanitarian assistance,” the statement
of the Ministry of External Affairs of India reads.
According to the statement, the medical assistance
consigned by the Indian government was delivered to the UN’s World Health
Organization (WHO) and the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital in Kabul, the
Afghan capital.
500,000 doses of the COVID vaccine, anti-TB drugs, and
other necessary life-saving medicines were among the 32 tons of Indian medical
aid that were consigned to Afghanistan.
India has offered wheat to Afghanistan as humanitarian
aid in addition to medical support, 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the
impoverished people of Afghanistan.
At the Attari-Wagah border crossing, convoys of more
than 50 trucks carrying Indian wheat occasionally crossed the border from India
into Pakistan before continuing on to Afghanistan.
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/india-delivers-its-10th-consignment-of-medical-aid-to-afghanistan-68697/
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Pakistan
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan booked under terror act,
arrest likely
21.08.22
Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan has been
booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act for threatening police, judiciary and other
state institutions at his Islamabad rally a day ago, it emerged on Sunday.
The case surfaced hours after Interior Minister Rana
Sanaullah on Sunday said that the government was mulling to file a case against
69-year-old Khan over his provocative speech delivered on Saturday night in the
F-9 Park of the national capital.
According to the copy of the first information report,
which has been seen by PTI, the case was registered at the Margalla Police
Station of Islamabad at 10 pm on Saturday under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism
Act (punishment for acts of terrorism).
The FIR reads that Khan in his speech had
"terrorised and threatened top police officials and a respected female
additional sessions judge" with the aim to stop them from performing their
functions and abstain from pursuing any action against any individual related
to his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party (PTI).
It says that Khan's speech had spread fear and
uncertainty among the police, judges and the nation.
In his address, Khan had threatened to file cases
against top police officials, a woman magistrate, Election Commission of
Pakistan and political opponents over the treatment meted out to his aide
Shahbaz Gill, who was arrested last week on charges of sedition.
He had also taken exception to Additional District and
Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry, who had approved Gill's two-day physical remand
at the request of the capital police, and said she should prepare herself as
action would be taken against her."
Earlier at a press conference, Interior Minister
Sanaullah said that the government was holding legal consultations before
launching any case against Khan. He alleged that Khan's speech was a
continuation of a trend to target the army and other institutions.
"This is all happening in continuation - from a
campaign after the Lasbela incident when six army officers were killed followed
by Gill's attempt to incite army ranks to go against their top command and then
Imran threatening a woman judge and police officials for performing their
duties as per the law, the minister said.
His remarks came after Pakistan's electronic media
watchdog banned satellite television channels from broadcasting live speeches
of Khan following his provocative address on Saturday night.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority
(PEMRA) in a communique issued on Saturday said that TV channels despite
repeated warnings had failed to implement a time-delay mechanism to stop the
broadcast of material against state institutions .
"It has been observed that Mr Imran Khan,
Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in his speeches/statements is continuously
alleging state institutions by levelling baseless allegations and spreading
hate speech through his provocative statements against state institutions and
officers which is prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order and is likely
to disturb public peace and tranquility," it said.
According to the statement, after analysing the
content of Khan's speech, it has been observed that the content was aired live
by the licensees without an effective time delay mechanism.
The competent authority i.e. Chairman PEMRA in view of
the above mentioned background and reasons hereby prohibits broadcast of live
speech of Khan on all satellite TV channels with immediate effect, it added.
PEMRA, however, said Khan's recorded speech would only
be permitted to be aired after an effective delay mechanism to ensure
monitoring and editorial control.
Reacting sharply to the ban imposed on the PTI
chairman, his party said the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has a
fascist regime.
"Imported fascists are trying to ban Imran Khan's
speeches on TV. They have lost the battle completely and now using fascism;
they will fail! #HelpPakistan by raising our voices against fascists!, Khan's
party tweeted.
Saturday's rally was organised by PTI to express solidarity
with Gill and stage a protest against what Khan claimed was blatant fascism
prevalent under the imported regime of prime minister Sharif.
During the rally, Khan didn't spare powerful Army,
calling it neutrals , and urged his supporters to stand with the nation rather
than the gang of thieves , in a veiled reference to the coalition government.
He also lashed out at the judiciary, terming them as
biased .
While the army has not responded to his barb, Pakistan
Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl and
Mutahida Quami Movement Pakistan in a statement asked the judiciary to take
legal action against Khan and his aides for threatening a female judge and
intimidating police officers.
Since he was ousted from power in April, the
cricketer-turned politician has repeatedly claimed that the no-trust motion
against him was the result of a foreign conspiracy .
Khan has also emphasised that his party would not deal
with or accept the imported government headed by prime minister Sharif.
Meanwhile, a defiant Khan addressed a rally at
Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh ground on Sunday night.
"Now Pemra is also in the game. What has Imran
Khan done? His only crime is that he is not accepting this imported
government," Khan said responding to the Pemra banning of his live
speeches.
He also talked about the deteriorating economic
situation and inflation, saying the country's army chief had to go to countries
like Saudi Arabia to get loans.
Source: Telegraph India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Unrest In Hyderabad After Alleged Desecration Of Quran
Mohammad Hussain Khan
August 22, 2022
HYDERABAD: Law enforcement agencies resorted to tear
gas shelling and fired into the air in different areas of Hyderabad on Sunday
following an incident of alleged desecration of the Holy Quran.
A policeman was assaulted while a police mobile was
damaged by a mob.
Enraged crowds forced their way into a business centre
by breaking windowpanes to get hold of the man they accused of sacrilege of the
Holy Quran.
Police picked up a sanitary worker. A case was
registered under sections 295-B and 34 of PPC on the complaint of Bilal, son of
Bundo Khan Abbasi.
The complainant claimed he had learnt that someone had
burnt pages of Holy Quran in Rabi Plaza. He went inside and learnt that someone
had burnt Holy Quran. Soon, he said, eight to 10 persons entered the plaza.
Bilal claimed that Maulana Amin Zikriya showed him
burnt pages near an elevator. He asked a sanitary worker whether he knew the
identity of the man who had done this, but he remained silent.
According to Bilal, he got hold of a sanitary worker
and took possession of some of the burnt pages. He then handed over the man,
along with the burnt pages, to police.
The trouble started when news about the alleged
sacrilege spread like wildlife across city. All business and commercial
centres were shut immediately. Enraged youth gathered outside the plaza.
The number of furious protesters kept increasing and
by 5pm they were in the thousands, blocking streets leading to the plaza.
As the mob refused to disperse, police decided to
disperse the crowd by resorting to tear gas shelling. This forced the
protesters to flee the area, but they re-emerged after a few minutes.
Source: Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1706155/unrest-in-hyderabad-after-alleged-desecration-of-quran
--------
Pakistan govt sunk to new low: Ex-PM Imran Khan after
ban on his live speeches
Aug 22, 2022
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan hit out at
the Shehbaz Sharif led-government on Sunday night for banning the live telecast
of his speeches on TV by saying that the government has sunk to a new low.
The action to ban the live coverage of speeches was
taken by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on
Saturday, hours after Imran Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI's)
chairperson, held a rally in Islamabad, criticising the police and the
judiciary over the arrest of one of his party's leaders.
On Sunday, Khan was booked under the Anti-Terrorism
Act (ATA) for threatening a judge and two top police officials during his
Islamabad rally on Saturday.
Taking to Twitter, Imran Khan said, "The fascist
Imported govt sunk to a new low today by banning live coverage of my speeches
on TV and then blocking YouTube temporarily during my speech at Liaquat Bagh.
All this after continuous intimidation of media persons and taking channels off
air earlier.”
Khan added that the ban was not only a gross violation
of freedom of speech but also negatively affected the digital media industry
and the livelihoods of many.
“What they need to understand is that no matter what
they do, they cannot suppress the will of the people which is Haqeeqi Azadi,”
the former Pakistani Prime Minister further tweeted on Sunday night.
Further hitting out at the government, Khan said that
the ban showed the desperation of those who for their self-interest were
willing to push Pakistan towards political and economic chaos.
Imran Khan was ousted from the Prime Minister's post
in April through a no-confidence vote. He was replaced by Shehbaz Sharif, the
president of the Pakistan Muslim League (N).
Source: Hindustan Times
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan says govt's Youtube
block aims to censor him
Aug 22, 2022
KARACHI, Pakistan: Pakistan's former premier Imran
Khan, who was facing charges on Sunday under an anti-terror act for threats to
police and a magistrate, accused the government of temporarily blocking YouTube
to deny live access to his speech at a political rally.
Khan has been making fiery speeches to gatherings
across the South Asian nation as he pushes for new elections after being ousted
from power in April through a parliamentary vote.
The Youtube blocking accusation followed a ban on
Saturday by the electronic media regulator on the live broadcast of Khan's
speeches, citing what it called his "hate speech" against state
institutions.
"Imported government blocked YouTube midway
through my speech," Khan said on Twitter.
A spokesman for internet regulator the Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Reuters could not immediately reach Khan to seek
comment.
'PROVOCATIVE STATEMENTS'
Khan's speeches were "prejudicial to the
maintenance of law and order and likely to disturb public peace and
tranquility", the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA)
said in a statement on Saturday.
It accused Khan of "continuously ... levelling
baseless allegations and spreading hate speech through his provocative
statements against state institutions".
It prohibited live broadcasts of his speeches by news
channels, with immediate effect, but made an exception for recorded speech.
Pakistan's government, police and its powerful army
have been among the targets of Khan's remarks.
Soon after Saturday's television ban, Khan's party
vowed to go live on "500+ YouTube and Facebook channels".
However, many Pakistani users of social media reported
problems in accessing YouTube on Sunday, just as Khan was about to address a
gathering in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
In those comments, Khan said he was being censored for
not accepting the current coalition government, which had voted him out of
power.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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Pakistani Sikh family alleges daughter abducted by
Muslim man, police 'reluctant' to lodge complaint
Aug 21, 2022
AMRITSAR: The family members of a Pakistani Sikh woman
have accused the Pir Baba town police of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK) of
refusing to lodge a complaint pertaining to her "abduction" by a
Muslim man.
The family of Deena Kaur (25) on Sunday alleged that
they are not being allowed to meet their daughter, even as the police rescued
her. Mother Asha said they came to know that the police found both Kaur and the
Muslim man, Hesbullah, and that they were in the police station. “But they
(police) are not allowing us to meet her.”
According to sources, Kaur, a teacher, allegedly
eloped with Hesbullah but the local police in Buner district refused to lodge
the family's complaint of abduction, which triggered protests in a number of
districts of KPK by Sikh, Hindu and Muslim community members alike, demanding
to allow the family members to meet her.
Sant Singh, granthi of the local Gurdwara, alleged
that the Buner district administration was behind the "abduction of Kaur
who was forced to sign a ‘nikahnama’ and other documents". “We will not
tolerate the highhandedness of the Buner district administration. We appeal to
the global Sikh community to support us and exert pressure on the Pakistani
government to deliver justice.”
Meanwhile, in India, BJP Sikh leader Manjinder Singh
Sirsa has urged external affairs minister S Jaishanker to take up the issue of
the alleged abduction and forced marriage of Kaur with his Pakistani
counterpart and ask him to ensure her release.
Gurcharan Lal Gandhi, father of the woman, said that
Kaur was engaged to one Munish Kumar and was about to get married. “I have
three daughters and a son. My family is under immense strain and has been anxious
since the abduction,” said Gandhi, a medical technician.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Pakistan:
Sit-in continues in Bajaur tribal district amid rising killing incidents
21
August, 2022
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], August 21 (ANI): A sit-in which was organized to call
for maintaining law and order in the Bajaur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
province has been continuing as the protestors demand the restoration of peace
and security in the region.
Many
incidents of killings have been reported in the district as the law and order
situation in Bajaur continued to deteriorate forcing people to raise their
voices against the situation. The sit-in was led by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl
(JUI-F).
People
from different walks of life, including political and social activists, youths
and elders participated in the protest sit-in staged outside the Civil Colony,
Khar, which houses the residences of government officials, reported Dawn.
JUI-F
district chief Maulana Abdur Rasheed said the agitation would continue till the
authorities took concrete steps to maintain law and order in the region. He
said the Station house officer (SHO) of the police station concerned would be
responsible if any incident of the killing happened in his jurisdiction.
The
tribal district has remained a volatile region as numerous incidents of bomb
blasts have been reported in various areas across the district. Earlier, two
policemen — Said Ahmed and Inayatur Rahmen — were killed in a remote-controlled
bomb blast in the Mamund area on Friday.
Moreover,
the killing of a youth by unknown robbers in Salarzai tehsil sparked a protest
demonstration by the villagers here on Friday. Besides the victim’s relatives,
scores of villagers and political activists participated in the protest and
placed the victim’s body on the Khar-Falang bypass road in Khar town for about
two hours.
The
protesters said that the victim Ayaz Khan, 24, was on his way home on Thursday
night when unknown robbers interpreted him to snatch his mobile phone. They
said that the robbers opened fire on Ayaz when he showed resistance. They said
the victim was critically wounded and died on way to the hospital.
Awami
National party district president Gul Afzal Khan condemned the incident and
termed it a failure of the district administration and police to give
protection to the residents. They said the district had witnessed scores of
such incidents during the last several months.
They
said the growing incidents of mobile phone snatching and other street crimes
were a matter of serious concern for the residents. They urged the senior
officials of the district administration and police to take immediate steps for
arrest of the criminals involved in such incidents.
Source:
The Print
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--------
Imran
moves IHC for pre-arrest bail in terrorism case
Tahir
Naseer
August
22, 2022
PTI
chief Imran Khan moved the Islamabad High Court on Monday seeking pre-arrest
bail after he was booked in a terrorism case for “threatening” a female judge
and senior police officers in a public rally.
On
Sunday, the ex-prime minister was booked under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism
Act (punishment for acts of terrorism) regarding his comments at his Islamabad
rally on Saturday.
Earlier
today, Imran’s Imran’s lawyers, Babar Awan and Faisal Chaudhry, filed a
petition seeking pre-arrest bail on his behalf in the IHC.
The
petition, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, stated that Imran was a
“target of the ruling PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) for his fearless
criticism and extremely bold and blunt stance against corruption and corrupt
politicians”.
“And
to achieve this malicious agenda, acting in a most unfortunate and clumsy
manner, a false and frivolous complaint has been registered against him by the
Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police at the behest of the incumbent
government,” it added.
The
plea further alleged that the government had decided to “cross all limits” to
arrest Imran “under false accusations” and was “hell-bent to sort out the
petitioner and his party at all costs”.
The
plea described the government’s move as an “illegal effort to settle the
political score”, adding that it had decided to “illegally and unlawfully
victimise the petitioner and … thwart his party”.
It
further said the FIR against was “politically motivated”, in which Imran had
been “falsely” involved with “mala fide intention and ulterior motives to
humiliate” him.
Moreover,
the plea highlighted that the FIR was registered after an “unexplained
inordinate delay of 24 hours”.
“The
contents of the FIR reflect that the alleged offence is not made out. The case
in hand is of further inquiry”.
The
plea contended the case was based on “surmises and conjectures” and that no
evidence was available on record against Imran in connection with the case.
It
also contended that there was no “direct or indirect” evidence available on
record against Imran in the case, which created “serious doubt in the
prosecution story”.
It
went on to say that Imran was a respectable citizen and “a sheer apprehension
of his imminent arrest would cause humiliation and unjustified harassment”.
It
stated that there was “no likelihood” of Imran absconding or tampering with
prosecution evidence if granted protective bail.
The
petitioner has an unblemished track record and has never been implicated in any
criminal activity, the plea said, adding that he was ready to join the
investigation as and when required.
The
petition said that Imran was also ready to furnish a “solvent surety bond” when
required.
The
state has been nominated as the respondent in the plea. However, it is not yet
clear if the petition has been accepted for hearing.
The
FIR
The
FIR against Imran was registered at Islamabad’s Margalla police station at 10pm
on Saturday under the complaint of magistrate Ali Javed.
The
FIR said that at the PTI’s rally at F-9 park a day ago, Imran had “terrorised
and threatened top police officials and a respected female additional sessions
judge” in his address.
The
FIR reproduced the PTI chairman’s comments where he spoke about the female
judge and the Islamabad police officials.
In
his address on Saturday, Imran had threatened to file cases against Islamabad’s
inspector general of police and deputy inspector general of police and said:
“We won’t spare you.”
The
former premier had also taken exception to Additional District and Sessions
Judge Zeba Chaudhry, who had approved Gill’s two-day physical remand at the
request of the capital police, and said she should “prepare herself as action
would be taken against her”.
The
FIR argued that Imran’s speech was meant to “terrorise” top police officials
and the judiciary so they could not perform their functions and abstain from
pursuing any action against any PTI-related individual if required to do so.
The
magistrate argued that Imran’s speech had spread fear and uncertainty among the
police, judges and the nation. “Terrorism has been spread the country’s peace
has been harmed,” he added.
The
FIR requested that legal action be pursued against Imran and an “exemplary
punishment” be meted out.
Imran
criticised for his remarks
Prior
to the registration of the FIR, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had said the
government was holding legal consultations on whether to file a separate case
against the PTI chairperson for his “provocative speech” on Saturday or
nominate him in a previous case.
“This
is all happening in continuation — from a campaign after Lasbela incident when
six army officers were martyred followed by Gill’s attempt to incite army ranks
to go against their top command and then Imran threatening a woman judge and
police officials for performing their duties as per the law,” the minister had
said.
The
minister had also denied the PTI’s allegations that Gill was being subjected to
custodial torture.
Earlier,
Sanaullah had also tweeted that Imran would have to face the law for “threatening
and hurling abuse” at the magistrate and police officers.
The
minister had said the PTI chief will not be allowed “to challenge the writ of
the state by inciting rebellion”.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1706210/imran-moves-ihc-for-pre-arrest-bail-in-terrorism-case
--------
PTI
to challenge ban on live telecast of Imran’s speeches
Ikram
Junaidi
August
22, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has decided to approach courts against a ban
imposed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) on the
live telecast of the speeches of former prime minister and party chairman Imran
Khan in light of his remarks against the judiciary and the police during a
rally in Islamabad on Saturday.
This
was shared by PTI senior central vice president Fawad Chaudhry during a press
conference here on Sunday. Imran Khan did not say anything illegal nor did he
hurl threats during the F-9 Park rally, claimed Mr Chaudhry as he advised the
coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take on Mr Khan
politically instead of resorting to bans.
On
Saturday, while addressing a rally in Islamabad to express solidarity with PTI
leader Dr Shahbaz Gill facing proceedings in a sedition case, Mr Khan warned
the judiciary against its “biased” attitude and warned the judge who sent Mr
Gill on physical remand to brace for consequences. Subsequently, a ban was
imposed on the live broadcast of Imran Khan’s speeches and a case was also
registered against him on Sunday.
Mr
Chaudhry said Imran Khan only asked for “legal action” against the individuals
who allegedly tortured his chief of staff, Shahbaz Gill, in custody. The PTI
leader reiterated his demand for an independent commission to probe torture
allegations. He added that the reluctance to constitute the commission raised
many questions. The PTI leader also questioned the decision to bar Imran Khan
and other PTI leaders from meeting Shahbaz Gill. He claimed that Mr Gill had
shared the details of the alleged torture he had “endured for hours” at a
police station.
Fawad
says PTI chief did not ‘threaten’ anyone, only sought action over Gill’s
torture; Gill goes on ‘hunger strike’
Commenting
on Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, the former information minister said Mr
Sanaullah himself had been tortured in the past but he was still treating the
alleged torture of Mr Gill as an ordinary issue.
Speaking
about cases against PTI Chairman Imran Khan, Mr Chaudhry claimed that a
conspiracy was being hatched to disqualify the former premier in a bid to pave
way for the return of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif to mainstream politics.
The democracy in the country, however, now revolved around Imran Khan, he
claimed. The first phase of the public movement had begun with a public meeting
in Rawalpindi, he said and hoped that the government would not force the PTI to
start the second phase before Sept 10.
Gill
on ‘hunger strike’
Meanwhile,
incarcerated PTI leader Shahbaz Gill, who has been in the Pakistan Institute of
Medical Sciences (Pims) owing to health reasons, went on a “hunger strike” and
refused to cooperate with the medical board constituted to ascertain the
alleged torture of the PTI leader.
According
to a letter dated Aug 21, the new medical board comprised four members, whereas
two more members have been co-opted. The board is headed by Dr Shafaat Khatoon
(General Medicine) and other members included Dr Tariq Abdullah, Dr Ziaul Haq
and Dr Salman Shafi Kaul.
The
co-opted members, Dr Farrukh Kamal and Dr Muhammad Naseer, have been tasked
with the medico-legal report.
A
doctor at Pims, requesting anonymity, claimed that Mr Gill went on a hunger
strike on Saturday evening.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1706158/pti-to-challenge-ban-on-live-telecast-of-imrans-speeches
--------
Mideast
Al-Ibrahimi
Mosque massacre forever altered religious life for Muslims in Hebron
Salam
AbuSharar
22.08.2022
HEBRON,
Palestine
Adel
Idriss will never forget the day he lost his brother and cousin while they were
performing the dawn prayer at Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in the old city of Hebron on
the second Friday of Ramadan.
On
that day, Idriss was the imam or leader of the prayer, and he still remembers
the horrible moment when Israeli extremist Baruch Goldstein opened fire on the
worshippers with a machine gun.
The
gruesome attack on Feb. 25, 1994 left 29 people dead and dozens of others
wounded.
“I
lost my brother Saleem and the other was injured. Also, our family lost my
cousin, Diab Al Karaki. We were fasting, unarmed civilians performing our
Islamic worship in the holy month of Ramadan when he attacked us in a horrible
crime,” Idriss told Anadolu Agency.
Palestinians
say the attack was planned by a group of Jewish settlers with indirect
assistance from the Israeli army, who was not present during the massacre.
Muslims
attach great importance to Al-Ibrahimi Mosque, as they believe it was built
above the tomb of Prophet Ibrahim (Prophet Abraham).
Following
the massacre, the religious life of the Muslims in Hebron and their ability to
reach the mosque were changed due to Israeli military restrictions that were
imposed against the entire old city, which is located south of Jerusalem.
“Since
the day of the massacre, the Israeli forces have banned us from making the
azhan (or call to prayer) every Saturday, and during the Jewish religious
holidays, Muslims are never allowed to enter the mosque to pray, it’s
completely closed to Muslims,” Idriss said.
During
those days, workers in the mosque are also not allowed to enter it.
"The
Israeli occupation partially opens the confiscated parts of the mosque mainly
on Fridays during Ramadan and the two Islamic Eids, annual festivals of Islam
which are associated with Ramadan and the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca,"
Ghassan Rajabi, the director of Al-Ibrahimi Mosque, told Anadolu Agency.
According
to Rajabi, 63% of the mosque’s 2,050 square meters (22,066 square feet) of
floor space was confiscated along with all of its courtyards by a military
decision and converted into a Jewish synagogue.
“For
Muslims who want to pray in the mosque, they must pass through three to six
military checkpoints to be allowed to enter it. At the last checkpoint at the
entrance of the mosque, they must give their identity cards to the soldiers,”
he said.
For
the Palestinians in Hebron, the massacre was a critical point that affected
their lives deeply, socially, economically and religiously.
Idriss
said the aggressive military restrictions forced him and his family to leave
the old city after 40 years.
“It
wasn’t easy to leave, but their policies against us forced us to seek another
home to live in,” he said.
Meanwhile,
the people of Hebron say they are suffering from the behavior of the extremist
settlers there, exposed to continuous assaults and insults against their
religious beliefs and the Prophet Mohammad, particularly during Jewish
religious holidays.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Palestinians
working in Israel strike over demand for bank accounts
21
August, 2022
Tens
of thousands of Palestinians employed in Israel staged a one-day strike on
Sunday in protest at a decision to pay their salaries into bank accounts rather
than in cash.
The
new payment method was agreed between Palestinian and Israeli authorities
looking for a more efficient and secure way to pay salaries, but workers fear
that hidden fees and new taxes will cut into their wages.
About
200,000 Palestinians cross each day into Israel or Jewish settlements for work,
earning on average more than twice as much as those employed by Palestinian
state bodies and businesses.
Most
of the workers do not have bank accounts and putting their salaries on the
books would create a new revenue source for the financially-strapped
Palestinian Authority (PA), while bringing a windfall in service fees for
Palestinian banks.
Under
the arrangement, salaries will be paid weekly with bank fees set at $1 per
transfer, according to a number of workers who spoke to Reuters.
Palestinian
Labour Minister Nasri Abu Jeish said the new arrangement was meant to protect
workers' rights and that there was no plan to impose new taxes.
An
Israeli defense ministry official said the measure would allow an adjustment
period until it comes into full force on Jan. 1. “This will strengthen the
Palestinian economy. It will have many positive effects like ensuring workers'
pensions are paid by their Israeli employers and reducing black money.”
The
PA, which has limited autonomy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is
responsible for roughly 150,000 public sector jobs in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. Its budget was $330 million for 2021 and it relies heavily on foreign
donors.
Mohammad
Khaseeb, 43, who works at an aluminum factory in Israel, said he and thousands
of others were protesting at a decision which he said was reached without
taking workers' views into account.
“They
decided without consulting the workers' union. Either a worker agrees or he loses
his work permit,” Khaseeb said.
Bassim
Al-Waheidi, a 55-year-old construction worker, said that beyond losing money to
bank fees and taxes, there was concern about other deductions being made.
“We
reject having our salaries transferred to Palestinian Authority banks because
we are afraid of the future and there is a crisis of trust,” Waheidi said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Iran
reformist coalition calls for release of politician Mostafa Tajzadeh
20
August, 2022
Iran’s
leading reformist coalition on Saturday called for the release of politician
Mostafa Tajzadeh, held since July over accusations of undermining state
security.
“In
the name of the Reform Front of Iran, I urge you to release (Tajzadeh) as soon
as possible,” the head of the coalition, Behzad Nabavi, wrote in an open letter
to the judiciary.
He
called for Tajzadeh’s case to be “examined in an open court session” by an
“impartial” prosecutor, according to the letter published in local media.
Formed
in March 2021 by close associates of reformist former president Mohammad
Khatami, the Front brings together parties and movements from Iran’s reformist
camp.
Tajzadeh
served as deputy interior minister under Khatami, who held office from 1997 to
2005.
The
65-year-old’s trial began last week at a branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Court.
According
to the judicial authority’s news agency Mizan Online, Tajzadeh faced “three
counts, including conspiracy against national security.”
He
also faces accusations of “publishing lies to disturb public opinion,” the Mehr
news agency has reported.
Tajzadeh
had previously served seven years in prison, having been arrested in 2009
during protests disputing the re-election of then president Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.
He
declined to speak in court during last week’s hearing after a request for him
to talk one-on-one with his lawyer was rejected, the defense said.
Tajzadeh
“did nothing but express his opinions,” the Reform Front said, adding that he
has been held in “solitary confinement” since his arrest.
He
had made an unsuccessful attempt to run in Iran’s presidential elections in
2021, but his candidacy was rejected.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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Palestinians
call for defending Al-Aqsa on arson anniversary
Nour
Abu Eisha
21.08.2022
GAZA
CITY, Palestine
Palestinian
resistance groups on Sunday called for defending the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque
in occupied East Jerusalem against Israeli violations.
Palestinians
mark the 53rd anniversary of an arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist
Australian tourist Denis Michael Rohan in 1969.
In
a statement, the Hamas group called on the Arab and Muslim nations “to shoulder
their historic responsibility towards protecting Al-Aqsa against plots to
Judaize it.”
“Jerusalem
and Al-Aqsa are the core of the conflict with the enemy and the compass for
unifying our people and nation,” it said.
“There
is no sovereignty or legitimacy to the occupation on any inch of Al-Aqsa
Mosque,” Hamas stressed.
Islamic
Jihad group, for its part, called on Palestinians to continue defending Al-Aqsa
Mosque “by all means”.
“Resistance
in all forms is the key to defending Jerusalem, which will remain Arab and
Islamic,” the movement said in a statement.
On
August 21, 1969, extremist Michael Rohan set fire to Al-Aqsa Mosque, destroying
several parts of the historic mosque, including a 1,000-year-old wood-and-ivory
pulpit dating back to the time of celebrated Muslim conqueror Saladin.
The
blaze also destroyed the mihrab (prayer niche) of Muslim Caliph Omar bin
al-Khattab, along with large sections of the mosque’s heavily-ornamented
interior and gilded wooden dome.
Two
days after the attack, Rohan was arrested by the Israeli authorities, who said
he suffered from severe mental illness, eventually deporting him back to his
native Australia.
Muslim
countries responded to the incident by establishing the multilateral
Organization of the Islamic Conference, which was later renamed the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
On
Sept. 15, 1969, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 271, which condemned
the destructive attack on the mosque and chastised the Israeli government for
failing to respect UN decisions.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Abbas
calls for release of all Palestinians held by Israel
Awad
al-Rujoub
21.08.2022
RAMALLAH,
Palestine
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas has called for the release of all Palestinian detainees
from Israeli jails.
"We
must continue our demand for addressing the Palestinian refugee issue and the
release of all the brave detainees," Abbas said at an inauguration
ceremony for two charitable projects in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
According
to Palestinian figures, there are nearly 4,550 Palestinian detainees in Israeli
jails, including 175 minors and 27 female detainees, along with 670 detainees
held under the Israeli administrative detention without charge or trial.
On
Saturday, Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails threatened to stage an
open-ended hunger strike to protest Israeli abuses.
For
years, Palestinians jailed by Israel have used hunger strike to demand better
living conditions and an end to indefinite detentions.
Abbas
vowed that the Palestinians will not leave their occupied territories.
“We
will not leave out country whatsoever the conditions are," he said.
In
1993, the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel signed
the Oslo agreement, which gave Palestinians a form of civil rule, but
negotiations failed to complete the agreement and lead to a Palestinian state.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Israeli
forces do not allow hunger-striking Palestinian inmate’s wife from visiting her
husband
21
August 2022
The
wife of Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh, who is on a months-long hunger
strike, says Israeli forces have prevented her from entering the occupied
territories through a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank to visit her
critically ill husband.
Dalal
Awawdeh told Palestine’s official Wafa news agency on Sunday that she was
denied entry into the occupied territories
via Tarqumia checkpoint, located south of the West Bank, saying the
regime forces claimed that her entry permit had expired the previous night.
She
noted that her husband’s health condition has reached a critical stage as a
result of his prolonged hunger strike in protest at his indefinite, unfair and
unexplained imprisonment at the hands of the Tel Aviv regime, adding he has
lost half of his weight and his ability to speak.
However,
she said, her husband’s morale remains high, stressing that he will press ahead
with his hunger strike until he is granted a full release.
Awawdeh,
a father of four, is one of several Palestinian prisoners who have gone on
prolonged hunger strikes over the years to protest so-called administrative
detention, which allows Israel to hold prisoners without charge practically
indefinitely.
The
40-year-old Palestinian inmate, from the West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron),
was arrested on December 27, 2021. He went on hunger strike for 111 days before
suspending it following promises that his administrative detention would not be
renewed. After the promises turned out to be false, he resumed the strike,
demanding his freedom. Israel issued an order to renew his administrative
detention for a period of four months from June 26 to October 25 despite his
highly critical health condition.
On
Friday, an Israeli military court urgently suspended the administrative
detention of the hunger-striking Palestinian.
His
lawyers say Awawdeh’s “hunger strike will not be suspended because he is asking
for his release and not for a freeze of his detention.”
Thousands
of Palestinians are held in Israeli jails. Human rights organizations say
Israel violates all the rights and freedoms granted to prisoners by the Geneva
Convention. They say administrative detention violates the right to due process
since the evidence is withheld from prisoners while they are held for lengthy
periods without being charged, tried, or convicted.
Palestinian
detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes in an attempt
to express outrage at the detentions.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
US
commits to Afghan asset talks despite frustration with Taliban: Sources
22 August,
2022
US
President Joe Biden’s administration will press ahead with talks on releasing
billions of dollars in Afghanistan’s foreign-held assets despite the late al
Qaeda leader’s presence in Kabul and foot-dragging by the Taliban and Afghan
central bank, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation.
The
decision to pursue the initiative to help stabilize Afghanistan’s collapsed
economy underscores growing concern in Washington over a humanitarian crisis as
the United Nations warns that nearly half the country’s 40 million people face
“acute hunger” as winter approaches.
At
the core of the US-led effort, as Reuters reported last month, is a plan to
transfer billions in foreign-held Afghan central bank assets into a proposed
Swiss-based trust fund. Disbursements would be made with the help of an
international board and bypass the Taliban, many of whose leaders are under US
and UN sanctions.
The
extremists presented a counterproposal in talks in Doha in late June.
US
State Department and Treasury officials told independent analysts at an Aug. 11
briefing - 12 days after a CIA drone strike killed al Qaeda leader Ayman
al-Zawahiri on a balcony of his Kabul safehouse - they will pursue the talks
despite frustration with the pace, two sources said on condition of anonymity.
The
Taliban and Afghan central bank – known by the initials DAB - are not acting
swiftly, a US official said, according to one source. “The Taliban sit on their
hands and it’s infuriating.”
The
State Department declined to comment on the briefing.
A
knowledgeable US source who requested anonymity confirmed the briefing’s
substance.
“The
strike did not change the US government’s commitment to setting up the
international trust fund” and it is “working with the same speed and alacrity
as before the strike,” said the US source.
The
Taliban-run foreign and information ministries and DAB did not immediately
respond to requests for comment.
US
officials also have discussed the trust fund plan with Switzerland and other
parties.
Afghanistan’s
economic and humanitarian crises deepened when Washington and other donors
halted aid that funded 70 percent of the government budget following the
Taliban’s seizure of Kabul on Aug. 15, 2021, as the last US-led foreign troops
departed after 20 years of war.
Washington
also stopped flying in hard currency, effectively paralyzing Afghanistan’s
banking system, and froze $7 billion in Afghan assets in the US Federal Reserve
Bank of New York. In February, Biden ordered half the sum set aside “for the
benefit of the Afghan people.”
Other
countries hold some $2 billion of Afghan reserves.
Initially,
the $3.5 billion Biden sequestered would be released into the proposed trust
fund and potentially could be used to pay Afghanistan’s World Bank arrears and
for printing Afghanis, the national currency, and passports, both in short
supply.
The
other $3.5 billion is being contested in lawsuits against the Taliban stemming
from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US, but courts could decide to release
those funds too.
The
assets also eventually could go to recapitalizing DAB, bolstering its ability
to regulate the Afghani’s value, fight inflation, and provide hard currency for
imports.
But
after Zawahiri was killed, the State Department excluded recapitalizing DAB as
“a near-term option,” saying that by harboring the al Qaeda leader in breach of
the 2020 US troop pullout deal, the Taliban had fueled concerns “regarding
diversion of funds to terrorist groups.”
Central
bank militants
Two
sources quoted the US officials as telling the briefing that proceeding with
the talks has become more difficult because of Taliban resistance to several
internationally backed demands.
One
calls for replacing the two senior militants heading DAB - one is under US and
UN sanctions - with experienced professionals to help build confidence that the
bank was insulated from Taliban interference.
The
Taliban and DAB also have not formally agreed to installing independent anti-money
laundering monitors at the bank although they have consented in principle, the
officials said, according to the sources.
The
officials, the sources said, presented examples of what they described as
Taliban and DAB intransigence.
They
included refusing to cooperate with a UN-administered scheme to funnel badly
needed international aid funds held by the World Bank to humanitarian agencies
in Kabul.
The
officials also told the briefing that Washington in March asked other
governments to encourage private banks to restore “correspondent” relationships
with Afghanistan by which international transactions are facilitated, the
sources said.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Republican
House members condemn Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan in new report
August
21, 2022
CHICAGO:
Republican members of the US House Committee on Foreign Relations issued a
scathing rebuke of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, citing
worrisome trends including the oppression of Afghan women and abandonment of
allies.
The
151-page report titled “A Strategic Failure: Assessing the Administrations
Afghanistan Withdrawal” released Aug. 18, supplements similar conclusions in a
February 2022 report by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee titled “Left
Behind: A Brief Assessment of the Biden Administration’s Strategic Failures
during Afghanistan Evacuation.”
The
new report begins citing the Taliban’s “rule of terror” and continued
oppression of women. The old Taliban government gave Al-Qaeda sanctuary,
allowing it to plan terrorist attacks culminating in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks
that killed nearly 3,000 people.
“A
week into the evacuation, it was clear women and girls were at a distinct
disadvantage in their attempts to get to safety. Women who attempted to get
through the crowds at HKIA (Kabul International Airport) were beaten and shot
at for not being accompanied by a male, sexually assaulted, trampled, and
forced to stand in wastewater for hours — only to be turned away if they did
not have the right piece of paper or had not been hand-selected because of a
political connection,” the report said.
Worse,
it concludes, Biden failed to prevent the release of “thousands of Al-Qaeda,
ISIS (Daesh) and Taliban prisoners from Afghanistan government prisons.”
Three
months after taking office, Biden announced his decision to formally withdraw
US forces by Sept. 11, 2021, but according to the report failed to take action
to prepare for the withdrawal for more than four months afterwards, allowing
the Taliban to seize power.
The
report challenges Biden’s principles, in which he asserted that he had
consulted on the withdrawal with allies and senior military advisors, and that
withdrawing was the only way to prevent returning to war. Biden claimed Afghan
forces could defend their country without direct US aid, and blamed former
President Donald Trump’s 2020 Doha Agreement as having “forced” the withdrawal.
Biden
added the US mission to kill Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden and eradicate the
terrorist organization had been achieved.
“However,
the Committee Minority now believes none of these claims were accurate. And
worse, President Biden was likely aware they were not accurate when he made his
case to the American people in April 2021,” the GOP leadership concluded.
“There
is ample evidence, including direct testimony from American military leaders
and top NATO allies that they supported a continued conditions-based deployment
in Afghanistan. They believed the best option was to keep an advisory and
counterterrorism mission in place that consisted of 2,500 US military personnel
along with 6,000 mostly NATO forces.”
The
House Foreign Affairs Committee’ lead Republican, Sen. Michael McCaul, said:
“There are many sins, if you will. There was a complete lack of, and a failure
to plan. There was no plan, and there was no plan executed ... We had to rely
on the Taliban to secure the perimeter of HKIA. That led to the chaos. And it
also led to the suicide bomber that killed 13 service members, men and women,
and injured hundreds of people. And it could have been avoided.”
Biden’s
failure to follow up and plan the withdrawal resulted in “the Aug. 26, 2021
bombing at Abbey Gate that resulted in the death of 13 US service members and
160 Afghans, and the wounding of 45 additional US service members.”
Many
US citizens were left behind during the withdrawal to fend for themselves in
Afghanistan.
Biden
was more concerned, according to the report, with avoiding a repeat of the
iconic image that reflected the chaos of the withdrawal from Vietnam on April
30, 1975, of the last helicopter lifting off from the US Embassy in Saigon,
leaving thousands of desperate Vietnamese who helped the Americans to fend for
themselves as the Viet Cong approached. Many helicopters were pushed off of an
aircraft carrier to make room for others filled with fleeing soldiers.
The
Afghanistan withdrawal has “degraded” the image of the US’s standing in the
world and broke promises to Afghans who worked for the US that they would be
rescued, but never were able to leave. A year later, no planning was ever
undertaken to rescue the Afghan allies.
“Since
seizing control, Taliban fighters have reportedly engaged in targeted revenge killings,
with reports of hundreds of reprisals being carried out. Taliban militants have
also seized land from former government officials and minority groups such as
the Hazara, threatening people with violence if they refuse to surrender their
property to the Taliban,” the report details.
One
investigation in April 2022 found nearly 500 former Afghan government officials
and members of the Afghan security forces “were killed or forcibly disappeared
during the Taliban’s first six months in power.”
These
reprisal attacks, documented by US-based volunteer groups seeking to aid Afghan
evacuees, have included “beheadings, hangings, severed limbs, lash marks,
bullet-ridden bodies inside a car.”
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2147201/world
--------
Europe
Leaders
of US, UK, France, and Germany Discuss Iran Nuclear Issue
21
August, 2022
The
leaders of the US, Britain, France and Germany discussed efforts to revive the
2015 Iran nuclear deal, the White House said on Sunday in a statement largely
focused on Ukraine.
“In
addition, they discussed ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, the
need to strengthen support for partners in the Middle East region, and joint
efforts to deter and constrain Iran’s destabilizing regional activities,” the
White House said in its description of the call among the four.
The
White House provided no further details regarding the Middle Eastern portion of
the discussion among US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The
European Union and US last week said they were studying Iran's response to what
the EU has called its “final” proposal to revive the deal, under which Tehran
curbed its nuclear program in return for economic sanctions relief.
Failure
in the nuclear negotiations could raise the risk of a fresh regional war, with
Israel threatening military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to prevent
Tehran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.
Iran,
which has long denied having such ambitions, has warned of a “crushing”
response to any Israeli attack.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
UK
foreign secretary urged to take action on Saudi woman jailed for 34 years over
tweets
21
August 2022
British
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has been urged to intervene in the case of Salma al-Shehab,
a Leeds University student and Saudi women's rights activist that has been
sentenced to 34 years in prison for following and retweeting the critics of the
kingdom on Twitter.
Hilary
Benn, a Labour MP, said in a letter to Truss on Sunday that the UK must
intervene and has a “duty” to press for the release of Shehab, calling on the
British foreign secretary to “make representations to the Saudi authorities”
for Shehab “so that she can be freed to return to her family and to her
studies.”
Benn
said the case is “completely at odds with Saudi Arabia’s claim to be improving
human rights,” adding, “It seems that all she has done is use her Twitter
account to support women’s rights and greater freedom, and to call for the
release of imprisoned activists in Saudi Arabia.”
Benn
stressed, “Saudi Arabia says, ‘we’re reforming the country.’ You can’t on the
one hand say, ‘we are opening up and liberalizing the country,’ and on the
other hand send a woman to prison for expressing her opinions on Twitter.”
Calling
the case “shocking and outrageous,” the Labour MP said, “I think we have a duty
as citizens and countries to speak out wherever human rights are abused and
denied in this way. The fact that she was a student in one of our universities
adds to that obligation.”
Shehab,
34, a mother of two young children and a student at Leeds University, was
detained in Saudi Arabia in January 2021 when she was visiting home for a
vacation. She was initially sentenced to six years in prison for using social
media to “disturb public order and destabilize the security and stability of
the state.”
However,
an appeals court last week handed down a 34-year prison sentence followed by a
34-year travel ban, after a public prosecutor asked the court to consider other
alleged crimes.
Shehab
has described suffering abuse and harassment behind bars, telling a Saudi court
she was subjected to interrogations after being given medications that
exhausted her.
Several
human rights organizations, including the Human Rights Foundation, the Freedom
Initiative, the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) and ALQST
for Human Rights, have also condemned the ruling against the Saudi women's
rights activist, and called for her release.
Ever
since Mohammed bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader in 2017, the
kingdom has arrested hundreds of activists, bloggers, intellectuals and others
for their political activism, showing almost zero tolerance for dissent even in
the face of international condemnation of the crackdown.
Muslim
scholars have been executed and women’s rights campaigners have been put behind
bars and tortured as freedom of expression, association, and belief continue to
be denied by the kingdom's authorities.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Plagued
by cost-of-living crisis, UK resorts to war-torn Syria with offer of lower
tariffs
19
August 2022
The
UK has promised to liberalize trade with Syria, offering lower tariffs to the
war-torn country as part of plans to bring its cost-of-living crisis under
control.
The
Department for International Trade announced earlier this week that it is set
to unilaterally offer improved trading terms to Bashar Assad’s government and
seven other developing countries, which will be included in a new post-Brexit
“enhanced preferences” scheme.
The
UK government plans to cut tariffs for those countries by 85 percent in a bid
to cut the cost of imports for British consumers and decrease the burden of
soaring prices for people.
UK
imports from Syria last year, including textiles, vegetables and sugar, were
about £2m, while the exports, including dairy products, machinery and
electrical goods, were around £4m.
The
UK government is resorting to any method to fix its inflation-hit economy,
which has witnessed skyrocketing energy prices, especially after imposing
sanctions on Russian energy over the Ukraine war.
The
decision comes at a time when most European countries are grappling with a
severe energy crisis after losing access to Russian fuel.
Meanwhile,
British officials have said that the “robust sanctions” on Damascus meant the
Syrian government “could not benefit from enhanced preferences,” putting doubt
over British claims that the economic strategy seeks to help developing
nations.
Since
the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011, the UK government has been
funding militants seeking to overthrow the Assad government. In 2018, the UK
took part in US-led missile strikes against Syria. In March 2021, the British
government slapped sanctions on key allies of President Assad.
The
UK is also currently funding Kurdish-run prisons in Syria, where hundreds of
children are being held in dire conditions, despite the UN’s warning to London
that funding “mass arbitrary detention centers is incompatible with the
International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights.”
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Africa
Somali
forces end 30-hour hotel siege by Islamic militants as death toll rises to 20
Maanya
Sachdeva
August
22, 2022
Somali
security forces say they have regained control of a hotel in the capital
Mogadishu after it was stormed by al-Shabaab militants on Friday evening.
At
least 20 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in the deadly attack,
when gunmen from the al-Qaeda-linked outfit stormed Hotel Hayat – a venue that
is popular with Somali lawmakers.
Police
commissioner Abdi Hassan Hijar said the siege had ended around midnight on Sunday
after Somalia’s elite armed forces had battled the gunmen for 30 hours. He also
said security forces had rescued 106 hostages from the hotel.
However,
the police have not yet given a detailed explanation of how the attack
unfolded, and it remains unclear how many gunmen entered the hotel.
According
to news reports, the attackers struck the hotel on Friday evening, detonating
two car bombs. They then entered the facility, firing their guns, and seized
control.
Ismail
Abdi, the hotel’s manager, said the siege had ended but security forces were
still working to clear the area.
No
gunfire was heard after 9am local time on Sunday, and onlookers gathered
outside the gates of the badly damaged hotel.
The
fatal attack on Hotel Hayat marks the first major terror incident in Mogadishu
since Somalia’s new leader, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took over in May this year.
The
al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group claimed responsibility for the attack shortly
after it began, according to a translation by the SITE Intelligence Group,
which monitors statements issued by jihadi groups.
Al-Shabaab
has been fighting to topple the Somalian government for more than a decade, and
wants to establish its own government that would rule in accordance with a
strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Source:
Independent UK
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/somalia-hotel-siege-al-shabaab-latest-b2149448.html
--------
Gov.
Buni reacts to murder of Islamic cleric, Sheikh Aisami, demands investigation
August
21, 2022
By
Shehu Usman
Governor
Mai Mala Buni has condoled with the family, people of Bade Local Government
Area and the entire State over the death of an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Goni
Aisami.
Buni
in a statement via his media aide, Mamman Mohammed described the circumstances
surrounding the death of the cleric as sad, regrettable and most unfortunate.
The
Governor said, “I am deeply saddened by the sad news of the death of Sheikh
Goni Aisami.
“The
alleged circumstances surrounding the death is most unfortunate and will be
investigated thoroughly.
“Government
will ensure that every detail is investigated and anyone found wanting, will
face the full wrath of the law.
“The
State government will work closely with the security agencies to unravel every
detail to ensure justice is done.
“Government
will continue to ensure crime is reduced to its barest minimum in the State and
criminals are punished accordingly”.
He
prayed to Allah (SWT) for the repose of the soul of the deceased and to grant
Sheikh Aisami Aljannatur Firdaus.
The
Governor also prayed to Allah to grant the family, Bade Emirate and the people
of the State the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, while calling on the
people to remain calm and law abiding as investigation was still on-going and
would be pursued to a logical conclusion.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
OIC
leads global condemnation of terror attack in Somalia
GOBRAN
MOHAMED
August
21, 2022
CAIRO:
Members of the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the UN on
Sunday joined Somalia’s allies — including the US, Britain, Egypt, and Turkey —
in condemning the terrorist attack in Mogadishu, which killed at least 21
people.
Police
and the military in Mogadishu announced on Sunday that Somali forces had
concluded a siege at the Hayat and had freed 106 people, including women and
children.
Hissein
Brahim Taha, OIC secretary-general, expressed his strong condemnation of the
heinous act and his solidarity with the victims’ families, the government, and
the people of Somalia.
He
reiterated the OIC’s principled position against terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations.
UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, according to an
official statement that said the UN supported the people of Somalia “in their
fight against terrorism and their march toward peace.”
Saudi
Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its strong condemnation and
denunciation of the terrorist attack.
It
affirmed the Kingdom’s position of “rejecting all forms of violence, extremism,
and terrorism, expressing condolences and sympathies to the families of the
victims, the brotherly Somali government, and people.”
The
Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Egypt affirmed its “full solidarity
with Somalia in this painful affliction, stressing its total rejection of all
forms of violence, extremism, and terrorism.”
ATMIS,
the African Union force tasked with helping Somali forces take over primary
responsibility for security by the end of 2024, also condemned the attack.
Somalia's
elite armed forces battled the militants for 30 hours from Friday evening after
the attackers blasted and shot their way into the hotel, which is popular with
MPs and other government officials.
Three
attackers were shot dead during the military operation to end the siege, police
said.
Police
Commissioner Abdi Hassan Mohamed Hijar said that 106 people, including children
and women, were rescued during the siege.
The
Al-Shabab extremist group, which has ties with Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility
for the attack, the latest of its frequent attempts to strike places visited by
government officials.
Samira
Gaid, executive director of the Hiraal Institute, a Mogadishu-based security
think tank, said the “audacious attack” was a message to the new government and
its foreign allies.
“The
complex attack is to show that they are still very much present, very relevant
and that they can penetrate government security and conduct such attacks,” she
said.
Survivor
Aden Ali said he was drinking tea at the hotel when he heard the first blast.
He ran toward the compound wall with others as the militants fired at them.
“We
were many on the run, over a dozen. When I went out of the hotel, I could see
eight of us. May- be the rest died in the shooting,” Ali said.
Another
group of people in the hotel fled to an upper floor, where they were killed by
terrorists who first blew up the stairs to prevent escape, he added.
Health
Minister Dr. Ali Haji Adam reported 21 deaths and 117 people wounded, with at
least 15 in critical condition. He said some victims may not have been taken to
hospital.
In
early May, terrorists attacked a military base for African Union peacekeepers
outside Mogadishu, killing Burundian troops.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2147091/middle-east
--------
Army
breaks silence as police nab two soldiers for allegedly killing Islamic cleric
August
22, 2022
By
Shehu Usman
The
headquarters of Sector Operation Hadin Kai has said it is carrying out
investigation to unravel the identity of the two suspected soldiers alleged to
have murdered Sheikh Goni Aisami in cold blood.
Assistant
Director, Army Public Relations of the Sector, Captain Kennedy Anyanwu
disclosed this in a statement to newsmen on Sunday.
He
noted that the Sector had also instituted a Board of Inquiry to unravel the
circumstance surrounding the unfortunate incident.
“At
the end of the investigation, the soldiers would be made to face the full wrath
of both military and civil laws.
“This
incident is highly regrettable given the Sector’s disposition and zero
tolerance for violation of Code of Conduct and Rules of engagement for troops”,
Capt. Anyanwu said.
Source:
Daily Post Nigeria
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
PM
Ismail Sabri joins almost 10,000 congregants in ‘solat hajat’ at Putra Mosque
21
Aug 2022
PUTRAJAYA,
Aug 21 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob nearly 10,000
congregants at the Putra Mosque here tonight to offer prayers in conjunction
with the ‘Munajat Keluarga Malaysia’ programme.
He
arrived at the mosque at 8.24 pm, and was then accompanied by Minister in the
Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad to a meal
before joining the congregational Isyak prayer.
Senior
Public Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Minister of Communications and
Multimedia Tan Sri Annuar Musa and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri
Mohd Zuki Ali were among those present at the event.
The
Isyak prayer was led by the Grand Imam of the Putra Mosque Salahuddin Ghozali
while the Solat Hajat was led by Federal Territories Mufti Datuk Dr Luqman Abdullah.
This
was followed by the reading of the ‘zikr munajat’ and ‘qasidah’ led by several
famous celebrities including Munif Ahmad.
Ismail
Sabri also distributed aid to several tahfiz centres, welfare institutions and
orphanages.
The
programme organised by the Islamic Dakwah Foundation Malaysia (Yadim) was held
in conjunction with Ismail Sabri’s one year at the helm of the government. It
was conducted simultaneously in six locations, namely Putrajaya, Kedah, Pahang,
Sabah, Sarawak and Johor.
Source:
Malay Mail
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Enforcement
against deviationist Muslim groups is by state religious dept: Idris
08-
21- 2022
BUKIT
GANTANG: Enforcement action against deviationist Muslim groups is the
jurisdiction of the Islamic Religious Department in the respective states, said
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris
Ahmad.
He
said the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) acts as the
coordinator whereby, it will inform the respective State Islamic Religious
Department if there is any complaint on deviationist teachings for action to be
taken.
He
advised Muslims seeking to further their knowledge in Islam to go to learned teachers
with in-depth knowledge of the true teachings of the religion.
“Don’t
go to teachers whose background we don’t even know,” he told a press conference
after attending a sales programme for constituents of Bukit Gantang in Kampung
Sungai Tinggi Trong, today.
Source:
The Sun Daily
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of the original story:
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Maria
allowed to mount challenge against shariah court’s contempt order
Ho
Kit Yen
August
22, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR: The High Court has allowed Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah’s bid
to commence a legal challenge against a show cause order issued by the shariah
court for contempt over her statement that “insulted” the Islamic judicial
system.
Judge
Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh granted Maria leave to commence her judicial review
during an online proceeding today.
“She
has come to court, complaining that her rights under Article 5 of the Federal
Constitution are at stake as the contempt procedure under the Syariah Court
Civil Procedure (Federal Territories) Act is unconstitutional.
“It
does not matter if she is an MP or hawker, the court will not stand idly blind.
“She
has adduced enough material in arguing the contempt proceeding could be tainted
with procedural impropriety,” the judge said.
The
court also made an order for the proceedings before the shariah courts to be
stayed pending disposal of her judicial review hearing.
In
her bid to initiate a judicial review, Maria wants the High Court to quash a
shariah court order on Oct 14, 2019 that allowed businessman SM Faisal SM
Nasimuddin to initiate contempt proceedings against her.
She
claimed the order was made in bad faith.
Maria
had, on Sept 5, 2019, issued a press statement saying “Muslim women are still
being discriminated (against) under Malaysia’s shariah legal system”.
She
had said the shariah court’s decision to sentence Faisal’s former wife, Emilia
Hanafi, to seven days in prison for rescheduling his visitation dates for her
children was a “grave injustice” and a “total disgrace to the judicial system”.
Emilia
completed her seven days‘ sentence in June.
The
shariah high court also sentenced Maria to seven days’ jail for contempt of
court on April 25.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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