Preacher of Sufi Islam Targeted: Blast Rips through Mosque in Afghan Capital, Killing Many Worshippers and Injuring Dozens of Others
New Age Islam News Bureau
18 August 2022
Blood seen throughout the
main prayer hall of Abu Bakr Siddique Mosque in Kabul/ Photo: aa.com
-----
• How the Ulama and the Muslims Who Sacrificed Most
for Independence Can Be Anti-National: Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind President
• Turkey, Israeli Regime Announce Restoration of Full
Diplomatic Relations
• Mali Accuses France of Allegedly Providing
Information and Weapons to Terrorists
• US To Withhold Billions of Dollars from Taliban over
Al-Zawahiri
South
Asia
• ‘They Are Militias, Let Them Be Killed’; Entrapping
Security Forces, Another Allegation Against Ex-President Ghani
• Bangladesh PM tells UN that Myanmar must take
Rohingya back
• Families of 9/11 Victims Urge Biden to Return $3.5B
to Afghan People
• Taliban kill one of their ex-leaders from minority
Hazara community
--------
India
• Muslim Bodies Condemn Release of Bilkis Bano Case
Convicts; Calling It "A Wrong Message for the Society As Well As the
Victim"
• Rohingyas: Centre Denies Union Minister’s Claim
after Vishwa Hindu Parishad Stinging Criticism
• Delhi Govt Decided Rohingya Shifting At July
Meeting: BJP
• Cleric Detained For Alleged Forced Nikah of A
15-Year-Old Hindu Girl In With A Hindu Man in Mosque In UP
• Kasaragod Mosque Committee Accuses Muslim League State
Treasurer Of Trying To Usurp Its Land
• Congress Leader Warned That It Was Unnecessary to
Put up VD Savarkar’s Pictures In Muslim-Dominated Areas
• Karnataka: Group of men and women on outing targeted
over presence of Muslims
• ATS takes three alleged JeM militants on 12-day
remand
• Pakistani drones drop ammunition in Jammu and
Kashmir
--------
Mideast
• Resistance to continue until liberation of
Palestine: Islamic Jihad official
• Israeli forces kill Palestinian youth in West Bank
clashes: Medics
• Tehran Urges Washington to Release Jailed Iranians
• Leader's Aide: Iran Backs 'One China' Policy against
US Conspiracies
• Palestinian leader says not intended to deny
Holocaust
--------
Africa
• Niger's civil society opposes deployment of French
troops after departure from Mali
• Morocco sentences 13 migrants to prison, says lawyer
• Syrian refugee alleges killings, rapes in Libya
• Kenyan electoral chair claims 4 commissioners wanted
to alter elections results for re-run
--------
North
America
• US Defence Department: Over $7B in US Military
Equipment Seized By Islamic Emirate
• Rushdie attacker ‘surprised’ author survived
multiple stabbing: Reports
• Families of 9/11 victims urge Biden to send frozen
assets back to Afghan people
--------
Pakistan
• Militants Won’t Be Allowed To Disturb Peace: Swat
Qaumi Jirga
• Protest continues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over
targeted killings by Pak Army
• Pakistan: Punjab’s Ruling Party Wants to Ban Ahmadis
from a Whole District
• Pak PM Shehbaz likely to meet Chinese President Xi
during SCO summit: Report
• UK Inks Deal to Return ‘Criminals’ To Pakistan
• Pak, Iran need to exploit mutual existing potential:
Bilawal
• Ulema, media’s role vital in polio eradication:
Patel
--------
Europe
• UK Police Detail ‘Remarkable’ Probe into Daesh
‘Beatles’ Cell
• Palestinian general discusses military, intelligence
co-operation at talks in Moscow
• Germany and Israel condemn Palestinian president
Holocaust statements
• Türkiye holds panel in Paris to push for UN Security
Council reform
• Killing of Afghan refugee prompts police
reinforcements in French town
• Uproar in Israel, Germany over Palestinian President
Abbas’s remarks
--------
Arab
World
• Iraqi Crisis Talks Go Ahead without Muqtada al-Sadr
• Turkish forces 'neutralize' 9 YPG/PKK terrorists in
northern Syria
• Syria denies kidnapping or holding US journalist
missing for 10 years
• Drivers in Syria’s Damascus feel the pinch of spiralling
fuel prices
• First Saudi pro boxer hopes to be most successful
athlete in Kingdom’s history
• Syria denies holding American citizens captive,
including journalist Austin Tice
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Indonesia Celebrates First Independence Day at
Future Capital, In the Ancient Rainforests of Eastern Borneo
• Christian lawsuit against Malaysian politician fails
• Indonesia seeks justice for wrongfully imprisoned
citizen
• Can Indonesia's Muslim leaders help combat climate
change?
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/preacher-sufi-mosque-afghan-kabul-worshippers/d/127744
--------
Preacher of Sufi Islam Targeted: Blast Rips through
Mosque in Afghan Capital, Killing Many Worshippers and Injuring Dozens of
Others
Blood seen throughout the
main prayer hall of Abu Bakr Siddique Mosque in Kabul/ Photo: aa.com
-----
Bilal Gular
18.08.2022
KABUL, Afghanistan
A huge bomb exploded during evening prayers Wednesday
at a mosque in Afghanistan's capital, killing many worshippers and injuring
dozens of others, according to local media.
In multiple videos posted on Twitter following the
blast, blood was seen throughout the main prayer hall of Abu Bakr Siddique
Mosque in Kabul, which is adjacent to an Islamic seminary in the Khairkhana
Kotal neighbourhood.
The mosque's prayer leader, Maulvi Amir Mohammad
Kabuli, a renowned Afghan scholar and preacher of Sufi Islam, was targeted, and
the majority of those killed and wounded were seminary students, according to
the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP).
Khalid Zadran, a spokesman for the Kabul Police
Department, did not provide casualty counts. He did, however, confirm that a
bomb had exploded at the mosque which killed and injured several people.
He said a large number of security and first aid teams
were dispatched to the area.
Emergency Hospital, one of the largest health care
centers in Kabul, announced on Twitter that 27 patients, including five
children, were treated there, while the Al Jazeera news network claimed that
around 20 people lost their lives.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for Afghanistan's
interim administration, condemned the explosion but did not provide details on
casualties.
He said the perpetrators would be found as soon as
possible.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the
attack. However, the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization claimed responsibility
for the killing of senior Taliban cleric Maulvi Rahimullah Haqqani and his
brother in a suicide bombing in Kabul's Sherpur area last week.
The terrorist group has intensified its subversive
activities in Afghanistan, which is grappling with many challenges since the
Taliban came to power last year after US forces withdrew from the country.
The Taliban have been struggling for recognition of
their government, facing financial difficulties as the US has frozen
Afghanistan's approximately $9.5 billion in assets, despite warnings from the
UN that the population is facing extreme starvation.
However, the terrorism issue appears to be the most
pressing one because on Aug. 5 and 6, Daesh/ISIS claimed responsibility for two
attacks on the Shia Muslim community in Kabul that left 11 people dead and 25
injured.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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original story:
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How the Ulama and the Muslims Who Sacrificed Most for
Independence Can Be Anti-National: Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind President
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind President
Maulana Arshad Madani
----
18th August 2022
New Delhi: Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind President Maulana
Arshad Madani said that how can the people who “sacrificed the most for the
country’s independence” be anti-national.
“The freedom movement of India was started by the
Ulama and the Muslims; and the first flag of rebellion against the British in
India was raised by the Ulama,” he said during an event.
“The people who first gave the slogan of freedom,
today the same people are called traitors. Muslims are being depicted so all
over the country today. How can someone whose elders gave the freedom be a
traitor,” he asserted.
“Our elders from Hindu and Muslim communities went
ahead on the path of unity and liberated the country from the slavery of the
British, but unfortunately partition also took place. This partition has become
a cause of destruction and ruin, not just for a particular community, but for
both Hindus and Muslims,” Madani added.
Speaking on the issue of China, he said, “If the
partition would have not happened and these three countries (India, Pakistan,
and Bangladesh) would have been together, then today this would have not been
the situation that China was infiltrating inside India and the government is
silent on it”
Source: Siasat Daily
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original story:
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Turkey, Israeli Regime Announce Restoration of Full
Diplomatic Relations
Over the last few years,
Turkey has set about repairing ties with its neighbours and abandoning the
hardline approach. It had made overtures to Egypt, the UAE, Israel and Saudi
Arabia
----
17 August 2022
Turkey and Israel have announced the restoration of
full diplomatic relations and to mutually reinstate ambassadors, marking the
culmination of hectic efforts by the two sides to repair bilateral ties
following years of tensions.
On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu told reporters at a press conference that the move would mark what he
called “a milestone” in efforts to normalize ties between his country and the
Israeli regime.
“The steps we would take to normalize relations
includes mutually reappointing of ambassadors. At the news conference we held
with (Israeli Prime Minister Yair) Lapid in this hall, we made a statement that
we started the work on the appointment of ambassadors,” he said, the official
Anadolu news agency reported.
“As a result of these efforts, such a positive step
came from Israel. Of course, we, as Turkey, have decided to appoint an
ambassador to Israel, to Tel Aviv,” Cavusoglu said at a news conference with
his Kyrgyz counterpart Jeenbek Kulubaev.
The process would begin after both sides presented the
names of the ambassadors, he said.
Cavusoglu, however, said Ankara’s decision to restore
diplomatic relations with Israel did not mean Turkey would abandon its support
for the Palestinians.
“We are not giving up on the Palestinian cause. It is
important for our messages to be conveyed directly through the ambassador (on
the Palestinian issue).”
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli prime minister
released a statement, announcing the "upgrading of relations" between
the two sides.
“It was decided to once again upgrade the level of the
relations between” Israel and Turkey “to that of full diplomatic ties and to
return ambassadors and consuls general from” the two sides, he said
Lapid said “renewing relations with Turkey is an
important asset for regional stability and very important economic news for”
Israelis.
“Upgrading relations will contribute to deepening ties
between” the two sides, “expanding economic, trade, and cultural ties, and
strengthening regional stability,” the Israeli prime minister said in his
statement, issued following a telephone conversation with Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Back in March, Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid a
visit to Turkey and met with Erdogan. The visit purportedly helped soothe the
strained relations after more than a decade of tensions. The trip was followed
by visits by foreign ministers.
Earlier, Erdogan told a gathering of ambassadors in
Ankara that resuming full relations with the Israeli regime would “allow us to
help our Palestinian brothers.”
Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador in 2018 over
the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests on the border
separating the besieged Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied Palestinian
territories against the opening of the US Embassy in al-Quds.
Erdogan at the time condemned Israel for carrying out
“genocide” and behaving like a “terrorist” regime. While the Turkish government
declared three-day national mourning over the carnage, Tel Aviv expelled the
Turkish ambassador in a tit-for-tat move.
In late May 2010, diplomatic relations between Ankara
and Tel Aviv significantly deteriorated when Israeli commandoes boarded,
deploying from helicopters, the humanitarian Mavi-Marmara flotilla, and killed
ten Turkish citizens.
The convoy, composed of six civilian ships, carried
663 people from 37 nations, mostly pro-Palestinian activists. The ships, one of
whom was flying a Turkish flag, were also carrying humanitarian aid and
construction materials. The mission was to break the blockade of the Gaza
Strip.
Israel's YNet news website on Tuesday reported that a
day earlier, a senior Israeli official had predicted, in an interview with the
website, that Israeli airlines would be granted permission to fly into Istanbul
in a matter of weeks.
The official said the move would come after the
signing of a new mutual aviation agreement between Ankara and Tel Aviv last
month. The parties, he said, were now finalizing the details that would allow
Israeli airlines to fly to Turkey while meeting Israel’s stringent security
requirements.
Earlier in August, Israel also reopened its economic
office in Turkey after three years of closure.
Source: Press TV
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original story:
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Mali Accuses France of Allegedly Providing Information
and Weapons to Terrorists
Photo:aa.com
----
Hassan Isilow
17.08.2022
Johannesburg
Mali accused France of allegedly providing information
and weapons to terrorists, according to local media on Wednesday.
According to a report published in the weekly Jeune
Afrique, Bamako said it denounced, in particular, the repeated violations of
its airspace by the French forces, whose last troops officially left the
country on Tuesday.
Jeune Afrique quoted a letter dated Aug. 16 and signed
by the head of Malian diplomacy Abdoulaye Diop that called for an emergency
meeting with the UN to take stock of the situation in the country.
On Tuesday, French authorities announced that they had
withdrawn their last troops from Mali ending a nine-year operation in the West
African country that was its hub to tackle militants in the Sahel region.
On Wednesday, a coalition of 15 civil society
organizations in neighboring Niger expressed disappointment against the
deployment of French troops in their country. According to local publication La
Nouvelle Tribune, civil society organizations called for protests demanding the
immediate departure of the French.
Source: Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/mali-accuses-france-of-allegedly-supporting-terrorists/2663301
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US To Withhold Billions of Dollars from Taliban over Al-Zawahiri
Al-Zawahiri, the successor
to Osama bin Laden, was killed last month in a drone strike while standing on
the balcony of a house in Kabul. (File/AFP)
-----
August 17, 2022
LONDON: Billions of dollars being held by the US will
not be transferred to Afghanistan after Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri was
killed in Kabul on July 31.
Al-Zawahiri’s presence in Afghanistan meant Washington
does not have “confidence” that the country’s central bank “has the safeguards
and monitoring in place to manage assets responsibly,” said Tom West, the US
special representative for Afghanistan.
“Needless to say, the Taliban’s sheltering of Al-Qaeda
leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri reinforces deep concerns we have regarding diversion
of funds to terrorist groups.”
The US has held around $3.5 billion intended for
Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country last year.
Afghanistan’s economy has struggled since the
withdrawal of coalition forces in August 2021, with officials negotiating with
US representatives for ways to alleviate the situation.
But West said the US does not see returning funds to
the country as a “near-term option” as the Taliban cannot provide guarantees
that the money will not be used to fund terrorism.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price, though, said
Washington would find alternative, humanitarian uses for the funds to help ease
the suffering of ordinary Afghans.
“The idea that we have decided not to use these funds
for the benefit of the Afghan people is simply wrong. It is not true,” he
added.
“Right now we’re looking at mechanisms that could be
put in place to see to it that these $3.5 billion in preserved assets make
their way efficiently and effectively to the people of Afghanistan in a way
that doesn’t make them ripe for diversion to terrorist groups or elsewhere.”
US President Joe Biden in February ordered that $7
billion being held by the US for Afghanistan be split between humanitarian aid
for the country, and 9/11 victims and their families.
Al-Zawahiri, the successor to Osama bin Laden, who
orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, was killed last month in a drone strike while
standing on the balcony of a house in which he was living in the center of
Kabul.
His presence in Afghanistan was a “gross violation” of
an agreement struck with Washington for the Taliban not to permit terrorist
organizations to operate in the country, the US said.
A UN Security Council report earlier this year said
the Taliban takeover had allowed “greater freedom” for foreign fighters to live
and operate in the country.
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator and deputy special
representative for Afghanistan, Ramiz Alakbarov, said the country faces “pure
catastrophe” due to its precarious economic state, with 6.6 million people
threatened with famine this winter and 24 million in need of humanitarian aid.
He added that poverty is forcing Afghans to make
desperate decisions such as “the selling of organs, and the selling of
children,” and that despite many spending as much as 90 percent of their income
on food, he was still seeing evidence of severely malnourished children
nationwide.
Erin Sikorsky, director at the US-based Center for
Climate and Security, told the Daily Telegraph: “Poor governance by the Taliban
will make things worse. It is likely Afghanistan will see more internally
displaced people going forward, as disruptions to ... agriculture intersect
with other security risks.”
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2144711/world
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South Asia
‘They are militias, let them be killed’; Entrapping Security Forces, Another Allegation against Ex-President Ghani
By Saqalain Eqbal
17 Aug 2022
Former Afghan House of Representatives member Rahim
Ayubi alleged that Ashraf Ghani, the ousted president of Afghanistan, responded
calmly, “they are militias, let them be killed,” after Ayubi informed him about
the rising number of civilian and military casualties.
People’s Representative in the Afghan Parliament,
Rahim Ayubi, claimed in a televised appearance that the then-President of
Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, muttered “they are militias, let them be
killed,” in Ayubi’s ear at the end of the meeting when he expressed concern
over rising casualties.
Ayubi, a prominent Afghan politician and the president
of the Afghan United Nation Political Party, labeled ex-President Ghani a “national
traitor” for referring to those who risk their lives and spill their blood for
Afghanistan as “militia.”
Ayubi describes a meeting with the president that
occurred prior to the collapse of the republic government to the Taliban. The
meeting with the president was also attended by Humayun Humayun, Zahir Qadir,
Lalai Hamidzai, and other Kandahar province MPs.
Source: Khaama Press
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Bangladesh PM tells UN that Myanmar must take Rohingya
back
Aug 17, 2022
Bangladesh's leader told a visiting UN official on
Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of ethnic minority Rohingya refugees
living in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh must return home to Myanmar, where
they had fled waves of violent persecution.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the comment to UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in Bangladesh’s capital,
Dhaka. Bachelet arrived on Sunday and visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar
district near the border with Myanmar.
“The Rohingya are nationals of Myanmar and they have
to be taken back,” Hasina was quoted as saying by her press secretary, Ihsanul
Karim.
Muslim Rohingya face widespread discrimination in
Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where most are denied citizenship and many other
rights. More than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh starting in late August 2017 when
the Myanmar military launched a “clearance operation” against them following
attacks by a rebel group. The safety situation in Myanmar has worsened
following a military takeover last year.
Currently, Bangladesh is hosting more than 1 million
Rohingya refugees.
The refugees will mark the fifth anniversary of their
latest influx in Bangladesh amid botched attempts to send them home. Earlier
this month, Bangladesh sought cooperation from China in repatriating Rohingya
to Myanmar during a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China had brokered a
November 2017 agreement with Myanmar aimed at sending them back.
Hasina and several Cabinet ministers earlier expressed
frustration over what they called Myanmar's inaction in taking them back under
the agreement. The U.N. and Bangladesh authorities have tried at least twice to
began repatriations, but the refugees refused to go, citing safety concerns in
Myanmar.
When Bachelet visited the camps on Wednesday, refugees
urged the UN to help improve safety inside Myanmar so they can return.
The UN said in a statement that the refugees described
“their grievances, their pains” to Bachelet.
“When our rights are respected, we can have our
livelihoods again, and we can have land, and we can feel that we are part of
the country,” it quoted refugees as telling her.
Bachelet emphasized the importance of ensuring that
safe and sustainable conditions exist and that any returns be conducted in a
voluntary and dignified way, it said.
“The UN is doing the best we can to support them.
We’ll continue doing that,” she said. “But we also need to deal with the
profound roots of the problem. We need to deal with that and ensure that they
can go back to Myanmar -– when there are conditions for safety and voluntary
return.”
Source: Hindustan Times
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Families of 9/11 Victims Urge Biden to Return $3.5B to
Afghan People
By Arif Ahmadi
18 Aug 2022
KABUL, Afghanistan – At least 77 family members of
victims of 9/11 in a letter to United States President Joe Biden wrote “the
Afghanistan central bank funds currently being kept in New York belong to the
Afghan people,” arguing the pending court’s decision is “morally wrong” if
decided otherwise.
Nearly seven billion dollars of Afghan assets are kept
in the United States of America, and half of this money is waiting for the
court’s decision on whether it will be handed over to the victims of the 9/11
attacks or not.
The letter wrote that any use of the $7 billion to pay
off 9/11 family member judgments is “legally suspect” and “morally wrong.”
“We ask you to use your executive power to modify your
recent order and commit to the only legally and morally correct approach –
affirming that all $7 billion of the Afghan central bank funds being kept in
New York belong to the Afghan people,” the letter reads, as TOLOnews quoted.
The US State Department spokesman Ned Price at a
recent press conference said that $3.5 billion in Afghan central bank reserves
were preserved for the benefit of the Afghan people, seeking a mechanism that
will ensure transparency throughout the process.
“What we are focused on right now are the ongoing
efforts to enable those funds, the $3.5 billion in licensed Afghan central bank
reserves, to be used for the benefit of the Afghan people,” Price told the
press conference.
“And we’re seeking to find the best mechanism to
ensure that those funds can go to the Afghan people in a way that doesn’t risk
their diversion from the Taliban or other forces, including to potentially
terrorist groups or terrorist actors.”
In February, President Biden signed an executive order
to free $7 billion in Afghan assets now frozen in the US, splitting the money
between humanitarian aid for poverty-stricken Afghanistan and a fund for
families of 9/11 victims still seeking relief for the attacks that killed
thousands.
Last week, in a letter to United States President Joe
Biden, more than 70 economists and experts, including Nobel Laureate Joseph
Stiglitz, urged Washington to release Afghanistan’s central bank assets.
The letter, also addressed to US Treasury Secretary
Janet Yellen, was signed by 71 economists and academic experts, many based in
the United States as well as Germany, India and the United Kingdom.
Among those who organized the letter was Yanis
Varoufakis, the former Greek Minister for Finance; and Joseph Stiglitz, a recipient
of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (2001) and is on the advisory
board to the Washington-based think tank, the Center for Economic and Policy
Research.
They urged foreign capitals needed to return the $7
billion in Afghan central bank assets to Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) to allow the
economy to function.
“In order to mitigate the humanitarian crisis and set
the Afghan economy on a path toward recovery, we urge you to allow DAB to
reclaim its international reserves,” Reuters said, quoting the letter.
Economists believe the country is severely hampered by
the inability of its central bank to function without access to its reserves,
with DAB officials saying it has the ability to manage well if the frozen
assets of Afghanistan are released.
“This is Afghans’ money, we are prepared for a third
department to oversee it, and we are aware of its uses,” said Lutfulhaq Noor
Pesarlai, a senior advisor of the bank, as TOLOnews quoted.
“What more can you say about the central bank’s
independence,” he question? “We totally agree with the investigation of money
and its use in accordance with the law, the financing of terrorism, and the
application of the drug legislation.”
Source: Khaama Press
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/families-of-9-11-victims-urge-biden-to-return-3-5b-to-afghan-people/
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Taliban kill one of their ex-leaders from minority
Hazara community
August 17, 2022
KABUL: The Taliban killed one of their former leaders
who was known as the first commander of the group hailing from the minority
Shiite Hazara community, officials confirmed on Wednesday, adding that he had
rebelled against the de facto government.
Mawlawi Mahdi was shot dead by Taliban forces near the
border with Iran as he attempted to flee the country, the defense ministry said
in a statement.
Mahdi’s appointment as a commander some years ago was
touted as an example of the Taliban’s changed on stance on minorities. He was
in the spotlight after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in the wake of
the pullout of western forces last year.
The Taliban are hard-line followers of the Sunni
branch of Islam, and were previously almost exclusively associated with the
Pashtun ethnicity. More recently, the group had sought to include members of
other ethnicities and some Shiites.
The Hazara, native to Afghanistan’s central mountains,
are the country’s largest mainly Shiite ethnic group. After the Taliban formed
a government last year, Mahdi was given the post of intelligence chief in a
central province.
The origins of the breach between Mahdi and the
Taliban have not been made public, but as far back as June, the defense
ministry had spoken of a clearance operation against rebels in northern
Afghanistan.
The defense ministry on Wednesday described Mahdi as a
the “leader of the rebels” in a district in the northern province of Sar-e-Pol.
A Taliban source told Reuters that Mahdi had fallen
out with the Taliban and had revolted against the group’s leadership.
Source: Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2144726/world
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India
Muslim Bodies Condemn Release of Bilkis Bano Case
Convicts; Calling It "A Wrong Message for the Society As Well As the
Victim"
Ziya Us Salam
AUGUST 17, 2022
They term it ‘a wrong message for the society as well
as the victim’
Muslim bodies have condemned the release of the 11 men
convicted in the Bilkis Bano case, calling it "a wrong message for the
society as well as the victim".
"At à time when laws have been framed to punish
rape with capital punishment, we have a case of men convicted of both rape and
murder being released. It is not just condemnable but jeopardises the security
of women," said Niaz Faruqui, a senior functionary of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind.
“We have seen cases of capital punishment in some recent cases of rape but here
those convicted of both rape and murder have been released. It amounts to
double standards for the same crime depending on the identity of the victim,”
he said.
In a statement to the media, vice-president of
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Salim Engineer, said, "We are dismayed by the role
of the Gujarat government in ensuring the release of those convicted and
sentenced for life imprisonment in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case and the murder
of seven members of her family. Such decisions are aimed at reaping political
dividends to appease a particular constituency. We hope the apex court
intervenes in the matter to reverse this grave injustice carried out under the
guise of official government policy."
‘Mockery of system’
Pointing out that “the remission policy should be
applied for those languishing in jails for petty crimes,” he asked, ‘If State
governments are allowed to free criminals through a remission policy then this
will make a mockery of our justice dispensation system.”
Claiming that it will "embolden the foot soldiers
and their masterminds", he said the action exposed the hypocrisy of women
empowerment claims. Incidentally, those released in the Bilkis Bano rape case
were convicted by a CBI court and the decision was upheld by the Bombay High
Court. Of these 11 convicted, only one had approached the Supreme Court for the
remission of sentence after which the apex court directed the Gujarat
government to look into his appeal for premature release. The State government
formed a panel and decided in favour of remission of all the 11 convicted.
"The Supreme Court should reverse the decision," Mr. Faruqui said.
In a related response, the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila
Andolan asked the State government to revoke the remission granted to the
convicts. “This act of setting the culprits free is in violation of the
Centre’s guidelines on remission. It invokes ethical questions over the State
showing compassion for the accused while the woman who suffered unspeakable
brutalities is left scarred for a lifetime. This is a setback for several
Nirbhayas across the country awaiting justice,” the Andolan stated.
Source: The Hindu
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Rohingyas: Centre Denies Union Minister’s Claim after
Vishwa Hindu Parishad Stinging Criticism
Imran Ahmed Siddiqui
| New Delhi
18.08.22
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Wednesday
announced a “landmark” decision to resettle Rohingyas in Delhi, only for the
Centre to deny any such plan following stinging criticism from the Vishwa Hindu
Parishad that condemned the largely Muslim refugees as “infiltrators”.
While the Union home ministry’s “clarification” was
silent on Puri’s announcement, a home ministry official said the Union housing
and urban affairs minister had been right about the rehab plan and that the VHP
had forced a rollback.
The chronology — a term made famous by Union home
minister Amit Shah in the context of the new citizenship matrix, which also has
a bearing on refugee policy — was revealing.
It was 7.32am when Puri tweeted the decision to shift
nearly 1,100 Rohingyas to economically weaker sections (EWS) flats equipped
with basic facilities and round-the-clock security in Delhi. He said this
should silence those who malign “India’s refugee policy deliberately linking it
to #CAA”.
At 1.10pm, the VHP tweeted a statement saying the
Rohingyas were not refugees but “infiltrators” and instead of providing them
with housing, the government should “make arrangements to send them back and
out of India”.
At 1.45pm, Kapil Mishra, a Delhi BJP leader known for
making incendiary speeches, said: “There is no move to rehabilitate Rohingyas
as is being talked about. There will be an official clarification soon.”
That “clarification” came at 2.50pm, with the Union
home ministry denying “news reports in certain sections of the media regarding
Rohingya” and making no mention of Puri’s tweet.
“With respect to news reports in certain sections of
the media regarding Rohingya illegal foreigners, it is clarified that Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA) has not given any directions to provide EWS flats to
Rohingya illegal migrants at Bakkarwala in New Delhi,” the ministry said.
“Government of Delhi proposed to shift the Rohingyas
to a new location. MHA has directed the Government of Delhi to ensure that the
Rohingya illegal foreigners will continue at the present location at Kanchan
Kunj, Madanpur Khadar, as MHA has already taken up the matter of deportation of
illegal foreigners with the concerned country through the Ministry of External
Affairs.”
The Rohingyas live in tents at Kanchan Kunj and
Madanpur Khadar. The Union home ministry added: “Illegal foreigners are to be
kept in the Detention Centre till their deportation as per law. The Government
of Delhi has not declared the present location as a Detention Centre. They have
been directed to do the same immediately.”
The home ministry official who spoke to this newspaper
said: “This time the Right-wing ecosystem and the troll army had turned on the
ruling dispensation and its minister for announcing such a move. As part of a
damage-control measure, the ministry had to retreat and issue a statement.”
Puri had tweeted, tagging the PMO, Shah and Delhi
police: “India has always welcomed those who have sought refuge in the country.
In a landmark decision all #Rohingya #Refugees will be shifted to EWS flats in
Bakkarwala area of Delhi. They will be provided basic amenities, UNHCR IDs
& round-the-clock Delhi police protection.
“Those who made a career out of spreading canards on
India’s refugee policy deliberately linking it to #CAA will be disappointed.
India respects & follows @UN Refugee Convention 1951 & provides refuge
to all, regardless of their race, religion or creed.”
The CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) speeds up Indian
citizenship for persecuted non-Muslim minorities from neighbouring countries.
Together with the National Register of Citizens that aimed to weed out resident
illegals — and which was to follow the CAA’s implementation in a “chronology”
emphasised by Shah — it raised apprehensions among many about a move to
disenfranchise and denaturalise Muslims.
At 7.13pm, Puri posted another tweet saying: “Home
Ministry’s press release with respect to the issue of Rohingya illegal
foreigners gives out the correct position.”
The VHP statement issued by the organisation’s chief,
Alok Kumar, said: “We are shocked to see a statement of the Union Minister for
Urban Development Hardeep Puri, terming the Rohingyas as refugees and allotting
to them the EWS flats in Bakkarwala, Delhi.
“We might remind him that the statement made by Union
Home Minister Amit Shah in Parliament on 10.12.2020 declaring that Rohingyas
will never be accepted in India (Rohingya ko kabhi bhi sweekar nahi kiya
jaega).”
Kumar added: “Rohingyas are not refugees but
infiltrators had been the consistent stand of the Union of India including in
its affidavit filed in the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The fact that the Hindu
refugees from Pakistan continue to live in abysmal sub-human conditions in
Majnu-ka-Tila area of Delhi makes the bounty proposed to be conferred on the
Rohingyas all the more deplorable.
“Instead of providing the Rohingyas with housing, make
arrangements to send them back and out of India.”
Government sources said the decision to resettle the
Rohingya refugees in the EWS flats had been taken at a high-level meeting in
the last week of July. The meeting was chaired by the Delhi chief secretary and
was attended by several senior officials from the Union home ministry, Delhi
government and Delhi police, they added.
At the meeting, the Delhi police had been instructed
to provide security to the premises where the EWS flats are located. The Delhi
government’s social welfare department was asked to ensure basic facilities
such as fans, three meals a day, landlines, television connections and
recreational facilities, the sources said.
Rohingya refugees have been living in Madanpur Khadar
and Kalindi Kunj in Delhi for several years. After their dwellings were burnt
down twice — in 2018 and 2021 — the Delhi government provided them with tents.
In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court in
September 2017, the Union home ministry had described the Rohingya refugees
living in India as “illegal immigrants”.
The government had said it had intelligence linking
some Rohingyas with Pakistan-based terror groups and other international terror
organisations. It argued that such links made the Rohingyas a “serious threat
to national security”.
Home ministry sources could not explain the reason for
the government’s sudden change of heart on the Rohingyas — as reflected in the
late July decision to rehabilitate them — before the latest capitulation to the
VHP.
Source: Telegraph India
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https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/rohingya-u-turn-after-hardliners-snarl/cid/1880798
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Delhi govt decided Rohingya shifting at July meeting:
BJP
Aug 18, 2022
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Wednesday accused the Arvind
Kejriwal government of being in a hurry to provide homes with facilities to
illegal infiltrators. Alleging that Kejriwal was “doing politics of appeasement”,
the saffron party claimed Rohingyas are a “threat to national security” and
that the Modi government will never compromise on the issue.
Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesperson Gaurav
Bhatia said: “Arvind Kejriwal is doing politics of appeasement, ignoring
security and integrity of the country.” He asked why in a meeting held on July
29, chaired by the Delhi chief secretary, “a hasty decision was taken that all
these infiltrators would be shifted to the houses being built for people from
economically weaker sections”.
Bhatia asked how the Delhi government could take any
decision on the Rohingya issue when the matter can be dealt with only by the
home ministry. He also asked Kejriwal as to why the place where the Rohingyas
are staying has not been declared as a detention centre by his government. He
said there were news reports in which the facts that were “meant to mislead the
public” had been put out and the home ministry has issued a clarification. “The
law of our country says that Rohingyas will be deported and this jurisdiction
lies with the ministry of home affairs,” he added. Citing the minutes of the
meeting, the BJP spokesperson said: “During this meeting on July 29 (this
year), Delhi’s chief secretary, in haste, decided that all these Rohingyas will
be shifted in EWS accommodations. They are in such a hurry to shift these
Rohingyas that orders have been given to complete construction of the
accommodations where they will be shifted.”
Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta alleged that AAP MLAs had
tried to stop the bulldozers when the municipal corporation tried to remove the
encroachments done by Rohingyas and Bangladeshi living illegally in Delhi. “It
is the Kejriwal government which illegally settles Rohingyas-Bangladeshis in
Delhi, gives them free ration, water and electricity and even enrols their
children in schools,” Gupta alleged.
He claimed that no order had been given by the
ministry of home affairs to settle Rohingyas in Bakkarwala. “On June 23, 2021,
the Kejriwal government itself had proposed to relocate the Rohingyas to a new
place that should be built in Bakkarwala and 240 EWS flats and a community
centre given to them,” the Delhi BJP chief alleged.
New Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir and West Delhi MP Parvesh
Verma also tweeted a letter written by the home department of the Delhi
government and accused AAP of doing politics over it.
Sources said the Kejriwal government had formally
requested the NDMC, through a letter dated June 23, 2021, to allot a community
centre, along with 240 EWS flats, at Bakkarwala for setting up a restriction
centre. The letter from the Delhi government’s home department was addressed to
the NDMC chairman, mentioning a communication from the FRRO, which highlighted
paucity of space in the existing “restriction centres”.
Source: Times Of India
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Cleric Detained For Alleged Forced Nikah of A
15-Year-Old Hindu Girl In With A Hindu Man in Mosque In UP
18th August 2022
Unnao: A cleric and two others have been taken into
custody after right-wing group members entered a mosque and stopped the alleged
forced Nikah of a 15-year-old Hindu girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district with
a Hindu man.
Police have taken the cleric, the man with whom the
marriage was being solemnised and the Muslim woman, who had raised the girl of
Nepalese origin, into custody.
Members of the Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) allegedly
created a ruckus outside the mosque and the local police station. The girl’s
father has lodged an FIR against the three for allegedly selling the girl.
Circle Officer (City) Ashutosh Pandey said the
allegation has not been corroborated yet and further investigation is going on.
Initial investigation revealed that the girl belonged to Jyotipur village in
Nepal’s Rukangarhi district.
Her family, comprising her father and a sister, lived
in the Azadnagar slums in Kanpur. The father had given the girl, now 15, to Lal
Bano of Ganga Ghat eight years ago, and she raised the child.
According to reports, Phoolan Singh, 25, of Ferozabad
allegedly trapped the girl and took her to the mosque on Rajdhani Road for the
Nikah.
Phoolan Singh allegedly asked Maulana Shamim Ahmad to
perform the Nikah. On finding that both of them were Hindus, the cleric initially
refused. But Phoolan allegedly kept pressing the Maulana for the same.
In the meantime, dozens of HJM workers entered the
mosque with the girl’s father, alleging that the cleric was forcibly converting
the girl and performing the Nikah.
The Ganga Ghat police has taken Maulana Shamim, Lal
Bano and Phoolan Singh into custody. They are being questioned. The girl told
the police that she was being forced into the marriage with a man she did not
know and had never met him.
Lal Bano told the police that she was a Muslim and
raised the Hindu girl like her own daughter.
Vimal Tiwari, regional secretary of HJM, said a team
was sent after getting information about the “forced Nikah” of an underage girl
by a maulvi with a youth of Firozabad.
The youth’s mobile showed that money was being sent to
him from various places, Tiwari said.
“It was abundantly clear that the youth wanted to sell
the girl in Delhi after nikah,” he added.
Meanwhile, Maulana Shamim said he was approached by
one Nafees to offer prayers. When he reached the place, a youth asked him to
perform his Nikah with a girl who was with him. On learning about their
religion, he flatly refused.
Source: Siasat Daily
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https://www.siasat.com/cleric-detained-for-marriage-of-hindu-couple-in-mosque-2392566/
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Kasaragod mosque committee accuses Muslim League state
treasurer of trying to usurp its land
18th August 2022
KASARAGOD: A mosque committee in Chemnad grama
panchayat has accused six-time MLA of Kasaragod CT Ahammed Ali (76), popularly
known as CT, of trying to usurp one-acre land it bought to build a school and a
madrasa in 1984. He is now the state treasurer of the IUML.
Members of Ansar-ul Islam Juma Masjid at Kombanadukkam
say they feel cheated by Ahammed Ali's refusal to return the land, valued at Rs
3 crore, to the mosque.
On Wednesday, the mosque committee held a press conference
in Kasaragod saying they were forced to go public with their grievances because
they did not get any help from the IUML and Chemnad Jamaath.
In 1984, Ansar-ul Islam Juma Mahal (mosque) committee
raised Rs 50,000 from believers and bought one acre at Kombanadukkam.
The mahal committee had registered Mahin Schamnad
Memorial School Committee to set up a madrasa and a government-aided school on
the land. "But we made the mistake of registering the property in CT's
name. We trusted him because he was our MLA, and the president of our mahal
committee and also the school committee," said Abdul Khader C H, secretary
of Ansar-ul Islam Juma Masjid Mahal Committee.
The mahal committee registered the property in the
name of CT Ahammed Ali, "the present president of Mahin Schamnad Memorial
School Committee" on January 20, 1984.
The committee set up a madrasa but did not start the
planned primary school on the property.
When the Kombanadukkam mosque committee kept pressing
Ahammed Ali to transfer the land back to the mosque, the former IUML MLA
registered a new committee under the Societies Act with the address at Kolaati
in ward no. 2 of Chemnad gram panchayat.
"CT appointed 11 members to the committee and
made his younger brother (CT Abdul Khader) its president. He then declared that
the new committee is the owner of the land and neither Kombanadukkam mosque
committee nor Chemnad Jamaath has any say in the matter," the secretary
said.
Of the 11 members, only two are from Kombanadukkam and
even they are loyalists of T Ahammed
Ali, said the mosque secretary.
'Mix of politics and faith'
IUML leader C T Ahammed Ali has been the president of
Chemnad Jamaath for the past 35 years. Around 99% of the people of
Kombanadukkam are voters of IUML, said Abdul Khader. "IUML leaders raise
money for the mosque and also the party when they go abroad," he said.
Similarly, the IUML leaders had raised money for the
mosque from NRIs in West Asian countries.
When the Kombanadukkam Mahal committee pressed CT
Ahammed Ali to return the land, the Chemnad Jamaath had formed an enquiry
committee. "It concluded that Kombanadukkam Mahal owed only 33% of the
land," Abdul Khader said.
Source: New Indian Express
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Congress Leader Warned That It Was Unnecessary to Put
up VD Savarkar’s Pictures In Muslim-Dominated Areas
18th August 2022
By Bansy Kalappa
BENGALURU: Diwali is still months away, but some
politicians are already playing with the communal fire. While Congress
Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah warned that it was unnecessary to put up
VD Savarkar’s pictures in Muslim-dominated areas that would only provoke and aggravate
the existing tension, BJP National General Secretary CT Ravi and former
minister KS Eshwarappa mocked at him on Wednesday.
Ravi asked, “If we cannot put up posters of Savarkar,
should we go with Jinnah’s photographs?’’
Eshwarappa said, “I feel that I’m uttering something
unpleasant when I take the name of Siddaramaiah after his statement on putting
up Savarkar’s photos in Muslim areas. “Political observers said angry reactions
to Siddaramaiah’s statement are an indication that some elements will not back
down in communally sensitive Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Udupi and Dakshina
Kannada districts.
Internal security experts have warned the government
and home authorities that in these four districts, greater vigil needs to be
maintained so that fragile peace is not disturbed by incendiary statements,
social media posts and other means.
Source: New Indian Express
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Karnataka: Group of men and women on outing targeted
over presence of Muslims
August 18, 2022
In an instance of moral policing involving suspected
right-wing activists, three young men were allegedly attacked and their two
female friends verbally abused on Tuesday while on an outing to Madikeri in
Karnataka’s Kodagu district.
The attackers allegedly questioned the presence of two
Muslim men in the group from Mangaluru. A case on charges of wrongful
restraint, intentional insult, unlawful assembly with arms, rioting, criminal
intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt was registered by the Madikeri rural
police on the basis of a complaint filed by one of the men.
According to the complaint filed by Nanda Krishnan
(26), the group also comprising Mohammed Shamseer (24), Saman Sajeed (23) and
two women travelled from Mangaluru to Madikeri on a sightseeing tour in a car
early on Tuesday.
Source: Indian Express
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ATS takes three alleged JeM militants on 12-day remand
18 August 2022
Sleuths of the Anti-Terrorists Squad (ATS) on
Wednesday took police custody of three arrested terror suspects -- Sabauddin,
Nadim and Habibul -- for further questioning.
Special Court Judge Anurodh Mishra, granted permission
to Uttar Pradesh ATS to take custody of the three terror suspects Sabauddin,
Nadim and Habibul for 12 days beginning from August 17 to 29. The UP ATS had
pleaded before the Special Court for the remand of the three accused for
questioning.
During the investigation, it has been found that the
three suspects have links with proscribed terrorist organisations such as
Jaish-e-Mohammed, ISIS and others operating from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
These terrorists were working towards achieving the goal of making India an
Islamic state, sources said.
Earlier, Nadim was quizzed by the Saharanpur unit of
the ATS. During this questioning, it came to light that Nadim was in contact
with terrorist outfits operating from Pakistan and Afghanistan through social
media. Nadim also procured information about bomb making technique with the
help of social media from these terrorist organisations operating from Pakistan
and Afghanistan soil.
Thereafter, Nadim was taken into custody on August 12,
and on the basis of his confessional statement, his cohort Saifullah was
arrested. The UP ATS also prayed before the special court that to ascertain
with whom the accused were in contact, the police remand of the suspects would
be required. Besides, the arrested persons' mobile phones and transcripts and
data needed verification and scanning so as to establish their network of
crime, the police sources said.
Meanwhile, sources said that the three arrested
militants were preparing a background of `Ghazwa-e-Hind’ in the country and its
fabric was being woven in UP. Habibul, a
19-year-old terrorist arrested from Kanpur, was the group’s strong link and
sources said that he was nursing the dream of Ghazwa-e-Hind. On the orders of
his masters sitting in Pakistan, he was preparing Muslim youths of the country
to wage a war against India. Habibul is a prominent social media expert of
terrorist organisations which not only create social media accounts and virtual
IDs for terrorists, but also make jihadi videos and videos related to
Ghazwa-e-Hind and send them to the youth.
The ATS will try to extract these details from him during the 12-day
remand.
Sources said that during questioning so far by the
ATS, Habibul said, “Jihad leads to heaven. If there is any religion, it is only
Islam. I am a true Muslim. I am doing what Deen has said.”
When the ATS asked him why he was supporting radical
groups, Habibul replied that in Islam, everyone's purpose was the same,
Ghazwa-e-Hind. Not only this, he was using the word ‘kafir’ for Hindus only.
Sources also said that Habibul was also tasked to use
social media as a strong weapon of terrorist organisations. He was working as a
social media expert for the terrorists sitting in Pakistan who were dreaming of
the rule of Islam in India. Habibul used to create social media accounts of
terrorists and post jihadi videos related to Ghazwa-e-Hind.
According to UP ATS sources, Habibul was associated in
many such ‘Telegram’ groups from where he was getting orders for jihad to
fulfill the dream of Ghazwa-e-Hind.
Among them 'Rah-e-Hidayat' and 'Gurba' groups are
prominent and many terrorists associated with Pakistan and Taliban are present
in these groups. These groups send literature and documents to incite the
youths to take up war against India. Not only this, books printed in Pakistan
are also sent to this group. In this literature, the Ghazwa-e-Hind is described
in detail. All these books have been received by ATS from Habibul.
Habibul was driven to terrorism due to the jihadi
ideology he imbibed in the madrasas of Gujarat and Pratapgarh. After this he
came to Fatehpur and started instigating his friends and relatives to wage a
war against India. Pakistan used to ask for the help of the people living in
Afghanistan, Bangladesh. He used to incite jihad by showing videos of cruelty
to Muslims. Seeing his jihadi ideology, Jaish-e-Muhammad had made Habibul the
strongest link for the mission of Ghazwa-e-Hind.
Sources also maintained that several WhatsApp groups
were found in the mobile phone of Marguv Ahmed Danish alias Tahir, arrested in
the NIA (National Investigation Agency) raid in Phulwarisharif, Bihar. There
was a chat about Ghazwa-e-Hind and also some videos of jihad. In these videos,
there was an appeal to Muslims in India to do jihad. Not only this, the complete
action plan for the rule of Islam in India by 2047 was recovered from some
other accused.
Source: Daily Pioneer
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Pakistani drones drop ammunition in Jammu and Kashmir
18.08.22
Cops have seized arms and ammunition dropped by a
Pakistani drone in Jammu and Kashmir’s Toph village along the international
border, according to media reports.
Police added that "a rifle, a pistol along with
several magazines and grenades were recovered from the dropped packet opened by
the bomb disposal squad in Jammu's Arnia."
A case was registered on February 24, 2022, at Arnia
police station.
According to police sources, an accused from Jammu
informed them that a Pakistani prisoner, Mohd Ali Hussain alias Qasim, was
responsible behind drone droppings and was the main man behind operations of
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Al Badr.
He was then produced before the court and sent to
police custody.
During questioning, the accused admitted his
involvement in the Arnia weapon drop case and also disclosed two locations
where the arms and ammunition dropped by drone had been concealed.
In a bid to recover the weapons, a police team and a
magistrate visited the spot one after the other.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Mukesh
Singh said, "Though no recovery was made in the first place, in the second
place, in Toph village (along the International Border) in Phallian Mandal
area, a packet of arms, ammunition, and explosives was recovered. When the
packet was being opened, the accused attacked one of the police officials and
snatched his service rifle. He fired at the police party and tried to
flee."
Meanwhile, villagers tracked a drone over Jammu’s
Kathua. However, nothing constructive was found during search.
According to the villagers, they spotted a drone in
the sky, after which the security forces were informed.
Source: Telegraph India
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Mideast
Resistance
to continue until liberation of Palestine: Islamic Jihad official
17
August 2022
The
Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement’s representative to Iran says
resistance against the occupying Israeli regime will continue until the entire
Palestinian land is liberated.
“The
Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement will continue to resist,” Nasser Abu-Sharif
said on Wednesday, speaking at a joint press conference with Khaled al-Qaddumi,
the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement’s representative to Iran, on the
achievements of the latest war between Israel and resistance in the Gaza Strip.
“The
ultimate goal has not been achieved, and this resistance will continue until
the complete liberation of the Palestinian land,” he said.
Abu-Sharif
noted that martyrdom is not an obstacle to liberation of the Palestinian land.
He said
the way Palestinian resistance and nation respond to the Israeli regime has
evolved and progressed over the years.
“It
is true that we lost two of our senior commanders, Khaled al-Mansour and
Tayseer al-Jabari, and this is a great loss, but the Palestinian Islamic Jihad
movement is an organized movement that can replace these martyred commanders,”
he added.
Abu-Sharif
was making a reference to a wave of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that
began on August 5 and lasted for three consecutive days, killing dozens of
people, including 17 children and top members of Islamic Jihad. Hundreds more
were also injured during the Israeli aggression.
In
response to the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, Islamic Jihad fired hundreds of
rockets at the Israeli-occupied territories, prompting the regime in Tel Aviv
to accept an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.
‘Resistance
will avenge Palestinian martyrs’
Qaddumi
for his part said resistance will avenge the blood of Palestinian martyrs. He
urged journalists to report the Israeli regime’s atrocities.
“In
its aggression against the Gaza Strip, the Zionist regime martyred a number of
Palestinian citizens, including five children in the Jabalya camp,” he said.
Israel
on Tuesday admitted that it was responsible for the killing of the five Gazan
children, after initial reports blamed Islamic Jihad’s misfired rockets for the
killing.
Immediately
after their deaths, citing off-the-record assessments, several Israeli
officials claimed that the five were most likely killed by a misfired Islamic
Jihad rocket.
“We
spoke to our brothers at the beginning of the recent battle to respond to this
crime,” Qaddumi said. “We raised two things at the same time. Firstly, that the
Zionist regime is responsible for any crime, and secondly, that we have the
right to legitimately respond to these crimes and take revenge.”
The
Hamas representative said the Israeli regime started a propaganda war against
the resistance in the midst of the battle and claimed Palestinian resistance
groups were disunited.
Source:
Press TV
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https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/08/17/687532/Martyrdom-no-obstacle-liberation-Palestine
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Israeli
forces kill Palestinian youth in West Bank clashes: Medics
18
August, 2022
Israeli
forces killed a Palestinian youth in predawn clashes in the Israeli-occupied
West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday, Palestinian medics said.
At
least 30 Palestinians were wounded, four of whom were shot with live ammunition
and three of whom were in critical condition, the Palestine Red Crescent said.
Palestinian
medics identified the man who was killed as Waseem Khalifa, 18, from Balata,
the largest refugee camp in the West Bank.
Witnesses
said clashes erupted when Israeli forces arrived to protect Jewish worshippers
visiting Joseph's Tomb, a site that has been a flashpoint.
The
Israeli military told Reuters it was checking on the incident.
According
to Israeli media, armed Palestinians exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers
around the site. No Israeli casualties were reported.
Last
week, three Palestinian gunmen were killed in a shootout with Israeli forces in
the northern city of Nablus. It was the deadliest incident in the West Bank
since Israel and the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad ended three days
of fighting in Gaza, the worst in more than a year.
Israeli
jets pounded the Gaza Strip in what the military said was a pre-emptive attack
aimed at preventing an imminent threat to Israel.
At
least 49 people were killed in Gaza, including civilians and children, and
hundreds more were wounded during 56 hours of fighting, which also saw more
than 1,000 rockets launched towards Israel by the Islamic Jihad.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Tehran
Urges Washington to Release Jailed Iranians
2022-August-17
"Iran
has repeatedly announced to the United States through different channels that
it is ready to address the issue of prisoners independently of the issue of the
JCPOA," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana'ani said, reffering
to the 2015 nuclear deal, officialy known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA).
Some
Iranians are in US jails just because of ignoring Washington's illegal
sanctions on Tehran.
He
declared Tehran’s readiness for the immediate implementation of the existing
agreement with Washington on releasing prisoners, noting the US must release
jailed Iranian citizens without any conditions.
"Tehran
is ready to get the innocent Iranians imprisoned in the United States, those
who have become victims of injustice by the judicial system of that country on
false charges of violating the cruel and illegal Washington's sanctions,
released and make their quick freedom and return to the open arms of their
families possible," the spokesman added.
"“It
is surprising that the US, instead of acting and removing the obstacles in this
field, is only performing propaganda shows against Iran.”
US
officials have recently called on Iran to release American prisoners held in
the country.
Tehran
has numerously urged Washington to free Iranian nationals who have been taken
hostage for baseless reasons under the pretext that they have bypassed and
violated the US sanctions. Iran has also blasted the US for linking a
humanitarian exchange of prisoners with the talks over the revival of the 2015
nuclear deal.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010526000735/Tehran-Urges-Washingn-Release-Jailed-Iranians
--------
Leader's
Aide: Iran Backs 'One China' Policy Against US Conspiracies
2022-August-17
In
a meeting on Tuesday with Beijing’s Ambassador to Tehran Chang Hua, Velayati
referred to Washington’s threats against China’s territorial integrity and said
“the enemies’ conspiracies, encroachments and threats should be faced with
resistance".
He
reaffirmed Tehran’s support for the globally-recognized ‘One China’ policy and
said Beijing is “considered to be a strategic ally” of Tehran.
The
aide stated Russia is also facing similar threats by the US-led NATO military
alliance, calling for closer defense cooperation among Tehran, Beijing and
Moscow.
“Undoubtedly,
Iran-Russia-China cooperation in the region, such as the holding of joint
drills, is highly important for the region’s security and fate. Iran stands
ready to further expand such cooperation,” he added.
The
veteran Iranian politician noted that Iran and China enjoy long-running
cultural, historical and friendly relations, which have had positive effects on
both states.
Velayati
also pointed to China’s Belt and Road Initiative and said Iran possesses great
capacities that could contribute to the strategy.
In
turn, the Chinese diplomat stressed the need for serious follow-up on the
enhancement of Tehran-Beijing relations.
He
added ties between the two nations are based on mutual respect and leaders of
both countries have exerted great efforts to lay the foundation of such
relations.
Chang
also thanked Iran for its positions as well as its support for the Belt and
Road Initiative, and said the Islamic Republic is viewed in Beijing as a very
important state in the project.
Pelosi,
the third most senior official in the US government, visited Taipei in early
August despite repeated warnings from Beijing against attempting to visit
territory that it regards as an integral part of China.
Iranian
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has reaffirmed Tehran's support for
the "One-China" policy, and cautioned that the US provocative actions
are threatening global peace and stability.
Amir
Abdollahian made the remarks after Pelosi wrapped up her controversial two-day
visit to Chinese Taipei as a show of support for separatist voices on the
self-ruled island.
“Respect
for countries’ territorial integrity is among the recognized fundamentals of
the international law,” the top diplomat said, adding, “Within this framework,
the Islamic Republic’s support for the ‘one-China' principle is indubitable.”
“The
US’s provocative measures have turned into a source of threat against the
international peace and stability,” he noted.
Iranian
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana'ani has also condemned Pelosi's
controversial visit to Taiwan as Washington's meddling in the internal affairs
of Beijing, and reiterated Tehran's firm stance in support of 'One China'
policy.
Kan’ani
said that the recent “tension-creating behavior” of the US officials in
interfering in China’s domestic affairs and violating its territorial integrity
was an example of Washington's interventionist policies in different parts of
the world.
"This
behavior will have no outcome except the increasing of instability and the
stirring of hostilities, and it is therefore condemned," he noted.
“Respect
for the national sovereignty of countries is one of the fundamental principles
of the United Nations Charter,” the official continued, adding, “Article 2 of
the Charter prevents members from any behavior that harms the territorial
integrity and political independence of other states.”
“The
Islamic Republic of Iran considers respect for the territorial integrity of
countries to be among the principles of its foreign policy, and support for the
One-China policy is unquestionable in line with this tenet,” the spokesman
stated.
The
Iranian diplomat stressed that unilateralism and violations of international
regulations and commitments had become an integral part of the US foreign
policy.
Source:
Fars News Agency
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--------
Palestinian
leader says not intended to deny Holocaust
Qais
Abu Samra
17.08.2022
RAMALLAH,
Palestine
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he did not mean to deny the singularity
of the Holocaust during his visit to Germany.
Abbas
accused Israel of committing “50 holocausts” against Palestinians during a
joint press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday.
"From
1947 until today, Israel committed 50 massacres in 50 villages... 50 slaughters
and 50 Holocausts," he said, in response to a question about the upcoming
50th anniversary of the 1972 Munich attack, in which several Israeli athletes
were killed.
The
Palestinian leader’s statements drew fire from Israeli and German officials,
including Scholz who said he was "disgusted by the outrageous
remarks" by Abbas.
But
Abbas said in a statement on Wednesday that his answer “was not intended to
deny the singularity of the Holocaust that occurred in the last century, and
condemning it in the strongest terms.”
“What
is meant are the crimes and massacres committed against the Palestinian people
since the Nakba at the hands of the Israeli forces. These crimes have not
stopped to this day,” he added.
The
Nakba, or Catastrophe, is a term used by Palestinians to refer to the 1948
forced expulsion of nearly 800,000 Palestinians from their homes in historical
Palestine to make room for the creation of Israel.
Israeli
Prime Minister Yair Lapid, for his part, described Abbas’ statements as "a
monstrous lie."
In
Germany during the Third Reich regime, Nazis systematically murdered millions
of people, especially Jews, the disabled, prisoners of war, Poles and other
Slavs during the 1939-1945 period.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text of
the original story:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/palestinian-leader-says-not-intended-to-deny-holocaust/2663056
--------
Africa
Niger's
civil society opposes deployment of French troops after departure from Mali
Hassan
Isilow
17.08.2022
JOHANNESBURG
A
coalition of 15 civil society organizations in Niger has expressed
disappointment against the deployment of French troops in their country.
According
to local publication, La Nouvelle Tribune, the civil society organizations
operating under the umbrella of M62 have called protests demanding the
immediate departure of the French troops.
Reports
also claim authorities in Niger on Wednesday banned protests planned by the
civil society groups for the day.
On
Tuesday, French authorities announced they had withdrawn their last troops from
Mali ending a nine-year operation in the West African country that was its hub
to tackle militants in the Sahel region.
French
officials said in July that Niger would now become their new base in the Sahel
with their troops operating in the border regions along Niger and Burkina Faso.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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of the original story:
--------
Morocco
sentences 13 migrants to prison, says lawyer
18
August, 2022
Morocco
sentenced 13 migrants to two-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday, their
lawyer said, following a deadly mass crossing into the Spanish enclave of
Melilla in June.
Their
representative, Khalid Ameza, could not specify the charges against the 13 when
approached by AFP.
They
appeared at a court in Nador, a Moroccan city bordering Melilla, and intend to
appeal.
The
two Spanish enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta are the EU’s only land borders with
Africa.
According
to the official toll, 23 people died when around 2,000 migrants, many of them
from Sudan, stormed the fences along the frontier in June.
It
was the largest death toll in years of attempted crossings into the enclaves.
Spanish
rights group Caminando Fronteras says as many as 37 people lost their lives in
the mass crossing attempt.
The
United Nations, the African Union and independent rights groups have condemned
the use of excessive force by Moroccan and Spanish security personnel.
Morocco
earlier this month sentenced 14 migrants to eight months’ jail following their
arrest a day before the deadly mass crossing.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Syrian
refugee alleges killings, rapes in Libya
17
August, 2022
A
Syrian English teacher adrift on a small boat between Malta and Italy waiting
to be rescued, told an Associated Press photographer of the atrocities he
witnessed against asylum-seekers in Libya.
“Last
year I’ve seen people get killed from the Libyan coastguard, maybe eight or
seven people from African nationalities,” said Mohamed Noor, an asylum-seeker
from Daraa, Syria.
Noor
said the Africans were shot in Zuwara, adding that two Syrian women were raped.
Noor
fled his home in 2021 to escape mandatory military draft.
Noor
and five other men who left from Libya spent 40 hours at sea before they were
spotted by Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency, in the Maltese
search and rescue zone.
The
Open Arms NGO rescue ship approached the small boat and found five men, three
Syrians and two Libyans, on board.
One
was badly dehydrated, and the Open Arms nurse provided medication, blankets and
suggested ways for them to protect themselves from the sun while waiting for
the Italian Coast Guard to arrive.
An
AP photographer joined the Open Arms rescuers in their dinghy and filmed his
conversation with Noor.
He
was unable to immediately file the interview from sea.
Seated
at the back of his boat, Noor said his foot was badly injured while swimming to
escape the Libya Coast guard.
“If
you try to reason with them, they just shoot you, in front of everybody. Even
if the street is crowded, they just shoot you and no one can say anything.
That’s it.”
Hundreds
of thousands of migrants hoping to reach Europe have made their way through
Libya, where a lucrative trafficking and smuggling business has flourished in a
country without a functioning government, fragmented for years between rival
administrations in the east and west, each backed by arms groups and foreign
governments.
Migrants
who have passed through Libyan detention centers often tell of the atrocities
inside and of the abuse when captured by the Libyan Coast Guard. But Noor
suggested that killings are even carried out in the street.
The
AP has been unable to independently verify the accounts but human rights
violations and crimes against migrants and refugees have been extensively
documented by the UN and other human rights organizations.
Noor
and his companions were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard and taken to
Lampedusa.
On
the following day, the Open Arms rescue ship came across a wooden ship with
dozens of migrants also escaping Libya.
As
the rescuers approached, the boat capsized and began to sink leaving all the
migrants in the water.
Rescuers
managed to save the entire group of migrants, including one woman and two
children.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Kenyan
electoral chair claims 4 commissioners wanted to alter elections results for
re-run
Andrew
Wasike
17.08.2022
NAIROBI,
Kenya
Kenya’s
electoral chair broke his silence on Wednesday after four commissioners
rejected the outcome of the country’s presidential elections results.
The
Independent and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chair Wafula Chebukati said in a
statement that during an Aug. 15 meeting, four commissioners who broke ranks
regarding the results unsuccessfully pushed for a re-run.
“Before
the final declaration of the Presidential Election results, the four
commissioners i.e. Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Justus Nyang’aya and Irene
Masit demanded that the chairperson moderates the results for purpose of
forcing an election Re-run contrary to their oath of office,” he said.
Chebukati
said he considered the move unconstitutional and illegal and tantamount to
subverting the Constitution and the sovereign will of the Kenyan people.
He
said he refused to yield to the demand and proceeded to declare the results as
received from polling stations under the law.
Chebukati
also said critical staff was intimidated and harassed through profiling and
arbitrary arrests, with one murdered.
Four
of seven members of the electoral commission disavowed elections results Monday
because of errors in the final tally that have the capacity of swinging the
vote.
Chebukati
dismissed the rationale by the four commissioners, noting it is false and
misleading.
IEBC
Vice Chair Juliana Cherera said Tuesday that the aggregation of percentages of
the results scored by the four presidential candidates who were on the ballot
as declared by Chebukati presented a mathematical absurdity that defies logic.
Opposition
leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga rejected the results, which
declared him to have lost.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
North
America
US
Defence Department: Over $7B In US Military Equipment Seized By Islamic Emirate
August
18, 2022
More
than $7 billion in US-provided military equipment was in the hands of the
Western-backed Afghan government when it collapsed last year, and much of it
ended up in the hands of the Islamic Emirate after the US pull-out, according
to a report from the Defence Department's inspector general released on
Tuesday.
The
majority of the outlay, according to the report, went into tactical ground
vehicles like MRAPs and Humvees, which cost about $4.12 billion when the
Islamic Emirate took control of Kabul on August 15, 2021.
“The
DoD estimated that US-funded equipment valued at $7.12 billion was in the
inventory of the former Afghan government when it collapsed, much of which has
since been seized by the Taliban. This included military aircraft, ground
vehicles, weapons, and other military equipment. The condition of these items
was unknown, and the long-term operability of the vehicles was likely to
deteriorate without US contractor maintenance. The US military removed or
destroyed nearly all major equipment used by US troops in Afghanistan
throughout the drawdown period in 2021,” the report reads.
According
to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General report, the ISIS
attacks in Afghanistan have increased by ninety percent in the last three
months.
"ISIS-K
was the most active terrorist group in Afghanistan this quarter, claiming 80
attacks—a 90 percent increase from the previous quarter—including some complex
attacks, demonstrating the group’s capability to strike multiple targets in
quick succession. Most of these attacks targeted Afghanistan’s Shia Hazara and
Sufi religious minorities, civilian infrastructure, and neighboring
countries—targeting security forces in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
Through these attacks, ISIS-K aims to undermine Taliban rule and attract new
recruits,” the report further added.
In
an interview with RIA Novosti on August 16, Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special
representative for Afghanistan, said that Russia would not like to see about a
hundred planes and helicopters get into Ukraine.
“It
is important for us that about a hundred of those helicopters and planes, on
which Afghan military last August escaped to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, would
not get into Ukraine,” Kabulov said, noting that about 60 helicopters and
planes were flown to Tajikistan and about 40-50 helicopters and planes were
flown to Uzbekistan.
"America
should answer the question of why it entered Afghanistan and why it stayed
there for 20 years while all of its military secrets were revealed in Asia,”
said Mohammad Mateen, a political analyst.
“The
military equipment of America, which is in the hands of the Islamic Emirate,
should be kept properly, because it is the property of the Afghan people, and
it should be used for the security and peace of Afghanistan,” said Yousuf Amin,
military expert.
"It
is not possible to deliver the helicopters that were transported to Uzbekistan
and Tajikistan to Ukraine following the fall of the previous
administration," stated military analyst Assadullah Nadim.
While
visiting Tajikistan two months ago, US Central Command in the Middle East
(CENTCOM) commander Michael E. Corella declared that these helicopters would
never be sent back to Afghanistan and that they did not belong to the Islamic
Emirate. He added that efforts are being made to deliver some or all of these
helicopters to Tajikistan.
Source:
Tolo News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://tolonews.com/index.php/afghanistan-179438
--------
Rushdie
attacker ‘surprised’ author survived multiple stabbing: Reports
18 August,
2022
The
New Jersey man accused of stabbing Salman Rushdie told the New York Post in an
interview published Wednesday that he was “surprised” the author had survived
the attack.
“When
I heard he survived, I was surprised, I guess,” Hadi Matar, 24, told the
tabloid, which said they held a video interview with the jailed suspect.
The
suspected assailant, who has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges,
did not say whether he was inspired by the 1989 edict, or fatwa, issued under
Iran's former supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, that ordered Muslims
to kill the writer for what he deemed the blasphemous nature of the book “The
Satanic Verses.”
“I
respect the ayatollah. I think he's a great person. That's as far as I will say
about that,” said Matar, who according to the Post was advised by his lawyer
not to discuss the issue.
Matar
told the paper he had “read a couple pages” of Rushdie's novel.
“I
don't like the person. I don't think he's a very good person,” he said of the
author. “I don't like him. I don't like him very much.”
“He's
someone who attacked Islam, he attacked their beliefs, the belief systems.”
Matar
said he was not in contact with Iran's Revolutionary Guard. He said he had
learned Rushdie would speak at the Chautauqua Institution's literary series via
a tweet earlier this year.
He
told the Post he had taken a bus to Buffalo one day prior to the attack, before
taking a Lyft to Chautauqua.
“I
was hanging around pretty much. Not doing anything in particular, just walking
around,” he told the paper. “I was just outside the whole time.”
Last
Friday as Rushdie was set to deliver a talk as part of a lecture series, a man
stormed the stage and stabbed him several times in the neck and abdomen.
Rushdie
was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for
life-threatening injuries.
The
75-year-old's condition remains serious, but he was taken off a ventilator, and
has shown signs of improvement.
Matar
told the Post he had watched YouTube videos of Rushdie speaking and called the
author “disingenuous.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
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--------
Families
of 9/11 victims urge Biden to send frozen assets back to Afghan people
18
August 2022
Nearly
80 family members of 9/11 victims have urged US President Joe Biden to send
back billions of dollars in Afghan government assets held in the United States
to the Afghan people.
In
a letter addressed to Biden on Tuesday, 77 family members called on the
president to reverse an executive order he signed in February to allocate half
of the $7 billion in Afghanistan's assets for distribution to families of the
9/11 victims.
Biden
has frozen the assets belonging to the Afghan Central Bank since the withdrawal
of its occupation forces from the country in August 2021.
According
to Biden's order, $3.5 billion would go to humanitarian aid, and the rest would
go to the families of 9/11 victims.
"Any
use of the $7 billion to pay off 9/11 family member judgments is legally
suspect and morally wrong,” the families wrote in their letter, sent to a
senior White House aide.
“Order
and affirm that the Afghanistan central bank funds belong to the Afghan people
and the Afghan people alone,” they said.
“Victims
of terrorism, including 9/11 victims, are entitled to their day in court. But
they are not entitled to money that lawfully belongs to the Afghan people,”
they wrote. “[N]o 9/11 family member joined these lawsuits to take money away
from starving Afghans.”
The
Biden administration, however, ruled out releasing billions of dollars worth of
frozen assets on Tuesday, saying the goal is to keep the funds out of reach
from the Taliban.
Last
week, a group of international economists also urged Washington to release the
funds, citing the compounding economic and humanitarian catastrophes in
Afghanistan.
They
said that the plunge in economic activity in Afghanistan and the sharp cuts to
foreign aid by previous supporters of the country after the US military
withdrawal had sent the Afghan economy into a tailspin.
Back
in June, Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi asked "the
world to give the Afghans their most basic right, which is their right to life
and that is through lifting the sanctions and unfreezing our assets and also
giving assistance."
Source:
Press TV
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--------
Pakistan
Militants
Won’t Be Allowed To Disturb Peace: Swat Qaumi Jirga
August
18, 2022
SWAT/LOWER
DIR: The leaders of different political parties and local elders have said that
they will not allow militants to disturb the peace of Swat.
Addressing
a conference organised by Swat Qaumi Jirga at Swat Press Club on Wednesday,
they said that they rendered great sacrifices for restoration of peace in the
district. They said that they would not allow anyone to disturb the peace.
The
local leaders of all political parties expect Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf besides
elders, traders, transporters, lawyers and youth activists attended the
conference.
Mukhtiar
Khan Yousafzai, Abdul Khaliq, Khwaja Mohammad Khan, Khurshid Kakaji, Abdul
Jabbar Khan, Sher Shah Khan, Zahid Khan, Ahmad Shah Khan, Fazl Ahad, Umar Ali
Yousafzai, Sher Bahadar Khan, Sabir Khan, Irfan Chattan, Khalid Mahmood, Amjad
Khan, Siraj Khan, Zubair Khan and others addressed the conference.
Threatens
protest over registration of FIRs against participants of rally held recently
They
said that the people of Swat would never allow militants to disturb peace. They
said that the people of Swat were true Muslims and the slogans of so-called
Sharia by militants could not befool them.
The
speakers said that militants should not try to introduce their version of Islam
by killing them. They added that they would not allow anyone to rule them with
the help of weapons.
They
also condemned police for lodging FIRs against some of the peaceful protesters
recently in Khwazakhela. They said that people of Swat would take to the
streets said if the FIRs were not withdrawn. “It is strange that police did not
lodge FIR against those [militants] who shot injured their DSP but they
immediately registered cases against the peace activists in Khwazakhela,” they
added.
The
jirga members also condemned the proposed route of the second phase of Swat
Expressway and termed it the economic murder of the people of Swat. “About
50,000 kanals of agricultural land and orchards will be affected and more than
500,000 trees would be chopped off while 100,000 people will financially be
affected due to the present route of Swat Expressway,” they said.
In
Lower Dir, hundreds of residents of Maidan staged a rally against the deteriorating
law and order situation in the area and threatened to take up arms if
government failed to provide protection to them.
They
demanded of the government to immediately arrest the people involved in attack
on MPA Malik Liaquat Ali Khan. Four persons were killed and three others
including the lawmaker were injured in the attack.
People
from all parts of Maidan attended the rally. The rally was organised by Maidan
Action Committee in Lal Qila the other day. The workers of all political
parties and local elders attended the rally.
The
participants of the rally, carrying white flags and placards inscribed with
slogans for peace, marched on the road in Kumbar and gathered at Lal Qila
sports ground.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705454/militants-wont-be-allowed-to-disturb-peace-swat-jirga
--------
Protest
continues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over targeted killings by Pak Army
17
August, 2022
North
Waziristan [Pakistan], August 17 (ANI): People of North Waziristan have been
protesting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province against the targeted killings,
inhuman treatment and lawlessness in the area.
Workers
of several political parties and local residents continued a sit-in around the
Eidek area near the Mirali town since July 29, according to a Canada-based
think tank, International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS).
According
to the think tank, people have been demanding from the government to take
action against the target killers and maintain law and ordersituation in the
district for peaceful living.
A
member of parliament, Mohsin Dawar confirmed that residents in the region
suspect the role of “state security agencies” in the targeted killings.
“On
the other hand, militant groups are trying to create the atmosphere of chaos
and fear so that they can stop people from engaging in political activities,”
he said, according to the IFFRAS.
“The
targeted killings are an attempt to silence dissenting voices,” he added.
The
two-week protest sit-in being staged by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl against
the killing of religious scholars and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F)
activists Qari Samiuddin and Qari Nauman was turned into a grand jirga, which
passed several resolutions.
As
reported on July 15, Qari Samiuddin and Qari Nauman were shot after armed
motorcyclists approached their vehicle in the Mir Ali region of North
Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan. Samiuddin was an administrator at a
religious seminary in the area and a local leader of the JUI-F.
He
was regarded as a strong voice against lawlessness and targeted killings in the
area. Nauman was a local councilor who also belonged to JUI-F., IFFRAS
reported.
Pakistan
has long been accused of supporting terrorist groups inside and outside
Pakistan.
Notably,
there have been several cases of such killings in North Waziristan over the
past months. Earlier, the workers of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl and Utmanzai
tribes also been protesting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan against
the killing of its local leaders and lawlessness in the district.
The
protest movement has been started under the direction of the Uthmanzai tribe’s
elders, the main tribe from which the Dawar and Ahmadzai Wazir tribes of North
Waziristan descend, Dawn reported.
Source:
The Print
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Pakistan:
Punjab’s Ruling Party Wants to Ban Ahmadis from a Whole District
08/18/2022
by
Massimo Introvigne
The
solution was simple, and one wonders why nobody suggested it before. To stop
the violence against the persecuted Ahmadi minority in the District of Khushab,
one of the most conservative in Punjab, Pakistan, a leading politician has
proposed to expel all the Ahmadis from the district.
It
would be hardly believable if the proposal would come from a minor radical, but
Malik Ilyas Awan, who put it in writing in a letter to the District
Commissioner dated July 30, is the Vice President of Punjab’s Muslim League-Q,
the ruling party in Punjab. The new Chief Minister of Punjab, Pervaiz Elahi,
who assumed office on July 27, is also a member of the Muslim League-Q.
Awan
took exception to the fact that public security should be deployed to protect
Ahmadis from violence by radical Sunni Muslims in the District of Khushab.
He
wrote to the District Commissioner that the Ahmadis “cannot offer prayers
openly in the Islamic state of Pakistan… Pakistan is an Islamic state that has
been established in the name of Allah and His Beloved.” Ahmadis, Awan wrote,
“propagate their teachings that is totally against the laws of an Islamic State
and the constitution. What will our youngsters who are appointed on their
security think? Are they protecting the deniers of Khatm-e-Nabuwwat or
expressing devotion to the Holy Prophet (PBUH)? Secondly, it also leaves a bad
impression on our children.
It
is requested to remove their security immediately and initiate an inquiry.
Those who do not believe in Khatm-e-Nabuwwat must be banished from the
District.”
Khatm-e-Nabuwwat
(Finality of Prophethood) is the doctrine that Muhammad is the last in a series
of prophets that started with Adam, and that there can be no prophets after
Muhammad. The Ahmadiyya Movement was founded within Islam by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
(1835–1908). Conservative Muslims accuse Ahmad of having considered himself a
“prophet” who came after Muhammad, thus denying the Finality of Prophethood,
although the Ahmadis regard their founder as “both a prophet and a follower of
the Prophet [Muhammad].”
Source:
Bitter Winter
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://bitterwinter.org/pakistan-punjabs-ruling-party-wants-to-ban-ahmadis-from-a-whole-district/
--------
Pak
PM Shehbaz likely to meet Chinese President Xi during SCO summit: Report
Aug
17, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to have a bilateral meeting
with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month on the sidelines of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan, according to a media
report on Wednesday.
President
Xi is expected to attend the SCO summit scheduled for September 15 and
September 16 in Samarkand, The Express Tribune reported.
Pakistan
is part of the SCO which also includes China, Russia, India and the Central
Asian states of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
A bilateral
meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Shehbaz is on the cards at the
sidelines of the SCO summit, sources were quoted as saying by the Express
Tribune.
However,
there is no official clarity on whether President Xi will attend the summit in
person.
Some
reports suggest that he may attend the summit virtually because of the strict
COVID-19 protocols, the report said.
The
sources also said that Pakistan was exploring options for a possible bilateral
meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Shehbaz.
However,
nothing is final yet, the sources added.
Source:
Times Of India
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--------
UK
inks deal to return ‘criminals’ to Pakistan
Atika
Rehman
August
18, 2022
LONDON:
The UK signed a major deal with Pakistan on Wednesday, under which foreign
criminals and immigration offenders from the UK can be returned to Pakistan.
UK
Home Secretary Priti Patel hailed the development on Twitter, saying that “I’m
proud to have signed a new landmark agreement with our Pakistani friends to
return foreign criminals and immigration offenders from the UK to Pakistan.
This deal shows our #NewPlanForImmigration in action, as we deliver for the
British people”.
“I
make no apology for removing dangerous foreign criminals and immigration
offenders who have no right to remain in the UK. The British public have quite
rightly had enough of people abusing our laws and gaming the system so we can’t
remove them,” the statement quoted Ms Patel as saying.
“This
agreement, which I am proud to have signed with our Pakistani friends, shows
the New Plan for Immigration in action and the government delivering.”
Legal
expert says agreement will allow Britain to deport ‘unwanted persons’, even
those who have no ties, to Pakistan
“Our
new Borders Act will go further and help end the cycle of last-minute claims
and appeals that can delay removals.”
A
statement from the Pakistani High Commission said: “The agreement renews and
updates, in a bilateral context an earlier agreement between Pakistan and the
European Community regarding readmission of persons residing without
authorisation concluded in Oct 2009. The bilateral agreement was necessitated
by the exit of the UK from the European Union.”
A
photo tweeted with the announcement showed Ms Patel at a signing ceremony with
Interior Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar. A statement said the home secretary
met with Mr Khokhar and the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK, Moazzam Ahmad
Khan, to sign the reciprocal agreement.
Under
the new plan, Pakistani nationals with no legal right to remain in the UK,
including criminals, failed asylum seekers and immigration offenders, will
reportedly be removed.
The
statement said Pakistan nationals make up the seventh largest number of foreign
criminals in prisons in England and Wales totalling nearly 3pc of the foreign
national offender population.
“The
agreement underlines both countries’ ongoing commitment to tackling the issue
of illegal migration and the significant threats it poses to both nations. The
agreement also includes ongoing work to improve and expand UK-Pakistani law
enforcement cooperation,” it said.
Bad
news for Pakistan
Though
Pakistan has demanded an extradition treaty with the UK for years, this
agreement falls short of that. Some lawyers see it as a blow to Pakistan, which
may now see an influx of deported criminals from the UK — even those who have
never visited Pakistan.
“This
is a very negative step for Pakistan,” UK-based immigration law expert Mohammad
Amjad told Dawn. “Last year, the Pakistani government was presented with this
deal and refused to sign it, because fundamentally it will allow serious
criminals to be deported to Pakistan without critical information sharing. This
will present huge problems for Pakistan.”
Mr
Amjad cited the case of Sohail Ayaz, a convicted pedophile and child abuser who
was deported to Pakistan from the UK, but exploited the absence of an
information-sharing mechanism and continued his criminal activities in
Pakistan. In 2019, he was arrested for the rape and assault of upto 30 minors,
despite being convicted of similar offences by a UK court in 2008.
He
said: “Such issues will increase. Some criminals may be deported who have no
links to Pakistan, and they will pose an even greater threat as they have no
family network once they are sent back. The only beneficiary is the UK.”
The
deal with Pakistan came after deals were signed with Albania and India last
year, as well as Serbia and Nigeria this year. Pakistan’s deal appears similar
to the agreements signed with Albania, Serbia and Nigeria where illegal
immigrants and criminal offenders will be removed from the UK.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705493/uk-inks-deal-to-return-criminals-to-pakistan
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Pak,
Iran need to exploit mutual existing potential: Bilawal
August
17, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday highlighted fraternal ties
between Pakistan and Iran, rooted in shared history and cultural and linguistic
affinities.
Bilawal
Bhutto also reaffirmed commitment to further strengthen bilateral cooperation
in all areas of mutual interest.
Foreign
Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was speaking after receiving Iranian Minister
for Roads and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi, here on Wednesday.
Welcoming
the delegation, the Foreign Minister highlighted fraternal ties between the two
countries.
Bilawal
Bhutto Zardari underlined the need for fully utilizing existing potential
between the two countries in energy, air links, and connectivity. He expressed
the hope that opening of new border crossing-points and establishment of border
markets would improve livelihood and facilitate movement of people and goods.
The
Foreign Minister expressed gratitude for Iran’s steadfast support on the
Kashmir cause, particularly by the Supreme Leader.
Mr.
Rostam Ghasemi, while thanking the Foreign Minister for receiving the
delegation, remarked that the 21st session of the Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic
Commission (JEC) offered new avenues in expanding bilateral ties. He concurred
with the Foreign Minister on the need for fully exploring all opportunities and
expressed readiness to work together for the mutual benefit of the two
countries.
Source:
Pakistan Today
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Ulema,
media’s role vital in polio eradication: Patel
August
17, 2022
Federal
Minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, Abdul Qadir
Patel on Wednesday said ulema, media and civil society should play their role
in eradication of polio.
Urging
parents to cooperate with polio workers in administering drops to their
children, he said the fight against eradication of polio cannot be won without
their support.
Patel
said, “Children were our future and efforts should be made to save them from
permanent disability.”
He
lauded the services of polio workers adding they were our real heroes and had
been playing vital role in fight against polio. The polio eradication campaign
was being continued in flood hit areas despite hurdles, he added.
He
acknowledged the determination of the polio workers who were working in
the
union council, Mehra of Dera Ismail Khan.
To
a question, he said polio campaigns were continuing in South Khyber
Source:
Pakistan Today
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https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/08/17/ulema-medias-role-vital-in-polio-eradication-patel/
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Europe
UK
police detail ‘remarkable’ probe into Daesh ‘Beatles’ cell
August
17, 2022
LONDON:
UK police lifted the lid Wednesday on a years-long probe into the notorious
Daesh kidnap-and-murder cell dubbed the “Beatles” by their captives.
Counter-terrorism
officers said the hostages’ recollections helped “zero in” on three of the
British captors.
The
Daesh cell members, who tried to keep their identities hidden, held dozens of
foreign hostages in Syria between 2012 and 2015 and were known to their
captives as the “Beatles” because of their distinctive British accents.
Two
of them — 38-year-old Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, 34 — have been
brought to justice in the United States for their part in the gruesome
beheadings and killings of several Americans.
Another,
Mohamed Emwazi — dubbed “Jihadi John” — died in Syria in 2015.
A
fourth alleged British member was remanded in UK custody last week on terrorism
charges after Turkey deported him following a jail term there.
Ahead
of Elsheikh’s sentencing on Friday, British police have now detailed how their
nearly decade-long probe unearthed key evidence used by US prosecutors to
convict him in April.
“The
building of the case is described as like putting together very small pieces of
a jigsaw,” Richard Smith, the head of London police’s counter-terrorism unit,
told reporters at a briefing Wednesday.
“What
we pieced together here is a trail of breadcrumbs, fragments of breadcrumbs
really, among a huge amount of other inquiries, which we were then able to
present... to a court to assist the prosecution in the US.”
London’s
Metropolitan Police first began probing what would become known as the
“Beatles” cell in November 2012, when a spate of kidnappings of Western
journalists and aid workers began in northern Syria.
Following
some hostages’ release, as well as videos of other captives being beheaded by
an executioner with a British accent, officers discovered some of the suspected
perpetrators were UK citizens.
From
the accounts of freed hostages, alongside other information and intelligence,
they first identified the executioner as Emwazi.
Born
in Kuwait but raised in the UK since aged six, he was killed by a US drone
strike in Syria in 2015.
As
British police worked to identify others, Smith said a “snippet of
conversation” between captors and captives provided the key breakthrough.
Kotey
and Elsheikh had revealed they were once arrested in central London at a
far-right English Defense League (EDL) protest, which featured a
counter-demonstration by an Islamic group.
Officers
were able to trawl back through records of arrests at such events and
discovered a September 2011 incident in which the pair were held over a
stabbing.
Police
then unearthed video footage of the duo from the day, data from their seized
mobile phones that showed links to Emwazi, and other evidence leads.
“(That)
one piece of information emerged from the hostages we spoke to, which was
fairly unremarkable on the face of it to the hostage but proved very
significant to us,” said Smith.
Officers
also used a 2014 firearms conviction of Elsheikh’s brother to find further
evidence from his mobile phone seized in that case.
It
included images of Elsheikh in Syria in combat gear with a gun, and graphic
pictures of severed heads which the 34-year-old had labelled “Syrian casualties.”
Meanwhile,
officers discovered a 2009 police interview with him over an unrelated case
that featured his voice, which experts were able to conclude was the same as a
captor’s heard in Daesh hostage videos.
The
“Beatles” cell is accused of abducting at least 27 journalists and relief
workers from the United States, Britain, Europe, New Zealand, Russia and Japan.
Kotey
and Elsheikh were captured in January 2018 by a Kurdish militia in Syria and
turned over to US forces in Iraq before being sent to the US with UK
permission.
There
they faced charges of hostage-taking, conspiracy to murder US citizens and
supporting a foreign terrorist organization.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2144966/world
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Palestinian
general discusses military, intelligence co-operation at talks in Moscow
17 August,
2022
A
senior Russian official met the commander of Palestinian security forces to
discuss military and intelligence co-operation, Moscow’s defense ministry said
on Wednesday.
Without
providing details, it said that Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin held
talks with Major General Nidal Abu Dukhan from the Palestinian National
Authority on the margins of a security conference held alongside Russia’s
Army-2022 forum.
The
talks, which took place on Tuesday, came as Moscow, nearly six months into its
invasion of Ukraine, seeks allies around the world to counter what President
Vladimir Putin described in a speech this week as Western hegemony and
neo-colonialism.
Russia
has traditionally maintained good relations with the Palestinians and supported
their drive for statehood, while stopping short of steps it believes could
threaten its status as a neutral intermediary between them and Israel.
Ties
between Moscow and Israel have also been historically strong, but have recently
become strained due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Israel has
condemned.
Russia
has been keen to offer support to countries it considers allies in Latin
America, Africa and Asia since its invasion, including through selling advanced
weapons and military technology.
In
a separate statement on Wednesday, the defense ministry said it held talks with
the West African nation of Mali on strengthening its defense capabilities.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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--------
Germany
and Israel condemn Palestinian president Holocaust statements
17
August, 2022
German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced disgust on Wednesday at remarks by Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas that the German leader said diminished the importance
of the Holocaust, while Israel accused Abbas of telling a “monstrous lie.”
During
a visit to Berlin on Tuesday, Abbas accused Israel of committing “50
Holocausts” in response to a question about the upcoming 50th anniversary of
the attack on the Israeli team at the Munich Olympics by Palestinian militants.
“For
us Germans in particular, any relativization of the singularity of the
Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable,” Scholz tweeted on Wednesday. “I am
disgusted by the outrageous remarks made by Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas.”
Scholz’s
office summoned the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Berlin to
protest at Abbas’s remarks, a German government spokesperson said.
Israeli
Prime Minister Yair Lapid also condemned the comments as a “disgrace.”
“Mahmoud
Abbas accusing Israel of having committed ‘50 Holocausts’ while standing on
German soil is not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie,” Lapid said on
Twitter.
“History
will never forgive him.”
In
response to a storm of criticism, Abbas issued a statement calling Nazi Germany’s
Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed, “the most heinous crime in
modern human history.”
He
said his remark was not intended to deny the singularity of the Holocaust but
to highlight “the crimes and massacres committed against the Palestinian people
since the Nakba at the hands of Israeli forces.”
Nakba,
or catastrophe, is the term Palestinians use to describe the mass exodus of
Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in the 1948 war that
accompanied the creation of the state of Israel.
The
Central Council of Jews in Germany expressed “horror” at Abbas’s comments,
which it said trampled over the memory of the six million Jews who died and
tarnished that of all Holocaust victims.
‘Massacres’
Standing
alongside Scholz, Abbas referred to a series of historical incidents in which
Palestinians were killed by Israelis in the 1948 war and in the years
following.
“From
1947 to the present day, Israel has committed 50 massacres in Palestinian
villages and cities, in Deir Yassin, Tantura, Kafr Qasim and many others, 50
massacres, 50 Holocausts,” said Abbas.
Abbas’s
comment followed months of tension and a brief conflict this month during which
49 people were killed in Gaza after Israel carried out a series of airstrikes
in response to what it said was an imminent threat from the militant Islamic
Jihad group, which fired over 1,000 rockets in response.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Türkiye
holds panel in Paris to push for UN Security Council reform
Esra
Taskin and Muhammet Tarhan
17.08.2022
PARIS
Türkiye’s
Communications Directorate held a panel in Paris to emphasize the critical need
for a UN Security Council reform.
Many
officials from Türkiye, including Deputy Director of Communications Cagatay
Ozdemir, attended the panel along with diplomats from the Turkish Embassy in
Paris.
The
panel was moderated by Washington Director of the Ankara-based Political,
Economic and Social Research Foundation (SETA) Kilic Bugra Kanat and attended
by panelists Presidential Security and Foreign Policy Committee Members Prof.
Cagri Erhanand, Prof. Nursin Guney as well as President of the Association of
Foreign Journalists (APE) Elias Masboungi and Italian scholar expert Valeria
Giannotta.
Kanat
said that the reform of the UN Security Council is "not a choice but a
necessity".
With
the panel series, Türkiye aims to point out how the international community and
international organizations faced significant challenges in the face of
problems in recent years and how the international system was ineffective in
addressing these challenges.
The
panel also aims to push for a fairer, more democratic and more representative
structure in the Security Council.
After
holding panels in Italy, Argentina and France, Kanat said they plan to organize
panels in 10 more different countries within the next two weeks.
Erhan,
for his part, told the panel that the UN member countries increased from 51 to
193 and the world population was up from 2.5 billion to 8 billion.
“It
is clear that we need a change because the UN system was established for a
world 4 times smaller than the one we live in today."
Guney,
on the occasion, said there have been initiatives for the reform of the UN in
the past, adding that the current system allows the five permanent members of
the UN Security Council to use the veto "against human welfare" due
to different national interests.
Giannotta
said the current system at the UN Security Council, has proven to be ineffective
in providing security and stability to the international system and in dealing
with the crisis.
Russia-Ukraine
war has proven once again "our inability as the international community to
deal with the crisis", according to Giannotta.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Killing
of Afghan refugee prompts police reinforcements in French town
August
17, 2022
LONDON:
The death of an Afghan refugee in the eastern French province of Alsace has
prompted police to send reinforcements to the area, The Times reported on
Wednesday.
Quayyem
Abdul Ahmadzai, 27, was allegedly shot in the chest after a fight broke out in
the town of Colmar.
He
and two other Afghans were having a picnic when the scuffle began, after he
told a teenager nearby to make less noise with his motor scooter.
Witnesses
said the teenager had been revving the engine of the scooter while standing on
the pavement.
After
insulting the three Afghans, he left, only to return with a group of friends,
at which point the fight broke out and Ahmadzai was shot, said Catherine
Sorita-Minard, the state prosecutor.
French
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced in the aftermath of the killing
that 60 police officers would be seconded to the town’s standing force of
around 150 officers, to “reinforce security” and “reassure the inhabitants” of
Colmar. Two teenagers, aged 17 and 18, are being sought by police in connection
with the shooting.
Ahmadzai,
who fled to France in 2017 and was granted refugee status, lived in the
neighboring town of Mulhouse and worked for the car manufacturer Peugeot.
Another
Afghan living in Colmar told The Times that Ahmadzai had been forced to leave
his wife and children behind in Afghanistan when he fled, and that he “was all
on his own here.”
His
death has gained broad coverage across France as it came in the wake of a
government crackdown on antisocial behavior by youths using motorcycles, which
came to a head after four children were severely injured, and a 10-year-old
girl in Paris left with severe neurological damage, after a number of accidents
due to illegal races and stunts.
Source:
Arab News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2144986/world
--------
Uproar
in Israel, Germany over Palestinian President Abbas’s remarks
August
18, 2022
BERLIN:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced disgust on Wednesday at remarks by
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that the German leader said diminished the
importance of the Holocaust, while Israel accused Abbas of telling a “monstrous
lie”.
During
a visit to Berlin on Tuesday, Abbas accused Israel of committing “50
Holocausts” in response to a question about the coming 50th anniversary of the
attack on the Israeli team at the 1972 Munich Olympics by Palestinians.
“For
us Germans in particular, any relativisation of the singularity of the
Holocaust is intolerable and unacceptable,” Scholz tweeted on Wednesday. “I am
disgusted by the outrageous remarks made by Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas.”
Scholz’s
office summoned the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Berlin to
protest the remarks by Abbas, a German government spokesperson said.
Israeli
Prime Minister Yair Lapid called the comments a “disgrace”. Germany’s ZDF
television reported that Scholz would speak to Lapid on Thursday to avoid
lasting damage to ties. Since the Holocaust and World War Two, German
politicians have stressed their special responsibility towards Israel.
“Mahmoud
Abbas accusing Israel of having committed ‘50 Holocausts’ while standing on
German soil is not only a moral disgrace, but a monstrous lie,” Lapid said on
Twitter.
“History
will never forgive him.”
In
response to the outcry, Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement calling the killing of
Jews in Germany during World War II “the most heinous crime in modern human
history”.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705481/uproar-in-israel-germany-over-palestinian-president-abbass-remarks
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Arab
World
Iraqi
crisis talks go ahead without Muqtada al-Sadr
17 August,
2022
Iraq’s
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi met party and other leaders on Wednesday to
discuss the country’s political deadlock, but key player Muqtada al-Sadr, a
firebrand Shia cleric, did not attend.
Ten
months after a general election, war-scarred Iraq still has no government, new
prime minister or new president, because of disagreement over forming a
coalition.
Tensions
have been rising since July between the two main Shia factions, one led by
al-Sadr, the other by the pro-Iran Coordination Framework.
Attempts
to mediate have so far proved fruitless.
Al-Sadr
wants parliament dissolved to pave the way for new elections, but the
Coordination Framework wants to set conditions and demands a transitional
government before new polls.
A
statement from al-Kadhimi’s office said he had called a meeting on Wednesday
“to start a serious dialogue; intending to find solutions to the current
political crisis.”
The
Coordination Framework was represented by two former premiers, Nuri al-Maliki
and Haider al-Abadi.
Also
present were Hadi al-Ameri and Faleh al-Fayyad, senior officials in the
Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) Hashed al-Shaabi network, now
part of the national forces.
Al-Maliki
is a longtime foe of al-Sadr, the influential cleric whose bloc emerged from
last October’s elections as parliament’s biggest, but still far short of a
majority.
Al-Sadr
supporters have been staging a sit-in outside parliament in Baghdad’s high
security Green Zone for more than two weeks, and the Coordination Framework
began a rival Baghdad protest on Friday.
President
Barham Saleh and parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi also attended
Wednesday’s talks, as did officials of the two main Kurdish parties and the UN
envoy in Iraq.
A
terse press release from the al-Sadr faction said it was not taking part “in
the national dialogue.”
Announcing
the talks in a statement on Tuesday, al-Kadhimi’s office had said they aimed
“to start a profound national dialogue and deliberation; to find solutions to
the current political crisis.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Turkish
forces 'neutralize' 9 YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria
Diyar
Guldogan
18.08.2022
Turkish
forces “neutralized” nine YPG/PKK terrorists in northern Syria, near the
Turkish border, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
The
terrorists were planning an attack on Türkiye's Operation Peace Spring zone,
the ministry said in a statement.
Turkish
authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question
surrendered or were killed or captured.
Since
2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across
its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and
enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive
Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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Syria
denies kidnapping or holding US journalist missing for 10 years
7 August,
2022
Syria
on Wednesday denied kidnapping or holding a US journalist who disappeared a
decade ago a week after President Joe Biden demanded that Damascus let him go
home.
Austin
Tice, a former US Marine, was kidnapped in August 2012 aged 31 while reporting
freelance in Damascus on the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
His
family believes he is alive and still being held in Syria. The identity of
Tice’s captors is not known, and there has been no claim of responsibility for
his abduction.
The
Syrian Foreign Ministry described Tice as a US serviceman and denied the
government was holding him or any other US citizen.
“These
are baseless allegations,” the statement said.
Issuing
a statement on the 10th anniversary of Tice’s captivity, Biden said last
Wednesday his administration had “repeatedly asked the government of Syria to
work with us so that we can bring Austin home.”
Biden
said Washington knew “with certainty” that Tice had at times been held by
Syria’s government.
Washington
suspended its diplomatic presence in Syria in 2012 at the onset the country’s
civil war.
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Biden’s special envoy for hostage
affairs, Roger Carstens, would “continue to engage with the Syrian government”
in coordination with the White House.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Drivers
in Syria’s Damascus feel the pinch of spiraling fuel prices
17
August, 2022
Damascus
minibus driver Khaled al-Hassi remembers a time when he could fill his tank
with cheap fuel to drive passengers across the Syrian capital and take home
enough money for food, drink and a comfortable life.
Now
spiraling fuel costs and a collapsing currency mean he is left at the end of a
busy day with just two or three dollars, assuming there is fuel available so he
can work.
“Some
days the diesel they give us isn’t enough for half a day,” Hassi said, driving
passengers along Mazraa street in central Damascus.
He
charges passengers 200 pounds, or less than 5 US cents, for each ride and says
only 30 percent of that ends up as earnings. “If I make 40,000 in a day I’m
left with 12,000 Syrian pounds - What’s that worth? Nothing.”
After
a decade of conflict in Syria the struggle for taxi and minibus drivers to make
a living has got tougher every year, Hassi says. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
and the surge in world energy prices have made it even more acute.
Two
weeks ago authorities hiked fuel prices, more than doubling the cost of
subsidized petrol to 2,500 pounds a liter. Taxis and minibuses are allocated 30
liters of subsidized fuel per day, with diesel for minibuses in the capital now
restricted at weekends.
While
the drivers struggle to make a living, fewer people can afford the cost of a
taxi ride.
Sidra,
a 17-year-old high school student, said she walked to school because the 25,000
pound return taxi fare was twice her mother’s daily earnings and no other
transport was available.
Exhausted
by the long distances in the morning and evening, she failed her class. “One of
the main reasons she failed was the transport,” said her mother Umm Mohammed,
who makes a meagre living selling charcoal for nargilehs, or shisha pipes.
Umm
Mohammed also carries out her errands across the city by foot to save money.
The
fuel price rise was the latest measure by authorities who have restructured
subsidies on fuel, bread and other goods, and reduced the number of
beneficiaries at the same time in an effort to ease the strain on government revenues.
In
the 11 years since Syria’s conflict erupted, the local currency has collapsed
from 47 against the US dollar to around 4,300 on the informal market - or
barely 1 percent of its pre-war value.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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First
Saudi pro boxer hopes to be most successful athlete in Kingdom’s history
17 August,
2022
The
first Saudi to compete in a professional boxing match hopes to become the most
accomplished athlete in the history of the Kingdom, he told Al Arabiya English
on Wednesday.
“I
hope to be the single most accomplished individual athlete to come out of Saudi
Arabia,” Ziyad al-Maayouf said on the sidelines of a press conference in
Jeddah. “That’s my goal. That's my dream. I think I'm doing it right now.”
Al-Maayouf
also praised the “love” that the people of Saudi Arabia have shown him in the
runup to Saturday’s fight, when he faces Jose Alatorre at the Rage on the Red
Sea event.
“The
people of Saudi Arabia have shown me love that I couldn't dream of as a kid,”
he said.
“If
I went to sleep at night as a kid, I wouldn’t dare dream to be on a stage like
that. So it’s really crazy, I’m very humbled. I’m very blessed. I thank God
every day, I’m praying every minute of the day.”
The
22-year-old was born to a Saudi father and Egyptian mother in New York, and was
raised in Egypt.
He
has been training in Los Angeles under Buddy McGirt, the former IBF junior
welterweight and WBC welterweight champion.
Al-Maayouf
has spent the last eight weeks training in Liverpool, UK, with McGirt and
training partner Callum Smith, who faces Mathieu Bauderlique at light
heavyweight in Jeddah on Saturday.
He described
it as the toughest camp that he has ever been through, partly due to being in
unfamiliar surroundings in the UK, and partly because of the hard sparring that
took place there.
“The
sparring turns into a war. Everybody wants to take your head off, and that's
Liverpool for you,” he said. “…it was just a blessing and I feel for a fight of
this magnitude, this is what I needed and this is what I got.”
Al-Maayouf
also spoke during the press conference about how he hopes to inspire young
athletes from the Kingdom.
The
super lightweight fighter sees his bout as a “stepping stone” for aspiring
Saudi boxers.
Asked
about the pressure of being the flagbearer for future Saudi stars, al-Maayouf
responded: “Pressure makes diamonds and that’s what’s going to happen on the
night.”
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
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Syria
denies holding American citizens captive, including journalist Austin Tice
17
August 2022
Syria
has dismissed allegations of holding American nationals, including freelance
journalist and veteran US Marine Corps Austin Tice, who disappeared a decade
ago while reporting on the foreign-sponsored conflict in the Arab country.
The
Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement on
Wednesday that Damascus “denies that it has kidnapped or is hiding any American
citizens who entered its territory or resided in areas under the sovereignty
and authority of the Syrian government.”
“The
US administration, represented by President [Joe Biden] and Secretary of State
[Antony Blinken], issued last week misleading and illogical statements that
included baseless accusations against Syria that it had kidnapped or detained
American citizens including former US Marine Austin Tice,” it said.
“The
Syrian Arab Republic categorically denies the accusations of his kidnapping, or
holding any American citizen,” the ministry stated, reiterating the Damascus
government’s full commitment to the principles of the international law and the
provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
The
Syrian foreign ministry also denied any secret contacts with US officials on
missing Americans, emphasizing that “any official dialogue with the American
government will only be public based on the respect of Syria's sovereignty.”
“The
US must immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its military forces that
are unlawfully present on the Syrian soil, stop plundering and smuggling Syrian
crude oil and wheat crops, end support for separatist groups and terrorist
outfits stationed at the illegal US-run military base in al-Tanf region, and
remove sanctions imposed by successive US administrations against the Syrian
nation,” the ministry statement added.
Biden
last week claimed that his administration knew with “certainty” that Tice, who
was abducted in the Syrian capital Damascus in August 2012, was being held by
Syria’s government.
“On
the tenth anniversary of his abduction, I am calling on Syria to end this and
help us bring him home,” the US president said in a statement.
The
Syrian government has denied on multiple occasions that it is holding Tice, who
reported for The Washington Post and McClatchy newspapers, among other news
outlets.
Tice's
family said Austin was traveling in the Damascus suburb of Darayya to work on
one of his final pieces for the summer on August 13, 2012, when he was
abducted. He was supposed to leave for Lebanon the following day.
Since
then, the only information Tice's family has received from his captors was a
43-second video that surfaced five weeks after his disappearance.
It
was titled “Austin Tice is Alive” and showed Tice and a group of militants, but
contained no other information.
Source:
Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
--------
Southeast
Asia
Indonesia
Celebrates First Independence Day at Future Capital, In the Ancient Rainforests
of Eastern Borneo
August
18, 2022
SEPAKU:
Indonesia celebrated its first independence day at its future capital in the
ancient rainforests of eastern Borneo on Wednesday as the nation plans a move
away from slowly sinking, traffic-clogged Jakarta.
Nusantara,
which is 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) from Jakarta, is set to become the new
political centre of the world’s fourth-largest country.
It
is a legacy project of President Joko Widodo but environmentalists have warned
it could accelerate the destruction of tropical jungles home to long-nosed
monkeys and orangutans.
The
government is preparing to ramp up infrastructure projects to open the doors to
the city — which will cover about 56,180 hectares (216 square miles) on Borneo
island — by the time Widodo leaves office in 2024.
“The
main point (of the ceremony) is to take the spirit of the 77th Independence Day
to strengthen our resolve and spirit to build the new capital,” said State
Capital Authority head Bambang Susantono, who will govern the new city.
After
the national flag was hoisted by officials to mark the occasion, workers at the
site cheered in unison that they were “ready to develop Nusantara”, which means
archipelago in Indonesian.
Jakarta
is home to 30 million people in its greater metro area and it has long been
plagued by serious infrastructure problems and flooding exacerbated by climate
change.
It
is sinking as much as 25 centimetres (10 inches) a year in some areas — double
the global average for major coastal cities — with some experts predicting up
to a third of the megalopolis could be underwater by 2050.
Source:
Dawn
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1705485/indonesia-celebrates-first-independence-day-at-future-capital
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Christian
lawsuit against Malaysian politician fails
August
18, 2022
A
court in Malaysia has dismissed an appeal by two Christians seeking to restore
a lawsuit against a hardline Islamist politician for defaming Christians about
six years ago.
The
Court of Appeal on Aug. 16 upheld an earlier ruling by the High Court to drop a
charge of sedition against Abdul Hadi Awang, president of the Malaysian Islamic
Party (PAS)
Maklin
Masiau and Lawrence Jomiji Kinsil Maximilhian, from Sabah state, filed a
lawsuit in December 2020 against Hadi, accusing him of libeling Christians in
an article published in Harakah, a PAS-run newspaper, in 2016.
In
the article, Hadi, now 74, accused Christian missionaries of preying on poor
and uneducated people in impoverished communities in states like Sabah by
paying them off to convert to Christianity.
“Unfortunately,
after being rejected in Europe, Christian missionaries [have] taken [their]
teachings to the interior areas of our country, such as in Sabah and Sarawak,”
the politician wrote, referring to two states in Borneo where many of the
country’s Christians live.
“They
have spread their religion not by using knowledge and reasoned argument but by
baiting their targets with money and other forms of aid. This is transgression
in the name of religion. It is a danger that must be fought.”
Maklin
and Lawrence argued that such views amounted to sedition under Section 3 of the
Sedition Act in the Criminal Code, which disqualified Hadi from holding any
public office.
Hadi,
an elected parliamentarian, has served as the special envoy of the Prime
Minister to the Middle East with ministerial status, since April 2020.
The
PAS, a conservative Islamist party, is a component of the governing coalition
that rules the Malaysian Federation.
The
three-member bench by Justice Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera said the lawsuit against
Hadi was “wholly unsustainable and ought to be struck out,” Malaysian national
news agency Bernama reported.
The
judge said the two complainants failed to prove that Hadi committed sedition.
He
added that the appellants admitted they were not compelling the
attorney-general to prosecute Hadi or to compel the prime minister to dismiss
him from public office.
The
court set aside punitive costs of 50,000 ringgit (US$11,189) imposed by the
High Court on Maklin and Lawrence, but ordered the two men to pay Hadi 10,000
ringgit in costs for the proceedings in the High Court and Court of Appeal.
The
lawsuit filed by Maklin and Lawrence was thrown out by the High Court on May 7,
2021, after the court accepted Hadi’s application to dismiss the suit. The duo
later appealed against the verdict.
About
60 percent of Malaysia’s estimated 32 million citizens are Muslim, 20 percent
Buddhist, and close to 10 percent Christian, according to 2018 government
estimates.
The
majority of some 3 million Malaysian Christians live in two states — Sabah and
Sarawak — which make up the Malaysian part of Borneo Island.
Some
60 percent of Malaysian Christians live in the two states, and Sarawak remains
the only Christian majority state in the country.
Religious
minorities have complained in recent years about increasing hate speech by
Islamist politicians against minorities including Christians.
Hardline
Muslim politicians have accused Christians of engaging in various conspiracies
to “weaken Islam” and undermine the Islamic nature of Malaysian society.
Source:
UCA News
Please click the following URL to read the full text
of the original story:
https://www.ucanews.com/news/christian-lawsuit-against-malaysian-politician-fails/98430
--------
Indonesia
seeks justice for wrongfully imprisoned citizen
Dineskumar
Ragu
August
16, 2022
PETALING
JAYA: The Indonesian embassy has appointed a lawyer in an effort to seek
justice for Sabri Umar, an Indonesian worker who was wrongfully imprisoned in
Sabah and whipped for allegedly not having a valid work pass.
Ambassador
Hermono said the lawyer, appointed by the republic’s consul in Tawau, Heni
Hamidah, will work alongside the lawyer provided by Engrit Liaw, the general
secretary of the Sabah Timber Industries Employees’ Union (STIEU).
“Our
lawyer and Engrit’s lawyer will be coordinating on how best to defend Sabri’s
interests,” he told FMT.
“The
Indonesian embassy and the consulate are handling Sabri’s case. The Tawau
(consulate) always consults me and also the foreign affairs ministry in Jakarta
to find solutions to seek justice for Sabri.”
Hermono
said the consulate is also seeking a special pass for Sabri from the
immigration department in Sabah as his work pass expired two days ago.
Last
Wednesday, FMT reported that Sabri was seeking a public inquiry after being
wrongfully imprisoned and whipped for allegedly not having a valid work pass.
He
was arrested in April and sentenced to 11 months in prison and five strokes of
the cane by a sessions court under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act.
While
waiting for his appeal to be heard, he was whipped in the Tawau prison on June
23.
The
Tawau High Court acquitted him in July after his lawyer managed to prove that
he had a valid Indonesian passport and a work pass from his employer, Fu Yee
Corp.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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of the original story:
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Can
Indonesia's Muslim leaders help combat climate change?
August
18, 2022
KUALA
LUMPUR (THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION) - From packed mosques during Friday prayers
to the classrooms of thousands of Islamic boarding schools, Indonesia's Muslim
leaders have been urged to use their sermons and influence to boost
conservation efforts and win over climate change sceptics.
The
country's top Muslim representatives met last month at Southeast Asia's biggest
mosque, the Istiqlal in the capital Jakarta, to discuss ways to raise awareness
about global warming and develop climate solutions linked to Islamic teachings.
The
leaders also established a forum - the Muslim Congress for a Sustainable
Indonesia - and called for community donations, including alms, to be used to
help fund such efforts.
Green
campaigners say Muslim leaders and imams can play a key role in fostering
greater understanding and action on climate change - and also work with
governments to focus on sustainability, not just economic development, in
policy.
"Imams
or religious leaders are really respected and highly listened to in Indonesia -
they can have a big impact on both government policy and citizen action," said
Jeri Asmoro, Indonesia digital campaigner at climate activist group 350.org.
"Imams
could effect a lot of social change ... seeding awareness of environmentally
friendly life and propelling the climate movement at the grassroots
level," he added.
Under
the 2015 Paris Agreement to tackle global warming, Indonesia - the world's
eighth-biggest carbon polluter - has committed to cut its emissions by 29 per
cent by 2030 versus business-as-usual levels and hopes to reach net-zero by
2060 or sooner.
Almost
85 per cent of electricity in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation
is generated from fossil fuels, and it is the planet's top thermal coal
exporter.
Also
home to a third of the world's rainforests, Indonesia is the top producer of
palm oil and a major source of timber, which green groups blame for forest
clearing for plantations.
Cutting
down forests has major implications for global goals to curb climate change, as
trees absorb about a third of the planet-warming emissions produced worldwide,
but release carbon back into the air when they rot or are burned.
Indonesia
is already suffering the impacts of global warming, with cities and coastal
areas hit by regular flooding and rising sea levels, while rural regions often
struggle to cope with forest fires and drought.
Zulfira
Warta, a climate project leader at WWF-Indonesia, said there was a need for
more leadership from Muslim clerics on environmental change among their
congregations and communities.
About
90 per cent of Indonesia's 270 million people are Muslim, while the nation has
800,000 mosques, 37,000 Islamic boarding schools, and more than 170 Islamic-led
universities - offering a platform for education and action on a huge scale, he
said.
"Imams
can contribute a moral and spiritual energy that the climate and environmental
movements urgently need," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Climate
change deniers
Yet
green groups say there is a long way to go on climate change, especially in the
country's rural and poorest regions.
A
YouGov global poll in 2019 showed Indonesia had the highest proportion of
climate change deniers at 18 per cent.
Conservationists
say this is largely due to a lack of teaching about climate issues at many
schools.
Stigmatisation
of climate activists by the government and the fossil fuel industry has also
influenced mindsets and pushed the narrative that green advocates are against
economic growth, said Eji Anugrah Romadhon, a campaigner at Greenpeace
Indonesia.
David
Gaveau, an ecologist who has researched deforestation in Indonesia, said that
economic development was a top priority for the government while climate change
was not.
However,
there is growing awareness about climate change among Indonesia's youth and
civil society, while the government has made some headway in tackling
deforestation in recent years.
It
has also banned new conversion permits for old-growth forest and carbon-rich
peatlands, temporarily stopped issuing new permits for palm plantations,
created an agency to restore damaged peat, and promoted the electric vehicle
industry.
Meanwhile,
young Indonesians have spearheaded a mass tree-planting drive, established
conservation groups, and taken part in weekly climate school strikes.
"Within
the youth and the civil society, there is growing awareness and movement on
climate," said Asmoro of 350.org. "Mostly it emerges at the urban and
educated levels of society."
Eco-mosques
and fatwas
Many
Indonesians believe God plays a role in disasters and climate change, according
to Romadhon of Greenpeace Indonesia, while Muslim leaders are also still the
main source for most people when making decisions about their way of life.
Religious
leaders should dig "more into Islamic teachings about the earth and
repairing it", he added.
Some
progress has been made already.
In
a world first, Indonesia's highest Muslim clerical council issued a non-legally
binding fatwa against killing endangered animals in 2014, followed by a similar
edict to stop the burning of land and forests two years later.
Five
years ago, worshippers in Indonesia launched a new initiative that aimed to
establish 1,000 eco-mosques.
And
in 2018, Islamic organisations partnered with the government in a bid to cut
plastic waste.
"Such
fatwas can support and bolster government regulations and give more impetus and
inspiration for pro-environment behaviours," said WWF's Warta.
Annisa
Rahmawati, head of Indonesian conservation group Satya Bumi, urged civil
society, religious leaders and citizens to unite to pressure the government and
business to declare a climate and nature emergency - and respond accordingly.
Many
principles about protecting nature are embedded in Islamic practices, she
added, urging religious leaders to help people understand how their behaviour
impacts the environment.
Source:
Straits Time
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of the original story:
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/can-indonesias-muslim-leaders-help-combat-climate-change
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