Pakistan SC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance of Temple Demolition by a Mob Led By Supporters of Local Clerics
New
Age Islam News Bureau
01
January 2021
Hindu shrine razed by a mob led by supporters of
local clerics in Karak district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
-----
•
In Late Trump Salvo, US Rejects UN Budget over Disagreements on Israel and Iran
•
UN Condemns Iran's 'Appalling' Execution of Young Offenders
•
Fake Federations of Fatwa Are Enemies of Humanity: Union Minority Affairs Minister
•
China Offering Bounties for Attacks on US Troops in Afghanistan: Reports
•
Israel Says It Hit 50 Targets in Syria In 2020 Including Govt, Iran, Hezbollah
Forces
•
Ethiopian Forces Killed Scores in Unrest after Singer’s Death, Says Report
Pakistan
•
Pakistan SC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance of Temple Demolition by a Mob Led By
Supporters of Local Clerics
•
Provincial Government to Pay for Pakistan Hindu Temple Destroyed By Mob
•
Pakistan, India Exchange Nuclear Installations List In Annual Practice
•
Pak Hindus Stage Protest against Demolition of Temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
•
JUI-F leaders among 31 arrested over Hindu shrine attack in Karak
•
Durrani meets Fazl to coax him into avoiding confrontation
•
PDM huddle today after PPP ‘somersault’
•
Mufti Muneeb announces drive against FATF-related law
•
Chinese, Pakistani FMs agree on need to deepen cooperation
--------
North
America
•
In Late Trump Salvo, US Rejects UN Budget over Disagreements on Israel and Iran
•
Trump desperately trying to trigger war with Iran: Academic
•
China Offered Bounties to Fighters In Afghanistan Who Attacked US Soldiers?
•
US to send home only Navy aircraft carrier operating in Middle East amid Iran
tension
•
Cuban president slams US plan to place island on terrorism list
--------
Mideast
•
UN Condemns Iran's 'Appalling' Execution of Young Offenders
•
Houthi hails 'balanced deterrence' against Saudi Arabia, predicts 'victory' for
Yemen
•
Israel’s settlement approvals in 2020 highest on record: Palestinian NGO
•
Senior Diplomat Highlights US Heavy Defeat against Iran at UNSC
•
Hamas arrests Palestinian for taking down banner of Iran’s Soleimani in Gaza
•
Iran's Zarif: Intelligence from Iraq shows Trump aims to fabricate 'pretext for
war'
•
Israeli regime’s attempts to Judaize occupied Jerusalem al-Quds will fail,
Hamas says
--------
India
•
Fake Federations of Fatwa Are Enemies of Humanity: Union Minority Affairs
Minister
•
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya Opposes Renaming Of Bengaluru Roads, Says, This Is
Dangerous And Must Be Condemned
•
4 Booked In First Case under U'khand Anti-Conversion Law
•
India Lodges Strong Protest With Pakistan over Demolition of Temple
•
J&K-based Punjabi jeweller gets domicile, shot dead by terrorists
•
Not disputing slain youths were ‘terrorists’: J&K DGP
•
225 terrorists killed in J&K in 2020: DGP J&K
•
Pakistan troops violate ceasefire along LoC, target mosques and houses in
Kupwara
--------
South
Asia
•
China Offering Bounties for Attacks on US Troops in Afghanistan: Reports
•
Freezing Climate: Challenges Afghan Children’s Survival
•
A Nangarhar Reporter Realizes, Individual Killed in IED Blast Is His Brother
--------
Arab
World
•
Israel Says It Hit 50 Targets in Syria In 2020 Including Govt, Iran, Hezbollah Forces
•
Syria War killed 6,800 in 2020, lowest annual toll: Monitor
•
Saudi warplanes bomb Yemeni capital after blast at Aden airport
•
US troops shoot dead Syrian child in Hasakah Province
•
Roadside bomb explosion targets US-led coalition military convoy in southern
Iraq
--------
Africa
•
Ethiopian Forces Killed Scores in Unrest after Singer’s Death, Says Report
•
Is Boko Haram Gaining Foothold in Nigeria's Northwest?
•
‘Our children die in our hands’: Floods ravage South Sudan
--------
Europe
•
Italy Slams Egypt's Decision To Clear Police In Italian Student Regeni's Murder
•
ISIS claims knife attack by two assailants in capital of Russia’s southern
Chechnya
--------
Southeast
Asia
•
Mahathir Slams ‘Lie’ That PN A Malay-Muslim Govt
•
Indira Gandhi’s 2021 journey to reunite with stolen daughter
•
DAP can’t win beyond 18 federal seats? We’ve done it thrice before without your
help, Kit Siang tells Dr Mahathir
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pakistan-sc-takes-suo-motu/d/123947
--------
Pakistan
SC Takes Suo Motu Cognisance of Temple Demolition by a Mob Led By Supporters of
Local Clerics
Dec
31, 2020
Hindu shrine razed by a mob led by supporters of
local clerics in Karak district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
-----
ISLAMABAD:
Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed took suo motu cognisance on Thursday of
the razing of a Hindu shrine by a mob led by supporters of local clerics in
Karak district of Northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The
case is to be taken up for hearing on January 5. Chief justice Ahmed directed
the chairman of the minority rights commission, police chief and chief
secretary of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to submit a report regarding the incident by
January 4.
A
notification issued by the apex court stated that the chief justice took notice
of the incident after meeting Pakistan Hindu Council patron-in-chief Ramesh
Kumar. “I trust the judiciary to deliver justice in the case,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile,
police arrested 14 people in overnight raids and claimed that more raids were
underway to arrest individuals who participated or provoked the mob to demolish
the shrine.
The
shrine was attacked on Wednesday after members of the Hindu community received
permission from local authorities to renovate the building. According to
witnesses, the mob was led by a local cleric and supporters of a religious
political party.
Eyewitnesses
claimed that the clerics led the mob to the shrine to force a halt to the
construction. Several rioters, they said, had grown incensed by the rhetoric
and set fire to the shrine before using construction tools to destroy it.
The
samadhi (shrine) of Shri Paramhans Ji Maharaj is considered sacred by the Hindu
community and Hindu devotees, especially from Sindh, who used to visit it
frequently.
This
wasn’t the first time that the shrine has been targeted by bigots. In 1997, a
group of Muslim fanatics destroyed it. Since its refurbishment in 2015, it has
had police and guards stationed outside.
The
temple’s destruction drew condemnation from human rights activists and the
minority Hindu community.
Chela
Ram Kewlani, chairman of the National Commission on Minorities, strongly
condemned the incident, saying that those responsible cannot be called human
beings. “This is indeed a black day for all of us. I request people from all
religions to come forward and support the cause so that strict action is taken
against the people responsible for it,” he said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pak-sc-takes-suo-motu-cognisance-of-temple-demolition/articleshow/80051266.cms
--------
In
Late Trump Salvo, US Rejects UN Budget Over Disagreements On Israel And Iran
01
January 2021
President Donald Trump
-----
President
Donald Trump's outgoing administration on Thursday fired a late salvo against
the United Nations by voting against its budget, citing disagreements on Israel
and Iran, but it found virtually no international support.
Only
Israel voted with the United States, with 167 nations in favor, as the General
Assembly closed the year by approving the $3.231 billion UN budget for 2021.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Kelly
Craft, the US ambassador to the United Nations, voiced objections that the
budget would fund a 20th anniversary event for the 2001 UN conference on racism
in Durban, South Africa, where the United States walked out in solidarity with
Israel over what it said was a fixation by Muslim-majority countries against
the Jewish state.
The
United States, the biggest funder of the UN, "called for this vote to make
clear that we stand by our principles, stand up for what is right and never
accept consensus for consensus's sake," Craft said on the General Assembly
floor.
"Twenty
years on, there remains nothing about the Durban Declaration to celebrate or to
endorse. It is poisoned by anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias," she said.
Israel's
ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said that the Durban conference "will
become another meeting demonizing the Jewish state -- it will be used once
again to slander us and to launch false accusations of racism against Jewish
self-determination."
The
General Assembly separately approved a resolution backing follow-up efforts on
the Durban conference.
That
resolution passed 106-14 with 44 abstentions. The United States and Israel were
joined in voting no by Western powers including Britain, France and Germany.
Craft
also complained about how the United States received almost no support in the
world body in September when it declared that UN sanctions against Iran had
come back into force.
The
Trump administration said it was triggering UN sanctions due to alleged Iranian
violations of a nuclear deal negotiated by former president Barack Obama, but
even US allies scoffed at the argument that Washington remained a participant
in an accord that Trump had loudly rejected.
"The
US doesn't need a cheering section to validate its moral compass," Craft
said.
"We
don't find comfort based on the number of nations voting with us, particularly
when the majority have found themselves in an uncomfortable position of
underwriting terrorism, chaos and conflict."
Craft
said that the US vote would not change its UN contribution, including 25
percent of peacekeeping expenditures and some $9 billion a year in
UN-channelled humanitarian relief.
President-elect
Joe Biden is expected to seek a more cooperative relationship with the UN
including stopping a US exit from the World Health Organization, which Trump
blamed for not doing more to stop Covid-19.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/01/In-late-Trump-salvo-US-rejects-UN-budget-over-disagreements-on-Israel-and-Iran
--------
UN
Condemns Iran's 'Appalling' Execution Of Young Offenders
31
December 2020
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, at a press conference in Geneva,
February 24, 2017 (UN screenshot).
-----
The
UN voiced outrage at the execution Thursday of a man in Iran who was only 16
when he committed his alleged crime, marking the fourth juvenile offender put
to death in the country this year.
The
UN human rights office said that Mohammad Hassan Rezaiee was executed early
Thursday.
It
did not provide further details about Rezaiee or the crime he was convicted of,
allegedly committed when he was 16.
But
according to Amnesty International, he was arrested in 2007 in connection with
the fatal stabbing of a man in a brawl and had spent more than 12 years on death
row.
"The
execution of child offenders is categorically prohibited under international
law and Iran is under the obligation to abide by this prohibition," UN
rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement.
The
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, "strongly
condemns the killing," she added.
Shamdasani
said the rights office was dismayed that the execution had taken place despite
its efforts to engage with Tehran on the case.
"There
are deeply troubling allegations that forced confessions extracted through
torture were used in the conviction of Mr. Rezaiee," she said, adding that
there were also "numerous other serious concerns about violations of his
fair-trial rights."
She
noted that Rezaiee's execution, the fourth of a juvenile offender in 2020, had
come shortly after a series of other executions in Iran.
The
December 12 execution of the France-based dissident Ruhollah Zam sparked an
international outcry, with Western governments accusing Tehran of abducting him
abroad to put him on trial.
And
Shamdasani noted that at least eight people were executed at different prisons
across the country between December 19 and 26 alone.
She
warned that unconfirmed reports suggested that at least eight others were at
risk of "imminent execution".
Many
people convicted of committing crimes as minors are awaiting execution in the
country.
"The
UN has repeatedly urged Iran to cease the appalling practice of executing child
offenders, but we understand that at least 80 child offenders remain on death
row," Shamdasani said.
Bachelet,
she said, "urges Iranian authorities to halt all executions of child
offenders and immediately review their cases in line with international human
rights law."
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/31/UN-condemns-Iran-s-appalling-execution-of-young-offenders
--------
Fake
Federations of Fatwa Are Enemies of Humanity: Union Minority Affairs Minister
December
31, 2020
New
Delhi: Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday said
that fake federations of fatwa work against the welfare of common people and
they are enemies of humanity.
"They
have opened up shops for fatwas and just like vegetable vendors go about
selling vegetables on their thelas (carts), they are going about selling fatwas
''fatwa le lo, fatwa le lo''. When the Covid-19 vaccine arrives, they will be
the ones who will be the first to take it and then they will issue a fatwa and
put the lives of others in danger," Mr Naqvi said while speaking to ANI.
"Earlier,
they used to issue fatwa against the vaccine which was given to Haj Yatris to
keep them safe. Now, they are trying to do it for the Covid-19 vaccine which is
in the offing. It is their habit. They want to play with the health and welfare
of common people. They had also raised questions on the vaccine for dengue.
They completely work against the welfare of common people and are against
humanity."
The
Minority Affairs Minister said that those who were opposing the Citizenship
Amendment Act (CAA) should realise that the government brought this law to
deliver justice to the people who were victims of cruelty in the neighbouring
countries, with a special reference to Pakistan.
"In
Pakistan, the cruelty committed against minorities is not hidden from anyone.
The people who were raising questions on CAA should understand that the
government brought this legislation to deliver justice to people who were
victims of this cruelty. Women and children are killed brutally there," he
said.
"People
who have "Bharatphobia" talk about the rights of minorities in India.
They should see and read about the situation there. Cruelty has crossed all
limits there," he added.
Mr
Naqvi further said that the world should see how minorities are being killed in
Pakistan.
Further
alluding to the situation in Pakistan, Mr Naqvi said that in a country where
there 25-26 per cent minorities at the time of independence, today there are
less than 2 per cent minorities.
"On
the contrary, in India there were 9 per cent minorities at the time of independence
and today there are more than 20 per cent," he said.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/union-minority-affairs-minister-mukhtar-abbas-naqvi-fake-federations-of-fatwa-are-enemies-of-humanity-2346262
--------
China
Offering Bounties for Attacks on US Troops in Afghanistan: Reports
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
31
Dec 2020
President
Donald Trump listens during a White House videoconference with members of the
military on Nov. 26, 2020.Erin Schaff | The New York Times | Bloomberg | Getty
Images
Trump
administration declassified an unconfirmed intelligence, showing that the
Chinese government offered bounties to nonstate bodies in Afghanistan to attack
stationed American troops, and recently the president was briefed according to
the matter.
The
revelation was first reported by Axios on Wednesday, the report is said to have
been uncorroborated
Washington
Examiner reported, that two senior administration officials separately
confirmed the reports on the declassified intelligence with the news firm.
In
a report by the POLITICO, it is said that US National Security Adviser Robert
O’Brien briefed President Donald Trump on the unconfirmed allegations on
December 17, 2020.
The
official went on to described the recent intelligence as “rumors” and lacking
“hard evidence,” Politico said in a report.
According
to POLITICO allegations involving Chinese operatives in Afghanistan is being
handled differently than those involving Moscow earlier this year.
The
US “treats this intelligence with caution, but any intelligence or reports
relating to the safety of US forces is something we take very seriously,”
officials Told Politico.
Biden
Transition team seeks to learn “as much as we can about these allegations,”
said a transition official, noting that the news is “another illustration of
why we need full cooperation” from the Pentagon, Politico Indicated.
Biden
earlier this week accused Defense Department leadership of obstructing the
transition, according to the report.
https://www.khaama.com/china-offering-bounties-for-attacks-on-us-troops-in-afghanistan-reports-66556644/
--------
Israel
says it hit 50 targets in Syria in 2020 including govt, Iran, Hezbollah forces
31
December 2020
Israel's
military, which rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria blamed on its
forces, said Thursday it had hit about 50 targets in the neighbouring country
in 2020.
The
annual report released by the Israel Defence Forces did not provide details
about the targets hit, but Israel is believed to have launched hundreds of
strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
They
have targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from the
Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The
Jewish state has consistently vowed to prevent its arch-enemy Iran gaining a
foothold in Syria, where Tehran has backed President Bashar al-Assad throughout
the nearly decade-long war.
A
military spokeswoman told AFP that figures in the report were correct as of
December 20.
The
latest strike in Syria blamed on Israel came Wednesday, when missile fire from
the Jewish state hit a military position near Damascus, Syrian news agency SANA
reported, citing a military source.
SANA
said one Syrian soldier was killed and three others wounded.
Israel's
military declined to comment on the incident.
Overall,
Israeli warplanes flew 1,400 "operational" sorties in 2020, the
report said, without elaborating.
Regarding
the Palestinian conflict, the report said 176 rockets were fired from the
Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into Israel, of which 90 fell on open ground.
It
said that Israeli missile defences had intercepted 80 rockets.
Israel
and Hamas have fought three wars since the Islamists took power in Gaza in
2007.
The
first came in December 2008, when Israel launched "Operation Cast
Lead" to stop rocket fire into Israel.
It
ended with a ceasefire in January 2009, after 1,440 Palestinians and 13
Israelis were killed.
On
Tuesday, Hamas and other armed groups staged military exercises in Gaza,
including firing rockets into the sea, to mark the anniversary of the start of
the 2008 conflict.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/31/Israel-says-it-hit-50-targets-in-Syria-in-2020-including-govt-Iran-Hezbollah-forces
--------
Ethiopian
forces killed scores in unrest after singer’s death, says report
01
January 2021
A
new report says Ethiopian security forces killed more than 75 people and
injured nearly 200 during deadly unrest in June and July after the killing of a
popular singer. More than 30 others were beheaded, tortured or dragged in the
streets by attackers amid ethnic slurs.
The
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission in its report released on Friday says 123
people in all were killed and at least 500 injured in one of the country’s
worst outbreaks of ethnic violence in years, a “widespread and systematic
attack” against civilians that points to crimes against humanity.
Ethnic
violence is a major challenge to Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister Abiy
Ahmed, who has urged national unity among more than 80 ethnic groups in
Africa’s second most populous country.
The
unrest in June and July followed the killing of singer Hachalu Hundessa, who
had been a prominent voice in the anti-government protests that led to Abiy
taking office in 2018 and announcing sweeping political reforms.
The
unrest was unrelated to the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region that
began in early November, another sign of the tensions straining the country of
some 110 million people at the heart of the Horn of Africa.
A
spokeswoman for Abiy’s office did not immediately comment. Interviews with
government officials and security figures were part of the commission’s
investigation, which also involved visiting some 40 communities.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2021/01/01/Ethiopian-forces-killed-scoresin-unrest-after-singer-s-death-says-report
--------
Pakistan
Provincial
government to pay for Pakistan Hindu temple destroyed by mob
01
January 2021
A
Hindu temple in Pakistan destroyed by a mob last week will be rebuilt using
provincial government funds, its information minister said Friday.
Around
1,500 people descended on the temple - in a remote village of northeast Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province - after protesting against renovations being made to an
adjoining building owned by a Hindu group.
They
used sledgehammers to knock down walls before setting the building ablaze.
“We
regret the damage caused by the attack,” said Kamran Bangash, the provincial
information minister.
“The
chief minister has ordered the reconstruction of the temple and adjoining
house,” he told AFP.
Construction
will start as soon as possible with the support of the Hindu community, he
said, adding security would be provided at the site.
Pakistan’s
top court has ordered authorities to submit a report on the temple’s
destruction.
Discrimination
and violence against religious minorities are common in Pakistan, where Muslims
make up 97 percent of the population and Hindus around two percent.
The
temple, which was destroyed in similar circumstances in 1997 and then rebuilt,
is located some 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Peshawar, the
provincial capital.
While
no Hindus live in the area, devotees often visit the temple and its shrine to
pay homage to the Hindu saint Shri Paramhans, who died there before the 1947
partition of India that gave birth to Pakistan.
District
police chief Irfanullah Khan told AFP around 45 people had been detained in
connection with the incident - including a local cleric, Maulana Sharif, who is
accused of inciting the mob.
Khan
added police are also looking for Maulana Mirza Aqeem, the district leader of
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), one of Pakistan’s largest Islamist parties.
Last
year, the US placed Pakistan on a list of “countries of particular concern” for
religious freedom violations.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2021/01/01/Provincial-government-to-pay-for-Pakistan-Hindu-temple-destroyed-by-mob
--------
Pakistan,
India exchange nuclear installations list in annual practice
Naveed
Siddiqui
01
Jan 2021
Pakistan
and India on Monday exchanged lists of their nuclear installations and
strategic facilities under the terms of an agreement which restricts the two
countries from attacking each other's atomic facilities in case of war, a
statement from the Foreign Office said.
The
annual exchange, which has been conducted on the first day of every new year
since 1992, began after a December 1988 pact between the two rival states
termed the 'Agreement on Prohibition of Attacks against Nuclear Installations
and Facilities between Pakistan and India'.
As
part of the exchange, the Foreign Office handed over its list to the Indian
High Commission while the Indian Ministry of External Affairs handed over a
similar list to an officer of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
Pakistan
and India first exchanged the lists on January 1, 1992. Under the agreement,
both the parties are to “refrain from undertaking, encouraging or participating
in, directly or indirectly, any action aimed at causing the destruction of, or
damage to, any nuclear installation or facility in the other country”.
The
two countries have been rivals for 70 years and have fought three wars in that
period.
Present
ties between the two remain particularly strained due to a string of recent
developments beginning from the Feb 2019 Pulwama suicide attack, which India
blamed on Pakistan, in which 44 of its soldiers were killed in occupied
Kashmir.
Days
after the Pulwama incident, the two nuclear states came on the brink of war
after an aerial dogfight between the two air forces, resulting in the downing
of two Indian fighter planes and Pakistan capturing one of the pilots.
In
August 2019, India's revocation of occupied Kashmir's special status in violation
of UNSC resolutions led to further deterioration of ties between the two.
Recently,
Pakistan has warned that India is planning another "false-flag
operation" similar to the one it conducted in the aftermath of the Pulwama
incident, warning that any such act will be met with a strong response from
Pakistan – as had happened in Feb 2019.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1599055/pakistan-india-exchange-nuclear-installations-list-in-annual-practice
--------
Pak
Hindus stage protest against demolition of temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Dec
31, 2020
AMRITSAR:
Hindu men, women, and children from all walks of life staged a protest in
Karachi on Thursday against the demolition of a Hindu temple in Karak district
of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province on Wednesday.
"This
incident would have never happened if the then administration had given
exemplary punishment to the miscreants who had earlier made a similar attempt
in 1997," said Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, patron-in-chief of Pakistan Hindu
Council and member of National Assembly.
He
said the demolished Hindu temple was a 'samadhi' of Hindu saint Shri Paramhans
Ji Maharaj. He alleged the temple was demolished by Maulana Sharif, saying he
led the mob that desecrated and burnt it.
Vankwani
said from 1997 to 2014 the temple remained closed but was restored in 2015 on
the direction of the Supreme Court.
Notably,
the temple was demolished allegedly in the presence of district administration
officials.
He
further alleged that Pakistan's Evacuee Trust Property Board(ETPB), responsible
for the repair and maintenance of holy shrines of Hindus and Sikhs, had done
nothing for the restoration of the temple.
“The
Maulana was active for the past few months and we had the information that the
temple would come under attack on December 30."
After
receiving this information Vankwani took up the issue with deputy commissioner
of Karak, who assured him that the admnistration will take care of stopping any
such attempt.
Meanwhile,
chief justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmad has taken cognizance of the
matter and had listed the matter before the Supreme court on January 5.
He
has also directed the One Man Commission on Minority Rights, chief secretary of
KPK and Inspector General of Police, KPK to visit the site and submit their
report by January 4.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pak-hindus-stage-protest-against-demolition-of-temple-in-khyber-pakhtunkhwa/articleshow/80048778.cms
--------
JUI-F
leaders among 31 arrested over Hindu shrine attack in Karak
01
Jan 2021
KARAK:
Police arrested 31 people including district leaders of Jamiat
Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) here on Thursday for vandalising and demolishing the
shrine of a Hindu saint in Teri area of the district.
Police
officials told Dawn that JUI-F senior leader Rehmat Salam Khattak was also
among the arrested persons. He was arrested from his residence in Chokara area
of Takht-i-Nusrati tehsil. He served as provincial general secretary of PML-N
before joining JUI-F.
Officials
said that they raided the houses of people, who were involved in the attack on
the shrine. However, several of them, who took part in damaging the shrine,
went underground to avoid arrest, they added.
Teri
police registered an FIR against the people involved in the attack for defiling
place of worship, hurting religious sentiments, robbery, hurt, arson, mischief
and assault. The FIR also included section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act.
Terrorism
section included in FIR; political parties ask govt to bring attackers to
justice
The
FIR stated that Maulana Mohammad Sharif during a protest informed the gathering
about the shrine and said that they would neither allow a Hindu shrine on the
soil of Teri nor the visits by Hindus.
It
said that during his speech, he asked the participants numbering 1,000 to 1,500
to destroy the shrine.
“Whoever
dies while demolishing the shrine would be a martyr,” the FIR quoted the cleric
telling the crowd.
It
said that about 400 people led by Maulana Sharif attacked the shrine and set it
on fire.
It
said that the attackers also opened fire on police. It added that the mob also
took away artefacts from the shrine.
Provincial
police chief Dr Sanaullah Abbasi also visited the Hindu shrine. He said that
investigations were underway and FIR was lodged in the case. He said that 31
accused were arrested for attacking the shrine while 350 persons were nominated
in the FIR and raids were being conducted for their arrest.
Ishaq
Khattak, a local elder, told Dawn that situation remained calm in Teri and
mostly locals stayed away from the site of occurrence. He said that Teri Bazaar
also remained closed.
Meanwhile,
the district chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf condemned the incident and
said that chief minister and IGP should take practical steps for the arrest of
the people involved in the attack on Hindu shrine.
Addressing
a press conference, PTI district general secretary Kamran and senior vice
president Ashiq Muneer said that it was an act of few individuals and should
not be attributed to the entire Khattak tribe.
They
said that stringent action should be taken against the people involved in the
attack.
They
said that police committed criminal negligence during the attack and district
administration failed to take timely steps to prevent the incident.
They
demanded of the chief minister to suspend deputy commissioner, district police
officer and DSP of tehsil Banda Daud Shah and other responsible administrative
officers for their failure to preempt the attack.
In
Peshawar, Awami National Party provincial president Aimal Wali Khan condemned
the incident and described it as an attempt to pave way for resurgence of
violence in Pakhtun region.
In
a statement, he said that provincial government should bring to justice those
people, who led the mob to attack the shrine. He said that it was prime duty of
the government to provide security to all citizens including non-Muslims and
their places of worship.
The
ANP leader also condemned setting on fire houses in Waziristan and said that
such incidents would increase violence in the Pakhtun belt. He said that Pakhtuns
were peace-loving people, who always played role for promoting interfaith
harmony.
In
Kohat, minority leaders condemned vandalising of Hindu shrine in Karak and said
that India would use the incident against Pakistan. Former district councillor Mubashir
Naz in a statement said that the stigma attached to such a big incident could
not be removed.
Advocate
Rohit Kumar said that the incident hurt the feelings of the Hindus living in
Sindh.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1598969/jui-f-leaders-among-31-arrested-over-hindu-shrine-attack-in-karak
--------
Durrani
meets Fazl to coax him into avoiding confrontation
Zulqernain
Tahir
01
Jan 2021
LAHORE:
A day before an important huddle of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) in
Jati Umra, Raiwind, to hammer out the issue of en mass resignations from the
assemblies, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) secretary general
Mohammad Ali Durrani called on PDM president Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday
night to convey to him a “message” about finding some other way instead of
pursuing a collision course that may lead to wrapping up of the “democratic
system”.
This
is Mr Durrani’s second meeting with the PDM leadership within a week. Earlier,
he met PML-N president and Opposition Leader in National Assembly Shehbaz
Sharif in Kot Lakhpat jail, asking him to play a role in convincing the
opposition not to quit assemblies and initiation of a grand dialogue.
Maryam
Nawaz, who is acting as de facto president of the PML-N in the absence of Mr
Shehbaz, had expressed her “annoyance” over Durrani-Shehbaz meeting and pointed
at the establishment for arranging this meeting without the consent of Mr
Shehbaz or the party. She categorically declared that the time for any kind of
dialogue was over.
Maulana
Fazl, who is also chief of JUI-F, told reporters after the meeting that there
was no room for talks with the PTI government.
“There
can be dialogue (with the powers that be) only if Prime Minister Imran Khan
resigns and fresh elections are called,” he made it clear.
Talks
are possible only after Imran resigns, insists PDM chief
The
Maulana said engaging in dialogue with the government at this stage would
amount to disappointing the people of Pakistan.
“Today
Pakistan’s economy has been weakened. The country has no friend in the region.
Saudi Arabia and UAE, which provided us funds to strengthen our foreign
reserves, are taking back their money. The government has taken loan from China
to return the Saudi money at a huge rate of 14 per cent markup.”
He
said those who had brought the PTI to power should realise that every day of
the PTI government would be a step towards destruction.
Asked
whether PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was not coming to attend the Jati
Umra meeting of PDM on Friday (today), he said it was not necessary for every
leader of the opposition alliance to attend all of its meetings.
Earlier,
Ms Nawaz had said that the PPP chairman would explain his party’s position over
resignations and the fate of the Sindh government.
The
Central Executive Committee of the PPP had decided that the party would take
part in coming Senate elections and by-polls, showing that it has no intention
to resign from assemblies before the Senate polls.
Mr
Durrani told reporters that he had conveyed to the Maulana a message from his
party chief Sibghatullah Rashidi, better known as Pir Pagaro.
Mr
Durrani had been a federal minister during Musharraf regime and is considered
close to the establishment. The PML-F is an ally of the Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)-led government.
Mr
Durrani said that the “collision course” the PDM, was going to adopt would have
“serious consequences”.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1598972
--------
PDM
huddle today after PPP ‘somersault’
Amir
Wasim
01
Jan 2021
ISLAMABAD:
The heads of the opposition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will go into a
huddle on the first day of the year 2021 (today) at Raiwind in an effort to
come up with a united stance on the issue of en masse resignations and
participation in the upcoming elections on a number of seats of the national and
provincial assemblies and the Senate.
PDM
president and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and vice
president of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Maryam Nawaz, after their
late-night meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, had announced that they wanted to
provide an opportunity to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal
Bhutto-Zardari to present his viewpoint on the issues of resignations and
participation in the coming elections after which they would try to develop a
consensus.
PML-N’s
supremo Nawaz Sharif had also participated in the meeting of the PML-N and the
JUI-F leaders via a video link from London in which the leaders of the two
parties discussed various options in the wake of the PPP’s reluctance over the
proposal of en masse resignations as part of their anti-government campaign.
According
to the Maulana, the PDM leaders in their meeting on Friday (today) would make
“final decisions” on key issues and devise the future course of action.
“We
will like to directly hear from Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Let’s see what he
presents before the PDM,” said Ms Nawaz in response to a question during the
brief media chat with Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Issues
of resignations, by-polls on assembly seats and Senate elections on top of
agenda
Both
the Maulana and Ms Nawaz welcomed Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s announcement that all the
future decisions would be made collectively from the PDM platform and termed it
a “positive attitude”.
Responding
to a question, Ms Nawaz said that so far her party had made no decision
regarding participation in the by-elections and the Senate polls. She said
whatever decision they would make in this regard, it would be from the PDM’s
platform.
Speaking
at a news conference after presiding over a meeting of the party’s Central
Executive Committee in Karachi on Dec 29, the PPP chairman had stated that the
CEC believed “that if we (joint opposition) take up the challenge of Senate
elections collectively we can make a better impact and achieve larger success.”
He
had said that he would take up the CEC’s decisions before the PDM leadership
and discuss a further plan of the opposition’s movement against the Pakistan
Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.
An
interesting point came up during the PPP chairman’s presser when he was asked
about the details of the discussion and opinions of the party leaders at the
CEC meeting but he avoided to give details.
Asked
about the “strong opinion” within the PPP for return of the PML-N supremo to
the country, Mr Bhutto-Zardari preferred to move on to the next question.
Sources
said that PML-N’s supreme leader would also address the PDM leaders through a
video link from London on Friday. According to an official announcement, Mr
Bhutto-Zardari and former president Asif Zardari would also attend the meeting
via a video link from Karachi. However, a party delegation comprising former
prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira
and Farhatullah Babar will attend the PDM’s meeting at Raiwind.
Political
experts are terming the PDM’s meeting as significant as it is happening after
the PPP’s CEC meeting in which the party had decided to take part in the
by-polls on the vacant national and provincial assemblies seats and the Senate
whereas the other component parties of the PDM, including the JUI-F and the
PML-N, are of the view that they should not provide any legitimacy to the
present legislatures which they have announced they will leave.
The
first phase of the PDM’s anti-government movement had come to an abrupt end
with the public meeting in Lahore on Dec 13 as the leadership had failed to
announce any future plan to intensify their campaign. Though, the PDM leaders
had declared they would make an announcement regarding district-wise protests,
shutterdown and wheel-jam strikes and the long march during the Lahore public
meeting, no such plan was announced from the stage.
Later,
the PDM leaders set Jan 31 deadline for Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign or
face a decisive long march to Islamabad sometime in February.
It
was after a meeting of the heads of the constituent parties of the PDM in
Islamabad on Dec 8 that Maulana Fazlur Rehman had announced that all the
national and provincial lawmakers belonging to the opposition would hand over
their resignations individually to the heads of their parties by Dec 31.
The
Maulana had announced the decision during a press talk after presiding over a
more than four-hour-long summit of the alliance which was also addressed by Mr
Sharif and former president Zardari through video link from London and Karachi,
respectively.
The
PDM leadership, however, had failed to come up with an agreed plan regarding
the use of their most lethal weapon of en masse resignations and its timing and
Maulana Fazl simply announced that the steering committee of the PDM would meet
in Islamabad the next day “to decide the schedule for further rallies and
demonstrations and the date for long march towards Islamabad”.
The
next day, however, before the meeting of the steering committee could take
place, the PDM leaders once again gathered at the residence of the Maulana for
a luncheon meeting after which Mr Bhutto-Zardari categorically declared that
his party would come out with a final decision regarding en masse resignations
after discussing it at its CEC.
Sources
in the PDM said that the PPP leaders during the meeting were not very
enthusiastic to the proposed move and Mr Zardari was not in favour of Mr
Sharif’s proposal to hand over the resignations to Maulana Fazl for future use
and it was on his proposal that finally other parties agreed on the PPP’s
suggestion that the resignations should be collected by the party heads.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1598979/pdm-huddle-today-after-ppp-somersault
--------
Mufti
Muneeb announces drive against FATF-related law
01
Jan 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Only a day after his removal as head of the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee, Mufti
Muneebur Rehman on Thursday announced launching of a campaign against the
government under aegis of the newly-established Tehreek
Tahaffuz-i-Masajid-o-Madaris over a legislation related to the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) that was passed in a joint sitting of the parliament in
September.
The
announcement was made by Mufti Muneeb himself at a conference that had been
organised by the new group. Ulema belonging to various seminaries of the
Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadees schools of thought attended the conference.
At
the conference it was announced that implementation of the Islamabad Capital
Territory Waqf Properties Bill 2020, which was adopted by the parliament amid
protests by opposition parties, would be resisted.
The
speakers declared that the law had been imposed under a conspiracy against
Islamic institutions, in the garb of registration of religious seminaries.
Mufti
Muneeb said the act had been passed by the parliament under pressure from the
FATF. “Religious restrictions are not accepted in an Islamic republic like
Pakistan and if authorities try to impose them, we will resist them,” he said.
Secretary
General of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said
clerics in the parliament were the “first line of defence against any law that
was contrary to Islam. He said the prime minister should take another U-turn
and withdraw the act.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1598993/mufti-muneeb-announces-drive-against-fatf-related-law
--------
Chinese,
Pakistani FMs agree on need to deepen cooperation
Baqir
Sajjad Syed
01
Jan 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and China on Thursday decided to deepen their cooperation and work
together for peace and stability in the region.
This
was agreed between the two countries during a telephone conversation between
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi,
which continued for an hour.
The
conversation, the Foreign Office said, was arranged to “reaffirm the depth and
breadth” of bilateral ‘All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership’ and
exchange views on Covid-19, bilateral relations, and regional and international
issues of mutual interest.
“Both
foreign ministers agreed to maintain strategic communication and consultation,
at all levels, to promote mutual goals of peace and stability in the region and
beyond, and expressed commitment to further strengthening all-round cooperation
and taking the bilateral relationship to a higher level for shared benefit of
the two countries,” said the statement.
Foreign
Minister Wang hoped that 2021 would witness further deepening of Pakistan-China
ties.
It
was being expected that Chinese President Xi Jinping would visit Pakistan in
the early part of 2021. However, it now appears that the trip may not happen in
the coming months as FM Qureshi has been invited to visit Beijing for
“maintaining momentum of high-level exchanges”. Mr Qureshi has accepted the invitation.
Chinese
minister says Beijing will make over one million doses of Covid-19 vaccine
available
“Foreign
Minister Wang Yi expressed satisfaction over Pakistan and China’s cooperation
on regional and international issues and reaffirmed the vitality of the
time-tested All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership which remained
unaffected by the vicissitudes of the regional and international developments
and continued to move from strength to strength,” the FO said.
Talking
about efforts to deal with Covid-19, Mr Qureshi recalled the bilateral
mechanisms in this regard and said they were playing a useful role in
controlling the pandemic, resuming economic growth and restoring supply chains
across the region.
Mr
Qureshi informed his counterpart that Phase-III trials of Covid-19 vaccine
produced by Chinese firm CanSino were progressing well in Pakistan. He,
moreover, told him that his government had approved another Chinese vaccine of
Sinopharm for emergency use in Pakistan and hoped for its early availability
from China.
The
government has announced its decision to procure 1.2 million doses of the
vaccine from the Chinese state-controlled firm.
Mr
Wang assured Mr Qureshi that China would provide over one million doses of the
vaccine to Pakistan for emergency use.
INDIA:
The two ministers also discussed the threat posed by Indian actions to regional
peace.
“FM
Qureshi briefed State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi about India’s
aggressive posture in the region and how New Delhi’s bellicose and irresponsible
policies were imperiling regional peace and stability,” the FO said.
“The
foreign minister also emphasised that Pakistan and China must continue to
closely coordinate efforts to advance the shared objectives of peace, stability
and economic development in Afghanistan,” it added.
Mr
Qureshi described the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as a “transformational
project”, and hoped that BRI and CPEC would become “the hub of trade and
economic activity, sustainable development and greater people-to-people exchanges”.
He
said both countries were taking measures for timely completion of CPEC
projects. He said the 10th JCC meeting, which would be held shortly, would play
an instrumental role in taking CPEC further.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1598975/chinese-pakistani-fms-agree-on-need-to-deepen-cooperation
--------
North
America
Trump
desperately trying to trigger war with Iran: Academic
31
December 2020
An
Iranian-American political scientist says he believes outgoing US President
Donald Trump is desperately trying to tiger a war with Iran on the eve of the
anniversary of Pentagon assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani.
Kaveh
L. Afrasiabi, who has taught political science at Tehran University, Boston
University, and Bentley College, is the author and co-author of several books,
including Trump and Iran: From Containment to Confrontation.
Afrasiabi
made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Thursday ahead of the first
anniversary of the martyrdom of General Soleimani by the US military on January
3 in Iraq.
As
the Trump administration is engaged in provocations in the run-up to the
anniversary, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has warned that the
Islamic Republic avoids military conflict, but is prepared to defend the
country.
“Iran
doesn't seek war but will OPENLY & DIRECTLY defend its people, security
& vital interests,” Zarif tweeted on Thursday.
“With
less than a month to the end of his wretched presidency, Trump may still cause
further mischief by igniting a war in the region. Having failed to bring Iran to its knees with
the maximum pressure strategy, Trump is dangerous to world peace and is apt to
trigger a war with Iran through a false flag operation coinciding with the
first anniversary of General Soleimani's assassination,” Afrasiabi said.
He
added that Iran's best revenge is to deprive Trump of his sinister wish to harm
Iran in the waning days of his presidency, by promoting regional tranquility
and peaceful, cooperative interaction with the neighbors.
“Iran's
national security interests dictate utmost vigilance and, at the same time,
assiduous effort toward war-avoidance,” the analyst advised.
“As
a co-author of a book on Trump, I have no doubt that Trump's Iran policy is
untenable and will not be sustainable under the new administration, which is
why Trump has been deliberately trying to escalate tensions and thicken the
spider web of US military in the region in order to make it harder for his
successor to disentangle himself from this web,” he noted.
“It
is an irrefutable fact that despite all the Trumpian pressures, Iran's clout in
the region has grown and US's hegemony is on the decline, a net legacy of General
Soleimani, which must be preserved at all costs, above all by the exercise of
prudent caution and regional and international diplomacy,” he stated.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/31/641965/Trump-desperately-trying-to-tiger-war-with-Iran
--------
China
offered bounties to fighters in Afghanistan who attacked US soldiers?
Jan
1, 2021
US
President Donald Trump was briefed this month about intelligence reports that
China had offered to pay bounties to fighters in Afghanistan who attacked US
soldiers there, but the information was uncorroborated and comes months after
Trump dismissed as a “hoax” a CIA assessment that Russia had paid for such
attacks.
It
is unclear whether the intelligence on China shows that any bounties were paid
or whether any attacks on U.S. personnel were even attempted. US intelligence
agencies collect enormous amounts of information, much of which turns out to be
false or misleading.
The
information, included in the president’s written briefing Dec. 17 and relayed
verbally by the national security adviser, Robert O’Brien — was earlier
reported Wednesday night by Axios and confirmed by US officials.
It
comes at a time when Trump administration officials, including the director of
national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, have sought to put more pressure on
China, partly in the hope of limiting any plans by the incoming Biden
administration to ease tensions with Beijing.
Trump,
Ratcliffe and other officials have also sought to direct attention toward
Chinese misbehavior in areas where other U.S. officials consider Russia to be a
greater threat, including computer hacking and the use of disinformation to
disrupt American politics.
After
the disclosure this month that the U.S. government had been subjected to a huge
cyberbreach that U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,
confidently attributed to Russia, Trump angrily cast doubt on that notion and
sought to implicate Beijing. “Russia, Russia, Russia is the priority chant when
anything happens,” Trump wrote on Twitter, charging that the news media avoids
“discussing the possibility that it may be China (it may!).”
The
Axios report said Wednesday that the underlying intelligence on the bounties,
about which it obtained no further details, would be declassified, although it
was unclear why or for whom. White House officials would not elaborate but did
not dispute that the intelligence was uncorroborated.
Although
tensions between the United States and China have escalated significantly
during the Trump era, Beijing is not known to provide substantial support to
anti-American proxies in combat zones like Afghanistan, and some national
security experts were initially skeptical that Beijing would support attacks on
Americans. By contrast, many considered similar reports about Russian bounties
to be credible.
If
confirmed, and particularly if traced to political leaders in Beijing, such an
action by China would constitute a grave provocation that might demand a
response by President-elect Joe Biden after he takes office in January.
A
Biden transition official would not say Wednesday night whether Biden, who now
receives official daily intelligence briefings, had been presented with the
same information as the president.
But
the official said that the Biden team would seek to learn more about it from
the Trump administration and that it underscored the importance of a fully
cooperative transition process, including with the Defense Department, which
Biden on Monday accused of “obstruction.”
“Right
now,” Biden said in Wilmington, Delaware, “we just aren’t getting all the
information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national
security areas.”
Months
before the report involving China, the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies
were investigating reports collected this year, and first reported by The New
York Times, that Russian military intelligence agents had offered to pay
Taliban-linked fighters in Afghanistan for the killing of US soldiers there.
The
CIA assessed with medium confidence that Russia had covertly offered and paid
the bounties to a network of Afghan militants and criminals. The National
Security Agency placed lower confidence in the intelligence. But Pompeo, for
one, took the reports seriously enough to issue a stern face-to-face warning
this summer to his Russian counterpart.
Trump
was similarly provided with a written briefing on that intelligence, but
publicly he dismissed it as “fake news” and an extension of what he called the
“Russia hoax,” including the investigation into his 2016 campaign’s ties to the
Kremlin. At the same time, the president suggested that subordinates had not
done enough to draw the report about Russia to his attention.
“If
it reached my desk, I would have done something about it,” Trump said in July.
U.S. officials have said that the assessment regarding Russia was included in
his written intelligence brief in February but that he rarely reads that
document.
In
multiple subsequent conversations with President Vladimir Putin of Russia,
Trump did not raise the matter.
Many
questions are outstanding about the unverified intelligence regarding China,
including when such bounties were said to be offered, by whom and to whom. The
United States and its coalition partners in Afghanistan are fighting not only
the Taliban but also al-Qaida, the Islamic State and various other militant and
criminal groups.
The
reportedly planned release of more information comes at a time when Democrats
and many career intelligence officials are concerned that Trump officials like
Ratcliffe have sought to selectively declassify intelligence for political
purposes, like the Russia investigation and election interference.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/china-offered-bounties-to-fighters-in-afghanistan-who-attacked-us-soldiers/articleshow/80054791.cms
--------
US
to send home only Navy aircraft carrier operating in Middle East amid Iran
tension
31
December 2020
The
Pentagon has decided to send home the only Navy aircraft carrier operating in
the Middle East, a move that would reduce US firepower in the region amid
heightened tensions with Iran, officials said Thursday.
The
decision, confirmed by three defense officials but not yet publicly announced,
emerged one day after Air Force B-52 bombers flew nonstop from the United
States to the Arabian Gulf in a show of force that military officials said was
intended to caution Iran against carrying out attacks against US forces or
interests. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the decision
and spoke on condition of anonymity.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
Sending
the aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, home to the US West Coast would seem at
odds with the idea that a show of force is needed to deter Iran. This might
reflect a split within the defense establishment on whether Iran poses a
heightened threat to strike in the waning days of the Trump administration.
Earlier
this week, an American military officer close to the situation told reporters
that the US had detected signs that Iran had made preparations for possible
attacks on US or allied targets in Iraq or elsewhere in the Mideast. This was
the reason for dispatching two B-52 bombers from the US to briefly overfly the
Gulf on Wednesday, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss internal assessments.
President
Donald Trump recently cited “chatter” that Iran might strike. Days after a Dec.
20 rocket attack on the US Embassy compound in Baghdad by Iranian-supported
Shia militia groups, Trump tweeted that Iran was on notice.
“Some
friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran
responsible. Think it over,” Trump wrote on Dec. 23. He added, ”We hear chatter
of additional attacks against Americans in Iraq.”
US
concerns have been tied to the approach of the Jan. 3 anniversary of the
American airstrike that killed Iran's top commander, Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Iran initially retaliated with a ballistic missile strike on a military base in
neighboring Iraq that caused dozens of brain concussion injuries but no deaths
among US troops.
But
US officials are concerned that Iran might be planning further retaliation.
Because
of the potential for escalation that could lead to a wider war, the US has
sought to deter Iran from additional attacks. Strategic calculations on both
sides are further complicated by the political transition in Washington to a
Biden administration that may seek new paths to dealing with Iran.
President-elect Joe Biden has said, for example, that he hopes to return the US
to a 2015 agreement with world powers in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear
activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
The
US has maintained a near-continuous aircraft carrier presence in the Gulf
region since the USS Abraham Lincoln was sent in May 2019 amid concerns that
Iran was considering attacking US interests in the region. The US also sent
additional land-based attack planes and reestablished a troop presence in Saudi
Arabia.
The
Nimitz deployed from the US in April and was due to return before the end of
the year. In early December, its planned return was postponed, in part out of
concerns about potential Iranian threats, and more recently it was ordered to
provide support off the coast of Somalia for the movement of American forces out
of the country.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/31/US-to-send-home-only-Navy-aircraft-carrier-operating-in-Middle-East-amid-Iran-tension
--------
Cuban
president slams US plan to place island on terrorism list
01
January 2021
Cuban
President Miguel Díaz-Canel has condemned a final-hour effort by the outgoing
administration of US President Donald Trump to place the Caribbean island on
its list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Only
three weeks left before Trump leaves office, his state department prepared a
controversial proposal to designate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo must decide whether to sign off on the plan, the New York
Times reported, citing two US officials.
It
is unclear whether Pompeo has decided to move ahead with the designation, the
Times wrote.
The
State Department notified Congress in May that Cuba was among five countries it
said were “not cooperating fully” with US so-called counter-terrorism efforts.
If
approved, the move will automatically trigger US sanctions against Havana.
In
response to the move, President Díaz-Canel said in a tweet on Thursday that
Havana condemns “a unilateral, absurd, hypocritical and unjust maneuver of the
US administration to include Cuba in their list of state sponsors of
terrorism.”
“This
administration protects terrorist groups acting against #Cuba,” he said.
Díaz-Canel
also wrote that Havana “will constantly and rightfully denounce every mercenary
and imperialist action against #Cuba.”
We
condemn a unilateral, absurd, hypocritical and unjust maneuver of the US
administration to include Cuba in their list of state sponsors of terrorism.
This administration protects terrorist groups acting against #Cuba. #LivingCuba
https://t.co/pAqKbP6lez
—
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) December 31, 2020
Things
will no longer be easy for them. We will constantly and rightfully denounce
every mercenary and imperialist action against #Cuba. #LivingCuba
https://t.co/tvV1RUK7Ez
—
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) December 31, 2020
Democrats
denounced the Cuba proposal on Tuesday, describing it as an attempt to unfairly
limit the incoming administration of president-elect Joe Biden.
“It’s
another stunt by this president with less than 23 days to go,” said Democrat
Representative Gregory Meeks.
He
said that Trump is “trying to put handcuffs on the incoming administration.”
Biden’s
incoming administration could take Cuba back off the list, but the process
might take several months.
Washington
removed Cuba from its list of terrorism sponsors in 2015, after former
president Barack Obama announced the normalization of relations with Havana for
the first time in almost six decades.
Obama
had dropped economic sanctions, relaxed restrictions on travel and trade, and reopened
an embassy in the Cuban capital.
He
also became the first US president to visit the island in more than eight
decade.
Cuba
was first added to the terrorism list by the Reagan administration in 1982.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/01/641987/US-Cuba-politics-terrorism-list
--------
Mideast
Houthi
hails 'balanced deterrence' against Saudi Arabia, predicts 'victory' for Yemen
01
January 2021
A
member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council says Yemeni armed forces have
pulled off a "balanced deterrence campaign" after years of fighting
off a Saudi-led aggression.
“The
balanced deterrence campaign is a victory pulled off by Yemeni forces in
military and security centers. This is what millions of steadfast, honorable
and devoted Yemenis should be proud of,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi tweeted on
Thursday night.
“The
world should know that, God willing, the fruits of patience will be the victory
of truth and the cost of arrogance will be defeat.”
His
remarks came amid reports that Israel sought to intervene in the years-long war
on Yemen which, in many analysts' terms, has turned to a quagmire for Saudi
Arabia.
On
Monday, Yemen’s official Saba news agency quoted an unnamed official at the
Yemeni Foreign Ministry as saying that “in case the Zionist regime commits a
great folly against Yemen, all its interests as well as those of its allies in
the Red Sea region will become a legitimate target within the framework of the
right of self-defense guaranteed by all international conventions and
agreements.”
Al-Houthi
said the status quo in Yemen has nothing to do with the Tel Aviv regime, urging
Israeli authorities to focus on the situation in the occupied Palestinian
territories and stop threatening regional states.
For
years, Israel has used Iran as a
Earlier,
spokesman for the Israeli military, brigadier general Hidai Zilberman, had told
the Saudi news website Elaph that the Tel Aviv regime expects that an Iranian
attack could come from Iraq and Yemen.
Zilberman
referred to Iraq and Yemen as Iran’s second circle after Lebanon and Syria, and
said that Israel has been monitoring the situation in both countries closely.
He
noted that Iran has developed a wide range of capabilities in the area that
include advanced drones and remote-guided missiles, indicating “a great Iranian
ability in this field.”
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/01/641994/Yemeni-armed-forces-waging-balanced-deterrence-campaign-against-aggressors-Houthi
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Israel’s
settlement approvals in 2020 highest on record: Palestinian NGO
31
December 2020
A
Palestinian non-governmental organization says Israel has pressed forward with
plans for the construction of thousands more settler units in the occupied West
Bank, making 2020 a record year for illegal settlement building activities.
The
director of the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ), Jad Isaac, told
the Voice of Palestine radio station that Israeli authorities endorsed plans
for 10,000 more units in various parts of the West Bank this year, in addition
to the legalization of dozens of settlement outposts.
Isaac
added that these approvals make 2020 the highest year on record in terms of
units in settlement plans.
He
highlighted that Israeli officials seek to impose sovereignty on more
Palestinian lands, convert occupied West Bank towns and cities into isolated
cantons and connect illegal settlements together, all of which represent an
apartheid system.
Speaking
at a weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah on December 28, Prime Minister Mohammad
Shtayyeh called on the international community to put a stop to Israel’s
settlement plans in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The
international community should oblige the occupying Israeli regime to stop its
colonial projects in Palestinian lands, and to abide by United Nations Security
Council resolution 2334, he added.
Shtayyeh
regretted that the upcoming election campaign in Israel will focus on expansion
of settlements built in the occupied Palestinian territories, just as in all
previous campaigns.
He
called on United Nations organizations operating in Palestine to organize teams
and protect Palestinians in the West Bank against settler attacks, which he
said are being carried out under the eyes of Israeli military forces.
More
than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built since the 1967
Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East
Jerusalem al-Quds.
The
UN Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the
occupied territories in several resolutions.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/31/641973/Israel%E2%80%99s-settlement-approvals-in-2020-highest-on-record--Palestinian-NGO
--------
Senior
Diplomat Highlights US Heavy Defeat against Iran at UNSC
2020-December-31
Al-e
Habib made the remarks on Thursday, addressing a meeting of the United Nation
in New York.,
He
called the US move to increase maximum pressures on Iran "a political
move", and said, “The US anti-Iran move in implementing snapback mechanism
was rejected by 13 members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).”
He
termed JCPOA as an achievement of multilateral diplomacy in the face of
long-standing fake crisis against Islamic Republic of Iran, and reiterated that
UNSC Resolution 2231 was adopted unanimously and approved Joint Comprehensive
Plan of Action (JCPOA).
According
to this resolution, all mechanisms of previous sanctions imposed by the UN
Security Council sanctions Iran were lifted, Al-e Habib added.
He
reminded Washington that only JCPOA members have reserved this right to use
mechanisms, stressing that the US action has no legal basis.
"Is
the General Assembly allowed to provide funding for what the UN Security
Council has opposed it?" the diplomat asked.
Washington
had proposed to fund a committee on reviving UN sanctions against Iran,
claiming that with the activation of the snapback mechanism by the Trump
administration, all the international sanctions against Iran should resume.
The
UN rejected the US bid to register yet another defeat for the outgoing Trump
administration against Iran.
The
United Nations Security Council had also in August resoundingly rejected the
second bid to extend an arms embargos on Iran, which expired in October.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991011000505/Senir-Diplma-Highlighs-US-Heavy-Defea-agains-Iran-a-UNSC
--------
Hamas
arrests Palestinian for taking down banner of Iran’s Soleimani in Gaza
Yaghoub
Fazeli
31
December 2020
The
Palestinian militant group Hamas arrested on Thursday a man for tearing down a
banner of slain Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani which was put up
ahead of the first anniversary of his death by the group, according to a
relative of the detainee.
Hamas
arrested Majdi al-Maghribi for tearing down a photo of a “criminal,”
al-Maghribi’s brother wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
Al-Maghribi
had urged Gazans in a Facebook post on Wednesday to remove banners of Soleimani
in the city. Hours later, he posted a video of himself tearing down a banner of
the slain Iranian general which quickly went viral.
Hamas
put up a large banner of Soleimani on the main coastal road in Gaza on Tuesday
after a military drill, Reuters reported.
Several
other banners of Soleimani were spotted across Gaza ahead of the one-year
anniversary of the Iranian general’s death, according to Palestinian social
media users. Arabs were quick to criticize the banners and Israeli officials
condemned them as glorifying a “murderer.”
“A
question to the people in Gaza: Do you expect Arabs to sympathize with you and
your cause when they see you erecting statues of the killers of Syrians,
Iraqis, Yemenis and the Lebanese?” Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee
wrote on Twitter in Arabic, commenting on an image of one of the Soleimani banners
in Gaza.
The
same banner now appears to have been ripped apart by Gazans, according to a
video shared by Palestinian social media users. A man filming the torn banner
in Gaza can be heard describing Soleimani as the “killer of Syrians and
Iraqis.”
The
banner included text from a speech by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at
Soleimani’s funeral in Tehran. “The martyr commander Qassem Soleimani who spent
his life supporting the resistance… he is a martyr of al-Quds (Jerusalem),” the
text reads.
Several
other Soleimani banners have also been taken down and vandalised, images and
videos shared by Palestinian social media users show.
Relations
between Shia Iran and Sunni Hamas briefly deteriorated in the early years of
the Syrian conflict after Hamas refused to support Iran’s ally Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad against Sunni rebels.
Soleimani,
who headed the Quds Force – the overseas arms of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC) – was killed in a US airstrike at Baghdad’s international
airport on January 3.
A
senior Hamas official said Sunday the group received $22 million in cash from
Soleimani during a visit to Tehran in 2006, drawing criticism from Iranians who
accuse the regime of prioritizing its network of proxy groups over its
citizens.
Iranian
demonstrators have voiced their opposition to Tehran’s foreign policies and
accused the regime of squandering the country’s resources on foreign militias
in three separate waves of anti-government protests – in 2009, 2017 and 2019 –
using the popular chant “not Gaza, not Lebanon, I give my life for Iran” in
reference to Tehran’s support for Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/31/Hamas-arrests-Palestinian-for-taking-down-banner-of-Iran-s-Soleimani-in-Gaza
--------
Iran's
Zarif: Intelligence from Iraq shows Trump aims to fabricate 'pretext for war'
Tuqa
Khalid
31
December 2020
Iran's
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that intelligence from
Iraq indicated outgoing US President Donald Trump aiming to fabricate a
"pretext for war."
"Instead
of fighting COVID-19 in US, Donald Trump and cohorts waste billions to fly B52s
and send armadas to OUR region," Zarif wrote on Twitter.
"Intelligence from Iraq indicate plot to FABRICATE pretext for war,"
he said.
US
aircraft carrier USS Nimitz has been patrolling Gulf waters since late November
and two American B-52 bombers recently overflew the region.
"Iran
doesn't seek war but will OPENLY and DIRECTLY defend its people, security and
vital interests," he added.
Zarif's
comments come days ahead of the first anniversary of top Iranian general Qassem
Soleimani's assassination in US drone strike in Baghdad on January 3.
Trump
said last week said he would hold "Iran responsible" for any fatal
attack on Americans in Iraq after accusing Tehran of being behind a rocket
strike on the US embassy in Baghdad on December 20.
Zarif
at the time warned the US president against any "adventurism" before
leaving the White House on January 20, and said "putting your own citizens
at risk abroad won't divert attention from catastrophic failures at home".
The
US embassy in Iraq and other foreign military and diplomatic sites have been
targeted by dozens of rockets and roadside bomb attacks since later 2019.
Trump
unilaterally withdrew the US from a landmark nuclear deal with Iran and world
powers in 2018 and launched a "maximum pressure" campaign against
Tehran, reimposing and reinforcing crippling sanctions.
The
two countries have twice come to the brink of war since June 2019, especially
following the killing of Soleimani.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/31/Iran-s-Zarif-Intelligence-from-Iraq-shows-Trump-aims-to-fabricate-pretext-for-war-
--------
Israeli
regime’s attempts to Judaize occupied Jerusalem al-Quds will fail, Hamas says
31
December 2020
The
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has censured the Israeli regime
over attempts to change the geographic and demographic character of occupied
Jerusalem al-Quds, saying such bids are doomed to failure.
Hamas
made the remarks in a statement on the new railway project that Israel has
started to connect its illegal settlements in Jerusalem al-Quds with Tel Aviv
and other Israeli areas.
In
its statement, Hamas has condemned the Jerusalem al-Quds rail project as “a new
colonial project that is part of the settler Judaization projects.”
The
Jerusalem al-Quds light rail project aims to connect the western sector of the
holy city with settlements located on occupied Palestinian territory in the
eastern part and to favor their illegal development in violation of
international law.
Hamas
said the project is indicative of the Tel Aviv regime’s insistence on imposing
faits accomplis of all forms on the ground and its determination to go ahead with
its Judaization plans.
“It
is also aimed at imposing full Israeli sovereignty on occupied al-Quds,
separating it from the occupied West Bank, and changing its historic, Arab and
Islamic features, as planned in [US President Donald] Trump’s deal of the century,”
Hamas stated.
Hamas
attributed increasing settlement activities in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds to
normalization agreements between some Arab countries and Israel, emphasizing
that such accords have emboldened the regime to annex more Palestinian lands.
It
called on the Palestinian Authority to shoulder its responsibilities towards
al-Quds by supporting local Palestinians against Israeli settlement expansion
schemes.
The
Palestinian resistance movement also asked Arab and Muslim leaders to take a serious
position against Israeli settlement projects in occupied al-Quds, and support
the steadfastness of Palestinian residents of the city through all possible
means.
“We
demand that the international community and the European Union put pressure on
the Israeli Occupation to stop its colonial projects in occupied al-Quds that
are illegal according to the international law,” Hamas pointed out.
Israel
lays claim to the entire Jerusalem al-Quds, but the international community
views the city’s eastern sector as occupied territory and Palestinians consider
it the capital of their future state.
United
Nations Security Council Resolution 478, adopted on August 20, 1980, prohibits
countries from establishing diplomatic missions in Jerusalem al-Quds.
Palestinians,
who seek an independent state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East
Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital, have condemned the US pro-Israel agenda.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/31/641958/Israeli-regime%E2%80%99s-bids-to-Judaize-occupied-al-Quds-will-not-succeed-Hamas-says
--------
India
BJP
MP Tejasvi Surya Opposes Renaming Of Bengaluru Roads, Says, This Is Dangerous
And Must Be Condemned
Jan
1, 2021
BENGALURU:
Two weeks after BBMP issued a notification to name 11 roads in ward 135 (Padarayanapura),
Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Thursday opposed the proposal.
In
a letter to BBMP commissioner Manjunath Prasad, Surya said, “Christening of
roads in a Muslim-dominated locality with only Muslim names reeks of the same
communal mentality of the two-nation theory and Muslim League’s demand of
separate electorates for Hindus and Muslims. This is dangerous and must be
condemned.”
Amid
reports that the BBMP has recommended to the government to withdraw the
notification, Rakesh Singh, secretary, urban development department, told TOI
he has discussed the issue with the commissioner. “Both of us are in
quarantine. So far, no decision on the matter has been taken.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/mp-opposes-renaming-of-bluru-roads/articleshow/80052483.cms
--------
4
booked in first case under U'khand anti-conversion law
Dec
31, 2020
Dehradun:
For the first time since the anti-conversion law was brought into force in
Uttarakhand two years ago, four persons in Dehradun have been booked for
violating its norms — a Muslim man, the Hindu woman he had married, his uncle
and the qazi who solemnised their wedding.
The
man, Sameer Ali, 22, had met the 20-year-old woman from Rudraprayag at a
coaching class in Dehradun. “After a year of courtship, they got married on
September 28 this year. She converted and took on a new name. The same day, the
qazi performed their nikah in the presence of Sameer’s uncle, Shaukeen,” a
police official said.
The
Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018 stipulates that a month’s notice must
be served when a person decides to convert — both from the applicant and the
religious priest who conducts the conversion. Sameer had approached the
Uttarakhand high court a month before their wedding, August 28, seeking
protection for himself and his wife. The high court ordered an investigation by
the Dehradun district magistrate (DM) and that report reached the police,
through the DM, in November. Police conducted their own preliminary
investigation and said they found two violations — the DM had not been given a
month’s notice and the woman’s parents were not informed.
“Prima
facie, it was found that they violated provisions under the Uttarakhand Freedom
of Religion Act, 2018. Following that, an FIR was registered at Patel Nagar
police station on Tuesday and a detailed investigation has begun,” Dehradun
circle officer Anuj Kumar told TOI.
The
four have been booked under sections 3 (conversion by misrepresentation, force,
fraud, undue influence, coercion, allurement or marriage), 8 (one month’s
declaration of intent to convert) and 12 (parties to the offence) of the
Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018. They are all in Dehradun now, police
said. They had not been arrested till the time of filing this report. The accused
face up to seven years in prison and if convicted, their marriage would be
annulled.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/4-booked-in-first-case-under-ukhand-anti-conversion-law/articleshow/80032397.cms
--------
India
Lodges Strong Protest With Pakistan over Demolition of Temple
Jan
1, 2021
NEW
DELHI: A day after reports emerged of the destruction of a Hindu temple in
Pakistan, India on Friday lodged a formal protest with Pakistan via diplomatic
channels, according to sources.
On
Wednesday, a mob set fire to a temple and later demolished it in Karak, a town
in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Following
the demolition, police arrested 31 people in overnight raids as dozens of
Hindus rallied across the country to protest again the violence on their place
of worship.
The
attack happened after members of the Hindu community received permission from
local authorities to renovate the temple. According to police and witnesses,
the mob was led by radical cleric Maulana Shareef and supporters of Pakistan's
radical Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-lodges-strong-protest-with-pakistan-over-demolition-of-temple/articleshow/80058501.cms
--------
J&K-based
Punjabi jeweller gets domicile, shot dead by terrorists
Dec
31, 2020
SRINAGAR:
A 70-year-old jeweller from Punjab settled in Srinagar for four decades was
shot dead by motorcycle-borne terrorists in the city's congested Sarai Bala
locality on Thursday, months after he got a domicile certificate and purchased
a shop and a house.
Claiming
responsibility for the killing of Satpal Nischal, whose roots are in Amritsar,
the fledgling Pakistan-backed terror outfit TRF said the new domicile law was
"unacceptable" and everyone other than indigenous Kashmiris would be
treated as "occupiers" if they acquired property in J&K.
"More to come," TRF said in a statement circulated through Facebook.
A
little-known outfit that calls itself the United Liberation Front of J&K
praised TRF, an amalgam of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba and
Hizbul Mujahideen, for going hard at "occupiers and stooges".
Nischal,
the first domicile certificate holder to be targeted by terrorists since the
new law took effect, was the owner of Nischal Jewellers in Srinagar. Police
said he took three gunshots to his chest and was declared dead on arrival at
SMHS Hospital.
As
soon as he got his domicile certificate earlier this year, Nischal purchased a
shop at Hanuman Mandir in the heart of Srinagar and a house at Indira Nagar,
near the Army headquarters in Badami Bagh. "His shop in Saria Bala is a
popular one among to-be brides because of its reasonable rates," a family
friend said.
Nischal
is survived by two sons and a daughter.
Meanwhile,
a CRPF sub-inspector was injured when suspected terrorists lobbed a grenade,
followed by firing, on a patrol party in the Sangam area of south Kashmir's
Anantnag district.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/70-yr-old-punjab-jeweller-shot-dead-in-jk/articleshow/80051370.cms
--------
Not
disputing slain youths were ‘terrorists’: J&K DGP
Dec
31, 2020
SRINAGAR:
J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh on Thursday said that he has “no reason to dispute”
what a senior army official had stated about Wednesday’s encounter in which
three “terrorists” were killed, but added that “still police will investigate
the claims of [fake encounter] made by their families”.
The
families have claimed that the encounter was “stage managed” and insisted that
the youths had gone to a university to submit forms. “I want to ask them what
were their children doing at the encounter site if they had gone to submit
forms?” Singh said in reply to a query during a press conference at Jammu.
Security
forces continue to maintain that the three youths — identified by their
families as Zubair Ahmad Lone of Turkawangam area in Shopian, Ajaz Ganai of
Putrigam, and Athar Mushtaq of Bellow in Pulwama — were Al-Badr terrorists. One
Ak-47 rifle, along with several live hand grenades, was recovered on Wednesday
from the site of the night-long encounter at Lawaypora on the outskirts of
Srinagar, they have pointed out.
The
DGP also said that General Officer Commanding (GoC) Kilo Force H S Sahi had
mentioned that the trio had plans to carry out a big strike on the
Srinagar-Baramulla highway and that they turned down repeated surrender offers.
On
Wednesday, Sahi had said that the slain terrorists were “yet to be identified”.
The police, too, have admitted that the trio was not listed as militants. On
this, Sahi said, “It is not important that every militant is listed with the
police. When a person leaves his home to join, he doesn’t tell his parents.”
Singh
said, at times parents are not aware of the activities of their wards. “Still,
we will investigate allegations made by their families. If we find anything, we
will probe that,” he said.
Partial
shutdown was observed in two south Kashmir districts — Pulwama and Sopian —
against the “fake” encounter. Also, almost all mainstream political parties
have demanded a probe into the incident. Internet remained suspended on
Thursday in both districts as a precautionary measure.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/not-disputing-slain-youths-were-terrorists-jk-dgp/articleshow/80051359.cms
--------
225
terrorists killed in J&K in 2020: DGP J&K
Dec
31, 2020
JAMMU:
Dilbag Singh, DGP of J&K, on Thursday said terrorist incidents,
infiltration, and civilian killings came down in the Union territory in 2020.
He
also claimed that all top commanders of various terror outfits operating in
J&K have been eliminated.
Addressing
the annual media interaction on achievements of J&K Police on Thursday,
Singh said: “We carried out 90 successful operations in Kashmir and 13 in
Jammu, and neutralized 225 terrorists during the year." He said that among
the slain terrorists 47 were top commanders.
Referring
to security personnel losses during action, the DGP said, “Sixteen J&K
police personnel (15 in Kashmir and 1 in Jammu) and 44 jawans of other security
forces (42 in Kashmir and 2 in Jammu) were killed while fighting terrorism this
year."
Singh
said police and security agencies cracked down on overground workers (OGWs) of
terror outfits and 635 OGWs were arrested, 56 of whom were booked under the
Public Safety Act (PSA).
“During
the year, 299 terrorists and their associates were arrested and 12 terrorists
surrendered," he said.
The
DGP claimed that the number of civilian killings decreased during the year. “38
civilians were killed this year, compared to 44 last year," he said.
Referring
to Covid-19 situation, Singh said 15 policemen have lost their lives to the
pandemic while performing their duties and around 3,500 personnel contracted
the infection, most of whom have recovered from the ailment.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/225-terrorists-killed-in-jk-in-2020-dgp-jk/articleshow/80051284.cms
--------
Pakistan
troops violate ceasefire along LoC, target mosques and houses in Kupwara
Dec
31, 2020
SRINAGAR/JAMMU:
Pakistani troops opened fire and shelled mortars in unprovoked violations of a
ceasefire agreement along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara and Rajouri
districts of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Thursday.
In
the Tangdhar sector of Kupwara, Pakistani troops specifically targeted mosques
and houses in border villages, an Army official said in Srinagar.
"Pakistan
initiated an unprovoked ceasefire violation along LoC in Tangdhar Sector,
Kupwara by firing mortars and other weapons yesterday evening," the
official said.
In
the Nowshera sector of Rajouri, Pakistan Army personnel engaged in heavy firing
and mortar shelling on forward posts.
"At
about 1515 hours today, Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation
by firing with small arms and intense shelling with mortars along LoC in
Nowshera sector in Rajouri district," a defence spokesman said in Jammu.
Indian
Army retaliated befittingly to the unprovoked ceasefire violations, officials
said.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pakistan-troops-violate-ceasefire-along-loc-target-mosques-and-houses-in-kupwara/articleshow/80048286.cms
--------
South
Asia
Freezing
Climate: Challenges Afghan Children’s Survival
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
31
Dec 2020
An
internally displaced Afghan girl poses for a photograph at a camp in the snow
on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020. Kabul has been
experiencing below freezing weather and snow. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
In
a press release on Thursday, Save The Children organization reported, that more
than 300,000 Afghan children are facing challenging freezing climate conditions
in Afghanistan adding that without proper clothing and heating, it could lead
to illness and in the worst cases to death.
In
regions where weather temperature can plummet as low as -27 degrees Celsius,
the schools and classrooms are only the sources of warmth, it is a terrible
blow because schools are off until March of 2021.
Chris
Nyamandi, Save the Children’s Country Director in Afghanistan said, “The early
snow in the northern parts of Afghanistan where we work has impacted children
particularly badly. The most vulnerable children are those whose schools have
shut because of the worsening winter conditions. Their families don’t have the
money to buy winter clothing. Instead, children are forced to huddle at home to
escape the bitter cold.”
“It
also means it is more difficult for us to reach these children to provide them
with winter clothing. We must go from home to home to deliver thick coats and
blankets.” Nyamandi added.
The
ongoing conflict in the country forced many children into homelessness and
forced them to shelter in camps, these children are at risk of hunger, diseases
like covid-19, and even death from freezing temperatures.
Nyamandi also said, “The situation is bleak
for children forced to live in camps in places like Balkh province. It is
already very cold in this northern province with overnight temperatures as low
as minus ten. But it will get much colder before March” adding that “Here, and
in camps in other parts of Afghanistan, plastic sheeting and the clothes they
wear are often all that separates them from the freezing temperatures”.
“For
thousands of children, the Afghan winter is a time of grim survival,” according
to Nyamandi.
Earlier
in August, WFP had announced that over 16 million afghans are threatened by
lack of food, poverty, and requires humanitarian aid, 4 million of whom have
lost their source of income were due to covid-19.
Save
the children said in May, that almost 2 million children may die of
malnourishment and extreme hunger annually and due to a shortage of doctors,
children may less likely get lifesaving treatments.
Just
recently the International Red Cross Committee reported that Afghanistan
remains a dangerous place to be a civilian, mostly women and children were
affected by the battles in the nation.
https://www.khaama.com/freezing-climate-challenges-afghan-childrens-survival-443355/
--------
A
Nangarhar Reporter Realizes, Individual Killed in IED Blast Is His Brother
By
Mohammad Haroon Alim
31
Dec 2020
Local
officials in Nangarhar province said, at least one person has been killed in an
explosion near the PD1 of Jalalabad city.
Ataullah
Khogyani, the spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar told media on Thursday,
that the explosion took place in the First police zone of Jalalabad city.
He
added that one person was killed in the blast.
No
individual or group has claimed responsibility for this incident.
Sardar
Ajmal Bawar, a reporter at Safa FM radio posted the news of a blast in the city
writing that “A man was martyred in a roadside bomb blast near Bagh-e-Zanana in
Jalalabad’s PD1”.
He
later realizes the killed individual in the blast is his brother.
Nangarhar,
an eastern province in Afghanistan, is one of the most insecure provinces in
the country, where the Taliban have a large presence.
The
battle between the Afghan forces and the Taliban across the country has raged
and escalated, causing casualties to both sides specifically to the unarmed
citizens.
https://www.khaama.com/journalist-in-nangarhar-realizes-individual-killed-by-ied-blast-is-his-brother-334435/
--------
Arab
World
Syria
War killed 6,800 in 2020, lowest annual toll: Monitor
31
December 2020
The
Syrian conflict claimed at least 6,800 people in 2020, the lowest annual death
toll since it began nearly a decade ago, a war monitor said Thursday.
According
to figures compiled by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than
10,000 people were killed in the conflict in 2019.
For
the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
deadliest year was 2014, when more than 76,000 people died, according to the
UK-based organization, which has an extensive network of sources on the ground.
The
overall tally since the start of the conflict has crept up to 387,000,
including 117,000 civilians.
The
fighting, which erupted in 2011 after the brutal repression of anti-government
protests, has largely abated in 2020 as a ceasefire held in northwestern Syria
and attention turned to containing the coronavirus pandemic.
Violence
continues to claim lives every week, however.
On
Wednesday, fighters from ISIS ambushed soldiers in the eastern province of Deir
Ezzor, killing 37 of them.
The
attack was one of the deadliest by the organization since the end of its
so-called caliphate in early 2019.
Almost
10 years of war have devastated Syria’s infrastructure, crippled the economy
and led to the displacement of more than half of its pre-war population.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/12/31/Syria-War-killed-6-800-in-2020-lowest-annual-toll-Monitor
--------
Saudi
warplanes bomb Yemeni capital after blast at Aden airport
01
January 2021
Saudi
warplanes have bombarded targets in Yemen’s capital Sana’a, a day after a large
explosion struck the airport in the southern port city of Aden as a plane
carrying members of the newly formed Saudi-backed cabinet landed there.
Residents
said Thursday's coalition airstrikes hit Sana'a International Airport and
several other sites in and around the city.
They
said loud blasts were heard and warplanes flew overhead for several hours.
Yemen’s
Arabic-language al-Masirah television network reported that the warplanes
struck at least 15 locations in different districts in the capital. There were
no immediate reports of casualties and the extent of damage caused.
On
Wednesday, at least 26 people were killed and more than 50 were wounded in Aden
airport attack.
The
source of the explosion was not immediately clear and no group claimed
responsibility for attacking the airport. No one on the Saudi-backed government
plane was hurt.
Hours
after the attack, a second explosion was heard around Aden’s Maasheq
presidential palace where cabinet members of Saudi-backed former president Abd
Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, including prime minister Maeen Abdulmalik, as well as Saudi
Arabia's ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, had been taken to safely.
The
Saudi-led coalition accused the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement of the attacks
on Aden's airport and the presidential palace, a charge Ansarullah strongly
dismisses.
Aden
has been a scene of bloody fighting between Saudi-backed pro-Hadi loyalists and
the UAE-backed separatists in the Southern Transitional Council (STC).
The
STC forces seek independence for southern Yemen. They declared self-rule in
Aden in April, triggering fierce clashes with Hadi's forces and complicating
United Nations efforts to forge a permanent ceasefire in the overall conflict.
‘Over
6,000 Yemeni women, children killed in Saudi aggression’
Separately,
a Yemeni rights organization says the war being waged by Saudi Arabia and a
number of its regional allies, mainly the United Arab Emirates, has claimed the
lives of more than 6,000 women and children, and left many more injured in
Yemen.
Entesaf
Organization for Women's and Children's Rights said in a report published on
Thursday that a total of 2,392 women as well as 3,796 children have been killed
in Yemen ever since the Riyadh regime and a coalition of its allies launched
the brutal war on the impoverished nation more than five years ago.
The
report added that 2,798 women and 4,096 children have also sustained injuries
during the mentioned period.
The
organization then condemned the shameful international silence on violation of
the international law and the United Nations Charter in Yemen, emphasizing that
such principles are aimed at protecting civilians, mainly women and children.
It
finally held the Saudi-led military alliance responsible for all crimes and
violations against innocent Yemeni civilians, especially women and children.
Saudi
Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March
2015, with the goal of bringing Hadi’s government back to power and crushing
the popular Ansarullah movement.
Last
month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put
the death toll from the Saudi war on Yemen at 233,000.
The
popular Houthi Ansarullah movement, backed by armed forces, has been defending
Yemen against the Saudi-led alliance, preventing the aggressors from fulfilling
the objectives of the atrocious war.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/01/01/641988/Saudi-coalition-strikes-Yemeni-capital-after-blast-hits-Aden-airport
--------
US
troops shoot dead Syrian child in Hasakah Province
31
December 2020
US
soldiers have shot dead a 12-year-old child in Syria’s northeastern province of
Hasakah amid growing discontent with the presence of foreign forces in the
region.
Syria's
official news agency, SANA, citing local sources, reported on Thursday that the
incident took place close to a US-occupied base in the town of Shaddadi.
Muhaidi
Hussein Falah came under deliberate fire of US soldiers while playing with a
group of children in a neighborhood of the troubled region, the report added.
A
US-led military coalition has been bombarding what it claims as Daesh positions
inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus
government or a UN mandate.
US
troops are also operating on the ground in eastern and northeastern Syria.
While the US claims its troops in Syria are assisting SDF Kurdish militants in
their purported fight against Daesh, there is ample evidence which shows the US
is there to loot Syria’s oil resources.
Last
month, it was revealed that the US military had used dozens of tanker trucks to
smuggle crude oil from Hasakah to western Iraq.
The
looting of Syrian oil by the US was first confirmed during a Senate hearing
exchange between South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in late July.
US
President Donald Trump has more than once acknowledged that American military
forces are in Syria for the country's oil.
In
addition to that, security conditions are reportedly getting worse in
SDF-controlled areas in Syria’s Raqqah, Hasakah and Dayr al-Zawr provinces.
Locals
complain that SDF raids and arrest campaigns have generated a state of
frustration and instability.
Residents
accuse the US-sponsored militants of stealing crude oil and refusing to spend
money on services.
Local
councils affiliated with the SDF have also been accused of financial
corruption.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/31/641972/Syria-Hasakah-Daesh-SDF-Turmp-Kurds-
--------
Roadside
bomb explosion targets US-led coalition military convoy in southern Iraq
31
December 2020
A
roadside bomb has exploded in Iraq’s southern province of Basra, targeting a
US-led military coalition's logistics support convoy.
The
incident occurred in al-Yousufia district in the vicinity of the Jerishan
crossing near the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border on Thursday, Iraq’s Arabic-language
al-Sumeria television news agency reported.
Citing
an unnamed security source, it said the explosion inflicted damage to one of
the trucks, but did not leave casualties. The source gave no further details.
No
group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the blast.
This
is the latest attack in a string of such incidents in recent weeks against
convoys contracted with the US-led coalition in Iraq.
Early
this week, a roadside bomb explosion struck a convoy of trucks belonging to the
US-led coalition in Iraq’s southern province of al-Qadisiyah. The blast
occurred when the convoy was moving near the provincial capital city of
al-Diwaniyah, without causing casualties.
The
attacks come amid rising anti-US sentiment in the Arab country, which were
intensified following last year's assassination of a top Iranian anti-terror
commander.
General
Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution
Guards Corps (IRGC), and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy
head of the Popular Mobilization Units, were targeted along with their
companions in a US terror drone strike authorized by President Donald Trump
near Baghdad International Airport.
Two
days after the attack, Iraqi lawmakers approved a bill on January 5 that
requires the government to end the presence of all foreign military forces led
by the United States in the country.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/12/31/641963/Iraq-US-Basra-blast-convoy
--------
Africa
Is
Boko Haram Gaining Foothold in Nigeria's Northwest?
By
Sirwan Kajjo
December
31, 2020
Boko
Haram's claim of responsibility for a recent kidnapping of more than 300
students in Nigeria's northwestern state of Katsina signals that the militant
group is expanding its terror activities beyond its traditional stronghold in
the West African country's northeast, experts warn.
On
December 11, Boko Haram's leader, Abubakar Shekau, said in an audio recording
that his group was behind the abduction of the schoolboys in the town of
Kankara in Katsina. The students, however, were released several days after
being abducted by gunmen.
The
militant group also released a video showing some of the students before their
release.
Regardless
of whether Boko Haram was responsible for the kidnappings, some experts say the
incident represents a worrying sign for stability and security in northern
Nigeria.
Shekau
"has been able to claim it and that is in part because northwest Nigeria
has been facing a simmering security crisis over the last year," said
Daniel Eizenga, an expert on violent extremism at the Africa Center for
Strategic Studies in Washington.
In
recent months, northwestern Nigeria has witnessed growing intercommunal
violence, including conflict between herders and farmers, violent crime from
bandits, and initial indications that extremist groups may be gaining ground in
the area.
"Within
this complicated context of rising insecurity, it is possible for Boko Haram to
appear more dangerous and expansive than it may actually be," Eizenga told
VOA.
He
added that "should the trajectory of northwest Nigeria follow a similar
path as the northeast, much of northern Nigeria will have become embroiled in a
security crisis that has been simmering for the better part of the past
decade."
Boko
Haram, which has been fighting to create an Islamic state based in Nigeria, has
killed 36,000 people and displaced millions since it began its insurgency a
decade ago.
Despite
carrying out terror attacks in neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger – mostly in
the Lake Chad Basin – the group's activities inside Nigeria have largely
remained limited to its stronghold in the northeast.
Various
hypotheses
While
the Nigerian government hasn't confirmed whether Boko Haram was responsible for
kidnapping students in Katsina, experts say there are several hypotheses for a
possible Boko Haram presence in Nigeria's northwest.
"One
is that a faction of Boko Haram might well have contracted with a criminal gang
to carry out the kidnapping without actually doing it itself," said John
Campbell, a senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the Council on Foreign
Relations in Washington.
"Another
hypothesis is that Boko Haram simply claimed responsibility (for the
kidnapping) as part of a propaganda initiative," he told VOA, adding that
another "possibility of course is that indeed Boko Haram has become active
in the northwest."
However,
Campbell, a former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, stressed that "if we're
going to talk about Boko Haram being active in the northwest, I think we need
some evidence of a political or ideological dimension."
Other
jihadist groups have in the past carried out attacks in northwest Nigeria. For
example, the Ansaru, a Boko Haram breakaway group, has claimed responsibility
for several attacks in the area in 2020.
Government
response
The
recent developments in the northwest should be "a cause for the Nigerian
security forces to redouble their efforts in the region, especially with
regards to intelligence," said Gbenga Akinbule, a Nigerian affairs
analyst.
The
fact that Boko Haram might be present in the northwest requires a serious
response from the Nigerian military, he said.
"Our
security forces should go back there to clean up and see how best they can get
to look at the dangerous trend that is happening," Akinbule told VOA.
Analyst
Eizenga disagrees.
"Approaching
the growing insecurity in the northwest with heavy-handed operations that
neutralize militants and destroy their camps is unlikely to resolve the main
drivers of these different security threats," he said.
Eizenga
suggested that the Nigerian government needs "to work closely with local
communities to develop differentiated responses to the threats they are
facing."
In
late 2015, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said his military had
"technically defeated" Boko Haram militants in the country.
https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/boko-haram-gaining-foothold-nigerias-northwest
--------
‘Our
children die in our hands’: Floods ravage South Sudan
January
01, 2021
OLD
FANGAK, South Sudan: On a scrap of land surrounded by flooding in South Sudan,
families drink and bathe from the waters that swept away latrines and continue
to rise.
Some
1 million people in the country have been displaced or isolated for months by
the worst flooding in memory, with the intense rainy season a sign of climate
change. The waters began rising in June, washing away crops, swamping roads and
worsening hunger and disease in the young nation struggling to recover from
civil war. Now famine is a threat.
On
a recent visit by The Associated Press to the Old Fangak area in hard-hit
Jonglei state, parents spoke of walking for hours in chest-deep water to find
food and health care as malaria and diarrheal diseases spread.
Regina
Nyakol Piny, a mother of nine, now lives in a primary school in the village of
Wangchot after their home was swamped.
“We
don’t have food here, we rely only on UN humanitarian agencies or by collecting
firewood and selling it,” she said. “My children get sick because of the
floodwaters, and there is no medical service in this place.”
She
said she eagerly waits for peace to return to the country, with the belief that
medical services will follow “that will be even enough for us.”
One
of her nieces, Nyankun Dhoal, delivered her seventh child into a world of water
in November.
“I
feel very tired and my body feels really weak,” she said. One of her breasts
was swollen, and her baby had rashes. She wishes for food, and for plastic
sheeting so that she and her family can stay dry.
The
mud sucks at people’s feet as they engage in the daily struggles to hold back
the waters and find something to eat.
Nyaduoth
Kun, a mother of five, said the floods destroyed her family’s crops and life
has been a struggle for months, with people selling their prized cattle to buy
food that’s never enough.
The
family eats just two meals a day and the adults often go to bed on empty
stomachs, she said. She has begun collecting water lilies and wild fruits for
food.
She
said she had little knowledge of the coronavirus pandemic ravaging other parts
of the world and spreading largely undetected in poorly resourced South Sudan.
“There are many diseases living among us, so we can’t figure out if it’s
coronavirus or not,” she said.
Instead,
her fear is that the makeshift water dike around their home could collapse at
any time, flooding the young children.
The
chief of Wangchot village, James Diang, made the decision early during the
flooding to send badly affected children to the town center after several
drowned “and everything was being destroyed rapidly.”
Now
cattle are dying, he said, and survivors have been transported to drier areas.
Remaining
residents are eating tree leaves and sometimes fish to survive, he said. Fevers
and joint pain are widespread.
When
there is no canoe to transport people during times that waters surge, “our
children die in our hands because we are helpless,” he said.
He
hopes, like everyone, for sustainable peace, and for an improved dike so the
community can have enough dry ground for planting.
The
people of South Sudan put their trust in President Salva Kiir and former armed
opposition leader Riek Machar to lead during this transition period, “but now
they are failing us,” said the government’s acting deputy director in the area,
Kueth Gach Monydhot. “We don’t have hope, we lost confidence in them.”
The
situation in Fangak county remains volatile, with almost all of its more than
60 villages affected by the flooding and “no response from the government,” he
said. “Do you think they will plan for other people when they have failed to
implement the peace agreement?“
At
the clinic in Old Fangak run by the medical charity Doctors Without Borders,
Nyalual Chol said the dike she tried to build against the floodwaters
collapsed, and her home quickly collapsed, too.
She
had been alone at home with her four children. As with many families, her
husband was away on duty in another part of the country as a soldier.
She
reached the clinic by canoe after an hour of travel, seeking help for her sick
child. There, she also received a ration of food.
The
Doctors Without Borders project coordinator in Old Fangak, Dorothy I. Esonwune,
recalled the sight of newly displaced people sheltering under trees without
mats, blankets or mosquito nets.
Meanwhile,
the charity’s mobile clinics were suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
further complicating efforts to reach sick people stranded by the flooding.
“The
water continues to rise and the dikes continue to break and there are people
still displaced, yet they don’t have the main necessities,” she said,
describing several people often crammed into a single shelter.
Now
the international community has rung the alarm about likely famine in another
flood-hit part of Jonglei state.
The
UN Food and Agriculture Organization representative in South Sudan, Meshak
Malo, has appealed to the parties that signed the country’s peace accord to
cease violence and ensure safe humanitarian access to prevent the dire
situation from turning into a full-blown catastrophe.
The
new report of likely famine is an eye-opener and a signal to the government,
which has not endorsed its findings, said the chairman of the National Bureau
of Statistics, Isaiah Chol Aruai.
“There
is no way that the government would ignore or downplay an emergency when it’s
really found out to be an emergency,” he said.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1785691/middle-east
--------
Europe
Italy
slams Egypt's decision to clear police in Italian student Regeni's murder
01
January 2021
The
Italian government has described as "unacceptable" a decision by
Egypt's public prosecutor to clear five police officers over the murder of
Italian student Giulio Regeni.
The
decision announced on Wednesday came nearly three weeks after Italian
prosecutors said they planned to charge four Egyptian security officers over
the torture and death of Regeni.
For
all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The
Cambridge University graduate was in Egypt researching trade unions, when he
was kidnapped in January 2016 and his mutilated body later found on the
outskirts of Cairo.
"The
declarations of the Egyptian public prosecutor's office are unacceptable,"
the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement.
It
said it would "continue to work at all levels, including through the
European Union, for the truth about Giulio Regeni's brutal murder to finally
emerge".
"We
hope the Egyptian public prosecutor shares this insistence on the truth and
will extend all necessary collaboration to the Rome prosecutor's office,"
it added.
In
his statement, public prosecutor Hamada al-Sawy said he had no intention of
"pursuing a criminal case in the murder, abduction and torture of Giulio
Regeni because the perpetrator is unknown".
Investigators
would continue to seek the identity of the murderer but the prosecution has
"ruled out" any charges "against the four officers and a fifth
policeman" in connection with the case, he said.
Regeni's
death sparked outrage in Italy and strained diplomatic relations between the
two countries, with Italy's government accusing Egyptian authorities of
non-cooperation.
On
December 10, Italian public prosecutor Michele Prestipino told a parliamentary
commission in Rome there were "elements of significant proof"
implicating Egyptian policemen.
"We
are going to ask to begin a criminal action concerning certain members of the
Egyptian security services," he said.
"We
owe it to the memory of Giulio Regeni."
Regeni
had been researching the sensitive topic of labour organisations in Egypt when
he disappeared. He had also written articles critical of the government under a
pen name.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2021/01/01/Italy-slams-Egypt-s-decision-to-clear-police-in-Italian-student-Regeni-s-murder
--------
ISIS
claims knife attack by two assailants in capital of Russia’s southern Chechnya
01
January 2021
The
ISIS group has claimed responsibility for a knife attack on police on Monday in
the capital of Russia’s southern Chechnya region, Al-Naba newspaper affiliated
with the group said on Friday.
It
made the claim without providing any evidence.
Two
assailants killed one policeman and injured another on Monday in Grozny,
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said.
The
poor and mainly Muslim region has seen previous attacks on security officials
and an insurgency since Moscow fought two wars with separatists after the 1991
Soviet Union breakup.
Kadyrov
said the attackers were brothers from the neighboring region of Ingushetia who
worked at a bakery in Chechnya. They were shot dead while trying to seize
weapons, he said.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2021/01/01/ISIS-claims-knife-attack-by-two-assailants-in-capital-of-Russia-s-southern-Chechnya
--------
Southeast
Asia
Mahathir
slams ‘lie’ that PN a Malay-Muslim govt
Adam
Abu Bakar
December
31, 2020
SHAH
ALAM: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has slammed Perikatan Nasional leaders for claiming
the current administration is a Malay-Muslim government, saying its survival
depended on the support of non-Muslim MPs.
The
former prime minister said the ruling coalition was in fact in a shaky position
as, without the support of the non-Muslims MPs, the Muhyiddin Yassin-led
government would collapse.
“If
the Chinese and Indian leaders decide not to back it (PN), the government will
fall. Because of these two or three non-Muslims leaders, the Malay-Muslim
government can collapse,” he said.
On
the other hand, Mahathir said, Pejuang, the party he founded, had never claimed
to want to form a Malay-Muslim government and was prepared to work with other
parties.
“But
of course we will champion the interest of the Malays, as it is the cornerstone
of the country.”
Asked
if Pejuang was prepared to work with the likes of DAP and PKR, Mahathir said
his party would become an “alternative movement” which would not be tied to any
other party.
“We
want to see first what is being done by this alliance (of DAP and PKR) and
their stand. If it is in line with our objectives, we will consider. But at
this moment, we are not keen.”
Mahathir
also said Pejuang had a “Plan B” if the Registrar of Societies decided to
reject its application as it had done previously to PPBM – the party he also
founded after leaving Umno – and Pakatan Harapan, in the run up to the last
general election.
“However
we can’t reveal it. But trust us, we know what we are doing.”
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2020/12/31/mahathir-slams-lie-that-pn-a-malay-muslim-govt/
--------
Indira
Gandhi’s 2021 journey to reunite with stolen daughter
01
Jan 2021
BY
YISWAREE PALANSAMY
KUALA
LUMPUR, Jan 1 ― M. Indira Gandhi’s resolution for 2021 remains the same as the
one she made 11 years ago when she was forcefully separated from her youngest
child Prasana Diksa.
To
see and hold her little girl once more.
“It's
getting very frustrating because we are waiting for an end to this and that a
solution will come, but nothing is happening.
“I
waited for more than 11 years. Prasana is already 12, but still, I can't even
see her. I am not even allowed to see her. I feel very let down by the
government,” she told Malay Mail when contacted.
The
wheels of justice have been grinding exceedingly slow for this mother of three
from Ipoh, Perak.
Indira
saw justice as on her side when the Federal Court ordered the police in 2018 to
find and return Prasana, stolen away by her ex-husband just before he converted
to Islam in 2009.
The
High Court had first issued an arrest warrant for the Muslim convert who now
goes by Muhammad Riduan Abdullah in 2014.
But
until last September, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador
said the process to return Prasana and Muhammad Riduan was complicated and time
consuming as both were no longer in Malaysia.
Abdul
Hamid said police knew where the father and daughter were, but did not disclose
the country, only saying negotiations for their extradition through a
third-party were ongoing.
In
August, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin claimed Muhammad Ridhuan was
believed to be living abroad and regularly relocating to avoid detection.
That
same month, Abdul Hamid also said that the police were looking for an amicable
solution where both Indira and Muhammad Riduan will get the benefit of “some
form of joint custody”.
This
despite a High Court ruling in 2010 granting full custody of all three children
from their marriage to Indira.
Unable
to bear the misery of a longer wait, India filed a RM100 million lawsuit
against the IGP and the police in November 2020, over their continued failure
to execute the court order to reunite the mother and daughter.
Her
voice cracking with emotion, Indira pointed out that the courts had sided with
her and questioned why the IGP sought to negotiate with her fugitive ex-husband
for joint custody of Prasana.
“I
truly do not get all these statements by the authorities one bit. I am not
asking for anything unjust, but what is rightfully mine. Why must so much
consideration be given to a party who wronged me?
“This
matter should also not be politicised by other parties. She is my daughter and
I want her back. Why must this be spiralled into what it is today? When will I
see Prasana ever? I am her mother. Her birth mother. I should not be begging
this way,” Indira said.
Now
45, Indira has gained a number of accolades and recognition in her search for
her daughter last seen at 11 months old.
The
US Embassy here lauded Indira as one of its international women of courage in
recognition of her legal challenge against the unilateral conversion of her
three children, and her efforts to reunite with Prasana.
Muhammad
Riduan, formerly known as K. Pathmanathan, embraced Islam in 2009 and converted
all three of his children with Indira on April 2 the same year without her
knowledge. They had been raised as Hindus.
After
a protracted court battle that spanned years, the Federal Court ruled in
January 2018 that the unilateral conversions of Indira’s children were
unlawful.
Their
two older children, Tevi Darsiny, now 22, and Karan Dinish, now 21, have stayed
with Indira.
Keeping
hope lit
Despite
the setbacks, Indira has not given up hope of meeting her lost daughter.
She
had initially planned to go on a hunger strike to compel a meeting with the
IGP. It was later cancelled after he agreed to meet not just Indira but her
supporters who have formed a solidarity group called the Indira Gandhi Action
Team, or Ingat for short, last September.
Indira
also planned to carry out a justice walk from Sungai Petani, Kedah to the Prime
Minister's Office in Putrajaya, which has been put on hold due to the pandemic.
She
told Malay Mail that her justice walk would resume in 2021 at a date to be
announced later, though she hopes to do it by the end of January if the
Covid-19 situation in the country improves by then.
“We
will announce the date because it's the pandemic now, and the numbers are
increasing. We don't want to take risks. Other than that, we have the plan set
up.
“We
want to do the justice walk at the end of January but we are still going to
wait and see how the pandemic situation is by then,” she said.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/01/01/indira-gandhis-2021-journey-to-reunite-with-stolen-daughter/1936369
--------
DAP
can’t win beyond 18 federal seats? We’ve done it thrice before without your
help, Kit Siang tells Dr Mahathir
01
Jan 2021
BY
EMMANUEL SANTA MARIA CHIN
KUALA
LUMPUR, Jan 1 — Contrary to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s claim, DAP is capable of
winning more than 18 parliamentary seats without help from him, veteran
Opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang said today.
Scoffing
at the former prime minister’s recent assertion, Lim said DAP has proven so
more than once in past general elections, and attributed its success to the
party’s consistency in sticking to its principles and five objectives for a
multiracial, multilingual and multicultural society that has struck a chord
with voters.
“I
admit that Dr Mahathir had helped in DAP winning 42 parliamentary seats in the
2018 General Election, but to say that the DAP had not been able to win more
than 18 parliamentary seats is totally incorrect,” the Iskandar Puteri MP said
in a statement.
He
pointed out the DAP’s trajectory in elections has consistently moved upwards
over the years.
He
said it won 24 parliamentary seats in the 1986 elections, 20 seats four years
later, 38 seats in Election 2013, before securing 42 seats in the last general
election in 2018.
“Although
the DAP had been demonised by lies, falsehoods and fake news as anti-Malay,
anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers for the past five decades, the DAP had right
from its formation in 1966 been committed to a multi-racial, multi-lingual,
multi-religious and multi-cultural Malaysian objective and had never been
against any race or religion or against the monarchical system in Malaysia.
“With
the diabolical campaign of misinformation, lies, falsehoods and fake news,
which were intensified in the last 12 years since 2008, that the DAP was
anti-Malay, anti-Islam and anti-Malay Rulers, we faced an uphill battle to win
over the support of the Malays, but we have never given up this challenge,” Lim
added.
Dr
Mahathir told China Press in a recent interview that the Pakatan Harapan
coalition ― of which DAP is a founding party ― would not be able to garner
Malay support in the next general election without his help.
Dr
Mahathir had singled out DAP, saying the party benefited the most from his
popularity during the GE13 campaign as he helped bolster Malay support,
enabling it to win 42 out of 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
The
95-year-old left Umno and was later expelled last year from Bersatu, the Malay
Bumiputera-based party he co-founded in 2016, after the collapse of the PH
government.
Dr
Mahathir has since founded yet another Malay based party called Pejuang, which
had called for all Opposition parties to band together again and form a “grand
coalition” to take on the Perikatan Nasional government in the next general election,
which is not due until 2023.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/01/01/dap-cant-win-beyond-18-federal-seats-weve-done-it-thrice-before-without-you/1936474
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